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Photo by Eddie Saucedo
S erving B ixBy K nollS , C alifornia H eigHtS , l oS C erritoS , W rigley Vol. 33 No. 28
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Your Weekly Community Newspaper
December 16, 2011
Recent move to Signal Hill increases local food At ‘State of County’ address, Knabe bank’s overall efficiency just in time for the holidays discusses creating jobs, supporting businesses and reforming programs Stephanie Raygoza Staff Writer
It’s the season of giving to those less fortunate, and for Food Finders, Inc., a multiregional food bank that helps provide daily meals to more than 280 agencies and shelters throughout Southern California, one of the busiest times of year. Despite the hectic holiday season, Food Finders is actually operating with greater ease and functionality thanks to their new location at 2301 E. 28th St., suite 303 in Signal Hill. Interim executive director Patti Larson said the move from their previous location on Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach to the big warehouse space they now occupy, has made it much easier for donors and volunteers to access their office and food drop-off site. They also decided to close Finders Keepers, a retail extension of the food bank that see food finders page 4
Courtesy Knabe’s office
The county supervisor spoke briefly about the world’s financial crisis and said that, at the county level, the focus should be three-pronged: creating jobs, supporting businesses and reforming programs.
Courtesy Food Finders, Inc
Food Finders, Inc. has partnered with Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster’s Office, We Love Long Beach and Friends of Long Beach Animals to collect 70,000 lbs of food for those in need during the holiday season.
LB town hall meeting continues the debate over medical marijuana dispensaries CJ Dablo Staff Writer
About 50 people turned out at the First Congregational Church of Long Beach on Dec. 7th for a town hall meeting on the legal and health issues surrounding access to medicinal cannabis. Marijuana patient advocate association Patients First hosted the Wednesday event, which featured a variety of medical marijuana advocates, including a retired judge, doctor who specializes in pain management, representative from a patient advocacy group, and an attorney who represents two collective owners. A number of advocates criticized both local and federal efforts see marijuana page 8
CJ Diablo/Signal Tribune
James P. Gray (left) addresses a town hall meeting on medical marijuana. William Britt (center), executive director of the Association of Patient Advocates, and Dr. David Bearman (right), co-founder and vice president of the American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine, are also pictured.
Supervisor Don Knabe, who represents the fourth district of Los Angeles County, delivered his annual state of Los Angeles County address to a capacity crowd at a luncheon at the Long Beach Convention Center Thursday, which was hosted by the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. In his fifth annual address, Supervisor Knabe called for more focus on supporting businesses, creating jobs and reforming programs. With the county’s caseloads for programs and services at an all-time high, he encouraged publicprivate partnerships to put people back to work. “With the crunch on our resources and a near doubling of our caseloads since 2007, we must be even more diligent about where our money is spent,” Knabe said. “We may not be able to solve the world’s financial crisis, but we can get our own house in order.” Citing examples of workforce training efforts between Cerritos and El Camino colleges and local auto dealerships, he said, “One of the most frustrating things I read about is seeing that companies have jobs they can’t fill because workers don’t have the knowledge they need. It’s important that we all play a role in building the skills of our
local workforce. We have the largest automotive market in the country, and these programs are helping young people prepare for good careers, while meeting the workforce demands of our local businesses.” Of the state of the economy, Knabe said that while there have been some improvements in the national economy, the unemployment rate remains high. “Last year, I reported to you a 12.6-percent unemployment rate in LA County,” he said. “As of October, it is 11.9 percent, which is better, but not good enough. In fact, many economists attribute some level of that improvement to people just giving up looking for a job.” The county supervisor spoke briefly about the world’s financial crisis and said that, at the county level, the focus should be three-pronged: creating jobs, supporting businesses and reforming programs. “Last year I told you about my 10,000 Jobs program. We were able to find a way to use some of the federal stimulus funding to get people back to work– in fact, a lot of people,” Knabe said. “We set a goal of 10,000 jobs, but in the end, we created 11,000 jobs for adults and 15,000 jobs for disadvansee KnaBe page 18