LA Moves to Deal with Marijuana Home Delivery

Long Beach just recently passed an ordinance to regulate medical marijuana collectives throughout the city. Los Angeles passed their ordinance first and it seems those in the marijuana business have found a way around the LA ordinance. Read below.

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Marijuana delivery services evade bans on dispensaries, spreading across California

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LA Councilman Targets Pot Delivery System

Cell phone towers in Long Beach

I have posted the map I requested from City staff showing where cell phone towers have been placed in Long Beach.

As you might recall, the City Council placed a 120-day moratorium on the installation of any new cell tower until we could update our ordinance which regulates placement and also take a look at where these are going. That is important since we get requests for placements on a piece meal basis and haven't really looked at if they are impacting one particular area over another.

I am strongly opposed to placing these towers in residential areas or institutional areas (churchs, etc) which are adjacent to residential areas.

We need to make certain this patch work placement is corrected.

And to the people who emailed me -- "Yes, I do have a cell phone and a Blackberry and rely upon both very much. But we need to make sure we balance technology with the quality of life issues in our neighborhoods."

Read the Fine Print Before We Spend the Money

Priceless. Need to do it now. It will bring great changes to Long Beach. You are either for the environment or you are against it.

Gosh, we're about to hear this litany on Tuesday as the Council Chambers are packed to persuade Council to find many millions to have the Army Corps of Engineers do a feasibility study on the breakwater. Funny thing. The Army Corps of Engineers is not willing to include in its study the very thing the City was interested in finding out about: "economic analysis and wave monitoring and water quality." (read the fine print in the management memo posted to the right)

So on top of the possibility that the study won't even look at wave monitoring (i.e. bringing back the waves) or water quality or an economic analysis about the impact of reconfiguration, we don't have the money to spend on a study. According to City Management unless the Port forks over the money for the study (or more precisely the City takes the Tidelands transfer) or the City takes excess oil profits for a one time expense it cannot be done. But folks, this is just the study. If any reconfiguration is proposed as a result of the study, the City has to come up with 35% of the costs.

Last week I voted to approve use of Tidelands funds to repair seawalls that are crumbling in Naples. I did so because if those seawalls fail, the properties could be flooded which would seriously damage the property value and the assessed values from which the city derives property taxes. I believe that is a prudent investment to protect the city from liability claims.

I am no longer convinced that spending money on a study (that now does not include water quality, economic analysis and wave monitoring) is prudent.

There are over $360 million dollars in projects that need funding through the Tidelands funds. Repairing infrastructure and preventing flooding should be top priorities.

I think the City Council should put the issue on the November ballot: should the City of Long Beach expend Tidelands funds in the amount of $4 million for a feasibility study to be conducted by the US Army Corps of Engineers regarding the breakwater.

Council agenda item dealt with improving permits for park use -- not creating new permits

In response to my constituents concerns about the process used to make certain groups wanting to use Long Beach parks and facilities have obtained a permit from the City's Parks, Recreation and Marine Department, I put an item on the agenda last Tuesday to help "beef" up the process and to recoup some fees for policing and cleaning up after these groups use the parks.

Apparently some in the news media and the public didn't know that permits have been a requirement for many, years..and view the council agenda item as adding new laws.

(Please spare me the grandstanding on the right to assembly -- this isn't about restricting assembly -- just letting the police and parks know what is going on especially since they have to do the clean up when things go wrong with group activities.)

Permits have been used for many years in order to control crowding and at one time were used to alert Park Rangers so they could police the parks.

Since we don't have Park Rangers any more, the LB Police need to be brought into the process and be made aware that large groups will be at the park at a certain time.

The other problem is that while every resident of Long Beach receives a bulletin from the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department that includes a notice about the need to obtain a permit, many people from out of area do not receive this information. So I suggested that we post signs -- not all over the parks -- but perhaps below the signage for Park Watch which is all over the parks.

I also suggested we look at some type of fee increase or security deposit because it is costing the city a fortune to continually clean up after these groups...and if the police are called because of noise or other problems (i.e. shootings) then the group should have to forfeit the deposit.

