Editor’s note: The Business Journal’s final edition of the year, out December 19, is entirely devoted to Downtown Long Beach. To help keep our readers informed in the interim, we’re launching a test run of BizBrief, a sampling of today’s news sent straight to your inbox.
Land Use Element Vote Slated For Monday
The planning commission will vote on the Land Use Element at its December 11 meeting, starting at 5 p.m. in the city hall council chambers, 333 W. Ocean Blvd. The Land Use Element is an outline for future development in the city. The maps were revised last month due to controversy regarding building heights. Opportunity for public comment is available at the meeting before the maps are brought before the city council.
New Partnership Brings Additional Shared
Workspace And Business Resources To Downtown
During its December 5 meeting, the Long Beach City Council approved a partnership between the city, Long Beach City College (LBCC) and BlankSpaces, which will result in improvements and new services at the property located at 309 Pine Ave. The space is already occupied by LBCC’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and will be redeveloped as a shared work space and entrepreneurial innovation center. The city is investing $250,000 in property improvements, while LBCC will continue to provide educational resources for entrepreneurs through the SBDC, including its new international accelerator programs. BlankSpace will design and develop the property to include rentable shared workspace and manage operations. The groundbreaking for the project is anticipated in January 2018, with the space being fully operational in the spring.
Rainbow Bridge Garners National Attention
The new Rainbow Bridge that was dedicated earlier this week along Seaside Way at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center has already drawn national attention through Successful Meetings, one of the best resources for meeting planners throughout the country. Click here to read the story.
Long Beach Resident To Lead Gateway Cities Council
Nancy Pfeffer, a resident of Downtown Long Beach, has been named executive director of the Gateway Cities Council of Governments. The group consists of representatives of 27 cities in Southeast Los Angeles County, three county supervisors and the Port of Long Beach. Pfeffer served as the group’s director of regional planning for 10 years and previously worked as a planner for the Southern California Association of Governments.
Tele-Town Hall On U.S. Supreme Court Cases
The Claremont Institute, a conservative think-tank, is hosting a tele-town hall on the U.S. Supreme Court cases Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commission and Chris Christie Vs. NCAA. Dr. John C. Eastman, founding director of the institute’s Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, is hosting the event at 10 a.m., and is to be joined by Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute, Dr. David Upham of the University of Dallas, and Kelly Shackelford of First Liberty Institute. Listen-Only Dial In: 415/655-0052; Access Code: 499-441-247; Webinar ID: 450-688-099. For more information, e-mail ccj@claremont.org or call 877/855-3330
DTLB Unfiltered Photo Contest Gallery Event Tomorrow
The Downtown Long Beach Alliance and the Arts Council for Long Beach are hosting a gallery showing tomorrow (Saturday, December 9) of the 25 finalists for the DTLB UNFILTERED photo contest. The free community event is from 5-7 p.m. at the Collaborative Gallery, 421 W. Broadway. Reservations are not required. In addition to the finalists, five “Viewfinder” category awards will be announced. The categories are: people/place, events, architecture, environment, and skyline. A panel of judges selected five photos from each contest category as finalists, and then one finalist from each category as a Viewfinder award recipient.