Signal Tribune
INSIDE: Congressman Alan Lowenthal’s statement after Trump’s second impeachment
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Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and Signal Hill
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VOL. XLIII NO. 3
January 15, 2021
SIGNAL HILL
COMMUNITY
CRIME
LBPD seeking public’s help in identifying person of interest in eight sexual battery incidents in Wrigley area
Courtesy Pexels.com
Higher auto and online sales help Signal Hill stay in the black
Lissette Mendoza Managing Editor
The Long Beach Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect who detectives believe may be responsible for at least eight sexual battery incidents in the Wrigley and South Wrigley area. In September of 2020, the Long Beach Police Department was made aware of an incident where a male adult suspect approached a female victim from behind and sexually battered her. Since then, Sex Crimes detectives have been able to connect seven other incidents with similar circumstances. Generally, the suspect has attacked the victims between 6:00-8:30 p.m., while the victims were walking alone or with other females. All victims are female Hispanic. Below is a summary of the incidents: • On Sept. 18, 2020, officers were dispatched to the area of Locust Avenue and Willard Street, the suspect grabbed the victim from behind and thrusted against her. The victim is a 43-year-old female. • On Nov. 5, 2020, officers were dispatched to the area of 25th Street and Earl Avenue, the suspect see SUSPECT page 2
Anita W. Harris Karla M. Enriquez | Signal Tribune
Enedelia Aguilar prepares corn for a customer on the Westside of Long Beach on Saturday, Jan. 9. She has been vending in this area for 12 years.
‘I PUT MYSELF IN GOD’S HANDS’
Street vendors fear for their safety as they work to provide Karla M. Enriquez
E
Digital Editor
verything stops when a child playing video games hears the air horn, the universal sound from the local street vendor. A family rises in unison from the couch, frantically looking for cash. The children in the front yard stop chasing each other and hurry to find the nearest adult with money. The bold sound signals them to come out and get their elotes (corn on the cob), raspados (shaved ice) or elaborate fresh fruit snacks. But when the sound of their air horns fade, street vendors have more to worry about than how many elotes or raspados they sold that day. For Enedelia Aguilar, who has been selling elotes, raspados and other snacks in Long Beach
for 12 years, it is the harassment and humiliation at the hands of a laundromat owner that has made her feel apprehensive about her route, but her mission to support her family holds her steady. “He has always seen us selling elotes, but he has never really told us anything aside from sometimes mentioning that we can’t sell here,” Aguilar said in an interview in Spanish with the Signal Tribune. Whether she faces the cold wind of a California winter or the scorching sun rays of a Long Beach summer, Aguilar pushes her cart, loaded with the ingredients for shaved ice or other snacks, up and down the streets near a laundromat on the Westside of Long Beach. Her husband drops her off and picks her up on a residential see STREET VENDORS page 5
COVID-19
Mayor focuses on vaccinations, pandemic relief and racial equity in State of the City address my life.” Garcia’s mother and stepfather died of the virus in 2020. Thus far, 484 Long Beach residents have died as a result of COVID-19. He pointed out that four times as many people have died from the virus as the number lost during the historic 1933 earthquake. “This is a pivotal moment for our city and our country—one of those rare times in history —that can define us as a people,” he said.
Emma DiMaggio Production Manager
Long Beach’s State of the City took on a new virtual form this year: a speech from Mayor Robert Garcia focused on the trials of 2020— the pandemic, economic recovery and racial injustice. “Few have been untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve nearly all known someone who has been ill or has died,” he said. “For me, personally and professionally, this has been the most difficult year of
Screenshot 2021 State of the City | City of Long Beach
Mayor Robert Garcia presented his address virtually on Tuesday, Jan. 12.
see STATE OF THE CITY page 2
Senior Writer
I
n a rare piece of good news coming out of the 2020 pandemic year, the City of Signal Hill’s audited financial report for its 2019-2020 fiscal year shows about $2 million more in tax revenue than expected, contributing to an operating-budget surplus of nearly $4 million. Finance Director Sharon del Rosario told the Signal Hill City Council during its Jan. 12 meeting that two of the City’s largest sales-tax generators– the automotive and business industries– saw higher sales over the prior year, balancing out other sectors where revenues declined. “Although the City’s fiscal-year 2019-20 projections anticipated a decline in most revenue sources due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City’s exposure and actual experience proved to be better than predicted,” del Rosario said. “The largest increase overall came from sales-tax pools for online shopping, which has been a growing segment over the past several years.” Expenses also beat projections by about $300,000, despite additional pandemic-related expenses, she said. All municipal departments except for the police came in under budget, according to the staff report. Police investigations, support services and emergency services pushed the police department over budget by about $233,000. In addition, the City’s two main reserve funds are also well-stocked, totaling $18.7 million or 84% of the $22.4 million operating budget, well above the City’s target of 50%, del Rosario said. The council agreed to transfer $2.5 million of the nearly $4 million surplus to replenishing those reserve funds. see SH COUNCIL page 7