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“Bear,” “Lion” and “Cricket” All acrylic on canvas By Katie Phillips See page 7
Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and the City of Signal Hill
Your Weekly Community Newspaper
VOL. 36 NO. 48
May 1, 2015
On heels of survey, City of Long Beach commits to ‘zero’ veteran homelessness by year’s end Cory Bilicko
Managing Editor
There are now fewer homeless people on the street, more people have access to housing and homeless services in Long Beach, and the City plans to reduce the homeless veterans population to zero by the year’s end. Those are recent announcements made by Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia and other city officials in the past week, based on a recent homeless count and the City’s newfound commitment to the national Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness, which the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development initiated last year. However, that goal of reducing the number of homeless veterans to zero comes with a caveat– it’s what is called a “functional zero.” Homes for all veterans During a press conference on Wednesday afternoon in front of the Veterans Affairs building, Garcia explained the genesis of his commitment to the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness. “No one who has served in our country’s military should ever have to worry at night where they have to sleep or where they’ll get food or shelter,” Garcia said. “And today we’re announcing some important steps in that goal. Just a few months ago, I was at the White House, [in] an important meeting with the VA secretary, Robert McDonald, Cory Bilicko/Signal Tribune as well as a group of mayors from across the country. We From left: Long Beach Veterans Affairs Director Michael Fisher, Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services Director Kelly Colopy and Mayor Robert Garcia at a press conference Wednesday, announcing the City’s plans to reach a “zero” population of homeless see HOMELESS page 14 veterans by the end of the year.
Taking a last bow
Long Beach City Clerk Herrera-Cabrera retires
CJ Dablo Staff Writer
Courtesy Larry Herrera-Cabrera
City Clerk Larry Herrera-Cabrera retires after 12-plus years of service to the City of Long Beach. His overall public-service career has spanned more than four decades.
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Larry Herrera-Cabrera is the kind of city clerk who would offer a big smile while he’s offloading a stack of public documents into the hands of an unwitting Signal Tribune journalist just before a Long Beach Council meeting. He’s the kind of man who would say “Thank you for covering campaign finances,” and he’d say it without any hint of irony or guile even though municipal elections still draw a low voter turnout. One of the primary players in the management of the City’s public records and electoral process, Herrera-Cabrera has served Long Beach for 12 and a half years as its city clerk. He is completing his career in public service, which spans more than four decades since his start in 1972. In 2002, he was appointed to the office by a Council led by then-Mayor Beverly O’Neill. In those years, he was usually sitting towards the left side of the dais in the council chamber, ready with the others in his department to report on the meetings and wade through the massive number of motions, substitute motions and substitute-substitute motions offered by councilmembers in meetings that often last well past bedtime. When asked about his favorite achievements in office, he pointed to his support of legislation from the State Assembly that allowed city clerks throughout California to perform marriages. The bill known as AB1525 was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown last year. Herrera-Cabrera said that he performed ceremo-
nies at various locations in the civic center, including the council chamber, the plaza and the mayor’s conference room. He said he has officiated 12 weddings this year, including four same-sex ceremonies. “For all these marriages, it’s one of the most touching things that somebody who works in local government can do,” Herrera-Cabrera said. He acknowledged that some people thought it was a little funny to hear that city clerks can solemnize marriages too. “I see the humor in that, but when you are actually performing the ceremony for two people who care about each other, who may have their grandmother there or their grandchildren, yeah, it’s just amazing,” he said. “It brings families together.” Herrera-Cabrera noted other milestones during his career, including Long Beach’s investment in a modernized voting system that is owned and operated by the City. He said that the system’s ballots require voters to place a check or mark a square, and when the machines don’t read one of those marks, they flag the staff to check for voter intent. He explained that the new system is helpful for those voters who may be disabled and can’t mark the ballot very well or others who may have had “hesitation marks” on their ballots, adding that the new system offers greater accuracy and can be audited. The outgoing city clerk has seen many technological changes in his department throughout the years. He is responsible for the “digital minutes” system that links video of meetings– including the Council meetsee RETIREMENT page 13