Good morning, Long Beach. It’s Monday, Feb. 16 — Presidents’ Day. Here’s what you need to know to start your week. Sign up to get this in your inbox each week at LBPost.com/newsletters.

City meetings

Do you dread going to City Hall? Do the excuses mount around you when it comes time to drive over and attend a council meeting? Are the issues interesting enough? Do you find them too long, too vague or bogged down with gratuitous ceremony and rhetoric?

Now’s your chance to let them know. 

In the spirit of better civic participation, the city is polling anyone with the time to share their feelings and rate the quality of City Council meetings. Because the idea is that anyone, regardless of education or skill in bureaucratic lingo, should be able to sit down, follow along and leave feeling their concerns are heard. 

This means understanding exactly how your tax dollars are spent, how roads are repaired, budgets are made, police and firefighters are stationed, and anxieties on issues like homelessness, housing, crime and general injustice are tranquilized. 

If any of these don’t describe you, fill out the dang survey. 

It’s nine questions about how often you participate in public meetings, what keeps you from attending, how you learn about upcoming sessions, and what might sway you to show up more often. Two open-response questions ask what would most motivate you to attend and for any suggestions to make meetings more digestible to the average listener. 

The Long Beach City Council typically meets every Tuesday at 5 p.m. Dozens of other boards, commissions and committees hold sessions — some more frequent than others — in what becomes a revolving door turned by nearly every issue faced in the city. Some meetings are televised or recorded with no video. Meeting agendas are usually posted in full by Friday, though some have been known to suddenly materialize on Monday. 

And if you finish the survey and exit feeling let down, let us know. We hear from residents every day who feel totally unequipped to navigate the bureaucracy of local government and are left with bottled-up frustration. 

That’s why we’re asking: Is there a story or matter the city is not addressing? Tell us. We’re pretty good at getting their attention. 

Other things to watch for this week:

  • The City Council is expected to vote on increasing a project budget by $2 million for continued upgrades at City Hall, including some monies for a new translation booth used during meetings.
  • A second reading will be heard Tuesday night of a resolution calling for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s resignation. 
  • There is a request to rename the Central Facilities Center at MLK Park to The Dale Clinton Facilities Center, in honor of the local Civil Rights icon. 
  • Airport fees might get bumped up about 13%, as a way for the city to raise $1.7 million more annually. 
  • At Tuesday’s meeting for the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, there will be nine budget presentations centered on public safety, including one for the county Sheriff’s Department. 

Business events and information

  • Congressman Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, presented a $2.175 million check in federal funding on Friday to help pay for a new archive center at Cal State Long Beach. The center will preserve rare materials viewable by patrons of the college library and “expand access to the histories that shape CSULB and the Long Beach region,” according to a press release. 
  • Mark your calendars. Councilmember Mary Zendejas, who represents downtown Long Beach, will host a workshop for businesses on Thursday, Feb. 26, at Studio One Eleven. At the event, business owners can meet city staff, learn more about a city program that makes it easier for police to clear away trespassers, and get help with permits, public safety or whatever they want to bring up. To RSVP, click here. Parking will be validated at City Place Lot C, 51 E. 5th Street. 
  • The Women’s Business Council is having its next Business Owners Sisterhood Social on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at The Wicked Wolf (2332 Pacific Ave.) The two-hour event is free to attend. To register or for more information, visit here.  

ICYMI — California and national news

  • In push to clean them up, researchers warn of many uncapped oil wells near schools, parks, homes in Long Beach (Long Beach Post)
  • LAUSD releases list of what jobs might be cut as part of budget fix (LAist)
  • Casey Wasserman puts high-profile talent agency up for sale, after outcries over Epstein ties (LAist)
  • Super Bowl spots spark fight over whether we’re ready for ads from our chatbots (Los Angeles Times)