Good morning, Long Beach. It’s Monday, April 6. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
City meetings
At the same time that Long Beach is loosening cannabis restrictions to allow sales at certain special events, the city may tighten rules on where tobacco products can be sold.
Members of the City Council are asking for a study within 120 days on the possibility of enacting buffer zones that ban tobacco retailers from being too close to parks, libraries, schools, day care, nursing homes and other facilities where children and elderly people might be present.
The plan, authored by Councilmembers Megan Kerr and Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, would follow in a path set by cities across California that believe the proximity of smoke shops or lounges poses a health risk through exposure to dangerous secondhand smoke.
There is also worry over vaping products. Nearly 30% of high school teens in L.A. County have tried vaping tobacco, with nearly half of them saying it was easy to buy it from a store, according to the city report.
City law already prohibits the sale of cannabis within 600 feet of schools, day care centers, playgrounds and libraries, and two dispensaries cannot exist within 1,000 feet of another. A similar system should exist for tobacco, the council members say. Existing law already caps the number of permits issued annually. But it doesn’t set any land use or proximity rules.
Other things to watch for this week:
- It’s almost budget season, Long Beach. The city shared a presentation that walks through the factors they will consider when putting together the multi-billion dollar spending plan that dictates their ambitions and reach in the next year. Expect this year to be tougher than normal. Long Beach has gone five years without reductions, but this year, the city is staring down a deficit now estimated at $61.3 million.
- Updated designs for a new senior center will be presented during the Advisory Commission on Aging meeting on Wednesday. A new center has been in the works for years but faced delays, with a full design to be finished by the end of last year.
- It’s official: The candidates for the June 2026 Primary Election are locked in, with the city clerk certifying the candidate list on Tuesday, which will determine the order in which names will appear on official ballots and commence the election that will cost $2.4 million locally.
- The city really wants a pier-to-pier ferry between Long Beach and the rest of Los Angeles County. Mayor Rex Richardson on Tuesday will go over his ideas for a water taxi and ferry system between the Belmont Pier, Queen Mary and downtown waterfront to destinations in Santa Monica, Malibu and Marina Del Rey ahead of the Olympics.
Business events and information
- Prepare for the Quack Attack. Bring your hoodies and beanies to the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce’s night with the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, starting at 6 p.m. at the Honda Center. Members can meet for some mingling at the Puck Drop Patio and raffle for a Zamboni ride; for those wanting to cheer on professional hockey’s finest, game time is at 7 p.m. For more information, visit here.
- When you walk around downtown, do you picture all the things you would improve if you had the power? If so, take some agency and come to the community walk audit on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Starting outside the Billie Jean King Library, participants will go on a 1.3-mile walk and share their feedback on the state of the city’s streets, sidewalks and safety. To sign up, visit here.
ICYMI — California and national news
- ‘You’re a liar.’ Why the world’s biggest building boom has run into a wall in California (Los Angeles Times)
- What SpaceX and its record IPO have riding on the new race to the moon (Los Angeles Times)
- Long Beach state Assembly member proposes law to keep kids under 16 off social media (Long Beach Post)
- Writers Guild of America and Hollywood studios reach tentative contract agreement (LAist)