Good morning, Long Beach. It’s Monday, Aug. 18. Here’s what you need to know to start your day. Get this in your inbox every week by signing up at LBPost.com/newsletters.
City meetings
Facing a multimillion-dollar deficit in the coming years, local elected officials are building the case that Long Beach deserves a larger share of local oil revenues.
In a report filed Tuesday, Councilmembers Kristina Duggan, Cindy Allen and Joni Ricks-Oddie will ask the city — following an in-house analysis — to draft a new agreement with the state that establishes how much each party earns from local oil production.
Under the current agreement — established in 1964 — Long Beach receives 8.5% of oil revenues, compared to the state’s claim of 42.5% it deems “surplus.” That equates to about $6 billion in revenue to the state since 2004 under this formula, even as “local trust obligations have grown.”
This comes as oil production in California continues to decline, a result of state regulation that limits new drilling near schools and neighborhoods, as current deposits continue to dry up. Cities that long relied on the money must make up the difference in their budgets.
Long Beach expects a $300 million loss in oil revenue over the next decade, according to the city auditor, while it has more than a billion dollars in needed infrastructure repairs along the city coastline. The 2026 budget will be the first year its tidelands fund will run at a deficit, precipitated by this decline.
Instead of shepherding a fair and proper transition from oil, council members wrote, the state is “failing to meet its obligations” and is “preparing to neglect the needs” of Long Beach tidelands.
“The State is the largest financial beneficiary of Long Beach’s oil production,” the council item reads. “It should be setting the standard for what a responsible transition away from oil looks like. A transition that fully addresses the environmental, fiscal, and legal responsibilities that come with winding down production. … It’s time for oil revenues generated in Long Beach’s tidelands to stay in Long Beach.”
Long Beach will announce its newest sister city: La Paz, Mexico. A beach city with more than 250,000 people in 7,000 square miles, La Paz shares a reliance on its seaport, and will be the first sister city Long Beach has in Mexico. Long Beach has at least six sister cities in Japan, Kenya, China, Cambodia, Russia and Taiwan.
The Departments of Community Development, as well as Health and Human Services, will give presentations on their expected 2026 budget and review some of their top accomplishments from the year. An overview of the city tidelands fund, as well as one on citywide vacancy rates, will also be presented.
Prior to Tuesday’s main council meeting, the three-member Budget Oversight Committee at 1 p.m. will hear budget presentations on the city tidelands fund, Long Beach’s communications team and federal grants.
To review some of our coverage on the 2026 budget, including the mayor’s proposal for immigrant aid and our newsletter’s items to follow, visit the links provided.
For a full schedule of this year’s budget meetings and hearings, visit here.
Business events and information
- Our latest print edition is out. Pick up a copy at any of these locations.
- The California Coastal Commission on Thursday approved the second phase of the Los Cerritos Wetlands restoration project, which reintegrates 77 acres of tidal wetlands previously used as a privately owned oil field. The plan includes the construction of a perimeter berm, walking trails and picnic areas. Once completed, it will nearly double the size of the nature preserve, as part of an ecological effort to reestablish animal habitats that existed there before the onset of oil production. To read our past coverage on the project, click here.
- The Long Beach Chamber of Commerce will hold its Mega Mixer on Wednesday, Aug. 20, at 5 p.m. The two-hour event, held at the Beach House (15 1st Street) in Seal Beach, will feature five Olympic medalists and light appetizers. Tickets are $10; For more information, click here.
- Have thoughts on water and how to save it? The city wants your input. Long Beach Utilities is hosting an online survey on its long-term water storage plans, including how it hopes to handle times of drought or disruption. The online survey is available through Sept 1, in English, Spanish, Khmer, and Tagalog.
ICYMI — California and national news
- Long Beach Yacht Club earns Coastal Commission approval to double its size (Long Beach Post)
- Bar owners join forces against firm accused of filing predatory discrimination lawsuits (Long Beach Post)
- Gov. Newsom’s redistricting plan would have Long Beach share a representative with coastal Orange County (CalMatters)