August 2008 Archives

Long Beach and South Bay Republicans have two opportunities to gather with their brethren to watch John McCain give his presidential nomination acceptance speech Thursday to the GOP national convention.

The Long Beach Area Republicans will gather Thursday at Smooth's Sports Grille, 144 Pine Ave., at 6 p.m. Two local and notable Republicans, 37th Congressional District nominee Gabriella Holt and City Prosecutor Thomas Reeves, will speak at the event.

Meanwhile, a Palos Verdes watch party will take place Thursday on the third floor of 550 Deep Valley Drive in Rolling Hills Estates. The party will be from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

There may not be any federal money in the pipeline for an Army Corps of Engineers review this year, but a city-funded study on reconfiguring the Long Beach Breakwater will still get underway this fall.

City Councilman Patrick O'Donnell told me this week that consulting firm Moffatt & Nichol will begin public hearings on its reconnaissance study of the breakwater in September or October. The council approved a $100,000 contract with the firm to conduct the study in June.

Advocates of reconfiguring the breakwater -- such as Long Beach Surfrider Foundation -- say removing parts of or lowering the 2.5-mile eastern end of the rock barrier could improve water quality by allowing polluted runoff waters to escape. Opponents say the breakwater protects homes along the coastline and that taking it down could damage or destroy their property.

According to a reconnaissance study timeline provided by O'Donnell, the council could be getting a presentation on the study by May.

But until Congress approves money for the Corps of Engineers to review the city's study, changes to the breakwater will remain just a controversial idea, Even if funding gets approved next year, the Corps would have to agree with the study, conduct its own feasibility study, and then possibly move forward with any changes to the breakwater.

Just like waves lose their momentum against the breakwater, proponents of reconfiguring it are being stymied by the breakwater of government bureaucracy. We'll wait and see whether either one can be taken down.

It was a long day's journey to Thursday night's acceptance speech by Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama.

That's what Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach, reported on her last day at the Denver convention site.

The journey to the speech began at 1:30 p.m., she said, adding that a line estimated at about a mile had formed early. However, due to security measures, the trip to the stadium, which was open to the public,  was a long process getting seated --- even though the congressional members were shuttled..

Richardson said she sat near Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn and behind two Middle-East men. The two men, sporting turbans, struck a special note for the congresswoman, who was a superdelegate to the convention.

A few years ago, she said, it would have been rare to see such tolerance, but that the "inclusiveness" at the convention was part of the message of the Obama candidacy.

"This is a new movement," she said. "This is a new day."

The rookie congresswoman agreed that Obama's nomination is a historic moment, as had been Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,'s "I have a dream" speech 45 years ago.

"He didn't have a black message, or African-American message," she said of the King speech. "It was an American message."

She noted that women were the first to benefit from the civil-rights movement.

At 1 p.m. today, Vice Mayor Val Lerch will flip the switch on a new traffic light at Jordan High School.

The light, installed to help improve student safety, was made possible by the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency, which spent $900,000 on medians, a pedestrian signal and crosswalk.

There was little time Wednesday to focus on the pending speech by former President Bill Clinton, according to Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach.

The California delegation at the Democratic National Convention in Denver had meetings with Sen. Barbara Boxer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-San Francisco, according to the superdelegate.

During a meeting with African-Americans, Michelle Obama made an appearance, Richardson added.

"That was a real treat," the congresswoman said.

During the day, the delegates were casting their votes for the presidential nomination, and it failed to cast any votes on the first round.

"We had a pretty full day," Richardson said from the convention floor.

Thursday, Barack Obama's speech is set to be delivered at a stadium, allowing members of the public to attend. Congressional members will be shuttled to the event, so that security can be provided, Richardson said.  

It's been rumored and referenced around City Hall for a couple of months, but Vice Mayor Val Lerch finally confirmed this week that he does plan to run a write-in campaign for a third term when his current term is up in 2010.

Lerch said he won't make an official announcement until next year.

