January 2009 Archives

A Coast Guard helicopter crew spotted a blue whale swimming underneath a tug boat and barge Thursday afternoon about four miles southwest of the L.A. Port  - prompting a broadcast to all mariners in the region to avoid contact with the behemoth.

After disappearing for a few minutes, the whale was spotted again a quarter-mile from the ships and appeared safe. Traffic in the area was moderate.

Blue whales are currently migrating through the area to winter in Baja California. In 2007, three blues were struck and killed by ships between Long Beach and Santa Barbara, and in October, a fin whale carcass was towed into the Port of Long Beach on a container ship bow after being hit.

Blue whales are the world's largest mammals, growing up to 100 feet in length and weighing more than 200,000 pounds.

 

Mariners and boaters who spot injured whales should call the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at (562) 980-4017.

 

Experts aren't expected to gloss over the ugly stuff during a 12:30 p.m. presentation Friday (live broadcast here) on the state of international trade and its impact on our economy. With nearly 30,000 jobs in Long Beach tied to success at the port, global trade has become the city's top employer in recent years, providing careers in longshore work, shipping, warehousing, transportation, maritime law, freight forwarding, rail, security and logistics.

But the past year has proven to be especially difficult as trade volumes dropped 10 percent and layoffs began sweeping the waterfront with unprecedented fury.

But while much of the presentation is expected to focus on the downturn, speakers will also highlight potential growth, including more than $1 billion in redevelopment expected to break ground in and around the harbor complex in coming months. The projects are expected to create several thousand construction and engineering jobs during the next few years.

 

Former Mayor Eunice Sato has endorsed 1st District council candidate Rick Berry, his campaign announced today.

It is the first major endorsement for Berry, a political newcomer who is running against six other candidates to win the April 7 special election. Berry is a management consultant and former president of the Long Beach Community Band.

The 1st District seat is wide open after former Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal took office in the state Assembly last month.

The monthly Beer & Politics event Tuesday night at Gallagher's Pub & Grill started out a little bawdier than usual.

City Councilman Gary DeLong and Assistant City Manager Suzanne Frick were there to discuss a proposed land swap to preserve Los Cerritos Wetlands.

The night began with organizer Michael Clements joking that Councilman Gary DeLong was a Beer & Politics "virgin." Funny at first, but the joke stayed alive longer than it should have.

Shortly after that, DeLong was discussing how past efforts to preserve the wetlands have failed and said: "Hopefully, the key difference between now and then is we're actually going to consummate the deal."

Ooohhh. Maybe that Beer & Politics virgin shouldn't be talking about consummating anything.
Of course, as the saying goes, "politics makes strange bedfellows."

The election season in Cerritos is well under way, with the first of three candidates forums occurring on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at City Hall.

The Cerritos Regional Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the 7 p.m. forum, the first time residents will see six candidates - Jim Edwards, Cindy Yen Chen, Carol Chen, Chris Fuentes, Mark Pulido, and Michael Udomratsak - duke it out for two council seats.

Election Day is March 3.

The Chamber-sponsored forum will broadcast live on Wednesday and rebroadcast Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.

We found out from Mayor Bob Foster how all of Long Beach is doing earlier this month. Now find out how the 2nd District is doing.

Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal will deliver her State of the 2nd District address Tuesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Art Theatre, 2025 East Fourth St.

Her remarks will be followed by presentations from community groups, featuring the Alamitos Beach Neighborhood Association, Bluff Heights Neighborhood Association, Broadway Business Association, Craftsman, Downtown Long Beach Associates, East Village, Hellman Area Neighborhood Association, Pike Merchants Association, Rose Park Neighborhood Association, and Shoreline Village/Downtown Marina regarding their efforts and future goals.

The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments and bike valet will be provided. Seating is limited, so RSVP to Lowenthal's office at 562-570-6684.

Long Beach City Councilman Dee Andrews has endorsed candidate Robert Garcia for the council's 1st District seat, Garcia's campaign announced today.

