March 2010 Archives

  Swells up to 20 feet will roil local waters in coming days as a series of storms move through the Southland.

The Coast Guard is advising boaters to use extreme caution through Saturday. Storms may cause coast flooding and strong rip currents as well.

"Large waves have the potential to catch even the most experienced mariner or beachgoer off guard, causing disorientation or serious injury," the Guard said in a statement. "The Coast Guard strongly recommends that individuals avoid taking to the water over the next week or until the seas subside."

Congressman Ed Royce (CA-40) will hold a Town Hall meeting at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos on April 10.

The meeting is scheduled from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Liberty Theatre ( Bldg. # 6 on Saratoga).

For RSVPs or questions, call Royce's district office in Orange at 714-744-4130

A 5th District City Council candidates debate sponsored by the Long Beach Press Club will take place tonight at El Dorado Restaurant, 3014 N. Studebaker Road.

This is the penultimate in a series titled "Debates at Da Beach" by the Press Club, a professional and social organization. A panel of local journalists will ask questions of Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske and challenger Mike Hedges. Members of the public may submit questions as well.

Doors open at 5 p.m. and the debate starts at 7 p.m. A full dinner menu and bar service will be available. Food specials are $2 tacos and a $16 prime rib dinner.

Third District City Councilman Gary DeLong announced at the end of last week that former Gov. George Deukmejian, who is a Long Beach residents, is endorsing him in the April 13 primary election. DeLong is running for a second term against Tom Marchese and Terry Jensen.

DeLong has also been endorsed by County Supervisor Don Knabe, former Mayor Beverly O'Neill and the Long Beach Firefighters Association.

First District City Councilman Robert Garcia received 705 letters of support to bring Google's experimental broadband Internet service to Long Beach, he says. The letters are being sent on to the Web giant along with Long Beach's application to be a test city. The deadline to turn in the application was today.

I'm reposting this in case you missed this yesterday evening:

Another write-in candidate has jumped into the 7th District City Council race after his campaign signatures qualified Thursday, City Clerk Larry Herrera said. A write-in campaign is difficult enough as it is, but starting one this late makes it a near impossibility to win. Seventh District Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga is running a write-in campaign for a third term, and there are three other candidates in the race whose names will appear on the ballot.

The new write-in candidate, Fernando Bernabe, told me that he is aware of the obstacles and doesn't expect to win. He said he is running because he may do a regular campaign four years from now, and to encourage other Filipinos to get involved in local politics.

"This is going to be my learning process," Bernabe said.

Bernabe, 47, is a businessman who owns Inihaw Karaoke Restaurant, 1950 W. Willow, a video rental store, and a satellite dish installation business called FNL Bernabe Corp., he said. A Filipino immigrant, Bernabe has lived 20 years in Long Beach and owns three houses, but just recently moved into his 7th District home, he said.

Among his campaign issues is to create jobs and to improve quality of life with services such as mobile health clinics.

City Clerk Larry Herrera said Thursday that of the 50,430 vote-by-mail ballots that his office has sent out so far for the April 13 primary nominating election, it has received 8,063, about 16 percent, back. The election is on, baby.

The Long Beach Taxpayers Association have announced that 5th District City Council candidate Mike Hedges is on its "approved candidate" list for the April 13 election. Hedges scored at least 80 percent on the group's questionnaire, which was given to all Long Beach candidates.

The questionnaire from the financial watchdog group was about taxpayer issues such as employee compensation and pensions. The Taxpayers Association notes that 85 percent of the city budget is spent on employee costs. Hedges, who is running against Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, said in a statement:

Long Beach taxpayers are being  strangled by these budget deficits. The time has come  to roll up our sleeves and  tackle this growing problem head on. For too many years, the city council has delayed making sensible decisions to put the city back
on track  to  solvency. Nobody  likes  to be  the bad guy and reduce or eliminate city services. But just like we all do with our families, when our income doesn't meet our expenses, we start cutting back on expenses.

Gambling losses at the Hawaiian Gardens Casino and a neighboring bingo hall are quietly fueling a tense diplomatic standoff between the U.S. and Israel over settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.

The dispute reached a boiling point Wednesday following a closed-door meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama at the White House.

Obama is reportedly "livid" over a disputed East Jerusalem construction project funded by Irving Moskowitz, Hawaiian Gardens' largest employer and owner of the city's lucrative casino, bingo hall and Tri-City Medical Center.