"I will run a write-in," Lerch said. "The problem is, in politics things can change."

He said he has received much public support to stay in office.

"I've been asked too many times in my community and neighborhood associations to run a write-in," Lerch said.

Lerch was elected to represent the 9th District in North Long Beach in 2002 and was re-elected in 2006. Under the City Charter, his name can't appear on the ballot again, but he can win a third term as a write-in candidate.

While write-in candidates face tougher odds, getting elected through a write-in campaign isn't an unheard of feat in Long Beach. In 2002, then-Mayor Beverly O'Neill won a third term as a write-in candidate.

 

Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach, is learning the ropes at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, and one of the first lessons is about the art of democracy.
The rookie congresswoman said she's quite impressed that the delegation seating is not based on any political clout. Local, county, state and federal officials, along with regular Joes, can have any seat in the states' seating areas.
"It's all on a first-come, first-served basis," she said Tuesday night from the convention hall. "The titles are left at the door."
She said the convention has been free of the usual party infighting, adding that everyone is working for a "united front."
She added: "We're all marching for the same thing."
Richardson said many of Tuesday's events she attended involved equity for women.
"There's been no time for sightseeing," she added.

Congresswoman Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach, is enroute to Denver's Democratic National Convention.

But before leaving her district, the superdelegate ---a Sen. Hillary Clinton supporter--- said she's encountered no signs among other delegates that there will be an effort to get the New Yorker onto the ticket.

Richardson emphasized that she would support the vice presidential selection, and hopes there will be no division at the convention.

Long Beach Councilmember  Bonnie Lowenthal wants to party.

That is, to celebrate the historic nomination at the Democratic National Convention with a watch party at Smooth's in downtown Long Beach next Wednesday, Aug. 27.

Everyone is a delegate, according to Kay Cooperman Jue, a spokesperson for Lowenthal's Assembly race..

The party is set for 6-9 p.m. Wednesday at the restaurant-bar's rooftop area, 144 Pine Ave.  A big-screen TV will be set up, and light hors d'oeuvres with a no-host bar will be provided.

 Some of the most important speakers of the convention are scheduled for Wednesday convention session, including Sen. Barack Obama's vice presidential nominee, along with former President Bill Clinton, Sen. John Kerry and former Sen. Tom Daschle.

 

For details, call (562) 494-0900

U.S. Representative Linda Sánchez, D-Lakewood, will speak on the economy at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 between 2:30 and 3 p.m.,  her office released.

"I am honored to address this historic Convention for change," Sanchez said in a statement.  "In my home state of California and around the nation, voters will have an opportunity to hear from a candidate that is talking about issues that affect their families:  gasoline prices, jobs, and home ownership."

Should the Los Angeles-Orange County boundary line be moved?

That's an issue that will be discussed on numerous levels in the near future, after the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors this week called for a study to determine it the county line should be adjusted near the Coyote Creek flood control channel.

The areas to be studied, according to Supervisor Don Knabe, include small pockets of the cities of La Mirada, Hawaiian Gardens, Cerritos, Lakewood, Long Beach and an unincorporated part of Los Angeles County east of Coyote Creek. The proposed changes also would affect the Orange County cities of Buena Park, Fullerton, Cypress, La Palma, Los Alamitos and Seal Beach.

Knabe said he received a request from Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach to look at various issues next to the common boundary.

"I want to make it perfectly clear that this question of whether the boundary should be shifted has not even been formally discussed," he added. "Neither county has taken definitive action or made any suggestion of a boundary change other than to evaluate the issue, as requested originally by Supervisor Moorlach."

As part of the review, county service agencies -- including fire, sheriff's deputies, school districts -- will provide input, along with the border communities.

"The bottom line is that nothing has happened on this issue," Knabe said. "There has been no public discussion and absolutely no decisions on changing the boundary."