Hey, if y'all have a good idea on how we can make certain we know what is going on in our parks and that we recoup the costs for clean up and policing these parks, then send them in to me at: district5@longbeach.gov.

Federal Loans Available for 1st Time Homebuyers in Long Beach -- Workshop June 19

The City of Long Beach is launching an innovative homebuyer financial assistance program.  The Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2) First-Time Homebuyer Assistance Program will provide up to $200,000 in silent second mortgage loans to assist qualified first-time homebuyers in purchasing a home.  Participants may also qualify for up to $40,000 in grant funding to fix code-related violations, make energy-efficiency improvements and assist with closing costs.

"This is an incredible opportunity for first-time homebuyers to realize the dream of homeownership," said Dale Hutchinson, Housing Operations Officer for the City of Long Beach. "Participants in the Program not only get financial assistance, but also help with navigating the home buying process, finding reputable lenders and realtors, and locating homes for their families."

To introduce the NSP2 Program, the City of Long Beach is hosting a special kick-off event on Saturday June 19, 2010, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. The event will take place at The Grand Long Beach Event Center, 4101 E. Willow St., in Long Beach, and is open to all members of the community. Free onsite parking is available.


“This event is a great way to learn about the NSP2 Program first-hand, thus, attendance to the kick-off event is a requirement to be able to participate in the First-time Homebuyer Assistance Program,” said Hutchinson. “Attendees can find out information about the Program requirements and the homebuying process. They can ask questions and get answers on the spot. If you're looking for a home, this event is the best place to start.”


Residents interested in attending the NSP2 kick-off event are asked to RSVP at 562.570.6949.

Event Information:

NSP2 First-Time Homebuyers Assistance Program Kick-Off Event

June 19, 2010

10:00 am – 12:00 pm

The Grand Long Beach Event Center

4104 E. Willow St.

Long Beach, CA

Free Parking Available

RSVP at 562.570.6949 

Long Beach Magazine Features Schipske's Latest Book on Long Beach History

The June edition of Long Beach Magazine (on the shelves at Barnes and Nobles and Borders Bookstores) includes a very nice review of my latest book on the history of Long Beach: Early Aviation in Long Beach.

While I was researching my first book: Rosie the Riveter in Long Beach, I came across the wonderful aviation history of Long Beach.

Long Beach made aviation history a number of times including in 1911, when Cal Rodgers landed in the water off Pine Avenue Pier and completed the first transcontinental flight. His plane and the mail bag he carried are in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Because of the municipal airport being established in 1923, Army and Navy fliers frequented our area for many years prior to bases being established here. Thanks to pioneer aviators like Earl Daugherty, Frank Champion and John Montijo, Long Beach was well-known as a center of aviation.

Amelia Earhart came to Long Beach to watch an air circus and then received her first flight from Frank Hawks, a Poly High School graduate and military pilot. Earhart learned how to fly solo and perform aerobatics from Montijo -- who served as one of the first Aviation Commissioners for the City.Other aviators such as Charles Lindbergh and Douglas Corrigan also frequented Long Beach. And our own first woman flier, Gladys O'Donnell beat Ameila Earhart in the Women's Air Derby.

A number of groups have asked me to talk about this book and the Rosie the Riveter book. I have made a video presentation on both which I narrate during my presentation. Please contact my office at: 570 6932 if you would like me to talk to your organization about Long Beach history.

Important Information -- June 11

I am posting a number of documents that readers will find of interest:

• City Manager's newsletter - June 11
• Updates on airport imrovements
• Boundary adjustments planned between Los Alamitos-Long Beach- Seal Beach
• Adopted revenue sources for 2010

Just look to the right column and the documents are available for reading or downloading.

Crime Stats and Police Staffing Levels

Dear readers,

To the right of the post are two documents that are a must read: The quarterly crime stats for the City of Long Beach which I requested in the Public Safety Committee. While the stats show downward trends in adult crimes -- god help the women and kids in our community who are being abused in higher numbers. Those figures are up.