Moskowitz has been using casino money to fund settlements in occupied Palestinian territory for years, but the latest project comes as the U.S. pushes a freeze on such construction as it tries to re-start peace talks and repair America's image as an honest broker in the Middle East.

Earlier this month, after a visit to Israel and occupied territories by Vice President Joe Biden, clashes broke out when another controversial Jewish-housing project was OK'd despite strong U.S. objections. Sec. of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called the project announcement "an insult to the United States."

Third District City Council candidates will face off again Monday during the latest of the Long Beach Press Club's "Debates at Da' Beach." A panel of local journalists, including yours truly, will ask the candidates questions, and members of the public can submit questions for the panel to ask as well.

The event will begin at 7 p.m. at the Gaslamp Restaurant & Bar, 6251 E. Pacific Coast Highway. Doors open at 5 p.m. and a full dinner menu and bar service will be available.

The event will also be webcast live at www.beerandpolitics.org.

Come join us, or watch online!

Fifth District City Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske told me last week that she hasn't yet accepted a position as executive director of the Democratic Party of Orange County. The party's announcement in February was a little premature, it seems.

"They jumped the gun," Schipske said. "They put that out there before we settled on salary."

Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, today took over the chairmanship of the Assembly's Transportation Committee. Also, last week Lowenthal was named Legislator of the Year by the California Chiropractic Organization, which cited her efforts to protect workers injured on the job. Check out the news release from her office about the Transportation Committee position below:

SACRAMENTO - Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal assumed the chairmanship of the Transportation Committee Monday, a move that local leaders hailed as a victory for her Long Beach-centered district, one of the most transportation-dependent regions in the state.

Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, began her tenure as chair with a hearing in which committee members weighed 16 bills on issues ranging from kit cars to emergency flights at local airports.

Transportation is familiar territory for Lowenthal. She already chairs the Assembly Select Committee on Ports and previously served on the governing boards of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority.

Assembly Speaker John Perez, who appointed Lowenthal chair of the committee late last week, said he tapped her for the post "not only because of the importance of transportation to her district, but also because of all the experience she brings to the task."

Lowenthal represents Long Beach, San Pedro, Signal Hill, the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Catalina Island, a stretch of coastal California that features the nation's busiest port complex, rail corridors, freeways, city streets and coastal roads.

"Transportation means everything," Lowenthal said. "For the people in our area, it's not just how you get to work or school, it's how you make a living, how you link to the rest of the world. Transportation is our life's blood."

Local government and transportation leaders welcomed the news.

Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster said it was "tremendously important to have a Long Beach person who understands the intricacies of these issues in this key post."

Geraldine Knatz, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, called the announcement "great news" and a "recognition of her effective leadership and knowledge of transportation issues."

Knatz said the appointment also spoke to "the important role the new Speaker sees that the ports can play in job creation and the economic recovery of our state."

Long Beach Board of Harbor Commission President Nick Sramek, said, "The Port of Long Beach is honored to have our very own Assemblywoman Lowenthal serve as the chair of the Transportation Committee."

As chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, Lowenthal will serve as an ex-officio member of the California Transportation Commission, which oversees public investment in highway, passenger rail and transit projects.

In case you missed it from my column this week:

This time around, 1st District Councilman Robert Garcia wants residents to give Google some information. Which information, you ask? That people want Long Beach to become a test city for the new Google broadband service.

Garcia has launched a letter-writing campaign to encourage Google to come to Long Beach after he proposed last month that the city apply to become a test city. The council unanimously approved the idea.

The public can sign the letter at www.RobertGarcia.com/google, and Garcia is asking the public to spread the word on Facebook and Twitter. The councilman wants all letters to be submitted before 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The strong union candidate in the 9th District City Counci race, Steve Neal, is getting some extra help from one of the most powerful unions in the area, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO.

The union has been making independent expenditures to support the candidacy of Neal, who works for the United Way and worked for a communications union for 12 years.

The campaign of one of Neal's opponents, Brad Shore, forwarded me four notifications that they had been provided by the Federation of Labor to inform them that independent expenditures of more than $250 had been spent on four days since Saturday in support of Neal. Independent expenditures are required to be reported to the city and to opposing candidates.

In 2006, it was union support that almost gave Neal a win over incumbent Councilman Val Lerch. Now, with Lerch running a write-in campaign for a third term and two other challengers in the mix as well, will the unions help Neal finally get his seat? We'll have to wait until April 13 to find out.

