Press Corps

 

Long Beach port authorities have launched a new primetime cable television ad campaign featuring a 30-second spot touting the port's newfound environmental concern.

The commercial incorporates visual imagery from the port's new logo with a voice-over narraration promoting the department's stewardship on community outreach and environmental and economic issues.

Produced by an outside firm, Radarworks, and funded with port profits, it airs between 4 p.m. and midnight the next few weeks on Charter and Time Warner cable networks.

The ad can be seen on A&E, Discovery, CNN, Fox News, History, ESPN, TLC and TNT or by clicking here.

Could Downey be on the road to becoming a plastic bag-free city?
The City Council on Tuesday will hear a report from its city attorney about a potential ordinance banning plastic bags from retail stores, restaurants and grocery stores.
The council will decide what direction to take regarding the issue brought up by Councilman Kirk Cartozian.
A similar ban has hit some snags in other cities. The Daily Breeze reported in August that a coalition of 10 plastic retailers and manufacturers has sued Manhattan Beach for its recent ban.
In Long Beach, my colleague Paul Eakins reported that the council's Environmental Committee earlier this fall considered possible bans on plastic bags or polystyrene, such as Styrofoam, but ultimately decided not to recommend a ban on either product. The committee suggested the city promote and monitor the existing state and local plastic bag  recycling programs, then evaluate Long Beach's recycling efforts in a year.
Opponents of a ban have argued a new state law meant to improve plastic bag recycling should be given time to work.
That law, AB2449, went into effect in July and requires all large grocery stores and pharmacies to provide receptacles for plastic bag recycling and to sell reusable shopping bags .
However, environmental groups and other critics of plastic bags say most bags are used once and then discarded, often entering rivers and then washing into the ocean.
About 6 billion plastic bags are used in the county every year, but only 5 percent are recycled. Collecting and disposing of plastic grocery bags costs California taxpayers nearly 17 cents per bag, which amounts to $50 million annually, Eakins reported.
Some cities have implemented their own, stricter laws governing the use of plastics, most notably San Francisco, which this year passed a law banning most types of plastic bags . The law allows only recyclable or compostable bags to be used.

The meeting in Downey will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chamber, 11111 Brookshire Ave.

 

The first of three community workshops on the Long Beach Breakwater will take place Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Belmont Plaza Pool, Banquet Room, 4000 E. Olympic Plaza.

The city wants the public's opinions as a Breakwater Reconnaissance Study moves forward to examine the possibility of reconfiguring the Breakwater, which rings Long Beach's coastline. Supporters of changing the rock barrier say that by opening it up, the city's coastal waters would become cleaner and more natural.

The workshop will include:

• An overview of the Long Beach Breakwater Reconnaissance Study
• Opportunities to share ideas, concerns and questions
• A hands-on design workshop

Each workshop will feature smaller interactive breakout group discussions to identify opportunities and constraints regarding any potential reconfiguration of the Long Beach Breakwater. The other two workshops will be Oct. 29 and Nov. 19.

Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, is expected to attend the Long Beach Marriage Equality Cocktail Fundraiser on Thursday to raise funds and awareness for Vote No on Proposition 8.

The Nov. 4 initiative seeks to eliminate same-sex marriage rights in California.



 

Opponents of Measure I, the infrastructure improvement plan that would levy a new parcel tax on residences and businesses, have started a new blog with updates on the measure debate. Check it out at www.abetterplanforlongbeach.com.

The blog is in addition to the No on Measure I opposition Web site. For information from the other side, go to the Yes on I Web site.

The debate continues ...

Greg Carpenter, the city's Planning Bureau manager, is moving to a new job after almost two decades working for the city of Long Beach, sources at City Hall say.

Carpenter couldn't be reached by phone late this afternoon, but the word is he will take up a similar position in El Segundo, where he lives.

As Planning Bureau manager, Carpenter is involved in virtually every new development in the city, ensuring a balance of varied building uses, parks, adequate roads and other characteristics that make Long Beach neighborhoods what they are.

Sources say next week will be Carpenter's last in Long Beach.

Ten NATO members and Partnership for Peace nations Sweden and Finland signed a Memorandum of Understanding to acquire three Boeing C-17 Globemaster III long-range cargo jets, Boeing announced today.

Signed Sept. 24, the agreement under the U.S. Department of Defense and the NATO Airlift Management Agency "sets the stage for NATO's first major defense purchase in 30 years," according to the company.

Two of the airlifters would be bought from Boeing. while the U.S. Air Force would provide the third C-17. It would be assigned to NATO's Heavy Airlift Wing and jointly operated by the nations from Pápa Air Base, Hungary. The first aircraft delivery could take place as early as spring 2009.

The 12 countries participating in NATO's Strategic Airlift Capability program would share in the costs, allowing them to share a pooled fleet, according to Boeing.

A second likely contender for the 1st District City Council seat has emerged, assuming of course that Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal is successful in her bid for the 54th Assembly District in the Nov. 4 general election.

Bill Francisco Grisolia, a legal and policy specialist, confirmed for me tonight during the monthly Beer & Politics event at Gallagher's Pub and Grill that recent rumors are true -- he plans to run for Lowenthal's council seat if she goes to the state Assembly.

Grisolia has long been involved in Long Beach organizations, is an advocate for the homeless, is former owner of the Island Sunfish Grill and is a musician. Though he has many local political connections, the 50-year-old Grisolia has only run once for office in Long Beach, when he was among a slew of candidates last year that vied to replace the late Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald in the 37th Congressional District. That seat, of course, went to Laura Richardson, a former council member turned state Assembly member.

Another unofficially announced candidate for the 1st District council seat is Robert Garcia, who is the communications director for Long Beach City College.

While Garcia and Grisolia's candidacies rely on Lowenthal, a Democrat, winning the Assembly seat, she is considered a virtual shoe-in in the heavily Democratic 54th District.

 

Councilmember Patrick O'Donnell will host a public meeting Saturday (Oct. 4) to discuss the timeline and scope of the Long Beach Breakwater Reconnaissance Study.  

The study, which was approved by the Council in 2005, but remained unfunded until July of 2007, could help determine the federal government's interest in a full assessment of the breakwater's reconfiguration, his staff noted..  

"I am looking forward to this discussion, which could be the first step towards clean water and restoring our shore," O'Donnell said in a prepared statement released Tuesday.  "This is the public's first opportunity to learn about the scope of the reconnaissance study."
.
The meeting is scheduled from 9 to 10 a.m. at the Aquarium of the Pacific's Honda Theater.  This event is free to the public.  There will be a $6 charge for parking.  For more information, please call (562) 570-6918.  

Mayor Bob Foster's efforts to clean the air at the Port of Long Beach, improve water quality and "green" the city seem to be paying off -- not in the environmental sense, but in a political way.

Foster has been appointed to chair the U.S. Conference of Mayors' environmental committee, Foster's office announced today. The Conference's president, Manuel Diaz, appointed Foster to the one-year term.

One of the first functions of the former head of Southern California Edison will be as a featured speaker in a forum Thursday called "Environment and Energy" during the Conference's annual meeting in Miami.