Our elected officials—some of them—talk about whether they’ve toked

A proposition to legalize marijuana will probably be on the November ballot, and—in a sure sign that our attitudes toward the long-illegal devil’s weed may be softening—eight of nine Long Beach City Council members surveyed actually spoke to a reporter about whether or not they’ve toked. (Apologies [...]

Nearly a week after Second Council District Communications and Field Deputy Jemie Sae Koo’s
tumultuous exit from City Hall Aug. 27, details continue to emerge which may shed some light on the circumstances of her departure.

*Updated with new information from Long Beach Police Department
Jemie Sae Koo, a top aide and close confidant to Second District Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal, has filed a report with the Long Beach Police Department alleging assault and battery by Broc Coward, who is Lowenthal’s chief of staff.

State Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) has been named a 2009 California Coastal Hero by Sunset magazine and the California Coastal Commission, the senator’s office announced via electronic press release Thursday.
Lowenthal was honored for being someone who can “effectively negotiate the legislative process without ever losing sight of coastal protection,” the release tells us.

After debate, city council asks for an update on wooing the automaker

Sometimes even seemingly routine items on Long Beach City Council’s agenda get a thorough airing.
So it was Tuesday with Fifth District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske’s request that city staff update her, the rest of the council, and all of us on the city’s progress in [...]

Facing a structural budget deficit and belt-tightening in the state house, city declares fiscal emergency
At Tuesday night’s Long Beach City Council meeting, the council did something highly unusual: it passed a resolution declaring a fiscal emergency, acknowledging a financial hardship whose effects we may just be coming to know, thanks to our looming state budget–hammered [...]

Stirring words on a hot day at Long Beach’s latest anti-Prop. 8 rally
Saturday’s anti-Proposition 8 rally at the usually-deserted Burton W. Chace Civic Center was, as advertised, a “peaceful rally,” with babies frolicking on the grass outside City Hall, loving couples lounging barefoot in front of the stage, and Long Beach police sitting on their [...]

These are happy days for the Rose Park Neighborhood Association, comprised of homeowners in the Rose Park Historic District.
The group’s first-ever Restoration Trade Fair Sept. 21 drew more than 500 people. (Proceeds will go toward landscaping at nearby Luther Burbank Elementary School.)
And this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the association will dedicate a [...]

If the City of Long Beach had stuck to its original timetable, Main Library would be open just more six weeks before closing indefinitely. Then, some day, a new, watertight, earthquake-proof Main Library would be built or rebuilt, there or elsewhere. Some day.
That’s what worries members of

PHOTO by DANIEL DE BOOM
Mark your calendars in black ink: Acres of Books–Long Beach’s oldest, most thoroughly-, intriguingly-stocked store of used literature–will begin a discount sale of its stock this Thursday.
And how long will the sale go? “‘Til we run out of stuff to sell,” says Jackie Smith, who owns the store with her husband [...]