Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and Signal Hill with 30,000 issues every Friday
VOL. XLI NO. 31
Your Weekly Community Newspaper
www.signaltribune.com
July 26, 2019
LB City Council conducts last meeting in existing City Hall building
In this issue NEWS
LB representative co-authors motion for subpoena power in deputy gang investigation
Council approves naming new main library after Billie Jean King.
Janice Hahn calls for subpoena powers for county inspector general Page 3
Cory Bilicko Staff Writer
Police ID man killed in alleged gang-related shooting
The shooting stemmed from an argument, police say Page 8
Courtesy LB Animal Care Services
An image from Long Beach Animal Care Service’s coyote-activity map for 2019 as of July 24. The colored squares indicate reported coyote activity, with blue representing low-level incidents of coyote sightings, yellow representing moderate-level incidents of habituated coyote presence and orange indicating high-level incidents of coyote aggression, potentially involving domestic-animal loss. Red would mark a coyote attack on a human, though no such incidents have been reported so far this year.
Signal Hill City Council hears about handling coyotes LB Animal Care Services urges precaution and hazing as coyote deterrents
LA County reinstates reward in shooting of CSULB student County approves reward of $10,000
Page 8
COMMUNITY
Alamitos Beach to see upgrade stands
Construction of snack bars at Alamitos Beach to break ground next month Page 8
During its July 23 meeting, the Signal Hill City Council heard from Long Beach Animal Care Services (LBACS) on how to safeguard against local coyotes. The council also conducted a public hearing and approved an annual levy increase for landscape maintenance in Signal Hill’s California Crown tract. Coyote control After hearing from concerned residents, the council invited LBACS Director Staycee Dains to explain how to handle urban wildlife, coyotes in particular. Dains said that LBACS offers animal-care services in Signal Hill, though the city is not covered by Long Beach’s 2015 coyote-management plan. “Wildlife is always a challenge in any urban area,” she said, adding that citizens can prevent wildlife from taking up residence on properties by limiting access to food, shelter and water. “The call that I actually get the
most is the koi pond that no longer has koi in it because it fed all of the raccoons in the area,” she said. Dains advocated picking up fallen tree-fruit, which even coyotes will eat, and feeding pets inside. “Coyotes are scavengers, so they’re going to eat the easiest thing,” she said. “Sometimes the easiest thing is the cat food; sometimes the easiest thing is the cat.” She said it might take coyotes many times to stop coming by for cat food if they have eaten it once at a location. For feeding cats outside, Dains advised only dry food and for the resident to stay, watch pets eat and then remove the food. She said simply dumping cat food on sidewalks creates a nuisance, though there is no specific municipal code against feeding pets outdoors. “Coyotes are very adaptable animals,” she said. “They are particularly smart and their behavior
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evolution is really, really fast.” Dains also suggested tightly shutting refuse bins, securing pet doors, clearing shrubbery and locking garages and sheds. In the wild, coyotes are mostly active during twilight hours but that’s because it’s when food is available, Dains said. In urban settings, access to food– such as cat food or an open dumpster– is available any time, so residents may see them during the daytime. She also said that coyotes are currently protecting their babies born in spring, which stay with them for nine months and so they may be more aggressive and prevalent until the end of the year. If a resident encounters a coyote, they should haze the animal by yelling, waving arms and stomping feet until the coyote goes away, but not before, Dains said. “You have to do that until the coyote goes away,” she said. “If see SH Council page 11
The Long Beach City Council’s July 23 meeting was the last council meeting that will take place in the existing City Hall, now that a newly finished civic center will house future council meetings. The council also approved renaming the new main library after tennis pro and Long Beach native Billie Jean King. Last meeting Mayor Robert Garcia opened the meeting by announcing that it would be the last inside the existing City Hall building, since all city business will be relocating to the newly built civic center, which will also provide new offices for the Port of Long Beach, the new library, retail establishments and a public park. “We are today closing out a lot of history in our city, and there are a lot of folks that have been behind this dais, a lot of staff members that have been out implementing the work and policies of this council over many years, “ Garcia said. “There have been a lot of folks sitting there as city attorneys and city managers and staff. But, most importantly, throughout the life of this building, there have been thousands and thousands of community members and folks that love their city greatly and come down and express their views in front of your local elected body. This building has been the heart of our local democracy for decades.” Garcia then called for a round of applause for the numerous former city officials who were present in the audience. City Manager Patrick West explained that City employees would see LB Council page 10
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