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.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

National Library Workers Day April 10, 2012


Tuesday, April 10, 2012 is National Library Workers Day and it your chance to stop by and say "thank you" to the people who make our libraries work. You can also go online and nominate a City of Long Beach Library Star Worker at http://ala-apa.org/nlwd/

April is also National Library Week which celebrates the wonderful contributions libraries make to our communities.


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Thursday, April 5, 2012

Schipske Calls for Electeds Who Abandon Their Office for Another to Defray Costs of Special Elections

Schipske to Introduce Agenda Item Calling For “Performance Bonds” Being Posted If Sitting Elected Wants to Run for Other Office and Causes a Special Election
– Says we need to look at every way to save taxpayers’ money

Long Beach, CA – Running for higher public office has become a way of life for many Long Beach elected officials due to term limits, with the result that the taxpayers are left paying for “special elections” to fill out the remainder of the term in office. Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske wants to put a stop to this costly practice or at least make elected officials think twice before abandoning their office for another.

“That’s why I am introducing an agenda item that would require the elected official to post a ‘performance bond’ or purchase some type of insurance that would then be used to offset the costs of a special election caused by that elected official not finishing their term in office,” explains Schipske, noting that since 2006, the City has had to conduct several costly special elections because council members left office either for personal reasons to serve in a higher office.

“Listen, I have felt the urge to run for higher office while sitting on City Council, especially due to redistricting, but I thought about how my constituents would feel having just re-elected me and then having to pay for a special election if I left. That didn’t seem right.”

Under the terms of Schipske’s agenda item, Long Beach elected officials would have to post a “performance bond” or acquire some type of insurance that would pay for the costs of a special election caused by the elected official not “performing his or her official duties”.

“This may not be a perfect solution to reducing these city expenditures, but we really have to do something that sends the message that you need to finish what you were elected to do and that the taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay the costs of a special election because you wanted to serve elsewhere.”

Schipske also feels that the Council should adopt a policy that city paid travel should not be authorized for any elected official who is an official candidate (i.e. filed their intent or set up a campaign account fo fundraising) for another office or who is serving their last year of their term in office.

“Makes no sense for taxpayers to be footing the bill for travel while an elected is campaigning for a higher office or serving their last year. If my colleagues really believe this city has financial problems they will support this item.”
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LB Residents Can Use SNAP Registry Through Efforts of Councilwomen Rae Gabelich and Gerrie Schipske

This is the internationally recognized symbol ...
Specific Needs Disaster Voluntary
Registry Available to Long Beach Residents

Residents with certain disabilities have the opportunity to participate in a voluntary disaster registry to help facilitate the planning and implementation of disaster response by first-responder agencies.
Registering will also allow disaster managers to send alerts and other advisories or preparedness information to assist people in being better prepared for unexpected disasters which may strike the region.
The City’s participating in the program was authorized by the City Council on September 6, 2001, based on an agenda item from Councilmembers Gerrie Schipske and Rae Gabelich.

The Specific Needs Disaster Voluntary Registry, also known as SNAP (Specific Needs Awareness Planning), does not ensure faster or priority service by first responders after a disaster. Enrolling in the registry should never be considered as the only action necessary to prepare for disasters.

Long Beach residents who have any of the following conditions which might impede the ability to evacuate a building, travel to or stay safely in an emergency evacuation center, or to securely shelter in place without assistance, may want to consider enrolling in the Registry:
  • Physical disabilities
  • Cardiac and/or respiratory circumstances
  • Developmental disabilities
  • Emotional or psychiatric disabilities
  • Deafness or hearing loss
  • Blindness or severe vision loss
  • Speech impairments
  • Short-term disabilities
  • Reliance on technologies that use electricity
  • Using medications
  • Participation in a home delivery program
  • Need specialized paratransit vehicles
  • Experience seizures
  • Immune system deficiencies
  • Communicable diseases
  • Severe chemical or other allergies

The registry is a project of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management in cooperation with other cities and agencies in the Los Angeles County disaster response operational area. Information in the registry is kept in a secure database, and will only be shared with authorized emergency personnel, and then only for the purpose of effecting the delivery of aid to enrollees.
Enrolling in the registry should never be considered as the only action necessary to prepare for disasters, nor does it ensure prompt and thorough response after a disaster strikes.

Enrollees should take appropriate measures to become as self-prepared as necessary, given their particular personal situations. All residents of Southern California are advised to prepare themselves for up to 72 hours of self-sustained survival, should that become necessary.

