April 13, 2018 | Signal Tribune (Part 1)

S IGNA L T R I BU N E Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and Signal Hill VOL. XL NO. 16

IN THIS ISSUE NEWS Kamala Harris addresses locals at town hall.

Harris stressed that Americans have more in common than issues that separate them.

Page 5

Animal-rights group sees late endorsements as suspicious Animal PAC says its 11th-hour support of three incumbents occurred because of its vetting process.

Page 2 Listening to the community on Community LA County EMS Commission hosts hearing on closure of hospital.

Your Weekly Community Newspaper

www.signaltribune.com

Garcia wins second mayoral term with 79% of votes SH City Council

approves accepting $340K for water treatment

Uranga, Milrad in 7th District and Mungo, Dines in 5th likely face run-off election.

CJ Dablo Staff Writer

Emerging victorious from his city’s primary nominating election on April 10, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia could have savored his big win for a second term for a little longer. Instead, he was back the next day at his office at City Hall, ready to do more work.

“I’m excited about the future of our city,” Garcia said in an interview with the Signal Tribune Wednesday. Garcia said he would continue to work hard to move Long Beach in a positive direction. “We’re on to something great,” he said, “and there’s a lot of work to do.”

Garcia easily won the mayoral race, capturing 26,510 votes, or 78.99 percent of the vote. James Henry “Henk” Conn, the only other mayoral candidate on the ballot, finished the race with 7,053 votes, or 21.01 percent.

Garcia added that he will be announcing a new plan to address the homeless problem in Long Beach.

Details of the new program will be released next week.

“There’s a lot more we can do, and it’s about engaging the entire city,” Garcia said, adding that he plans to further involve the City’s educational and healthcare partners. “It’s about expanding and reforming programs that could be working better and by bringing in new resources.”

In the city council races for the odd-numbered districts in Long Beach, incumbent candidates performed well.

However, only two out of the four councilmembers seeking another term

The council also approved a banking change to save $15K annually.

Anita W. Harris Staff Writer

Twitter

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia (left) and 4th District LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn celebrate the incumbent’s apparent victory of being elected to a second term on Election Night Tuesday.

seem to have drawn enough votes to avoid a runoff election in June– Suzie Price, who represents the 3rd District, and Vice Mayor Rex Richardson, who represents the 9th District. Since the city clerk’s office has not yet certified the election tallies, these results are unofficial, and run-off expectations may change.

Councilmembers Stacy Mungo and Roberto Uranga, who represent the 5th and 7th Districts respectively, will

likely head into a run-off election on June 5. Neither captured a majority of the vote for their district, according to the latest available election results.

Third District Councilmember Price won 6,229 votes, or 78.59 percent. Gordana Kajer won 999 votes, or 12.6 percent. Robert D. “Rob” Savin drew 698 votes, or 8.81 percent.

Fifth District Councilmember Mun-

Courtesy Milrad’s campaign

Page 2

April 13, 2018

see ELECTION page 13

Photo by Joseph Cannon

Jared Milrad, who came in second place for the 7th District Incumbent 7th District Long Beach Councilmember Roberto council seat and will face a run-off with incumbent Roberto Uranga (left) celebrates results on Election Night Tuesday, along with his campaign consultant, Derek Humphrey.

Uranga, reaches to hug a supporter on Election Night.

During its first meeting under newly selected Mayor Tina Hansen, the Signal Hill City Council approved two staff recommendations that would help the City’s finances: agreeing to receive $340,000 in settlement funds from the Water Replenishment District (WRD) and changing the City’s investment-safekeeping bank from Union Bank to Wells Fargo to save $15,000 annually.

The council also introduced the City’s new librarian, Charles Hughes, and heard an update on new library construction.

Water funding The council authorized the city manager to execute an acknowledgement-and-satisfaction agreement with the WRD in order to receive basin-improvement project funding as agreed to in a 2015 settlement. The $340,000 in funding will go toward wellhead treatment improvements for the City’s Well 9.

City Manager Charlie Honeycutt explained that in 2015, Signal Hill, along with the cities of Bellflower, Cerritos and Downey, had entered into a settlement agreement with the WRD to resolve a 2010 dispute over the validity of replenishment-assessment fee increases levied by the WRD over the previous seven years.

