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."

City Finally Gets Off the Dime and Proposes Incentives to Attract Tesla to Long Beach

The Press Telegram just broke the news that the City Council will be asked on Tuesday to approve a package of tax incentives to lure Tesla Motors to property owned by Boeing Company.

Finally. Finally. Finally.

I am glad that after all the pushing and prodding to get the City actively involved in recruiting jobs to the Boeing Property it may be happening.

Remember the spin of how the City could not get involved between Tesla and Boeing because it was "Boeing's property and not the City's" -- well, as we shall see this coming Tuesday that spin was nonsense and an excuse for not having stepped up to do something to get Tesla to come to Long Beach.

I want to thank the residents who took time to write letters in support of getting Tesla. I want to thank the residents who sent emails to the Mayor about getting involved.

This City has stepped up so many times to recruit businesses -- remember Best Buy in Marina Pacifica? I knew they would think of something and it is none too soon with Long Beach experiencing 13% unemployment -- the highest percentage in Los Angeles County.

The sooner these good paying jobs come to Long Beach, the better!

Over 200 Respond to Survey on Regulating Lobbyists

Less than 24 hours after I posted a survey asking residents to weigh in about whether or not Long Beach should regulate lobbyists (like the other 5 largest cities in the State do), I have received over 231 responses.

The percentages in favor of the proposal are overwhelming. You can check out the results yourself by click here.

I am going to keep the survey open for another week or so. If you haven't already given me your view click here and answer the survey.

Tell the City If You Think Long Beach Should Regulate Lobbyists

I am conducting a survey asking Long Beach readers to weigh in regarding whether or not you think the City Council should pass a law regulating lobbyists in Long Beach.

If you click on the link it will take you to the survey: http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2nbl8z4g2qif834/start

Your opinion is important and will be shared with my colleague on the City Council and the news media.

City Council Starts Discussion on Public Pensions

The City Council held a study session today on the issue of public employee pensions. Read the document uploaded to the right of the blog and read the information given to the council from staff.

As you will note, the issue is complicated and needs extensive discussion about what the City Council can do to deal with the growing burden of pension expenses.

The Council still needs to hear from the pubic and the employee associations -- because whatever changes made must be approved by the employee groups that are part of the collective bargaining process.

Lobbyist Ordinance Needed in Long Beach

We're the 6th largest city and the only one of those 6 without a lobbyist ordinance which regulates and discloses contacts between our elected officials and key city staff.

This isn't for lack of trying. Former Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal and I were the only two members of the City Council to vote for a lobbyist ordinance a year ago. So much for transparency.

So now we have another front page story regarding key city staff having personal conversations with developers -- facts only disclosed because someone snitched to the press.

How about listening to the advice of our City Attorney Robert Shannon who was quoted today in the press as saying:

Shannon said he feels that this another example for the City Council to again consider adopting a strong policy regulating city employees' relationships with lobbyists - an issue that has died on the vine in the past.

I support a lobbyist ordinance, disclosure of elected officials' calendars, and disclosure of ex-parte conversations with anyone related to a council agenda item.

It would be great to get a lobbyist law on the ballot for 2010 -- short of that the Council needs to step up and get with the other big cities in California.

Christmas Tree Lighting and Music

You all are invited to two Christmas tree lighting ceremonies and the festivities that surround them:

December 6th at 4:15 pm at Heartwell Park (around the duck pond). Santa will arrive with the LB Firefighters (so bring an unwrapped toy for Spark of Love campaign). We'll listen to Golden Sands singers, light the trees (ok so they are wooden triangles that float in the pond) and watch "Polar Express." There will be popcorn and cookies too.

December 13th at 4:30 pm at Good Neighbor Park (in front of the El Dorado Community Center) we'll do the same except this time we'll light a real Christmas tree and listen to singers from Whaley Park. Don't forget your unwrapped toy.

LB residents need "Autopsy" About Why TESLA Deal Died and Went to Downey

November 23, 2009-- Gerrie Schipske, councilwoman for Long Beach’s fifth district, has been outspoken in her desire to keep alive the possibility of Tesla Motors locating its plant in Long Beach.

She personally contacted Elon Musk, President of Tesla to ask him what the City of Long Beach was doing to encourage his company to locate there. She also mounted a letter writing campaign called "Long Beach -- We Can Do Better Than Downey."

She used her blog to prod Long Beach officials to actively market the City to get Tesla here. So today upon learning that Tesla has signed a letter of intent with Downey to locate a plant which will manufacture 20,000 electric vehicles and produce 1,000 jobs she issued the following statement:

"The taxpayers of Long Beach deserve a full explanation about who or what killed the deal to bring Tesla to Long Beach. How did we lose this revenue producing opportunity to Downey? Long Beach has so much more to offer to a business than most southern California locations -- we have manufacturing space at the Boeing site, nearness to freeways, an airport, a port, railroad, convention center, training programs at our local community college and most importantly a workforce ready and willing to work. We also have an enterprise zone that provides tax credits for employers. And just recently the City announced it won the 'Most Business Friendly City Award' in Los Angeles County.

