Then and Now: The Gay and Lesbian Center

Security First National Bank building, above, was a Long Beach landmark on Fourth Street near Cherry Avenue in the 1920s. The building was purchased in 1985 by One in Long Beach, which renovated and reopened it; in 1997 One in Long Beach became the Gay and Lesbian Center of Greater Long Beach. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Ronald McDonald House to build facility at Miller Children's Hospital
Ronald McDonald House Charities has signed a letter of intent to develop a patient-family living facility at Miller Children's Hospital and Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. The planned Ronald McDonald House will have 25 bedrooms with private bathrooms, communal living and dining rooms, a kitchen and laundry facilities - all designed to provide the comforts of home, including playrooms and game facilities for children. The current Memorial Guest Residence building will be refurbished to create the new temporary, low-cost housing for families of seriously ill children receiving treatment, officials said Friday. Continue reading Press Telegram

Hearing set on disputed Los Cerritos Wetlands buffer area
A city zoning administrator has set an Oct. 12 hearing date to review plans to re-establish a cap over what environmentalists consider to be a buffer habitat at Los Cerritos Wetlands. Sean Hitchcock, owner-president of 2H Properties in Signal Hill, was sharply criticized by environmentalists for grading the buffer area near Loynes Drive and Studebaker Road in March. Hitchcock is seeking approval to import about 1,000 cubic yards of soil to re-establish and maintain the cap over the graded area. Continue reading Press Telegram.

SeaPort Marina project site to be reviewed Oct.7
Long Beach's Department of Devlopment Services will hold a joint community meeting and EIR scoping session Oct. 7 for the proposed project at the SeaPort Marina site. The project, pegged for Second Street and Pacific Coast Highway, has been criticized because of plans for a 12-story building in an area where heights are zoned for 35 feet maxximum. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Chamber of Commerce supports local housing preference idea
The Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce released a statement today in support of a proposal by City Council members Robert Garcia and Gary DeLong to begin investigating how to increase the number of locals who receive affordable housing. About 60 percent of the city's affordable housing residents were already living in Long Beach. Here's the full statement: Continue reading Press Telegram.

Long Beach Transit exec Jim Ditch helped improve lives
When Jim Ditch retired from Long Beach Transit last year, the party was standing room only.
"If you had asked people there, `How many of you think Jim is your best friend?' I think everyone would have raised their hand," said Larry Jackson, President and CEO of Long Beach Transit. Jim, a 19-year employee and former Executive Director of Maintenance and Facilities for Long Beach Transit, died on Thursday after battling cancer. He was 62. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Sustainability coordinator to address Shore group
Meredith Reynolds, coordinator for the city's Office of Sustainability, will discuss Long Beach's environmental efforts at the 6 p.m. Oct. 8 meeting of the Belmont Shore Residents Association at the Bay Shore Library, 195 Bay Shore Ave. In addition, the BSRA will introduce its recently elected board of directors. This is the neighborhood group's first regular meeting since its Sept. 10 election. The BSRA represents homeowners and renters in the Belmont Shore area. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Newberry developers seeking approval for 10 more units
Those recasting the old J.J. Newberry Department Store building downtown into a mixed retail and residential project will ask the Planning Commission on Thursday to let them add 10 more condominium units. Interstices, Inc., the Long Beach-based architects who were behind the design of the neighboring Kress and Walker lofts, will seek approval from the commission to modify the 433 Pine Ave. project by boosting the number of units from 18 to 28. Continue reading Press Telegram.

K-9 Corner Dog Park Opens At 9th/Pacific
LBReport.com reader Margo Carter was among those attending the Sept. 27 opening of LB's new "K-9 Corner Dog Park," a pocket park at 9th/Pacific in downtown LB. She captured the scenes below. The project was funded by LB's Redevelopment Agency. Continue reading Long Beach Report.