The endorsement brings to three the number of council members who are backing Garcia in the April 7th special election to replace Bonnie Lowenthal, who is now a member of the state Assembly.

Here's what Andrews, whose 6th District neighbors the 1st District, said in a statement:

I am proud and excited to endorse Robert for the Long Beach City Council.  He represents the change we need at City Hall. I look forward to having a grassroots partner who will stand up for neighborhoods and those most affected by crime and gangs. It's rare to find someone with his energy and innovation and I look forward to working with him.

Garcia also has been endorsed by council members Val Lerch and Suja Lowenthal, state Sen. Alan Lowenthal, state Sen. Jenny Oropeza, Assemblyman Warren Furutani, former Mayor Beverly O'Neill, and the city's police and firefighters unions.

Seven candidates are running for the 1st District seat.

It's a fiesta in the 1st District this weekend as City Council candidate Bill Francisco Grisolia works to build support for his campaign.

Grisolia, a legal specialist, is running against six other candidates for the 1st District seat vacated by Bonnie Lowenthal, who was elected to state Assembly. The special election will take place April 7.

Grisolia's fiesta will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Cisco Burger, 620 W. Anaheim St. Music group Deep Cover will perform at noon. No reservations are required and the event is free.

If you're interested in local politics, and especially if you're a 1st District resident, here's a chance to talk to one of the candidates one-on-one.

A Long Beach program offering affordable therapy for the region's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community will launch on Feb. 4, the The Center Long Beach announced today.

The program will offer counseling for depression, anxiety, relationship issues, HIV, substance abuse, domestic violence and other issues common to the gay community.

The event is open to the public and will take place at 4 p.m. at The Art Theater at 2025 East 4th Street.

Read more about the launch in tomorrow's Press-Telegram.

The three-member City Council committee on transportation and infrastructure will meet Feb. 2 to re-examine a city law regulating commercial vehicles weighing over 6,000 pounds on city streets, Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske's office announced this morning.

My colleague, Paul Eakins, reported today that pickup truck owners who have been fined in East Long Beach are seeking relief in the form of a municipal code modification.Tuesday night, Schipske recommended that the city law be reviewed at the committee level.

The committee, which includes Schipske, Councilman Patrick O'Donnell and Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal, will meet at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 2 in Council Chamber, 333 W. Ocean Blvd.

Here is Mayor Bob Foster's 2009 State of the City address at Cal State Long Beach's Carpenter Performing Arts Center. As it's long, the speech is broken into four parts here.

If you don't want to watch the whole video, check out my article from last week, or read the text of the speech (though Foster did ad lib a bit here and there).

Now that we officially have seven 1st District City Council candidates, I've put together all of the candidates' Web sites and dug up some videos of them. Some of the videos are for their campaigns, others are older ones that highlight them in other ways.

Here are a list of the candidates and links to their campaign Web sites, or in some cases Facebook pages, where accessible.

• Rick Berry, product management consultant and former president of the Long Beach Community Band.
• Evan Anderson Braude, attorney, former 1st District council member and president of the Long Beach Historical Society. 
• Robert Garcia, president of the North Pine Neighborhood Alliance and a Long Beach City College administrator.
• Bill Francisco Grisolia, legal specialist and homeless advocate.
• Eduardo Lara, professor at Pepperdine University.
• Jana Shields, linguist and president of the Willmore City Heritage Association.
• The Rev. Misi Tagaloa, pastor at the 2nd Samoan Church 

This is a video about Tagaloa's efforts at the 2nd Samoan Church to get the church involved in politics and hosting a candidate forum in May for the 54th District Assembly race:

A Tagaloa campaign video:

Garcia's campaign kickoff:

 

Garcia on the arts:

 

This last one is a video of Grisolia during his bid for Congress in 2007. He was one of several candidates to run for the 37th District, which ultimately went to Laura Richardson.

A rep for Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market said today that the company has plans to place its second Long Beach store at Nebraska Avenue and Seventh Street.

But spokesman Brendan Wonnacott said plans are preliminary and did not have a timeline for construction and opening.

