June 2009 Archives

 The Wrigley Area Neighborhood Alliance will hold it's monthly meeting on Thursday, July 2 at 7 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Academy 2750 Pine Ave (across from Veterans Park on 28th Street).
          The guest speaker will be Randy Lamm of the Metro South Bay Area Team with a presentation on the Harbor Subdivision Corridor Study and what it could mean to the Wrigley Area.
          Coffee and refreshments will be served beginning at 6:45 p.m. Childcare and parking are free.

 The Wrigley Association elected three new members to it board and Annie Greenfeld was selected by the board to a second term as the president. All the board members were elected to two-year terms.

Newcomers to the board are Bethel Cope-Vega, Raul Romo and Adriana Martinez. Coleen Vandepas, Sammy Portillo, Gavin Mckiernan and Chris Graeber were re-elected. Incumbent Lisa Wibroe is the first alternate.
  Cope-Vega will be vice president; Vandepas, treasurer; Graeber, secretary; Portillo, parliamentarian; and Danny Amat, sergeant-at-arms. Officers serve one-year terms. 
 Greenfeld said she was excited to take on a second year as president.

 "One year isn't enough to do anything," she said. "I'm really just looking forward to completing the community garden and the environmental decisions the board made. We're really on a roll now."

 Wrigley recently began work on its first community garden on the 1900 block of Henderson Avenue, for which the group has a two-year lease. When the lease expires, Greenfeld said Wrigley hopes to build another community garden in the city's seventh district.

 "I think it will put us back on the map," Greenfeld said of the community garden project.

 She is also looking forward to another community garden that is slated for the 2000 block of Pacific Avenue that grew out of the Neighborhood Leadership Program.

 Residents can meet the newly minted board members and officers at the Wrigley Association Summer Potluck on Monday, July 6 at 7 p.m. at Veterans Park.  Attendees are encouraged to bring a dish to share.  There will also be a short presentation on the Harbor Subdivision Transit Corridor Study by Randy Lamm of the Metro South Bay Area Team. He will discuss public transportation plans in and around the San Diego (405) and Harbor (110) freeways that could affect Wrigley and Long Beach.

 

 The West East Side Community Association plays host to its monthy meeting on Thursday, June 25 at 6:30 p.m. at Lee Elementary School, 1620, Temple Ave. Entrance is off 17th Street.

Saturday June 27, from 8 a.m. until noon marks the monthly clean-up, at 1512 Sherman Place. A barbecue will be held at Orizaba Park afterward. Water and gloves will be provided.

And, finally, this from vice president David Henseler 'For those of you who missed the WESCA "picnic in the park" on June 6th.  All I can say is wow!!!  We and the Long Beach Police Officers Association (who donated and cooked the hot dogs) served 500 hot dogs and still had people coming.  This was our largest turn out in the 6 or 7 years we have been doing this.  We gave away a bunch of skate board helmets, raffle prizes and 2 bicycles.  The best part was serving ice cream cones (you should have seen it) when the ice cream got a little too soft.

 
Thanks for your interest and support
 
David Henseler
Vice President WESCA

Councilman Dee Andrews is playing host to the first Sixth District Community BB-Q Saturday, July 25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, 1950 Lemon Avenue
Long Beach Fire Fighters Local 372 will cook the free barbecue. WSS Shoes will have live music and entertainment and the Weed and Seed Program will serve free refreshments.
Residents are encouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs and a summer side dish to share. Games such as cards, checkers, dominos and horseshoes will be available as well as outdoor activities for children.

Luther Burbank School will play host Saturday, June 28 to the second annual Restoration Trade Fair and Fund-raiser from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Envisioned as a one-day, one-stop event to help homeowners in historic districts restore and refurbish their homes, the fair will feature 50 specialty vendors, historical guidelines experts, guest speakers, classes and exhibits.
This year's theme is "Do it Yourself/Do it With Help," and will feature a variety of workshops.
The event is also a fund-raiser for the nonprofit Rose Park Neighborhood Association.
The event is free to RPNA members and children under 18; $5 for all others.