Another lawsuit coming soon over state's taking of redevelopment funds
The state may have abandoned its appeal of a Sacramento Superior Court ruling that found its 2008 taking of $350 million from redevelopment agencies unconstitutional, but the battle for redevelopment funds is far from over. In the next couple of weeks, the California Redevelopment Association intends to file with the Sacramento Superior Court a second lawsuit against the state - this time for the $2.05 billion payment required by redevelopment agencies over the next two years. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Long Beach's Condo Conversions Haunt Rental Market
It’s a good time to be a renter—or perhaps a multifamily investor. Even with droves of would-be homebuyers sitting out the market—and many more had-been homeowners now entering the rental market as foreclosures continue to ouster folks from their domiciles—fundamentals in the rental market are putting downward pressure on rent prices. Continue reading Long Beach Post.

Residents To Receive Driveway Parking Permit Option
A simpler system to allow residents to park in front of their own driveways is on its way. Tuesday, the City Council approved amending the ordinance governing parking in private driveways. The recommendation came from city traffic engineer David Roseman after nearly a year of meetings and studies. “The ability to purchase a permit to park in front of your driveway has been there for years,” Third District Councilman Gary DeLong said. “However, the process was so convoluted that virtually no one could go through it. This will allow people that option in parking-impacted areas.” Continue reading Grunion Gazette.

Proposed Long Beach bus route changes draw mixed reaction
Proposed changes in the Long Beach Transit system drew a mixed reaction Monday at a public meeting that drew 100 people to City Hall. Cal State Long Beach students favor proposed bus route changes that add more lines to the campus but older residents fear that they will lose downtown routes and some East Long Beach residents oppose having the buses on their streets. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Sifting costs of wetlands' cleanup roles
EPA offficials are scheduled to meet today with Los Cerritos Wetlands owners - past and present - in an attempt to divvy up the costs of cleaning up the PCBs contaminants found there. And 5th District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske is pressing for a hearing on the issue - one, she fears, that could be costly to the city. Thursday, Robert Wise, an on-scene coordinator for the Environmental Protection Agency, said he's not sure who will show during today's private meeting, but the EPA invited Bixby Oil & Gas, Bixby Ranch Co., Breitburn Energy Co. LP, LCW Partners, LLC, Breitburn Energy Company LLC, Chevron Corp. - also known as Texaco California Inc., or Mcfarland Energy Inc. - Conoco Inc. (aka Continental Oil Co., aka Marland Oil Co. of California. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Kroc Center Plan Progressing, New Website Launched
The effort to complete funding, planning and eventually construction for a Ray And Joan Kroc Corps Community Center (Kroc Center) in Long Beach took another step forward this week with the unveiling of a new website in support of the project, which is also being run with help from the Salvation Army. The site is longbeachkroc.org, and includes videos, renderings and tons of information about the upcoming project.Currently, the project is still vying for funding in this tough economic climate. The planning has been completed and organizers hope to break ground soon. The project has drawn passionate support from very visible members of the community, including the continued support of 6th District Councilmember Dee Andrews - the Kroc Center will be constructed in his jurisdiction. Continue reading Long Beach Post.

Effort to green vacant Wrigley lot sows seeds of discord
This a case of good intentions gone awry. Or maybe it's about the adage "it's easier to get forgiveness than permission." Maybe it's about the aphorism "no good deed goes unpunished." It depends on perspective. One possibility: The attempt by Annie Greenfeld and Wrigley is Going Green to put a community garden on Henderson Avenue was a slightly flawed but well-meaning attempt to turn a vacant lot into a lush garden. Another take: Despite the inherent positives of a garden, it was a cynical effort, orchestrated without consent of the main community group in the area to jump one garden ahead of another that was starting up just a few blocks away. Continue reading Press Telegram.

City Attorney Schedules Open Space/Wetlands Land Acquisition Closed Session
City Attorney Bob Shannon says that in response to requests received from three Councilmembers (Schipske, Gabelich, Reyes Uranga), a closed City Council session is being scheduled for Oct. 20 regarding the SE LB open space/presumed wetlands property that a Council majority (5-4) voted in August to acquire in exchange for the city's Public Service yard. Continue reading Long Beach Report.

