november 25-december 8, 2014 section a

November 25-December 8, 2014 lbbusinessjournal.com

HealthWiseDiabetesAnd Your

DietSee Page 23

The College

Of Business

Administration

At CSULB

A Classroom

Is Not A Museum

See Pg. 4

� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER

Senior Writer

L ong Beach is one out ofonly four cities in

California to have an elected,rather than appointed, city audi-tor. In her position, Long BeachCity Auditor Laura Doud ischarged by the city charter toensure city funds are spent effi-ciently and effectively.

Now, four months into her thirdterm, Doud has pioneered manyaudits of city departments anddivisions, several of which havegarnered national awards. A 2013audit of city parking citation col-lections, for example, revealedthe city hadn’t collected $18 mil-

City AuditorLaura DoudDiscussesOversight OfCity SpendingAnd Much More

Pacific Gateway WorkforceInvestment Network ContinuesExpanding Efforts To Serve Local Employment Needs

Long Beach Business Journal2599 E. 28th Street, Suite 212Signal Hill, CA 90755-2139562/988-1222 • www.lbbusinessjournal.com

PRSRT STD

U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDLong Beach, CA

PERMIT NO. 254

� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER

Senior Writer

U nemployment rates aredropping steadily and the

economy has gained back somefooting, but there are still manypeople – job seekers and busi-ness owners alike – who needassistance meeting employmentneeds.

In Long Beach and surroundingcities Signal Hill, Torrance andLomita, that’s where the PacificGateway Workforce InvestmentNetwork comes in.

Serving those four cities withabout a $15 million budget and 50employees, Pacific Gateway istasked with meeting the needs ofyouth ages to 14 to 21, adults whohave never been employed or areunderemployed, dislocated work-ers and the business community.The organization also servesother workforce investment net-works and their boards, whichwere formed under the nationalWorkforce Investment Act of

1998 to offer workforce develop-ment services.

“For the Los AngelesWorkforce Investment Board(WIB), we actually operate their

Auto Dealers – A Look BackCan Long Beach Attract Auto Dealers? Or Is That Road A Dead End?� By BRANDON FERGUSONStaff Writer

A s city leaders continue todiscuss how to attract

more retail businesses to LongBeach, some have suggested autodealerships as a good way toshore up the city’s leaky tax base.

“I mean, the price of a car – itwould take an awful lot of bath-room towels to achieve the samelevel of sales tax,” said MikeConway, Long Beach directorof economic and propertydevelopment.

In a recent interview with theBusiness Journal, former 3rdDistrict Councilmember GaryDeLong said the city should befocused on attracting businessesthat sell “big ticket” items suchas cars.

“I think we should make anearnest effort to bring auto dealersback as much as we can,” he said.

Many of the city’s youngerbusinesses and residents might be

Laura Doud ran unopposed this yearfor a third term as Long Beach CityAuditor. (Photograph by the BusinessJournal’s Thomas McConville)

Jim Willingham purchased a Buick dealership located at 1881 Long BeachBoulevard in 1961. He grew his business to include Subaru, Jaguar, Saab andLincoln Mercury dealerships. An increase in crime in the 1980s led Willinghamand other local dealers to negotiate with Long Beach to develop an auto mall.After lengthy light rail construction on Long Beach Boulevard caused business toplummet, and negotiations with Long Beach broke down, Willingham and theother dealers left the city to form the Signal Hill Auto Center. Today Willingham,along with his son, Brad, owns Boulevard Buick/GMC/Cadillac on CherryAvenue. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

(Please Continue To 0)

Nick Schultz is the executive director of thePacific Gateway Workforce InvestmentNetwork, a governmental workforcedevelopment organization administered bythe City of Long Beach. (Photograph by theBusiness Journal’s Thomas McConville)

Chassis FleetAs Congestion Issues Continue, Port Of Long Beach Takes Action� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER

Senior Writer

I n order to help alleviate con-gestion at the Port of Long

Beach (POLB), the Long BeachBoard of Harbor Commissionersapproved a proposal by ChiefExecutive Jon Slangerup onNovember 13 to create a tempo-rary storage yard for empty con-tainers on Pier S. The storageyard is meant to take pressure offterminals, which have been socongested with ongoing peak sea-son shipments that truckers havebeen unable to drop off emptycontainers in a timely manner.

