Beachcombing

The buzz around Belmont Shore these days has been two murders at 2nd Street businesses occurring within a span of two weeks. For those of us living on the east side of town, we will typically go a year or two before experiencing a single homicide.

The first incident was the Feb. 18 shooting death of Johnny Santos, 32, of Long Beach in the 5300 block of E. Second Street. One day later Christopher Rene Salguero, 24, of San Pedro was booked for murder with bail set at $3.025 million.

On Sunday a 20-year-old resident of Long Beach was stabbed in the 5200 block of E. Second Street. His assailant, Brandon Nguyen, 29, of Huntington Beach, was arrested the next day at LAX, booked for murder and is being held without bail.

On Monday, BSBA Executive Director Heather Kern released the following statement, in part:

“At the heart of the Belmont Shore Business Association (BSBA) is our unwavering commitment to the safety and well-being of our community. In light of recent events and ongoing concerns, we want to assure you that we are actively working with LBPD, Councilwoman Duggan and key stakeholders, to address safety issues in our beloved neighborhood.

“We have reached out to the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) to request additional police presence and officers to patrol Belmont Shore during key times. Specifically, we have requested a patrol or dedicated officers identical to what was previously allocated. Our goal is to enhance security and ensure the safety of residents, visitors, and businesses alike.”

Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we’re free at last! The March 5 primary election is over and we are finally rid of those hate-filled, repetitive TV commercials for the U.S. Senate by two Democrats who were assaulting opponents and our ears every few minutes. There ought to be a law.

Here are some local race results from the LA County Registrar-Recorder website as of yesterday morning:

CONGRESS, 42ND DISTRICT
Robert Garcia:  50.96%  31,081; John Briscoe:  34.96%  21,320;
J. Nicole Lopez:  7.74%  4,723; Joaquín Beltrán:  6.34%  3,866

STATE SENATOR, 33RD DISTRICT
Lena A. Gonzalez:  65.28%       51,555; Mario Paz:  18.71%  14,776
Sharifah A. Hardie:  16.02%  12,650

STATE ASSEMBLY, 69TH DISTRICT
Josh Lowenthal:  65.05%  33,133; Joshua Rodriguez:  34.95%  17,801

SUPERVISOR, 4TH DISTRICT
Janice Hahn: 55.59%  107,349; Alex Villanueva: 29.86%  57, 659; Joohn M. Cruikshank: 14.55%  28,086

MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE MEASURE RW
Yes:  50.63%  23,745; No:  49.37%  23,153

CITY COUNCIL, 2ND DISTRICT
Cindy Allen: 54.35%  2,724; Ketty Citterio:  40.20%  2,015
Sara Zaidi:  5.45%  273

CITY COUNCIL, 4TH DISTRICT
Daryl Supernaw: 49.73%, 4,252; Herlinda Chico: 23.06%  1,972
Gerrie Schipske: 22.51%, 1,925; Amrit Singh: 4.70%, 402

CITY COUNCIL, 6TH DISTRICT
Suely Saro: 75.96%  1,599; Cristino Pinto: 24.04%  506

CITY COUNCIL, 8TH DISTRICT
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk: 54.15%  1,606; Sharifa Batts: 45.85%  1,360

LBUSD BOARD MEMBER, DISTRICT 2
Erik Miller: 73.27%  4,288; Jerlene L. Tatum: 26.73%  1,564

Time for some political humor:

Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel. ~John Quinton

Why pay money to have your family tree traced; go into politics and your opponents will do it for you. ~Author unknown

Politics is supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.
~Ronald Reagan

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