Reel Recycling Signs Up

Fishing Line Recycling (Photo credit: ecotist)

As you might recall, we launched the "reel recycling" program last year which places recycling tubes near fishing spots at our lakes and piers so that fishing line and tackle can be recycled. The line and tackle are removed from the recycling tubes and sent to Berkley Fishing which recycles the materials into fishing boxes.

More importantly, the debris does wind up in the water or wrapped around a bird.

This week, we have added signs that remind anglers to place their excess line and tackle into the tubes. (Tubes? Yes. This prevents children and critters from getting into the recycled material.)

I want to thank my task force on Lakes, Ponds and Wetlands for its work on this effort and for the great staff in Parks, Recreation and Marine for putting the tubes and signs in all the best spots.

Regulating Placement of Cellphone Towers Is Hampered by Law

Angel with mobile phone (Photo credit: Akbar Sim)

The City Council again was asked to decide whether or not a cellphone tower could be placed on the roof of an apartment building. As you know, I sponsored legislation that placed a moratorium on citing cellphone towers until the city could develop reasonable regulations. That moratorium is over and cellphone companies are filing applications to place towers all over Long Beach. Unfortunately because the federal law regulates cellphone communication, the City is rather limited in what restrictions we can place. Below is an interesting legal analysis I found that explains the law and what cities can do. Local Matter or Federal Case the Network of Cell Tower Regulation in California

Come to Costco on Saturday for my booksigning

If you are out shopping this Saturday, November 24th, come on by Costco in Signal Hill for my booksigning of my third book: Early Long Beach.

5th District Challenges City on Christmas Light Contest

Christmas light 1, Embassy Theatre and Indiana Hotel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The 5th Council District is challenging the rest of the city in the Christmas light contest being sponsored by Belmont Shore Patch.

The contest starts November 26th and the winner can receive $500 to pay their electric bill and $100,000 for their local schools.

Belmont Shore Patch will post videos and photographs of homes decorated in Christmas light.

If you all send your video and photograph I will post in on www.district5lights.com and then send it along to Belmont Shore Patch for entry in their contest.

Come on 5th District. You know we can do this.

Long Beach New York Needs Our Help!!

For Immediate Release

Contact: Tiffany Andrews, 562 570-6932

Long Beach, New York Needs 

Your Help to Recover

Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske Calls Upon Residents to Lend a Hand or a Dollar or Two

Long Beach, CA; November 16, 2012 -- Next week is Thanksgiving and for the 37,000 residents of the city of Long Beach, New York  it will be grim day as all days have been since they were devastated during Hurricane Sandy says Gerrie Schipske, Councilwoman for the 5^th Council District in Long Beach, California.

“I had my staff contact city management in Long Beach, New York to find out why we could do,” explains Schipske. “A spokesperson for the city told my staff  they are a small town (37,000 residents) and most homes have lost their first floor. They are gutting homes and leaving debris on the street. They need the assistance of volunteers and neighboring municipalities to deal with the clean up. They are unable to accept clothing and household item donations. They need financial assistance  -  they were in a declared fiscal crisis before the storm hit.”

Schipske reminds local residents that “we are so fortunate here in Long Beach, California. Take a moment to see the video (http://youtu.be/sgkVdnxyGDk)  on the damage to Long Beach, New York and send a financial donation at: www.longbeachny.org or send to: City of Long Beach Relief,1 West Chester Street, Long Beach, NY11561.

“Let’s show them what Long Beach, California is all about!”

#30

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You Need to View this Video About the Concerns of the LB Firefighters

Take time to view the following video that has been produced by the Long Beach Firefighters Association. The Mayor and City Manager cannot continue to propose reductions in this critical department. Please forward this video to your friends.

Clean Tech Zone Can Bring Good Jobs to Long Beach

monokristalline Solarzelle (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yesterday in City Council, my colleagues approved my item asking the City Manager to report on how the City of Long Beach can implement a Clean Tech Zone that will attract industries large and small to locate in Long Beach -- industries that are focusing on clean technology such as solar, green products, wind, etc.

This idea came from researching what other cities are doing.The City of Los Angeles has established the Clean Tech Corridor as a national center for cleantech research and development and industrial manufacturing. The CleanTech Corridor supports the development of a business cluster dedicated to cleantech manufacturing processes and technologies for the 21st century. The Cleantech Corridor is a 4 mile long district on the eastern edge of Downtown LA, stretching from the Los Angeles State Historic Park in the north, to the CleanTech Manufacturing Center in the South, and including both the east and west banks of the Los Angeles River. 

