Garcia, Richardson And Price Easily Reelected;
Mungo And Uranga Head To June Runoffs
Mayor Robert Garcia easily won reelection yesterday to a second term, as did Vice Mayor/9th District Councilmember Rex Richardson and 3rd District Councilmember Suzie Price. Two other city council incumbents were unable to reach the 50% plus one vote to win and are headed for a June runoff. With a handful of votes to be counted, 5th District Councilmember Stacy Mungo stood at 48.5% and will go up against former harbor commissioner Rich Dines, who received 29.8% of the vote. In the 7th District, Councilmember Roberto Uranga finished with 47.9% and will face off with Jared Milrad, a former Obama White House employee, who received 31.9% of the vote. Voter turnout – counting Election Day vote-by-mail ballots and voting at the polls – was very low. Citywide it was 13.4%. The 5th District turnout was approximately 22%, and the 7th District was in the 15% range.
As bad as the turnout was for citywide and district races, it was even worse for the two races for educational boards. In the Area 1 Long Beach City College Board of Trustee race, Uduak-Joe Ntuk defeated incumbent Jeff Kellogg, 3,386 votes to 2,630 votes. That’s a 10.6% turnout. The District 3 race for the Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education seat totaled 3,846 votes among three candidates, representing a turnout of 7.4%.
Berth 55 Fish Market And Seafood Deli Marks 30th Year In Business
Berth 55 Fish Market and Seafood Deli, located at 555 Pico Ave., is celebrating its 30th year in business this month. Sam Maehara bought the business in 1988 and his son, Larry Maehara, took it over after he passed away. The deli is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 10 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Controversial Housing Bill Amended Ahead Of First Committee Meeting
State Senator Scott Weiner amended his proposed Senate Bill (SB) 827 one week before its first committee meeting, lowering the density of apartment buildings near public transit. The controversial proposal intends to increase density near major transit hubs. Changes lowered minimum heights from eight to five stories within a quarter mile of transit hubs and from five to four stories further out. Other changes to the bill relate to affordable housing requirements. SB 827 goes before the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee on April 17.
More Americans Renting Out Their Single-Family Homes, But Not in Long Beach
Between 2007 and 2016, Long Beach saw the number of single-family properties available for rent decrease 2%, while multi-family rentals increased 14%, according to a RENT Café report released earlier this month. However, nationwide the trend is reversed, with single-family rentals increasing 31% and multi-family rentals increasing 14%.
Don’t Forget: Roar In The Shore & Thunder Thursday
Don’t forget to check out Roar In The Shore tonight and Thunder Thursday tomorrow – two free events for the community to get a sneak peek at the excitement of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Expect motorcycle stunts, driver interviews, race car displays and more at both events.Roar in the Shore is tonight on 2nd Street, 5-8 p.m.Thunder Thursday takes place tomorrow at The Pike Outlets, 6:30-10:30 p.m.