The West Eastside Community Association is staging its monthy meeting and alley clean-up this week. Here's the info:

THURSDAY, FEBUARY 24 at 6:30 p.m. is the next WESCA meeting.  It will be at Lee Elementary School (Temple Ave. and 17th St., enter on 17th St.)
 
On SATURDAY, FEBUARY 26, we will have our monthly alley clean-up.  This month we will meet at 2633 E. 17th St.  We will start at 8 a.m. and have a BBQ at the end.  Water and gloves will be provided.  We especially need people with a truck to come out and help.
 
Please try to be there at 8 a.m. so we can make the most of the trash truck that will be there at 8 a.m.
 
 
David Henseler
Vice President WESCA

 

 Animal Care Services will provide a low-cost vaccination and licensing clinics to residents and pets in the 5th District at El Dorado Park.

The clinic will be near the Senior Center at the crossroads of Spring Street and Studebaker Road. No reservation is necessary, but only cash is accepted for vaccinations.

Low-cost pet clinic set for Wednesday, 5-7 p.m., El Dorado Park, Good Neighbor Park, 2900 Studebaker, Long
Beach, 562 570-7387.

Residents can process their license renewals onsite. Visit http://scvvc.webs.com/
for a full listing of prices.

For more information about upcoming pet clinics online:
http://www.longbeach.gov/acs/pet_license/microchip/microchip_clinic_schedule.asp

Animal Care Services
7700 E. Spring Street
Long Beach, CA 90815
animalcare@longbeach.gov
562. 570-PETS sd(7387)
www.longbeach.gov/acs

Residents are invited to a dedication ceremony Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 11:30 a.m. for the longstanding Pacific Avenue Community Garden on Pacific Avenue near 6th St.

The garden was recently upgraded with added public art and architectural features. The improvements include a 15-foot piece of art depicting a caterpillar on the Pacific fence. The project was made possible by several grants and community involvement.

The garden was established in 2001. A land-to-sea tile mural already adorned one wall. The nearby Park Pacific Towers senior complex provides plots for residents and members of the MHA Village also use the land.

First District Councilman Robert Garcia will play host to the event, which also will highlight other improvements along Pacific Avenue.

 

As part of its involvement with the prestigious World Trade Week in May, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce is encouraging high school and college students to apply for several scholarships it has available.

The scholarships, $1,000 for college students and $500 for high schoolers, are for students planning careers in international trade. The deadline is April 1 and details are available here.

http://www.lachamber.com/webpage-directory/global-initiatives/world-trade-week-educational-initiatives/

 

Father Gregory Boyle, the Jesuit priest who founded Homeboy Industries and recently published a memoir of his experiences in the Los Angeles barrio, will be the keynote speaker at the California Conference for Equality and Justice Interfaith/Intercultural Breakfast, Tuesday, Feb. 15, at 7:30 a.m. at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd.

A press release is below:

The California Conference for Equality and Justice
20th Annual "Under One Sky" Interfaith/Intercultural Breakfast

LONG BEACH - A crowd of over 1000 is expected to welcome keynote speaker Father Gregory Boyle, Founder of Homeboy Industries, at the 20th Annual Interfaith/Intercultural Breakfast on Tuesday, February 15, 2011, 7:30 a.m. at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center.

Homeboy Industries, founded by Father Gregory Boyle in 1986, is the largest gang intervention program in the country.

Development enterprises include Homeboy Bakery, Homeboy Silkscreen, Homeboy Maintenance, Homeboy/Homegirl Merchandise, and Homegirl Café.

Homeboy's services enable young people to redirect their lives and provide them with hope for their futures. Support services include case management, education, job training, employment counseling, legal services, mental health counseling, twelve-step meetings, and tattoo removal.

 Fr. Boyle is author of "Tattoos on the Heart," a breathtaking collection of stories, distilled from the past two decades of Gregory Boyle's life working with gang members in Los Angeles.

Hosted by The California Conference for Equality and Justice (CCEJ), formerly The National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ), the Breakfast incorporates the traditions of several religious and cultural groups that contribute to the ethnic and spiritual mosaic of the community.

