It's Time for House cleaning in City Hall

Now that the City Manager has placed a department head on administrative leave for accepting a gift of a hotel room from a lobbyist and for not being truthful when asked if he did so, it is time that a complete housecleaning be done at City Hall.

All department heads and all elected officials need to come clean about whether or not they have accept a gift of any kind from anyone having business at City Hall.

Two years ago, then Councilmember Bonnie Lowenthal and I were the ONLY votes in favor of a lobbyist ordinance -- and a proposal to prohibit the acceptance of gifts from lobbyists of any amount. Several of my colleagues argued that "These are our friends. We should be able to accept their gifts just as is done in the business world." (Yeah, we saw what the banks and Lehman Brothers did..)

After this latest debacle, and considering an earlier release of emails between another department head and a developer in which the department head told the developer: "I have 5 or 6 councilmembers in pocket..." the voters are saying "Enough is enough."

We need a complete investigation -- everyone. We also need the calendars of the elected officials published to show the public who has been meeting with whom. And, we need elected to disclose prior to a vote if they have had a private discussion with anyone having a matter before the City Council.

Unless we do and unless we pass the strictest lobbyist ordinance and prohibit any type of gift in the future -- the voters will not trust us.

Coastal Commission Appointment Goes to Santa Monica

I am honored to have been considered for appointment to the powerful California Coastal Commission and to be one of only three endorsed by the environmental community and the only one endorsed by labor and the California Nurses Association (CNA).

The appointment has been given to a Santa Monica Councilmember Richard Bloom -- which like me was one of three endorsed by the environmental community. Congrats to him -- he has a great record of protecting the environment.

Had I been appointed to the Coastal Commission, I would have to have given up my Senate Appointment to the California Medical Board. I am the first and only registered nurse in California and the United States to serve on a medical board. I work very hard on this Board and will remain there for several more years.

This was a great honor for me and for Long Beach to be seriously considered for this prestigious appointment.

The Impact of Pearl Harbor on Long Beach

In writing my two historical books on Long Beach, I found out an interesting connection between Long Beach and the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Many of the ships that were destroyed or severely damaged during the attack had been recently anchored off the coast of Long Beach.The ships included: West Virginia, Maryland, California, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Nevada, and Arizona. This means of course, that many, many families and friends in Long Beach were directly impacted by this attack -- more than other cities.

The other impact was on the Long Beach Municipal Airport - Daugherty Field and the new terminal building that was actually scheduled to open the day of the attack. The opening ceremonies were canceled. The pastel paint was covered with camouflage paint. Military guns and soldiers were billeted around the terminal building and in the basement for the duration of the war. Showers and hot water tanks were installed for the soldiers. Barracks were built adjacent to the terminal. The building was repainted in 1945 for its real "grand opening."