For more information, or to register, visit http://snap.lacounty.gov
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Come See How Emergency Calls Are Handled



As you know, I have asked for a public meeting to discuss response times for our Fire Department in light of the serious cuts that have been made to staff and equipment.

Just last week, there was a house fire in the 5th District and upon meeting with the Fire Chief I learned that because our Station #18 no longer has a fire engine (and only a medical rescue unit), it took over 7 minutes to get a fire engine from Station 22 (down by CSULB). In my meeting with the City Manager and the Fire Chief, I stated "I want the Fire Engine back in 18."

We have much work to do to make certain that Fire Station 18 is fully restored and that is why I want you to learn how emergency calls are handled and how response times are calculated.

Join me at the Emergency Communications and Operating Center for a meeting of Open Up Long Beach. In light of the recent discussions on Fire Department response times, we will review how dispatch data is captured and reported and how Fire Department response times are calculated. Space is limited to 30 so you must RSVP. 
 
Open Up Long Beach Meeting:
Emergency Communication in Long Beach
 
A tour and review of the Emergency Communications and Operating Center and a discussion of how fire responses are calculated. 
 
Monday, April 16, 2012
6:30pm - 7:30pm
2990 Redondo Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90806
 
 
Sincerely,

Gerrie
Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske
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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

I Want Answers About Response Time to Fire in My District

I am still awaiting a full response from City  management concerning response times by our Fire Department prior to budget cuts. NFPA Standards are very clear about response times. NFPA also indicates that several factors can impact response times:
  • increase in number of calls for service
  • decrease in number of firefighters on duty
  • decrease in equipment available
The budget cuts have taken the number of firefighters down to 117 a day -- the lowest in many, many years.

The budget cuts have taken numerous types of equipment out of service:

  • ·        Engine 7 was reduced from a Paramedic Assessment Unit to a BLS fire engine
  • ·        Engine 101 eliminated
  • ·        5th firefighter cut from Truck 1
  • ·        Engine 3 has gone from a Paramedic Assessment Rig (1 FF and 1 Paramedic) to a BLS Engine (with just 2 FF's)
  • ·        Rescue 12 eliminated – left with Engine
  • ·        Engine 14 eliminated; Truck 14 eliminated – left with Rescue
  • ·        Truck 17 and Engine 17 eliminated and turned into a light force.  Extremely inefficient system.
  • ·        Engine 18 eliminated – left with Rescue
National Fire Protection AssociationMy district just had a major residential fire. Because the fire engine was removed from Station 18 which was just blocks from the fire, a Paramedic Rescue was sent. It then took 8 minutes for the firefighting equipment of station 22 and then 19 arrived. Do not know why Station 5 wasn't sent.

We need a full assessment of what it happening to our fire department because of budget cuts.

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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Schipske Now Questions if Total Uncollected Parking Tickets Tops $29 million

Closeup of parking violation sticker.Closeup of parking violation sticker. Used in some cities to warn those with excess tickets they will be towed. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Councilwoman Schipske Notes That Auditor’s Report on $17.6 million in Unpaid Parking Tickets Only Addresses Last 3 Years – Prior Audit Shows An Additional $11.7 million – Asks if this means City is owed $29.3 million

Long Beach, CA – March 29, 2012 – Following the release of the City Auditor Laura Doud’s audit on unpaid parking tickets, Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske issued the following statement:

“Today, City Auditor Laura Doud and Mayor Bob Foster held a joint press conference to discuss the City Auditor’s findings on the mess the city has with uncollected parking tickets. It is unfortunate that City Council members were not invited to a press conference which addresses a City Council agenda item. It was also not appropriate that the City Council was not given a copy of the written findings before such findings were released to the press.

“Now that the written findings are available there appears to be a glaring question that needs to be answered because the City Auditor has actually released two audits on uncollected parking citations that include different time periods and both showing separate amounts owed to the City. As a result, the City may be actually owed $29.3 million in uncollected parking tickets and not just the current $17.6 million dollars included in the current audit.
“Here’s why: the current audit shows $17.6 million dollars in uncollected parking tickets that are 3 years old or less. That would cover the time period of 2008-2011. The City Auditor’s prior audit on uncollected parking citations completed in 2008 covered the years of 2003-2007 and indicated that $11.7 million was owed by those having 5 or more tickets. The question is then: What happened to the $11.7 million owed for the period of 2004-2007 and if the City has now acquired an additional $17.6 million in uncollected tickets then the total outstanding should be: $29.3 million dollars.

