August 2010 Archives

Compton will receive an Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program (JAG) from the U.S. Department of Justice in the amount of $182,735, Congresswoman Laura Richardson announced on Monday.

"This grant supports a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime based on the City of Compton's needs and conditions," she explained in a prepared statement.

 "The grant funds can also be used for local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and information systems for criminal justice," she added.

The JAG also allows states and local government funds to be used for law enforcement programs, prosecution and court programs, prevention and education programs, corrections programs, drug treatment and enforcement programs, planning, evaluation and technology improvement programs, and crime victim or witness programs.

"Government has no greater obligation than to ensure the safety of its citizens and the funds awarded in this grant to Compton will be used to help keep community residents safe," said Richardson.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke admitted Friday what many of us already know, feel and see: the economy is weak, has been weak and will continue to be weak for the foreseeable future.

First off, the rebound of late 2009/early 2010 was largely the result of stimulus programs and an export boom driven by demand in Asia. Both benefitted Long Beach, where port trade and government - from schools to police - are the city largest employers.

But while the early boost slowed the downturn, it wasn't enough to make a dent in the city's outrageously high jobless rates, which went from 14.5 percent in January to about 13 percent in May, only to jump back to 14.5 percent in July.

And that's Long Beach, the economic engine for much of Southeast L.A. County. Industrial cities like Compton, Lynwood, Paramount, South Gate and others along the 710 Corridor are suffering from significantly higher unemployment rates.

Take Compton, where an estimated 22.2 percent are out-of-work. That's Depression-era numbers.

And quite scary.

So what's the big news from Bernanke?

After months of arguably misleading statements and a fair amount of whitewash, the Fed Chief admitted Friday that drastic measures may be needed to right the lilting ship.

"The (Fed) is prepared to provide additional monetary accommodation through unconventional measures if it proves necessary, especially if the outlook were to deteriorate significantly," Bernanke said at a meeting in Wyoming.

Furthermore, the Fed keeps downgrading its growth estimates. It initially predicted about 3 percent for 2010, then 2.5.

Now, it appears the year may end with overall GDP growth of 1 percent or less.

That's not nearly strong enough to recover the 8 million-plus jobs lost in 2008-2009. 

"Exports were much weaker than predicted. Activity has slowed. It looks like the recovery that began in the middle of 2009 has lost momentum since then and the economy is just barely staying in positive territory now," an economist told CNN Money.

As for manufacturing, a primary driver of export growth and still one of the region's largest employers, growth is deflating fast. 

"The manufacturing sector has been the driver in the recovery, but that growth has stalled. That's unfortunate because ultimately, manufacturing has been a growth engine for employment," said Bruce Yandle of George Mason University in Arlington, Va

Given these trends, we can reasonably expect unemployment and foreclosure rates to remain at modern highs well into 2011, if not longer.

There are proven Keynesian remedies for the mess, but with the federal and state government running in the other direction, it's unlikely a fix is near. 

As we approach Fall and the recession nears its third year, perhaps it's time to consider some radical alternatives.

Any suggestions?

It should probably shock no one that Long Beach is now officially in a fiscal emergency.

After the Long Beach City Council came out of a closed session tonight to discuss labor negotiations, City Attorney Robert Shannon announced that the council had unanimously declared a state of fiscal emergency. The city is facing an $18.5 million general fund deficit in the coming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, and is depending upon city worker unions to freeze their pay to eliminate $11.3 million of the gap. If that doesn't happen, City Manager Pat West has a "Plan B" that would cut much more deeply into every department than the currently planned $7.2 million.

Shannon said that West will soon release a memo to explain what the fiscal emergency means. I wasn't able to corner Shannon before he left the council meeting early, but here's my understanding of a fiscal emergency -- its effect is limited. Cities that declare fiscal emergencies still must abide by their financial contracts, pay their debts and meet contractual obligations with their employee unions. However, when the council declared a fiscal emergency last year, Shannon said that it could "strengthen our position" in handling appeals of unpaid furlough days, which the council enacted last year.

Spanish singer- songwriter Shaila Durcal, Port of Long Beach Harbor Commissioner Mario Cordero, Centro CHA Executive Director Jessica Quintana and Long Beach Bicycle Ambassador Tony Cruz will serve as grand marshals of this year's Latin American Parade & Festival, organizers announced today.

The second annual event, on Sept. 25, will feature Durcal as the celebrity grand marshal, Cordero as the parade grand marshal and Quintana and Cruz as community marshals.