Debbie Cook, the Democratic nominee in the 46th Congressional District race, has challenged incumbent Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, to at least three town hall-style debates, Cook's campaign announced today. The debates would take place across the district, two in Orange County and one in Los Angeles County. The 46th District runs from Costa Mesa through other coastal Orange County communities to East Long Beach, along a thin slice of the Long Beach coastline, and through the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Some pundits believe Cook, who is the mayor of Huntington Beach and an environmental activist, may actually present a strong challenge to Rohrabacher in the Republican-leaning district. Cook's campaign is still waiting for an official response from the Rohrabacher campaign after sending the congressman a letter of invitation earlier this week, according to a Cook campaign press release.

As if the Long Beach Harbor Department didn't have enough trouble with its "clean truck" scheme, now the NAACP has joined in the criticism, accusing port authorities and partner Daimler Financial Services of cooking up more than $1 billion in 
"predatory, subprime" truck loans for local drivers.

An article in the Los Angeles Times quotes NAACP Chairman Julian Bond as saying the highly subsidized loans being pushed on low-income drivers are tantamount to sharecropping.

The NAACP and a few allies have even protested outside the German Embassy in Washington D.C. in recent days - ensuring the Deutsche government knows what Stuttgart-based Daimler is up to in Long Beach.

To read the NAACP's full report on the loan program, click here ( Foreclosures.pdf).

A 1904 home that had to be moved to make way for Chavez Elementary School has found new life on Daisy Avenue.

Today, the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency, the Willmore City Heritage Association and Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal will unveil the 419 Daisy Ave. home, the result of an intense restoration process that began about two years ago.

The heritage association, which bought the four-bedroom, two-bathroom home from the RDA for a buck, restored the abode with the help of old photographs from original homeowners.

The home will be placed on the market at an asking price of $595,000, the RDA released.

"The preservation of this house has enabled us to retain a beautiful example of one of the City's oldest architectural styles," said Cheryl Perry, President of the Willmore City Heritage Association.  "It has improved the neighborhood by filling two blighted lots on the block, and I believe it has encouraged preservation on a broader scale throughout the City."

The event begins at 3:30 p.m.

The Long Beach city budget, and scheduled meetings to discuss it, have certainly been works in progress. What began as a few days of budget hearings with unspecified topics have now grown into focused community meetings in most of the council districts and specific council discussions.

Here is the newest schedule of the remaining meetings:

• Thursday - 3rd District community budget meeting at Long Beach Yacht Club, 6201 E. Appian Way, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Thursday - 7th and 8th districts community budget meeting at the Petroleum Club, 3636 Linden Ave., from 7 to 8 p.m.
• Tuesday (Aug. 26) - City Council budget workshop on Public Works and the Capital Improvement Program at City Hall, 333 W. Ocean Blvd., from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
• Tuesday (Aug. 26) - 1st District community budget meeting at the Main Library, 101 Pacific Ave., from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
• Tuesday (Aug. 26) - Public discussion of proposal to close Main Library and rebuild or relocate it, at the Main Library, 101 Pacific Ave., from 6:45 to 8 p.m.
• Aug. 27 - 6th District community budget meeting at Ernest McBride Jr. Park, , from 6 to 7 p.m.
• Sept. 2 - Council budget workshop to discuss the Main Library at City Hall from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
• Sept. 2 - Council budget hearing at City Hall from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
• Sept. 9 - Council budget workshop on Budget Oversight Committee recommendations and other budget considerations at City Hall from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
• Sept. 9 - Council budget hearing and budget adoption at City Hall from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

 

    

 

 An industry coalition representing trucking companies and retailers like Best Buy and Target have taken out full page ads ( CRT.pdf ) in the Press Telegram and Daily Breeze pledging to work with L.B. Mayor Bob Foster and port authorities in ridding the harbor of older, soot-spewing diesel trucks.

The controversial regulation, known as the "Clean Trucks Program," seeks to changeover some 17,000 diesel rigs currently hauling cargo to and from the waterfront in Long Beach and Los Angeles. Regulators say the progressive turnover will ban rigs not meeting federal 2007 emission standards by Jan. 1, 2012.