Economic Development Deptartment getting restructured
The city's Economic Development and Cultural Affairs Bureau is in the midst of a massive restructuring that is expected to save the city nearly $1 million in next year's budget. The changes, which will take effect at the start of the city's 2010 fiscal year on Oct. 1, will result in the elimination of six positions and the transfer of loan approval and business improvement district functions to the Redevelopment Agency and to Community Development, respectively, said City Manager Pat West. Continue reading Press Telegram.

“Zipping” Through Traffic
Is it just me, or have you noticed that your commute to work has gotten a little longer lately? The start of a new school year surely has something to do with this. If you think your commute is bad, just imagine the congestion at Long Beach State.As the Beach continues to climb up the rankings, its student population continues to outpace the school’s existing infrastructure. In a school where 40,000 students and faculty commute to or live on campus, traffic congestion and parking shortages are just two of the challenges facing the Beach. That the student population at Long Beach State is outgrowing its infrastructure is as obvious as Homer Simpson’s love of donuts. Continue reading Long Beach Post.

Thinking Outside the Utility Box
Next time you’re driving south on Atlantic Avenue—or east on San Antonio Drive—keep your eyes open for Welch’s. The popular Bixby Knolls family restaurant, which occupied the northwest corner of the intersection when men still wore hats, is back: as artwork on a traffic signal utility box at the intersection’s southwest corner. This can only mean one thing: Bixby Knolls, under the aegis of the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association, is revisiting its midcentury past, with the help of the city’s Redevelopment Agency. It’s a simple concept: the RDA has been spending a portion of its budget in recent years to retain a variety of artists who’ve painted scenes and abstracts on utility boxes across the city. Continue reading The District.

Cleanup puts wetlands deal on hold for now
The escrow on the land-swap deal involving a portion of Los Cerritos Wetlands has been placed in a temporary holding pattern until the EPA rules it's satisfied with a cleanup effort of contaminants, City Hall sources said Tuesday. City Manager Pat West made that decision last week, following the advice of Public Works Director Mike Conway, the initial chief negotiator of the controversial deal. The city manager could not be reached Tuesday for comment. Continue reading Press Telegram.

T. Boone Pickens to speak at WASTECON in Long Beach today
BP Capital founder and chairman T. Boone Pickens will be speaking today at the Solid Waste Association of North America's WASTECON 2009 at the Long Beach Convention Center. The three-day event brings together hundreds of solid waste professionals to discuss topics such as greenhouse gases, solid waste management, improving public perception of waste-to-energy, household hazardous waste programs, bioreactors and biosolids and recycling. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Does A Vote To Assist The Vault 350 Signal Good Times On Pine?
A vote yesterday by the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency to assist entertainment venue The Vault 350 with $250,000 for a restoration could mean good things for all of Pine Avenue, which has struggled to attract and retain businesses through the recession. Click here to read the Press-Telegram's article about the agreement, in which Karen Robes Meeks describes an awe-inspiring blueprint for the new building: Continue reading Long Beach Post.

Then and Now: Birney Elementary

Alice M. Birney Elementary School, seen above during its construction, opened in the fall of 1951. The campus, at Maine Avenue and Spring Street in Long Beach, is named for the woman who began the National Congress of Mothers in 1897, which later became the National Congress of Parents and Teachers or, locally, Parent-Teacher Associations. Continue reading Press Telegram.

If Dogs Run Free: First of Two New Canine Parks Opens
Saturday, September 12 saw the official opening of the first of two new places for dogs and their human companions to recreate (the second, K-9 Corners, will open Sept. 27; see Events below). The Downtown Dog Park, brought into being through the office of 2nd District Council Member Suja Lowenthal, comprises 22,000 square feet (nearly half an acre) of land in Lincoln Park in the Civic Center, 333 W. Ocean Blvd. The park is enclosed by a fence of the sea-blue wavelength design that has lately been a Long Beach rec brand, and there are two separate sections for small and larger dogs. Sandra Gonzalez, Parks and Rec’s Planning and Developing bureau manager, benches and a double drinking fountain at two-legged and four-legged heights will soon be installed. Continue reading Long Beach Post.

