Good morning, Long Beach. It’s Memorial Day, Monday, May 25. Here’s what you need to know to start your day. Get this in your inbox each Monday by signing up at LBPost.com/newsletters.
Did you know there are almost 9,000 of you subscribed to Monday Morning Coffee? I wish I could sit down with each one of you, buy you a cup of coffee and hear about the kind of news and information you need from me, but that wouldn’t leave much time for me to actually write the newsletter.
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City meetings
The Long Beach City Council is off this week and on recess through June. But there’s still plenty for you to know about:
- The public is invited to the city’s second annual home improvement expo on Saturday to learn more about sustainable ways to upgrade your house. It will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Whaley Park (5620 E. Atherton St.) For more information, visit here.
- Don’t be surprised if there’s more construction than usual in downtown Long Beach in the coming months. The city is set to receive $6.7 million for sidewalk repairs in its downtown area as part of the state transportation committee’s $540 million package to fix up highways, bridges and roads across California. Read more about the state’s efforts here.
- Voting centers across L.A. County opened Saturday — including 29 in Long Beach. To see a full list of where to vote, and for more information on turning in your mail-in ballot, click here. And if you’re not sure how to vote in our many local races, check out our nonpartisan, fact-based voter guide. It won’t tell you who to vote for, but it will arm you with the information you need to feel confident in your decision. Bookmark it at LBPost.com/elections.
- Congressman Robert Garcia’s bill about improving municipal piers cleared through the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday. It would establish a fund to upgrade and repair aging public piers through federal infrastructure funding, as part of the BUILD America 250 Bill. To read more about the legislation, click here.
- Speaking of surveys: the Downtown Long Beach Alliance is running one specifically on downtown events and to see what kinds of activities people want. Fill it out here. It’s open through June 30.
- The county’s newest homelessness and housing agency, the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA), announced last week that it has awarded affordable housing developer Linc Housing $39.8 million for the development of a new 109-unit site at the community headquarters at 3590 Elm Ave. The development will serve families earning between 30% and 70% of the area median income, paid for using the new county Measure A fund. Another $10.7 million was awarded to Long Beach for housing and homelessness prevention programs.
- Long Beach scored 54th for the breadth and quality of its parkland across a national analysis conducted by the Trust for Public Land. It looked at the percentage of residents who live near a park, how much city land is dedicated to park space and how much is spent on improving or maintaining parkland, among other factors. Across Southern California, Irvine ranked second, Anaheim took 84th, and the city of Los Angeles finished 93rd. Click here to review the analysis.
ICYMI — California and national news
- Queen Mary may downsize, cut regular events to make room for amphitheater’s schedule (Long Beach Post)
- California bill moves to make cheaper alternative fuel available to more drivers (CalMatters)
- Los Angeles hotels are still waiting for a surge in demand from the World Cup (L.A. Times)
- Airbnb to add grocery delivery and car rentals ahead of World Cup (L.A. Times)
- How DemoChicks is helping women of color land well-paying construction jobs (LAist)