NEW: Bellflower jam;Bai Plu Bar, Halloween Store and Circle K liquor

"New" North Bellflower Blvd's first test comes on CSULB's first day

Picture of North Bound traffic on Bellflower Blvd. next to the YMCA on August 27, 2018 just after 5:00 pm

Monday August 27, 2018 was the first test of the new Bellflower Blvd. northbound reduced lanes from the Iron Triangle to Atherton Street. as tens of thousands of staff and students left the first day of classes at CSULB.

Backed up traffic on North Bellflower Blvd. between CSULB's Beach Drive and Atherton

The "new" part of Bellflower that was remade is the section that has the Anaheim Road exit for the Park Estates neighborhood, the main entrance and exit for CSULB, an entrance and exit for the Long Beach Veterans Hospital and is the major thoroughfare for access to the 405 freeway and the Los Altos shopping and banking centers for commuters to and from  the areas listed above. 

Traffic backing up at the Bellflower Curve heading north on Bellflower Blvd, 8/27/18

The drone video and pictures are of Bellflower Blvd. on Monday August 27,2018 just after 5:00 pm from the front of the Los Altos YMCA . (Click on the arrow below.)

For more information click on:

• Bellflower Blvd Bottleneck: ELB CARMAGEDDON

• How is the City Traffic Engineer planning on transforming the Iron Triangle?

• Plans to close Bellflower Blvd to "simplify movements"

• Councilwomen Suzie Price announces "protected bike lanes" for Bellflower Blvd

Best drink specials in East Long Beach

Los Altos Village Bai Plu opens new bar with the best ELB all day specials

Local patrons of  the popular Bai Plu Thai and Sushi in Los Altos Village now have the choice of two types of bar seating, the traditional sushi bar and the restaurants new stand alone traditional bar.

The new Bai Plu Bar offers both full bar and food service at the sit down bar with the same excellent service the restaurant is known for.

After Bai Plu received its full liquor license this spring, the owners remodeled the old "bar" area near the rear parking main entrance into  the new Bai Plu Bar.

The newly remodeled bar includes new bar seating and an extra large flat screen for your favorite sporting event and the best all day happy hour specials in East Long Beach.  Just like the sushi bar in the front, bar patrons can order anything from the food menus.

While most of East Long Beach sushi spots offer happy hour drinks

for a specific "happy hour" time, the new Bai Blu Bar has daily specials for each day of the week that are ALL DAY specials.  

Those specials are:

Margarita Monday

Margarita's -$4

Tito Tuesday

Texas's famous Tito Handmade Vodka* mixed drinks-$5

for more info click on: 
TITO HANDMADE

* a corn distilled vodka not the traditional potato or wheat

Whiskey Wednesday

Jack Daniels and Jim Beam drinks -$5

Thirsty Thursday draft specials

California made 805 and Ballast Point Sculpin - $6

All other drafts -$5

Friday Night Flavors-shot specials

Lemon Drops, Kamikazes, Blue Jays -$5

Sangria Saturday

Glass of Sangria-$6

Decanter of Sangria-$25

Social Sunday

Mimosas-$3

Pancake shots - $5 

Bai Plu has also completely revamped its table service drink menu with new full liquor drinks.

When visit the new Bai Plu Bar be sure to tell the new bartenders Jackie and Sara welcome to the neighborhood.

Bai Plu Bar's bartender Sara serves customers

And if your sitting at the Bai Plu Bar watching your favorite sporting event while eating sushi with your drink special and Sara happens to be your bartender, be sure to ask her about Bai Plu's secret insider menu item- fresh wasabi.   

For more information click on:

Bai Plu Los Altos Village

Bai Plu YELP

Fresh wasabi

For more information on hard to find Fresh Wasabi see video:

Halloween City opens in  North
Los Altos Center 

The former Rite Aid building across from Trade Joe's in the Los Altos Center North has been transformed into a Halloween City retail store.

The seasonal store's isles that once held an assortment of beauty products, over the counter medicines, vitamins and an assortment of household needs now are overflowing with everything to celebrate the year's creepiest holiday.

Since turning into an adult holiday in the late 1980's, Halloween's costumes, candy and decorations top $9 billion a year.  That includes over $450 million dollars on pet costumes.  Adult Halloween has also been a boom for the liquor industry.  Bars and liquor stores report that  when  Halloween falls on a Friday or Saturday, alcoholic beverage sales rise 30%.

This year Halloween falls on a Wednesday. 

