Results tagged “Bob Foster” from Press Corps

Melody Ross, the 16-year-old girl who was fatally shot Friday night after the Wilson High-Poly High footballl game, wasn't on the agenda at Tuesday's council meeting. But she was on the minds of council members and the public alike.

Several council members and Mayor Bob Foster remarked on the teen's tragic death. A few members of the public demanded that the city create more park and recreation programs to keep youths out of trouble and more police to keep the streets safe.

Despite cuts implemented this year to every city department -- parks funding was drastically reduced and the number of police officers in Long Beach were slashed back to almost 2002 levels -- Councilman Gary DeLong noted that the council had voted at the end of the budget discussions to restore $500,000 to parks and rec programs.

Still, with more budget deficits expected through 2012, one has to wonder just how city officials will keep public safety programs -- both prevention and law enforcement -- at the levels that Long Beach needs. There's no way to know if Melody would have been saved if there had been just one more cop on the street or if the shooter had gotten a little more positive attention as a child. But having more of those resources couldn't hurt.

As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger holds out on signing hundreds of bills until state lawmakers come up with a plan to overhaul the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster and the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce both released statements today in support of water policy reform. The delta in Northern California supplies two-thirds of the state's water, but must be overhauled to fit the growing water needs of farmers and cities while at the same time considering environmental concerns. The project's cost is expected to be $8 billion to $10 billion.

"The state of California's water supply is critical, and now is the time for decisive action," Foster said in his statement.  "I urge the State Legislature and the Governor to quickly negotiate a water reform package that can help put California back on the right path towards sustainable water management."

Foster said that any water plan must include a 20 percent water conservation requirement. Long Beach has been recognized as a leader in water conservation.

"Our business community cannot afford to wait a moment longer," Randy Gordon, president and CEO of the Chamber, said in a statement. "After decades of inaction, California's water system is finally on the brink of bringing us into the 21st century, thereby preserving this vital hub that is the conduit for shipping water from the north to Central Valley farms and Southern California cities. A Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta plan can soon be a reality. We all know our 700-mile maze of waterways, levees and islands drives the state's economy."

Mayor Bob Foster appeared with gas and oil executive, and noted environmentalist, T. Boone Pickens on CNBC this week to talk about Long Beach's "green" efforts, from low-emission buses to efforts to reduce pollution at the Port of Long Beach.

Mayor Bob Foster's office confirmed today that he has signed the budget approved by the City Council last week without using his line-item veto. Tonight, the council is expected to give final approval to the $2.5 billion budget for the 2010 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

In approving the budget, Foster didn't dispute the council's restoration of $169,000 in city contributions for the operating costs of the Long Beach Museum of Art. Foster had recommended eliminating the entire $569,000 city contribution after the museum wasn't able to pay off $3 million in bond debt this month, which the city then had to cover.

The council meets at 5 p.m. tonight. Watch the meeting online at www.longbeach.gov.

Councilman Gary DeLong seemed to surprise everyone in the Council Chambers moments ago when he announced he would vote against a new contract with the Long Beach Police Officers Association that would save the city millions of dollars.

After months of negotiations between POA and city officials to get police officers to forgo some pay raises, POA President Steve James called DeLong's vote a "slap ... in the face" and Councilman Patrick O'Donnell said DeLong was "grandstanding."

DeLong said he couldn't support the contract because it doesn't contain reforms of the city's costly pension program. Other council members thanked police officers for reopening their contract and reducing their pay raises even though they didn't have to.

The new contract will give officers an 11 percent raise spread out over five years instead of the nearly 9.3 percent raise they were due Sept. 30. The deal, which was overwhelmingly approved by POA members, will save the city $7.6 million this year and $15 million over the next five years.

"Your comments are the epitome of the dysfunction we've dealt with," James told DeLong. "Don't slap these people (police officers) in the face. This needs to pass with a 9-0 vote. They deserve it."

DeLong responded that he had tried to reach James on Monday to inform him of his decision and that he doesn't like to "blindside" people, but O'Donnell interrupted DeLong, saying: "Why didn't you tell us?"

As DeLong and O'Donnell began to argue and Mayor Bob Foster tried to silence O'Donnell for speaking out of turn, O'Donnell shouted out: "This is grandstanding."

The council approved the POA contract 8-1, with DeLong dissenting.

As Long Beach City Council members went through some of the most collaborative negotiating and compromising that I have seen to come up with a viable budget plan Tuesday, an entertaining exchange occurred between Mayor Bob Foster and Councilman Gary DeLong, chairman of the Budget Oversight Committee.