The WRD currently charges $324 for every acre-foot of water pumped from the groundwater basin, Honeycutt said. It uses the money to manage the basin, making sure there’s enough water in it so wells don’t pump dry and to protect the basin against seawater intrusion.

Part of the settlement agreement stipulated that the WRD would provide funding toward a basin-improvement project for each of the four cities involved in the lawsuit.

City Attorney Dave Aleshire explained that the cities agreed to split the total amount that WRD agreed to fund according to the amount each spent on litigation. Signal Hill’s share of the $5,000,000 total is thus only $340,000. see COUNCIL page 14

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Signal Tribune

NEWS A 13, 2018 Listening to the community about Community pril

Animal-advocacy group calls PAC’s 11th-hour endorsements suspicious Public hearing about potential closure of hospital featured MemorialCare CEO’s justification for decision and elected Animal PAC says its late support of Uranga, Price and Garcia occurred because of its vetting process.

leaders’, residents’ input largely in favor of saving it.

Cory Bilicko Managing Editor

Days before the Long Beach primary election on Tuesday, a local animal-advocacy group began raising questions regarding eleventh-hour endorsements by another animal-rights organization, as well as the connection between the latter group and an incumbent councilmember.

No Kill Long Beach (NKLB), formerly Stayin’ Alive Long Beach, an initiative whose ultimate goal is to make the city one that is “no kill” for healthy animals in the local shelter, released information last week that drew a link between the treasurer for Animal PAC, a group that identifies and endorses candidates who support the humane treatment of animals, and the treasurer for the campaign for 7th District Long Beach Councilmember Roberto Uranga.

While it is certainly not a crime for an individual to serve as treasurer for more than one entity, the concern, according to Patricia Turner, spokesperson for NKLB, is that Animal PAC appears to have endorsed several candidates– including Uranga, Mayor Robert Garcia and 3rd District Councilmember Suzie Price– late in their campaigns, shortly before the election, in an effort to make those candidates appear animal-friendly.

It’s all about timing, according to Turner, considering these endorsements came shortly after her group released its guide for voters who care about candidates’ policies and priorities related to animal welfare and none of the three incumbents had scored well in NKLB’s rating system.

She also pointed out that Garcia had issued an email blast– from his City email address– just six days before the election, publicizing the progress the City has made in reducing euthanasia rates.

“In 2013, the year before I was elected, we were euthanizing more than 4,000 animals a year at our animal shelter,” Garcia wrote. “Since then, we have made progress every single year, and last year we euthanized 1,065 animals at the shelter. We are making progress thanks to our amazing animal rescue and spay/neuter organizations, our animal advocates, the team and volunteers at Animal Care Services and our city council.”

Garcia added that the work on that issue is not finished, that the City won’t stop until every possible life is saved and that every animal life is precious.

In several interviews with the Signal Tribune, Turner articulated why she views these actions as concerning.

“The problem is that, at the end of the campaign, we saw a flurry of activity from the incumbents as they rushed to secure the animal community’s votes: a last-minute task force from the mayor that could have been implemented four years ago; funding a spay/neuter event at the last minute from Suzie Price, who got her agenda item in under the wire on Tuesday morning, two days after our voter information guide came out,” Turner said. “And then you have these endorsements happening right after our voter information guide came out on March 18. Mayor Garcia and Councilman Uranga received their endorsements [from Animal PAC] on March 22, and Suzie Price received hers on April 2. It just seems obvious that this is an attempt coming at the eleventh hour to show themselves to be animal-friendly, when they have declined to implement the single most effective program that would save lives see PAC page 11

Denny Cristales | Signal Tribune

Fourth District Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn testified in front of the County of Los Angeles Emergency Medical Services Commission on April 11 about the potential closure of Community Hospital. She said the facility is proverbially rooted in the community and that long-term solutions should be explored before giving up on the medical facility.

Denny Cristales Online Editor

When his son began gushing blood from his scalp after a fall years ago, Dr. Mike Vasilomanolakis decided he didn't have time to wait for paramedics. He would take matters into his own hands.