Planning Commission to vote on Los Altos Circle K liquor license

After a close vote of the Planning Commission to go against their staff's recommendation not to allow alcohol sales at the new Los Altos Circle K, the item will return to the Planning Commission on Thursday August 6, 2018 for a vote to allow the sales.

The Commission's vote to approve the license required the Planning Staff to go back and rewrite the original negative report and change it into a positive report for the Planning Commission to re-vote on.

The meeting takes place in the City Hall Council Chambers at 5:00 pm

for more information click on

PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA

Planning Commission VOTE

City takes ballot opponents to court

City of Long Beach to go to court to change Measure AAA and Measure DDD ballot arguments

The Charter Amendments proposed by Auditor Laura Doud and the Mayor are quickly becoming a political flashpoint as the City Attorney has filed an action with the Los Angeles Superior Court for a hearing on Tuesday 8/28/18 to force the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors to change the opponent's ballot measures arguments.

The Special Counsel called the opponents and left voicemails that they were scheduled for a court hearing on Tuesday 8/28 in Los Angeles. 

Doud unhappy with opponents arguments 

Opponents report that they were told by the Long Beach City Clerk's office that the normal review and correction period was not followed because the City Clerk was out of the office for a week, 

According to City Hall sources, the Mayor's office and City Auditor Laura Doud were proactive in going to  Superior Court to force the opponents to change the wording of their ballot measures arguments.   The new People of Long Beach leader Juan Ovalle is the lead writer on the opposition arguments.  

To view the Arguments that the city is going to court to change, click on:

MEASURE AAA

MEASURE DDD

For information about Long Beach neighborhoods uniting against Measure BBB's INCREASE in Term Limits CLICK ON:
MEASURE BBB

Whaley Park concert

End of the Summer Concert this Saturday

Fourth District Councilman Daryl Supernaw is hosting this Saturday's free end of the summer Concerts in the Park at Whaley Park featuring Long Beach's own rock-n-roll band The Emperors.

In addition to The Emperors, city and 4th District community groups and businesses will be participating.

The local LB Firefighters union will be cooking up hot dogs, while some of the 4th District's popular restaurants will be also be serving up some of their favorites.   Numerous local organizations will also have information booths.

The free Whaley Park event is at Whaley Park South, 5629 Atherton

3:30 - 5:30 pm Saturday, August 25th.

For more information CLICK on the link and video below:

The Emperors 

Council votes to ask for INCREASED Term Limits

City Council and Mayor want Four More Years each
LB Term Limit INCREASE on November ballot

The Long Beach City Council voted on Tuesday, August 8 to place an increase in Term Limits on the November 6, 2018, General Election ballot. 

The vote was 9-0. The Charter Amendment will need to be approved by city voters.

The Charter Amendment to increase the Term Limits is sponsored by Mayor Garcia and Auditor Laura Doud.

Laura Doud thanked Garcia for work on Term Limit Increase

At the City Council Charter Committee meeting, only the LBFD Union and LB City Auditor Laura Doud supported the increasing the council and mayor's terms.

Doud a Republican, heaped praise on Democrat Mayor Robert Garcia and thanked him for working with her on the proposed Charter Amendments

Doud spoke about her support for the need for Council persons to have an additional term.

Doud's elected Auditor's position has no term limits. Doud has been in office for 12 years.

Mayor Garcia has spun the increase in Term Limits as "fixing a broken system" and "closing a loop-hole".  

In reality, the "fix" is adding a third term and the "loop-hole"  is giving incumbents the ability not to run a write-in campaign.

The record of incumbent write-in campaigns in the last 26 years is 50%.  Out of six actual incumbent write-in campaigns, three have failed and three have won.   

Eight District Councilman Al Austin moved the item to increase the Term Limits with the three other Charter Amendments.  To his credit, Austin did not hide behind the political spin of calling the term limit increase fixing a broken system.  Austin argued that neighboring cities have no term limits or Term Limits higher than the current two that he and his fellow council members and mayor have.  Austin also stated that he supports making the City Council full-time.

Austin did not address the cost of nine full-time council members and a full-time mayor, plus staff.

A common theme from the council members who explained why they were voting to place the measure on the ballot was to let the voters decide. 

Opponents to increasing the Term Limits point out that it was voters who placed the original Term Limits on the ballot, not politicians.   

Opponents to the year increase also note that the mayor and council are being deceitful to voters by claiming that they are asking voters to fix a broken system or close a loop-hole.  