The second document is a memo from the new Chief of Police about staffing levels for police and his assessment about a police academy. Once again, in polite terms, the council is told to pound sand about having a recruitment academy this budget year -- even though the council directed management to find out how to fund it. (I think we directed management three times on this one.)

The City cut Park Rangers despite having an enormous amount of park area. Something has to be done about increasing police presence -- especially in the parks.

You're Invited to Help Us With Ideas to Reduce the City Deficit

The City of Long Beach takes pride in the open and transparent manner in which the City's budget is presented and discussed during the annual budget adoption process. A critical element of this process is the active inclusion of the community in discussion about the City's challenges, priorities and opportunities to become a more fiscally sustainable city.


At the request of Councilmember Gerrie Schipske, and as part of the community engagement effort for the Fiscal Year 2011 (FY 11) budget development, the Department of Financial Management is inviting you and the public to join a live webconference hosted by ICMA and the City of Evanston, IL, in the Long Beach City Council Chambers on June 10, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Webconferences are opportunities for communities throughout the United States to come together to learn about best practices ask questions and share information with each other regarding their budget challenges via the Internet.

The webconference is entitled "Engaging Citizens to Cut Budgets: How One City Cut $9.5 Million from the Budget in Just Two Months." The public is invited to join City staff for this 90-minute interactive webconference in which they will hear how the City of Evanston, IL, implemented a process to set priorities and eliminate their nearly $10 million budget deficit. Expert presenters will share how the citizen engagement process helped maintain civility, created a continuing dialogue, and limited the amount of special interest lobbying at the final City Council budget meetings. Topics covered will also include:

 

 Benefits of engaging citizens in the budget process;

• Strategies and tips to create a successful citizen engagement experience;
• How to make the experience authentic for citizens; and  
• Tools and activities to support and encourage this process.

Those in attendance will then have an opportunity to ask the speakers questions directly during the Question/Answer session in the last 30 minutes.

 

Lakewood Village Is Getting Gas Lines Fixed

Residents of Lakewood Village are noticing that several streets are being worked on and steel plates left for a while. That's because the Long Beach Gas and Oil Department is currently replacing old gas lines below the street.

If you look to the right of this posting you can read the schedule for Lakewood Village.

Meeting at Pan Am Park Produces Good Ideas

Approximately 50 residents living around Pan Am Park in the northside of the 5th District attended a community meeting this morning that I organized to discuss what occurred on Memorial Day at the park.

To discuss the incident, I requested Chief of Police Jim McDonnell and Parks and Recreation Director Phil Hester attend. The Chief and Mr. Hester also brought key staff who are involved in the 5th Council District. City Manager Pat West also attended -- indicating that the city was taking this incident very seriously.

The following was discussed:

• A large family from Compton held its annual bbq at Pan Am park on Memorial Day. This group has done so for about 18 years without incident.
  
• The family did not obtain a permit from the Recreation Dept -- which is required for all groups over 25.
• A call for service came into the police about an hour before the shooting with a complaint about loud noise. The officer responded and told the group to turn the music down.
• Residents asked why the officer did not alert anyone that the group appeared to be in gang clothing, drinking beer, parking cars on the grass.
  
• An hour later a call for police came in about shots being fired in Pan Am.
• Police responded and the shooter escaped.
• The neighborhood wants to know what will be done to make sure this won't happen again on holidays.
• The police stressed that members of the family group are cooperating with the police.
• The Chief also stressed that the park is safe and this was an isolated incident of someone with gang affiliation coming to a family event and getting into a fight.
  
• The City does not fund park rangers for Pan Am park -- rangers are only in El Dorado Park.
• Residents were encouraged to join Neighborhood Watch and to call Police or Park Watch if they see suspicious activity.
• Residents were also encouraged to provide emails so that Councilwoman Schipske can send alerts.
• It was suggested by residents that permit process be tightened up and that Parks and Rec work with Police to alert them when a group of 25 or more obtains a permit.