The entire turnover is expected to exceed $2 billion, with much of the funding coming from container fees, state bonds, local grants and port profits. Container fees will be paid by retailers beginning Jan. 1, 2009.

The industry group, known as the Coalition for Responsible Transportation, expects to have 1,500 "clean" trucks in service by year's end, said spokesman David Gershwin.

Previously, a coalition of labor, environmental and healthcare groups opposed to Long Beach's scheme (Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports), placed ads blasting Foster for his "anti-worker" solution to the problem, saying it unfairly shifts the burden of truck purchase and maintenance to low-wage immigrant drivers.

The group would like to see trucking companies and retailers pick up the entire cost for new trucks - an approach adopted in neighboring Los Angeles.

*On a related note, a national trucking association filed a federal lawsuit in late July to block both cities' plans, saying they violate federal law. A preliminary ruling may be issued soon....

City Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal will host a Town Hall meeting on the city's budget Aug. 26 at the Main Library's auditorium.

She will have Assistant City Manager Suzanne Frick and other management staff, including Library Services Manager Eleanore Schmidt, at the meeting to discuss the 2009 budget, proposed cuts, impacts on 1st District residents and programs, including Main Library issues.

The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m., and continues to 6:30 p.m., on 1st District budget issues.
From 6:30 to 8 p.m., the discussion will be Main Library issues.
For more information, contact Lowenthal's office at (562) 570-6919. The Main Library's auditorium is located at 101 Pacific Ave.

V

Long Beach Redevelopment Agency's elder statesman will lead the board as its chairman.
Board members this morning appointed Vice Chairman William Baker as chairman, replacing Thomas Fields. Board member Diane Arnold will take on Baker's former title of vice chair. 

Lee Davis, the publisher of a weekly Long Beach community newspaper, plans to challenge Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach, for the 37th District seat again in November, according to a news release she sent out today.

Davis ran against Richardson in the Democratic primary in June, and she will be joining another fellow candidate from that race who also plans to be a write-in -- Cypress College professor Peter Mathews.

Because Richardson and Mathews ran in the primary, their names can't appear on the ballot in November. That may only make an already uphill battle even tougher.

In June, Richardson blew away the competition, receiving 74.87 percent of the vote, despite reports in the weeks before the primary that Richardson's Sacramento home had gone into foreclosure. Subsequent reports have detailed other personal financial problems, focusing national media attention on Richardson. In the primary, Mathews had 16.67 percent of the vote and Davis got 8.46 percent.

Another factor in November will be independent candidate Nick Dibs, a Long Beach teacher who wll be the only candidate whose name actually appears on the ballot. The Republicans didn't even bother to field a candidate against Richardson this year in the heavily Democratic district, which includes Carson, Signal Hill, Compton and most of Long Beach.

When a crowd of residents that were upset over proposed Parks and Recreation cuts such as the Police Athletic League and a cafe at the Long Beach Senior Center showed up at a budget workshop Tuesday, it quickly became clear that there wouldn't be enough time for the City Council to fully vet the issues.

So, Mayor Bob Foster said the discussion would continue another day. Assistant City Manager Suzanne Frick gave me an update a couple days later on the new budget workshop schedule. Things have been pushed back to allow the Parks and Rec issues to be discussed nextTuesday, she said.

"We're kind of playing it by ear to see what the next hot topic is that the council wants to get into," Fricke said.