Fresh & Easy is a product of El Segundo-based Tesco USA, the U.S. arm of British retail giant Tesco. Tesco, which is spending $2 billion over five years to open hundreds of stores in California, Arizona and Nevada, recently opened its 100th Fresh & Easy.
 
There's already a Fresh & Easy in East Long Beach, at 6436 Spring St.

Mexico's Transportation Secretary has reportedly told investors that construction of a megaport 150 miles south of the border could be postponed again because of the world economic slowdown.

The port at Punta Colonet could undermine Long Beach and Los Angeles by siphoning containers destined for the inland U.S. and by offering cheaper labor.

Luis Tellez says two U.S. banks are working with Mexico to determine if it's still possible to finance the $5 billion project, which sits about 90 miles south of Ensenada on Baja's West Coast, according to the Associated Press.

The project has been delayed at least twice in recent years as investors balked at the $5 billion price tag and grew uncertain with Mexico's political and economic stability. The country's military is involved in a brutal war with drug traffickers which claimed more than 5,500 lives in 2008.

The country is also being affected by the economic slowdown and a deflating peso.

The Queen Mary scored big with Hostmark Hospitality Group, netting six awards at the group's Annual Awards Conference & Seminar this morning, officials at the ship announced.
Operations at the iconic ship -- one of Hostmark's more than 30 properties internationally, won several top honors, including the 2008 Overall Food & Beverage Operation of the Year Award, the 2008 Gung Ho Award ("a corporate culture program that Hostmark practices at all their properties") and the 2008 Employee Relations Award.
The ship also won 2008 General Manager of the Year Award (Jay Primavera); 2008 Food & Beverage Director of Year Award (Dennis Law); 2008 Executive Chef of the Year Award (Thierry Ruaux).
The Queen Mary was also nominated for the 2008 Hostmark Property of the Year Award and Sir Winston's & Chelsea restaurants were nominated for the 2008 Hostmark Restaurant of the Year Award.
"It is with great honor that the Queen Mary accepts these awards," Primavera said in a statement. "Everyone at the ship has worked unbelievably hard and has achieved some amazing results. The crew and I have been humbled by the recognition from Hostmark and are proud to have the responsibility of caring for such an iconic property."

 

T. Boone Pickens - owner of a network of natural gas fueling stations in the port and around the Southland - is steaming mad.

From the eccentric oil billionaire's viewpoint, America is a hopeless addict in desperate need of an intervention.

The drug: foreign oil.

"It is outrageous that we are sending billions of dollars-- $432,000 per minute-- overseas to foreign countries while domestic programs at home remain severely underfunded," Pickens said at a Tuesday morning press conference in the nation's capital. "This transfer of wealth is among the greatest in human history and is streaming revenue away from investment in our own communities into other countries, many of which are not our allies. These countries are taking our dollars and building beautiful state of the art schools, airports, roads, government buildings while our roads and bridges are full of holes, our schools remain in poor condition, and our infrastructure is in dire need of an upgrade."

 Pickens, whose Seal Beach-based company (Clean Energy) has invested millions in natural gas fueling stations across the region, today launched a website showing the volume and price tag of foreign oil imported each month into the U.S.

The site also promotes Pickens' preferred remedies: alternative fuels for transportation; wind, solar and tidal power for the electrical grid; more efficient vehicles for consumers and industry.

The end result, he argues, is a cleaner, safer America.

"The events of recent days in the Middle East, the comments of the Iranian leadership threatening an oil embargo to any country supporting Israel, the actions of the Russians to control the supply of natural gas and OPEC's decision to cut production should be a major reminder that when we import oil from these nations, we do not control our own destiny and we are vulnerable," Pickens said.

 

City Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske announced over the weekend that the Long Beach Towne Center may soon be home to an IMAX theater.

