June 2008 Archives

For those who are following the financial problems, both personal and political, of Long Beach Congresswoman Laura Richardson, check out this great CNN piece on her from last week. In it, Richardson doesn't have an answer when asked why she bought a third home after defaulting several times on her other two houses. That third home in Sacramento was the one that went into foreclosure and was sold at auction this year.

 

 

 

Planning, managing and understanding a city budget can be difficult enough even for the professionals -- just look at the city's struggles to end the 2008 fiscal year Sept. 30 in the black.

So, for all of us lay people, concerned citizens or those that just think, "Well, I'm paying taxes, so I'd like to know how my money is being spent," City Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske has put together a quite useful budget guide on her blog. The guide has links to a couple dozen city documents related to budget matters, from what the mayor's office is spending to how much of your money goes to police. Schipske also lays out her own recommendations for the city to meet its needs as the council begins work on the 2009 budget, and she has the results of a survey she conducted about what the city's budgetary priorities should be.

Once you're schooled on the all things budget, feel free to go by City Hall at 2 p.m. Tuesday, when the council will have a study session to discuss how things are shaping up this budget year and what can be expected in the future.

Don't worry, there won't be a budget test after the meeting. But you will get an "A" for being a civic-minded, involved citizen.

Check here for updates on labor negotiations affecting 25,000-plus dockworkers on the West Coast. The current labor pact expires July 1, but both sides said they'll negotiate without disruption past the deadline if need be.

 

 

 

An unnamed Naval frigate will pull into Berth 46 at the Port of L.A. on Independence Day for public tours from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. More info here.

I'm no psychologist, but as I understand it, dreams are often a reflection of what you experience in your daily life.

For a Long Beach City Hall reporter, that means I often eat and breathe Long Beach politics.

Now, I'm dreaming them.

For the first time since I started spending every Tuesday night in that enormous, brutish-looking building on Ocean Boulevard that is the center of our municipal government about 10 months ago, I had a dream recently about a City Council meeting.

I can't remember all of the details, and I don't think the meeting was actually at City Hall in my dream, but I recognized a few council members' faces (I know there was at least one Lowenthal there).

Now, out of my head and into yours, here's a run-down of a few things the council will be discussing Tuesday (and perhaps of which I will be dreaming Wednesday):

• Sparked by Vice Mayor Bonnie Lowenthal's effort for a one-year moratorium on new check-cashing businesses in the downtown area, the council will consider a citywide ban on more of the businesses. During that time, the Planning Commission is expected to consider what changes, if any, should be made to city laws to address an increasing number of check-cashing services around Long Beach.
• Members of several city boards, commissions and committees will be appointed.
• The council will set a hearing date to review a Parks and Recreation Commission decision to approve the creation of a cricket ground (you know, that odd British sport) in El Dorado Regional Park. Long Beach activist Ann Cantrell opposes the commission's decision because of issues such as that gophers will have to be poisoned and public park open space will be lost with the creation of the field. Blimey!

Want to know more? Check out the council agenda.

Why would staunchly Democratic Long Beach City Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal be in the minority on raising a sales tax to improve public transit?

No, she's not going over to the other side, especially after winning the Democratic nomination for the 54th Assembly District this month.

This afternoon, Lowenthal explained her vote against the sales tax increase during a meeting of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors.

Basically, she, along with county Supervisors Don Knabe and Gloria Molina, said the proposal didn't do enough for the regions they represent.

Lowenthal is also a representative on the Gateway Cities Council of Governments, an association of 27 south LA County communities, and her vote reflected the group's overwhelming decision to oppose the sales tax, she said.

"There was just not enough in it for the Gateway area," Lowenthal said. "There were a lot of areas in the Gateway where people would have to choose between food and gas."

Another tax burden "would be completely inappropriate," she said.

But with the tax going to fund light-rail lines, subways, freeways and buses, Lowenthal said it still has value.

Check out a full story in tomorrow's Press-Telegram.

Cerritos City Council members on Thursday will consider supporting two Assembly bills that impose additional fines to penalties faced by convicted metal thieves and require recyclers and junk dealers keep records of their purchases.

AB 2724, authored by Asssemblyman John Benoit (R-Bermuda Dunes), affects thieves who steal metal the belongs public utilities, farming and industrial facilities, commercial and residential properties, and municipal and state government. It proposes to fine first-time offenders $100 and $200 in subsequent offenses. The fines are transferred in the general fund of the jurisdiction under which the thieves are prosecuted.

