January 2010 Archives
A college student and retail worker plans to kick off her campaign for mayor at 3 p.m. Saturday at Shades of Afrika, 1001 E. Fourth St.
Stevie Merino, who attends Cerritos College, is Mayor Bob Foster's only challenger in the April 13 election. Foster is a retired Southern California Edison executive seeking a second term.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation is running Merino's campaign. Her campaign manager has told the Press-Telegram that the candidacy is serious and not to be taken by voters as a college project.
Merino, 21, helped lead last year's protests against the California State University system fee hikes. She previously attended Cal State Long Beach.
Her stated platform includes a mix of local and national issues, some within the purview of City Hall, some not. The candidate wants a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, free public colleges, free healthcare and a tax on the wealthy.
She also pledges to address what she considers racism among police, making Long Beach a "sanctuary city" for immigrants and raising "taxes on oil companies and big corporations" who do business here.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 13, which represents workers in the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, has endorsed L.A. Councilwoman Janice Hahn for lieutenant governor.
Hahn, the sister of former L.A. Mayor Jim Hahn and daughter of the late County supervisor Kenneth Hahn, represents the San Pedro area. She is seeking the Democratic nomination for the state's second-highest office on June 8.
"Councilwoman Janice Hahn, from day one, knew the issues of the port and making sure working men and women had quality jobs," said George Lujan, president of ILWU Local 13. "She knows how ports are supposed to be operated and we are excited to support her in her bid for lieutenant governor."
Hahn has longstanding ties with harbor-area labor groups. The ILWU chapter represents close to 20,000 part- and full-time longshore workers, who load and unload cargo at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The local is the West Coast's largest.
The state's No. 2 position is unfilled. In November, former Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, who was facing term limits, won a Northern California Congressional seat.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger named state Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, to the post, but the appointment has not been confirmed. The state Senate plans to hold confirmation herings next week, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday.
Regardless of what happens with his nomination, Maldonado is expected to run in the Republican primary for the seat in June. Other expected GOP contenders include state Sens. Sam Aanestad of Grass Valley and Dean Florez of Shafter.
For the Democratic nomination, Hahn is expected to face Sen. Dean Florez of the Central Valley.
A Long Beach Towne Center barbecue restaurant damaged in a Jan. 15 fire will soon be back in business.
Lucille's Smokehouse will reopen Feb. 2, said Craig Hofman, president of the Lucille's and Hof's Hut chain of restaurants.
The eatery at 7411 Carson St. was closed at the time of the 4:46 a.m. fire. No one was inside at the time.
The fire affected an area between the ceiling and roof and firefighters opened holes in the roof to extinguish it. The sprinkler system was also activated.
In all, about 40 Long Beach Fire Department personnel worked on the fire and resulting cleanup over a four-hour period, an LBFD spokesman said.
None of the firefighters who responded to the call was injured.
The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation, a Long Beach Fire Department public information officer said Tuesday.
The couple behind the Long Beach Basket Brigade, which delivers food to the needy on Thanksgiving, is organizing an effort to benefit earthquake victims in Haiti.
The fund-raiser will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 31 at El Dorado Community Center, 2800 Studebaker Road. The "40 in 4" event, which seeks to raise $40,000 in four hours, will feature performances by the Elm Street Band. Weather permitting, there will be a bounce house and face-painting for children.
Kym and Jeff Livesay, who put on the Basket Brigade, are doing the 40 in 4 event in conjunction with the American Red Cross. For more information or to volunteer, contact Kym Livesay at 562-900-3574 or KLivesay1@msn.com or search for "40 in 4" on Facebook.
We Love Long Beach, a community organization that tries to get neighbors acquainted with one another, will host a free breakfast at 9 a.m. Saturday on the Daisy Avenue greenbelt between 19th and 20th streets in Wrigley Heights.
The Wrigley Association and Wrigley Area Neighborhood Alliance also plan to participate in the event. We Love Long Beach has staged breakfasts in Belmont Shore and other neighborhoods.
We Love Long Beach is offering a free breakfast of pancakes, sausage, eggs, fruit, orange juice and coffee. There will also be vegan options.
There will be face painting for kids and a DJ.
Developed in 1905, as well as the years that followed, the Wrigley area is one of the city's oldest and largest neighborhoods.