Here's what's coming:

• Tuesday, 3:30 p.m., at City Hall - Council study session on Parks, Recreation and Marine, and the Water Department, if there is time. Water and Long Beach Transit originally had been scheduled for that day, though Fricke didn't know when or if Transit's budget will be specifically discussed now.
• Thursday, 6 p.m. at the Petroleum Club - 7th and 8th council districts community discussion about the budget.
• Aug. 26, possibly 5 p.m. (unconfirmed) at the Main Library - 1st District communty discussion, followed by a discussion soley about the proposal to close the Main Library from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
• Aug. 27, 6 to 7 p.m. at unconfirmed location - 6th District community budget discussion.
• Sept. 2, 3:30 p.m., at City Hall - Council study session about the Main Library, followed by a general budget hearing from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
• Sept. 9, 3:30 p.m., at City Hall - Council budget study session, followed by likely council approval of budget at 5 p.m. meeting.

 

Is the Port of Los Angeles trying to be hip?

A year after sponsoring a fashion show in downtown Los Angeles, the city's harbor department says it's itching to spend $6.6 million on new waterfront art and green space projects created by local residents.

It seems somewhere deep in the bowels of the fortress-like Harbor Department HQ on S. Palos Verdes St., a panel of straight-laced, number-crunching port authorities were having trouble finding, designing and/or placing waterfront art pieces, open spaces, innovative landscape designs, etc. - and so they're now reaching out to the creative souls of San Pedro for help.

(On a side note, I pitched a plan to spend the $6.6M renovating my "harbor-area" apartment with a rooftop garden and giant treehouse - all for the benefit of my lovely neighbors - but the suggestion was politely rebuffed.)

Now it's up to you, creative people of San Pedro. Don't let us down.

Anyone with a bright idea is urged to contact Teresa Scognamillo at (310) 732-3057 or tscognamillo@portla.org. To learn more, visit www.portofla.org.

On a related note, port officials are holding their last tree giveaway of 2008 at 10 a.m. Saturday at Neptune Park, C Street and Neptune Avenue in Wilmington. There's two trees availabe per family, and varieties include persimmon, tangerine, King Palm, purple orchid, and European white birch. Sure, you'll be helping clean the air, cut down on cooling costs and save the environment, but the best part is, the trees are freeeeee!!!

The Los Angeles Times reports some politicos in the Central Valley are pushing Gov. Schwarzenegger for a share of the $500 million annual windfall expected from Alan Lowenthal's container fee bill, SB 974.

The 11th-hour manuever is being greeted by supporters as a last-ditch effort to upend the deal before the governor signs it (which he's indicated he would do). Lowenthal has stated strongly that after three tough years negotiating the bill now before the governor, he's not prepared to agree to last-minute changes.

Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn, whose district includes the nation's largest port complex, has been picked to oversee the little-known Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority.

Hahn's one-year appointment Wednesday places her at the head of a public agency tasked with managing the 22-mile-long Alameda Corridor, a high-speed rail link connecting San Pedro Bay with downtown Los Angeles.

 Since opening in 2002 at a cost of $2.2 billion, the submerged, concrete corridor has provided railroads with an avenue to move some 13 million containers (carrying untold billions in cargo) from the docks to points inland.

According to Hahn, the agency's goals for the next year include jump-starting a magnetic levitation rail project linking the port to an existing railyard near Sepulveda and the Terminal Island (103) Freeway.

Long Beach may be a Democratic stronghold, but down in San Pedro, Republicans have McCain on the brain.

On Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m., area Republicans will gather for a national John McCain event to get organized for the Republican presidential candidate's election bid in November. The event will be at 1891 N. Gaffey Street in San Pedro.

Two area Republican candidates, 54th Assembly District nominee Gabriella Holt and 25th State Senate District nominee Lydia Gutierrez, will be at the event, organizers said.

So if you bleed red -- no, wait, all humans bleed red. So if you're an elephant -- hmmm, not very flattering imagery. How about: If you have a photo of Ronald Reagan on your wall.or certain parts of your body pucker up when you hear the word "taxes," then go check it out.

 

I know it's a cheesy headline but it got your attention, right?

Mayor Bob Foster on Aug. 21 will chat about two of his favorite things - the Roman Republic and Long Beach issues - at the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association's monthly Community Happy Hour.

