October 2009 Archives

At its October 22, 2009 meeting, the Board of Directors of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce voted to remain neutral on the Classroom Teacher, Student Safety and Education Measure on the November 3, 2009 ballot, commonly referred to as Measure T.

The Long Beach Chamber has a long-standing position of supporting LBUSD and its endeavors. The Chamber is committed to supporting education for our students today which leads to innovation, economic development, and ultimately wealth creation in the future. Fundamentally, an educated workforce is essential to success in the business community.

Conversely, a primary concern to the Chamber is fairness: the parcel tax would apply only to owner-occupied single-family homes, not to renters and not to those over the age of sixty-five. Thus, the tax base appears to be narrow compared to those who would directly benefit, which in particular may include many who rent their homes.
Another concern is that Long Beach voters recently approved Measure K. This measure was a bond to fund the repair of schools and classrooms that will result in a property tax assessment of $60 per $100,000 in assessed value for the next 25 years.

The Chamber is concerned that there never seems to be an end to requests for taxes to fund education. Instead, the LBUSD should seek to reduce costs rather than increase revenue.

The Chamber does, however, recognize the extent to which LBUSD has made dramatic recent budget cuts -- $100 million in the last five years - and has reduced staff. District Superintendent Chris Steinhauser has voluntarily accepted a 10 percent pay cut. At the same time, the LBUSD has won once and been a finalist five times for the Broad Prize for Urban Education, and has improved the quality and impact of its programs so that enrollment has actually increased. 

However, in the end, the Board of Directors of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce did not come the conclusion that the benefits of passing Measure T outweighs the costs, and vice versa. 

For these reasons, the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce will remain neutral on Measure T."

Wachovia Bank has been hit 4 times and Washington Mutual was robbed once. The suspect for the Washington Mutual robbery was arrested in February, but the others remain at large.

"I congratulate President Obama on his selection as the Nobel laureate for peace and I commend the Nobel Committee for recognizing the significant contributions he has made to world peace and international cooperation since assuming office 250 days ago. President Obama has restored America's reputation as the leading guardian of human rights, defender of freedom and preserver of peace.
 
"The bold and courageous steps for peace the President has taken are already working, as can be seen in the promising news of possible talks with Iran and comprehensive peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis.  His strong, yet respectful approach to diplomacy is bearing fruit, and I believe will usher in a new era for peace and reconciliation among all nations, including Cuba and North Korea.
 
"The Nobel Peace Prize does not merely recognize past actions; its real significance can be found in the encouragement and support it gives to the recipient and the international community to continue working for the peace we all seek. Truly with President Obama, the best is still to come!" 

"Long Beach has over a dozen schools along the I-710 corridor and adjacent to the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, an area commonly referred to as a 'diesel death zone.' We applaud the Clean Truck Program for what it has done already by removing almost 2000 pre-1989 diesel trucks from our neighborhoods with trucks that produce more than 90% fewer emissions. TALB is also working with our community partners to ensure the future success of the Clean Truck Program so the Ports will be able to meet their 2012 goal of 80% emissions reductions in overall drayage operations."