“We were hearing from benefi-cial cargo owners and we con-firmed with some of our termi-nals that the yards were so con-gested that they were not allowingempty containers to be broughtin,” Dr. Noel Hacegaba, POLBchief commercial officer andmanaging director of commercialoperations, told the Business

Journal. When a truck is unable todrop off a container, that delays itfrom picking up its next cargo ordropping off its chassis for use by

Automobile Digital Gadgets

Sales Of Plug-in Vehicles Show Promise

See Pages 14 & 15

(Please Continue To Page 14)

Belmont PoolFundingQuestions Linger Over ItsReplacement� By BRANDON FERGUSONStaff Writer

A community event heldlate last month gave resi-

dents the chance to say theirgoodbyes to the Belmont Pool,which now sits idle, awaiting itsdate with the wrecking ball. The




1_LBBJ_NOV_25_2014_SectionA_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 11/23/14 5:22 PM Page 1

INSIDE THIS ISSUE2 Long Beach Business Journal November 25-December 8, 2014

3 Newswatch3-New Director Of Long Beach Airport3-City Council Reduces Some Fees For CUPs/Zoning4-Long Beach City Hall News In Brief4-Local Water Shortage6-Defining What Is A Nightclub6-New Marine Safety Chief Named8-Councilman O’Donnell To Vacate Seat For Assembly12-Coastal Commission Approves Outlets At The Pike

14 Auto Industry14-Auto Dealers – A Look Back, continued from Page 114-Sales Of Plug-in Vehicles Show Promise15-Autos Have Lots Of Digital Gadgets, But . . .

16 Q&A With Auditor Laura Doud20 In The News

20-Drive-through Starbucks Opens At Signal Hill Gateway20-Pine Avenue Pop-up Shop MADE In Long Beach21-Blake Christian Named One Of Top 10 Accountants21-Linda Alexander New Head Of Nonprofit Partnership21-Home Depot Assists American Gold Star Manor

22 PerspectiveRealty Views Real Estate After The Mid-Terms By Terry RossEffective Leadership Green And Growing Or Ripe AndRotting By Mick UklejaHealthWise Diabetes And Your Diet By Holly HackmanEarthTalk Dealing With Mounting ‘E-Waste’

Section BGuide To Annual Events In Long Beach

And Retail Real

Estate• RevisionsProposed For

City’s Mills Act Program• Universal Technical Institute Breaks Ground On Long Beach Campus

• Leases And Transactions

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NOW HIRINGThe Long Beach Business Journal is seeking to

hire an individual with graphic design/prepressexperience. Must have knowledge of AdobePhotoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat. Immediate opening. This position is part-time.

For Inquiries, Call Heather at 562/988-1222

1_LBBJ_NOV_25_2014_SectionA_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 11/23/14 5:22 PM

NEWSWATCHNovember 25-December 8, 2014 Long Beach Business Journal 3

Shreveport AirportManager Named

To Top Long BeachAirport Post

Bryant Francis Tapped By CityManager West; Begins January 5

� By GEORGE ECONOMIDES

Publisher

City Manager Pat West has once againreached into the State of Louisiana for anairport manager. Following a nationalsearch, West has selected Bryant L.Francis, director of the Shreveport Airport

Authority, to leadthe Long BeachAirport. Bryantbegins his newjob on January 5.

F r a n c i sreplaces MarioRodriguez, wholeft to lead theI n d i a n a p o l i sAirport Authorityafter serving asLong Beachdirector for more

than four years and overseeing the construc-tion of the new concourses and other airportimprovements. Prior to coming to LongBeach, Rodriguez served as deputy directorat the Louis Armstrong New OrleansInternational Airport.

“Mr. Francis is a dedicated, accom-plished professional who will providestrong leadership and strategic planningfor Long Beach Airport,” West said in astatement. “He will reach out and workcollaboratively with all stakeholders,including the community, tenants andour commercial and general aviationpartners.”

“I am passionate about aviation, amcommitted to fostering positive relation-ships, and will ensure that Long BeachAirport provides the absolute best serv-ice possible to its travelers and to all ourbusiness and community partners,”Francis said in a statement.

