An OLB sign was added to one of the lights: “Look what your tax $ is paying for!”
10:26am | For the moment everything has quieted down at Lincoln Park. Well, except for those light thingies.
Beginning with Night 1 of Occupy Long Beach’s stay in/near the park, a trio of portable light standards have been chugging away, illuminating the goings-on.
And, many say, polluting them, both with noise and exhaust fumes.
OLBers say the presence of these lights is nothing less than harassment, placed there with the sole purpose of making it more difficult for members to remain near the park overnight.
When they took their concerns to last week’s city council meeting, Councilmember Robert Garcia was sympathetic enough to ask City Manager Pat West if something might be done to address the air-pollution issue.
The result? “By Wednesday night, City staff were able to swap out that diesel generator [i.e., the one on Pacific Avenue itself, closest to the OLBers] with a solar-powered generator borrowed from the Long Beach Airport, thus resolving the issue,” says Tom Modica of the City Manager’s Office.”
According to Del Davis of Public Works, the City of Long Beach doesn’t actually own any solar-powered versions — hence the need to borrow. (Long Beach Post is hoping to hear back about why the City borrowed one and not three.)
As for the gas-powered versions, we’re told by Public Works each one consumes three gallons of diesel fuel per each 12-hour shift during which it is in operation.
As to why the lights are out there at all, the Long Beach Police Department confirms they asked them to be brought out for reasons of “health and safety.”