The mayor, who gave a class on the Roman Republic for University by the Sea last October, will also take questions on city issues after the presentation.

The Happy Hour is from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Nino's Italian Restaurant, 3853 Atlantic Ave.

The Long Beach Lambda Democratic Club has released its endorsements for the November general election, and as might be expected, they endorsed ... the Democratic candidates!

But interestingly, though perhaps not surprisingly, the club has no endorsement for the 37th Congressional District, to which Rep. Laura Richardson is hoping to be re-elected.

Our political reporter and columnist John Canalis reported this news Monday, but the announcement is worth taking a closer look at. I e-mailed two Lambda leaders to find out whether Richardson's financial problems, foreclosure on her Sacramento home and unpaid bills (including some left from when she served on the LB City Council) were the reason she didn't get the endorsement, but I haven't gotten a reply.

In a statement, Lambda leaders said the group's Political Action Committee always endorses Democratic candidates, but that doesn't mean all Democratic candidates get an endorsement.

Still, the bad press -- not just from the Press-Telegram, but nationally -- certainly couldn't have helped Richardson in Lambda's decision.

Richardson annihilated two minor opponents in the June primary, and there isn't even a Republican running in November. However, one of those former Democratic candidates, Cypress College professor Peter Matthews, is running a write-in campaign, and Long Beach teacher Nick Dibs is vying to run as an independent.

Whether Richardson will lose other endorsements remains to be seen, and whether the political powerhouse will be unseated by Matthews or Dibs is unknown, but seems unlikely. Richardson has always been popular and has far more campaign money than her challengers.

Lambda's other candidate endorsements are:

• Assembly District 54: Bonnie Lowenthal
• Assembly District 55: Warren Furutani
• State Senate District 27: Alan Lowenthal
• U.S. Congressional Representative, District 46: Debbie
  Cook

And Lambda's voter ballot initiative recommendations:

• Prop 1 : High Speed Passenger Train Bond - Yes
• Prop 2: Statutory Protection of Farm Animals from Abuse - Yes
• Prop 4: Constitutional Amendment: Parental Notification of
  termination of pregnancy - No
• Prop 8: Constitutional Amendment: Elimination of Same-sex Marriage
  Rights - No

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.

Getting the ear of city officials these days is easier with the Internet. But it can cause headaches for those at the receiving end.

Long Beach Police Chief Anthony Batts can testify to that. He recently asked for relief from community activist Mike Ruehle, president of the Belmont Shore Residents Association, who had suggested that folks opposed to the liquor license at the Chronic Tacos contact their council member and the police chief, whose department had approved the pending application.

"Mr. Ruehle, thanks for your consistant addressing of community concerns....it's the American way!!" he stated in an email.

"However...I'm not a politician," he added. "I use my computer or hand-held Blackberry to get my job done...I direct my staff and resources through this device...I receive answers to critical crime issues and updates....the continous stream of emails from nieghbors and associates is impacting my ability to get my job done on this device..."

Ruehle messaged the chief that he wouldn't repeat the lobbying tactic, at least not to him. Council members are still fair game.

Chronic Tacos, at 3870 Ocean Blvd., near the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier, did not get its license.

See the full story here.

Congratulations to Long Beach residents for cutting their water use since September, when the Board of Water Commissioners declared an imminent water supply shortage and created new rules to restrict water usage. And with proposed rate increases, saving water will save your wallet even more now.

The Water Department announced last week that the city set a new 10-year record low for July. It was the seventh record-setting month for low water use since September. July water demand was 16.1 percent below the 10-year average and 13 percent below July 2007, Water officials said. The 2008 fiscal year, which runs from October through September, has been 7.7 percent below the 10-year average water use.

Ironically, while Long Beach was setting records in July, on July 25, the Water Board unanimously approved increasing water and sewer rates a combined 15.8 percent. The increase will add an additional $5.39 per month to the typical single family household's water bill, and an additional $1.30 per month to the typical single family household's sewer bill. The total monthly combined increase for water and sewer service will be about $6.69, or $80.28 annually.