With a bleeding passenger and blinking emergency lights, Vasilomanolakis drove like a “maniac” to get to the closest emergency room in his area– Community Hospital.

“It was an emergency for me, but, to the people on the road, I was a nuisance,” he said. “Not only were gestures made to me, but people literally tried to block me and keep me from getting by. I don't want to think what would have happened if I hadn’t driven an extra 15 minutes to get to the emergency room.”

Vasilomanolakis, director of cardiology and former chief of staff at Community Hospital, has been with the medical facility for 35 years. When he gave his testimony Wednesday evening to the County of Los Angeles Emergency Medical Services Commission (EMSC) about the hospital's potential closure, his plea was to consider the likely deaths to follow as a result of having to take patients to farther emergency rooms in the city.

“Although we cannot force an institution to keep a hospital and its emergency room open, we must adhere to guidelines and give proper preparation for the community and to the fire department before they close [advanced life-support] emergency services,” Vasilomanolakis said. “This was not done.”

The EMSC conducted a public hearing at The Grand, 4101 E. Willow St., April 11 to address the planned closure of Community Hospital and the elimination of emergency medical services.

MemorialCare announced the facility's closure in November because of an active fault line located beneath the hospital and its failure to meet the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development's (OSHPD) seismic regulations.

March also proved to be a difficult month for Community Hospital, as MemorialCare decided to terminate the hospital’s lease within 120 days, much sooner than anticipated, and decided to divert emergency care from the facility because of a low staff ratio.

It seemed most of the major players involved with Community Hos-

pital since its announced closure were present at the hearing that evening.

Fourth District Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, a representative from Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell’s office and Signal Hill Vice Mayor Larry Forester were a select few of the elected officials who gave testimonies to the commission. The public, which included nurses and concerned residents, also provided their input.

But, perhaps the most notable was John Bishop, CEO of the MemorialCare Health System. At the receiving end of occasional boos and sarcastic laughs during his remarks, Bishop justified MemorialCare’s decision to close the hospital. see HOSPITAL page 13

Expires 4-27-18

April 13, 2018

Signal Tribune

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Signal Tribune

Thoughts

from

OPINION

April 13, 2018

Publisher

the

By Neena Strichart

Those of us who spend a lot of time on our computers are constantly being bombarded with email that is unwanted. Although some of it goes straight to our spam folders, much of it does not. On the other hand, some email that we want to receive is for some reason automatically sent to our spam folders.

Sorting through all the dozens and dozens of daily messages is so ridiculously time-consuming, and although I “unsubscribe” to a lot of the unwanted emails that I receive, the cycle continues.

One category of messages that I receive fall under what I consider to be not only spam, but out-and-out con games. I feel blessed that I inherited my father’s skepticism gene. So far, I haven’t fallen prey to any of these online schemes, although some of my acquaintances have.

Below I have copied and pasted portions of three scam-like emails that I received yesterday as samples of messages that our readers need to delete the minute they appear. I hope this column helps even one of you from getting involved in a situation that truly is too good to be true.

Greeting to you I am Miss Olivier Ibrahim Mikel 20 years old Girl, from Abidjan, but live and study here in Estonia. I saw your profile and decided to email you with hope and believe that you will accept me. My late father is a wealthy international businessman, he deals on Gold, Cocoa Timber export, I am the only daughter

of my parents, I lost my mother when I was 6 years old, my father is all i have until he was poisoned by his brothers due to his wealth, after the burial of my late father, life became hell to me because his brothers (my Uncles) claimed all my father’s wealth and belongings as the tradition demands, according to traditional of the land, if a man died without a son, even if the man have ten daughters all his wealth belong to his brothers. Before he was dead he deposed US$5,500,000.00 Five million, five hundred thousand United States Dollars in bank I will like you to assist me so that the fund will transfer in your country Dear Friend, We deal on gold business and we can supply as much you want if you can comply with our procedure, I want to you to get back to me as much as for more details and tell us how many kg do you want to buy from us.