Church at home in Long Beach theater
Clutching coffee and snacks, the audience waited in the cineplex's stadium-style seats. When the show started, the silver screen displayed images of sunlight-laced clouds, not "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." This audience wasn't disappointed. It expected a spiritual, rather than cinematic, journey. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Skate Park groundbreaking has hotdogs of all kinds
Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal likened the groundbreaking Saturday of the 14th Street Skate Park to giving birth -- painful but joyful. It was a remark appreciated by fellow politicos -- and there was a cadre of them -- sharing the moment with host 1st District Councilman Robert Garcia. "This park is a testament to the strength of commitment," the rookie councilman told a gathering of about 150, including a hefty showing of skateboarders. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Urban islands of green created for Park(ing) Day

Activists across the nation parked themselves curbside Friday, taking up spaces reserved for cars and transforming them into mini parks with sod, potted plants, lawn chairs and even barbecues to raise awareness about how the auto has won the battle over public space in big cities. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Downtown crash ends in old Press-Telegram building
Angela Barela of Long Beach holds her daughter, 2-year-old Eva Barela, after a 2005 Ford Escape that Eva was in and driven by her father, Alexander Barela, plowed into the former Press-Telegram building at Pine Avenue and Sixth Street in Long Beach. No one was injured in the incident, which occurred after the Escape collided with another car, then missed a light pole and support beams on the outside and inside of the building. Angela Barela arrived after the crash. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Port Asks For Community Feedback On Expansion Plan
The Port of Long Beach's plan to expand its on-dock rail facilities and capabilities is still in planning phases, so the Port is asking for feedback from the community as they move closer to conducting an Environmental Impact Report sometime next year. Seventeen public speakers took to the mic during a community forum at Port Headquarters on Wednesday, to tell Director of Environmental Planning Rick Cameron their concerns. Continue reading Long Beach Post.

Long Beach Main Library roof work underway
The removal of 10.4 million pounds of soil from the rooftop garden of the Main Library is underway and will add 10 to 15 years of life to the downtown structure. The 33-year-old library was slated for closure last year because of a leaky, seismically unsound roof, but the pressure will soon be off -- literally. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Friday is Almost Munday
Has it been a month already? Apparently, meaning that the third-ever monthly gathering of Mundays–the architects, designers and creative types centered around the new design district at Anaheim Street and Coronado Avenue–is coming up this Monday at 5:30. July found the stein-hoisters at Gallagher’s Pub and Grill; and last month they materialized at Alex’s Bar. This month, the group will be taking on another Irish bar: K.C. Branaghan’s, at 5734 E. Second St. Continue reading The District.

From Distress to Success: Repositioning Affordable Housing to Revitalize Communities
It is not surprising that given current market conditions, a greater share of local development has involved repositioning, reusing, and re-branding existing properties. With real estate prices depressed, it is often cheaper to purchase an existing structure than to buy a vacant or under-utilized property in order to build a new structure of comparable size. The market remains saturated, with new condominium developments that remain unsold, commercial properties left vacant by store closures, and apartment buildings purchased by over-extended developers who have failed in their goal of converting the buildings into condominiums. Continue reading Urban Landscape.

A New Facade for the Vault 350

There is a new owner of the event venue; The Vault 350 (as written in The District) on Pine at 4th Street. With the new owner comes a new life for the structure in and out. The exterior facade improvement will be presented to the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency on Monday, September 21/2009. Development Services will be hosting a walk through of the facilities this evening (Thursday) 5pm. More images are available here.

Time to Reevaluate Tenth and Redondo?
In the wake of the tragic accident Friday night that injured toddler Oscar Alvarez, 2, and killed his sister Kaylee, 1, many of us have been wondering about the intersection where the two siblings were run over. Is there something inherently dangerous about the intersection of Tenth Street and Redondo Avenue? The city’s Chief Traffic Engineer Dave Roseman says yes—and it’s partly us. Continue reading The District.