So with state water supplies short, rain falling little and costs rising, it would behoove everyone to be thrifty with what is truly the most precious liquid resource on the planet.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe plans to change his vote on a transit sales tax next week -- in a move to avoid an expensive separate election.

Friday, he disclosed that at the next meeting of the Board of Supervisors, he will enter a motion to reconsider the board's previous vote on the Metropolitan Transit Authority's (MTA) sales tax measure -- from 'no' to 'yes.'

The new vote gives the MTA sales tax measure gives it the three votes it needs to go before the voters as part of the consolidated November 2008 Presidential Election ballot, and not as a separate election.

Friday morning, according to the supervisor's office,  the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk informed the board members that the costs of a concurrent election, with the MTA sales tax appearing as a totally separate ballot in the November election, would cost taxpayers an additional $10.3 million.

If the MTA measure were included as part of the main ballot, the cost would be $7.2 million, instead of the $17.5 million estimated for a separate ballot.

 "Although I am against the sales tax plan, I cannot in good conscience burden county residents with over $10 million in higher election costs," the supervisor added in a prepared statement.

 

The California League of Conservation Voters has endorsed Huntington Beach Mayor Debbie Cook for Congress in the 46th Congressional District.

"Mayor Cook has a long record of achievement on environmental, public health and other issues
important to the people of the 46th District," said CLCV's Southern California Director David Allgood.

The organization cited Cook's pro-active stance In 1989, when she fought efforts to destroy the city's parks and beaches by private development. She led a group that collected 18,000 signatures for a successful ballot measure to require voter approval in order to build in Huntington Beach public parks and beaches.

As an attorney, Cook joined the Bolsa Chica Land Trust legal team, winning a case that protects sensitive coastal habitat throughout the state, the organization added.

As mayor, the organization noted, Cook led the fight to stop the Orange County Sanitation District from
dumping partially-treated sewage into the ocean.

The California League of Conservation Voters is the non-partisan
political action arm of California's environmental movement. The organization's 
mission is to protect the environmental quality of the state by
increasing public awareness of the environmental performance of all
elected officials, working to elect environmentally responsible
candidates, and holding them accountable to the environmental agenda
once elected.

The 46th Congressional District covers a two-county area bounded by
Costa Mesa on the south and the Palos Verdes Peninsula on the north.

American Red Cross CEO Nancy Kindelan on Aug. 20 will receive a $75,000 check from the BP Foundation and local disaster volunteers for a new emergency response vehicle, the organization announced today.
The vehicle "will better equip the chapter to meet the needs of the surrounding nine cities its serves," according to the release.
"The new vehicle will make a huge difference in providing assistance to the community in emergency and disaster situations," Kindelan said.  "Over the last twelve months we were tested as never before; following the Catalina Fire last May, it was obvious our 40-year-old canteen no longer met our clients' needs."
The Greater Long Beach Chapter of the American Red Cross serves the communities of Artesia, Bellflower, Catalina Island, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, Long Beach, Paramount and Signal Hill

Huntington Beach Mayor Debbie Cook's supporters and friends will host as many as 200 simultaneous Making History! House Parties across the 46th congressional district on Aug. 28, when Sen. Barack Obama accepts the Democratic nomination for president.  The parties, according to her supporters, will raise funds for Cook's campaign while also bringing the senator's supporters together. Supporters can learn more about the August 28th Making History! House Parties and sign up to be a host by visiting the Debbie Cook for Congress website at www.debbiecookforcongress.com, or by calling Karen Hinks at 714-848-9395 or e-mailing khinks@verizo n.net .

Cook is a two-term member of the Huntington Beach City Council, currently serving as mayor.  She is also an attorney, with a specialty in environmental protection and energy policies.   The 46th Congressional District covers a two-county area bounded by Costa Mesa on the south and the Palos Verdes Peninsula on the north.