Thank You. Madam Awa Maiga [This one came in written in Spanish, I had it translated into English word for word by Google Translate] Good Morning, We come to offer you a database of Spanish companies and professionals in which you will find contact details of owners and managers of companies. see THOUGHTS page 5

Today, Signal Hill is building a brand-new library scheduled to open in May 2019 and supported by an active group of “Friends.” But few realize that it owes its existence to Mrs. Mary Maud Trodd.

In honor of April 8-14 being National Library Week, and as a tribute to the Signal Hill Library and its employees, here is the story of how the library began and the city’s first librarian.

Mary and three of her four children settled on Signal Hill shortly after her husband Fredrick died in 1913. She had married the 35-year-old widower, who had a 9-year-old son, in 1894. The following year the family, which now included baby daughter Violet, immigrated from England to the United States. Fred was a blacksmith, and the family moved around quite a bit before they settled in California. It was hard for Mary to get to know people since her husband was always looking for a better place to live and work. Books and reading became Mary’s friends. Wherever they moved, Mary found a library to educate not only herself but her growing family, which now included son Victor born in 1897 in Indiana and son Verner born in Oklahoma in 1904.

Her stepson William stepped into his father’s shoes after Fred’s death, convincing his mother to move the family from Compton to Signal Hill.

He found a house for them to live in located at 1919 Hill St. The home was close to Mary’s daughter Violet,

File photo

Mary Maud Trodd at work

who had married, and not far from William’s job as a machinist. Their new neighbors included Masaichi Shibata, a fruit and vegetable seller, and his family, and the Jutoro Kido family, who farmed Signal Hill.

Before the city was founded on April 24, 1924, Mrs. Todd used the Burnett Library in Long Beach, but when Signal Hill became a city, Mary campaigned for its own public library. The city, surrounded by oil wells and hidden speakeasies, needed a little culture, Mary Trodd believed.

She went before the city council and asked that they organize a library.

They just laughed and said, “Who would read books in Signal Hill?

Nobody here is interested in anything but oil.”

Trodd replied by telling them, “Plenty of people would read books if they had the books and a place to read them.”

She approached W. E. Hinshaw, who had just built a brick building at 21st and Cherry, and asked him to give her a room rent-free for a library.

He agreed.

With space for a library guaranteed, she managed to cajole the city council into giving her $30 for shelving. She then went from door to door collecting magazines and books. The library, with its few shelves of books, see BYGONE page 10

COMMENTARY

Therapeutic play in action

By Nathan Swaringen, LCSW The Guidance Center My decade-plus tenure as a clinician at The Guidance Center has provided me with the privilege of being with hundreds of children of all ages. Notice the choice of word, “being” rather than the word “working.” In my opinion, and experience, therapeutic healing comes from a place of oneness between the wounded and healer.

When the person playing the healer recognizes that there actually are no such roles in this dyad, that “being with” doesn’t require identifying who plays which role, healing occurs…for both, I’d argue.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to therapeutic practice, but for me, experiential-play therapy has served as the foundation for “being with” children. Experiential-play therapy is not really a guideline for doing, but rather for a way

of being with a child…or inner child. Regardless of age, we all have an inner child, holding on to long-ago hurts or unmet needs. It is only when we feel truly safe, physically and emotionally, that our inner child emerges to play as it once did, or how it wishes it could have years ago.

Clearly, the older we become, the deeper our inner child tends to hide, insecure to play in a world of marriage, bills, taxes, paperwork and politics.

Adolescence is the transition period, when the inner child takes the back seat to the pressures and responsibilities of the “real world.” In a previous piece– “Monkey Business”– I reminded readers to seek the inner child in even the most hardened and difficult-to-like adolescents. But younger, preschool-aged children are an inner

child…if that makes sense. Theirs still lives on the surface.

It’s About T.I.M.E. (Trauma-Informed Movement in Education) has been at two alternative-education high schools (Beach and Poly PAAL) the past year and a half. I’ve had the pleasure of “being with” so many inner children at these schools, both students and teachers! I’ve loved every minute of every day that I’m with them. I received more great news when LBUSD Head Start program reached out, wanting me to bring It’s About T.I.M.E. to their preschools.

During this growing partnership, I’ve provided trauma-informed trainings to several preschool sites and staff of various Head Start programs, while also meeting on-site at one preschool, providing ongoing, weekly modeling

and consultation of trauma-informed practices.

