Results tagged “Rae Gabelich” from Press Corps

Because I've received a couple of calls from people wondering about the status of the medical marijuana dispensary regulation issue, here's the latest: Tuesday's City Council meeting agenda contains only an update of the Economic Development and Finance Committee deliberations. The committee's chairwoman, Councilwoman Rae Gabelich, had placed the update on the agenda at the beginning of last week, but then said later in the week following a contentious committee meeting that she was going to ask the council to have the city attorney draft a law regulating dispensaries.

That apparently never happened -- the meeting's supplemental agenda includes no change to the simple update that was originally agendized. The council could use the opportunity to ask for something more concrete and immediate, such as the creation of an ordinance. However, it isn't expected to do so because City Attorney Bob Shannon plans to give a full report on how the city could regulate medical marijuana at the Nov. 10 council meeting.

Medical marijuana has become a contentious -- actually, downright nasty -- issue around City Hall, last week causing this conflict during the committee's meeting.

Things must have gotten backed up at City Hall because of the budget over the last couple of weeks. The agenda for next Tuesday's City Council meeting isn't just a government document -- it's a book! Forget "War and Peace." "Don Quixote"? That's light reading.

If any last-minute items are added to the agenda this afternoon (and they almost always are), the agenda will have at least 50 items on it. And I thought we were going to be finished with late-night meetings for a while after the council approved the budget last week.

For the most part, however, there isn't anything of great controversy on the agenda, though you never know for sure what might stir up trouble into you're sitting in the Council Chambers. Twenty-one items are on the consent calendar, which is passed with a single vote, and many of the other actions are for various contracts. Fairly routine stuff.

One big controversial issue could be an item from council members Rae Gabelich, Gerrie Schipske and Tonia Reyes Uranga to have the Charter Amendment Commitee (which is essentially the mayor and the full council) consider charter reforms to bring in more money. That includes but is not limited to, the agenda item notes, revising the Harbor Department transfer to the General Fund. That means the council members want more money from the Port of Long Beach. This discussion has been touched on many times before, and grabbing that extra cash requires walking a thin legal tightrope. The Harbor Department is certainly likely to resist.

By coincidence, earlier Tuesday, at 3:30 p.m., the Charter Amendment Committee will meet to discuss creating a charter-required "rainy day" fund to ensure that when extra money is on hand, part of it is saved for tough economic times -- like now. The council would have to put the fund on the ballot for voters to consider.

The council starts its regular meeting Tuesday at 5 p.m. Click here to go the city clerk's Legistar program that will allow you to see all of the meeting agendas with their backup documents.

Remember last year's city budget process, when city officials scheduled budget workshops and meetings right before their regular council meetings? Remember the long lines of residents who wanted to speak but ended up being rushed? Remember how council members didn't have time to ask all their questions and the budget meetings went over schedule? Remember how city management promised this year it would be different?

Well, it hasn't quite worked out that way, and Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske said tonight during a community budget meeting in her 5th District that she and council members Tonia Reyes Uranga and Rae Gabelich tomorrow will release a statement calling for at least two budget sessions each week until the council approves a budget Sept. 15.

Sure, the city has scheduled a dozen community meetings that council members and city managers are attending to explain the proposed budget, the $20.3 million in cuts that are being made, and to get feedback from residents. That seems a good step toward the promise of more transparency and public input in the budget process. But at Tuesday's budget workshop, when the council was discussing library and parks budgets, the meeting again went over, public comments had to be reduced from three minutes to two minutes and not all of the council members had time to ask their questions.

Apparently, another budget meeting, where council members would actually be able to vote and take action (not like a workshop, which is just for information and discussion), had been originally planned for later Tuesday at 7 p.m. For some reason, it was taken off the schedule, apparently, according to Schipske, without consulting the council.

Now Schipske says she and her colleagues want more meetings, actionable meetings, and enough time to get all of their questions answered -- not to mention make some budget decisions of enormous magnitude.

If you're one of the many people who are facing foreclosure or struggling to pay their mortgage in this tough economy, you can learn about home loan modifications at a free workshop this weekend.

Eighth District City Councilwoman Rae Gabelich and 37th District Congresswoman Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach, are hosting the workshop at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Long Beach Petroleum Club, 3636 Linden Ave. No registration is required. Just show up and learn about how to get your home loan modified, get fees waived and more.

