S IGNA L T R IBU N E Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and Signal Hill VOL. XXXIX NO. 5
Your Weekly Community Newspaper
January 27, 2017
Putting the civil back in civics Emotional LB council meeting ends with a sound defeat for the internationalairport proposal. CJ Dablo Staff Writer
Done and done: there won’t be an international airport in Long Beach. The two-year drama surrounding a controversial plan that would have ultimately transformed Long Beach’s municipal airport from a purely domestic-service facility into an international one came to an end on Jan. 24. The controversy on Tuesday concluded with cheers at the council meeting, and it was punctuated by a plea to return to civility. The Long Beach City Council voted 8-1 to receive and file the proposal, effectively killing the hopes of JetBlue Airways to offer international flights from the city to Mexico and other destinations south of the US border. Sixth District Councilmember Dee Andrews was the lone vote against the project. He advocated for an international airport that would create jobs. JetBlue is the Long Beach Airport’s biggest tenant. Airport spokeswoman Stephanie Mon-
tuya-Morisky confirmed in a statement to the Signal Tribune that JetBlue was the only carrier to express real interest in the airport’s international makeover. Fifth District Councilmember Stacy Mungo’s voice cracked as she delivered her verdict on the proposal for the international airport by making a motion to simply receive and file the staff report on the plan. Mungo and others on the council described the enormous pressure that they had felt from advocates on both sides of the issue. Rae Gabelich, a former councilmember and now leader of Long Beach Neighborhoods First, in an interview last week talked of plans to form a political-action committee to be ready for a future election. Gabelich had emphasized her desire to back candidates who “support the neighborhood” and stand against those councilmembers who vote “against their communities.” Her advocacy group organized the residents who were opposed to the international airport and who had regularly turned out in masses in previous meetings. Tuesday night’s meeting attracted hundreds of protestors against the plan. At one point, all of the seats in the council chamber were
filled. A couple of mothers cradled their children in the aisles. Other parents allowed young children to play a game of Mancala in the back of the chamber before one child descended into tears. Those who couldn’t arrive at City Hall in time were directed to overflow seating in the building’s lobby and the downstairs cafeteria. Some weary residents chose to camp out in the aisles next to the professionally printed orange signs that protested the airport. Dozens of residents on both sides of the issue stood in a queue to get a few minutes to speak during the public-comment period. The issue was discussed for about 4.5 hours, most of that time was dedicated to the public testimony. Fire Marshal Richard Brandt estimated between 380 to 400 people watched the proceedings from wherever they could get a seat in the building. In an atmosphere that could have turned hostile, the 5th-district councilmember addressed the assembly. “I want to thank those of you who have given me your patience,” Mungo said, “and let me decide on my own without threat of what you will do to me if I see INTERNATIONAL page 11
CJ Dablo | Signal Tribune
Tiffany Carmona, a 36-year-old 8th District resident, cradles her son Caleb Carmona at the Long Beach City Council meeting on Jan. 24. She was among hundreds of community advocates in the council chamber who protested against a proposal for an international airport in the city.
‘When California does well, America does well’ Governor discusses immigration, health care and renewable energy during annual address. Cory Bilicko Managing Editor
Courtesy Governor’s office
Gov. Jerry Brown (left) swears in Xavier Becerra (far right) as California Attorney General, as Becerra’s wife, Dr. Carolina Reyes, looks on Tuesday, Jan. 24.
In his seventh State of the State address, Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday departed from the usual approach of identifying all the issues facing California and instead focused on the larger context of the nation and its challenges in light of “deep divisions across America” with a new President. Brown said that immigrants are an integral part of who California is and what it has become, adding that they
have helped create the wealth and dynamism of the state from the very beginning, and he vowed to defend “every man, woman and child” who has come to California for a better life and contributed to the well-being of the state. “I recognize that, under the Constitution, federal law is supreme and that Washington determines immigration policy,” Brown said. “But, as a state, we can and we have played our important role. California has enacted several protective measures for the undocumented: the Trust Act, the [lawful] driver’s licenses, basic employment rights and non-discriminatory access to higher education. This is what made the Dreamers (beneficiaries of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act), and you made it
happen.” The governor then discussed health care and the possibility of losing funding at the federal level. “More than any other state, California’s embraced the Affordable Care Act, and over 5 million people now enjoy its benefits,” he said. “But that coverage has come with tens of billions of dollars from the federal government. Were any of that to be taken away, our state budget would be directly affected– possibly even devastated. That’s why I intend to join with other governors and senators and with you to do everything we can to protect the health care of our people. And, by the way, we’re going to fight for Planned Parenthood, who have been unfairsee STATE page 6
Let nature water your Lawn this season DON’T FORGET TO TURN OFF YOUR SPRINKLERS WHEN IT’S RAINING.
NEW watering
hours:
Tuesdays and Saturdays (before 9 a.m. and after 4 p.m.)
(562) 989-7250 • cityofsignalhill.org