Following my blog on this topic I have been contacted by numerous companies who are willing to work with the City to straighten out this mess and to bill and to collect at a much higher percentage than we seem to be able to do in-house. In fact, a representative from one company, Vion Municipal Capital in Milford, Massachusetts contacted me today to tell me his company had offered to purchase our uncollected parking tickets which would give the city immediate revenue, but apparently was told the city ‘wasn’t interested.’

Well, the City needs to ‘get interested’ so that we do not continue cutting core services in order to balance a budget. Unless and until we examine our internal operating processes and determine that we are billing and collecting every penny of revenue the City in entitled to receive, we can no longer keep telling the taxpayers that the services they pay for with their taxes need to be cut.”
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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

City Auditor Finds $18 Million in Uncollected Parking Tickets -- Schipske Calls for Fixing Problem Now

Parking ticket in Cambridge (2008-04-01)
Parking ticket for parking on the main road in...Dear Readers,


Two weeks ago I met with City Auditor Laura Doud. We meet periodically to discuss how we can find revenue to balance our budget without raising taxes. Laura told me that she was getting ready to release her audit which again found that the City is not collecting owed parking citations. In fact, currently the City is owed $18 million in uncollected parking citations.

This is particularly disturbing on several levels:
  • The City Auditor told the City Council in 2009 that $11 million in outstanding parking citations had not been collected. A pilot program to use parking boots was approved (as is used in many cities to get the attention of those who have 5 or more parking tickets) and the Council asked for updates both on the pilot and how improvements were to be made in the collection system. Didn't happen.
  • Problems in a collections system means that there are problems in the billing system. 
  • There have been serious cuts to core city services made to balance the city budget and very little effort to make certain that the City is receiving every dollar it is entitled to receive from citations, fees and contracts - even after the City Auditor has pointed out that hasn't been done. 
  • Citizens should not be penalized with cuts in city services while the city fails to do its job collecting revenue that it is owed.
So here's what needs to be done about the uncollected parking tickets:
  • The City needs to contract out for billing and collection services for parking citations, ambulance and paramedic services now. The City might want to consider selling some of this uncollected revenue to a factoring agency who can pay the City a percentage of the amounts owed. 
 In my discussions with the City Auditor (and during council meetings) I have called for the City Council to direct the City Manager to:
  • Request Southern California Edison to perform an audit of all electrical meters on city property to verify that the meters are accurate. (When I was a Trustee at Long Beach City College I requested the same audit and it resulted in a hefty refund that was used to defray the costs of employee health care.)
  • Implement an automated time and attendance system that keeps track of the City's 4500 employees and lets management know who is at work, if an employee leaves early, did the employee take lunch, when the employee leaves. That's right folks. Right now the city tracks time and attendance manually with time sheets that are filled out manually at the end of a work week.   

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Saturday, March 24, 2012

Send a Letter to the Post Office to Keep Long Beach Facility

USPS service delivery truck in a residential a...
Please join me in an effort to convince the US Postal Service not to close the bulk mail facility at Redondo Avenue. This will mean a loss of jobs for Long Beach and a major inconvenience for businesses who bulk mail. On another point, Long Beach will not have a postmark for anything mailed from the boxes there. It will show "Santa Ana."

I have pushed our City Council for a resolution opposing the closure as well as encouraged letters from our City Manager protesting the closure.

Your letters and contact might help.
MCC Postal Service 2300 Redondo Avenue 10-17-11

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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Council Supports Schipske's Call for Fire Data

The City Council voted 8-0 last night to request the City Manager to provide data on the response times of the fire department pre and post budget cuts. Although the agenda item was submitted last week, the news broke about the problems in the City of Los Angeles and the data their City Council received on response times. Long Beach City Management gave the council the following memo:

Fire 001
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Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Baja Sonora to be Featured at City Council


Baja Sonora Featured During First  Prime Time  for Business Presentation at City Council Meeting


(LONG BEACH, CA; March 20, 2012) – The very popular Baja Sonora restaurant and catering service will be the first Long Beach business showcased during the “Prime Time for Business” segment at the Long Beach City Council meeting, today announced Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske.

Schipske authored a proposal at City Council in February to give local businesses the opportunity to make a 5-minute presentation during the third council meeting of the month and to highlight their services and any job openings they may have for local residents. Each councilmember has the opportunity to invite a business to make a presentation during City Council.

