L.A., Long Beach ports' feud resurfaces

Just 13 months after Los Angeles and Long Beach set their maritime rivalry aside to fight diesel pollution at the nation's busiest seaport complex, the partnership has collapsed.In a disagreement that hinges on labor practices, the two cities are now so fundamentally at odds that some experts fear customers will seek out other harbors to escape a storm of complications, confusion and acrimony.At issue is whether the drivers who haul freight to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach should be required to work for trucking companies -- and therefore be more likely to be recruited by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union. Continue reading Los Angeles Times

Holiday Open House To Spread Cheer Along Retro Row
Some people engage in friendly competition with their neighbors this time of year to determine who has the most festive and unique collection of holiday decorations adorning their home. However, at the Fourth Annual Holiday Open House from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6, on Retro Row, the holiday competition will be of a different nature. A prize (and admiration of spectators) will be awarded to the most festive bicycle in town for the first time in the event’s history. This year’s Open House on Fourth Street between Junipero and Cherry avenues will be the largest yet, said Kathleen Schaaf, owner of Meow and a member of the Fourth Street event committee. The Open House was created to encourage residents to visit local retailers and begin spreading the holiday joy early in December. Continue reading Downtown Gazette.

Car Free Fridays rides again
On Friday, December 4, the community is invited to again participate in Car Free Fridays and Lunch Breaks for Cyclists. In addition to the clean-living karma of a greener commute, an added benefit of biking to work on Car-Free Fridays is taking advantage of “lunch break” discounts. More than 20 eateries in Long Beach are offering discounts of up to 20% for cyclists between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Continue reading Everything Long Beach.

Wetlands Land Trade May See Decision
A decision whether to continue pursuit of a land swap to put part of the Los Cerritos Wetlands in public hands is likely to come in a closed session Tuesday. The City Council has a 90-minute session scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to review the status of the deal. LCW Partners (Tom Dean and Jeff Berger) has sent letters to the council and city officials saying it is willing to take all legal responsibility for cleanup of the land, and wants to close escrow on the deal by the end of the year. “I would expect we will decide whether or not to open escrow Tuesday,” said Third District Councilman Gary DeLong. “It doesn’t make sense to open escrow if we would have liability, and we will be asking our attorney for an opinion on that. Continue reading Grunion Gazette.

Winter Wonderland
Nothing says winter along Southern California’s waterfront better than a synthetic-ice rink across the street from a Chili’s. Now that exactly such a seasonal juxtaposition is finally being arranged in Long Beach, even the people who are melding the space-age polymers with the iconography of Currier and Ives adjacent to a place where everyone can “Pepper in some fun!™” are surprised it took them so long. “We’ve been looking at bringing in holiday ice skating for some years,” acknowledged Jennifer Gartland, marketing director for the Pike at Rainbow Harbor. “We’re all excited to see how this is going to work.” Continue reading The District.

Nearby homeowners getting relief from Long Beach Airport's noise

Since Bill Sieloff and his family moved into a home southeast of Long Beach Airport and directly in the flight arrival path more than a decade ago, the deafening, house-shaking aircraft noise has become a part of life. "I just thought it was something I was just going to have to learn to live with," said Sieloff, a 50-year-old commercial construction contractor. "In the 12 years that I've been there, I have gotten used to it, but it's still an annoyance." Continue reading Press Telegram.

Plans To Expand Whaley Parking Lot Move To Council
Plans to expand the parking lot at Whaley Park and add 51 spaces — for use both by park visitors and members of the Los Altos YMCA — got approval from the Parks and Recreation Commission last week. The plans will go to the City Council in the coming weeks for a vote. The process started a couple of years ago when the Los Altos YMCA was looking to add parking so it could expand its buildings, said Fourth District Councilman Patrick O’Donnell. With the park (heavily used by youth soccer and baseball teams), the YMCA and the Los Altos United Church of Christ, there was a need for more parking in the area, O’Donnell said. “At different times, each of those facilities is very busy and this will help with the traffic and parking in that area,” O’Donnell said. “This is a busy park with just too few parking spaces.” Continue reading Grunion Gazette.