We Love Long Beach is a non-profit community organization founded in 2008 by the brother-and-sister team of Scott and Robin Jones of Belmont Shore.
For more information visit www.welovelb.org.
Tesla Motors is a step closer to locating an electric car plant on 51 acres off Lakewood Boulevard and Columbia Way in Downey, city officials said.
The San Carlos-based carmaker recently filed a key planning application related to locating an assemblyline on the site of a film and TV production facility, Downey Studios, City Councilman Luis Marquez said.
"They're beginning the process," Marquez said. "It's one of the necessary steps in them moving forward with their plant."
Though the application is an important part of the process, Marquez said it would be premature to state that Tesla has committed to building its S sedan in Downey. The automaker is also considering a location in Long Beach -- the former Boeing 717 plant off Lakewood Boulevard.
A Tesla spokesman did not return calls Friday or Monday.
Tesla filed a Planning Department application that subdivides the Downey Studios property into two parcels with one of the uses being the Tesla plant, Downey City Manager Gerald Caton said.
The application seeks to modify what is called the Downey Landing Specific Plan, which governs permitted uses for a parcel where aerospace workers once assembled sections of space shuttles and lunar capsules.
Most of the swath, about 32 acres, is controlled by International Realty Group, the company behind the studios, but the city of Downey owns about 19 acres, giving it a negotiating role in the process. Long Beach's role in the 717 site negotiations is somewhat limited since the land is wholly owned by Boeing.
Approval would likely be required at the city staff level and by the Planning Commission, Caton said.
Much of the Downey deal now hinges on approvals from the U.S. Department of Energy, which is providing low-interest loans to Tesla to expand its lineup of electric vehicles.
The application filed by Tesla in Downey also allows the city to begin readying entitlements it is offering to the carmaker, Marquez said.
Those entitlements, which were approved by the Downey City Council late last year, include free rent, building improvements and other inducements worth an estimated $8.7 million over 15 years.
The package calls for $6.9 million in waived rent on 19 acres owned by the city, $1.8 million in federal grant money for roof repairs to buildings at the site.
In return for the investment, Downey expects direct revenues of $11.76 million from taxes on business licenses, utilities, sales and property.
The company plans to build its Model S sedan, which will cost about $50,000 after anticipated tax incentives, in Downey or Long Beach.
Long Beach City Hall was closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday and officials with knowledge of negotiations involving the 717 property could not be reached.
The Boeing Co. has stated that company policy prohibits it from commenting on ongoing real estate negotiations.
A deal with Tesla, which is looking for a location to build its battery-powered S sedan, would have signifance for either Downey or Long Beach -- an estimated 1,200 jobs and the return automobile manufacturing to Southern California for the first time since General Motors pulled the plug on its Van Nuys plant in 1992.
If you're up early enough Saturday, you may want to join the Bixby Knolls Strollers, an uptown walking group marking its two-year anniversary.
In 2008, Gordon Cohn, 77, agreed to attend the first walk to help support the event's organizer, his son, Blair Cohn, who serves as the executive director of the Bixby Knolls Improvement Association.
The elder Cohn did not plan to walk more than once, but he and his wife Lois, 76, had so much fun and made so many friends they've been on nearly every stroll since -- missing only when they are out of town.
"The walk itself has just brought goodwill and friendship," Gordon Cohn said, "and, I think, surprise fallout benefits that I don't think Blair or any of us ever anticipated."
Those surprises came by way of invitations to dinner parties, picnics, even weddings from a diverse group of people they never expected to meet.
The size of the group varies from 40 to 50 walkers, who avoid redundancy by changing the routes, which range from about 3.5 to 3.9 miles.
Strollers have covered 374 miles in two years.
Along the way they have passed through the Dominguez Gap, Rancho Los Cerritos, Scherer Park, Bixby Mansion on La Linda, Igor's Alley, Forest Lawn Cemetery, Los Cerritos, Virginia Country Club, California Heights, Sleepy Hollow and the Atlantic Avenue business corridor.
One time they walked over to the Metro Blue Line Station on Wardlow Road and took the train to downtown Long Beach, where they got off and walked the waterfront.
At 7:15 a.m. on Saturdays, walkers meet at the It's a Grind cafe, 4245 Atlantic Ave. They socialize, charge up on coffee and pastries and at 7:30 a.m., hit the pavement -- or the dirt, the gravel or whatever surface they may be crossing that day.