As a result of the meeting, I am doing the following:

• Introducing a council agenda item that requests the permitting process be examined and that public safety safeguards be included such as requiring notice of the Police by the Parks and Rec department whenever a permit is issued to a group of 25 or more.
• Adding a public safety fee to the permit that will help fund park rangers or a park patrol that can patrol parks and alert the police when there is a problem.
• Request that signs be posted reminding that a permit is needed and that violators will be fined and not allowed to use the park for a year. Also need to post signs that alcohol is not permitted.
  
• Ask the City Prosecutor whether or not the family who used the park without a permit can be cited and fined for the costs of clean up and police services.
• Assigning my council staff to check out 5th District parks on holidays and to alert police and parks if necessary.
  

Google Goofs and Steals Clark Avenue From Long Beach

As I work on the historical elements of Rosie the Riveter Park at Conant and Clark Avenue, I refer to Google Maps often, I was very pleased to see that on some Google Maps, Rosie the Riveter Park and Interpretive Center is noted at that location.

What I am very upset to find is that Google has stolen Clark Avenue from Long Beach and renamed it "Columbia Way." Perhaps they confused us with Downey which did rename a portion of Clark Avenue in their city after the Columbia space craft which was built there -- but hey, unless someone slipped it in the wetlands swap, I do no recall the City of Long Beach agreeing to wipe Clark Avenue off the map..so to speak. 

I will ask the City Council to approve a request that Google correct its maps of Long Beach and give us Clark Avenue back.

So in our excitement to be Googlized as a City -- maybe we need to first work with Google keeping what belongs to Long Beach in Long Beach.

Check out OCTA's plans to shut down and fix 7th Street and 22 and 605 Fwys

As a follow up to the community meeting I held a few months ago, I have posted the updated plans of the Orange County Transit Authority (OCTA) (to the right of this posting) to close and fix 7th Street and parts of the 22 and 605 Fwys.

This will obviously disrupt the Long Beach area greatly but apparently we have no choice because without the reconstruction of ramps, this particular area can no longer handle the traffic and car pools that travel there.

A great deal of re-routing traffic through Long Beach -- mostly in the 4th and 5th Districts -- will be painful for a year or so. That's why you might see detour signs already up on Palo Verde -- trying to condition to drivers that this is coming.

If I learn anything else, I will share it.

Information on Smash and Grabs in Ranchos

The following is a copy of an email provided to me and residents of the Rancho's area of the 5th District concerning recent "Smash and Grabs" -- when someone sees valuables in your car and then smashes your window and grabs the goods and goes.

Smash and Grabs in both RD's 665 & 685.  Here is a general breakdown:  
There has been a total of 16 reported incidents that occurred between January 1, 2010 and June 3, 2010.  
January - 4     (3 occurred in the same evening)  
February - 6  (All occurred in the same evening)  
March - 2  
April - 3  (2 occurred in the same evening)  
May - 1

In all cases, the loss was in plain view inside of the vehicle.  
The losses include:  
       GPS (4)  
       Briefcases/Backpacks (4)          
       Ipod/Cellphone (3)  
       Laptops (2)  
       Other Miscellaneous items  (2)  
       No loss (1)  
Approximately 1/4 of the vehicles were parked in the driveway, the others were parked on the street in front of the residence.  

We do see this type of activity throughout the city, but  I think the most important thing to tell residents is..... Do not leave anything of value inside their vehicle.  If they see something suspicious, they need to contact dispatch immediately.   There is no real secret to preventing this type of crime, other than hardening the target.  Make sure there is nothing in your vehicle of value, make sure your vehicle is locked and the alarm is set,  increase residential lighting and use motion detector lights, make sure that front yard foliage does not obstruct the view of the street, park as close to your home as possible, and leave your porch light on at night.

Meeting Scheduled for 10 am at Pan Am Park Gym on Sat June 5th

A community meeting has been scheduled for Saturday, June 5th at 10 am in the Pan Am Park gym to discuss the recent shooting that occurred over the Memorial Day weekend in Pan Am Park.

Representatives of the Long Beach Police Department and the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department will be on hand to answer questions.

