2012 We Can Do It Award Winners

On October 19, the Long Beach Rosie the Riveter Foundation honored the following women for their "We Can Do It" spirit during a luncheon hosted by the Foundation and Keesal, Young & Logan:

Carmen Perez, Julie Bartolotto, Eunice Sato, Jill Rosenberg, Blue Collar Women, Maria Elena Durazo, Neena Strichart, Dr. Lynn Shaw, Sue Ann Robinson, Nien Lien Wacker, and Pat McCormick (represented by her son). Former winners included Jane Templin, Dr. Beverly O'Neil and Terry Braunstein.

We Can Do It poster for Westinghouse, closely associated with Rosie the Riveter, although not a depiction of the cultural icon itself. Pictured Geraldine Doyle (1924-2010), at age 17. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Schipske Launches LB Winged Wonders Call for Artists

Long Beach Winged Wonders - Calling All Artists 

To Create An Urban Bird Walk 

 

Long Beach, CA -- October 16, 2012 - Ever walked the El Dorado duck pond and wondered who were all those beautiful winged wonders who inhabit the pond? Once local artists respond to the call to submit their renderings of the wild birds, you will be able to see them via the "Long Beach Winged Wonders" banner project being launched by Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske.

"Local artists are being asked to submit artwork depicting 44 wild birds that inhabit the pond," says Schipske, who established a Lakes, Ponds and Wetlands Task Force five years ago. "The selected entries will be placed on banners which will be hung on the light poles that circle the duck pond in El Dorado Park off Willow Street and Studebaker, which is the home for hundreds of wild birds. The banners will also feature the names of the wild birds that inhabit the pond and information about the importance of these birds to the environment.   

Schipske notes that she launched the partnership between the art community and supporters of our wild life to help educate and promote awareness about the numerous birds who make their home in our local pond. "The colorful, creative banners will be accompanied by bird sounds and a narrated tour that can be accessed by visitors' cell phones."

The "call to artists" is being coordinated by the Arts Council of Long Beach and the Long Beach Museum of Art and is open to all artists that live or work in Long Beach. There is no age restriction. Submissions of two dimensional artwork are welcome. Art must be a single image in color with no background. Work must be original and done on a flat surface of canvass or paper with each individual artists' chosen medium. Photographs or three dimensional artwork will not be accepted. Artists are permitted to submit original art of up to three different bird species, and each can be created with a different medium. All submissions will be juried by an independent review panel assembled by the Arts Council. A list of the bird species is available by clicking here: http://www.longbeach.gov/naturecenter/birds.asp.

Deadline for submissions of original artwork is Monday, November 30, 2012. Submissions must be submitted to the following address: http://artscouncilforlongbeach.submittable.com.  Each artist will need to provide his/her name, artist statement and description of each piece submitted. Up to three images, each depicting a single species, can be submitted with an optional detail shot of each image.

Schipske is partnering with Partners of Park, Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust, Waste Management, and the Port of Long Beach to raise funds for the printing of the banners and a book featuring the artists and their works that will be made available in the El Dorado Nature Center.

For more information, please contact Molly Gardner at the Arts Council: 562 435 2787.

Please Participate in Great Shakeout on October 18

Community Encouraged to Participate in the
'Great California ShakeOut' Earthquake Drill on Thursday, Oct. 18

The City of Long Beach is encouraging all residents, businesses, schools and visitors to join our neighbors around the state and participate in the annual "Great California ShakeOut" earthquake drill on Thursday, Oct. 18, at 10:18 am. Last year more than the 8.6 million Californians participated in this drill.

Earthquakes strike suddenly and without warning.  They can occur at any time of the year, day or night. Long Beach and Los Angeles County are at moderate to very high risk of earthquakes.  Though earthquakes cannot be predicted, there are steps you can take to prepare your home and family for an earthquake.

At 10:18 am on Thursday, October 18, 2012, millions of people in government offices, homes, businesses, schools, and public places throughout California will “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” during a simulated drill of what we would do during a real, significant earthquake.  The Long Beach Civic Center is participating in the drill.