Long Beach Organic, the umbrella organization that oversees the city's community gardens, will usher in the summer Sunday, June 21, between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. with its inaugural Summer Solstice Celebration at the Wild Oats Community Garden on the open lot on the north side of the 3700 block of 10th Street.

The event will feature tours of the garde, an artisan market, live music and kids' activities. Long Beach Organic will also unveil what it says is the first community livestock project in Los Angeles County. The group recently installed a chicken coop and heritage chickens. Organic gardeners will feed the chickens in return for fresh eggs.

 

 

You won't be able to hang 10, but if you're a fan of surfing, nature or environmentalism, this event will be worth checking out.
The Long Beach chapters of the Surfrider Foundation and Sierra Club will play host to the fifth annual International Surfing Day, Saturday, June 20 from 10 a.m. until noon at Marine Stadium Park. The event will continue with a special screening of "The Endless Summer" at the Art Theatre from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.
Dr. Marcus Eriksen and Anna Cummins from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation will be in town on mile 1,700 of their 2,000 mile JUNKride2009 trek from Vancouver, British Columbia to Tijuana, Mexico. Eriksen, from Long Beach has gained national attention for his efforts to educate politicians and the public about the effect of disposed plastics on the world oceans. Among his expeditions were sailing trips down the Mississippi River and to Hawaii on boats made entirely of disposable plastics. On his latest journey, Eriksen he has been giving samples of the pollution and plastics collected from the North Pacific Gyre  to elected officials.

 

From the city today:

Residents can learn more about traffic circles, bike boulevards and other bike-friendly methods and how those methods can be applied in Long Beach.

Traffic engineering experts Michael Moule and Rock Miller will speak to residents on Monday.

The event hosted by Brian Ulaszewski, Project Design Director, Studio 111 and Long Beach Mobility Coordinator Charles Gandy will be at 6 p.m. at Utopia Restaurant, 445 E. 1st St.

This year the torch for the Southern California Special Olympics summer games will travel by land, sea and air before reaching its final destination.

Organizers for the games, which kick off Saturday, June 13, at Cal State Long Beach, are inviting residents to come and cheer runners along when the torch for the games passes through Long Beach Friday, June 12.

The torch will arrive in Long Beach via the sea after a being ferried across the harbor from San Pedro and arriving at Parker's Lighthouse, 429 Shoreline Village Dr at 2:50 p.m. Gus Martinez, an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department and his son, Jason, a Special Olympics athlete, will pass the torch in mid-Harbor to athlete David Irvine, who will then bring the "Flame of Hope" ashore.

From there, law enforcement officers and athletes will take the more traditional land route to Cal State Long Beach. From Shoreline Village the route will travel east on Ocean Ave. to Second Street in Belmont Shore for a handoff. The torch will then go via 7th Street, Bellflower and Atherton. 

The final leg will be via helicopter Saturday, when a Los Angeles Sheriff's deputy will rappel from the helicopter to the ground with the unlit torch in hand. Once the torch reaches the ground, it will be relit and then used to light the cauldron to signify the games' opening. California Highway Patrol officer Ron Thatcher and Special Olympics athletes Kevin O'Donnell, Sam Mesa and Marisa Watkins will light the cauldron.

The Summer Games begin with the opening ceremony at 10 a.m.

The Law Enforcement Torch Run was founded by police in 1981 in Wichita, Kans. This year the Southern California run included more than 4,000 officers covering a 1,500-mile route. The torch run is the largest fundraiser for Special Olympics worldwide. In 2008, the run and associated activities raised more than $900,000 for Special Olympics Southern California.

 

 

The West Project Area Committee plays host to its monthly general meeting Wednesday, June 10 at 5 p.m. at the West Division Police Substation, 1835 Santa Fe Avenue. Topics will include updates on the cost of building permits, Bob Lee's memorial bench, the Westside projects that were outlined at the last general meeting, Targhee water basin study and security cameras, as well as the owner participation agreement with Parker Diving.

