June 4, 2021 | Vol. XLIII No. 23

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Signal Tribune

INSIDE: Long Beach recognizes Juneteenth as an official day of celebration

Your Weekly Community Newspaper

VOL. XLIII NO. 23

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Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and Signal Hill

COMMUNITY

Friday, June 4, 2021 SH CITY COUNCIL

Signal Hill’s first and only tattoo shop closes Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune

Signal Hill City Council discussed the 2021-22 fiscal year budget at their Thursday, May 27 meeting.

Signal Hill’s proposed budget includes new hires, new projects and positive ending balance of $1.4 million Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune

Ed Vargas (left) and Sonny Daniel (right) look at the recently removed signage outside of their tattoo shop, Signal Hill Tattoo, on June 3, 2021. They ran the shop together for eight years until COVID-19 forced them to close their doors in March of 2020.

‘We were doing the impossible:’ Ed Vargas shares how a $1,000 fine for illegal tattooing turned into a fully-fledged shop

S

Emma DiMaggio Managing Editor

ignal Hill Tattoo, the city’s first and only tattoo shop, closed its doors for good last month after eight years of service. “[Signal Hill] welcomed us with open arms. Being two kids that came from Poly [High School], grew up in Long Beach, we weren’t going to make it big. I mean, we’re nobody special,” Signal Hill Tattoo co-owner Ed Vargas said. “To be able to have done that is amazing.” Tattoo shops are emerging from a particularly rough year. As restaurants and bars adapted to changing COVID-19 health guidelines, tattoo shops remained largely shuttered. For Vargas and his partner Sonny Daniel, the shop’s closure marks the end of an era, one that began with a $1,000 fine and transformed into a home away from home. “I was going to open up a tattoo shop. I was going to do the impossible,” Vargas said. “[Signal Hill] gave me a chance.” Vargas didn’t start his business out of entrepreneurial spirit. “We had no clue what business entailed or entrepreneurship… we had no clue,” Vargas said. “We were doing the impossible in the impossible city.” Around 2012, his lifelong friend Sonny Daniel was caught illegally tattooing out of his garage in Signal Hill. He received a ticket with a $1,000 fine. “We’re both single parents,” Vargas said. “No way we could afford a $1,000 ticket.” So he went to Signal Hill City Hall. There, he said, a member of the city government told him that, rather than paying the fee, there was another option: “Why don’t you guys try to open up a see SIGNAL HILL TATTOO page 7

The interior of the Signal Hill Tattoo shop, which closed down this year. Courtesy Ed Vargas

This shop was my piece of the American pie. To be able to open up a business, I think that’s what my folks came here for, to give us that opportunity [...] It was great to be able to fulfill that. — Ed Vargas, co-owner of Signal Hill Tattoo

Artists and friends celebrate the two-year anniversary of the shop in 2015.Courtesy Ed Vargas

Anita W. Harris

D

Senior Writer

uring a six-hour public workshop last Thursday, May 27, the Signal Hill City Council discussed the City’s proposed 20212022 fiscal-year budget. It will consider approving the budget on June 22, prior to the new fiscal year beginning on July 1. Finance Director Sharon del Rosario said the budget projects a positive balance of $1.4 million at the end of the next fiscal year, with $27.5 million in revenue and $26.1 million in expenses. Sales taxes—which account for 73% of Signal Hill’s budgeted revenue—have been higher than expected because the city’s businesses have proven to be pandemic resilient, del Rosario said. Though COVID-19 health mandates caused businesses to close last year and the City to furlough staff and delay new hiring, the budget anticipates a full economic recovery, though some sectors may take longer than others, del Rosario said. Auto sales are projected to grow as the economy reopens, as are fuel and service stations, del Rosario said. However, tax revenue from restaurants and hotels is projected to increase more slowly. Further adding to Signal Hill’s revenue is a higher share of Los Angeles County sales-tax revenue due to retail purchases shifting more online since the pandemic, she said. The City also instituted a .75-cent see SIGNAL HILL BUDGET page 2


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June 4, 2021 | Vol. XLIII No. 23 by Signal Tribune - Issuu