Making it on the top ten list.

Was stunned that I was included in the list of the top 10 most powerful people in Long Beach compiled by LBPOST.com.

Really.

There are a lot of people in this town, some known, some unknown who are very powerful both in a good way and in a bad way. Power has many meanings.

I have received some very nice calls and emails (some from my council colleagues and one from someone who is also on the list) about being on the list.

I do appreciate the mention but I also realize I wouldn't be on that list without the help and support of a lot of people (staff, family, friends, constituents). I'd list them all but there are way more than 10.

Groundbreaking Ceremony Scheduled for LB Rosie the Riveter Park and Interpretive Center

The City of Long Beach will host a groundbreaking ceremony for the Rosie the Riveter Park and Interpretive Center, on Monday, October 26, at 10 am at the park site at Conant Street and Clark Avenue (adjacent to Fire Station 19). The ceremony will celebrate the development of the park and interpretive center dedicated to the women who worked at the Douglas Aircraft plant during World War II. Named by the City Council in 2006, the park is near the original site of where thousands of women assembled bombers and cargo planes during the early 1940s.

"The park and interpretive center will provide the community a living memorial to a significant part of Long Beach's history," said Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, whose district includes the park. "We are excited about bringing this era to life and providing a focal point for visitors to learn about the history of our city."

Drew Satariano, President of the Parks and Recreation Commission added, “The Parks and Recreation Commission is honored to be a part of developing this gateway into Long Beach's past through this wonderful project.”

The park will be designed in two phases. The first phase includes a walking path with interpretive signs and a guided tour by cell phone that takes visitors to the 1940s when Long Beach helped with the war effort. A memorial featuring reproductions of scenes from the National World War II Memorial and a Victory Rose Garden are tucked in a grove of trees. It will provide a tranquil spot where visitors can reflect upon the sacrifice of those women and men who served in the military and civilian organizations. A compass rose, long used by aviators to navigate their way, will be featured and will be a replica of the one that was in the main lobby of the Administration Building of the Roosevelt Naval Station in Long Beach. A walk through of a life-size sculpture of two women riveters takes visitors to the interpretive center located in the Long Beach City College Foundation building behind the park. The interpretive center will feature memorabilia and displays provided by The Boeing Company, successor to McDonnell Douglas Corporation.

The second phase includes an additional walking path that is comprised of memorial pavers donated by those wishing to honor a loved one: a "Rosie," a member of the Women's Air Service Pilots (WASP) or any branch of the US military. A concrete sculpture outlines a B-17 bomber to provide an amphitheater and garden for public events. Historic benches, lighting and banners will complete the park.

The park design was led by NUVIS Landscape Architecture and Planning with input from the Rosie the Riveter Taskforce and The Long Beach Rosie the Riveter Foundation, a non profit organization formed to support the park and interpretive center.

Funding for the first phase was made possible through a grant given to the City of Long Beach by Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe specifically for the park and donations raised by The Long Beach Rosie the Riveter Foundation.

For more information about the Rosie the Riveter Groundbreaking event, please call Josh Butler, Office of Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, at 562.570.6932.

Welcome to the World Layne Mancini!

Wow. Now I remember why I loved working in the Newborn Nursery and the NICU. Newborns are wonderful and it is amazing to watch them transition in a matter of seconds from being in utero to being in the world.

I was blessed to be at the birthcenter at Memorial Medical Center yesterday and today to greet the newest member into my extended family. Layne Mancini came in yelling and ready to cuddle with her moms, grandmas, aunts, uncles, grandpas, and greatgrandparents --all visiting, waiting, hoping. Then she came into the world and it obviously won't be the same for all of us.

Quite honestly there is nothing more special than a new baby at Christmas time...can't wait. It's been a while (my kids are in their 20's) since we've had a baby around.

News from City Hall

El Dorado Nature Center Stream Restoration:

Created in 1969, the El Dorado Nature Center is a 102-acre public environmental, education and recreation center. It contains two lakes, connected by a half-mile stream. During the 40 years that the Nature Center has been in existence, vegetation has grown to shade and clog the stream. Stream banks have eroded and silt and debris have accumulated on the stream bottom. The resulting wider and shallower stream does not provide healthy aquatic or riparian habitat and is eroding into the walking trail.

The City Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine has been working with stream restoration experts on a plan to transform the stream into a thriving ecosystem closely modeled on natural streams.

The Nature Center stream restoration is being funded by grants under the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, and Coastal Protection Bond Acts of 2000 and 2002, and mitigation paid by Mc Donnell Douglas for violations under the Clean Water Act. Construction is expected to take approximately four to six months, during which time the walking trails adjacent to the stream will be closed.

