December 2008 Archives

 

The bloody situation unfolding between Israel and Islamic militants in and around the volatile Gaza Strip this week comes as little surprise to many of us who have visited the region in recent months.

During a stop by the southern Israeli city of Sderot in November, I interviewed residents, army officials and businessmen who told me the rocket barrage from inside Gaza has been a constant, and sometimes deadly, headache for more than two years.

Most expected an armed confrontation at any moment. I argued that diplomatic channels would more likely bring the two sides back from the brink.

They were right. 

Sderot Police Chief Kobi Harush, picture here with Hamas rockets collected from the area, said the city's public buildings, bus stops and most homes have been equipped with bomb shelters. Kids aren't going to school, and farmers and factory workers said their jobs are often interrupted by the eerie wail of rocket sirens.

Sure enough, during my visit, several rockets were launched toward Sderot from agricultural groves in northern Gaza territory. Fortunately, nobody was hurt.

The city has also been visited by L.B. Police Chief Anthony Batts, Santa Monica Police Chief Tim Jackman and other high-ranking law enforcement officers from the region in recent times.

According to Batts, "The Israelis' are the ones you go to to learn about fighting and preventing terrorism. They've lived under that threat a lot longer than we have."

 

The city of Long Beach's expected $15.7 million budget deficit certainly isn't good, but apparently it could be worse.

The Wall Street Journal's Bobby White reported earlier this month that two more California towns may join Vallejo in declaring bankruptcy as the economy worsens. From the article:

RIO VISTA, Calif. -- California may soon have more bankrupt towns on its hands.

The city of Vallejo, Calif., gained national attention earlier this year by filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. Now, two neighbors are fighting to avoid the same fate, as the state's economic crisis spreads.

Isleton and Rio Vista, small towns roughly 50 miles northeast of San Francisco, say they have begun consulting with bankruptcy lawyers as they draw up plans to deal with their mounting budget crises. The towns' leaders say they hope to avoid bankruptcy, but concede the move may eventually be their only option.

"We're strapped for cash and by the end of March or early April we may not have enough money to pay for payroll," says Hector De La Rosa, Rio Vista's city manager.

Read the full article here.

When Long Beach City Manager Pat West announced the city's new budget deficit, which was largely the result of oil revenue declines, about two weeks ago, I asked him whether bankruptcy could be in Long Beach's future. He assured me that the city is far from going bankrupt as Vallejo has done and those two other Northern California towns possibly will do. Let's hope he's right.

Southern California Democratic Congresswomen Linda T. and Loretta Sanchez, the first and only sisters ever elected to Congress, have been quite visible and often controversial on Capitol Hill. With the recent announcement of Linda Sanchez's pregnancy (as an unmarried woman), she has been placed under the microscope, the subject of criticism and many a blog, according to a recent New York Times article.

The article makes an intriguing examination of the Sanchez sisters and the effect Linda Sanchez's pregnancy may have on her political future. Linda Sanchez represents the 39th District, a U-shaped district that sweeps from South Gate and Lynwood on its northwest side, south to Paramount, Lakewood and Cerritos, then back north to Whittier. Loretta Sanchez's 47th District includes the Orange County cities of Santa Ana, Fullerton, Anaheim and Garden Grove.

It often seems that when it comes to running government, everyone thinks they could do a better job than most elected officials. If you're of the "I could do it better" crowd, or you'd just like to share some of your ideas with Mayor Bob Foster, now is your chance.

Foster is asking the public to submit ideas and suggestions to improve Long Beach through his 2009 State of the City Web site. Just click on the "ideas" box. The State of the City address will take place at  6 p.m. on Jan. 13 at Cal State Long Beach in the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 Atherton St. The address will be preceded by the weekly council meeting and for the first time in years will be free and open to the public.

Tickets can be reserved through the State of the City Web site or by calling 562-570-5089. Two tickets may be reserved per street address.

The City Council may not have a regular meeting this week because of the holidays, but the Budget Oversight Committee will be discussing the city's $15.7 million budget deficit tonight at 5 p.m. at City Hall.

If you're a council junkie or just want to hear about the fate of the city's programs that are facing a new round of budget cuts (library closures? Parks and Rec programs eliminated? Will the police of fire departments be cut?), then stop in. There are seven items on the agenda, and I'm not sure how long this meeting will go, but I'll be there to hear what their take is on the proposed 1 to 3 percent cuts from most city departments.

Long Beach Vice Mayor Val Lerch on Jan. 7 will give an update on key City Council issues at Good Morning Long Beach.
Admission is $15 for members and $30 for non-members.
The event will start at 7 a.m. at The Grand, 4101 E. Willow St. in Long Beach. Call 562-590-9234.

