Signal Tribune
INSIDE: Long Beach Collective Association recommends changes to City’s failing Cannabis Social Equity Program
Your Weekly Community Newspaper
VOL. XLIII NO. 30
see page 3
Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and Signal Hill
LB CITY COUNCIL
Friday, July 23, 2021
COMMUNITY
Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune
A permanently closed Russian Foxtrot-Class submarine known as the Scorpion sits next to the Queen Mary on June 7, 2021.
Sink or swim? Long Beach weighs options for the future of the Queen Mary Karla M. Enriquez | Signal Tribune
Emma DiMaggio
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Porche Smith stands next to her son Landen Smith at a July 2021 weekend sale. Porche teaches Landen the lemonade-making process.
Managing Editor
o matter what Long Beach chooses to do with the Queen Mary, one thing is for certain: it will be ex-
pensive. “There really is no cheap option, just the least expensive of several expensive items,” said Franc Pigna, a consultant hired by the Port of Long Beach. During a special meeting on Tuesday, July 20, the Long Beach City Council publicly weighed its options for the Queen Mary for the first time since the City regained control of the ship in June. The historic ocean liner has been a tourist attraction since it first arrived in Long Beach in 1967 and is listed on the National Register for Historic Places. In the past four decades, the ship has had seven different operators, the most recent of which filed for bankruptcy. Deferred maintenance has left the ship with up to $289 million in needed repairs, according to a 2017 marine survey. Now, the ship’s fate lies in the hands of the city council. If Long Beach wants to wash its hands of the Queen Mary, a “retire and recycle” option would dismantle see QUEEN MARY page 7
This 8-year-old’s Black-owned business donates part of proceeds to support those experiencing homelessness
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Karla M. Enriquez Digital Editor
mong the muraled shops and heavy traffic on Artesia Boulevard in North Long Beach stands 8-year-old Landen Smith next to a fresh batch of lemonade. He started his lemonade stand on Juneteenth with a philanthropic goal—using part of the proceeds to help provide hand sanitizer, wipes and other essentials to those experiencing homelessness. “I wanted to be a superhero and help the homeless,” Smith said. According to the 2020 Point-in-Time Homeless Count, the City of Long Beach identified 2,034 people experiencing homelessness in January 2020—a 7% increase from the previous year. The 2020 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count identified 66,436 people experiencing
Karla M. Enriquez| Signal Tribune
Landen serves fresh original lemonade during a July 2021 weekend sale. Part of his proceeds go to help buy essential items for those experiencing homelessness.
homelessness—a 12.7% increase from the previous year. Sympathetic to the cause, Landen’s grandmother began donating bags full of essential items such as water and soap to support those experiencing homelessness and became the inspiration behind his philanthropy. Intent on doubling his grandmother’s donations, part of Landen’s proceeds have allowed them to give out 150 bags of essentials a month. “I’m very proud and I’m excited because it was all his idea,” said Landen’s mother Porche Smith. The idea flourished last year while Landen watched television and saw that lemonade stands garnered considerable revenue. “My grandmother called me and said ‘you know, Landen wants to get involved with feeding the homeless because he’s a hero and he wants to be a superhero,’” Porche recalled. However, the Safer at Home order that was triggered in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 see LEMONADE page 6
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