You are invited to hear what we've accomplished these past 6 years

Mark your calendar to come hear the 7th Annual State of the 5th Council District as I discuss the major projects and efforts undertaken over the past six years to make the 5th Council district the best in the City.

Thursday, Jan 10th at 6:00 pm
Long Beach Water Treatment Facility
Redondo Avenue and Spring Street

For more information, call my office: 562 570-6932.

Look forward to seeing you there.

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• Council members Lowenthal and Neal are asking the Council to support new parcel tax: What do you think?

Council members Lowenthal and Neal Propose Support of Parcel Tax by Full Council: What do you think?

Council members Suja Lowenthal and Steven Neal have placed an item on next Council meeting's agenda calling for the entire City Council to support a parcel tax being proposed by Los Angeles County staff. The parcel tax would be assessed on every property in LA County and would fund and establish an annual clean water fee to fund the Clean Water, Clean Beaches Program (www.lacountycleanwater.org).  

Funds will be used by cities and the County in the same cities and watersheds where they are collected. The City public property is estimated to be assessed $1.6 million with this tax and the City is estimated to receive $5.1 million from the tax.

You need to know that the proposed tax has not been examined in detail by the City Council. We have not been given details why the amounts to be assessed were set at those levels and what other measures could be taken by LA County to clean up the storm water.

No one is against clean water. What I find objectionable is that without examination of this tax and discussion about what other measures could be taken to clean up the storm water problem without taxing residents and businesses and government, the City Council is being encouraged to jump on board a proposal "as is."

Additionally, what was not disclosed in this council agenda item is the fact that our own LA County Supervisor Don Knabe and the Long Beach Unified School District are opposed to the measure.  

I say wait until the LA County Board of Supervisors holds its public meeting on this issue on January 15th before the Council votes. We need to hear the input of our residents. We also need to find out what the final version of this proposal actually will be if placed before the voters. We really need to know what we are doing before we jump on this bandwagon. 

Before you answer my poll on this item, you need to read several documents that explain what is being proposed by LA County and being asked for support by two council members.  

Click here to read these important documents. Council agenda item, FAQ about proposal, Notice of proposed tax.

Let me know what do you think about paying for a parcel tax by clicking here.     

 

Sincerely,

Gerrie 

Gerrie Schipske   

  

P.S. LA County Board of Supervisors will hold a public meeting to listen to residents about this proposed tax at 9:30 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room, Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 West Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. 

A Notice of Public Hearing has been mailed to all property owners within the Los Angeles County Flood Control District. At the public hearing, the Board of Supervisors will receive oral and written testimony about the proposed clean water fee. Any property owner may testify or file a written protest with the Executive Officer of the Board of Supervisors at any time before the end of the public hearing. A written protest must identify the parcel address and assessor's parcel number, and must be signed by the property owner or an authorized representative. 

Letters may be addressed to:
Executive Officer
Board of Supervisors
P.O. Box 866006
Los Angeles, CA 90086 

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Damn it. Long Beach is Better than Santa Monica. We Should Have Been a Finalist.

Long Beach on any day is better than the City of Santa Monica. So why is it that we are not one of the 20 finalists in the Mayor's Challenge sponsored by the Bloomberg Philanthropies?  Did we ever apply? What did we submit and when did we engage the residents (or even the City Council) on our idea?

Cities were selected, according to the Bloomberg foundation: "The 20 finalist ideas were rated on four key criteria: vision/creativity, ability to implement, potential for impact, and potential for replication." Here are the finalists that are now lined up to receive between $1 and $5 million.

• Boston
• Chicago
• Santa Monica
• Lexington
• Cincinnati
• Durham
• Highpoint
• Hillsboro
• Houston
• Indiannopolis
• Knoxville
• Lafayette
• Milwaukee
• Philadelphia
• Phoenix
• Providence
• St. Paul
• San Francisco
• Springfield
• Syracuse

http://mayorschallenge.bloomberg.org/index.cfm?objectid=84F82440-9EA6-11E1-823A000C29C7CA2F

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Arcadia Signs Schipske for 4th Book on Long Beach History

Arcadia Publishing has signed Gerrie Schipske to write a 4th book for their history series. The book -- Legendary Locals of Long Beach -- will be published this summer. 

If you know a legendary local of Long Beach -- past or present --  send your information and photograph for possible inclusion in the book to egschipske@gmail.com. 
 
Gerrie will be joined by her daughter, Kate Schipske, in writing this photo essay about those who have had a lasting impact on our city.