Among the many items that went before the Long Beach City Council in a busy and long-running meeting Tuesday was a resolution in support of the state propositions that will be on the ballot next week.

The council voted 4-3 to support the resolutions. Council members Suja Lowenthal, Patrick O'Donnell, Dee Andrews and Tonia Reyes Uranga voted in favor, while council members Robert Garcia, Gerrie Schipske and Rae Gabelich dissented. Vice Mayor Val Lerch abstained, as he usually does on resolutions about ballot measures or similar issues. Lerch has said a non-partisan governmental body like the council shouldn't take a position on issues going before voters, just as it shouldn't back political candidates. Councilman Gary DeLong was absent from the vote.

Will the council's vote make a difference? Polls show voters are likely to reject the propositions May 19. Only Garcia articulated Tuesday why he couldn't support the legislation -- he said he can't support Prop. 1D, which would shift First 5 Children's Commission funding to general health and human services programs for children, and he called the Prop. 1E mental health measure "draconian."

Read up on all of the propositions at the California League of Women Voters voter guide site. It's an objective site that shows the arguments on both sides of each proposition.

It's always interesting watching a newcomer step into the role of council member. When Robert Garcia was sworn in Tuesday to represent the 1st District, several questions crossed my mind.

Will he tend to vote with the council majority? Or will he join agitators such as council members Gerrie Schipske and Tonia Reyes Uranga in what is often a quite vocal minority? Will he target a barrage of questions and comments at city staff, like the aforementioned agitators, or will he be the silent type, like Councilman Dee Andrews? Maybe he'll be an activist on his specific issues, the way Councilwoman Rae Gabelich is, or he may become that unknown x-factor whose vote could go either way, like Vice Mayor Val Lerch's sometimes is.

His first day on the job, Garcia had a lot of big decisions to make, and the public saw a councilman who was willing to go with the majority or the minority.

In closed session, and for the first vote of his career, Garcia voted with the minority -- Schipske and Uranga -- to release confidential documents about the controversial Los Cerritos Wetlands land exchange. But in open session, Garcia joined the majority in voting to implement employee furloughs, while Schipske and Uranga voted against them because they wanted to postpone the vote.

We've also got to give Garcia credit for sticking around through all of the major and contentious votes Tuesday. Typically, newly inaugurated council members take off immediately for a celebration, but Garcia stayed until almost 9 p.m. despite his planned 7 p.m. party.

So, what do you think Garcia's political future and role on the council will hold?

Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske says in her blog and a statement released today that something is amiss from the city's application with the federal government to resuse the Schroeder Hall Army Reserve Center at Willow Street and Grand Avenue.

That plan, of course, is the one that has stirred up a hornets nest of East Long Beach residents -- the site would be used for a new police substation, but a mental health facility for the homeless would be built across the street next to the Department of Health and Human Services. The feds require that former millitary bases provide some form of homeless services if requested by local homeless service agencies.

Schipske, whose 5th District contains Schroeder Hall, has asked the council Tuesday to rescind its December 2007 vote approving the project. Furthermore, now Schipske says that in reviewing the Schroeder Hall application that the city submitted to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, she has discovered what she perceives as two problems. From her blog:

I have two serious concerns about the statements included in the submission. First of all, it contains several 'guiding principles' that were not approved by City Council.  The submission also fails to disclose to HUD the fact that when the Council voted on the reuse of Schroeder Hall in December 2007 and before the application was submitted three months later, that there were numerous objections by residents of the adjacent neighborhood. Moreover, I specifically asked that those objections be submitted as part of the official record and I don't see them in the submission.

While this may light an even bigger fire under Schroeder Hall opponents, whether it actually influences the council to withdraw the project is another matter. City Attorney Robert Shannon has warned there may be legal consequences associated with resubmitting the proposal to the feds, and city management says doing so could take the site completely out of the city's hands.

Councilman Patrick O'Donnell was the only council member to vote against the plan originally, and Schipske's obviously on board now too. Councilwoman Rae Gabelich has hinted she might be open to rescinding the past vote as well, but it's doubtful that many more council members will join in -- not only because of the legal risks, but because they sure don't want to take a chance that the homeless services end up in their districts instead.

Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske has called for a closed City Council session to discuss the land swap that is intended to preserve at least part of Los Cerritos Wetlands initially after learning about "outrageous" documents that reveal e-mail conversations between city officials and Tom Dean, who owns the wetlands.

Schipske and many community members previously had raised concerns about the deal, for which the City Council gave City Manager Pat West authority to finalize in February, and were skeptical about whether the city was getting a good trade. In the deal, the city is swapping its 12.1-acre public service yard by the Los Angeles River for 33.77 acres of the wetlands on the Eastside south of 2nd Street next to Studebaker Road. The city hopes to eventually acquire the entire 175-acre Bixby Ranch portion of the wetlands. The council voted 6-2, with Schipske and Councilwoman Rae Gabelich dissenting.

A published report in The District Weekly the last week about e-mail documents obtained by a concerned citizen reveal some potentially troubling conversations between Dean and Director of Public Works Mike Conway, who is leading the city's negotiations. Among other things, Conway gave Dean his personal e-mail for unknown reasons and seems to be bending over backwards to help Dean in the deal, noting in e-mails that the deal will be "excellent" for Dean and "defensible (barely)" for the city.

"I am also concerned to read in the documents the costs to remediate the contamination of the City Public Service Yard. This cost was not disclosed during Council discussions of this transaction," Schipske said in a statement.

Schipske said she is calling for a closed session because City Attorney Robert Shannon has said that is how real estate transactions should be handled. In the meantime, Schipske wants City Manager Pat West to hold off on finalizing the deal.

Sitting through often lengthy Long Beach City Council meetings most Tuesday nights, I've come to notice certain trends. Combine that with occasional moments of boredom
-- and some long stretches of boredom -- as I await the next big item to be debated, and here's what we get: The Long Beach City Council Drinking Game.

Though I wouldn't recommend playing the game at the council meetings (unless you want to find yourself playing a different kind of game, one you probably won't win, with the police officers on duty there) this could be a fun way to pass the time at home while waiting for your council item to come up for discussion.

Disclaimer: This game shouldn't be played by anyone under age 21, nor should you drink yourself to the point of any health risk. If you find yourself rolling on the floor laughing at all of the council members' jokes, or you decide that this is the greatest reality TV show you've ever seen, you should probably stop drinking. And I would recommend this game be played with beer, not shots of hard liquor. Remember, council meetings have been known to go until midnight.

Following are the drinking rules. Please add your own drinking rule ideas in the comments section. And if you try the game, I'd love to hear how it goes.

Take a drink when:

• The pet being put up for adoption is a dog. If it's a cat, give away the drink to your friend.
• Gadfly Harvey Cochran speaks to the council.
• Cochran says "ring around the rosey" or a similar phrase.
• Mayor Bob Foster has to cut Cochran off, ask him to summarize or gets visibly annoyed with the loquacious gadfly.
• Councilwomen Gerrie Schipske, Tonia Reyes Uranga or Rae Gabelich cast a dissenting vote (one drink for each vote).
• City Attorney Robert Shannon gets upset with council members for not asking for or heeding his legal advice.
• Councilman Patrick O'Donnell says "a tired kid is a good kid."
• The phrase "Mayor and members of the City Council," or some variation, is uttered.
• Gadfly Larry Goodhue mentions the fence at Marine Stadium, government corruption, the Alamitos Bay farmers market or calls for City Manager Pat West to be fired.
• The council votes unanimously.
• The phrase "core services" is mentioned during budget discussions.
• A council member actually appears to be listening during public comment (one drink for each council member who is listening).

Down your entire glass when:

• The council doesn't have a quorum and council members have to be called back to their seats.
• Cochran doesn't speak during an entire meeting (it actually happened last week, the first time in two years).
• Councilman Dee Andrews speaks (other than during comunity announcements at the end of the meeting).
• Foster and Schipske spontaneously give each other a great, big, loving bear hug.

Down the whole damn six pack when:

• The mayor announces he is resigning from office to pursue his acting career. Look out Hollywood!

Apparently, Councilman Gary DeLong isn't a fan of long-winded, late-night City Council meetings on Tuesdays.

During tonight's meeting, when the council was discussing possible furloughs for workers, DeLong heartily agreed with a statement by Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske that even the legislative department -- council and mayor -- should make cuts. DeLong joked that he would suggest council members take Tuesdays off for their furloughs.

