Notice: This is not a City of Long Beach site.

Dear Readers: Please note that this is not a City of Long Beach website and is not paid for nor maintained by taxpayer funds.

If you contact Gerrie Schipske through this site on any matter pertaining to the City of Long Beach, a copy of your contact will be forwarded to her official city email as an official public record.

Friday, November 13, 2009

I get lots of these..but this is special

Children Are Quick
____________________________________


TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America .

MARIA:
Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ?

CLASS: Maria.

____________________________________


TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?

JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.

__________________________________________


TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'

GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'

TEACHER: No, that's wrong

GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.


(I Love this child)

____________________________________________


TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?

DONALD: H I J K L M N O.

TEACHER: What are you talking about?

DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
__________________________________


TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.

WINNIE: Me!

__________________________________________


TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?

GLEN:
Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
_______________________________________


TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with ' I. '

MILLIE: I is..

TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'

MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'

________________________________


TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it.
Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?

LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand....

______________________________________


TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?

SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.
______________________________


TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's.. Did you copy his?

CLYDE : No, sir. It's the same dog.
______________________________
_____

TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher

Town Hall Meeting on Marijuana Collectives Was Positive

About 70 people turned out for my townhall with City Prosecutor Tom Reeves and Deputy Police Chief, Bill Blair.

More than 1/4 of the people in attendance operate a marijuana facility. The remainder were both constituents and residents of other council districts.

The discussion was informative and civil. Tom Reeves and Bill Blair made a formal presentation on the status of the law on this issue and then took a number of questions and responded to comments.

I think the best outcome was hearing from constituents then and today that they realize the issue is very complex...because it is.

Schipske Proposes Consolidating Local Elections with County

Creating the best opportunity for Long Beach residents to participate in municipal elections is an informal charge of the Long Beach City Council and a formal charge of the Long Beach City Clerk. Different formats have been discussed, as have the timing of Long Beach municipal elections. The City election cycles are arranged according to Section 1901 of the City Charter:

The primary and general municipal elections for elective officers of the City shall be held in even numbered years, on the second Tuesday in April and the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June, respectively, and candidates elected to office shall assume such office on the third Tuesday in July and serve until election and qualification of their successors.

In the 2000 presidential election, seventy-one percent of registered California voters participated. In the 2008 presidential election, that number rose to seventy-eight percent. The lowest turnout percentage for a general election was 50.6% in November 2002.In June 2006, the voter turnout was 33.6%, and that was a record low for a statewide primary held in June. In comparison, voter turnout in the June 2006 city-wide election was 28.8%. Before that, in June 2002, voter-turn our was 23.4%

Between special elections, statewide elections and municipal elections, voters are expressing fatigue at the frequency of elections. In addition, the cost of conducting elections in alignment with the State should be explored for any possible savings.

I am proposing consolidating our elections with the County and alignment with state. Combined with the in-house expertise of the Office of the Long Beach City Clerk, this consolidation would allow us to continue conducting municipal elections that meet the needs and concerns of residents while at the same time increasing voter turn-out.

In order to do this, we need to amend the City's Charter. This will require a vote by residents to approve the change.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

City Health Officer Finds Proposed Cigar Lounge Ordinance "Not Consistent with the Health Department's mission of promoting and protecting public.."

What has gotten into the water in Long Beach lately? Or better yet, what are people smoking? (Don't ask...)

First the council moves to allow "cigar lounges" and then it speeds along to gut most of the proposed restrictions on marijuana collectives.

What is galling is that allowing the cigar lounges flies in the face of not only the City's protective, comprehensive policy for no smoking in public places and workplaces (which was affirmed by a public vote of the citizens), but is absolutely contrary to the City of Long Beach's Public Health Department's core mission of "promoting and protecting public health."

You can read the complete memo I requested during Council from our City Public Health Officer at the right of this post. The report by the way that is required in the City's current no smoking ordinance.

Now on to the proposed ordinance to regulate marijuana collectives in Long Beach. On the floor last Tuesday, many changes were proposed to be made to what City Attorney Bob Shannon wrote. I made a motion to slow the train down a little by bringing the proposals back to council next week as a draft and not as a first reading of a done deal ordinance.

I am concerned that many of the changes severely weaken the city's ability to regulate these operations and am especially concerned that they might be able to operate near libraries and parks and in mixed zoned areas that have both residential and commercial.

I proposed and hopefully it will be in the draft that any residence within 1,000 feet will have to receive notice of these collectives applying for a permit to operate.

Residents should be asking who is getting campaign contributions from these two entities -- cigar lounges and marijuana collectives -- before a final vote is taken. Also, how on earth can our local news outlets (sans www.lbreport.com) be considered "objective reporters" when they are taking thousands of dollars in advertising. I doubt they are going to "bite the hand that feeds them" by taking a position for strict regulation.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Getting Smashed About Marijuana

I love it when a publication that takes thousands of dollars in ad revenue from marijuana dispensaries runs an article "Gerrie Schipske Says Let them get it somewhere else" -- and then proceeds to post 23 comments that state what an awful person I am and how I should be voted out of office.

Yep. That's what I like. Objective journalism.

So The District Weekly is upset I am having a townhall on the issue of regulating marijuana collectives on Nov. 12 at 6:30 pm at the El Dorado Community Center at 2800 Studebaker and feels it is my way to stir things up to get these places shut down.

Too bad. My constituents want more information and many have expressed concern about having these facilities in their neighborhoods. So I am having a townhall meeting with the City Prosecutor and the Police -- the two entities that will have to enforce any law we put in place.

And while the "reporter" who did the story would like to portray me as the Marie Antoinette of pot -- the question was posed to me about what would happen if the dispensaries were regulated out of existence in Long Beach. My answer: they would have to get it somewhere else.

Save Station 18

Popular Posts