SIGNAL
“Hobby 2” Photograph by Valeria Pereira-Howell See page 8
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Vol. 35 No. 51
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SERVING BIXBY KNOLLS, CALIFORNIA HEIGHTS, LOS CERRITOS, WRIGLEY AND THE CITY OF SIGNAL HILL
LB ordinance change on inns acknowledges court ruling upholding owners’ constitutional rights
Signal Hill employee union takes stand against measure, citing negative impacts to city services Sean Belk
CJ Dablo
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
The Long Beach rules governing the records of motels and hotels had, at the very least, good intentions. The City’s municipal code that sought to deter prostitution and other crimes at hotels and motels by requiring establishment owners and operators to file records of their guests has now been changed. A federal-appeals court determined that one major aspect of the regulation was at odds with the constitutional rights of business owners. City officials at the May 20 City Council meeting approved an urgency ordinance that now requires either consent from hotel and motel owners/operators or a court order for inspection when the police department or the city’s financial-management department need to obtain guest-registration records. Without much discussion, the Council approved the urgency ordinance and the changes to the regulations in a 6-0 vote. Councilmembers Suja Lowenthal, Gerrie Schipske and Dee Andrews were not present for the vote. According to a staff report from City Attorney Charles Parkin’s office, the previous draft of the ordinance had been created to address and deter prostitution and other crimes in hotels and motels. Under that ordinance, establishment owners and managers are required to keep records of their business, ensuring that the guests provide valid identification and that the motel and hotel files note method of payment, the room numbers and length of stay, according to the staff report. This week’s change to city regulations was made after a federalappeals court earlier this year sided with the motel owners and operators on a key constitutional issue. Frank Weiser, the plaintiff’s attorney, briefly described the circumsee ORDINANCE page 13
May 23, 2014
Your Weekly Community Newspaper
Courtesy SHPD
Deangelo Gossett, school resource officer for the Signal Hill Police Department, (left) and Bob Collins, owner of Signal Hill Mortgage, (right) are two of the community members who coordinated efforts to make sure that 81 Signal Hill youth will have helmets for riding their bikes safely to school.
Heads up! Community members put heads together to ensure local kids have theirs covered
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fter Tammy Lavelle, principal of Signal Hill Elementary School, asked Deangelo Gossett, school resource officer for the Signal Hill Police Department, if he could arrange for donations of bike helmets for the school’s safebiking assembly this week, the police officer
Adding to a long list of opponents, the Signal Hill Employees’ Association (SHEA) union is the latest detractor to take a stand against the controversial initiative known as Measure U, which will appear on the June 3 election ballot for Signal Hill voters. In a presentation to the City Council during its Tuesday, May 20 meeting, Andy Lotrich, SHEA’s field representative, said the measure, also known as the Taxpayer’s Right to Know and Vote Initiative, would overburden the city clerk’s department and take away funds from other city services in order to pay for costly special elections. SHEA presented its opposition in a letter that was provided to the Council during the meeting. “The employees are saying ‘no’ and standing in strong opposition against Measure U because of the implications it’s going to have on the fiscal stability of the City itself,” he said. Lotrich added that the measure, if passed, might “negatively impact” city services and programs provided to children and senior citizens that city employees
see HELMETS page 7
see COUNCIL page 10
Aer 17 years with no accreditation, CSULB journalism department regains Accrediting Council’s endorsement
Photo by Dan Olsen
Before a crowd of nearly 100 faculty, staff and students on May 6 in the Lee Brown Reading Room, CSULB Department of Journalism & Mass Communication Department Chair Chris Burnett (standing, right) and College of Liberal Arts Dean David Wallace (standing, left) make the announcement that the university’s journalism department has earned accreditation from the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. Ashley Fowler Staff Writer
Joining eight others in the state, the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at California State University, Long Beach has won national accreditation from the Accrediting Council on Education
in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC). The national recognition distinguishes the department from its peers. Only about a fifth of the nearly 500 journalism programs in the country have been accredited by the council.
Weekly Weather Forecast Saturday
Clouds giving way to sun
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Low clouds, then sunshine
Low clouds, then sunshine
Low clouds, then sunshine
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see JOURNALISM page 6
May 23 through May 27, 2014
Friday
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“This is huge,” said CSULB 2004 alumna Megan Rodriguez. “I think the recognition will draw in more students going through the application process who are looking for good journalism schools. I think this will also draw in a certain level of
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