Head Start has a foundation of trauma-informed education and practice in the form of the “conscious discipline” model. Conscious discipline and The ChildTrauma Academy’s neurosequential model in education are completely complementary. I can’t say enough about how impressed I am by seeing this model in action.

A 4-year-old girl is in tears as a 4-year-old boy playmate impulsively grabs a toy out of her hand. An amazing Head Start teacher gently intervenes, down on one knee, speaking softly and empathically: “You’re having a strong feeling right now. Let’s take some belly breaths together, and, when you’re ready, you can tell me what happened.” see COMMENTARY page 10

S IGNA L T R I BU N E PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Neena R. Strichart

ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS

Barbie Ellisen Katherine Green Sharon McLucas

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Stephen M. Strichart STAFF WRITERS

CJ Dablo Anita W. Harris

MANAGING EDITOR

Cory Bilicko

CULTURE WRITERS

Adam Buchsbaum Rachael Rifkin

ONLINE EDITOR

Denny Cristales EDITORIAL INTERN

Izzie Hallock

DESIGN EDITOR

Sebastian Echeverry COLUMNISTS

Claudine Burnett Blair Cohn

The Signal Tribune welcomes letters to the editor, which should be signed, dated and include a phone number to verify authenticity. Letters are due by noon on the Wednesday before desired publication date. The Signal Tribune reserves the right to edit l­etters for grammar, language and space requirements. Letters must be 500 words or fewer. The Signal Tribune will publish no more than one “pro” letter and one “con” letter on a particular topic in a single issue. The Signal ­Tribune does not print letters that refer substantially to articles in other publications and might not print those that have recently been printed in other ­publications or otherwise presented in a public forum. Letters to the editor and commentaries are the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Signal Tribune or its staff. Although the editorial staff will attempt to verify and/or correct i­nformation when possible, letters to the editor and commentaries are opinions, and readers should not assume that they are statements of fact. Letter-writers will be identified by their professional titles or affiliations when, and only when, the editorial staff deems it relevant and/or to provide context to the letter. We do not run letters to the editor submitted by individuals who have declared their candidacies for public office in upcoming races. This policy was put in place because, to be fair, if we publish one, we would have to publish all letters submitted by all candidates. The volume would no doubt eliminate space for letters submitted by other readers. Instead, we agree to interview candidates and print stories about political races in an objective manner and offer very reasonable advertising rates for those candidates who wish to purchase ads. The Signal Tribune is published each Friday with a circulation of 30,000. Yearly subscriptions are available for $50.

1399 E. 28th St., Signal Hill, CA 90755 (562) 595-7900 www.signaltribune.com newspaper@signaltribune.com

COMMUNITY

5 At Garcia’s invitation, U.S. Sen. Harris addresses LB town-hall gathering

April 13, 2018

Signal Tribune

Harris emphasized that Americans have ‘so much more in common than what separates us.’

Izzie Hallock Editorial Intern

Photo by David Moore

United States Sen. Kamala Harris speaks to local residents during a town-hall meeting at the Long Beach Convention Center on April 6. Harris addressed topics of health care and education, among others.

Shortly after US Senator Kamala Harris had been sworn into office in 2017, she was speaking at her daughter’s high school when a student raised her hand and asked, “What are we going to do about a divided America?” Harris distinctly remembered that question and, at a town-hall meeting at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, April 6, explained to a crowd of local residents how relevant the answer is today.

“It broke my heart,” Harris said.

“Here these kids are– they should be coming out knowing that they can be

whatever they want, they should be dreaming with their eyes wide open about the possibilities for their future– I looked at her and I said, ‘You know, I reject the premise. I do not believe we are divided. I believe, based on all of my personal and professional experiences, based on the things that I have seen and known, that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us.”

Public health Harris went on to explain how the government has three main roles.

“You should also understand that government has three essential functions– public health, public safety and

public education,” she said. “We’ve got to support and put resources into all three, understanding that is just the noble cause and reason for being of government, and it must perform its job and do it in a smart and effective way that is relevant to the people– meaning, making sure that we give all people access to those three.”

As for public health, Harris stated that health care should be considered a right and not a privilege.