Members walk at their own pace.
"The purpose of the Strollers is to bring the community together and walk around the neighborhoods to become familiar with the businesses and other sites here in this part of the city," Blair Cohn said in an email. "Each week I hear how people are discovering places they hadn't seen before and that is very satisfying. It's a great group of people, and many new friendships have grown out of the weekly strolls."
Other than waking up early on a Saturday, there is no cost -- or residency requirement -- to join the Bixby Knolls Strollers. It's OK to bring dogs.
For more information, call the association 562-595-0081 or write info@bixbyknollsinfo.com.
The Wrigley Area Neighborhood Alliance, or WANA, will meet at 7 p.m. Jan. 25 at Veterans Park Community Center, 101 E. 28th Street. Steve Gerhart of the city's Planning Department will speak on Long Beach's 2030 plan for development. In addition, Joan Greenwood will "present a special report for Wrigley Heights on the response from the Environmental Health Investigations Branch of the California Department of Public Health regarding concerns to the Oil Operators property." For information, call Greenwood at 562- 599-0812 or email the alliance at wrigleyaaliance@msn.com. |
Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal has endorsed James Johnson in the 7th District City Council race.
"James is a leader with the knowledge, energy and commitment to unleash the magnificent potential of our community," Lowenthal said in a statement released by the Johnson campaign. "I am pleased to endorse him and I look forward to working with him towards a better Long Beach."
Johnson, the assistant city auditor, is challenging incumbent Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga in the April 13 election. If elected, Johnson would relinquish his position in the auditor's office.
Uranga, in accordance with city election law, is running a write-in campaign for a third term. Her name will not appear on the ballot unless she receives enough votes to qualify for a runoff.
Also in the race are Jill Hill, co-president of the Wrigley Area Neighborhood Alliance, and Jack Smith, who works as a Hollywood line producer and is a local homeless and housing advocate.
Uranga's husband, Roberto Uranga, was initially in the race but pulled out, citing commitments related to his other elected office, the Long Beach City College Board of Trustees.
The 7th District includes the Wrigley District, and California Heights and the Westside.
The candidates in the race will square off in a debate at 7 p.m. Feb. 1 at the Veteran's Park Social Hall, 101 E. 28th St. Wrigley area community leader Alan Tolkoff will moderate.
A 7-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the 500 block of E. Pleasant St., Long Beach Police said Saturday.
The boy, who was not identified, was stabbed multiple times in an apartment complex at about 9 p.m. Friday, according to an LBPD advisory. The boy's 27-year-old mother was also injured in the attack.
Officers arrived on scene in North Long Beach to find the mother in the stairwell of the apartment complex. The woman had been stabbed and was apparently screaming.
"The woman pointed to a male subject who was standing in the doorway of a nearby apartment, and told the officers he was killing her kids," the LBPD advisory states. "When officers approached the subject, he closed the door and locked it. Officers, fearing that the lives of children were in danger, forced their way into the residence. Once inside, officers discovered a 7-year-old boy who had sustained multiple stab wounds to his body."
Officers performed CPR on the child until paramedics arrived and transported him to a local hospital., where the child was pronounced dead.
The mother of the child was also transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Police arrested Peniamina Tomasi, 30. He was taken into custody at the apartment and been booked on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, and is being held at the Long Beach City Jail without bail.
The preliminary investigation found that Tomasi lived at the residence with the mother victim and eight children that ranged in age from 4 months to 10 years, the police advisory states.
They each had three children of their own, and shared two children together. It was unclear whether Tomasi is suspected of killing one the children he and the mother shared or one she had with another father.
Police could not be immediately reached for further comment.
The Department of Children Services is caring for the seven surviving children, none of whom were injured.
The attacker's motive was unclear.
Karen Rindone has become the first female engineer in the 112-year history of the Long Beach Fire Department.
"I am very proud to be the first, but I am more excited to do something I really enjoy," Rindone said, adding that she previously worked in the automotive industry and is highly interested in mechanics.
Fire engineers handle the operations of fire engines and ladder trucks in both emergency and non-emergency situations. They make sure equipment is in proper working order and are in charge of safety-related issues.
"We operate the machinery," she explained. "The engine has the water and the pump, and on a fire I would be pumping fires, and driving, of course."
The promotion makes Rindone, 43, the highest-ranking woman in the LBFD.