For more information:

Facebook feed of speakers VOTE TO INCREASE TERM LIMITS

LA Times on when Long Beach passing REAL TERM LIMITS

Russia and: Extending Term Limits

LB to INCREASE Term Limits

Last public hearing on the proposal this Tuesday

LB to INCREASE 
Term Limits to 3 Terms 

The City Council wants a ballot measure to INCREASE term limits to 3 Terms for each council member and the mayor.

On Wednesday, August 1, 2018 community leaders representing council districts from across Long Beach met to organize a new city-wide advocacy group called People of Long Beach (POLB).

The group elected  Seventh District resident Carlos Ovalle as the Executive Director.

According to Ovalle, the idea for a people's advocacy group had been in the works, but the final Long Beach City Council vote on placing Charter Amendments on the November ballot scheduled for this Tuesday at 3 pm presented an immediate threat to the voter protections in the City Charter.

Doud has been Auditor for 12 years

Mayor Garcia and Auditor Laura Doud are behind the proposal to increase term limits from the current two terms to three terms.  Garcia is a Democrat and Doud is a Republican. 

Doud has been in her position for 12 years.  As  City Auditor she has no term limits but has been quoted in the local media as supporting increasing Term Limits for the Mayor and City Council.  The slogan on her website is "Independence you can count on".  She is now calling the voters right to write in a candidate a "loop-hole".

When Ovalle, his brother, and sister-in-law learned about Garcia and Doud's plans to increase Term Limits, they decided to take action  They started an online petition and tagged it to Mayor Garcia's Facebook page.

The trio then received a call from Mayor Garcia offering to meet with them.  

On the afternoon of July 3rd,  Mayor Garcia met with Ovalle and his brother and sister-in-law in the Los Cerritos neighborhood of Bixby Knolls.  All of the Ovalle family members had supported Garcia's mayoral campaigns
. 

Ovalle recounts that the Mayor tried to convince the group that the proposed increase in Term Limits was really limiting terms.  Ovalle also states that during the conversation the Mayor brought up the possibility of serving on a city commission. 

The Ovalle's used neighborhood networks to call the August 1 organizational meeting for People of Long Beach.  At that meeting, Carlos Ovalle was elected Executive Director.

On Friday, August 3, 2018, an advertisement from the People of Long Beach appeared in the Signal Hill Tribune about the Term Limit increase vote.

For more information click on to email: info@POLB.org

Also on Friday, the Council of Neighborhoods (CONO) Executive Director Robert Fox was interviewed live on Long Beach Local News about the Garcia-Doud term limit increase.

Fox put the blame for wanting to Increase Term Limits squarely on Garcia. The Fox interview video has gone viral with over 5,700 views as of this posting. 

To view the Long Beach Local News Fox Facebook video CLICK ON

Fox blames Garcia

Current LB Two Term Limit has been in place for over a quarter of a century

When Garcia and Doud jointly announced their plans to increase the current two Term Limit to three Terms,  they tried to hide the increase as a "reform" as fixing a problem with the "write-in" portion of the Term Limit section in the City Charter. The two are branding the write-in as a "loop-hole". Opponents argue that branding the current Term Limits as having a "loop-hole" is a political tactic to trick voters into voting to INCREASE Term Limits. Garcia and Doud are the first to call the write-in a "loop-hole".

In 1992, a 4th District resident Dennis Carroll using his own money wrote and worked to get Proposition G, the Long Beach Term Limits initiative on the ballot.  A Los Angeles Times article published just after the voters approved Proposition G  reported why Carroll spent $65,000 of his own money to limiting the terms of the mayor and council members:

"The guy representing my district has been there 26 years," said Carroll, a criminal lawyer. "And he's a good man, but it seemed to me that some new ideas or new enthusiasm might be productive."

Carroll's inclination to run for office was stopped by the large sums the council incumbents raised for their reelection campaigns.

"I was shocked by what was being spent. They were spending $50,000 to $100,000 for a part-time job," he said. "The incumbents have these tremendous advantages. They can mail things for free, and their special interests are already in place to support their campaigns."

Carroll said it dawned on him that, as a lawyer, he could change the whole system. "It would probably be a better contribution to Long Beach than just being a city councilman who could be basically ignored."

So he decided to write a term-limits initiative. He said limiting the politicians' time in office would be a step toward opening city government to concerned people who don't have the money to run against an incumbent.