The City of Paramount's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, a document every California city is required to produce by state law, has won honors for excellence from the Government Finance Officers Association. This is the 27th year in a row the City has been so honored.

Speaking on behalf of the association, Kevin Pulliam, a partner in the accounting firm of Vavrinek, Trine, Day and Co., said many cities seek the organization's approval, especially in California.

"The judging is meticulous and rigorous, and keeps changing year to year," he said. "In this day and age, it's a remarkable feat to gain these awards consistently."

Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal is granting an early holiday wish to Alamitos Beach residents who find it hard to park in their neighborhood.

The 2nd District representative will celebrate 24 new parking spaces at 1st and Cerritos Avenue at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Lowenthal's office released: "The installation of new all-way stop intersections on 1st Street at Bonito, Cerritos, Gaviota, and Hermosa is to calm traffic speeds and reduce accidents; the installation of crosswalks at all intersections to reduce the size of intersections and emphasize pedestrian safety; and the creation of 24 new parking spaces by strategically shifting angled parking spaces, reducing red zones, and eliminating expired blue zones that are no longer needed."   

        Lowenthal worked in partnership with the Alamitos Beach Neighborhood Association's Parking Committee, which put together a report on the pavement and cub markings along with street usage and alignments that might allow for additional parking in Alamitos Beach.

1st District City Council candidate Robert Garcia keeps racking up the endorsements, and the candidate filing period doesn't even open for almost two more weeks.

Today he announced that state Sen. Jenny Oropeza of the 28th District is endorsing him. That adds to Garcia's growing list of prominent endorsements, such as state Sen. Alan Lowenthal, Assemblyman Warren Furutani, Long Beach council members Val Lerch and Suja Lowenthal, and Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn.

Other names on his endorsement list include both well-established political and business leaders and young up-and-comers. Among Garcia's endorsements are lobbyist Carl Kemp; Craig Watson of Charter Communications; John Morris of Smooth's Sports Grille; John Molina of Molina Healthcare; former councilman Frank Colonna; and Kraig Kojian of Downtown Long Beach Associates. Garcia informed me tonight that Kojian was mistakenly listed among the endorsements on his Web site.

Elections aren't all about endorsements, but they certainly help. Often, elections are largely about money, and the more prominent endorsements candidates have can equate to the amount of contributions they raise.

That said, the other five candidates in the race have some catching up to do, but one never knows what kind of grassroots candidate might pull ahead. Meanwhile, Evan Anderson Braude, a former council member who is now running for the 1st District seat again, has enough political experience and community connections not to be taken lightly by Garcia or anyone else.

And we still have a long way to go until the April 7 election.

The Professional Engineers in California Government organization has named Assemblyman Warren Furutani, D-Lakewood, as "Legislator of the Year."

Furutani received the award because of his role in getting SB 588 passed, the organization said in a press release. The legislation is designed to ensure the construction of community college buildings in a safe, cost-effective and timely manner. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the legislation into law Sept. 30.

Furutani represents the 55th District, which encompasses the western edge of Long Beach and parts of Los Angeles, Carson and Lakewood.

The city of Long Beach has launched its new Web site, which first became available over the weekend and officially launched today. The site has a photo-heavy design that includes news items, upcoming events, a link to the city government TV channel and other features. The Web page still had a few quirks to be worked out and I was having problems accessing City Council agendas, but hopefully that will all be fixed soon. The page is definitely more attractive than the old site. It can still be reached at www.longbeach.gov.
 

The guy famous for building custom motorcycles is working on a different kind of metal project: the planters on Pine Avenue.

The West Coast Choppers owner will be working with the Redevelopment Agency on sprucing up four tree planters at Broadway and Pine. The new decorative feature should be up by Christmas.

"I've been noticing some of the projects that the city has been working on, and thought we could do a way better job," said James. "So I reached out to the city and offered to take on these projects."

Read more about it in Wednesday's Press-Telegram.

We know the holiday sales at big-name retailers in Lakewood, Signal Hill and Cerritos can be tempting, especially in an economy when folks are tightening their proverbial belts to the last notch.
But Long Beach city and business folks are hoping for the granting of this holiday wish - that residents buy their gifts at Long Beach businesses, particularly small businesses.

The city and its four retail Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) today announced the kick-off of "Shop Local, Shop Long Beach," a campaign encouraging residents to shop at Long Beach retailers for the holidays.

Those included in the campaign are BIDs representing 4th Street, Belmont Shore, Bixby Knolls and Downtown Long Beach.

