“Bacchanal with Silenus” Mixed media by Eddie Jelinet See page 9
FBI seeks man suspected of robbing Chase banks in Bixby Knolls and Burbank, attempting others
File Photo
A long-awaited project to widen a section of Cherry Avenue that creates a bottleneck from Pacific Coast Highway to 20th Street during rush-hour traffic is expected to get underway in January, according to Signal Hill city officials.
Drivers should ‘rethink travel plans’ as Cherry Avenue widening project to get underway in January, officials say
Sean Belk Staff Writer
For traffic on Cherry Avenue, it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Starting in January, major construction will begin along the road from 19th Street to Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) as the first phase of a long-awaited project to alleviate a bottleneck that has caused vehicles to back up during rush-hour traffic for decades. The first phase of the $6.7-million Cherry Avenue widening project, which is solely funded by state and federal grants and has been in the works for nearly 14 years, is set to begin in January and last for four months, said Steve Myrter, the City’s public works director, during the Signal Hill City Council on Dec. 16. Myrter said that, during the first phase of construction, half of Cherry Avenue will be shut down. He noted that this will
make the street, which already suffers from gridlock, to have even less capacity than it has currently. “What you will see out there in January is a phased approach, because we have to tear all that concrete out,” Myrter said. “We essentially have to shut half the road down at a time...So, needless to say… it won’t have nearly the capacity it has now.” The Council during the meeting unanimously approved awarding a $226,080 contract to AndersonPenna Partners, Inc. to provide construction management services for the first phase of the project. The first phase, he said, includes removing 18 inches of concrete on a section of the street and replacing it with asphalt and installing a new storm-drain pipeline that will eventually prevent flooding at PCH and Cherry Avenue during heavy rains. He said a new pipeline would divert storm water to Chittick Field.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and local law-enforcement partners in various cities are seeking the public’s help to find a suspect identified as Gregory Lynn Cross, 58, whom investigators have linked to a series of bank robberies and attempted bank robberies on six occasions since Dec. 13, according to a statement from the FBI. A federal arrest warrant has been issued for Cross, and he is currently being Courtesy FBI sought by the FBI Gregory Lynn Cross is seen in surveilance video in the act and law-enforcement of attempting to rob a bank in Southern California. Accordpartners. ing to Long Beach police officials, Cross walked up to a Cross, a black teller and passed a “threatening note that demanded male, is approxi- money” at a Chase bank at 3901 Atlantic Avenue in mately 5 feet and 11 Bixby Knolls on Thursday, Dec. 18. inches tall and weighs approximately 250 pounds. In addition to robbing a Chase bank in Burbank twice and attempting to rob three other banks in Los Angeles County, Cross is suspected of robbing a Chase bank in Bixby Knolls of Long Beach on Thursday, Dec. 18. According to a statement provided by Marlene Arrona, spokesperson for the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD), at approximately 11:25am, police responded to a call of a robbery at a bank in the 3900 block of Atlantic Avenue. When officers arrived, they learned that a male black subject walked up to a teller and passed a “threatening note that demanded money.” The suspect, “wearing a black hoodie with a red stripe around the collar, black pants and eyeglasses,” then fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of currency, according to LBPD. No weapon was reported. Anonymous tips may be submitted by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), texting TIPLA plus the tip to CRIMES (274637), or visiting lacrimestoppers.org . Those with information about where Cross might be residing are urged to con-
Nomination period for candidates vying for vacant 4th District LB Council seat starts Jan. 5 Sean Belk Staff Writer
Potential candidates planning to run for the vacant 4th District Long Beach City Council seat in a special election on April 14 will have just a 12-day window to file papers and declare their candidacies, according to City Clerk Larry Herrera-Cabrera. The nomination period for the special election is from Jan. 5 to Jan. 16 by 5pm, he confirmed via email with the Signal Tribune, adding that a candidate is “not a formal candi-
date until they complete the nomination process and the 5pm deadline closes.” The Council officially declared the Council vacancy at its meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 16, more than two weeks after former 4th District councilmember Patrick O’Donnell officially resigned from the post since being elected as the 70th District member of the California State Assembly in the Nov. 4 election. So far, only one potential candidate has stepped forward indicating
see ROBBER page 12
see CHERRY page 12
a possible run for the vacant Council seat. Herlinda Chico, who once worked for former Long Beach Councilmember Tonia Reyes Uranga, posted a statement on social media on Dec. 17, stating that she plans to run for the Council office. “I am a third-generation public servant,” she said in the statement. “My father and grandfather taught me from a very early age the value of giving back to your community, and I am looking forward to continuing to implement those val-
ues as I run for City Council. My 20 years of experience in both the private and public sectors will give me the needed tools to represent the 4th District’s vast business community and residents well.” The candidate who is elected next year will fulfill a nearly one-year term left by O’Donnell, who beat out businessman Daryl Supernaw and former police officer John Watkins in the 2012 election. There are approximately 27,000 registered voters in the 4th District, according to city
staff. The new councilmember would serve from May 2015 to July 2016. During the Council meeting this month, 5th District Councilmember Stacy Mungo had requested that the Council reconsider its motion to declare the vacancy, stating that the special election should be held on the second Tuesday of a month rather than April 14, which is a “complicated day for America” since it’s the day before “tax day,” she said. “I’m encouraging everyone to see CANDIDATES page 12