Tasha Day has never been to Miami.

“But, apparently,” she laughs, “I don’t need to go!”

That’s because Southern California’s “International City” moonlights as South Florida’s “Magic City” at least two nights a week—Sundays at 9 on Showtime’s Dexter and Mondays at 10 on CBS’s CSI: Miami. For awhile last fall, we were even pulling a third shift—Tuesdays at 10—on CBS’s since-cancelled Cane.

According to the Tinsel Town trades, the demise of that series was due in part to the disruption of its startup season by the Writers Guild of America strike—which started in November 2007 and ended in February 2008.

What the residents of Long Beach might not realize, however, is that the writers’ strike also affected us—and not just those of us who were fans of that Jimmy Smits starrer. According to Day, who has served as the City of Long Beach’s film commissioner since 2002, the Office of Special Events and Filming issued about 100 fewer permits to production companies in Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 than it did in FY 2007. That resulted in a reduction of approximately 150 production days, a huge hit to the bottom line of a program that typically generates between $2 million and $3 million in revenue a year for itself and affiliated departments such as fire, police and public works.

“All the departments get their respective costs back; the parks get their location fees. So the money is dispersed citywide depending on what the company is doing or what locations they’re actually using,” Day explains. “And that [$2 million to $3 million] is just to the city itself, it doesn’t include what the [production companies] pay to homeowners, businessowners, people like that.”

In the Fiscal Year ending yesterday, the revenue of the Filming Program—essentially, a one-stop production-permitting shop—dropped by almost $200,000. The overall fiscal consequences—both public and private—of the writers’ strike for the International City is harder to quantify, although its financial impact on the overall economy of Los Angeles has been estimated at $1.5 billion.

And now there are rumblings of an actors’ strike, as well. The Screen Actors Guild, which has been working without a contract since June, is reportedly pondering a strike vote.

Still in ‘the Zone’

But—barring an actors strike—it seems accurate to say that, when it comes to motion-picture production, Long Beach is still in “the Zone.” Literally.

One of the secrets to Long Beach’s success in show business—particularly when it comes to attracting television productions such as CSI: Miami and Dexter—is its location within the so-called “Thirty-Mile Zone.” Circling the southeast corner of Beverly and La Cienega boulevards in Beverly Hills (where the offices of the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers once stood), the Zone is used by the Hollywood guilds to calculate their work rates and regulations.

“When you’re dealing with a big-budget feature, something along the lines of Transformers, they can go anywhere they want. They can go [overseas],” Day says, although she points out that portions of the sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen were recently lensed in Long Beach. “But when you’re dealing with television, the Thirty-Mile Zone is extremely important.”

Seeing as how Miami is about, oh, 2,700 miles outside the Zone, the desirability of finding a suitable stand-in here in Southern California is understandable. “All they do, really, in Miami is their establishing shots,” says Day. “Everything else is done here.”

But Long Beach’s status as a “Zone City” has also helped it land roles as much closer locales, including Newport Beach (The O.C.) and San Diego (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy). For Day, it’s a constant source of excitement to see the city included in so many television shows and motion pictures.

“Honestly, my husband hates going to the movies with me, because I’ll be like, ‘Oh, that’s Long Beach, we did that. Oh, that’s Long Beach,’” she chuckles. “Because I love looking at the city the way they’ve portrayed it. … They do such a good job at what they do, making the city look the way it does.” One of her recent favorites is the 2005 crime comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, because “we were actually Long Beach in that one.”

Whatever role it’s cast in, though, it seems clear that the city that was once home to the busiest studio in the world is still a Hollywood player.