75 or more residents attended the Second Annual State of the 5th Council District.
I used “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” as a template and turned it into “What Wants to Know the State of the 5th” as a way of presenting information about the 5th District, what we’ve accomplished this past year and what […]

I am presenting my Second Annual State of the 5th Council District on Monday, February 4th at 7pm in the Senior Center at El Dorado Park at 2800 Studebaker.
I will be discussing what the 5th Council District has done this past year and what we hope to accomplish in 2008.
The Mayor and City Council, City […]

New to Long Beach City government is the recent practice of agenda items popping up in Council Committees sans the Council referring the matter to the Committe for discussion.
Consider my recent proposal to limit management salary increases to no more than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) — cost of living. I brought it to the […]

Over the 7 years I taught at CSULB, I always stressed to my students — “check your facts before you go off on somebody and tell them they are wrong.” That’s usually a good rule in life and especially if you practice law.
That’s why I was shocked at the treatment I received at City Council […]

I promise not to go on about the outrage that has been visited upon me by one of the local press outlets because I dared bring to a open City Council meeting the idea that the Council owed it to our residents to discuss the possibility of transferring a higher percentage of profits from the Harbor […]

Following the underwhelming support I received last Tuesday night to refer to the Council Committee on Economic Development for “discussion” the issue of increasing the amount of profits transferred from the Harbor Department…a department of the City… I went home and watched my favorite (actually second favorite) surreal Tuesday night show — “Boston Legal” and […]

I am placing several items on the January 22nd Council agenda aimed at dealing with some of the serious financial and environmental problems facing the City of Long Beach, including a proposal to increase the transfer of Port of Long Beach funds and allow use of a portion of the transferred funds for non-tidelands area […]

Don’t take my word for it. Look at the front pages of the Press Telegram and the Los Angeles Times today and read how pollution from the ports is harming and killing (via cancer and respiratory illness) Long Beach.  Then click on to this file and read Health Impact of Bunker Fuel . You might also recall […]

I voted to allow the City Manager to give management raises up to 7% — which is down from the 12% that was done last year.
With the announcement of the severe state deficit and the possibility that the Governor may once again raid funds that are needed in our City — the Council needs to […]

I am confused. But I guess that can be an occupational hazard in politics.
The City Council voted to use funds set aside for lighting adjacent to CSULB and instead reinstate several recreational programs. I voted yes.
A couple of nights later, I was at the CCEJ dinner in Seal Beach and had the opportunity to talk […]