No one is seriously suggesting council members should take part in the furloughs, I think. Their jobs after all are only part-time.

But heck, if the council took Tuesdays off, I don't know that I would complain. Are there any good TV shows on Tuesday nights? Maybe a reality show?

Actually, I guess I already watch a reality show every Tuesday in the council chambers. There's drama, conflict and the occasional crazy person. Now if only we could get DeLong and Rae Gabelich to show us their salsa moves. Or perhaps Mayor Bob Foster would regale us with a song.

City Councilwoman Rae Gabelich and city planning staff will host a community meeting Saturday (Sept. 13) to discuss the proposed senior housing development at 37th and Elm.

The project has been met with support and opposition. Some 200 people signed a petition opposing the proposed five-story, 65-unit senior assisted living facility on property owned by Temple Beth Shalom. Some say the project is too tall, too dense and not appropriate for their neighborhood. Some have appealed the Planning Commission's decision approving the plans. (The commission's recommendation goes to the City Council, which would have to approve a zoning change to allow for a taller structure.)

An appeal hearing is supposed to take place in October.

The developer and temple say the project serves a need for senior housing and has garnered the support of surrounding churches. A petition in favor of the project was signed by about 2,000 people.

Gabelich's community meeting will be from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at Mirage Cafe, 539 Bixby Road

Last week's City Council budget study session was a bit unfocused, with council members and the public weighing in on anything and everything related to the proposed, and pared down, budget. A few council members have complained about the lack of specific topics for each scheduled budget workshop, but that issue now has been resolved.

Assistant City Manager Suzanne Frick told me today that the council will discuss Mayor Bob Foster's budget recommendations and the Parks, Recreation and Marine budget, including the proposal to close the Police Athletic League youth centers, during today's workshop.

The three youth centers may be run by the Police Department, but Parks and Rec helps out. Ultimately, it will be Parks and Rec's responsibility to take up the slack and make sure the youths served by PAL (the number has been estimated at up to 1,000 of them) have someplace to go and activities to do.

At the Aug. 19 budget session, the Water Department and Long Beach Transit budgets will be discussed. On Sept. 2, the proposal to close the Main Library will be discussed. The Sept. 9 topic is yet to be determined, Frick said.

Today's study session runs from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

And FYI, if you're going to the regular council meeting at 5 p.m., be aware the regular agenda items will get a late start. Councilwoman Rae Gabelich is presenting her 8th District recognitions first, and the pomp and circumstance of such council district presentations often can drag on for an hour.

A couple days late, but here are some photos from Tuesday's council inauguration ceremony, courtesy of Councilman Dee Andrews' office. Four council members -- Suja Lowenthal, 2nd District; Patrick O'Donnell, 4th District; Andrews, 6th District; and Rae Gabelich, 8th District -- were sworn in to 4-year terms.

Later, the council members had a joint celebration on the Queen Mary, organized by Andrews, who also had over 100 seniors and 6th District residents bused to the celebration.

Here's Andrews taking the oath:

And O'Donnell:

And Lowenthal:

And Gabelich:

At the party later that night:

Sixth District Long Beach City Councilman Dee Andrews overcame a series of negative ads against him in April to get re-elected to the council for his first full term, tromping the competition with 75 percent of the vote. Now Andrews gets to enjoy the fruits of all his time spent beating the street.

On Thursday, a diverse mix of Long Beach business groups are hosting a free community dinner in Andrews' honor at New Paradise Restaurant, 1350 E. Anaheim Street, at 6 p.m. Anyone wanting to attend should RSVP to 562-590-7302. Valet parking will be available.

The dinner sponsors are the Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Cambodian American Chamber of Commerce, Cambodia Town Inc., the Long Beach African American Chamber of Commerce, the Long Beach Black Chamber of Commerce, BNSF Railway, Pacific Merchant Shipping Association and Watson Land Company.

No word yet on whether the other three council members who will be sworn in with Andrews for a new four-year term July 15 -- Suja Lowenthal (2nd District), Patrick O'Donnell (4th District) and Rae Gabelich (8th District) -- are planning similar events. Of course, those three went unchallenged in the election and were guaranteed new terms, so they may retake the reins next month as quietly as they as they retook their seats in April.