Click on LA TIMES

Opponents of the Garcia-Doud increase in Term Limits note that it took 41,000 people signing petitions to place the Two Term Limit Charter Amendment on the ballot.  Now 26 years later, just two people Garcia and Doud need just five councilpersons to vote to place a misleading amendment onto the ballot pretending to "fix" a problem that does not exist. 

In the last 26 years, the write-in option has been used six times.  In those 26 years, Garcia and Doud are the first ones to call the right to write in a candidate a "loop-hole". Three attempts were successful, three were not:

• In 2002, Mayor Beverly O'Neil won as a write-in candidate.
• In 2006, termed out 5th District Councilwomen Jackie Kell ultimately lost in a run-off after successfully conducting a winning write-off bid against challengers.
• In 2010, termed out 9th District Councilman Val Lerch ultimately lost in a run-off after successfully conducting a winning write-off bid against challengers.
• In 2010, termed out 7th District Councilwomen Tonia Uranga ultimately lost in a run-off after successfully conducting a winning write-off bid against challengers.
• In 2012, termed out 4th District Councilman Patrick O'Donnell ultimately won a third term in a run-off after successfully conducting a winning write-off bid against challengers.
• In 2016, termed out 6th District Councilman Dee Andrews ultimately won a third term in a run-off after successfully conducting a winning write-off bid against challengers.

The voters right to write in names is listed in two places.

 In Section 1910 of the Long Beach City Charter, it states:

 “…all municipal elections shall be held in accordance with the provisions of the Elections Code of the State of California governing municipal elections”

The State of California Elections Code Section 15340 states:

“Each voter is entitled to write the name of any candidate for any public office, including that of President and Vice President of the United States, on the ballot of any election.”

Do the math!

While math doesn't support  Garcia and Doud's claims that adding another four-year term is reforming term limits, the campaign money math is clearly in Garcia and Doud's favor. 

Doud has handwritten the latest required financial forms filings with no funds listed.  Mayor Garcia's war chest is enormous.

For Measure M, the Mayor's personal PAC spent over $181,000 on the campaign.  As of the July 25, 2018 filing, the Mayor's campaign war chest has $189,400.   

The Long Beach Police Union PAC has announced support for increasing the Term Limits. Its latest filing shows that the Police Union PAC spent over $112,000 on the Measure M campaign and still has $153,000 in its war chest.

Garcia's political ally L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn's PAC committee donated $30,000 to the Measure M campaign.  Hanh's last public campaign filing in May 2018 shows her with a $25,000 war chest.

The total bill to taxpayers for placing all five ballot Charter Amendments on the ballot is estimated to be $650,000.  

The last public hearing before the City Council votes to place the Increased the Terms Limit measure on the ballot is 3:00 pm Tuesday, August 7, 2018, at the Long Beach City Council Chambers.

To contact the elected leaders to voice your opinions:

Mayor Robert Garcia  

Email: mayor@longbeach.gov - Phone: (562) 570-6801

Auditor Laura Doud  

Email: auditor@longbeach.gov 

1st District-Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez

Email: district1@longbeach.gov - Phone: (562) 570-6919

2nd District-Councilmember Jeannine Pearce  

Email: district2@longbeach.gov - Phone: (562) 570-2222

3rd District-Councilwoman Suzie Price

Email: district3@longbeach.gov - Phone: (562) 570-6300 

4th District-Councilman Daryl Supernaw

Email: district4@longbeach.gov - Phone: (562) 570-4444 

5th District-Councilwoman  Stacy Mungo

 Email: district5@longbeach.gov - Phone: (562) 570-5555 

6th District-Councilman - Dee Andrews

Email: district6@longbeach.gov - Phone: (562) 570-6816 

7th District-Councilman - Roberto Uranga

 Email: district7@longbeach.gov - Phone: (562) 570-7777 

8th District-Councilman - Al Austin

Email: district8@longbeach.gov - Phone: (562) 570-6685 

9th District-Councilman -Rex Richardson

Email: district9@longbeach.gov - Phone: (562) 570-6137

Circle K and Target to get alcohol license

Planning Commission votes to allow Circle K liquor license and will vote on Iron Triangle Target license

The Long Beach Planning Commission voted at their meeting on July 19th  to allow the Circle K at Palo Verde and Stearns to have a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for an alcohol license to sell beer and wine.

For more information click on: CIRCLE K Planning Commission

The Developmental Services staff had recommended against the CUP on the grounds that only three licenses are allowed in the census area and the location is in a high crime reporting area.  