After DeLong sat down and ticked off a long list of the revised budget restorations that had been agreed upon, Foster asked: "Mr. DeLong, do these balance?"

"Within $12,000," DeLong replied.

"I guess that's good enough for government," the mayor quipped, half-jokingly.

The sad thing is, when it comes to government accounting, Foster was probably right.

It wasn't heated debate, fiery dialogue or hot tempers that stoked the fires of Monday evening's Budget Oversight Committee meeting and City Council budget workshop. It was the air conditioning system, or lack thereof.

Apparently, the AC wasn't turned on for the meetings that began at 5 p.m. and ended close to 8:30 p.m. True, it is unusual for a meeting to take place in the council chambers on a Monday night. The chambers are tall and spacious, and the crowd was small, both of which probably helped the situation. But by night's end, the room was hot, humid and uncomfortable on a day when the high temperature reached 91 degrees in Long Beach. I know I was sweating, and I wasn't one of the city staffers sitting in the hot seat (no pun intended, really) as council members asked them rapid-fire questions about the budget.

Maybe that's why council members Gary DeLong and Patrick O'Donnell disappeared midway through the 6 p.m. workshop (both are part of the Budget Oversight Committee and had been there since 5 p.m.). Councilman Dee Andrews disappeared later as well, as did Mayor Bob Foster, ironically just shortly after he responded to Councilwoman Rae Gabelich, who had been complaining about the members being absent during an important budget meeting. He told there was nothing he could do to make people stay, and apparently that included himself.

Let's just hope the AC is on tonight, when budget discussions very well could go on for hours. My guess is the meeting could approach midnight. So, a plea to whoever is in charge of that "on" switch at City Hall: Sitting through hours of city budget meetings can seem like hell, but please don't make the room temperature feel like it.

Ron Nelson, executive director of the Long Beach Museum of Art, sent out an e-mail over the last few days trying to rally support to attend Monday night's City Council Budget Oversight Committee meeting as the council considers whether to support Mayor Bob Foster's proposal to eliminate funding for the museum's administration. A few members of the Museum Foundation's board and other supporters were there, but as you can read in my article today, committee chairman Councilman Gary DeLong didn't have the most sympathetic words for Nelson.

The museum director is also hoping to rally support before the council goes into closed session today at 5 p.m. to discuss the museum's property lease and other issues. Confused about why Foster would want to cut the museum's funding? It's a case of everyone showing up to eat a seven-course meal, but no one wanting to foot the bill. Read an in-depth account of the standoff in the following file: Museum of Art.doc.

Soon, the council may make a decision in an open meeting. They have about two weeks to do it, because the Sept. 15 deadline to pass the budget is growing ever closer.

Fifth District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske has announced on her Facebook page that she will have a campaign kick-off and fundraiser Sept. 12.

So far, Schipske only faces one challenger in next April's election, Mike Hedges, president and CEO of Pacific Striping in Signal Hill. Hedges is a political newcomer that so far hasn't drawn much attention to himself. Schipske, on the other hand, is a master at getting her name and face in the media, stirring up controversy and mobilizing her constituents.

A controversial figure, Schipske is often at odds with other council members, city management and especially Mayor Bob Foster. But she also has earned a reputation as one of the most active and responsive council members, staying in touch with East Long Beach residents and responding to their concerns. She maintains a blog as well to keep her constituents informed.

So far, I would consider Schipske a lock for a second term, but it is still very early in the campaign. Who knows what challengers might surface in the coming months, or what Hedges might bring to the table. While Schipske has much going for her, there is also enough controversy in her political history and a few decisions that have upset residents to become ammunition for challengers to use against her.

I'm still catching my breath after covering last week's news about Police Chief Tony Batts leaving for Oakland, so here is something that the City Council approved last week -- their committee appointments.

Snoozing already? Sure, committees aren't the sexiest things in the world, but they do serve a purpose, as gatekeepers to much of the legislation that ends up before the council. Mayor Bob Foster made the committee appointments, and most members are on three or four committees, not including the Charter Amendment Committee that is headed by the mayor and on which every council member sits. However, Councilwoman Rae Gabelich sits on five committees.

Councilman Gary DeLong will continue as chairman of the Budget Oversight Committee, supported by council members Patrick O'Donnell and Suja Lowenthal, which could be considered one of the most important ones right now during Long Beach's budget crisis.

