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
The Long Beach City Council has several items on the table this week, including deciding whether to approve a $51.3 million contract with All American Asphalt to pave the Studebaker-Loynes Complete Street Project. They will also hear the results of a city study on allowing home kitchen operations for food vendors, and approve a draft agenda for the city’s legislative priorities that focuses on suspension rates at LBUSD and the impacts of Methyl Bromide on the community.
They’re also expected to approve changes to the planned parking lot that will replace the recently demolished Old English Village by the Queen Mary. Razed last month, the lot will be used as overflow parking for future events.
At their 3 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, the Long Beach Continuum of Care will hear a presentation on the 2025 Point-in-Time Count, which tallies a rough estimate of the city’s homeless population. Later that day, the city’s housing authority will receive its monthly performance reports dating between November 2024 and March 2025.
On Wednesday, the Long Beach Community Investment Company will consider approving a $2 million loan to Linc Housing Corporation for the purchase and development of a lot at 4209 E. Anaheim St.
The group in November 2023 approved a $5.9 million to Linc Housing to build affordable housing next door, along with additional monies the developer has used to purchase surrounding lots, demolish buildings and bring the project to a “shovel-ready” state.
The additional $2 million would be used to create more entrances and exits from the property. Residents — especially parents of students at Bryant Elementary — have griped during town hall meetings that without more roadway, the project will lead to traffic congestion on Fountain Street, where the school is.
Approval would bring the project’s cost to $9.86 million, or $135,068 per unit, financed over a 55-year period with a 3% simple interest rate.
Business events and information
- The Long Beach Chamber of Commerce is hosting its next Good Afternoon Long Beach Networking Luncheon on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. The mixer will include updates from the Chamber on their latest advocacy work, and, during the second half of the event, attendees can give a 30-second pitch on their business to the audience. So bring your business cards. The luncheon will be at Parkers’ Lighthouse (435 Shoreline Dr.). Tickets start at $30 for members; $40 for non-members. For more information, click here.
- The Augmented World Expo kicks off starting Tuesday through Thursday at the Long Beach Convention Center with more than 250 exhibitors and 450-plus speakers. See the latest in virtual reality, from gaming to lifestyle conveniences. For more information on tickets and the event, click here.
ICYMI — California and national news
- Jobs at the Port of Los Angeles are down by half, executive director says (LA Times)
- City approves $1.7 million settlement to man injured on broken sidewalk (Long Beach Post)
- Planning Commission OKs self-storage site despite environmental objections (Long Beach Post)