So what went wrong?

Anyone who has worked in corporate America knows how important it is to develop positive relationships in order to do business, which is exactly what the City of Downey did and the City of Long Beach did not do.

Unlike the City of Downey, which marshaled its Mayor and Council to actively court Tesla through calls, letters, ads and personal outreach, Long Beach apparently treated Tesla as a 'second-class citizen' according to comments made to me and to the press by Tesla President, Elon Musk. (It would be interesting to examine how much time and effort was really expended by Long Beach officials and staff in recruiting Tesla.)

I would like to congratulate the City of Downey for getting Tesla, and thank them for helping to keep these important types of jobs in the region."

US Senate Votes to Move Health Care Bill Forward

In a 60-39 vote just two minutes ago, the US Senate voted to move the Obama health care bill forward to allow discussion and amendment to the proposed health care bill.

This is historic. Finally there will be a discussion in both houses of Congress about the 2000 page bill which proposes to change health care in this country.

I am still trying to wade through the bill and I would suggest readers do also. This is going to be a bloody battle as the insurance and drug industries attempt to scare the stuffins out of Americans about why we should keep things just as they are.

We need frequent and current crime reports

As the Vice-Chair of the Council Public Safety Committee I made a motion that the Police Department report to the City Council on a quarterly (not yearly basis) about the amount of crime we are experiencing in Long Beach.

Without this data the City Council can't budget or plan in advance for adding officers and other programs to stem crime.

I am sick and tired of hearing my Blackberry go off with yet another killing or robbery or auto theft or auto burglary. Unfortunately, we don't get notices for rapes, sexual assault, child abuse or domestic abuse even though I hear from the victim services community that these crimes are on the rise.

We need to get serious about this problem and not just at budget time. Getting data out to the public will be a first step.

EPA Officials Tell City About PCB Contamination in Wetlands

A couple of weeks ago I placed on the City Council agenda an item requesting the appearance of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at a City Council meeting to brief the council and public about their February 2008 citation of the LCW, LLC the owners of property being considered for a swap with the City.

This past Tuesday, the officials came. To summarize, if you go back to my blog on 9/24/09 (http://www.gerrieschipske.com/2009/09/weve-got-trouble-right-here-in-long.html) you can read how I came about learning that the EPA had cited the current owner of the property -- despite the City Council not learning about this fact during real estate negotiations. EPA confirmed what I wrote and it looks it might take quite a bit of time to determine the extent of the contamination (god knows we don't even know what else is there) and the clean up.

You have to ask yourself (I know I did), who in their right minds would get into a real estate transaction without getting full disclosure? And who would go into escrow until all disclosure and remediation is done? Huh?

Ranchos Meeting Well Attended

Close to 100 people attended my community meeting last night to discuss proposals to remove RV's, oversized vehicles and non-motorized, unattached trailers in the Ranchos area. We also discussed the differences in set-backs for fences (they vary from street to street), other traffic improvements needed in the area and a little about fixing up the medians on Spring Street which are in serious disrepair.

City Traffic Engineer Dave Roseman explained the City's new ordinance that allows the Traffic Engineer to determine street by street if oversized vehicles and unattached trailers are appropriate for the size of the street and whether or not they create public safety problems. Because the Rancho's are a self contained and defined area (PD-11) it was thought that we could try this approach on a pilot project basis. To do so, a notice will be sent to all residents of the area telling them what is being proposed and asking if they agree. We will continue to have public meetings until a decision is made about how to proceed.

The discussion of the set backs largely centered over the confusion that even city planners have when asked if a fence can be replaced and at what height it can be replaced. Because this area is unique, fences can be placed in the front yard up to 10 feet --while the limit is 3 feet in other parts of the city.

The Traffic Engineer is also looking at the streets for additional stop signs to slow down some of the speeding that occurs. Missing street signs were also brought up.

The medians are a mess. The brick is raised because of tree roots (there's a surprise...). I am encouraging residents to "adopt" a median and help spruce it up.

Traffic Upgrades To Start in 5th

I am pleased to announce that the City Department of Public Works has contracted with the California Professional Engineering, Inc., to furnish and install new traffic signal equipment at the following locations:

• Claremore Avenue/Wardlow Road --5th District
• Clark Avenue/Centralia Street -- 5th District
• Clark Avenue/Arbor Road -- 5th District
• Palo Verde Avenue/Metz Street - 5th District
• Woodruff Avenue/Willow Street -- 5th District
• Studebaker Road/Los Arcos Street --5th District

Other signals:

• Paramount Boulevard/South Street
• Long Beach Boulevard/67th Street
• Atlantic Avenue/11th Street
• Pacific Avenue/Spring Street

Construction is scheduled to begin on November 16, 2009 with an estimated completion date of January 29, 2010.

I get lots of these..but this is special

Children Are Quick
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TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America .
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ?
CLASS: Maria.
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TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
__________________________________________

TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.