“We should not be playing politics with public health” she explained.

As a result of the politicization of health care, the debates surrounding it see HARRIS page 11

Thoughts

continued from page 4

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BEING ‘GREEN’ FOR EARTH DAY

Signal Tribune

April 13, 2018

Long Beach launches downtown shuttle service Becerra sues EPA over illegal decision to let polluters off the hook The City of Long Beach has launched a free shuttle service in downtown Long Beach, provided by The Free Ride (TFR) transportation service, to offer rides around the downtown area using gas-free, electric vehicles.

“With the addition of programs like The Free Ride and EZparkLB, parking and transportation around the downtown is becoming a lot easier,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. “The Free Ride makes it convenient for downtown residents and visitors to visit a variety of places and without being limited by parking availability.”

TFR offers free transport anywhere within its designated travel zone (5th Street to the north, Alamitos Avenue to the east, Shoreline Drive to the south, I-710 to the west).

“I am excited to say we continue to bring creative mobility ideals to parking impacted areas. We are thrilled to have The Free Ride in Long Beach and know it will be a huge benefit to the area,” said 2nd District Councilmember Jeannine Pearce. “With upcoming events such as the Long Beach Grand Prix, Pride Week and the AMGEN Tour of California, it is important we have efficient transportation in place to improve the experience for all who attend.”

Users can request a pick-up from anywhere within the shuttle’s travel zone by using The Free Ride application. The app is currently available for download in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, or at thefreeride.com/app. The free shuttle will operate daily, Sunday through Wednesday, from 10am to 10pm, and Thursday through Saturday, from 11am to 11pm.

“I encourage our community members

to take advantage of this free shuttle service for the next two months,” said 1st Distric Councilmember Lena Gonzalez.

“The Free Ride is going to lessen congestion and is a great addition of environmentally friendly vehicles to our city.”

During the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, special pick-up service will be provided on Friday and Saturday, April 13 and 14, from 10am am to 10pm, and on Sunday, April 15, from 8am to 8pm, at only one of the five following locations that will be marked with signage: • Long Beach Boulevard and East Broadway.

• Long Beach Boulevard and Ocean Boulevard.

• Ocean Boulevard and Pine Avenue.

• West Broadway and Cedar Avenue.

• West Seaside Way and Cedar Avenue.

• City Place Garage C (East 3rd Street near Promenade) Founded by James Mirras and Alex Esposito in 2011, The Free Ride is a free, electric, micro-transit solution. TFR uses fleets of nimble cars to fulfill the firstmile/last mile gaps that are experienced by municipalities around the world. The service is made possible by collaborating with municipal organizations, and executing innovative OOH/Experiential advertising campaigns with some of the world’s most recognizable brands. Since its inception, TFR has given over 2 million rides and expanded to 14 cities across New York, Florida, California, New Jersey and Texas. For more information on how to catch a ride or advertising opportunities head over to thefreeride.com.

Source: City of LB

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its illegal repeal of a longstanding policy that requires major sources of hazardous air pollutants– such as petroleum refineries and chemical plants– to permanently take action to reduce their emissions.

Known formally as the “Once In, Always In” policy, the guidance has been in effect since 1995. Becerra and CARB filed the lawsuit in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

According to Becerra, the purpose of the “Once In, Always In” policy is simple: to ensure that major sources of hazardous air pollutants install and operate equipment to permanently minimize the release of hazardous air pollutants. Major sources are those that emit or have the potential to emit 10 tons per year or more of any single hazardous air pollutant or 25 tons per year or more of any combination of hazardous air pollutants. Elimination of the “Once In, Always In” policy would invite major sources of hazardous air pollutants to game air regulations and avoid important pollution-saving measures, Becerra said.

“Instead of prioritizing the health of hardworking Americans, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt wants to let major polluters off the hook. That is unconscionable, and it is illegal,” Becerra said. “If the ‘Once In, Always In’

policy is rescinded, children in California and around the country– particularly those who must live near the polluting plant or factory– may grow up in an environment with tons of additional hazardous pollutants in the air they breathe. California will not allow that to happen. The EPA must be held accountable.”