The Downtown Long Beach Associates announced today that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will deliver the keynote address at the 5th Annual State of the Downtown event on Nov. 21 at the Westin Hotel.

The luncheon - themed Planting Seeds of Environmental Change - will look at Long Beach's green issues and focus on redevelopment and revitalization of downtown.

"Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is perhaps one of our country's most passionate champions of the environment and of smart growth," DLBA President and CEO Kraig Kojian said in the release. "We're thrilled that he will be able to share his knowledge and experience with our city and look forward to the impact this event will have on the future of Downtown Long Beach."

Photo: Getty Images

 

Legislation providing $500 million-plus annually to fund more efficient transportation systems, cargo movement and low-emission technology (including trucks) in California awaits its fate on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk.

The bill, SB 974 by State Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, would assess a $30 fee on each shipping container moved through the ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland. Combined, the ports move about 17.5 million such containers (known as twenty-foot equivalents, or TEUs) annually.

Supporters include the Natural Resources Defense Council, Long Beach City Council and Mayor Bob Foster, Port of Long Beach and Coalition for Clean Air.

Those urging a veto include the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, California Chamber of Commerce and the Waterfront Coalition. Opponents say the measure not only hurts business, but represents an "unconstitutional tax" on interstate commerce. 

Retailers who use the state's highways, railways and seaports (think Home Depot, Target)  to import or export their goods will pay the fee, though costs are likely to be passed onto consumers.

Still, economists estimate the impact on consumers would equal no more than a nickel or so on a new TV set, or perhaps 3 cents on a pair of shoes.

On Tuesday, the bill sailed through the State Senate on a procedural vote.

It now sits on the Gov's desk, where he's indicated he will sign it. The deadline for approval or veto is August 17. 

Photo courtesy Ungrok

 

Learn more about the new Long Beach Fire Station project at a community meeting on Wednesday. Vice Mayor Val Lerch, North Long Beach Redevelopment Project Officer Lee Mayfield, fire station architect Mary McGrath and fire department staff will talk about the project and answer questions.

When completed, the six firefighters and paramedic members of Station 12 will move from the 79-year-old station at 6509 Gundry Ave. to the RDA-owned 1.2-acre lot at 1199 Artesia Blvd. The new 10,000-square-foot fire station and 5,000-square-foot disaster resource building will be better withstand earthquakes, more than double in size, have amenities that accommodate men and women and move in mass-casualty vehicles that help treat a large number of people in a disaster.

The meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. at Community Presbyterian Church, 6380 Orange Ave. 

A boxing star's housing development company could punch up a corner of North Long Beach if talks go well between the company and redevelopment officials.
The Long Beach Redevelopment Agency today agreed to negotiate exclusively with Golden Pacific Partners to develop housing at the northeast corner of Home Street and Long Beach Boulevard, across the street from the new Dooley Elementary School.
The area used to house the Waite Motel, a liquor store, vacant commercial building and a discount furniture store facing Long Beach Boulevard, and a 6-unit apartment complex on the backside of the block facing Cedar Avenue, according to Redevelopment Project Officer Aldo E. Schindler.
Golden Pacific is a collaboration between John S. Long of Highridge Partners and Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Enterprises who formed a new company "to pursue urban revitalization in America's cities."
Read more about it in Tuesday's Press-Telegram.

Concerned about the traffic and pollution caused by the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles? Well, today you'll get a rare chance to hear some of the area's top elected officials discuss the issues.

U.S. Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach, in conjunction
with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, will convene a Congressional hearing at 3 p.m. today at the Port of Long Beach. Richardson represents the 37th Congressional District, which includes parts of Long Beach, Carson and Compton.

The hearing, "Port Development and the Environment at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach," will be held at the Administration Building of the Port of Long Beach, on the 6th Floor.

Subcommittee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, and subcommittee members of the California delegation, Janet Napolitano, Hilda
Soliz, Bob Filner and Dana Rohrabacher, also will be there.