Schipske, whose 5th District encompasses the center, said she received word from City Manager Pat West, who apparently emailed the councilwoman about Vestar's plans for the site. (Vestar manages the property):

 

About the makeover from Schipske's e-mail:
 

"Though the project has been very successful over the past 10 years, we want to make sure that we continue to provide the shopping and entertainment experience that the people of Long Beach and the surrounding communities want and deserve.  As such, we have undertaken a major $1.8 million re-model of the plaza area of the center (now named the Promenade @ Long Beach Towne Center).  These improvements include the addition of an outdoor entertainment stage, a giant video wall, an outdoor fireplace, two new fountains and a play area for kids.  As part of this upgrade, we will also be repainting the project this year and doing other courtyard improvements including landscape upgrades, new furniture and signage.  All of these things are designed to enhance the experience at the center and allow the project to continue its role as the gathering place for Long Beach.  In addition to our improvements, we have been informed that the Edward's theater will be adding an I-Max theater.  As we understand it, that upgrade should be done in time for the summer movie season.  This will just add one more reason to visit the center. "

 

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

The battle over a landmark environmental and labor initiative in the L.A.-Long Beach harbor is heating up in the opening days of the 111th Congress, with Long Beach-area representatives Laura Richardson, Linda Sanchez and Grace Napolitano joining 28 Capitol Hill colleagues in blasting feds for attempting to upend a clean-trucks program.

In a Jan. 7 letter to the Federal Maritime Commission( CA_MOCs_to_FMC_POLA_Clean_Truck_Program_01-07-09.pdf), lawmakers accuse the 3-member board of unfairly siding with the trucking industry in a lawsuit to overturn the ports' joint plan to replace some 16,000 polluting diesel trucks in the harbor.

The truck plan, launched Oct. 1, forces companies to replace their rigs in favor of those meeting federal 2007 emission standards. The deadline is Jan. 1, 2012.

Specifically, the FMC voted 2-1 in early November to file a federal lawsuit which seeks to block the ports of L.A. and Long Beach from enacting a concession program aimed at enforcing the truck turnover. The case was delayed until at least late January pending further arguments.

The turnover plan, meanwhile, is now entering its fourth month without any noticeable disruptions in service or cost increases.

The congressional letter is the latest in a series of notes from lawmakers on behalf of the ports' plan - and in support of FMC Board Member Joseph Brennan, the lone dissenter, who called the lawsuit a "colossal mistake."

The issue has even garnered the attention of the incoming president. In late 2007, then-candidate Barack Obama penned a letter ( Obama_Ports_Letter.pdf) on behalf of L.A.'s concession plan, which requires trucking companies serving L.A.'s port to hire employee drivers and purchase trucks (with the ports' offering to pay up to 80 percent of the replacement cost).

By shifting the capital cost of new trucks to companies and not drivers, who average $12 per hour, the measure seeks to create a long-term solution to the chronic diesel pollution problems plaguing local communities.

Drivers, the argument goes, simply do not earn enough to purchase and maintain new rigs, which can cost $100,000 or more.

The FMC board, meanwhile, continues to carry two vacant seats. If Obama appoints two pro-labor/environment members in coming months, the balance of power may shift in favor of L.A. and the lawsuit could be dropped.

Obama, however, has not indicated if or when he will appoint new members.

 

 

A trio of saplings will be deemed "Keesal," "Young" and "Logan."

Three of Long Beach's newest trees will be named at a Saturday ceremony. The major law firm recently donated to University by the Sea's urban forestry project, which allowed for the planting of 33 trees downtown.

The event will take place at First Street and Elm Avenue.

The agency's recent promotional and outreach efforts earned big kudos from the California Redevelopment Association, which awarded the agency the 2009 Awards of Excellence in the Education, Marketing & Publications category, the RDA announced today.

The RDA's marketing and communications campaign, "Building a Better Long
Beach,"  - which included a new Web site and a half-hour cable program, "Inside Long Beach" - will be recognized at the association's annual conference April in Monterey.

Deserved or not, Long Beach often catches a spotlight in the national press for its ties to pollution - whether it's trash surging down the L.A. River, diesel soot from harbor industry or the city's seemingly perpetual ranking atop Heal the Bay's annual "most polluted beaches" report card.

