Bits 'n' Pieces

Credit Union Makes Holiday Donation

LBS Financial Credit Union employees donated hundreds of toys and gift cards to local non-profit, Love Beyond Limits, as part of the credit union’s annual holiday breakfast.

Love Beyond Limits provides exceptional enrichment and leadership development opportunities to youth at risk and in need. They offer youths an opportunity to create and mold their own unique experiences through their wide range of educational and leadership activities and resources.

The credit union’s donation will provide gifts for the children, and parents/caregivers for Love Beyond Limits’ 9th annual “Operation Give Me A Break” toy giveaway program. In attendance was Love Beyond Limits’ Executive Director Maleka Chris, who accepted the donation and speak on behalf of the organization.

“The work that Love Beyond Limits does in our community is truly inspiring,” said LBS Financial Credit Union President and CEO Jeffrey Napper. “All of us at LBS Financial were honored to participate in making the holidays special for the families they serve by supporting their Operation Give Me a Break program.”

New Economic Development/Policy Mgr.

The Downtown Long Beach Alliance (DLBA) announced Stephanie El Tawil as the organization’s new Economic Development & Policy Manager. El Tawil fills a key role previously held by Austin Metoyer who was appointed President and CEO by the DLBA Board in September.

As Economic Development & Policy Manager, El Tawil will establish working relations with Downtown business and property owners, financial institutions, commercial brokers, developers, and local economic development officials to recruit and retain business and advance Downtown interests. She will play a key role in the implementation of office and retail recruitment strategies, supervise the production of DLBA’s market reports, and oversee DLBA’s new business navigator position to assist small business owners with permitting approvals. Furthermore, she will assist and advise leadership on local, state and federal government public policy matters that may impact the Downtown community.

El Tawil’s background includes more than eight years of experience in workforce and business development which will be an asset to DLBA stakeholders. Her previous roles included managing career and leadership development programs at the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, Director of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville, and Project Manager for the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership. She received her MBA and MA from the University of Southern Indiana.

Suit Filed Against City for CEQA Violations

The environmental justice group Riverpark Coalition (RPC) has filed a lawsuit against the City of Long Beach for approving a deficient environmental impact report (EIR) – which fails to comply with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) – for a proposed 20-acre development project located immediately south of the site that was the subject of RPC’s court victory last October.

The aim of this lawsuit is CEQA compliance regarding biological resources, hazards (flooding), land use (park space, equestrian uses, and freeway incompatibility), greenhouse gas emissions, vehicular traffic, tribal cultural resources and water quality. Private development of this site would, in similar fashion to development of the Pacific Place site to the north, further decimate adherence to the Long Beach section of the LA River Master Plan (as well as Long Beach’s own RiverLink Plan), which identified both adjacent parcels as the future Wrigley Heights River Park.

The subject site for this litigation and RPC’s previous litigation was once a single tract of oil operations land, decades ago, before being bisected by the construction of the 405 Freeway. There remains a walkable connection between the two tracts underneath the freeway to this day.

The subject site for this litigation is 712 Baker Street in Long Beach, a property owned by Oil Operators Inc. (a petroleum production consortium co-owned by the City of Long Beach) and bounded by Wardlow Road, Baker Street, the 405 Freeway and the LA River.

The developer, approved by the city to further derail the future greenbelt envisioned by the LA River Master Plan, is Integral Communities LLC, which previously developed another parcel identified in river planning documents – the former Will J. Reid Boy Scouts Camp.

That land had also been a key component of river greenbelt visioning prior to its development into townhouses. Integral appears to be intent on systematic exploitation of the LA River for the purposes of advancing private profit over the public good of revitalized riverine open space.

The fact that the City Council recently moved forward with this District 7 development is particularly troubling in that it occurred when the elected official representing this area,

Councilman Roberto Uranga was absent from the council due to medical leave. Councilman Uranga was the lone vote opposing approval of the project just to the north at 3701 Pacific Pl. and his wife and predecessor on the City Council, then-councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga had opposed development of the Baker Street property during her time on council for District 7.

“We hope to achieve yet another victory for park equity and environmental justice for our side of Long Beach,” said Juan Ovalle, president of Riverpark Coalition. “The path to ultimately building the river park envisioned by Long Beach’s own RiverLink Plan, as well as the Los Angeles River Master Plan, i.e. the intended Wrigley Heights River Park, is a long one. But we believe the arc of environmental history will eventually bend toward justice in western Long Beach.”

$80M Innovative Women’s Health Pavilion

MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center, a leading, innovative nonprofit medical center in Orange County, celebrated the topping out, the marking of the placement of the last beam, of its forthcoming Women’s Health Pavilion. The new, $80 million, state-of-the-art three-story, 40,000-square-foot facility, which is scheduled to open in summer 2023 in Laguna Hills, will elevate the future of women’s healthcare with a focus on their healthcare needs through all stages of their lives.

Saddleback Medical Center’s Women’s Health Pavilion will provide patients with convenient access to exceptional breast care and a range of women’s health services under one roof. The center will provide women with streamlined and elevated care in a comfortable, spa-like environment, access to same-day appointments, short wait times and expedited screening results.

The Women’s Health Pavilion plans to offer personalized care provided by world-renowned specialists in breast care, obstetrics and gynecology, oncology, sexual health, and mental health. It will also feature the only integrated breast cancer center in Orange County with a breast oncologist, breast surgeon and breast reconstruction surgeon under one roof. As part of the holistic women’s services MemorialCare is planning to offer, the campus will feature a first-of-its-kind, freestanding pelvic floor rehab clinic with a

MemorialCare executives, donors and staff gathered at the construction site today and celebrated the next phase in construction. As part of the topping out ceremony, attendees were invited to sign the final beam before it was placed on the building. Taylor and Sarah Nederlander of the Harry J. Nederlander Foundation were also on-site. The sisters donated $2.5 million to facilitate the new Sarah & Taylor Nederlander Breast Center, which will allow MemorialCare to offer easy access to screenings, diagnostics, and expedited screening results, and will nearly double the number of patients served each year.

MemorialCare partnered with c|a ARCHITECTS and general contractor Turner to turn their vision into a reality. Following the groundbreaking in September 2022, Turner erected the steel structure of the modern facility over the past three months incorporating sustainable materials. Turner was challenged with ensuring an existing building four feet from the new building remained in operation, and that visitors remained safe during construction. The building features nearly 200,000 pounds of rebar at the mat slab and one million pounds of steel. During construction, Turner had to navigate through 1.5 miles of underground utilities.

MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center Foundation continues to partner with community members interested in being a part of this transformative project for women’s healthcare. For more information, visit memorialcare.org/women.