Long Beach

I have often spoke of the simple art of beautification. From simple streetscaping to large park overhauls, the actual complexity of the projects doesn't interfere with the fact that it's a simple idea that sparks it all: beautifying our neighborhoods.

(The 2002 River Link Report is available off our Scribd Account after the jump.)

This week, the Long Beach City Council--acting as the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency in Long Beach--voted unanimously 6-0 to implement a ballot process to possibly establish the Uptown Business Improvement District (UPBID).

In an attempt to not only clear traffic between the Port of Long Beach (POLB) and the Alameda Corridor rail line but also clear the air of pollutants, the Green Port Gateway--after years of discussion--is finally underway with a ten-month later-than-expected completion date.

After the controversial project's FEIR was unanimously approved by the Port of L.A.'s Board of Harbor Commissioners--and subsequently formally appealed by the city of Long Beach and multiple community groups--many within the Long Beach communities near the project felt dejected. For despite thousands of comments raising concerns about air quality, noise pollution, increased traffic, and a decrease in living standards, along with a host of evidence from opposing groups pointing out multiple holes in the EIR, it still sailed through with flying colors.

Long Beach Transit (LBT) is considering two common, albeit game-changing RFPs (depending on their decisions): to purchase new buses that fit within the so-called alternative fuel sectors--that is, hybrid, CNG, or electric.

City Fabrick, the nonprofit urba-nerd group in Long Beach, has officially launched. And this, Long Beachers, is a good thing.

Last night, the Long Beach City Council voted unanimously to (once again) approved a motion to pursue a grant in order to further a study on the removal of the northern portion of the Terminal Island Freeway (I-103) that sits above Pacific Coast Highway in West Long Beach.

After a long and arduous battle that pitted neighborhood fears of wandering homeless folk against the acquirement of an Army-owned property that the city hoped to turn into a new police substation, it seems that the city plans for Schroeder Hall are moving forward as planned. Instead of building the federally-mandated homeless facility near Schroeder (and, for some, much too close to Stearns Park), the Mental Health America (MHA)-operated facility will be located at 1955 Long Beach Boulevard.