The City of San Diego launched a new Cleantech (Clean Technology) Initiative in an effort to promote the expansion, attraction and retention of businesses that develop products and technologies that provide environmentally sustainable solutions.

The Sacramento Clean Tech Zone offers the following incentives to businesses:

• Expedited permitting provided by Development Services Department and eligible
   companies may receive redevelopment and job training funds offered by regional
  partners. In addition, all companies may be eligible for Small Business Administration
  (SBA) loans, Industrial Development Bonds (IDB) and venture capital funds
   
  Other benefits include:

o   Enterprise

·        Sales tax credits on qualified property

·        Wage tax credits for five years for hiring eligible employees

·        100 percent Net Operating Loss Carryovers available up to 15 years

·        Rapid Depreciation of Equipment

·        Financing Assistance, Hiring Assistance through Sacramento Works!

o   Foreign Trade (FTZ)

·        Duty-free treatment for items that are processed in FTZs and then exported

·        Duty payment is deferred on items until they are brought out of the FTZ for sale in the U.S. market

o   Recycling (RMDZ)

·        Below-market-rate revolving loan program for RMDZ-eligible activities

·        Free product marketing

o   Green Technology Small Business Loan Programs

·        Industry-targeted SBA 7(a) loans available through Grow Sacramento Fund

·        Zone-allocated SBA 504 loans available through Greater Sacramento Community Development Corporation

·        Community Development Block Grant funds to be available at very favorable terms for eligible businesses

 o   Specialized Business Financing Programs

·        City-issued industrial development bonds

 

 
I have already met with the President of the Green Business Council in Long Beach -- Kent Peterson, who was very enthusiastic about the possibilities of Long Beach moving this forward.

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See My Posting on LAO Report on LB Courthouse to Cost $160 million more than it should

Please check out my posting on Open Up Long Beach concerning the recent report by the Legislative Analyst's Office concerning why the private-public partnership is costing taxpayers $160 million more than it should have...and why these arrangements are not transparent.

http://www.openuplongbeach.com/2012/11/lao-estimates-lb-courthouse-will-cost.html

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All Aboard the Holiday Express..

Come join the Conductor, Santa Claus and our magical librarians as we board the express train for an afternoon of holiday fun.

English: Photo of Jonathan G. Meath portraying Santa Claus. Date approximate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Co sponsored by my office, City of Long Beach Library Services, the Friends of the Long Beach Public Libraries and the Long Beach Library Foundation, you will be treated to a holiday movie and will get a chance to meet the Conductor and Santa Claus. There will be goodies to eat and great books to read.

The public is invited to both events. Kids are welcome to come in their pajamas.
December 1 - 2-5pm at the Ruth Bach Library.
December 8 - 2-5pm at the El Dorado Public Library

Check out how to thank a Veteran

Read below how you can thank a veteran. We have prepared a brochure that provides a variety of ways. You can download it and pass it along to your friends and neighbors. Don't forget to come to the Veterans Parade this Saturday morning in North Long Beach on Atlantic Avenue. HowToHonorVeterans Web

Calling All Artists -- We need your art for our Winged Wonders banners

Artists Still Have Time to Submit Work for Long Beach Winged Wonders Banners Project

Long Beach, CA  -- November 7, 2012 – Local artists still have time to enter their renderings of local “Winged Wonders” for the urban bird walk project to be displayed on banners at the El Dorado Park duck pond off Willow Street and Studebaker. The project celebrates the diverse avian wildlife that make their home in the Lakes, Ponds, and Wetlands of the City of Long Beach.

Anyone who has walked around the El Dorado duck pond has seen a myriad of these beautiful winged wonders. Once local artists respond to the call to submit their renderings of the wild birds, you will be able to see their work hanging from light posts to help educate visitors about the feathered treasures in our city. The project, launched by Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, will include a recorded tour which visitors will be able to access via their cell phones as the walk around the pond area.

“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. “Visitors will be able to walk in the beautiful setting of the park while they learn about our different species, their migration habits, habitat, and the importance of these birds to the environment,” Councilwoman Schipske explained.

 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 ponds, “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 Friday, 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 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.

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