April 2011 Archives

Long Beach City Councilman Robert Garcia announced today that he has been invited to the White House for Cinco de Mayo on Thursday. He will be among other guests and dignitaries from across the country celebrating with the president and first lady.

I jokingly asked Garcia if the White House was aware that he's not Mexican-American, but Peruvian-American. Cinco de Mayo is, after all, a Mexican holiday commemorating the Battle of Puebla, a Mexican victory over an invading French army. In the United States, Cinco de Mayo has become a day to recognize Mexican-Americans and other Latinos for their contributions to the country. Not to mention an excuse for all people -- Latino, white or otherwise -- to drink tequila and cerveza.

Garcia made history when he was elected in 2009 as the first Latino (as in, a Hispanic man) on Long Beach's council. The first Latina was the late Jenny Oropeza.

By the way, no city funds are being used to pay for Garcia's trip to D.C., he noted.

You may have read about the Queen Mary's latest management turnover last week. The ship has had its ups and downs, and plenty of instability in recent years. The ship has also just gone through more than $5 million in repairs, perhaps giving the old lady the most attention she has received in years.

Yet, the 55 acres next to the ship remain undeveloped, despite years of efforts to create some sort of attraction there. Some people say the vessel, which has been in Long Beach since 1967, is an iconic part of the city's history, and others say it's time to sell her off for some much-needed cash.

So, what do you think should be done with the Queen Mary?

As I wrote about in my column this week, Long Beach City Clerk Larry Herrera is now providing reports online about independent expenditures in local political contests. That means it's much easier to know just how much money labor unions and other special interest groups are spending to support or oppose candidates.

Check out the reports here.

It's been more than a the month since legendary Long Beach singer Nathaniel "Nate Dogg" Hale passed away at age 41 (from complications of cardiopulmonary disease). Since then, we've received more than a few emails, phone calls and letters from fans, readers, and others reminiscing, celebrating or just plain curious about his massive body of work and reported plans for a documentary. While we're not privy to any documentary on the singer's life, there remains a mountain of work from Nate's appearances on film, television and music dating back to his breakthrough single "Indo Smoke" in 1991. I've compiled some snippets via YouTube and posted them below in chronological order, from the early days in Long Beach to later Grammy-nominated work with Eminem, Dr. Dre and The Game. Videos (may contain explicit lyrics) "Indo Smoke" featuring Mista Grimm (1991) "Lil Ghetto Boy" w/Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg (1992) "Regulate" w/Warren G (1993) "How Long Will They Mourn Me? w/Tupac Shakur (1994) "Never Leave Me Alone" w/ Snoop Dogg (1996) "All About U" w/ Tupac Shakur (1996) "One More Day" w/ Snoop (1996) "These Days" (1997) w/ 213 "Lay Low" w/ Snoop Dogg (2000) (embed disabled by BMV Music) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhEBErxoNMk "The Next Episode" w/ Snoop, Dr. Dre (2001) "Nobody Does It Better" w/ Warren G (2001) "Area Codes" w/ Ludacris (2003) "21 Questions" w/ 50 Cent (2005) INTERVIEWS: A few clips through the years. Nate was also featured extensively in the documentary "Welcome 2 Death Row" (2002) Yo! MTV Raps (1993) News Clip (2011)

Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, D-Lakewood, appeared on RTAmerica's "The Big Picture program with host Thom Hartmann's to discuss recent federal budget negotiations, the GOP's proposed cuts and her priorities as a representative covering much of Lakewood, Cerritos, Whittier, La Mirada and Lynwood.

 

As my colleague Kelly Puente wrote in a great piece Sunday, many Long Beach preschools face serious cuts under the proposed state budget. Now, three county agencies with First 5, a statewide preschool program, are suing the state over the plan, the Sacramento Bee reports. From the article:

A trio of First 5 agencies said Tuesday they have filed suit to block the state from taking $1 billion from the statewide network of childhood development programs, marking the first legal challenge to Gov. Jerry Brown's budget.

The three county commissions -- Fresno, Merced and Madera -- said the shift of funds without voter approval sets a "dangerous precedent." They said the move contradicts the "original intent" of Proposition 10, the 1998 voter-approved measure to tax tobacco products to fund health and educational development programs for children under 5 years old.

Tonight the Long Beach City Council will discuss a somewhat controversial proposal to outsource street sweeping services. Supporters say it could save money, but opponents say it would mean unnecessarily laying off workers who already bring in revenue.

Read a summary of key actions going before the council here.

See the full meeting agenda here.

Watch the 5 p.m. meeting live online here.