This time around, the city is ignominiously featured in an ABC Nightline report on the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" - that continent-size island of waste swirling in the Pacific between North America and Japan.

In the episode, Captain Charles Moore guides viewers across the harbor aboard his Long Beach-based research vessel "Alguita."  

As Moore describes the environmental disaster unfolding in the Pacific, we watch as he and others scoop up streams of plastic and debris floating across the L.B. harbor's surface - garbage which eventually ends up in the Pacific trash patch.

Interspersed with Moore's interview is footage of marine birds hopping along the banks of the trash-clogged L.A. River south of Anaheim Street.

According to Moore, the problems of the Pacific garbage patch, the Long Beach Harbor and the L.A. River all trace back to the disregard of a society saturated with cheap, disposable products. 

"The throwaway concept of living is proliferating, and it's showing up in our oceans," Moore says.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last night the City Council voted to have an open discussion, rather than the planned closed session, about a possible lease or sale of the Long Beach Airport. That decision came about in part from pressure by community advocates, gadflies and local news blogger Bill Pearl. See my article about the decision in today's newspaper.

It's rare to see a reporter or any journalist standing at the council meeting podium, and even rarer to hear one give his opinion. We saw this happen last year, and it was the first time in my 10-year journalistic career that I had seen such a thing, when my fellow Press-Telegram employees and our executive editor addressed the drastic changes that had been happening at the newspaper (that wasn't a fun article to have to write, I can tell you that).

But that's the difference between what I do and what Bill Pearl does for www.lbreport.com. My job is to report the news, the facts and only the facts, not to give my opinion. I leave that up to the P-T editorial board.

Bill Pearl, on the other hand, is practically a one-man show at the Web site that he runs out of his home. He's reporter, editor, occasional photographer, and yes, editorial writer. He sometimes posts editorials on his Web site, which he had done about the airport closed session, and gives his opinions freely at council meetings, though that is rare for him as well.

Here's as close as I can get to opinion -- kudos to Bill and the other community advocates for pressuring the council to open up the airport discussion to the public, and to the council for unanimously voting to do so. There's been a lot of talk about creating transparency down at City Hall, and as a journalist, I'm all for it. That's the way democracy should work.

Apparently, Councilman Gary DeLong isn't a fan of long-winded, late-night City Council meetings on Tuesdays.

During tonight's meeting, when the council was discussing possible furloughs for workers, DeLong heartily agreed with a statement by Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske that even the legislative department -- council and mayor -- should make cuts. DeLong joked that he would suggest council members take Tuesdays off for their furloughs.

No one is seriously suggesting council members should take part in the furloughs, I think. Their jobs after all are only part-time.

But heck, if the council took Tuesdays off, I don't know that I would complain. Are there any good TV shows on Tuesday nights? Maybe a reality show?

Actually, I guess I already watch a reality show every Tuesday in the council chambers. There's drama, conflict and the occasional crazy person. Now if only we could get DeLong and Rae Gabelich to show us their salsa moves. Or perhaps Mayor Bob Foster would regale us with a song.

First District City Council candidate Jana Shields is the first in the race to file her nomination papers and qualify as a candidate, according to City Clerk Larry Herrera. Shields filed Monday at City Hall.

Eight other candidates have pulled nomination papers to run for the vacant seat, and they have until Friday at 4:30 p.m. to file with Herrera's office.

Shields, 63, is a linguist and president of the Willmore City Heritage Association. The 1st District includes parts of Downtown and the Port of Long Beach, as well as neighborhoods north and west of Downtown.

By late Friday afternoon, we should be able to tell you who is officially in the race, unless, as Herrera told me tonight, everyone files at the last minute on Friday. When candidates file, Herrera's staff has to make sure that all of the paperwork is kosher. If it all comes in at the last minute, we may have to wait until Saturday to find out who is actually a candidate.

Then, the real fun begins. Can't wait for that first candidate forum. There's nothing like trying to sift through the statements of nine different people, on multiple issues, on deadline.