As Long Beach airport director,Francis is responsible for overseeing allairport operations, leases and finances,as well as the Airport Noise Ordinance,community outreach and capitalimprovement projects.

Francis has more than 18 years ofexperience in aviation. Prior toShreveport, he served as deputy directorof properties and business developmentfor Idaho’s Boise Airport, director of avi-ation real estate for the Wayne CountyAirport Authority in Detroit, deputydirector of aviation marketing and com-munications and air service developmentfor Palm Springs International Airport,and airport operations representative forHartsfield-Jackson International Airportin Atlanta.

He earned a bachelor of science in avia-tion management from Embry-RiddleAeronautical University in Daytona Beach,and is a certified member of the American

Association of Airport Executives(AAAE). He is currently a member of theAirports Council International – NorthAmerica Board of Directors as well aschair of the AAAE Diversity Committee. �

City Council Calls ForAmendment To ReducePosting Costs For ZoneChanges And CUPs

� By BRANDON FERGUSONStaff Writer

A recent Long Beach City Councilagenda item, sponsored by 5th District

Councilmember Stacy Mungo, couldmake life a little easier for businessesapplying for zone changes and condi-tional use permits (CUPs). The city coun-cil voted 8-0 to approve the item, whichdirects City Attorney Charles Parkin toamend the existing municipal code andmake more efficient the noticing processrequired of business owners seeking cer-tain permits. Sixth District CouncilmemberDee Andrews was absent for the vote.

Under the current municipal code,businesses applying for zone changes andCUPs are required to publicly post noticeof proposed changes. The law requires theLong Beach Development ServicesDepartment to print the notices on irregu-larly sized sheets that are produced atStaples. The amended municipal code

will change that, allowing for a reductionin costs.

“Now we can bring a lot of that in-houseif we standardize with 11x17 [inch] paper,which you can print at any normal printerin the office,” Mungo said.

The amended code could also seenoticing done more frequently throughsocial media.

“Currently a lot of our constituentsengage with city hall through Facebookand Nextdoor and Twitter. We would beable to reach more people more quicklythrough online posting. Facebook can bereposted and reposted with an easy click,”Mungo said.

Development services is fundedthrough fees charged to constituents. The

Bryant L. Francis

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NEWSWATCH4 Long Beach Business Journal November 25-December 8 , 2014

goal of the amendment, Mungo said, is to reduce costs forbusiness owners.

“If you can reduce the costs by bringing printing in-house,reducing the cost of postage and a few other key things, thenyou pass the savings on to the business owners so everybodywins,” Mungo said.

Once the city attorney finishes drafting the amendment, thenew law will go before the planning commission before beingconsidered for final approval by the city council. �

Long Beach City Hall News In Brief


Labor Agreement – On November 11, the council con-sidered a recommendation to direct City Manager West tonegotiate a citywide project labor agreement (PLA) withthe Los Angeles and Orange County Building andConstruction Trades Council. The item would require Westto review the development of a local hire policy and reportback to the council within 90 days. After lengthy discus-sion, Eighth District Councilmember Al Austin made asubstitute motion to approve the recommendation buteliminate requiring local hires for specialty contractsexceeding $25,000. The motion also called for an annualreport on the cost and value of the PLA with the option tocontract a compliance officer. The substitute motionpassed by a vote of 6-2. Councilmembers Suzie Price andStacy Mungo voted no. Councilmember Dee Andrews wasabsent for the vote.Redevelopment Properties – On November 11, the

council considered approving an item to request that City

Manager Pat West and Director of Economic and PropertyDevelopment Mike Conway create a policy to allocate pro-ceeds from the sale of city-owned properties to fund blightremoval. During council discussion, 7th DistrictCouncilmember Roberto Uranga made a substitute motionrequesting that West report back to the city council with a

A Classroom Is Not A Museum

I had a nightmare. On the History Channel’s“Pawn Stars,” a hopeful customer tried to sell

things found in a typicalclassroom: a chalkboard,VCR, TV and an overheadprojector. Rick Harrison,with his famous negotia-tion skills, chuckled, “BestI can do is 2 bucks!”

We are not that far fromclassrooms becomingmuseums of antiquatedequipment, but we canchange this and we canchange this now.