Many of the committee appointments seem quite appropriate. Who better to head the Housing and Neighborhoods Committee than man-of-the-people Councilman Dee Andrews? And of course, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd district council members are on the Tidelands and Harbor Committee, since they're the only ones whose districts include a shoreline or port areas. Unlike the other council members, who each leads one or two committees, newcomer Councilman Robert Garcia doesn't have such a role, but he is a member of the Federal Legislation Committee, the State Legislation Commitee and the Tidelands and Harbor Committee.

Click the following link and see the entire committee list for yourself:

Council committees.pdf

City and redevelopment officials on Saturday will celebrate $1.8 million in infrastructure improvements in the Arts District with the debut of 92 new energy-efficient light posts.

The event, which will feature Mayor Bob Foster, 2nd District City Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal, Redevelopment Agency Vice Chairperson Diane Arnold and East Village Association President Richard Lewis, will take place at 7:45 p.m. in front of Utopia Restaurant, 445 E. 1st St.

Yesterday at the city's press conference for the proposed 2010 fiscal year budget, it was revealed that Long Beach Museum of Art officials had sent City Manager Pat West a letter saying that they don't owe the city a $3 million bond payment that must be made by Sept. 1.

In response, Mayor Bob Foster said the city can't afford to pay the $569,000 that it was expected to for the museum's operating expenses. The museum may get a cool breeze from its beachfront location, but things are definitely heating up. Click the link below to read the full text of the museum letter.

LBMA letter.pdf

Check out www.presstelegram.com later today for more in-depth coverage of the issue.

The city of Long Beach's long-awaited, much-dreaded and likely to be much controversial proposed budget for the 2010 fiscal year will be unveiled Thursday during a press conference at City Hall.

City Manager Pat West and Mayor Bob Foster will present the budget to members of the media. What is known is that the budget includes $20.3 million in cuts averaging 6 percent per department to help eliminate a $43.3 million general fund deficit. The remaining $23 million will be cut either through employee unions agreeing to forgo pay raises, or 26 days of furloughs or more possible layoffs, West has said.

That doesn't even count the additional millions of dollars that are expected to be lost from state take-aways. How that will be accounted for also remains to be seen.

The press conference will take place at 2 p.m. Thursday, so watch www.presstelegram.com for all of the budget news as soon as the conference is over.

I posted this a couple of weeks ago, but I'm bringing it back to the top of the blog to remind anyone who might be interested.

Fifth District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske wants to let you know how to run for public office. Her monthly Wake Up Long Beach event will feature City Clerk Larry Herrera and two political consultants who will explain what steps are necessary to run for office.

You've got to give Schipske credit for hosting such an event. She is, after all, up for re-election in April 2010 in her East Long Beach district. So too are council members in the other four odd-numbered districts, as are Mayor Bob Foster, City Attorney Bob Shannon, City Prosecutor Tom Reeves and City Auditor Laura Doud.

Wake Up Long Beach will take place at 8 a.m. Wednesday at El Dorado Golf Restaurant, 2400 Studebaker Road. There is a $10 cost for breakfast. RSVP to 562-570-6932 or district5@longbeach.gov.

Bits and pieces of news have been trickling in about the Long Beach City Council's special closed session meeting that is progress as I write. City and union officials are negotiating a deal to have officers forgo a contractual pay raise to put police at the median pay level of 10 comparable cities on Sept. 30.

Today, Steve James, president of the Long Beach Police Officers Association, said the union made an offer to space out the pay hike, which according to James the council supported earlier this week but now may have decided to reject during today's closed council meeting. City officials have refused to address the specifics of the closed contract negotiations, and James wouldn't divulge why he believes the council could change course.

Earlier today, Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga told me that Mayor Bob Foster is trying to take the negotiations in his own direction and is "blackmailing" the council with the threat of a veto. Uranga wouldn't divulge the deal that is on the table nor what plan Foster supports.

She said she's frustrated with getting "mixed messages" from city management and that only the mayor, not the council, has seen City Manager Pat West's proposed budget for the 2010 fiscal year.

"We as the council have not been getting the same information that the mayor's been getting, so he has us at a disadvantage," Uranga said.

The mayor's chief of staff, Becki Ames, didn't respond to a request this afternoon for a response to Uranga's comments.

James said he too would like to know what the real budget deficit is at this point -- the $43.3 million number has stood for months now -- and that the police proposal is a good way to reduce it.

The police offer "would get (police pay) to the level, but under the model we had out there, it would take approximately three years to get to the median, and then we would have a bump in the fourth year," James said.

