Bits 'n' Pieces

Summer Day Camps

The City of Long Beach Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine (PRM) will offer in-person summer day camps from June 21 through August 27. Youth ages 5 to 12 will enjoy crafts, physical fitness, enrichment activities and more, all while following COVID-19 safety guidelines to ensure the health and safety of all campers and staff.

The summer camps will operate weekdays, from June 21 through August 27, at various parks throughout Long Beach. The fee is $30 for campers attending from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or $50 for those attending from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Online registration begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 10, on the PRM Summer Day Camps webpage: http://longbeach.gov/park/recreation-programs/programs-and-classes/youth....

In-person registration will be available from 8 a.m. to noon April 10 at the following ELB sites:

• PRM Administrative Office, 2760 N. Studebaker Rd. (562) 570-3111
• Pan American Park, 5157 E. Centralia St. (562) 570-3297
• Belmont Plaza Pool, 4320 E. Olympic Plaza (562) 570-1888

To register in person after April 10, appointments are required. People may call any of the three registration locations listed above to schedule an appointment. Registrations may not be processed over the phone. Financial assistance is available on a first-come, first-served basis, and may only be processed through in-person registration.

More information about the summer camp registration processes, camp information and other activities for youth is available at longbeach.gov/parks or by calling 562.570.3150.

To ensure the health and safety of all camp participants and staff, the summer camps will adhere to the below COVID-19 safety protocols. Protocols may change in response to updated guidance from the State. Any changes to the below protocols will be communicated to parents of registered campers.

• Health screenings for participants and staff, including temperature check.
• Limiting the number of participants in each camp.
• Maintaining no larger than a 14:2 participant-to-staff ratio.
• Implementing physical distancing protocols, including at check-in and check-out.
• Cleaning and sanitizing facilities multiple times each day.
• Cleaning and sanitizing all high-touch areas frequently.
• Requiring face coverings for participants and staff.

COVID-19 Relief Payment Plan Program

The City of Long Beach has launched a new COVID-19 Relief Payment Plan Program (RPPP), providing Long Beach businesses and residents adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic the opportunity to pay outstanding balances over time.

The program allows eligible participants the opportunity to pay interest-free and penalty-free payments for up to 18 months for the following:

• Business-Related & General Fees – Long Beach residents and businesses can apply for payment plan assistance for business taxes and other general fees (including but not limited to business license fees, false alarm fees, health fees and police board-up fees) billed between March 16, 2020, and June 30, 2021. The enrollment period will run July 1 through August 13, 2021. For more information, business owners and residents may email FM-CityCollections@longbeach.gov or call (562) 570-7600.
•  Parking Citations – This program is for people who have incurred parking citations and lack the resources to pay the fines. Qualifying residents can apply for payment plan assistance for all parking citations issued between March 16, 2020, and March 31, 2021, and the city will create individualized payment plans that do not include late fees or interest charges for up to 18 months. The enrollment period runs April 1 through May 17, 2021. For more information, people may email FM-ParkingCitation@longbeach.gov or call (562) 570-6822.

Extension of Existing Relief Programs

In addition to the new COVID-19 RPPP, the city has also extended existing deferral and relief programs for Long Beach businesses and residents.

•  The RPPP, which already provides payment deferrals for various business license taxes and health and fire fees for Long Beach businesses critically impacted by COVID-19, was set to expire March 31 but has been extended again through June 30, 2021.
  • Businesses with outstanding taxes and fee balances are encouraged to participate in the new COVID-19 RPPP come July so they can pay the outstanding balance over time, penalty-and-interest-free. Special mail notices with information to participate will be sent to businesses with outstanding balances in May. For more information, business owners may email FM-CityCollections@longbeach.gov or call (562) 570-7600.
• Also extended from March 31 to June 30, 2021, is the city’s Street Sweeping Relief Program, which provides free temporary parking permits for people in parking impacted areas. The program also provides some relief to qualifying individuals impacted by street sweeping parking citations issued between March 16, 2020, and June 30, 2021, who are facing financial hardships due to the pandemic. Temporary parking permits provide relief for those experiencing hardships and impacted by street sweeping parking citations and deter vehicles from parking along roadways to allow for more effective street sweeping, a vital health service for the City.
• Residents in parking-impacted areas are reminded to take advantage of the city's free parking opportunities or find alternate solutions to park their vehicles during street sweeping days. For more information about citation relief, residents may email FM-ParkingCitation@longbeach.gov or call (562) 570-6822.

More information about the various other services and resources the city offers to those affected by the pandemic is available by calling the city’s resource line at (562) 570-INFO (4636), option 5.

Information about additional business assistance and resources is available by contacting the city’s business hotline at (562) 570-4BIZ (4249).

African American History Book

Claudine Burnett, a local history writer for the Beachcomber, has announced that African Americans in Long Beach and Southern California: a history, has been published and is available in both hard copy and as an e-book.

“It was a long haul. Twenty-five years of going through newspapers to compile Long Beach Public Library's Long Beach History Index (available on the library's website) allowed me access to largely forgotten aspects of local history which I have used in writing my other books,” she said.

Little was written about the African American experience, but recently digitized African American newspapers such as the California Eagle, Los Angeles Sentinel, Liberator and microfilmed copies of the California Informer opened new territory for research.

Burnett spent the last five years going through these sources, arduously using the key word "Long Beach" to sometimes pull up relevant new information and using keywords to search for the African American perspective on pivotal Long Beach events. She had meant to end the research/book in 1940, which is where Aaron Day and Indira Hale Tucker's 2007 Heritage of African Americans in Long Beach begins but uncovered much more "lost" information.

The book begins in the 1800s and continues to 1970, reaching into later years to describe what that history has led to today. It intertwines Long Beach history with the African American experience in Southern California. It also includes names and accomplishments of 135 Long Beach African Americans and their contribution to history after 1970.