Final Explanation for Hotel Discount?
Credit Press-Telegram reporters John Canalis and Karen Robes-Meeks for breaking the story that Long Beach’s most-powerful development official—Craig Beck heads both the city’s Development Services Department and its Redevelopment Agency—received a special deal on accommodations during a weekend in Napa. On Nov. 13-14, Beck stayed at a boutique hotel owned by a company hoping to open a hotel in Long Beach, and he traveled with the local lobbyist for that hotel chain, Mike Murchison. That’s the story Canalis and Robes-Meeks posted on the P-T website late Friday night—it’s must reading—and it includes quotes from Beck and his boss, City Manager Pat West. But that isn’t the story West told me when I asked him last Tuesday about possible ethical problems with the wine-tasting trip that Beck and Murchison—and their wives—took to the Napa AVIA hotel. Continue reading The District.

Changes To Long Beach Bus Routes, Fares Start In February

Next February, there will be some changed routes and increased fares along the Long Beach Transit system. The Long Beach Transit Board of Directors formally approved the route changes last week. The same body approved the rate changes last year. Both will go into effect on Feb. 14. The route changes include two of the red Passport bus lines that travel to East Long Beach. The Passport D will go east from downtown, through Belmont Shore out to the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Second Street, to Bellflower Boulevard north, then will cut east at Atherton and go out to the PCH Traffic Circle, then return back to near California State University, Long Beach. It no longer will travel to the Los Altos Shopping Center. Continue reading Grunion Gazette.

Time is right for LB streetcars
We have before us an exciting opportunity that will connect neighborhoods, invest in our infrastructure and attract new jobs and housing. - all without spending General Fund money. And all without taking money away from essential police, fire and other essential city services. Now is the time to move beyond planting a seed of inspiration and move forward with a plan for bringing streetcars to Long Beach within the next few years. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Desire for streetcars gets a look in Long Beach

Second District City Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal envisions a downtown crowded not with cars, but people - pedestrians who arrive by bicycle, bus and, perhaps, even streetcars. Electric-powered streetcars such as those used in San Francisco and Portland - connecting Long Beach's neighborhoods, fostering pedestrian movement and spurring development - are an integral part of Lowenthal's vision. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Councilwoman Desires Streetcar Consideration
A street car — like those seen in San Francisco and Portland — could connect downtown with places such as Belmont Shore or Bixby Knolls, a recent study found. But finding a way to pay for it remains a challenge. Last week, a first report came back to the council that presented some broad-stroke answers and costs about the proposal. “The general sense I got from the council members is they were willing to go to the next level,” which would be a more detailed study, said Second District Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal, who brought the idea for the streetcars forward. Continue reading Downtown Gazette.

A love affair with trolleys

What is it that makes some public officials believe that people would rather ride trolleys than drive their own cars? This would be an idle question, if taxpayers didn't get stuck with the consequences, which is what could happen in Long Beach. At a cost of "only" $69,000, local officials have a feasibility study that shows they could have a system of trolleys criss-crossing the city for "only" $900 million. Some might say that's a bargain, since most of it would be federal money. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Long Beach Council contemplates trolley for traffic congestion relief in city
Long Beach officials are contemplating adding electrically powered streetcars to the downtown transportation mix. In a Long Beach Press-Telegram article dealing with the subject of transportation alternatives for that city, it was reported that "Last week, the council heard a report on a feasibility study that had been commissioned in 2007 about installing streetcars in Long Beach..." The article went on to point out that Second District City Council Member Suja Lowenthal "and other city officials seem to be warming up to the idea." Continue reading Examiner.

A 1913 Long Beach Craftsman, relocated and revived

When Wendy Harn rescued a 1913 Craftsman from the wrecking ball in 1989, she didn't know much about it -- except that it was free. A developer had planned to demolish it to build condos, but first the city of Long Beach insisted that he offer the house to anyone willing to move it. Harn stepped forward, and the following year she relocated the two-story, five-bedroom behemoth from its Ocean Boulevard site opposite the Long Beach Museum of Art to her lot in the Bluff Park Historic District. Continue reading Los Angeles Times.