In comments before the Commissioners, the Circle K consultant's main argument was that the census area has been over the allowable amount for over eleven years.  The allowable number for the census area is three, but the area has had five.  The consultant then reported that it now has only four alcohol licenses because the Rite Aid at the Los Altos Center closed.  The consultant argued that with Rite Aid gone, the Circle K license would just bring the number of liquor licenses to the same five it has been for the past eleven years.  The consultant also stated that Circle K was willing to accept restrictions in the CUP.

High crimes in the area were only brought up by one homeowner and other businesses with liquor licenses.  Those businesses also brought up their longevity insinuated that competition from Circle K would be detrimental.

The Planning Commissioners asked the Developmental Services staff about making decisions based on business competitions. The staff stated that competitor issues are never considered in any staff recommendations. 

Staff was also questioned about alcohol licenses surpassing the census area allotments across the city.   Staff responded that the staff recommendations are based upon the police data criteria of the Alcohol Beverage Control population criteria. They added that the Planning Commissioners may take other criteria into consideration when making a decision.

The Planning Commission voted 3-2 to grant a CUP to the Circle K.  The item is not final and will have to come back before the Commissioners. The staff will bring the item back with a recommendation to approve the CUP based on another criterion and with appropriate restrictions. The legal staff recommended that the criteria for approval be community convenience.

At the August 2, 2018, Planning Commission meeting, the Target at the Bixby Village Center at the Iron Triangle intersection will be on the agenda for a CUP to sell off-site (carryout) alcohol license. The small format Target replaced the former Ralphs store that had a liquor license.

The Developmental Services staff is recommending approval.

For more information Click on
Target Staff Report

Krispy Kreme specials for its 81st birthday

On Friday, July 27 Krispy Kreme will be celebrating its 81st birthday with two special offerings.

This  Friday customers who buy a dozen donuts can add a dozen of the Original Glazed Doughnuts for just one dollar.  The $1 dozen offer is only good on Friday, July 27th.

In addition for the next week Krispy Kreme will be offering a special birthday donut that is described as inspired by a "vanilla birthday" cake.  The birthday donut will be an Original Glazed with confetti sprinkles inside the donut and sprinkled on top.  The special Birthday Glazed will be available for one week   Friday, July 27th to Thursday, August 2nd. 

CSULB PARKING UPDATE

CSULB's off-site parking will be  in the Kmart-Lowes shopping center lot

Cal State Long Beach has rented hundreds of spaces in an innovative "discount" parking plan. The CSULB off-site student parking for this school year will be the 5th District's Kmart-Lowes center just north of the 405.   Local media mistakenly listed another East Long Beach shopping center as the location. 

The off-site parking will be open for eight weeks and should be a boom for the businesses in the Los Altos Gateway Center.  

The discounted parking passes are just $65 for the semester -compared to the regular $140 price. The discounted permits go on sale Monday, July 16th.

A shuttle every 15 min will get students to the campus 2 miles away.  For the special rate, the students special parking permit may only be used on campus lots between August 19 and August 26th and then anytime after October 18th when the offsite lot closes.

Over-flow Shuttle route

CSULB Fall 2018 classes start August 27th.  It will be the first time that the campus has been in session since the new green bollards and lane reduction on Bellflower Blvd. has taken place.  The map of the shuttle route shows that the shuttle will travel north and south on Bellflower every 15 minutes. 

CSULB's attempt last year to use the grass areas near the Walter Pyramid for overflow parking brought an almost universal outcry from the Los Altos neighbors directly across from the campus on Atherton.  The grass lot experiment came after the previous year's attempt of trying to solve the notorious opening of school parking problems with offsite parking at Greek Orthodox Church at PCH and Colorado.

  

LB Traffic Engineer Widstrand

Long Beach Traffic Engineer Eric Widstrand this February spoke at an Alamitos Heights Neighborhood Association meeting with Councilwomen Stacy Mungo present and spoke at the April monthly meeting of  Councilman Daryl Supernaw.  In both meetings, Widstrand stated that Bellflower Blvd. could handle the capacity when school was in session after losing one northbound lane for a bike lane.  The bike lane also reduced spaces for parking.  Just this week, some of the southbound Bellflower bollards were hit and knock down.

Widstrand came to Long Beach with a reputation for supporting "traffic calming" (click on WIDSTRAND). 

When CSULB President Dr. Jane Conoley had two meetings at the Los Altos Library with the neighbors of the campus in March of this year. she and her staff stated that a new location for the overflow parking issue was being worked on and would be ready by the opening of school. 

For more information Click on 
CONOLEY MEETING

Correcting the LB Post