Practicing earthquake plans and creating earthquake kits are critical steps in preparing for the difficult conditions that will occur with a major earthquake.  Basic services such as electricity, water, gas or sewage treatment may be cut off for an extended period of time.  Most experts will tell you to prepare to be self-sustaining for a minimum of five to seven days after a major earthquake.  Store enough food and water for each per person in your home for five to seven days.  Do not forget to include items for your family members with special needs (seniors, infants, etc).  Remember to include food and water for your pets as well.  
 
The Great California ShakeOut is organized by the Earthquake Country Alliance.   Simulating what would happen in a major earthquake is an invaluable opportunity for us to better understand how disaster of this magnitude could affect our homes and loved ones.  Please participate in the Great ShakeOut.  

For more information on earthquake preparedness, visit www.longbeach.gov/fire/emergency_prep/earthquake.asp, http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/preparedness.php or www.oes.ca.gov.

Let all of California know you participated in the ShakeOut by registering on the Great California ShakeOut website, www.shakeout.org. 

Related articles

• City Officials Launch OK/HELP Window Sign Program For Earthquake Preparedness
• The Great ShakeOut earthquake drill is this Thursday, Oct. 18; Do you know your home's hazards?

Schipske's Efforts Go City-Wide -- Mayor Foster Praises Program

For Immediate Release

From the Office of Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, 5^th District

562 570-6932

SCHIPSKE’S VIAL OF LIFE PROGRAM GOES CITY-WIDE –

Mayor Foster Praises Program As “Simple yet effective”

Long Beach, CA – October 15, 2012 -- It took 6 years after her bid for City Council for Gerrie Schipske, a Registered Nurse Practitioner and former EMT who did ride alongs with the Long Beach Fire Department, to get the VIAL of L.I.F.E. fully implemented in the City of Long Beach, but now that the City has announced it is taking it city-wide, Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske is very pleased.

“As someone who has worked in our local emergency rooms, I thought it was important to find a way residents could communicate their medical conditions and medications to the paramedics when they responded to a call for service,” explains Schipske. 

“When I walked door to door in the 5^th Council District in 2005, I handed out my own ‘Vial of LIFE’ kits that my volunteers and I put together. They were a hit. So after my election I worked with local medical facilities, the Long Beach Fire Department and several charitable organizations to improve the program and make it work for Long Beach,” Schipske notes. “Today, the City of Long Beach announced that it is taking the our program and expanding it city-wide. I want to thank Mayor Foster and the Long Beach Fire Department and Long Beach Fire Fighters Association for their strong support of this important effort.”

The Vial of L.I.F.E.is a nation-wide effort to put medical and prescription information into the hands of first responders. L.I.F.E. stands for Life Saving Information in Emergencies. The program is simple. Residents fill out a medical information form and place it inside a pill vial, place the pill vial in the top shelf of the refrigerator and put a magnet on the outside of the refrigerator to let  paramedics know the information is inside the refrigerator.

“The ‘Vial of L.I.F.E.’ program saves lives by speaking for residents who can’t speak for themselves,” Mayor Bob Foster said. “This simple yet effective program will quickly provide the information that 911 responders need when they administer critical help to an injured or sick person who might not be able to speak.”

Schipske has raised several thousands of dollars to launch the VIAL of L.I.F.E. in Long Beach to pay for a website (www.lbvialoflife.com), printing of medical forms, labels and refrigerators magnets. “Walmart stepped up and donated 10,000 pill vials,” says Schipske. “I ran the medical form by Dr. Steven Shea who heads up the ER at St. Mary Medical Center and works directly with our paramedics so that we know it contains the information that is needed to make quick medical decisions.”

Schipske reports that “senior and  youth volunteers” assemble the kits which she has worked to distribute the Vial of LIFE throughout the City of Long Beach. “We have distributed 3,000 VIAL of L.I.F.E. kits to date. Any resident of Long Beach can pick up a VIAL of L.I.F.E. kit at the locations on the list to the right.” 


Additionally, 300 VIALS were given to Meals on Wheels for their clients. 

“We also produced a public service announcement with Chief Duree that you can view on our website: www.lbvialoflife.com. VIAL of L.I.F.E. can save your life.” #30