(I Love this child)
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TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
__________________________________

TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
__________________________________________

TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
_______________________________________

TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with ' I. '
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'
________________________________

TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it.
Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand....
______________________________________

TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.
______________________________

TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's.. Did you copy his?
CLYDE : No, sir. It's the same dog.
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TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher

Town Hall Meeting on Marijuana Collectives Was Positive

About 70 people turned out for my townhall with City Prosecutor Tom Reeves and Deputy Police Chief, Bill Blair.

More than 1/4 of the people in attendance operate a marijuana facility. The remainder were both constituents and residents of other council districts.

The discussion was informative and civil. Tom Reeves and Bill Blair made a formal presentation on the status of the law on this issue and then took a number of questions and responded to comments.

I think the best outcome was hearing from constituents then and today that they realize the issue is very complex...because it is.

Schipske Proposes Consolidating Local Elections with County

Creating the best opportunity for Long Beach residents to participate in municipal elections is an informal charge of the Long Beach City Council and a formal charge of the Long Beach City Clerk. Different formats have been discussed, as have the timing of Long Beach municipal elections. The City election cycles are arranged according to Section 1901 of the City Charter:

The primary and general municipal elections for elective officers of the City shall be held in even numbered years, on the second Tuesday in April and the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June, respectively, and candidates elected to office shall assume such office on the third Tuesday in July and serve until election and qualification of their successors.

In the 2000 presidential election, seventy-one percent of registered California voters participated. In the 2008 presidential election, that number rose to seventy-eight percent. The lowest turnout percentage for a general election was 50.6% in November 2002.In June 2006, the voter turnout was 33.6%, and that was a record low for a statewide primary held in June. In comparison, voter turnout in the June 2006 city-wide election was 28.8%. Before that, in June 2002, voter-turn our was 23.4%

Between special elections, statewide elections and municipal elections, voters are expressing fatigue at the frequency of elections. In addition, the cost of conducting elections in alignment with the State should be explored for any possible savings.

I am proposing consolidating our elections with the County and alignment with state. Combined with the in-house expertise of the Office of the Long Beach City Clerk, this consolidation would allow us to continue conducting municipal elections that meet the needs and concerns of residents while at the same time increasing voter turn-out.

In order to do this, we need to amend the City's Charter. This will require a vote by residents to approve the change.

City Health Officer Finds Proposed Cigar Lounge Ordinance "Not Consistent with the Health Department's mission of promoting and protecting public.."

What has gotten into the water in Long Beach lately? Or better yet, what are people smoking? (Don't ask...)

First the council moves to allow "cigar lounges" and then it speeds along to gut most of the proposed restrictions on marijuana collectives.

What is galling is that allowing the cigar lounges flies in the face of not only the City's protective, comprehensive policy for no smoking in public places and workplaces (which was affirmed by a public vote of the citizens), but is absolutely contrary to the City of Long Beach's Public Health Department's core mission of "promoting and protecting public health."

You can read the complete memo I requested during Council from our City Public Health Officer at the right of this post. The report by the way that is required in the City's current no smoking ordinance.

Now on to the proposed ordinance to regulate marijuana collectives in Long Beach. On the floor last Tuesday, many changes were proposed to be made to what City Attorney Bob Shannon wrote. I made a motion to slow the train down a little by bringing the proposals back to council next week as a draft and not as a first reading of a done deal ordinance.

I am concerned that many of the changes severely weaken the city's ability to regulate these operations and am especially concerned that they might be able to operate near libraries and parks and in mixed zoned areas that have both residential and commercial.

I proposed and hopefully it will be in the draft that any residence within 1,000 feet will have to receive notice of these collectives applying for a permit to operate.

Residents should be asking who is getting campaign contributions from these two entities -- cigar lounges and marijuana collectives -- before a final vote is taken. Also, how on earth can our local news outlets (sans www.lbreport.com) be considered "objective reporters" when they are taking thousands of dollars in advertising. I doubt they are going to "bite the hand that feeds them" by taking a position for strict regulation.

Getting Smashed About Marijuana

I love it when a publication that takes thousands of dollars in ad revenue from marijuana dispensaries runs an article "Gerrie Schipske Says Let them get it somewhere else" -- and then proceeds to post 23 comments that state what an awful person I am and how I should be voted out of office.

Yep. That's what I like. Objective journalism.

So The District Weekly is upset I am having a townhall on the issue of regulating marijuana collectives on Nov. 12 at 6:30 pm at the El Dorado Community Center at 2800 Studebaker and feels it is my way to stir things up to get these places shut down.

Too bad. My constituents want more information and many have expressed concern about having these facilities in their neighborhoods. So I am having a townhall meeting with the City Prosecutor and the Police -- the two entities that will have to enforce any law we put in place.

And while the "reporter" who did the story would like to portray me as the Marie Antoinette of pot -- the question was posed to me about what would happen if the dispensaries were regulated out of existence in Long Beach. My answer: they would have to get it somewhere else.