"We expect an even bigger, more exciting, more fun event this year," said 1st District City Councilman Robert Garcia. "And last year we had 7,000 people and it was a rich display of diversity for the community, and I think it will be another great year."

The event will begin with a 1 p.m. parade down Pine Avenue from 6th Street to Broadway and end with a two-block festival of arts, music, dancing and food in the East Village Arts District.

The Downtown Long Beach Associates is accepting applications for vendors, performers, artists and parade participants needed for the event. Download an application at www.dlba.org/LAPF. The DLBA also needs corporate sponsors and is offering promotional packages ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.

Call 562-436-4259 or go to www.downtownlongbeach.org for more.

Last Thursday during a 3rd district neighborhood association meeting at the Yacht Club, City Manager Pat West told the crowd that the "donning and doffing" lawsuit filed by almost 800 Long Beach police officers is near resolution.

"It looks like there's going to be a very good outcome to that," West said, referencing a recent closed session with the City Council.

The police officers filed a class action lawsuit to be reimbursed for allegedly unpaid time they spent putting on their uniforms and protective equipment, attending classes, waiting in court, attending briefings, and many other routine tasks.

West said that a settlement was close, but that it must be agreed upon by the officers involved.

However, City Attorney Bob Shannon told me later that day that he wasn't expecting to resolve the matter anytime soon and that there may have been a misunderstanding about what was said in the closed session.

So far, Long Beach has spent about $1.2 million on outside attorneys fees in the case, Shannon said.

I saw this video on Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe's website. It's a fun aerial perspective of the county.

CNBC's Nicole Lapin chats with Richard Steinke, the no. 1 guy at the Port of Long Beach, about the economy, international trade and regional impacts.

The 26-year-old Lapin co-hosts a daily business show called "Worldwide Exchange," which focuses on global business and policy trends.

This segment aired Aug. 5.

Other port videos can be viewed at www.youtube.com/portoflongbeach.

Steinke appeared on another CNBC show in 2009.

With at least three City Council members --  Robert Garcia, Suja Lowenthal and James Johnson -- recently expressing their support for Instant Runoff Voting, and another, Councilman Gary DeLong, at one time showing some interest, it could one day become the way that Long Beach residents vote. The council is expected to vote tonight to forward its Charter Amendment Committee recommendation to discuss changes to the voting system, including perhaps Instant Runoff Voting, to another council committee.

Instant Runoff Voting, also known as Ranked Choice Voting, allows voters to select up to three candidates in their order of preference. When the election results come in, the candidates with the fewest number of votes are eliminated, and then the second choices on those ballots are applied to other candidates. The process continues until someone wins, essentially with a majority vote. Supporters say this can avoid the need for a runoff election, ensures the winner actually has a majority, and avoids "spoiler" candidates who may take away votes from a similar candidate and end up making the person that most voters oppose win the election. Opponents say it doesn't always work that way. Watch the videos below and decide for yourself.

Here's the pro-IRV video from FairVote.org:

 

And an anti-IRV video:

With the arrival last month of two new council members -- 7th District Councilman James Johnson and 9th District Councilman Steve Neal -- two new staffs also stepped onto the 14th floor at City Hall. There are new faces and a few familiar ones on the staffs.

Johnson's chief of staff is Michael Clements, who headed the campaign for the 2008 Measure I infrastructure parcel tax and organizer of the monthly Beer & Politics event. Former 9th District field deputy Jerry Caligiuri has also joined Johnson's staff, as has Mary Sramek, the daughter-in-law of Harbor Commission President Nick Sramek. Rounding out Johnson's team is Eduardo Aramburo, a bilingual staff member.

Neal's chief of staff is Rex Richardson, who had worked for the Service Employees International Union. Just as Caligiuri moved from the 9th District to the 7th District, Ricardo Linarez, a former 7th District staffer, is now Neal's field deputy. Kari Faithful is Neal's administrative aide.

You may have read my stories last week about Long Beach's pension problems. The rising cost of providing the retirement pensions threatens to overwhelm the city. Check out that story here.

I also wrote about a former city worker who started in 1940 and retired in 1973 as a fire captain. Now 99 years old, he reflects on when firefighters first organized in Long Beach to fight for simple things such as health care. Read about him here.

So, what do you think about pensions? Take our poll below and tell us what you think the solution is.

The Los Angeles Times put together some interesting numbers today looking at property taxes throughout the county. Oddly, some of the poorest cities are also taxed the most. Long Beach is at about the middle of the pack, ranked 43 out of 88 cities, but its property tax rate of 1.114851 percent is well below the county average of 1.16 percent.

Check out the Times' property tax chart here.