Monday Morning Coffee: Hearings on utility rates and tree health • Long Beach Post

Good morning and welcome to Monday Morning Coffee! It’s time to find out what this week will bring — grab your coffee and let’s get to it.

The Long Beach City Council meeting is canceled this week. The Monday afternoon meeting for the Board of Examiners, Appeals and Condemnation is also canceled.

Air quality and extreme heat will serve as the lead discussion during the city’s Climate Resilient and Sustainable Commission scheduled Thursday at 4 p.m. inside the Civic Chambers. Following that, there will be an annual report presented on the commission’s actions and expenses in 2023.

The Public Utilities Commission is set to hold a public hearing Monday night over its proposed rate increases to water and sewer usage for city customers. The meeting will take place Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. at the Administration Assembly Room at 1800 East Wardlow Rd.

Several budget-related items will come before the Transactions and Use Tax Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Wednesday (Aug. 21) at 7 p.m. inside the Civic Chambers. Board members will receive the City Auditor’s presentation on the Measure A Sales Tax’s revenue since 2016 and highlight projects it has funded. The committee will then review another presentation on future Measure A-funded projects included in the 2025 fiscal budget. The Chambers are at 411 W. Ocean Blvd.

The issue of affordable housing will be taken up by the Long Beach Community Investment Company on Wednesday (Aug. 21) as they look to approve or increase loans for the construction of affordable housing units, rentals for veterans and the development of 101 East Pacific Coast Highway. This meeting will take place at 4 p.m., inside the city’s Beach Conference Room.

And an update will be given on the health of public trees along the Belmont Shore Business District on Thursday (Aug. 22) at 9 a.m. at the Fire Station 9 Community Room, at 5365 Second St.

The Downtown Long Beach Alliance will have another iteration of its two-hour Mug to Mug social this Tuesday (Aug. 20) at Shannon’s on Pine (209 Pine Ave.) starting at 10 a.m. The event is typically held on the third Tuesday of each month. While not a formal event with a speaker, the hosting business will lead a discussion at around 10:20 a.m. For more information, visit downtownlongbeach.org/invest/mugtomug.

The Long Beach Chamber of Commerce will hold a two-hour membership mixer at the San Pedro Fish Market on Thursday (Aug. 22) starting at 5:30 p.m. Attendance is free for chamber members; $15 for non-members. The market is at 6550 E. Marina Dr. For more information, click here or email chamber Vice President of Membership Natalie Leighton at [email protected].

Would you like to discover how to purchase a home? If so, you won’t want to miss Farmers & Merchants Bank’s Roadmap to Homeownership: Buying a Home webinar on Thursday (Aug. 22) from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Those who register can learn to calculate how much it costs to afford a home, learn basics around mortgages and more. To register, click here. F&M Bank will hold another seminar earlier that day, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., on the value of credit reports, scores and consumer rights. Those interested in that can click here.

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