The book will be available shortly at the Historical Society of Long Beach. It's also available as an e-book from Author House, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. Copies have also been donated to all Long Beach Public Libraries.

GSA Inks $80 Million in Lease Renewals

San Diego-based Parallel Capital Partners Inc. has announced $80 million in lease renewals – spanning over 140,000 square feet – with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) at Shoreline Square, a Class A office tower at 301 East Ocean Blvd.

Owned and operated by Parallel Capital Partners, a commercial real estate investment and operating company, the 20-story Shoreline Square encompasses 410,114 square feet of premier office space.

According to Matt Root, CEO of Parallel Capital Partners, Shoreline Square is currently 87% percent leased, an impressive figure considering pandemic related challenges. “This is a highly desirable property ideally located near the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles – in a dynamic and diversified waterfront urban locale – and is also LEED-Gold certified, with a 91 Energy Star score, the equivalent of using 42% less energy than the national median average for similar building size, location and type,” Root said.

Adding to the building’s appeal, he said, is the recent installation of a state-of-the-art needlepoint bipolar ionization air sterilization system designed to protect people from pathogens and eliminate pollutants in the air.

Part of a master-planned, mixed-use development in the heart of the Long Beach’s Central Business District, the Shoreline Square building is also home to Comerica Bank, Tesoro Refining & Marketing Company, Mieco, Inc, the State of California and Dassault Systems Americas.

Brian Saal of CBRE represented Parallel Capital Partners and John Winnek of Cushman & Wakefield represented both tenants.

LGB Seeks Development Proposals

The City of Long Beach released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for aeronautical development of all or portions of approximately 27 acres at Long Beach Airport (LGB). The availability of such a large amount of land is rare, with the last large-scale development at the airport taking place in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The 27-acre site consists of two parcels situated on opposite sides of the airport. The Wardlow Parcel, approximately 17 acres, is located on the west side of the airfield and immediately adjacent to approximately 90 acres of land acquired by the Goodman Company. This land was previously used for the manufacturing of the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military aircraft, and it is anticipated that the development of this parcel will enhance the future redevelopment of the Goodman property.

The Lakewood Parcel, approximately 10 acres, is located on the east side of the airport at the corner of North Lakewood Boulevard and East Spring Street, immediately above the underground Los Cerritos Channel Stormwater Capture Facility. This parcel is available for development as a result of the shortening of Runway 8R-26L, in accordance with the airport’s Airfield Geometry Study.

“With LGB’s central location and its role as a hub for economic activity, we expect this opportunity will attract strong interest from the aeronautical community,” said Long Beach Airport Director Cynthia Guidry.

The RFP specifies that development of the site should be intended for aviation-related purposes that are complementary and respectful of the adjacent existing businesses. Proposal submissions are due by 11 a.m. on Monday, June 7, 2021.

The City of Long Beach previously released an RFP in 2017 for aeronautical development on the west side of the airport, which included the Wardlow Parcel. Gulfstream was the successful proposer for the leasing and development of this parcel. This site has again become available with Gulfstream’s announcement in October 2020 that it would begin a phased departure from Long Beach.

Gulfstream continues to negotiate directly with interested parties for the 22 acres of property for an assignment of part, or all, of the existing lease, as allowed under the terms of the agreement. The existing ground lease, inclusive of Gulfstream’s remaining five-year option to extend, terminates in March 2029.

Later in 2021, the City of Long Beach plans to issue an additional RFP for approximately eight acres on the south side of the airport, accessible by Spring Street, specifically for hangar and tie-down development.

LGB encompasses 1,166 acres and has three runways. It is unique among municipal airports for its diverse portfolio of Class A office buildings, hotels, retail, industrial facilities and a municipal golf course.

Multi-Cultural Advisory Commission

Long Beach City Prosecutor Doug Haubert announced the creation of his office’s first Multi-Cultural Advisory Commission (MCAC). It is comprised of eight individuals with strong ties to Long Beach and experience highly relevant to the criminal justice system, including persons who were formerly incarcerated or have family members who were incarcerated.

The commission will advise the prosecutor on practices and policies related to the city prosecutor’s office, including implicit bias training, court diversion and restorative justice programs, diversity, and crime prevention and intervention.

The MCAC has already met three times and has discussed the importance of improving diversity within prosecting agencies. Over the past 11 years, 52% of new prosecutors hired by the city prosecutor’s office were people of color. In contrast, a 2015 study found that only about 27% of prosecutors in California were persons of color.

“This commission comes at the right time,” added City Prosecutor Doug Haubert. “Prosecutors across the nation are looking for ways to address racial disparity and inequity in the criminal justice system, and this cannot happen without listening to people from diverse backgrounds. In Long Beach, we believe diversity makes us stronger and this commission will make my office better.”

The members of the commission are:

• Johnathan Coleman, a certified law student for the Post-Conviction Justice Project.
• Angel M. Mikaele, a teacher with Long Beach Unified School District
• Jose Osuna, housing justice manager with Brilliant Corners and consultant on gang-rehabilitation and community-based re-entry solutions.
• Amber Perez-Riggins, currently serving as court liaison/house manager for Los Angeles Center for Drug and Alcohol Abuse (LACADA).
• Dr. Erin M. Simon, assistant superintendent, school support services, for Long Beach Unified School District
• Gregory Sanders, president of the Long Beach Ministers Alliance
• Sayon Syprasoeuth, program manager with United Cambodian Community.
• Citlalli Vazquez, recently graduated from the University of California, Irvine, with a joint Bachelor of Arts in both Criminology, Law and Society, and Spanish.

More detailed information about the MCAC can be found here: https://cityprosecutordoughaubert.com/multi-cultural-advisory-commission/.