Signal
ST3503 - June 21_Layout 1 6/21/13 11:50 AM Page 1
Manhattan Beach mural 2007, by Art Mortimer
See page 12
VoL. 35 No. 3
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Today is the first day of summer
SERVING BIXBY KNOLLS, CALIFORNIA HEIGHTS, LOS CERRITOS, WRIGLEY AND THE CITY OF SIGNAL HILL
Your Weekly Community Newspaper
Signal Hill City Council passes balanced budget for Fiscal Year 2013-2014, approves one-time expenditures
Sean Belk Staff Writer
includes $35.8 million in operating expenses. No comments were made during the public-comment portion of the Council item, which Mayor Michael Noll said was “a first.” City Manager Ken Farfsing said the budget reflects a “continuing slow improvement of the local, statewide and national economy,” adding that the budget has been “slowly returning to pre-Great Recession lev-
The Signal Hill City Council passed a balanced budget for Fiscal Year 2013-2014 during its June 18 meeting, approving capital-improvement projects and a long list of “decision packages,” or one-time expenditures, for various city departments. But city management remains cautious about revenue forecasts going forward and see COUNCIL page 14 added that labor costs and expenses for new State-mandated environmental programs are expected to rise in coming years. The City estimates a General Fund budget surplus of $20,179 when fund transfers and one-time revenues are added to the budget. The City anticipates total General Fund revenues of more than $18 million and expenditures of more than $17.9 million. When combinSean Belk/Signal Tribune ing all funds, the Ron Sylvester (left), chair of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender City’s entire budget (LGBT) Center in Long Beach, shakes the hand of Signal Hill Mayor for next fiscal year Michael Noll after receiving a proclamation from the City and Senator that starts July 1 Ricardo Lara’s office during the June 18 City Council meeting.
June 21, 2013
Long Beach Free School aims to encourage ‘life-long learning’ in an unconventional format
Courtesy LB Free School
The Long Beach Free School will offer a variety of classes, including graphic design and a “youth-empowerment workshop,” in its first term, which will run from July 7 through Aug. 17.
Leonardo Poareo
from the traditional approach, such as the massive open online courses (MOOC) and other, more community-oriented, free schools. One of these latter options in the Long Beach area is this school. With a de-emphasis on conventional education methods such as grades and tests, the Long Beach Free School, whose first term runs from
Editorial intern
So many people are eager to learn, but with the much-publicized woes of the public education system in the U.S., it’s getting more and more difficult for people to satisfy their craving for knowledge. Fortunately for them, there are now more free educational options popping up that diverge
July 7 to Aug. 17, aims to strengthen the community and encourage learning for its own sake. “We’re trying to take a really open approach, and I like to look at it more as skill-sharing and the teachers more as facilitators, so that everyone’s involved in the learning process,” said Rachael Rifkin,
City leaders concentrate on push to regulate north Long Beach liquor stores CJ Dablo Staff Writer
CJ Dablo/Signal Tribune
This August, the Long Beach City Council will consider an ordinance that will ultimately require the owners of specific types of liquor stores to make key upgrades to their buildings and signage. If the ordinance is approved, city staff will begin implementation in north Long Beach, and owners of shops like this one on Atlantic Avenue will be notified of the new requirements.
The liquor stores are all over Long Beach. Their neighborhoods may have changed, but the ubiquitous shops that claimed their own spots on the city landscape decades ago weren’t required to change much. Unlike other new businesses that moved into the city later, many of these stores weren’t required to apply for a conditional-use permit that allows them to sell beer, wine and other distilled spirits. A proposed ordinance that targets the small liquor stores that carry what’s called the “Type 21” licenses is scheduled to be reviewed by the City Council in August. Supported by a number of residents and neighborhood advocates who are deeply critical of the number of liquor stores throughout the city and especially on the north end of town, city councilmembers from north Long Beach raised the concern that these shops are attracting the wrong kind of attention. Com-
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GRAND OPENING PARTY June 27 from 6pm-9pm Come celebrate the opening with food, drinks, & music!
Please RSVP to 494-5300
Our Services:
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3221 Industry Dr., Signal Hill (at No Limits Sports & Fitness Academy)
Ph 562-494-5300 | Fx 562-494-5330
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Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist 3629 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach
(562) 424-5562
see SCHOOL page 15
plaints of loitering, public fighting, drunkenness and a host of other problems that occupy police resources are often associated with the liquor stores, according to staff reports. Two Long Beach city councilmembers hope to address the problem of crime by requiring that store owners make significant improvements to their buildings and commit to keeping their property clean and safe. Ninth District Councilmember Steven Neal, who cosponsored the proposed ordinance with 8th District Councilmember Al Austin, says that the overall concentration of liquor stores in Long Beach does not create an atmosphere that is conducive to economic development, and economic development is badly needed in his region. “If we’re ever going to improve infrastructure and the real quality of life for our residents,” Neal said in a telephone interview last week, “[we] have to be able to draw busisee LIQUOR STORES page 15