The co-chairs for the event are Milia Islam-Majeed, the Executive Director of the South Coast Interfaith Council and Jim McDonnell, Chief of Police, Long Beach Police Department.

Registration will begin at 6:45 a.m., with breakfast to follow at 7:30 a.m. The cost is $38 per person and other group rates are available.

Reservations to CCEJ, 444 West Ocean Boulevard, Suite 940, Long Beach, CA 90802 or call 562- 435-8184. Seating is limited and reservations must be made by Tuesday Feb. 8.

 

The public if invited to the grand opening of an affordable apartment complex at Burnett Street and Long Beach Boulevard.

 Here's the information from the city:

"Councilmember Dee Andrews, 6th District, The Long Beach Housing Development Company (LBHDC) and Meta Housing Corporation invite the public to the grand opening of Long Beach and Burnett Apartments, on Saturday, February 5 at 10 a.m.

"The Long Beach and Burnett Apartments is a great example of the type of development our city needs by bringing us closer to our goal of providing more housing opportunities for every segment of our community," said Mayor Bob Foster.

Long Beach and Burnett Apartments is a new mixed-income apartment community, offering 46 two-and three-bedroom housing units. 36 affordable units are available to very low-, low- and moderate-income households with rents ranging from $489 - $1,211 a month, and ten units are available at market rate rents. The LBHDC invested $9.9 million of redevelopment 20% Tax Increment Housing Set Aside funds in the project. Redevelopment housing set-asides are the largest source of financial support for affordable housing in the city.

"Long Beach and Burnett Apartments has revitalized a once blighted and underutilized property, turning it into an asset for the community," said Councilmember Dee Andrews, 6th District. "I am proud to join with the City of Long Beach and The Long Beach Housing Development Company in continuing the important mission of providing and preserving affordable housing, making communities more livable, safe and economically prosperous."

Long Beach and Burnett Apartments is conveniently located at 2355 Long Beach Blvd., on the corner of Burnett Street, close to public transit. The units offer energy efficient appliances, and the community features 7,000 square feet of open space, a resident room and classroom, computer learning center, tot lot, laundry facility, mailroom, and recycling room.

"The Long Beach Housing Development Company is pleased to celebrate the opening of Long Beach and Burnett Apartments," said Patrick Brown, Chair of the LBHDC Board. "We remain committed to increasing the availability of safe, decent and affordable housing for Long Beach residents."

California State Senator Roderick Wright, whose 25th District encompasses Compton and a portion of Long Beach is inviting constituents to send him idea of changes in the law they'd like to see. Here is his idea:

"There Oughta Be A Law" Contest
25th District Residents Encouraged To Submit Their Ideas For Changes To California Law
Over the years, residents and students of the 25th Senate District have come to me with thoughts and suggestions about laws they felt should be implemented, changed or deleted. I have successfully introduced legislation based on some of those ideas.
I understand that constituents often feel left out of the legislative process and feel voiceless. Given that, I would like to invite you to send me your idea for a new law or change to an existing law.
I will select at least one idea and introduce it this February. The winner will be invited to join me for lunch and will have the opportunity to testify on behalf of his or her bill at a formal hearing in the State Capitol.
To submit your idea to our "There Oughta Be A Law" Contest, please download, complete and submit this application by Friday, February 11th at Noon.
Please fax or e-mail your submission to:
 
Senator Roderick D. Wright
Fax: 916-445-3712
E-mail: cine.ivery@sen.ca.gov

 

The Bixby Knolls Literary Society is staging its regular meeting Wednesday, Feb.9 at 7 p.m. at the Expo, 4321 Atlantic Avenue.

 Father Greg Boyle, the author of the February selection "Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion" will attend the meeting. Boyle is a Jesuit priest and founder of Homeboy Industries, which help gang member in the Los Angeles barrios turn around their lives.

 He will talk about his memoir and work with gang intervention, rehabilitation & social justice. 
Copies of the book will be on sale at the meeting.

Parking available along Atlantic Avenue.