Engineers are not management-level employees but they serve as second-in-command on most fire crews and at fire stations. Rindone reports to the captain who oversees Station 14, which is next to Marine Stadium.
To become an engineer, according to the LBFD, candidates must "put in countless hours of study and training with various fire apparatus in preparation to carry out the duties of the position to which they aspire. Competition is fierce..."
Rindone was born in Orange and served as a reserve firefighter with Santa Ana Fire Department before being hired by the LBFD in September 2004. Assignments have taken her to stations on the Eastside, in North Long Beach and in Alamitos Beach.
Rindone is not the top-ranking woman in LBFD history. The department once had a female captain, but there are currently no women in management.
The trial to determine the constitutionality of California's ban on same-sex marriage could be broadcast online - with a tape delay. The Los Angeles Times has the story on the Prop. 8 trial, which could be the first in the West to be broadcast from start to finish on the Internet.
Members of eight central area churches will serve as grand marshals in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Peace & Unity Parade, Councilman Dee Andrews announced Wednesday.
Members of Antioch Church of Long Beach, Christ 2nd Baptist Church, Gospel Memorial Church of God, Grant AME Church, Bethel AME Church, New Hope Baptist Church, St. John's Missionary Baptist Church and St. Mark Baptist Church will lead the parade.
"Church is a way of life, a rhythm, a community, a movement and I am very grateful for the praise that the members of each church spread across my neighborhood," said Andrews, who represents the central city's 6th District.
The honorary grand marshals are two mascots -- Charlie Brown, who will appear on behalf of Knott's Berry Farm, and Ronald McDonald.
The event is being organized by Andrews and the city of Long Beach's Department of Parks, Recreation & Marine. The theme for this year parade and accompanying celebration is "Strength To Love."
The parade route begins on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Anaheim Street at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 16th, intersecting Anaheim Street.
The route will proceed north on MLK, turn east on 19th Street and then north on Lemon Avenue.
Parade Parking is available at Long Beach City College's Pacific Coast Campus on Orange Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway. Shuttle buses will take spectators to and from the parade route between 7:30 and 10:30 a.m.
For more information, contact Andrews' 6th District Office at (562) 570-6816.
Members of eight central area churches will serve as grand marshals in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Peace & Unity Parade, Councilman Dee Andrews announced Wednesday.
Members of Antioch Church of Long Beach, Christ 2nd Baptist Church, Gospel Memorial Church of God, Grant AME Church, Bethel AME Church, New Hope Baptist Church, St. John's Missionary Baptist Church and St. Mark Baptist Church will lead the parade. Each has a long history in the central city's 6ht District.
"Church is a way of life, a rhythm, a community, a movement and I am very grateful for the praise that the members of each church spread across my neighborhood," Andrews said.
The honorary grand marshals are two mascots -- Charlie Brown, who will appear on behalf of Knott's Berry Farm, and Ronald McDonald.
The event is being organized by Andrews and the city of Long Beach's Department of Parks, Recreation & Marine. The theme for this year parade and accompanying celebration is "Strength To Love."
The parade route begins on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Anaheim Street at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 16th, intersecting Anaheim Street.
The route will proceed north on MLK, turn east on 19th Street and then north on Lemon Avenue.
Parade Parking is available at Long Beach City College's Pacific Coast Campus on Orange Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway. Shuttle buses will take spectators to and from the parade route between 7:30 and 10:30 a.m.
For more information, contact Andrews' 6th District Office at (562) 570-6816.
Natalie wanted one thing for Christmas: A bike.
She got it. (And some other stuff.)
It's one of those cheap princess models with purple and pink paint, white tires and an American flag bell.
Because of various commitments, and the fact that I forgot to fill up the tires before Christmas morning, we were unable to find time to teach Natalie how to ride the bike until the weekend of New Year's.
So on Saturday afternoon I put two quarters in my pocket and the bike in the trunk of the car. Robin, Natalie and I drove to the gas station.
I dropped 50 cents into the air machine and filled up the back tire in a few seconds.
But the front tire would not take air -- no matter how I positioned the valve.
I ran out of time with the air machine and didn't have any more quarters.
Natalie, who is 3 1/2, went as mushy as the tire and started to cry.
Puzzled, we took the bike, which we purchased at Target, to Jones Bicycles in Belmont Shore. The technicians figured out the obvious -- there was a hole in the unused inner tube.
