3 p.m. Meeting May Resolve Community Hospital Closure

A meeting that may avoid the closure of Community Hospital is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. today. According to an internal memo issued by City Manager Pat West . . .  “Over the last 48 hours, the City and MemorialCare have been discussing a collaborative solution for the future operation of Community Hospital that will address City Council priorities discussed at the City Council’s June 19 meeting. MemorialCare and the City have a meeting scheduled this afternoon to review terms for the suspension of the hospital license, and a transition plan to allow the new operator access to Community Hospital while the change of ownership application is considered by the State.  While we don’t have all the details, we believe a collaborative solution is possible.  We have both agreed to refrain from any non-constructive public comments during the period of negotiations.  City staff will keep you posted on how the meeting goes this afternoon; this formal dialogue appears to be a positive, concrete breakthrough.”

 

JetBlue Drops Fines Appeal, Hearing Canceled

JetBlue Airways dropped its appeal of fines at Long Beach Airport late yesterday afternoon, making the special meeting of the Long Beach City Council unnecessary, Diane Tang, City of Long Beach manager of government affairs, told the Business Journal today. The airline was appealing a previous city decision to deny a request for noise curfew exceptions during the second quarter of last year. The airline claimed the violations were out of their control. This appeal hearing had been originally scheduled for May 8 but was postponed at the request of JetBlue. An airline representative was not immediately available for comment.

 

June 5 Election Update

The Los Angeles Registrar of Voters continues to count ballots from the June 5 election, including those from Long Beach voters. The latest numbers are from the most recent count released earlier this week (another update occurs late today). Here are the latest totals:

 

Measure M: Yes – 31,975 (53.45%); No – 27,844 (46.55%)

Council District 5: Stacy Mungo – 7,848 (55.32%); Rich Dines – 6,338 (44.68%)

Council District 7: Roberto Uranga – 4,304 (52.89%); Jared Milrad – 3,833 (47.11%)

School District 3:  Juan Benitez – 5,073 (61.96%); Cesar Armendariz – 3,115 (38.04%)

 

As of June 19, there were 139,500 ballots to be counted for all of L.A. County. How many of those are from Long Beach voters is unknown.

 

Based on the latest voter registration numbers provided by the Long Beach City Clerk’s office, voter turnout thus far is:

 

Measure M (261,211 registered voters citywide): 22.9% voted.

5th District (36,312 registered voters): 39.1% voted.

District 7 (31,141 registered voters): 26.1% voted.

School District 3 (49,975 registered voters): 16.4% voted.

 

State Awards Port Of Long Beach $8M Grant

The California Energy Commission is providing $8 million in funding toward the Port Advanced Vehicle Electrification project, the Port of Long Beach’s announced today. The total project cost is $16.8 million, which will allow the port to build infrastructure to support electric-powered, zero-emissions cargo-handling equipment as part of its goal to reach zero emissions. Once completed, the infrastructure will serve as the world’s first demonstration of a “heavy-duty, off-road, direct current fast-charging system in a seaport environment,” according to the announcement. The demonstration is expected to begin early in 2021 and end in March 2022.

 

Lea Eriksen To Lead City’s Tech Department

City Manager Pat West has named Lea Eriksen, who has been serving as interim director of the Long Beach Technology and Innovation Department since January, to the permanent position effective tomorrow. She will oversee a staff of 143 employees and manage a $44 million office budget. A four-year employee of the city, Eriksen previously served as budget manager and assistant finance director. Prior to moving to Long Beach, she worked for 16 years with the City of Cincinnati. She earned her master’s degree from Xavier University and a dual bachelor’s degree from Miami University.