Renaming of Park Proposed

The city of Los Angeles has been asked to consider renaming Harbor Regional Park for the late Ken Malloy, a longtime San Pedro resident and environmentalist credited with turning the onetime slough into the city’s third-largest park.

The tribute was proposed by harbor-area Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores last week and is pending before the city’s Recreation and Parks Department.

Malloy, who died of a heart attack Jan. 10 at the age of 79, led city efforts to purchase land straddling Wilmington and Harbor City for a park in 1955. Later, he helped transform 60 acres of the 320-acre park into a campground where summer programs are put on for inner-city youths.

For nearly 20 years, the former city environmental commissioner spent countless hours tending to campgrounds, planting more than 500 trees and shrubs. Last November, his efforts were joined by several companies that donated funds to add more trees to the campground.