The adoption of emerg-ing technologies by educa-

tors is inevitable. Despite significant studies,the questions that still remain unanswered are,will technology enhance education for the nextgeneration of students and how will it con-tribute to their success? After surveying the fac-ulty at the College of Business Administration(CBA) at CSULB, we have recently made tech-nological improvements by renovating ten class-rooms (with plans to renovate twelve more) toprovide tools for a better teaching and learningenvironment.

In these classrooms, faculty have computersoutfitted with industry standard software thatallows them to digitally capture everything writ-ten on the whiteboard and instantly share it withtheir students. Students are able to wirelesslyproject various devices onto a TV monitor andshare ideas with the entire class. In addition,two of those classes have been renovated tomeet the growing demands of active-learningflipped classroom environments. In thoseclasses, time is devoted to teachers and studentteams work on projects and assignments thathave become primary learning vehicles. In addi-tion, the College has been an early adopter ofthe Google Glass Explorers Program to researchhow wearable technology can enhance theteaching experience. With all these investments,students now have collaborative spaces in whichthey can work on projects in the CBA OpenAccess Computer Labs.

Technology-literacy is simply not attainableovernight because it is constantly changing. Itrequires thoughtful planning and proper train-ing along with on-site technical support. This iswhy the CBA Instructional Technology supportteam provides fourteen hours of on-site techni-cal assistance every day – a necessity in sup-porting a multitude of technology in the class-rooms.

At CBA, we strongly believe that the technol-ogy in a classroom can enhance education andcontribute toward student success. However, thefirst step is to realize that the status quo is nolonger an option – nor is letting classroomsbecome museums of antiquated equipment.(The College of Business Administration at Cal

State Long Beach is an AACSB accredited busi-ness school that provides undergraduates andMBAs with the knowledge and skills necessary tobe successful in their careers and to propel theeconomic development of our region.)

By Nupur Shah,Head of Instructional

Technology, College of BusinessAdministration, CSULB


Commissioners Issue Stage 1Water Supply Shortage

On November 20, the Long Beach Board of WaterCommissioners declared a Stage 1 water supply shortage.The declaration puts into effect a two-day-per-week limiton landscape watering through the end of March 2015.Under the declaration, watering days are limited toMondays and Wednesdays.

“As drought conditions continue to worsen, it is in thecity’s best interest that the Long Beach Board of WaterCommissioners declare a Stage 1 water supply shortage,reducing landscape watering to two days a week throughthe winter,” Board President Harry Saltzgaver, said in astatement. “The board is enacting these extra restrictionsas an effort to conserve even more water rather than raisecustomer rates.”

According to a press release issued by the department,Lake Oroville, which feeds the State Water Project, isexpected to reach its lowest level in history beforeDecember 31.

In a statement, Water Department General ManagerKevin Wattier said the declaration was aimed at avoidingthe impact of “the severe water shortage that will occur ifkey watersheds experience only normal to below-normalprecipitation this winter.” �

(Continued From Page 3)

Outgoing Long Beach Chief of Police Jim McDonnell (left) is pictured with incoming the chief, Robert Luna, at a November 17 press conference.City Manager Patrick West appointed Luna, a 29-year veteran of the department, to the position on November 11, following McDonnell’s electionas Los Angeles County Sheriff. “I have one hundred percent confidence that Chief Luna will lead our department with integrity, strength, and acommitment to community policing,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. “He will ensure that we build a department for the 21st century.”West added, “Chief Luna’s dedication to the police department and the entire community is impressive. He has demonstrated an abiding love forthe City of Long Beach, its people and it diverse neighborhoods. Luna has served in a variety of roles, including 13 years on the executive man-agement team and most recently as deputy chief of police. He earned a masters in public policy and administration and a bachelor of sciencefrom California State University Long Beach. He is a graduate of Harvard University’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government programand the Delinquency Control Institute (DCI) at the University of Southern California. He also graduated from the FBI’s National Executive Instituteand National Academy. Luna’s appointment was effective November 22. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)