We bought a new tube, and the Jones people installed and filled it. I made a mental note to buy our next bike there.
When we got home, Natalie wanted to ride, but it was already dark.
So the next morning she woke up early, put her pink helmet on and grabbed me.
Outside she got on the bike and tentatively pumped the pedals. She went faster and faster, but not fast.
Then she discovered the brakes. She found stopping as fun as starting.
Stop go, stop go. It took a long time to go around the block.
Later we headed to the blacktop at Fremont Elementary School, which is a few blocks from our house in Belmont Heights.
On the deserted playground Natalie opened it up, experiencing the joys of making something go for the first time.
She gained confidence. She went faster.
She took a spill. I told her to get back on. She did.
I jogged alongside her, but the real joy of riding a bike for the first time is when your dad lets go -- literary and figuratively.
So I stopped, taking a seat on a bench.
She took off on the blacktop, making it all the way to the fence separating Fremont from Fourth Street and Termino Avenue. Later she caught up with a pack of kids on scooters and bikes.
I proudly watched.
Wasn't she just learning to walk? I thought.
How soon will she be a kindergartner at this very school?
How long will she need those training wheels?
No long enough.
Natalie wanted one thing for Christmas: A bike.
She got it. (And some other stuff.)
It's one of those cheap princess models with purple and pink paint, white tires and an American flag bell.
Because of various commitments, and the fact that I forgot to fill up the tires before Christmas morning, we were unable to find time to teach Natalie how to ride the bike until the weekend of New Year's.
So on Saturday afternoon I put two quarters in my pocket and the bike in the trunk of the car. Robin, Natalie and I drove to the gas station.
I dropped 50 cents into the air machine and filled up the back tire in a few seconds.
But the front tire would not take air -- no matter how I positioned the valve.
I ran out of time with the air machine and didn't have any more quarters.
Natalie, who is 3 1/2, went as mushy as the tire and started to cry.
Puzzled, we took the bike, which we purchased at Target, to Jones Bicycles in Belmont Shore. The technicians figured out the obvious -- there was a hole in the unused inner tube.
We bought a new tube, and the Jones people installed and filled it. I made a mental note to buy our next bike there.
When we got home, Natalie wanted to ride, but it was already dark.
So the next morning she woke up early, put her pink helmet on and grabbed me.
Outside she got on the bike and tentatively pumped the pedals. She went faster and faster, but not fast.
Then she discovered the brakes. She found stopping as fun as starting.
Stop go, stop go. It took a long time to go around the block.
Later we headed to the blacktop at Fremont Elementary School, which is a few blocks from our house in Belmont Heights.
On the deserted playground Natalie opened it up, experiencing the joys of making something go for the first time.
She gained confidence. She went faster.
She took a spill. I told her to get back on. She did.
I jogged alongside her, but the real joy of riding a bike for the first time is when your dad lets go -- literary and figuratively.
So I stopped, taking a seat on a bench.
She took off on the blacktop, making it all the way to the fence separating Fremont from Fourth Street and Termino Avenue. Later she caught up with a pack of kids on scooters and bikes.
I proudly watched.
Wasn't she just learning to walk? I thought.
How soon will she be a kindergartner at this very school?
How long will she need those training wheels?
No long enough.
The Wrigley and California Heights associations plan to host a joint candidates forum for the upcoming 7th District City Council election.
Part of the Wrigley District and Cal Heights are two of the largest neighborhoods in the 7th District, which also includes the Westside.
Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga is running a write-in campaign in the April 13 election.
The incumbent is seeking her third term against challengers James Johnson, the assistant city auditor; Jill Hill, co-president of the Wrigley Area Neighborhood Alliance; and Jack Smith, who works as a Hollywood line producer and is a local homeless and housing advocate.
Uranga's husband, Roberto Uranga, was initially in the race but pulled out, citing commitments related to his other elected office, the Long Beach City College Board of Trustees.
Each candidate in the race is expected to attend, according to the association's Gavin McKiernan.
The candidates' forum will take place at 7 p.m. Feb. 1 at the Veteran's Park Social Hall, 101 East 28th St.
The city of Cerritos just won the president's award at the Rose Parade, KTLA Channel 5 announced. Mayor Bruce Barrows is riding in the float that pays homage to the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.
