Vote Until 8 p.m.

Polls are open today until 8 p.m. If you need assistance finding your polling place, visit the Long Beach City Clerk’s website at www.longbeach.gov/cityclerk/elections/voting/. The Business Journal’s positions on the Long Beach ballot initiatives are as follows:

• No on Measure WW

• No on Measure BBB

• Neutral on Measure AAA

• Yes on Measure CCC

• Yes on Measure DDD

• No on Measure W (a countywide initiative)

Long Beach CVB And Convention Center Place Silver In Stella Awards

The Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center have been recognized among the top three CVBs and convention centers in the Western United States by two major meetings/events publications, “Successful Meetings” and “Meetings and Conventions.” The two magazines honor excellence in the convention and meeting industry each year with their annual Stella Awards. The Long Beach CVB and convention center each garnered the second-place silver ranking among the “best in the west” based upon votes by meeting planners and readers of the publications. “It was great to learn that our focus on customer service and unique customer experiences with our new turn-key venues has made an impact with convention planners, putting Long Beach ahead of many cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco,” CVB President and CEO Steve Goodling told the Business Journal.

National Veterans Small Business Week

To honor veteran entrepreneurs, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has designated November 5-9 as National Veterans Small Business Week. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, an estimated 2.52 million businesses were majority-owned by veterans in 2012, the most recent year for which data is available. The census further estimated that veteran-owned firms employed more than five million people and paid $195 billion in annual payroll. California supported the most veteran-owned firms in the United States, followed by Texas, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania.

New Long Beach Business Journal Website

The Long Beach Business Journal launched a new, streamlined website yesterday. You can now find our digital content – which remains free – at a new URL: www.lbpost.com/lbbj. Our latest digital edition includes a downloadable 24-page publication on Long Beach Airport’s 95th anniversary, the Real Estate Quarterly and a Focus On Philanthropy.