plan as to how the dissolution of the city’sformer redevelopment properties willtake place and how the revenues will beutilized. The motion failed for lack of asecond. Councilmember Austin made asecond substitute motion to approve theitem but to include communities of inter-est on the westside. The motion failed bya vote of 4-4 with Councilmembers SujaLowenthal, Price, Patrick O’Donnell andMungo voting no. Third DistrictCouncilmember Price then made a substi-tute motion to exclude a stipulation thatproceeds from the sale of the propertiesshould be tracked and directed to theproject areas where the former LongBeach RDA properties are located. Themotion failed by a vote of 4-4 withCouncilmembers Lena Gonzalez,Uranga, Austin and Rex Richardson vot-ing no. A substitute motion was then

made by 9th District CouncilmemberRichardson to approve the item andrequest that West allocate up to 25 per-cent of proceeds from the sale of city-owned properties for citywide priorities.The motion carried by a vote of 8-0. SixthDistrict Councilmember Andrews wasabsent for the vote. Airport Noise Ordinance – At the

November 11 meeting, the city councilvoted 8-0 to approve a study session edu-cating councilmembers on the history,importance and background of the city’sairport noise ordinance. The session willinvolve city management, the city prose-cutor and the city attorney. Input fromcommunity stakeholders will be accom-modated. The session will be scheduledwithin 45 days.Sales Tax Data – The city council

unanimously approved at its November

11 meeting a resolution that allowselected officials, under certain circum-stances, the ability to review confidentialsales tax information. The resolutionauthorizes City Attorney Charles Parkinto approve elected officials, on a case-bycase basis, to review retailer-specificsales tax data for the purposes of finan-cial planning, economic development andbusiness tax compliance.SEC – On November 11, the city coun-

cil approved by a vote of 8-0 a staff rec-ommendation to decline voluntary self-reporting of the city’s bond issuing trans-actions to the Securities and ExchangeCommission (SEC). In March the SECissued a continued disclosure cooperationinitiative offering favorable settlementterms to bond issuers and underwriterswho voluntarily self-report material mis-statements made in bond offering docu-

ments. Prior to the vote, CouncilmemberMungo said there was no need for the cityto participate in the initiative. “We arechoosing not to report because we havenothing to report. We’ve done a great job.Congratulations to the city staff,” shesaid. Councilmember Andrews wasabsent for the vote. Campaign Rules – On November 18,

the council voted 8-0 to approve anamendment to the municipal code, effec-tively changing the rules governing cam-paign disclosure statements. The new lawwill allow qualified campaign expendi-tures made after the date of the primaryelection to be considered as expendituresfor the runoff election. Fourth DistrictCouncilmember O’Donnell was absentfor the vote.Airport Fund – By a vote of 8-0 the



NEWSWATCH6 Long Beach Business Journal November 25-December 8, 2014

council approved a recommendation toincrease appropriations in the airport fundby $10,697,988 for passenger facilitycharges approved by the U.S. FederalAviation Administration. Federal lawallows local airport sponsors to charge apassenger facility charge up to $4.50 perenplaned passenger. The money will beused to fund capital improvement projectsincluding the construction of a $3.1 mil-lion air carrier ramp and terminal arearoadway improvements. The city councilapproved the recommendation onNovember 18. Councilmember O’Donnellwas absent for the vote.Magnolia Industrial Group – The

council voted 7-0 to approve a recom-mendation to extend the MagnoliaIndustrial Group Property and BusinessImprovement District through November30, 2015. The group assesses a fee onWestside businesses and provides secu-rity for the area. CouncilmembersO’Donnell and Richardson were absentfor the vote. The extension was approvedon November 18.Downtown BID – The council voted 8-

0 to approve and extension of theDowntown Long Beach Associates(DLBA) business improvement district.The extended agreement will last through

December 31, 2015, The councilapproved the extension on November 11.Fourth District Infrastructure – A

city council vote of 8-0 approved expen-ditures of 4th District funds for variousinfrastructure improvement projects.Included in the funding was $20,000 for

cameras in Orizaba Park, $410,000 for astorage structure and field stands atWhaley Park baseball field and $275,000for a baseball f ield enhancement atStearns Park. Councilmember O’Donnellwas absent for the November 18 vote.Naples Seawall – Construction on the

Naples seawall began last week along aportion of the Rivo Alto Canal in NaplesIsland. The section of the wall stretchesfrom Ravenna Bridge to the eastern por-tion of the Toledo Bridge. Phase one ofthe project, which is budgeted at $9 mil-lion, is f inanced through TidelandsOperations Funds and is expected to becompleted June 2015.Airfield Construction – On November