Busiest Intersections in Long Beach:

The City Traffic Engineer, David Roseman, has listed the following information on the busiest streets in Long Beach:

1. 7th Street
2. Ocean Boulevard
3. Lakewood Boulevard
4. PCH
5. Cherry Avenue
6. Carson Street
7. Anaheim Street
8. Willow Street
9. Del Amo Boulevard
10. Spring Street

Top accident prone intersections:

1. Traffic circle
2. PCH and Cherry
3. LB Boulevard and Wardlow
4. 7th Street and Martin Luther King Avenue
5. Pramount and South Street
6. Los Coyotes Diag and Bellflower Blvd.
7. PCH and LB Blvd
8. 7th Street and Redondo Ave
9. Alamitos Avenue and Anaheim St.
10. Atlantic Ave and Artesia Blvd.

Number of Construction Permits in District 5:

The Development Services Department (aka Planning) reports that 175 construction permits were taken out in the 5th Council District this past August and 755 inspections were completed by Development Services of properties/businesses.

60-foot high wireless pole not appropriate for neighborhood

I have just received notice that T-Mobile wants to construct a 60-foot-high wirless telecommunications monopole disguised as a pine tree located at 3401 N. Studebaker .
It was scheduled for the Planning Commission and then the City Council.

I have told Planning staff I am opposed to the placement of such a high pole in essentially a residential area. I understand the item will not be taken up at the October 15th Planning Commission meeting because T-Mobile wants a chance to meet with the community.

As soon as I learn of a date for such a meeting, I will let residents of that area know so they attend and make their views heard.

Charter Amendment Could Open Up Bargaining Process

I am placing an item on the Council agenda (Public Pay Bargaining Sunshine Requirements) that requests my colleagues to refer to the Charter Amendment Committee (which is the full city council) a proposal that would go before the voters next April to open up the process utilized by the Council in negotiating wages, benefits and working conditions with our public employees.

The public is clamoring for transparency and input --not only of what the City negotiates but how much it costs the city for the agreements over the life of the agreements.

Collective bargaining is regulated by state law -- the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act which is found in the Government Code. Enforcement of this law is done by the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), the same agency which regulates labor laws for teachers, faculty members and employees of public universities and schools.

Currently, state law requires that the collective bargaining process for employees in higher education and employees in school districts provide for the "sun shining" of initial proposals for negotiations, including re-openers as well as proposals that arise later in the course of bargaining. The laws also require a delay after the proposals are presented at a public meeting to allow the public to become informed and provide input regarding the proposals. Additionally, in the case of schools districts, the Superintendent must disclose the costs of the contract and certify that the costs of the contract can be met by the school district during the term of the agreement.

Opening up the process to the public is needed. There isn't any reason that our City Council cannot do the same as is required by the Long Beach Unified School District.

Read below and see what the school district must do: (you'll see why we need to do the same)

Government Code Section 3547 provides:
(a) All initial proposals of exclusive representatives and of public school employers, which relate to matters within the scope of representation, shall be presented at a public meeting of the public school employer and thereafter shall be public records.
(b) Meeting and negotiating shall not take place on any proposal until a reasonable time has elapsed after the submission of the proposal to enable the public to become informed and the public has the opportunity to express itself regarding the proposal at a meeting of the public school employer.
(c) After the public has had the opportunity to express itself, the public school employer shall, at a meeting which is open to the public, adopt its initial proposal.
(d) New subjects of meeting and negotiating arising after the presentation of initial proposals shall be made public within 24 hours. If a vote is taken on such subject by the public school employer, the vote thereon by each member voting shall also be made public within 24 hours.
(e) The board may adopt regulations for the purpose of implementing this section, which are consistent with the intent of the section; namely that the public be informed of the issues that are being negotiated upon and have full opportunity to express their views on the issues to the public school employer, and to know of the positions of their elected representatives.

Government Code Section 3547.5 provides:
(a) Before a public school employer enters into a written agreement with an exclusive representative covering matters within the scope of representation, the major provisions of the agreement, including, but not limited to, the costs that would be incurred by the public school employer under the agreement for the current and subsequent fiscal years, shall be disclosed at a public meeting of the public school employer in a format established for this purpose by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
(b) The superintendent of the school district and chief business official shall certify in writing that the costs incurred by the school district under the agreement can be met by the district during the term of the agreement. This certification shall be prepared in a format similar to that of the reports required pursuant to Sections 42130 and 42131 of the Education Code and shall itemize any budget revision necessary to meet the costs of the agreement in each year of its term.

Nothing in the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act which governs labor relations of municipalities prohibits the City from adopting the same requirements for public disclosure and input.

In fact, the California Supreme Court commented on the school district approach favorably: "Thus, although the public is excluded from actual negotiating sessions . . . its opportunity to be fully informed and to express its views is preserved." San Mateo City School District v. PERB, 33 Cal.3d 850, 864 (1983).

I hope my colleagues and the voters agree to open this up.