"The "Shop Local, Shop Long Beach" campaign reminds Long Beach residents that supporting our retailers is very, very critical," City Manager Pat West said in a statement. "We know the national economy may make it a slow holiday shopping period, and we'd like everyone in Long Beach to 'Shop Local, Shop Long Beach' to make sure our retail dollars are spent in the City. Retail sales create jobs, and retail sales tax dollars provide a major source of City funding."

Read more about the campaign in Wednesday's Press-Telegram.

Want to get an early look at some of the candidates vying for the 1st District City Council seat? This week, three of them are planning to officially announce their candidacies.

• First, the Rev. Misi Tagaloa of the Second Samoan Church is to officially announce his candidacy at 7 p.m. Tuesday during a service at Peteli Christian Church, 1204 Plymouth St.
• On Friday, Jana Shields, a linguist and president of the Willmore City Heritage Association, plans to make her official campaign announcement at 7 p.m. at 640 W. 9th St. near Drake Park.
• Robert Garcia, interim dean of student affairs at Long Beach City College and president of the North Pine Neighborhood Alliance, will officially announce his candidacy at 2 p.m. Sunday at 1255 N. Loma Vista Drive.

Garcia -- taking a page out of president-elect Barack Obama's book, no doubt -- has placed a video invitation to his campaign event on his Web site. Here it is:

 

 

No official campaign events have been announced by the other likely candidates in the race -- attorney Evan Braude, president of the Historical Society of Long Beach and a former 1st District council member; Harvey Cochran, a council gadfly and movie theater employee; and Bill Grisolia, a legal and policy specialist and homeless advocate.

In fact, Braude has yet to definitively say he is running for office. He also happens to be in a 20-year relationship and lives with Bonnie Lowenthal, who represented the 1st District until she took a seat in the state Assembly Dec. 1. What could make the race interesting, or tense in some quarters, is the rumor that most of the politically powerful Lowenthal clan -- Bonnie Lowenthal's sons and ex-husband, state Sen. Alan Lowenthal -- are backing Garcia. If Braude were to run, presumably Bonnie Lowenthal would endorse him in the April 7 special election.

Weigh in on two potential designs for the lot at 851 Orange Ave., the site of a future mini-park. Suggestions from the Dec. 13 meeting with the city and representatives from the design firm will be included in the final design.

The meeting will be from 1 to 2 p.m. at the California Recreation Center at McBride Park, 1550 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.

Call Leslie Hunsaker, Administrative Analyst, Planning and Development Bureau, Department of Parks, Recreation & Marine at  562-570-3131 for more info. 

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin wasn't the only candidate in last month's election to spend campaign funds for some new threads.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez, an Orange County Democrat, is among five candidates in the recent election named by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington to have spent hundreds of dollars on clothing, allegedly violating a ban on using campaign money for personal use. Sanchez is the sister of Rep. Linda Sanchez, a Democrat who represents Whittier, Lakewood, Paramount, Cerritos, La Mirada, Lynwood and Southgate. The two have the distinction of being the first sisters elected to Congress.

The other candidates also named for misusing their campaign money are Rob Andrews of New Jersey, Republican candidates Bill Dew of Utah and William Breazeale of North Carolina, and Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr.

Here are the details, according to an Associated Press article:

CREW's review of campaign finance reports found Dew's campaign spending $1,089 on clothing for him at Men's Wearhouse; Sanchez's campaign spending about $189 on "meeting clothing" for Sanchez and $145 on clothing for an aide; Breazeale's campaign purchasing $1,000 in clothing for Breazeale at a men's store in North Carolina; and $954 in clothing purchased by Andrews' campaign after Andrews' luggage was lost. Barr aide Andrew MacPherson received a $500 clothing allowance from Barr's campaign, a filing with the FEC shows.

Downtown supporters have found a new online forum for airing out their frustrations about Pine Avenue and finding ways to improve the main street, which used to bustle with shoppers and now has more than two dozen vacant storefronts.
Save Pine Avenue is a website launched in November by a dozen contributors consisting of residents, business owners and property owners known as "The Big Grizzlies."
The website, which started after the P-T launched this series about Pine, currently has about 33 members and includes upcoming dates for downtown meetings and activities and featured topics for discussion, such as making CityPlace an outlet mall and trying to have a New Year's Eve block party.
There's also a section called What The?, which features some harsh words for the city, Redevelopment Agency and the Downtown Long Beach Associates.

Redevelopment leaders and 2nd District City Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal tomorrow morning will host a press conference on finally tearing down what they considered to be blight at a major city intersection -- a billboard at 645 E. Ocean Blvd., at Alamitos Avenue.