 

The West Project Area Committee plays host to its monthly general meeting Wednesday, June 10 at 5 p.m. at the West Division Police Substation, 1835 Santa Fe Avenue. Topics will include updates on the cost of building permits, Bob Lee's memorial bench, the Westside projects that were outlined at the last general meeting, Targhee water basin study and security cameras, as well as the owner participation agreement with Parker Diving.

 

The Wrigley River Run and Tadpole Trot hits the steets Saturday morning, June 6, with a crowd of more than 400 participants expected for the 5-kilometer, 10-kilometer and kids' runs.

 Registration begins at 6 p.m. at the offices of Holy Innocents Church 116 W. Willow St., The race route will begin and end south of Willow St. at Pacific Ave. The course will go along Pacifc to Burnett Street, west to DeForest Avenue and north and south along the river and adjacent streets. The 5K run stays south of Willow and goes to about 19th St. The 10K adds a section north of Willow to 34th Way.

The 5K run starts at 7:30 a.m.; the 5K walk and baby jogger run starts at 7:35 a.m.; the 10K run/walk starts at 8:15 a.m., and the tadpole trot is at 9:30 a.m.

There will be water stations at miles 1 and 2 of the 5K and at miles 1, 3 and 5 of the 10K. Also the Cabrillo High Jazz band will be performing along the route. Buono's pizza, energy bas and drinks, water, oranges, banana and other refreshments at the finish line.

The Family Commons at Cabrillo will be feted Wednesday, June 10, when it is recognized at the 15th annual Chales L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Awards program in Washington D.C. The Family Commons earned first-place honors for Special Needs Housing, one of six categories that recognize the best use of low-income housing tax credits in building affordable housing rental properties.

The 81-unit, $32,597,775 complex of one- to four-bedroom units provides subsidized housing to 310 residents, including 179 children. Half of the families have members who are mentally disabled and 54 families were formerly homeless. The project was overseen by Century Housing, a private nonprofit.

The Family Commons was one of three California projects, and lone winner, recognized by the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition. The Madison at 14th Street in Oakland was a runner-up in the Special Needs Housing. Horizons in Indio, was runner-up for Senior Housing.

Other categories were Metropolitan/Urban Housing, Rural Housing, Green Housing and Public Housing Revitalization.

 

The West East-Side Community Association kicks off its summer with its eighth annual Family Picnic Day, Saturday, June 6 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Orizaba Park at the corner of Orizaba Avenue and Spaulding Street.
The picnic is replacing the popular skateboard safety fair this year. It will include a bicycle safety rodeo, with free helmets given to participants, as well as games, music and hot dogs.

Members of the West Eastside Community Association are rallying to support the proposed conversion of the Palace Hotel into a transitional living facility for young adults 18-older leaving foster care.

 David Henseler, the vice president of WESCA, sent out an e-mail encouraging residents to come out and support the project, which is on the City Council agenda tonight, Tuesday, June 2, at the council chambers, 333 W.Ocean Blvd. City Council meetings begin at 5 p.m.

 In addition to providing affordable housing, the Palace Hotel will offer services including help with job placement, school and classes on independent living. Henseler wrote; "It is a wonderful and well-needed program.  Any support you could give by being there or sending e-mails would be a very good thing."

The Wrigley Area Neighborhood Alliance is going to the dogs. Well, not exactly, but John Keisler, bureau manager for Animal Care Services, will be the featured speaker at WANA's monthly meeting, Thursday, June 4t at 7 .m. at Jackie Robinson Academy 2750 Pine Ave.

 Keisler will give a presentation on how to make Long Beach California's safest large city for people and animals.

 Coffee and refreshments are available, door open at 6:45 p.m. and there is free parking and childcare. Information is available by contacting Jill at 562-599-1822 or by e-mail at wrigleyaaliance@msn.com .