Yesterday the application period for vote-by-mail ballots in Long Beach's April 13 primary nominating election began, and the period will end April 6. To register to vote by mail, click here.

The election is just under a month away, so it's time to start thinking about who your choice for City Council (if your district is one of the five with a council seat on the line), city prosecutor, city attorney and mayor.

Qatar, the tiny but wealthy Middle East emirate and proud owner of two Boeing C-17s, held a ceremony last week praising the aircraft's role in recent humanitarian missions in Haiti and Chile.

"When the Qatar Emiri Air Force acquired two C-17s last year, we did so with every intention of supporting international disaster-relief and humanitarian missions around the world," said Brig. Gen. Ahmed Al-Malki during the March 10 event in the capital Doha. "We take great pride in being among the first of many nations to respond to Haiti and Chile, delivering several thousand tons of food, water and medical supplies."

The Qatar Air Force utilized the Long Beach-made jets to be among the first delivering needed supplies in the wake of devastating earthquakes in January (Haiti) and late February (Chile). The C-17 has been widely used in recent years to help out following natural disasters in places like Pakistan, Indonesia and New Orleans.

Qatar is one of several foreign nations who have purchased the $200-million heavy airlifter in recent years, joining an elite club that includes the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the U.S.

Qatar is pondering two future purchases - sales the Boeing team in Long Beach is counting on to maintain production in coming years as the U.S. Air Force scales back or ends its own purchases.

  The public has until 4:30 p.m. March 22 to give an opinion on the proposed $1.1-billion Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement project.

Port authorities want to get going on a new bridge within the year, but are first required to give the public ample time to submit their thoughts. Port of L.B. Environmental Planning Dir. Rich Cameron is accepting written comments at 925 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach 90802, or by e-mail at Cameron@polb.com.

After the public comment period, port engineers will begin work on the final environmental impact report, which should be available this summer. Both the draft EIR and final EIR are required before work can begin, and public comments and opinion often alter the scale and scope of infrastructure projects of this size. 

The Harbor Dept. wants to build a modern six-lane, 200-foot-high superbridge to replace the creaking 40-year-old existing span, which is plagued with roadway congestion and deteriorating concrete decks.

Caltrans estimates 18 million vehicles cross the Gerald Desmond each year, including millions of commuter vehicles zipping from Long Beach to San Pedro.  

Unlike other recent infrastructure projects in the port, the bridge project has drawn relatively little opposition, a feat attributed to both a bad economy (the project promises 4,000 construction and engineering jobs annually through 2016) and extensive community outreach by Harbor Dept., longshore and maritime authorities, who argue the new bridge is needed to handle increasing container counts and larger ships.

The Long Beach Press Club is holding a city prosecutor candidates debate tonight, and it can be viewed live online as well. The debate between Doug Haubert and Timothy O'Reilly, who are running for the position in the April 13 election, will take place at 7 p.m. at Smooth's Sports Grille, 144 Pine Ave.

A full kitchen and bar will be available downstairs during happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. before the debate, which will be on the rooftop patio. A panel of journalists will ask questions of the candidates. The event is free and open to the public.

Can't make it? Then go to www.beerandpolitics.org to watch the debate live online.

Let's get it on! It won't be quite no holds barred, but tonight may be one of the most lively local debates for the April 13 election.

The Long Beach Press Club is holding a debate for city attorney candidates Bob Shannon (the incumbent) and Tom Reeves (city prosecutor). Two lawyers going head to head? Should be riveting (no sarcasm meant either).

The debate will take place at 7 p.m. at the Gaslamp Restaurant & Bar, 6251 E. Pacific Coast Highway, and can also be viewed live online. Doors open at 5 p.m., and a full dinner menu and bar service will be available. The event is free and open to the public. Before and after the event, attendees can meet the candidates and members of the Press Club .

The Press Club has partnered with the organizers of Beer and Politics and InstantPresenter, which will be webcasting the debate live. The event can be viewed at www.instantpresenter.com/beerandpolitics.

Where do Long Beach City Council members and candidates in the upcoming election stand on bringing down the Breakwater? The Surfriders Foundation has its answer for you in a survey released last week (I'm a little behind on this, please forgive me).

Check out the survey results here.

 If you want to see a different kind of government in action, stop by City Hall, 333 W. Ocean Blvd., at 9 a.m. Friday. The Air Quality Management District board will be holding one of its rare meetings away from its Diamond Bar headquarters there.