Assemblyman Tom Berryhill's (R-Modesto) AB 844 is pushing to make junk dealers and recyclers pay by check instead of cash for products made of aluminum, brass, copper and stainless steel. The seller would have to provide a copy of his drivers license and wait three days before getting their money, and the junk dealer or recycler would be required to photograph the purchased items to keep them in file for two years.

Metal thefts have cost Cerritos. City officials said that the city recently lost $35,000 in aluminum trash cans and bus benches, and $26,000 in copper from copper wiring. The trend is a cause of concern for city leaders who worry that thieves may target the city's bronze and stainless steel public art pieces, whose values range from $25,000 to $200,000 apiece, according to a city staff report.

(Related: The Long Beach Water Deparment in May announced  the theft of 50 manhole covers. )

Metal theft has been on the rise as global prices of copper, silver and other metals have soared while supply struggles to meet demand. For example, as primary metals, silver at the moment is selling for $16.50 per ounce; copper for $3.87 per pound; and aluminum for $1.37 per pound as primary metals, according to www.metalprices.com.

The two Assembly bills are two of several pieces of legislation attempting to combat metal thefts.

A senate bill introduced by Sen. Abel Maldonado's (R-Santa Maria), SB 447, would require junk dealers and recyclers to report their daily purchases to law enforcement.

Council members Val Lerch and Tonia Reyes Uranga are both positioning themselves to replace Bonnie Lowenthal as vice mayor.

When four council members are sworn in for another four years July 15, the council will vote on who will take over for Lowenthal. Lerch says he has enough votes on the council to be chosen as vice mayor, but Uranga also wants to serve.

The vice mayor title is largely symbolic, giving no more power than any other council member, except to run the council meetings when the mayor is absent.

The vice mayor is chosen by a majority vote of the council, and often the most senior member is given the position. If that's the case this time, then Uranga would win the position. She was sworn in a few minutes before Lerch in July 2002.

Check out a full story about the vice mayor position in my weekly City Hall roundup column, "333," in Thursday's Press-Telegram.

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.

Business Week reports the PT's competitor to the south, the Orange County Register, is set to begin outsourcing copy editing and design work to India.

According to a statement, the Reg believes the move will help "improve" local coverage.

 

 

A proposed deep-water container port on Mexico's Baja coast - a project that could one day siphon international trade away from Long Beach and Los Angeles - has reportedly been put on hold until 2010, according to Mexico's Ministry of Communication and Transport.

The port at Punta Colonet, about 150 miles south of San Diego, is envisioned as a major intermodal trade hub designed to handle imports from Asia and bound for the U.S. market by rail. Planners had hoped to accept bidding on the $5 billion project by this summer, but the Mexican government has said planners failed to submit required environmental documents on time, hence the delay.

When first announced last year, the project reportedly attracted the attention of several international developers, including Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, one of the world's richest men.

Trade magazine Cargo Business News first reported the delay in its July issue, citing a representative who said bidding on Puerto Colonet will go forward in 2010.

Developers see the port handling up to 5 million containers annually by 2020 - volumes equalling those now handled in Long Beach. Retailers believe the project would offer a cheaper alternative for the importation of goods from manufacturing centers in China, Japan and Southeast Asia.

Saying that Congresswoman Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach, has financial problems is about as understated as saying that the Port of Long Beach has air quality issues. A barrage of media reports in recent weeks have highlighted Richardson's troubles, from multiple defaults on three homes, one of which went into foreclosure, to unpaid bills to local businesses, to her failure to report some of her debts.

So, to help Richardson out, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer is holding a fundraising event for her Wednesday, despite the fact that one week ago he had publicly contemplated an ethics committee investigation of Richardson's financial missteps, the Washington Post reports. Check out the complete story here.

And for all of you Richardson fans, enemies or just those who have been intrigued by the ongoing saga of a Long Beach City Councilwoman who made good then got made for her blatant financial oversights, here are some of the most recent and intriguing stories about her, including a couple by yours truly. We wouldn't want you to miss a thing!

Richardson left car bills unpaid

Watchdog group files ethics complaint

Youths finally get trip promised by Richardson

Richardson disclosure form lists no defaults

Richardson late in revealing 2 homes loans (including one from a strip club owner!)

 

 Despite continued opposition from retailers, farmers and shippers, it appears California lawmakers are set to approve State Sen. Alan Lowenthal's container fee bill, SB 974 in coming days, and the Long Beach legislator hopes to have the bill on the governor's desk by next week.