Long Beach In Gear To Become A More Pedal-Friendly City

Long Beach isn't just spinning its wheels when it comes to making the International City friendly for bicyclers. In an effort to get residents pedaling, city officials are creating new bike lanes, bike boulevards and safe routes to schools; improving street signage; installing unique and artistic bike racks; and increasing education and public awareness about biking. This summer, the plan kicked into full gear with the installation of new bike racks on sidewalks around town, the stenciling of new bike lanes, added street signage for bicyclists, increased promotion of biking through special events and the creation of a pilot program for unique bike lanes called sharrows. Continue reading Long Beach Business Journal.

Lobbying for Long Beach funds in Washington
Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal joined a delegation of state lawmakers this week who advocated for California's interests in Washington, D.C. "It's important to keep California in everybody's mind," Lowenthal said by phone from her hotel room after meetings on Capitol Hill. "It would be unwise to stay home and hope for the best." The delegation of about two dozen legislators led by Assembly Speaker Karen Bass had this agenda: attract federal spending to California. The delegation is fighting for what Lowenthal termed "a wide spectrum of needs," including health care, transportation infrastructure, high-speed rail, drought relief and military contracts. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Parking changes ahead for downtown Long Beach
Visitors who park at the Civic Center, CityPlace and other downtown public garages may soon see changes in how they park and how they pay. Development Services Director Craig Beck spoke to downtown business leaders Wednesday about plans to automate and improve some of the parking garages downtown. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Take A Mini-Vacation At El Dorado Park

We all need some peace in our lives. One of the greatest ways to get the rest and relaxation you need is to take several “mini vacations” every week. We often work hard and stress hard saving up for that weekend or week of “vacation.” But research shows you need down time every day, and the TV and internet don’t count! Continue reading Long Beach Post.

Residents Oppose Bus Route Changes
Complaints from residents around Marina Vista Park — fearing their neighborhoods would become de facto university parking — may bring about changes to a proposed bus route change that would bring the red Passport through the area. A hearing is scheduled before the Long Beach Transit Board of Directors later this month, then that body will vote next month on a series of recommended changes. However, now Third District Councilman Gary DeLong is stepping in to help facilitate changes to the original proposal. Continue reading Downtown Gazette.

PCBs Found In Wetlands To Be Traded
Cancer causing chemicals — PCBs — are necessitating a cleanup overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on some of the potential Los Cerritos Wetlands land swap property that was approved last month by the City Council. This has caused the city to delay completing the swap until there is a resolution, the City Council was told this week. Continue reading Grunion Gazette.

Lights Out
A look through Cal State Long Beach’s budgetary kaleidoscope has the university seeing only one color: red. That red, in the form of the $42 million that CSULB was asked to cut from its already-lean budget for the 2009-2010 academic year, has led to lower enrollment; cuts to classes, faculty and staff; a furlough system that forces professors and staff to take unpaid days off (along with a 10-percent pay decrease); and the suspension of a few of the university’s biggest campus-wide events. Continue reading The District.

A Conversation about Preservation
As a way to showcase all their hard work restoring the East Village Creative Offices—the official name for the three buildings of office condos at Fourth Street and Linden Avenue—the folks behind the project threw open their still-being-finished doors Friday for a panel discussion on Adaptive Reuse in Long Beach, a concept they said could some day expand to embrace the entire city and its panoply of historic architecture. Continue reading The District.

Long Beach cargo cleanup efforts aim at reducing blight

Home to the nation's largest port complex, the city and its neighbors have long been a hub for noisy big-rig trucks hauling multi-hued shipping containers along local boulevards, freeways, residential streets and back alleys. But it's only in recent years that cities surrounding the harbor have seriously studied the trucking industry's impact on the quality-of-life for residents and workers in their communities. Continue reading Press Telegram.