The 13-member AQMD board represents 160 cities in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange and Riverside counties, as well as each county body and the state. It oversees emissions standards and air pollution issues from stationary sources, such as power plants and refineries.

While it's nice having the AQMD here, the meeting is bittersweet for Long Beach.
Last month, the city lost its direct representation on the board when the members of the AQMD's Los Angeles County Western Region voted to replace Long Beach Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga with Rolling Hills Estates City Councilwoman Judy Mitchell.
Long Beach will still be represented, but it will be by Mitchell, who will be sworn in Friday.

If you can't make the Long Beach Press Club's 9th District City Council candidates debate tonight, you can watch it online. The organizers of the monthly Beer and Politics discussions are teaming up with the InstantPresenter Web conferencing site and the Press Club to do a live Webcast of the debate. A panel of local journalists will ask the candidates questions.

The four council candidates had confirmed that they would be there, but a representative of candidate Dan Pressburg said today that he won't be able to attend because of medical reasons.

The debate will take place at 7 p.m. at El Ranchito, 5345 Long Beach Blvd. The doors open at 6 p.m., and a full dinner menu and bar service will be available. To watch the debate online, go to www.instantpresenter.com/beerandpolitics.

 

Hopes remain on hold in the nation's largest seaports as truck drivers, environmentalists and their allies await an April court hearing that may decide the fate of clean truck programs at ports across America.

On the heels of a New York Times piece about the plight of contract truck drivers and their struggle to pay for expensive new rigs mandated under port anti-pollution programs, Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa lauded L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa during a dinner this week in Washington.

Hoffa's speech, covered by the Huffington Post, outlined the reasons behind his union's alliance with environmentalists and others concerned that the costs and burden of the various clean-truck plans will fall almost exclusively on "independent owner-operators" - who, according to research by Rutgers University and other economists and academics, earn about $10-$11 per hour but are responsible for trucks costing $75,000 to $100,000.

An estimated 90-95 percent of local port drivers fall into the category of "independent owner-operators," so-called self-employed small businessmen who Rutgers Professor David Bensman found have suffered severely under 30 years of deregulation in the trucking industry.

"If you visit any of the leading ports in the United States...you will hear a story of exploitation that illuminates how neo-liberal globalization and America's thirty year old deregulation policy have combined to create destructive competition in low-wage labor markets," Bensman writes.

New diesel rigs cost $75,000-$100,000, not including insurance, registration, tax and other maintenance plans. A hybrid, natural gas or electric truck can cost in excess of $200,000.

Currently, a mix of federal, state and local taxpayer monies and port profits are being used to subsidize drivers, but the funds aren't guaranteed forever, prompting Hoffa and others to seek long-term solutions, including requiring trucking companies doing business on port property to own and maintain the rigs they dispatch to the waterfront.

That plan is being challenged in federal court by retailers and the trucking lobby, who claim it violates the spirit of the deregulatory Motor Carrier Act of 1980.

A court battle between industry and the Port of L.A. is scheduled for April 20. Long Beach signed an exclusive deal with the group suing L.A. allowing the current system to continue.

"Poverty is another byproduct of the ports," Hoffa said. "Truck drivers are paid by the load, but not much. They're called 'independent contractors,' so they bear the cost of their own taxes for Social Security, Medicare and workers' compensation. If they're hurt or sick and can't work, they go without pay. Their trucks have been called sweatshops on wheels."

Here's a clip from Bensman's interview with My9 News in New York-New Jersey

 

Gather 'round, North Long Beach! Have a drink, have a bite to eat and hear what your candidates have to say.

Candidates for the 9th District City Council seat will face off Wednesday in the Long Beach Press Club's second event in the "Debates at Da' Beach" series. All four 9th District candidates have confirmed their attendance at the debate, which will take place at 7 p.m. at El Ranchito restaurant, 5345 Long Beach Blvd., and will last no more than 90 minutes. Doors open at 6 p.m., and a full dinner menu and bar service will be available.

A panel of local media will ask questions of the candidates, and there will be an opportunity before and after for the public to meet both panelists and candidates. I will be the moderator and would love to see you there. The 9th District encompasses North Long Beach. Running for the seat are Brad Shore, Steve Neal, Dan Pressburg and incumbent Councilman Val Lerch, who is running for a third term as a write-in candidate.

The Press Club is a professional and social organization of Long Beach area journalists.