Signal Tribune Your Weekly Community Newspaper
VOL. XLIII NO. 47
West Long Beach gets ten new utility box murals along Santa Fe Corridor see page 7
Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and Signal Hill
Friday, November 19, 2021 VACCINE
VACCINE
All adults now eligible for COVID-19 booster, encouraged to get vaccines and boosters to prevent possible winter surge Staff Report iS n g al rT ibune
Long Beach’s Health Department is currently offering COVID-19 vaccine boosters to people 18 years and older in order to prevent a possible winter surge. “The vaccine remains our absolute best defense against a possible COVID-19 surge over the winter,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. “Now that all adults are able to receive a booster when their vaccine-timing makes them eligible, everyone must be vigilant and ready to get it. Our city stands ready to meet the demand with clinics open six days a week across Long Beach.” The Health Department has observed a 22.5% increase in infections following Halloween, however, hospi-
Infographic by Karla Enriquez | Signal Tribune
The City of Long Beach is offering COVID-19 boosters to people 18 years and older. So far, 3,661 people have received their third vaccine dose.
talizations and deaths declined in large part due to the vaccines, according to a City statement. “As the sun sets earlier and the weather cools, more gatherings and activities will take place indoors, where COVID-19 spreads more easily,” the statement said. Citing studies that have shown that vaccine effectiveness can begin to wane after six months, the City encouraged getting the vaccine booster to provide added immunity during the holiday season and beyond. “It is essential that people get vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible,” said City Health Officer Dr. Anissa Davis. “We urge everyone to do their part to prevent a possible winter surge in COVID-19 cases.” see BOOSTER SHOT page 3
Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune
Beneath a replica of a Bell UH-1 Iroquois more commonly known as a “Huey” military helicopter is a sign for Houghton Park on June 1, 2021.
Community Learning Hub reopens at Houghton Park on Nov. 29 Staff Report iS n g al rT ibune
HOUSING
LB must make room for over 25,000 new housing units over next eight years Parcels concentrated in ‘low resource’ areas Emma DiMaggio
L a M naging idE tor
ong Beach must make room for 26,502 units of housing over the next eight years, a 276% increase from its last eightyear housing cycle. These numbers come from the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), a State analysis of how much housing must be created in certain regions to meet current and future housing demands. The assessment is done every eight years and aligns with the State’s eight-year requirement for cities to update their housing elements. During the last RHNA cycle, Long Beach was required to create 7,048 units of housing. It only met 16% of its affordable housing re-
quirements. And this cycle, the State has increased Long Beach’s housing requirements by 276%. Of those, 58% need to be affordable. “It’s aspirational, it’s doable. It’s going to be an aggressive approach. It’s going to require the cooperation of a lot of private property owners to help us realize that,” Councilmember Al Austin said of the housing requirements. “I think that’s the missing element.” The Long Beach City Council discussed the City’s 2021-2029 Housing Element—a plan to make space for its State-imposed housing requirements—at its Tuesday, Nov. 16 meeting. Both Mayor Robert Garcia and Vice Mayor Rex Richardson were absent from the meeting. The Housing Element is a document that will shape the City’s ap-
Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune
Elsa Tung, land use program manager for Long Beach Forward, reviews what she will say during public comment at a Nov. 16, 2021 Long Beach City Council meeting. proach to housing for the next eight years. It includes goals and policies to help meet its housing requirements, including ways to incentivize developers, prospective parcels
for development and an assessment of the current condition of the city’s “housing landscape.” In a presentation to the council, see HOUSING ELEMENT page 5
Long Beach’s Community Learning Hub at the Houghton Park Community Center is reopening for free independent study and after-school activities for students. Long Beach Unified School District students from kindergarten to eighth grade can register for the programs beginning at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 17. The hub provides high-speed internet for LBUSD students to participate in independent study assignments on weekdays between 7:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Youth can participate in after-school activities like academic support, sports and fitness from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Earlier this year, the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department ran three other Community Learning Hubs—located at Ernest McBride Park, Oribaza Park and Veterans Park—which closed in June for summer break and did not reopen due to the return to in-person learning. The Community Learning Hub Program began last fall thanks to federal American Rescue Plan Act funding allocated through the Long Beach Recovery Act. The Houghton Park Community Learning Hub is the only location reopening. Weekly registration for the program is required. Those interested can apply online or in-person starting Nov. 17 at 3 p.m. Registration is available in-person at Houghton Park on weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. after Nov. 17.
see VACCINE page 11