California is urging the Court to invalidate EPA’s repeal because it contravenes the intent of Congress expressed in the Clean Air Act and it constitutes an arbitrary and capricious reversal of the Agency’s position.

Since taking office, Becerra has taken swift and broad action to hold Pruitt accountable, according to Becerra’s office. Among other actions, Becerra has submitted a 30page comment letter to the EPA regarding due-process violations, lack of fairness and ethical lapses that arise from Pruitt’s involvement in the proposed rulemaking to repeal the Clean Power Plan; filed a lawsuit against the EPA for failing to provide 32 categories of documents related to Pruitt’s known conflicts of interest and any actions taken

by EPA or the Administrator to comply with federal ethics laws; and recently secured a federal court ruling that will require the EPA to designate areas of the country that have unhealthy levels of smog in excess of federal Clean Air Act requirements, according to the attorney general’s office.

Source: Becerra’s office

Assemblymember O’Donnell moves closer to securing additional funds for Long Beach oil well clean-up The Assembly Natural Resources Committee voted 9-0 Monday in favor of Assembly Bill 2404, authored by Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach).

AB 2404 removes the limit on the amount of revenue deposited into the State’s Oil Trust Fund, which is solely used to clean up abandoned oil wells within the Long Beach tidelands that are no longer in use.

“Passing this first legislative hurdle for AB 2404 is a win for Long Beach and ensures that we are prepared to protect our coastline,” O’Donnell said. “I am grateful to the California State Lands Commission for understanding the need for this critical measure and for sponsoring

the bill.”

The Oil Trust Fund reached its $300-million cap in June 2014 and has not grown since. California’s share of abandonment liability is estimated at approximately $836 million, leaving a shortfall of $536 million. AB 2404 lifts the cap to ensure funds are available when oil operations cease.

The bill now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Source: O’Donnell’s office

COMMUNITY HOSPITAL LONG BEACH NEEDS YOUR HELP TO

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COMMUNITY HOSPITAL LONG BEACH NEEDS YOUR HELP TO

COMMUNITY HOSPITAL LONG BEACH NEEDS YOUR HELP TO

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BEING ‘GREEN’ FOR EARTH DAY

April 13, 2018

Signal Tribune

7

Port of LB breaks 1st-quarter record

The Port of Long Beach has completed its best-ever first quarter, with marine terminals handling almost 1.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) January through March, according to port officials. The quick start is 19.4-percent more than the first quarter of 2017, the Port’s busiest year ever.

The previous first quarter record was set in 2007.

March throughput– the amount of items passing through the port– reached 575,258 TEUs, an increase of 13.8 percent compared to the same month last year.

“Our March cargo jumped despite the shipping slowdown during the Lunar New Year holiday in China,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. “One of the most encouraging signs throughout this surge in cargo last year and this year is the operational efficiency at our marine terminals. We are handling record levels of cargo with no delays.”

Dockworkers moved 267,824 import TEUs in March, 7.3 percent more than a year ago. Exports grew 18.3 percent to 142,419 TEUs. The large number of imported goods demanded by American consumers meant container ships hauled 165,015 empty TEUs overseas to be refilled.

“Our business development trips are bringing us more trade activity,” said Harbor Commission President Lou Anne Bynum. “We see favorable responses during our visits with our overseas partners. We’re pleased to be off to a great start in 2018 following a successful 2017 for us and our industry partners.”

We are doing our part: We reclaim our water!

Source: Port of LB

More than 1 billion people in 192 countries take part in Earth Day, according to earthday.org.

COMMUNITY HOSPITAL LONG BEACH NEEDS YOUR HELP TO

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COMMUNITY HOSPITAL LONG BEACH NEEDS YOUR HELP TO

COMMUNITY HOSPITAL LONG BEACH NEEDS YOUR HELP TO

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8

NEWS

Signal Tribune

April 13, 2018

LBPD to file new request for body-worn cameras Two previously tested models determined insufficient.

Sebastian Echeverry Staff Writer

The Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) is planning to issue a request for proposals for new bodyworn camera devices for officers after testing two models that the department determined to be insufficient, according to a press release from the LBPD. In January 2016, The Long Beach City Council settled on a $210,000-contract with Utility Inc.– a Georgia-based manufacturer of software products for law-enforcement agencies– to purchase cameras, modems, software, cloud storage, training and technical support.