 This is what has been said about the book and Boyle's work:
"In this artful, disquieting, yet surprisingly jubilant memoir, Jesuit priest Boyle recounts his two decades of working with homies in Los Angeles County, which contains 1,100 gangs with nearly 86,000 members. Effectively straddling the debate regarding where the responsibility for urban violence lies, Boyle both recounts the despair of watching the kids you love cooperate in their own demise and levels the challenge to readers to stand in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgment at how they carry it. From moving vignettes about gangsters breaking into tears or finding themselves worthy of love and affirmation, to moments of spiritual reflection and sidesplittingly funny banter between him and the homies, Boyle creates a convincing and even joyful treatise on the sacredness of every life." © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
 
"Boyle is a nationally renowned speaker and an acknowledged expert on gangs and intervention who gives about two hundred talks per year.  He and his work have been featured on The Today Show, 60 Minutes, The Bob Edwards Show, Fresh Air and in numerous print articles.  His non-profit, Homeboy Industries, provides jobs to reformed gang members and counts actors Martin Sheen and Anjelica Huston among its biggest supporters."
--Christine Donnelly
 
Homeboy Industries supports five businesses where enemy/rival gang members work side by side (Homeboy Bakery, Homegirl Cafe, Homeboy Silkscreen, Homeboy/Homegirl Merchandise and Homeboy Maintenance).  To support Father Greg Boyle and his work, please visit www.Homeboy-Industries.org

 
Refreshments will be provided

For more information call the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association:
(562) 595-0081 or email:  info@bixbyknollsinfo.com

BOOK SUGGESTIONS:
Please email your suggestions for the books you'd like to read and discuss including subjects, authors, etc."
 

 The Central Project Area Committe is staging its monthly meeting at the Community meeting room on the second floor above the Union Bank, 1900 Atlantic Ave. Here is the agenda:

 

 

 

CENTRAL LONG BEACH PROJECT AREA COMMITTEE AGENDA

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 6004, Long Beach, CA 90806

(Please note the change in the Post Office Box Number)

Monthly Meeting

February 3, 2011

6:00 p.m.

REVISED Agenda

1. Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance

2. Approval of Minutes for January, 2011

3. Election of Members - Aurora Lee, Business Owner

4. Member Leave of Absence, Jim Lewis

5. Comments: All Council Districts

All council districts or their representatives are invited to inform the PAC and guests

of any information pertaining to redevelopment issues.

6. Public Comment (3 min. per speaker)

Members of the public are invited to address the PAC on items of interest/relevance

within the PAC's jurisdiction.

7. LBTV Chanel 8 Presentation

8. Renaissance High School, Nicole Lopez

9. RDA Quarterly Update

10. Chair Report

a) Ethics Training

b) Sign In Sheet Issues

11. Old Business

12. New Business

13. Adjournment

Next Meeting:

March 3, 2010, 6:00 PM

1900 Atlantic Ave., 2^nd Floor, Long Beach, CA 90806

 Sixth District Councilman Dee Andrews invites residents to attend the Body and Soul: Wellness Forum, presented by St. Mary Medical Center, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, February 3, at the John Edward Parr Health Enhancement Center, St Mary Medical Center, 1050 Linden Avenue, Long Beach.

 Here's what the event is about according to the council office:

 "This public event is to inform and educate the community on health issues affecting the general community but also impacting the African-American community.  There will be free health screenings that includes stroke, bone density, cholesterol/glucose, blood pressure, and fat analysis.  There will also be an opportunity for each woman over 40 to sign up to get a mammogram at a later date.  Physician and other health experts will participate as follows:  

Diabetes by Dr. Richard Berskon
Fitness by Jerry Anderson,
HIV Testing and Women by Linda Young, MPH
Spirituality and Healty by Pastor Wayne Chaney Jr of Antioch Baptist Church

Panel Discussion--Heart Disease/Stroke effects on the Family featuring Alvin Hayes (stroke survivor), Naomi Rainey (family member of heart attach victim and LB NAACP President) and Dr. Nik Kapoor (cardiologist)

There will also be testimonies by survivors and those living with the diseases.  Free give-away items, information tables, and Gospel music will round out the evenings. The purpose of the event is to inform the community in the greater Long Beach area of the importance of preventative health care and its' impact on health.   It is our goal to reach those individuals that are at risk and assist in referrals to resources. All ages welcomed.

For more information call (562) 570-6816 or Rachel Plotkin at (562) 413-0893."