“This is the least the City Council can do to show local businesses that we appreciate they are doing business in Long Beach. These businesses not only provide sale tax revenue, they provide jobs and community services that sometimes goes unnoticed,” says Schipske. “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and Long Beach needs to get more people to start businesses locally. I hope the City Council taking time to listen to these businesses will send a message that we appreciate what they do for our economy.”

Baja Sonora is an authentic Mexican Restaurant with two locations in Long beach, located in the 5th and 7th Council Districts. Baja Sonora has been in business for 14 years and is the recipient of awards and distinctions that include: “Best Tacos in Long Beach-Press Telegram 2007”, “Ultimate Taco” in Sunset Magazine’s “Best of the West” and the “2011 Fifth District Good Neighbor Award.”

“Baja Sonora is more than two fantastic places to eat,” Schipske notes. “The owners, Mary Sophiea and Mike Mendelson have made a tremendous commitment to our local schools by donating more than $30,000 for school projects.”

Baja Sonora sponsors PTA Mondays, and donates 10% of purchases made every Monday to any “Parent Teacher Association” selected by its customers.  Baja Sonora is located at: 2940 Clark Avenue and 3502 Atlantic Avenue. Both locations are open at 10:30 am until 9 pm.
#30
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Schipske Praises Long Beach College Promise

Administration building on Carson St, Long Bea...
Administration building on Carson St, Long Beach, California. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Wilson Classical High School
Wilson Classical High School (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske Salutes LBUSD, LBCC, &CSULB On Working Together On Long Beach College Promise

Long Beach partnership to continue to make higher education a #1 Priority


(LONG BEACH, CA; March 19, 2012) – Former Long Beach City College Trustee and current Long Beach City Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske today saluted the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD), Long Beach City College (LBCC), and California State University at Long Beach, (CSULB) on the third year anniversary of their joint effort to provide every Long Beach student the  “Long Beach College Promise.”

Pyramid, Long Beach, California English:
Pyramid, Long Beach, California English: (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“Despite the financial difficulties facing our three education institutions, they are pledging to double their efforts as they begin the third year of this program to ensure every student in Long Beach who wants to go to college, can,” says Schipske, who also teaches part-time at CSULB. “They are to be commended for their efforts to continue to make higher education a top priority in Long Beach.”

All three educational institutions are working together to improve college preparation, access and completion for members of the greater Long Beach community. The Long Beach College Promise is combination of financial rewards (a semester of free community college tuition) and admission preferences for Long Beach Unified students, college education classes for parents, and college preparation courses for Long Beach Unified seniors.

Schipske points out that the Long Beach College Promise came from the Long Beach Seamless Education Partnership that was launched in 1994 when she was President of the Long Beach Community College Board of Trustees. “The Partnership was established to ensure that all students would progress smoothly through the education systems and into the workforce.” 

 “This concept came from the community through  variety of efforts, including the School to Work Transition Project that helped identify what was needed for students to be able to complete their schooling and to be prepared to become teachers in the Long Beach Unified School District,” Schipske adds.

“We need to continue to support these efforts to make the educational system in Long Beach the best in the nation.##
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Saturday, March 17, 2012

Go 5th! Go Cubberly! Go St. Baldrick's!

English: Shaving head to campaign for cancer f...
Image via Wikipedia
Students, parents and teachers of Cubberley K-8 School hosted the 11th Annual St. Baldrick’s Head Shaving event today, March 16, 2012.  The Fifth District School has been instrumental in its perennial collection of donations to help support childhood cancer research.  

Volunteers attended the event as a “shavee” or barber, with the sole intention of shaving hair off heads to show solidarity with children who have been stricken with various cancer related illnesses.  Several Long Beach Firefighters stepped up and had their heads shaved.

Fifth District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske spoke at the event to support St. Baldrick’s worthy cause, and to distinguish the charitable actions of Cubberley’s faculty and students.  “Today, Cubberley stands in unison with St. Baldrick’s to support children who suffer from childhood cancers”, Schipske said.  “Our students, parents and faculty share the same passion in helping children conquer this dreadful disease, and we will continue to lead the nation in attendance for St. Baldrick’s events.”

