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SERVING BIXBY KNOLLS, CALIFORNIA HEIGHTS, LOS CERRITOS, WRIGLEY AND THE CITY OF SIGNAL HILL
Jordan High School may use Houghton Park baseball field for six years during reconstruction
Your Weekly Community Newspaper
Sean Belk/Signal Tribune
Students at Jordan High School may be using the baseball field at neighboring Houghton Park (pictured) for at least six years while the school undergoes a massive reconstruction expected to cost $135.6 million. School-district officials say plans may include upgrading and maintaining the park’s field to accommodate students.
Sean Belk Staff Writer
Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) officials are proposing an agreement with the City of Long Beach to allow Jordan High School to use neighboring Houghton Park’s baseball field for six years during the school’s multi-phase, $135.6-million reconstruction, school-district officials said. At a Houghton Park Neighborhood Association meeting on Thursday, June 6, LBUSD officials said the project calls for the school’s practice baseball field on the south side of campus to be taken up by temporary classroom bungalows as part of Phase 1A of construction that starts January 2014. Once classrooms occupy the school’s baseball field, however, the school plans to have students use Houghton Park’s field until all new academic buildings are completed and the temporary classrooms are removed, which could possibly be sometime in 2020, school-district officials said. “We’re taking away the baseball field, so we’re looking at maybe using the park more specifically for baseball,” said Harold Pierre, LBUSD facilities consultant. Pierre added, however, that a joint-use agreement with the City to use the park long-term is undetermined since the school district has yet to figure out how to fund the final phases of construction, which include revamping athletic programs and facilities. As part of the proposed agreement with the City, the school district plans to pay for improvements to the park’s baseball field, including maintenance, since its current condition does not meet standards, Pierre said. He said surveyors were out at the park last week to conduct a needs assessment. It is unknown how much LBUSD plans to spend on park improvements. “Because of the interim need, we recognize that we’re going to use the park more, but we are going to do some improvements on the park’s baseball field so the school can use it,” Pierre said. “Right now, it’s not enough that the school can use it properly.” Bob Livingstone, contract management officer for the City’s parks, recreation and marine department, confirmed in a phone interview with the Signal
LBPD hosts gun buyback event in effort to remove weapons from streets
Leonardo Poareo Editorial Intern
With hopes of retrieving unwanted firearms, the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) hosted a gun-buyback program on Saturday, June 8, at the North Patrol Substation on Atlantic Avenue. One purpose of the program was to decrease the chances of firearms ending up in the wrong hands. “The goal of the program is to reduce the number of guns in the community. While there are many lawful gun owners, their guns are sometimes stolen and used in the commission of a violent crime,” said Long Beach Chief of Police Jim McDonnell, in a statement released by the LBPD. “Reducing the number of guns would lessen the chances of this happening.” The program was not intended to trap criminals, but to find out if the firearms people turned in had previously been used in crimes, LBPD Sgt. Aaron Eaton said. Oftentimes guns get passed around so much that someone can unknowingly end up with a firearm that’s been used in a crime, Eaton said.
Leonardo Poareo/Signal Tribune
Firearms bought back from gun owners during the Long Beach Police Department’s June 8 gun-buyback event
While the gun-buyback program had specific aims, it was inspired by the recent spate of tragic mass shootings nationwide. Eighth District Councilmember Al Austin, who, along with councilmembers Steve Neal and James Johnson, initiated the program, said he was inspired by the mass shootings at Sandy Hook
LB City Council takes one small step toward paying down unfunded liabilities
It took some haggling and a little appeal to conscience from 7th District Councilmember James Johnson when he successfully convinced the entire Long Beach City Council on June 11 to set aside some money– about $322,500– toward the City’s “unfunded liabilities.” Johnson asked for twice that amount, but in the spirit of compromise, he and the other council members settled on that figure for now. The City expects to receive about $6.45 million in one-time money that includes more than $4.4 million in revenue from what has been dubbed the “Triple Flip.” According to Dennis Strachota, who serves as the budget manager for Long Beach, this amount is a refund from Los Angeles County for administrative overcharges associated with distributing property-tax revenue to Long Beach. The remaining amount of $2.05 million comes from the proceeds of the sale of City Hall East, a municipal building located on Long Beach Boulevard that was for a while used by the police department. The one-time flush of cash in the coffers represents some additional happy news for the City Council. It’s a fraction of the $56.8 million that the City of Long Beach expects to see in onetime revenues from various sources for the 2014 fiscal year. The Council on Tuesday limited its discussion to determine how to
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Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and that he hoped the program would curb gun violence in Long Beach. “It was a vision of the city council…for us to do all we can as a city to prevent gun violence, and if a
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see JORDAN page 11
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CJ Dablo/Signal Tribune
The Long Beach City Council voted on June 11 to approve a recommendation on how to use $6.45 million received from the Triple Flip revenue and the sale of City Hall East (above). Earlier this year, the Council agreed to sell the City building at 100 Long Beach Blvd. for $2.05 million.