I encourage residents to come to this meeting -- as there seems to be a bit of misinformation being circulated about what happened and who was responsible.

This was a family bbq (with music, bouncing pads for kids, games, etc.) that has been held in Pan Am park for over 20 years. The family and relatives live in Compton. Apparently some of the younger members of the family brought "friends" and a fight broke out. Someone pulled a weapon and shot a person.

Community Meeting on Pan Am Shooting Being Scheduled

My staff and I are working on setting up a community meeting at Pan Am park on Saturday, June 5. The exact time is being worked out.

In attendance will be the Long Beach Police Department and Parks and Recreation Department.

We will discuss what happened over the Memorial Day weekend at the park and what can be done to make sure it doesn't happen again.

My office will send out a email and hand walk a flyer in the neighborhood to let everyone know the details.

Shooting in Pan Am Park today

LBPD contacted me today to tell me of a shooting in Pan Am park which is at the top of my district adjacent to Lakewood.

"Officers found a male adult and female adult victim with non-life threatening gun shot wounds. There was a large party in park and shooting erupted. This appears to be an isolated incident. Detectives are onscene investigating the incident."

I will get additional information tomorrow at Council, however, I feel it is critical that we review the staffing of Parking Rangers in all of our parks especially during holidays.

City Manager's Weekly Newsletter - 5-28-10

Friday Newsletter 05-28-10

President Obama's Memorial Address on Video

Hawaiian Gardens Moving Forward --With Improvements to the Long Beach side

Ok. So we weren't happy to learn several months ago that the City of Hawaiian Gardens wanted to extend 226th Street all the way through to Pioneer Blvd., on their side behind El Dorado Park Estates.

After walking the area and distributing a flyer door to door about the issue, I held a community meeting with El Dorado Park Estates residents about what was being proposed. Most were concerned that too many people were driving into the Long Beach side now and that this would increase traffic flow.

At my request, our Traffic Engineer conducted a study to see how many people actually came into Long Beach and how many went out of Long Beach via Pioneer Blvd. The results were startling: traffic flows in an out at a 50-50 rate. People living in Long Beach use Pioneer Blvd., to access the freeway and the Town Center.

Nevertheless, the City of Long Beach formally expressed its concern to the City of Hawaiian Gardens about their plans -- knowing full well that legally one city cannot tell another city what to do within their own boundaries. In turn, the City of Hawaiian Gardens offered to provide infrastructure improvements on their side and our side so that the extension of 226th to Pioneer (on Hawaiian Gardens side but just steps from Long Beach) could look presentable.

Accordingly, I released the following statement today:

     As a follow-up to the June 2009 meeting regarding the City of Hawaiian Gardens proposal to extend 226th  Street through to Pioneer Ave., the City of Hawaiian Gardens has decided to move forward.  Construction has recently begun on the project.  Even though the City of Long Beach has no authority to halt the project, Councilwoman Schipske and City Management were able to negotiate some accommodations for El Dorado Park Estates.  Below are the components of the beautification project:

      1) Installment of a new decorative “Welcome to Long Beach” sign at the intersection of Pioneer Ave. and 226th  St. on the west side of the street.

      2) The tree will be removed to accommodate the construction of the ADA approved sidewalk and curb cut.  The parkway tree to the south, that is causing the sidewalk to buckle, is also to be removed and replaced.  The parkway trees will be replaced  from the City of Long Beach’s approved list of trees.
    
    3) Crosswalks and STOP signs will be installed to meet the requirements of the reconfigured intersection.

    A traffic study was performed which indicated that traffic in and out of El Dorado Park Estates from Pioneer Ave. on to Ring St. is approximately equal in both directions.  The beautification project will enhance the entrance in to El Dorado Park Estates.  The City of Hawaiian Gardens has cooperated with the City of Long Beach to do this work within our borders.  Again, the City of Long Beach has no jurisdiction or ability to prevent the City of Hawaiian Gardens from conducting work within their own borders.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Office of Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske at 562-570-6932.