Press Corps

The Royal Air Force, proud owners of 7 Long Beach-built Boeing C-17s, used one of their jets during a recent mission into Libya, where they handed over more than $1.8 billion Libyan dinars to that ravaged nation's new government (see video below).

The huge aircraft has played important roles in the months-long struggle to liberate Libya from the iron-fisted rule of Moamar Gaddafi. The United Arab Emirates, Australia, Qatar, Canada and the U.S. have used the cargo jet to deliver humanitarian aid, food, water and other supplies to revolutionaries fighting to free the nation from Gaddafi's rule - rule which appears to be rapidly dissolving.

Injured fighters have also been airlifted from the North African nation aboard C-17s, which can be converted into flying emergency rooms equipped with the most modern life-saving equipment. The C-17 can take off and land on unpaved runways as short as 3,000 feet, making it ideal for operations in hot spots like Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.

 

As the Royal Air Force reported: A Royal Air Force C-17 from RAF Brize Norton delivers a very large consignment of Libyan bank notes to the authorities in Benghazi. The newly-minted banknotes, printed in the UK, were part of a stock of 1.86bn Libyan dinars frozen under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 at the start of the crisis in Libya to prevent them falling into the hands of the Gaddafi regime.

Long Beach Port Dir. Richard Steinke appeared on Bloomberg Business News to chat about the economy, trade trends and shipping in Southern California. According to Steinke, "the numbers don't look too good..."

Bloomberg blocked embedding of the video, but you can find it by clicking here.

Artesia Assemblyman Tony Mendoza's bill that would limit the use of consumer credit reports in the hiring process passed the Senate Appropriations Committee with a 5-2 vote today, his office released.

AB 22, which seeks to ban the use of pre-employment credit checks for many employers, is Mendoza's third attempt at similar legislation. Two previous ones, AB 482 (2010) and AB 943 (2009), were both vetoed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill is now eligible to be heard on the Senate floor on Aug. 22.

"A credit report is not a good indicator of a person's trustworthiness or work ethic," Mendoza said in a written statement. "Many Californians are still experiencing financial hardships from the economic downturn including layoffs, increasing unemployment rates, and the continuing foreclosure crisis. All of these things make it harder for people to pay their bills."

The California Medical Board in Sacramento selected Long Beach Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske on Friday to serve as the panel's secretary and as a member of the executive committee.

"I am so honored that my colleagues unanimously supported my election," Schipske said in a prepared statement.

Schipske was appointed as Chair of the Access to Care Committee and the Application Review Committee. She also serves on a hearing panel, the Enforcement Committee, the Education Committee and the Advisory Committee on Physician Responsibility in Supervision of Affiliated Health Care Professionals.

Schipske is the first and only registered nurse practitioner to serve on a state medical board. She is also an attorney.

The California Medical Board is the state regulatory agency charged with the licensing and disciplining of physicians. Members are appointed by the governor, the Senate Rules Committee and the Speaker of the Assembly. Schipske has served since 2007.

What do former Mayor Beverly O'Neill, Grammy Award winner Thelma Houston and former NFL player Willie Brown have in common?

They attended Polytechnic High School, and they were the first to receive a star during Saturday's inaugural Poly Walk of Fame ceremony.

Councilman Dee Andrews, along with Redevelopment Agency and Poly High School hosted the affair. International tennis champion Billie Jean King, who was also cited, did not attend the event.

"These honorees have excelled throughout their careers in athletics, politics and the arts, and they share a commitment to giving back to the community," Mayor Bob Foster said in a prepared statement.

Added Andrews in a prepared statement: "I want our kids to know that others have worked hard and created pathways that didn't exist when these individuals were starting out, yet they managed to become very successful in spite of their circumstances. Hopefully seeing these stars will motivate our youth to seriously go after their dreams."

The stars will hang on Poly's back fence along Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue.

A new redistricting plan and a proposal to allow residents to opt-out from receiving yellow page phone books are on next Tuesday's Long Beach City Council agenda. Check out the complete agenda here.

As I wrote about earlier this week in this article, political watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, is calling for the FBI to investigate Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach. They claim that Richardson illegally forces her congressional staffers to work on her campaigns, among other charges, and the group has the e-mails to support this.

Check out CREW's press release and links to all of e-mails and other evidence here.

As I wrote about last week, the City Council isn't exactly impressed by the lobbyist registration law it passed last year, and it could do away with it altogether.

This first-quarter lobbyist report for 2011 and past reports are available online here. See who the lobbyists at City Hall are, who they work for and who they have met with.

 Councilman Robert Garcia has introduced legislation to create a citywide Yellow Pages opt-out system.

The online system would allow residents to opt-out of receiving Yellow Pages and directories at their homes. The legislation is on the City Council's next week agenda

Commercial Yellow Pages are currently delivered to the home of anyone with a landline. These books in many cases have been replaced with online directories.

Many of the books remain unused.

"Unused Yellow Page directories create enormous waste, and a burden on our refuse department," Garcia said in a prepared statement. "This new system would give residents the choice to receive them, or not."

The proposed opt-out system would continue to provide phone book companies and their advertisers the ability to promote their businesses. For those who currently receive the yellow pages, they would continue to receive it until they chose to opt-out, the councilman added.

Other cities, including Seattle and San Francisco, have created similar opt-out programs.

Seal Beach City Manager Jill Ingram has appointed Sean Crumby as the acting assistant city manager.

Crumby has served as the city's director of Public Works ince April of 2010, but he has 16 years of related experience, with six years in the private sector, and the past 10 years with three California cities. He previously worked for Seal Beach from 2005 through 2007 as the assistant city engineer.

 During the next six months, Crumby will continue as Public Works director, while also assisting Ingram with day-to-day operations, City Council support and special projects.

"The pleasures and challenges of working for a small beach community like Seal Beach create a stimulating and diverse working environment which I thoroughly enjoy," Crumby said in a prepared statement.