The deal would save the city $10 million over two years, he said, but because police union members must approve it, the deal is "about as low as we can go."

The Long Beach City Council has been in its closed session since 4 p.m. this afternoon to talk about the city's negotiations to get pay raise concessions from the Police Officers Association and other employee unions. The city needs employees to forgo scheduled pay raises to cut $23 million from a $43.3 million budget deficit.

That's not unusual. The council's been having these closed sessions regularly for months. What is unusual is that everyone from City Manager Pat West to finance director Lori Ann Farrell to Mayor Bob Foster's chief of staff Becki Ames is sitting outside of the council lounge in the regular council chambers with all of us plebes.

West and Ames confirmed that only Foster, City Attorney Robert Shannon and the nine council members -- perhaps minus Patrick O'Donnell, who was absent at the budget meeting earlier -- are in that closed session meeting. West said this is unusual, noting that he is usually in on every closed session.

So what's being said in there? Is the city going to reach a deal with its unions? Can the council come to agreement? Or will negotiations break down?

Oh, to be a fly on that wall.

Long Beach has had a wide variety of mayors through the years: the venerable and ever-present Tom Clark, who first led the city in 1975 and spent 30 years on the City Council; the diminuitive but strong-willed Eunice Sato; the calm and trail-blazing Ernie Kell; the motherly Beverly O'Neill; the all-business current Mayor Bob Foster.

Starting this week, the public will get a chance to hear from each of the city's five living mayors about their personal stories, their politics and their thoughts on Long Beach's progress during an on-going series presented by the Historical Society of Long Beach.

"The Long Beach Mayors Oral History Series" will take place over the next several weeks. Each mayor will be interviewed by current and former council members and other politicians. It should be an enlightening event at which to hear a unique perspective on Long Beach's political history. The project is made possible in part by a grant from the James Irvine Foundation.

Admission will be $10 at the door for non-Historical Society members. Admission for members and students is free. All events of the series will begin at 7 p.m. and will be conducted in the Historical Society's main gallery at 4260 Atlantic Ave. in Bixby Knolls. For more information, call 562-424-2220.

Here's the schedule:

This Thursday (June 25) -- Mayor Tom Clark (served 1975-1980 and 1982-1984), interviewed by Councilwoman Rae Gabelich.

July 2 -- Mayor Eunice Sato (served 1980-1982), interviewed by former councilwoman Doris Topsy-Elvord.

July 9 -- Mayor Ernie Kell (served from 1984-1994), interviewed by former councilman Evan Braude.

July 30 -- Mayor Beverly O'Neill (served from 1994-2006), interviewed by Betty Karnette, former member of the state Senate and Assembly.

TBA -- Mayor Bob Foster (serving 2006-present).

Did Mayor Bob Foster retaliate against a city board member for comments he never heard and that the member said he never made?

Jack Smith, who is a member of the volunteer Long Beach Housing Development Co. board but wasn't among a list of reappointees to 17 city panels submitted by the mayor Tuesday night, says that's exactly what happened.

Foster says his decision not to reappoint Smith to the board had nothing to do with the comments that his sources told him Smith had made.

Apparently, Foster had heard second-hand that at a West Long Beach Association meeting Smith implied an inappropriate relationship between Foster and Tom Dean, the owner of Los Cerritos Wetlands. The city has been brokering a controversial land swap with Dean to obtain the wetlands.

After the alleged comments, the mayor asked Smith to meet with him last week, Smith said.
"He accused me about saying something about him and Tom Dean in a public meeting," Smith said.

Smith then asked Foster why he wasn't on the list of LBHDC board reappointments.

"He said, 'Because of this,'" Smith said, referring to the alleged comments.

Oh, to be a fly on that wall.

Smith said that going into the meeting he had thought they were going to discuss the possibility of him serving on the city's Parks and Recreation Commission. Smith's 7th District representative, Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga, had asked the mayor to consider Smith for the position, they all said Wednesday.

Putting Smith on that commission is exactly how Foster explains his decision not to reappointment Smith to the LBHDC board. The Parks and Recreation Commission is required by the City Charter and is considered a step up from the non-charter LBHDC board.

A statement released Wednesday by Foster's office says that in last week's conversation, Foster "point blank asked Mr. Smith about statements that he allegedly made that were directed towards the Mayor during a recent community meeting - which Mr. Smith denied making and assured the Mayor anytime he had a disagreement he would call the Mayor or his staff directly."

However, that wasn't why Smith wasn't reappointed, the mayor says.