Cubberley has raised over $480,000 over the last 10 years.  The school has been recognized by Jerry Finklestein, who works with the Jaques Children’s Cancer Center in Long Beach, as the #1 school in the country for the largest student participation in their annual St. Baldrick’s event. This year, 200 volunteers had their heads shaved.  Half of them were children between first and eighth grade.  SuperCuts, with its two Fifth District locations, contributed hair stylists to help sheer the locks off the “shavees”. Total donations received today amounted to $60,000.

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers.  Founded in March of 2000, founders John Bender, Tim Kenny and Enda McDonnell turned a St. Patrick’s Day party into a head-shaving event that raised $104,000.  The foundation has grown exponentially, now having raised $117 million.

The funds collected today go directly to the Miller Children’s Hospital and the Jonathan Jaques Children’s Cancer Center for life saving research and programs for children with cancer.

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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Public Works of the Future

The Department of Public Works
The Department of Public Works (Photo credit: Brandon Doran)
Interesting look at public works in the future. Click here to read.

Public works trucks of the future will have to accommodate the limits of budgets and the need to be efficient. That's why this story is so interesting. Many of the suggested improvements are being implemented already in cities across the US.
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Schipske Calls for City Manager to Disclose Fire Department Response Times


For Immediate Release
Contact Office of Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske
562 570-6932

Schipske Calls on City Manager to Disclose Response Times for Fire Department – States Concern that Budget Cuts May Have Caused Slower Response Times

March 13, 2012 – Fifth District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske didn’t support the cuts to the fire department when they were proposed by the Mayor and the City Manager and now she wants to know what those cuts did to response times.
“The City Council was assured that the cuts to the Fire Department would not substantially impact response times for calls for fire and paramedic services,” says Schipske, “but that’s not what I am hearing from firefighters.”
Schipske reports that the cuts to the Fire Department  included “rolling brownouts” -- taking an engine out of service at a different station each day - or light-force duty at some stations.
Additionally, daily staffing was reduced to an all time low level , down from a high of 137 firefighters in 2008 to the current low of 117.

“Firefighters report that as a result of these cuts, response time has been slowed in some instances where staff and equipment must travel across the city due to an engine out of service at another station,” Schipske notes. “As a Registered Nurse, who did some training with the Long Beach Fire Department paramedics, I understand that every minute counts when it comes to saving lives.”

Schipske’s agenda item calls for the City Manager to disclose the response times since the cuts were enacted. “The City Council needs to evaluate actual response time information to determine whether or not the cuts to the fire department have been detrimental to the public safety of our residents.”

#30
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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Re-Imaging Long Beach

Downtown Long Beach, California
Downtown Long Beach, California (Photo credit: Konabish)
I am writing a series of thought pieces on how and why we need to re-image and re-imagine the City of Long Beach. Please check out my website: www.reimaginglongbeach.com and let me know what you think.

It is critical that we focus on how we can improve the economy of Long Beach by attracting the type of job creators that will bring sustainable, quality jobs for our residents. To do this, we need to re-image the City and decide how we want to be perceived.

This is not an easy task but a very necessary and exciting one. Come join me on this journey.

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Saturday, March 10, 2012

LB Literary Women Festival Wonderful As Usual

Isabel Wilkerson at the Miller Center Forum
Isabel Wilkerson at the Miller Center Forum (Photo credit: Miller_Center)
Enjoyed the Literary Women Festival of Authors today in the LB Convention Center. Today was the 30th year of this wonderful event. The event was sold out as usual. The authors were witty and fascinating. The attendees so engaged.

Many of the women in attendance work diligently in Long Beach to preserve and expand our library services. 

One of the featured writers is Pultizer Prize Winner Isabel Wilkerson who talked about writing her amazing book on the migration of 6 million Americans from the south to escape Jim Crow laws. The book: The Warmth of Other Suns is an epic non fiction account of how lives were changed forever when African Americans left the south beginning in WWI.


Congrats to the women who put this event on today! Thanks for doing this in Long Beach for 30 years.
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Friday, March 9, 2012

City Management's Response on SEADIP

In my haste to get the document published, I missed scanning some pages. Below is the complete memo.

The Long Beach City Council directed City management to detail how the city could move forward to amend the local coastal plan that includes the area known as SEADIP. Below is the memo just recently sent to the council from city management. The difficulty will be to secure funding to conduct the process necessary to amend the plan.Unless the coastal plan is updated and there is agreement as to how if any development will take place in the area, potential developments like 2nd and PCH that was rejected by the majority of the city council will happen again.

Sea Dip

Save Station 18

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