In November 2016, West Division LBPD patrol officers and supervisors who were deployed on afternoon shifts underwent a pilot program. They were given 40 bodyworn cameras (BWCs) to wear while they worked.

The pilot program concluded in November 2017, and officers continued to utilize the BWCs in the field as the results of the program were evaluated, according to the press release.

In February 2018, Utility Inc. provided the LBPD with the opportunity to test and evaluate a new model of BWCs, which was loaned to the City at no additional cost.

After a comprehensive review of both camera models, the LBPD determined that “while the department believes strongly in the overall value of body-worn cameras, the technology type currently being tested does not suitably meet the needs of the department and the City,” according to an email from LBPD Public Information Officer Nancy Pratt.

Courtesy LBPD The Long Beach Police Department is planning to issue a request for proposals for new body-worn cameras after testing two models that the department determined to be insufficient.

When asked what specifically the department did not like about the cameras in the pilot program, Pratt said the LBPD could not release information on that because the BWC program is still under evaluation, and that it would “be premature for us to release our findings at this time.”

However, Pratt said that all BWCs currently in the field fall under the pilot program and record footage at 720p-video quality resolution.

The Signal Tribune attempted to contact Utility Inc. about the BWC devices multiple times, but they could not be reached within press time.

LBPD Chief Robert Luna stated in the press release that, “the City and the LBPD are committed to implementing effective body-worn camera technology to promote officer safety, ensure accountability and strengthen community trust.”

According to a study by the National Conference of State Legisla-

tures, a field experiment on bodyworn cameras by the Rialto Police Department in California found that when police officers were equipped with cameras during the test period, use-of-force incidents and citizen complaints against officers were reduced by 50 and 90 percent, respectively. Their findings spurred national interest in the benefits body-worn cameras could potentially provide.

In September 2017, a randomized controlled trial study– involving more than 400 police officers in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department– by the CNA nonprofit research group found that BWC-wearing officers generated significantly fewer complaints and use-of-force reports relative to control officers without cameras.

BWC-wearing officers also made more arrests and issued more citations than those not wearing BWCs. Signal Hill Police Department Lieutenant Ronald Sagmit said that

the department also has a BWC program. The SHPD uses cameras manufactured by WatchGuard.

“We believe we were the first agency to deploy body-worn cameras for all field personnel,” Sagmit said. “The BWCs have been in use at the SHPD for about 2 and a half years.”

Along with choosing the best BWC devices for its officers, police department officials must also implement best-practice procedures to determine what happens to any recorded footage the BWCs capture.

In California, Section 832.18 of Assembly Bill 1953 provides police departments with steps to ensure data collected from a BWC is handled properly, according to leginfo. legislature.ca.gov.

“In accordance with department policy, officers may review their recordings,” Pratt said. “Detectives may review recordings when relevant to their investigations. All public requests for digital evidence

are handled in accordance with the California Public Records Act.” According to an online file of the LBPD manual– which, according to the document, was last revised on June 2, 2016– all digital evidence collected using a BWC is considered property of the LBPD and is for official use only.

“Accessing, copying, forwarding or releasing any digital evidence for other than official police department use is prohibited,” the manual reads.

“Personal computer equipment and software programs shall not be used to make copies of digital evidence.

Exceptions may be made when done for training purposes and with supervisor approval.”

The manual also states that, unless a “mitigating circumstance” is present, officers using a BWC may record interactions such as traffic stops, detentions, arrests, searches, crimes in progress, demonstrations, protests and unlawful assemblies.

As police officers continue to use BWCs under the pilot program, Pratt said that the City has not selected a company to contract with for new BWC, however, it intends to review all qualified proposers that meet the specifications included in the new request for proposal document.

A press release in November 2016 first announced the commencement of the LBPD’s BWC program.

“Our goal with the body-worn camera program is to help enhance community trust and underscore law-enforcement legitimacy and accountability,” Luna states in the press release, “The use of this video technology can provide additional documentation of interactions between the community and the officers serving it.” ✦