SIGNAL TRIBUNE Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and Signal Hill
Your Weekly Community Newspaper
VOL. XXXVIII NO. 3
January 15, 2016
Eating like a horse... on a ‘Shoestring’ budget SH City Council prohibits marijuana cultivation, mobile dispensaries Local ranch provides kids access to animals, but funding is a challenge. Cory Bilicko
Managing Editor
Ordinances prohibit dispensaries and delivery, as well as growing medical pot in commercial and industrial zones. Sebastian Echeverry Staff Writer
Medical marijuana In its first meeting of 2016, the Signal Hill City Council moved to pass two ordinances on Jan. 12. The first ordinance prohibits the growing of medical marijuana in commercial and industrial city zones as well as a home occupation. The council established that its discussion about medical marijuana should include the topic mobile delivery services. The second ordinance prohibits medical-marijuana dispensaries and delivery services citywide. A roll-call vote finalized the decision, and all the members of the council voted to adopt the ordinances as stated. According to Mayor Larry Forester, the ordinances gives the City of Signal Hill control when deciding where medical marijuana can or cannot be grown in the city. Plants grown at home and used with a doctor’s recommendation are not included in the ordinances and are still legal under state law. State law says that by March 1 control over designating zones for cultivating medical marijuana will be surrendered to the State by any agency or city that does not meet the deadline. If an agency or city does not respond with a vote of some sort to the ordinances, then the State will take see COUNCIL page 9
Cory Bilicko | Signal Tribune
Hannah Truitt, 22, just started volunteering at Shoestring City Ranch a few weeks ago, after having grown up near the Lakewood facility.
With the exception of the family dog or cat– and the errant squirrel or raccoon making its way into local yards– kids living in heavily populated Southern California cities don’t often see, much less interact with, nearby animals. However, there’s a place specially designed to expose local youth to the fauna that don’t normally inhabit inner cities. It is a nonprofit that is free and available to children, but acquiring the funding to cover the costs of housing, feeding, grooming and providing medical care for the animals can be a challenge for its director, Karen Thompson. Shoestring City Ranch, 11369 Carson St. in Lakewood, is designed to teach children about the inner city and the humane treatment of animals, Thompson said. “We’re just a little bit of country right here in the city,” she said. “We bring in kids, and they get to come here for free and have time with the animals.” see RANCH page 15
Even the ‘dark side’ has a silver lining LB Mayor Robert Garcia delivers his second State of the City address with a message of new hope. CJ Dablo Staff Writer
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia had a lot of people to thank as he checked off the City’s accomplishments over the past year in his annual “State of the City” address on Jan. 13. He offered his gratitude to a variety of people, including: outgoing Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal, who this year will complete her 10th year representing the 2nd District; city staff and representatives from various institutions; and particularly a disability-rights advocate who exemplifies community spirit. He even had the cheek to thank Darth
Vader…more on that later. Before an estimated crowd of 1,700 people gathered at the Terrace Theater in downtown Long Beach, Garcia delivered a speech punctuated with humor as he stressed a hopeful outlook for the city by the sea. “My friends,” Garcia declared to the audience, “I am proud to say that the state of our city is strong and getting stronger.” The mayor touched on a number of topics Wednesday night. Long Beach economy Garcia said it was a good year for the Long Beach Port, crediting much of the growth in year-end retail business to a toy industry based on the Star Wars films. The mayor said that the previous year was a “record year” for the Port of Long Beach, reporting a volume increase of 5.4 percent. The mayor
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described how toys from the blockbuster movie franchise were welcome cargo on the container ships which docked at the city’s port. “We have to thank Luke, Leia and Darth Vader,” Garcia said to an amused audience, “and not because they used The Force to make it happen, but because those ships are full of Han Solo and BB-8 action figures.” He emphasized the need to develop an economic plan for Long Beach and “to create more high-wage jobs for residents.” Garcia noted that the Economic Development Commission is expected to complete a report for the council before summer. The mayor emphasized his support behind that commission’s recommendations for an increase of the minimum wage. “No person should work 40 hours a week, or more, and not be able
January 15 through January 19, 2016
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to provide for their family,” Garcia said, adding that the commission recommended to “increase the minimum wage to $13” by the year 2019. The commission’s recommendations include provisions that some small businesses and nonprofits should be given an extra year to comply. He also praised Long Beach’s “hands-off” attitude towards both taxicab and ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft. He said that new policies now allow traditional cab companies “to be more competitive” while still supporting the new ride-sharing system. Garcia noted the economic challenges for the City. “We once again balanced the budget and even had a small surplus,” Garcia said. “Now, despite the fall in oil prices, which has drastically see MAYOR page 10
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