The bill is on the state assembly floor in Sacramento now and has already been approved by the state senate. Supporters expect an assembly vote on Thursday or Monday.

The bill establishes a $30 tax on every 20-foot-equivalent seaborne container moved through ports in Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland. The estimated $500 million generated by the fee annually would be restricted for infrastructure improvements and clean-air initiatives tied to goods movement in California.

A mushrooming of international trade through California's ports has led to worsening traffic congestion and health impacts from trucks and trains used to move those goods inland. Health studies link pollution from goods-movement to some 3,700 premature deaths in California annually -primarily from diseases like cancer, asthma and heart disease.

In a visit to Long Beach in December, Schwarzenegger signaled support for SB 974, which he said needs to be seriously considered in light of California's lingering air quality problems and worsening infrastructure problems.

 In 2006, he vetoed a similar $30 container fee, and last September withheld his signature from a slightly altered version of the same bill, saying he needed more time. Lowenthal and his supporters think that time is now.

The senator's office said Tuesday they expect a vote by June 30 at the latest - possibly after some minor amendments. State lawmakers begin summer recess in early July.

A shopkeeper aboard the Queen Mary is fighting to stay on the ship.

In a letter that's been circulating around town, Katherine Gray of British shop Trans-Oceanic said she's been told her lease won't be renewed when it expires at the end of August. The letter urges folks in town to write to Mayor Bob Foster and City Manager Pat West:

Dear Friends,
Trans-Oceanic on board the Queen Mary needs your help.
As you may be aware, the ship has been under new management for some months now. The management team has, over the course of these months, tried to make life very difficult for us and has now informed us that the lease for Trans-Oceanic's shop on board, which expires at the end of August, will not be renewed.
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO GET OUR LEASE RENEWED.
We need for you to write to both Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster and to Long Beach City Manager Patrick West and tell them that you object to the way we are being treated and that our lease should be renewed.

Gray, whose business has been on the QM since 2003, declined comment. Jeff Kline, the Newport Beach developer who formed Save the Queen, said that while he is not directly involved with the situation, he is aware that the company that manages the ship, Hostmark Hospitality Group, is entertaining other offers. Kline also said Gray and Hostmark haven't been getting along.

"The manager of the the ship, Hostmark, which we contract with, doesn't think that opportunity is the best opportunity for that space. It's just that simple," Klein said. "He has other people interested in the space both on and off the ship that a) will pay more rent and b) who he thinks is an easier tenant to deal with."

This month's "Beer and Politics" forum features restauranteur John Morris pitching a plan to divert the mouth of the filthy Los Angeles River into the Port of Long Beach as a means to clean up the city's beaches.

According to Morris and his supporters, the best way to drum up tourism in Long Beach is to clean up the city's beaches. They argue that by diverting the river into the port just south of Anaheim Street, local waterfronts won't be overwhelmed with trash flowing down the L.A. River.

Still others want to see the breakwater altered or altogether removed to allow for wave action, increased water flow and a more natural coastal environment. The city's once-surfable breakers disappeared when the federal government built the underwater rock wall to protect the U.S. Navy fleet during WWII. The Navy left town in 1995, but the breakwater remains, we're told, to protect homes and cargo ships anchored in the harbor.

 

The LB chapter of the Surfrider Foundation has waged a decade-long campaign to sink the breakwater, with limited success so far.

Morris makes his pitch at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Smooth's Sports Grille (which he owns), 144 Pine Avenue downtown. Art Wong, with the Port of Long Beach, will speak on behalf of the Harbor Department, which does not support either breakwater alteration or river diversion.

 Audience members are encouraged to kick back, question panelists and drink a few brews. Proceeds benefit the Long Beach Junior Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the monthly forum.

Here's a Surfrider-produced video about the Sink the Breakwater" campaign.

As the land around the Queen Mary is developed in the coming years, entertainment venues are a must, casino gaming is a possibility, and the idea of an NFL stadium there or somewhere in Long Beach may be just a dream, but it's a good one, developer Jeff Klein said Thursday evening.

At the Ristorante da Vinci restaurant by Long Beach Airport, with planes buzzing nearby, Klein talked to a crowd of young professionals during a networking event about some his plans for remaking the iconic ship and the challenges the project will face. Traffic congestion on the 710 and parking availability are two problems that could sink the ship's revitalization, he said, but he and city officials are working on solutions.

One might be a gondola that would transport visitors between the Queen Mary and the Aquarium of the Pacific. It makes sense, considering the two venues are the most popular and well-known tourist attractions in Long Beach. And what better way to link an aquarium and a historical ship than with a third water experience along the city's coastline?