"The Mayor has NOT said he will not re-appoint Mr. Smith," the statement says. "There are other non-charter and charter appointments coming in the weeks ahead."

But Smith said that didn't appear to be on Foster's radar during last week's meeting.

"When I mentioned the charter commission, he turned to (chief of staff) Becki (Ames) and said, 'Do we have an application from Jack on that,'" Smith said.

The sudden controversy over Smith's reappointment came as a surprise to him, he said.

The matter surfaced during Tuesday night's council meeting when Mike Ruehle, president of the Belmont Shore Neighborhood Association and a frequent critic of Foster, brought the issue to the council's attention.

"The mayor had indicated what was going to happen and I accepted that," said Smith, a Wrigley District resident who will complete his first two-year term on the LBHDC board this month and who previously served a term on the Homeless Services Advisory Commission.

Uranga said Wednesday that was she taken aback when she learned about the outcome, as recounted by Smith, of the meeting with the mayor.

"All I know was the next day when I saw Jack he was crushed. He was embarrassed," Uranga said.

She said she wasn't at that meeting, so she doesn't know first-hand what was actually discussed. At the same time, Uranga said, neither was the mayor at the community meeting where Smith supposedly made the critical comments.

"You know, what really gets me is, it's all hearsay," she said.

And if Foster's decision was retaliation against Smith?

"How petty and vindictive of the administration if that's what he was doing," Uranga said.

As I reported today, the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce has launched a letter-writing effort to get the public to put pressure on City Hall and ensure JetBlue stays at Long Beach Airport.

Stymied by lawsuits and other delays, terminal improvements have gone nowhere and JetBlue executives are getting impatient. In case you missed it, here's the link to the chamber's advocacy site with a form letter. The Chamber will eventually send all of the letters to Mayor Bob Foster and the council.

I'm told by the Chamber that they've received a good response since the story came out today, increasing their signatures from 132 Tuesday to 204 as of this afternoon.

Meanwhile, JetBlue has had little more to say about the issue since CEO Dave Barger made controversial statements to an aviation blog last month. Today, JetBlue denied my request for an interview with Barger, issuing the following statement:

We remain committed to our home in Long Beach for the time being. Our
Customers enjoy the airport's convenient features every day, and it's
home to more than 500 Crewmembers and many more Business Partners. Yet
there are airport improvements that were promised before we began flying
that have never been made. We're dedicated to improving the environment
our Crewmembers work in and our Customers experience every day, and
expect the city to honor their previous commitments. Recent public
comments by Dave reflect our long-standing views on this matter.

The fate of the airport has become a fascinating story through its years of development, and I get the sense that we are reaching its climax. The questions remain: Will the airport improvements move forward, and will JetBlue stay or go?

Wednesday night on the Westside, a crowd of Arlington Street residents whose homes flooded two weeks ago gathered for a community meeting with officials from the city of Long Beach, Los Angeles County, Southern California Edison and other agencies.

The city marched out an impressive complement of city officials, including Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga, Mayor Bob Foster, Deputy City Manager Reggie Harrison, and various department heads. Officials gave residents assurances that the flooding issue that has plagued Arlington Street for more than two decades, most recently flooding out a dozen homes two weeks ago, will be handled. (See a photo gallery of the flood.)

"Failure is not an option," Uranga told the crowd.

But some residents noted they had heard such rhetoric before, such as in 2005, the last time the area flooded. While Director of Public Works Mike Conway blamed the flood on a drainage culvert owned by Southern California Edison that was blocked with debris, SCE hasn't admitted it is fully responsible and is still investigating the situation.

A city plan to double the capacity of the neighborhood's drainage systems is ready to go, Conway said. County officials have approved it and a right-of-way request to get access to SCE property has been submitted to the company. All that's needed now, he said, is a little cash -- an estimated $2 million.

That's the dilemma. Where does a cash-strapped city, that's already facing a budget deficit, considering cuts, layoffs and furloughs, find an extra $2 million?

Foster told me after the meeting that he's going to put all of his energy into finding the money, looking to funds from the federal stimulus package or combining forces with other area agencies such as SCE and the county. But despite the best of intentions, Foster admitted there's no guarantee the project will get done this year.

"I can't say, with a hundred percent certainty, yes," Foster said.

Until then, some of the residents noted, they may just have to rebuild their lives after a major rain every few years. The city is offering $5,000 rebates to the residents for home repairs and other aid. But for their immediate need, all they got out of Wednesday's meeting was some cookies. Oatmeal, maybe chocolate chip, I think.