CSULB gets grant for maglev rail study
The federal government has awarded Cal State Long Beach nearly $250,000 to study construction of a magnetic levitation rail system that may one day haul containers and other cargo to and from local ports, officials said Thursday. The Department of Transportation award allows the university to continue research into a maglev rail system designed by Atomic Energy of San Diego, which has a small but proven test track for moving containers at its San Diego facility. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Blue Café Uses Sprinkler Trouble To Explore Move To Pine
The Blue Café isn’t closed. It’s just on the move. That’s the word from the owners of the venue. While the doors to the Promenade location remain closed after a sprinkler incident, the venue is expected to reopen at a Pine Avenue location in the next couple of months, said attorney Bruce Karey, who is working with the owners, Steven and Andrew Nguyen. Continue reading Downtown Gazette.

Hotel Maya: Better The Second Time Around

On our many trips to the Bay Area, my family and I have made a habit of staying at boutique hotels of the California hospitality chain Joie De Vivre. These are usually renovated, repositioned off-market hotels that with enhanced aesthetics, new management, and style have become quite desirable for California travelers. In San Francisco alone there are over a dozen Joie De Vivre hotels, with locations and styles for just about every personality. Continue reading Long Beach Post.

Runners race across the Vincent Thomas Bridge in first event since '90s

These athletes were not lazing around on Labor Day as they took part in the "Conquer the Bridge" five-mile race. It is estimated that 1,500 runners took part. The Vincent Thomas Bridge, which first opened on Nov. 15, 1963, is rarely opened to foot traffic. Monday's race began and ended in San Pedro. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Coalition sues Long Beach over downtown hotel
A coalition is suing the city of Long Beach, alleging that it violated two laws when the City Council voted to approve a 125-room hotel downtown. The Long Beach Coalition for Good Jobs and a Healthy Community says the city did not comply with the Brown Act when it did not accept public comment during the July 21 council meeting before deciding on the Hotel Sierra project at the Pike at Rainbow Harbor. Continue reading Press Telegram.

CAR WARS: Downey, Long Beach vie for high-end Tesla plant
For weeks, the cities of Downey and Long Beach have been cross-county rivals wooing Tesla Motors like car salesmen, selling offerings to the Bay Area electric car maker ranging from freeway access and housing stock to enterprise zones and stable government finances. The stakes are high for both cities, considered finalists for Tesla, which intends to open a plant by late 2011 to begin manufacturing the new Tesla Model S, a $50,000, four-door all-electric family sedan. Continue reading Press Telegram.

Tempelhof to become enormous city park
Once the new park opens, the six-kilometre fence surrounding the former airfield will remain and authorities will close five entrance points each night.Tempelhof, built in 1923, operated until October 2008 when dwindling passenger numbers led to the closure of the facility. It is most famous as the West Berlin airport where Allied pilots continuously brought supplies into the city in 1948-49 as the Soviets tried to starve the city into submission during the Berlin Airlift. The 1936 Nazi-era terminal – which is more than one kilometre in length – will continue to be rented out for cultural exhibitions such as the fashion expo Bread & Butter. Continue reading The Local.

Long Beach Water Department Completes Home Makeovers
The Long Beach Water Department announced yesterday their completion of all nine of their free Long Beach residential front-yard landscape makeover projects providing the finishing touch to their citywide conservation communications initiative. The initiative was launched in reaction to the September 2007 Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners approval of a “Declaration of Imminent Water Supply Shortage” and their eventual mandatory prohibitions on certain outdoor uses of water. Continue reading Long Beach Post.

Long Beach Courthouse land swap OK'd
City leaders Tuesday voted unanimously to support a key land swap between the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency and the state that will pave the way for a newer, larger downtown home for the Long Beach Courthouse. The City Council agreed to the property sale and land-exchange agreement that will allow the state to give the agency 415 W. Ocean Blvd., site of the current courthouse, for future development in exchange for the RDA-owned vacant property bordered by Broadway, Maine Avenue, Third Street and Magnolia Avenue. Continue reading Press Telegram.

New CSULB science building taking shape
Construction workers prepare to lift the final steel beam to the top of the new Hall of Science that is currently being built on the Cal State Long Beach campus. The building is expected to open in the summer of 2011. At right, Rick Amick, part of the construction crew, signs the final steel beam before it is put in place. Continue reading Press Telegram.