Good morning and welcome to Monday Morning Coffee! Grab your cup and let’s get to your weekly briefing of what’s on the agenda for local government and business leaders. Get this in your inbox every Monday by signing up at lbpost.com/newsletters.

City meetings

Commissions abound this week in Long Beach. 

There will be no City Council meeting. Instead, many of the city’s commissions will convene to discuss topics ranging from firefighters to flooding, murals and more. 

Cultural Heritage Commissioners on Tuesday will look to allow a mural to be painted on the side of 2771 E. Broadway in the Bluff Heights neighborhood, currently occupied by Jug Band Coffee & Tea. Here’s what it’ll look like — complete with a cheerful coffee jug, pizza slice and banjo-playing skeleton.

On Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., the city’s firefighters union will speak to the Commission for Women and Girls on the fire department’s training facilities for women. Commissioners are also expected to approve an advisory letter regarding the needs of women and girls impacted by the Los Angeles fires. 

And at Thursday’s commission meeting for climate and sustainability, commissioners will hear a presentation on sea level rise and flooding as part of Long Beach’s long-term climate action plan. 

Elsewhere in the region, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Monday at 10 a.m. will host meetings with the heads of nine county departments — including Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Public Health and more — on their requests for the 2025-26 county budget. These continue into the board’s public hearing meeting on Tuesday, which starts at 9:30 a.m.

The L.A. County Metro Board will meet Thursday at 10 a.m. and consider adoption of an electric vehicle charging policy that would bring plug-in stations to LACMTA facilities. The board may also approve funding for gate improvements at 11 stations for added security and file a report on a weapons-detection system pilot program. 

And the Signal Hill City Council at their 7 p.m. Tuesday meeting will discuss water rates and a $3 million loan from its general fund to its water enterprise fund. A loan agreement for the Walnut Bluff Workforce Housing Project may be approved and the council will hold its 2024-25 midyear budget review.

Business events and information

  • The city of Long Beach is launching its second iteration of funding for the ClimateLB Youth Climate Action Fund Microgrant Program. Geared toward youth ages 15 to 24, the program awards $5,000 to 17 local youth-led climate projects over a 10-month period. Projects should address “climate change mitigation, environmental justice, equity and adaptation actions in West Long Beach.” Applications will be accepted through March 17. Awardees will be announced in early April and funds will be dispersed beginning in May through Oct. 31. For those wanting to learn more about the program, the city will host a two-hour kickoff event on Feb. 25 starting at 5:30 p.m. at Silverado Park (1545 W. 31st St.). For more information, visit here.
  • The Long Beach Chamber of Commerce will host its annual State of Public Safety Luncheon, during which top officials from the city’s police and fire departments will update stakeholders on their efforts to address crime, delinquency and other issues faced in the community. The two-hour event starts at 11:30 a.m. at the Hotel Maya’s Lagunita Pavilion (700 Queensway Dr.). Tickets start at $100 for chamber members while tables start at $1,500. For more information, visit here. To register, click on this link. 
  • For small business owners and entrepreneurs looking to network or find out what programs the city has to offer you, consider attending the Long Beach Business Development and Resource Panel on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. The two-hour panel, led by developers and city officials, will review ways the city and community can help your business succeed. The event will take place at the Hampton Inn Lakewood Room (3771 N. Lakewood Blvd.) near the airport. Tickets are $15 for chamber members; $35 for non-members. For more information, visit here.

ICYMI — California and national news

  • Meta says it plans to build the world’s longest undersea internet cable (L.A. Times)
  • Required by the state, Long Beach Unified must create a cell phone policy for students (Long Beach Post)
  • L.A. considers waiving development reviews for Olympics projects. Critics say priorities are skewed (LAist)