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

Most city offices and services are closed today for Memorial Day. (To answer the most common question: There’s no street sweeping. A full list of what’s closed and open is available here.)

And because tomorrow is the last Tuesday of the month, there’s no regular City Council meeting. There are, however, some interesting things on the agenda for some of the city’s committees and commissions.

  • On Wednesday at 3 p.m., the Transactions and Use Tax Citizens’ Advisory Committee is getting an update on how Measure A sales tax money is being spent on infrastructure projects and police officer salaries.
  • The Technology and Innovation Commission will be talking about data privacy and generative AI at its 3:30 p.m. meeting on Wednesday. 
  • And the Commission for Women and Girls on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. will hear about the Long Beach Fire Department’s efforts to accommodate female employees and talk about joining forces with the Long Beach Human Trafficking Taskforce to draft a report on the status of human trafficking in the city.

Lastly, we have an important event suggestion for you in honor of Memorial Day.

Long Beach has a deep connection with the armed forces, especially the Navy, with its shipyard shaping a large part of the local economy for more than half a century. In past years, the city has hosted a sunset remembrance on Memorial Day to commemorate fallen heroes. This year, it’s being moved to June 3 and combined with another meaningful event: a ceremony honoring the 74 sailors slain aboard the USS Frank E. Evans in a tragic maritime accident.

In case you don’t know the story: the destroyer was sailing out of its home port of Long Beach in 1969 when disaster struck. It was off the coast of Vietnam on June 3 when it collided with the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne. The force sheared the Evans in half, and 74 of its sailors were killed.

In Long Beach next week, a survivor of the crash will speak about the tragedy during the ceremony that includes a bell-ringing honoring the 74 Lost, a wreath-laying and a 21-gun salute. The morning will also include a highway dedication, renaming a junction of the 710 and Pacific Coast Highway in honor of the fallen. The renaming is a proud accomplishment for the families and friends still working to commemorate the men killed that day, according to one of the wreck’s survivors, Steve Kraus.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about the Lost 74 and what their lives might have been if they hadn’t perished,” said Kraus, who is now the president of the nonprofit USS Frank E. Evans Association.

The event is open for anyone to attend on Tuesday, June 3, at 10 a.m. at the Navy Memorial in Shoreline Aquatic Park (200 Aquarium Way). You can find more information at longbeach.gov/veterans.

Business events and information

  • It looks like the nickname “Space Beach” is sticking. Boosters of Long Beach’s rising reputation as an aerospace and advanced manufacturing hub have been pushing the moniker. And this Friday, the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce is hosting its Space Beach 3.0 panel at the Hotel Maya. After opening remarks from the mayor, experts from Relativity, Vast and Rocket Lab will talk about what could be next for Long Beach — I mean Space Beach. More info here.
  • You might have to speak a little louder to be heard over the smack of the paddles, but there’s a pickleball networking event aimed at young professionals Wednesday evening at the Sports Basement in East Long Beach. Check out all the details here.
  • Supportive female entrepreneurs gathering to swap stories and network at one of the city’s coolest bars — that’s the plan for the Business Owners’ Sisterhood Social on Tuesday evening at the Wicked Wolf in Wrigley. It’s a free, no-host event. More details here.

ICYMI — California and national news

  • After months of education-focused enforcement, Long Beach is now cracking down on illegal street vending by seizing food and equipment from those without licenses (Long Beach Post)
  • Republicans aim to punish states that insure unauthorized immigrants (KFF Health News)
  • U.S. Senate blocks California’s electric car mandate in historic vote (CalMatters)

Jeremiah Dobruck is executive editor of the Long Beach Post where he oversees all day-to-day newsroom operations. In his time working as a journalist in Long Beach, he’s won numerous awards for his investigative reporting and editing. Before coming to the Post in 2018, he wrote for publications including the Press-Telegram, Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times. Reach him at [email protected] or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.