Klein's development company Save the Queen paid $43 million last year to buy the ship's lease from previous operator Queen's Seaport Development Inc., which had gone into bankruptcy, and has the right to develop the surrounding land with city approval. Of the 55 acres of land, 45 acres can be developed.

Meanwhile, work on the ship itself continues as part of a $6 million renovation.

Also at Thursday's event, along with a sign of things to come along the waterfront, the crowd got a hint of the possible future of the City Council.

Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal spoke highly of another attendee, Robert Garcia, as a possible candidate to replace her mother-in-law on the council. 1st District Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal won the Democratic nomination this month for the 54th Assembly District seat by a landslide, and she is well-positioned in the heavily Democratic district to defeat her Republican opponent.

Garcia, the 30-year-old director of media and public relations at Long Beach City College, has said in recent weeks that he is considering a council bid should Lowenthal move on to Sacramento.

The exodus of L.B. port executives to Stockholm, Sweden begins tonight and continues through Sunday as the group prepares for a 3-day technology and environmental conference in the heart of Scandanavia.

Commissioners Doris Topsy Elvord, Mike Walter and Jim Hankla are joining Gov Affairs Director Samara Ashley and Chief Officer Alex Cherin for the cross-global trek, which wraps June 28.

The port's executive office budgets nearly $500,000 for travel annually, and commissioners regularly attend maritime conferences at points across the globe - particularly in Asia.

But Harbor Dept. employees have made several trips to Europe in recent years, including a two-week trek in April that included stops in Italy, Germany, Holland, France and England and included L.B. Mayor Bob Foster and his chief-of-staff Becki.

 

West Coast dockworkers appear headed for a peaceful resolution to contract negotiations by July 1, having resolved in recent days one of the most potentially divisive issues on the table- health care.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union made it clear from the start of bargaining in April they were willing to go to the mat to protect what has arguably become one of the best healthcare packages around.

ILWU registrants currently pay no monthly premiums for their health benefits, and prescriptions are available to members for $1 each. Their employers estimate contributing more than $1 million per day for these benefits.

Now that a tentative agreement has been reached on healthcare, the largest remaining issues are worker safety and pay. Full-timers with more than 4,000 hours experience are now paid about $30 per hour. Naturally, workers want a raise, but it doesn't appear to be a huge issue and the union reportedly isn't pushing for massive increases.

The other sticking point - safety - came to the forefront following the April 4 death of longtime dockworker Carlos Rivera, who was crushed by a forklift while working at California United Terminals in the Port of Long Beach.

The ILWU's current pact expires at 5 p.m. July 1. If no agreement is reached by the deadline, both sides can agree to extend negotiations indefinitely.

Jesse Marquez and his Coalition for a Safe Environment have waged a relentless campaign to clean up the harbor-area environment in recent years, and his reputation as a pugnacious critic of the oil, shipping, trucking and rail industry is legend, so it was no surprise to learn Thursday that he's heading to Germany next week to check out new low-emission technologies being developed by that nation's notoriously advanced engineers.

Industry groups trying to sell a "trash-to-energy" incineration system to the City of Los Angeles apparently convinced him to make the trek, believing that if they can gain approval from Marquez and his allies, the project may just have a chance.

Marquez, a lifelong Wilmington resident, also plans to check out a Magnetic Levitation rail line being developed near Hamburg, and will visit the Port of Rotterdam to see how well the Germans are doing cleaning up their pollution problems.

In the ongoing conflict over labor unions' role in Long Beach, the Westside Project Area Committee has announced that it opposes a Project Labor Agreement that is being considered by the city.

The PLA would require all contractors doing business with the city to follow union rules, even those whose workers are non-union, and that companies use a certain number of local workers.

In a letter sent Tuesday to Mayor Bob Foster and the City Council, the organization says:

The PAC believes strongly in open competition and affirms that our City is best served by allowing all qualified companies, union and non-union alike, to bid on City construction projects.

The Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce also has voiced its opposition to the PLA.

The city is negotiating the agreement with the Building Trades Council, which represents more than 100,000 Los Angeles County and Orange County union workers, staff and officers who build roads, hospitals and schools. The Trades Council must sign off on the PLA before the council approves it.

In mid-May, city officials said the PLA was only weeks away (Labor pact nears agreement) from going before the council for a vote. We will soon see whether groups such as the Chamber and WestPAC have the clout to prevent the largely liberal and union-supported council from approving the PLA.