18 the city council approved by a vote of

8-0 a recommendation authorizing CityManager West to execute an agreementwith Reynolds, Smith & Hills as well asParsons Brinckerhoff Inc. for as-neededairfield construction management. Theamount of the contract is not to exceed$6,000,000 for a period of two years withan option to renew for two additional one-year periods. Councilmember O’Donnellwas absent for the vote.Petroleum Contract – The city council

approved a recommendation authorizingCity Manager West to execute a contractwith Merrimac Petroleum Inc. to provideunleaded diesel fuel for city-owned vehi-cles and equipment. The 7-0 vote author-izes an amount of $6,000,000 annually

Read the book:

UNIVERSE IN DISENCHANTMENTwww.cuturaracional.com.br • www.trueoriginworld.blogspot.comwww.nalub7.wordpress.com • www.youtube.com/porfiriojneves

“TRIAMBOSFHERE”(Porfírio J. Neves)

Some “certain things” in life cannot be explained in words.That is where the new words get in to enable us to clarify what

is unknown to the human mind.This word, for instance, leave people with Goosebumps as it

happened a long time ago with me when I first came across thenew words in the book Universe in Disenchantment. The literal definition given by the author is:“Triambosphere is the passage of a body from one atmosphere

to another, connecting the artificial and deformed cosmos withthe virgin Rational stratosphere, which is pure, clean and perfect.”Having said that, the term seems to relate to the transmigra-

tion of bodies, according to the Rational Knowledge, that bodiesof energy migrate into other bodies of energy, from the deformedenergy to the virgin Rational energy. Let’s go over some points which I find important to consider

and that is: we are two in one.This dichotomy is in the concept of body and soul and it can

even be seen as a permanent and persistent truth at other levels ofconsciousness. It is also in regards with to the origin of the human being and

his origin. Thus if there is the material body, there is inherent to itits animating force or the REASONING. Even in Nature one finds its dual composition: electric and mag-

netic; and many define it as an electric and magnetic system, posi-tive and negative. Again, we are two in one by Nature’s perspective.The quantic intertwined aspects are beyond the scientific phe-

nomenon, it suggests that two lives can be intertwined to form onesole. In this sense, we have our own dual existence, in which weare observers of this reality. In short we are two in one as creature(quantic observer) and creature (dual behavior).Remember two in one: superior and inferior; in which the infe-

rior is also two in one – that is – left and right. This reality is the cause of a lot of confusion in the approach of

the three unanswered questions by humanity, because, wheneverone thought of the verticalized aspect of life, one could not see thisdichotomy either. Who are we? From where we come? To where are we going?Summing up, for extended analysis can still be made in regards

with this topic, Triambosphere is in the vertical perspective of creatorand creature, whereas metempsychosis or transmigration of souls –two in one (horizontally) – puts the soul as energetic impetus (electric

and magnetic) whichcauses the blood to circu-late within the body.Now, then, bear in mind

that the literal definition ofTriambosphere distin-guishes the deformed arti-ficial cosmos from thevirginal Rational strato-sphere. The artificial deformed

cosmos relates to the mate-rial body, which has in itselfthe duality “Body andSoul”, electric and mag-netic. It is, thus, the secondworld, resulting from an or-ganization composed byseven parts, in which theReasoning is the animating

element and is materialized by seven particles of life, provided by thecreator. In this cosmos, the material or animal being is living.The virginal Rational stratosphere is the part relating to the “Cre-

ator” or the body of the Inhabitant of the Rational World which ismaterialized as the Pineal Gland. This materialization was com-posed into three fundamental parts which gave start to the “Matter”:Heaven, Earth and Water which are the beginning of a created ob-ject, pure, clean and perfect (The Rational Plain) and its subsequentdegeneration and deformation into the artificial deformed cosmos.There you have it: two worlds with a passage in-between, for

those who were in the deformed cosmos had no conditions to re-alize the existence of the virginal Rational stratosphere. Theythought that the existence horizontal duality was vertical. And why couldn’t this passage between these two world be

perceived by humanity. A good justification to that resides in thefact that the word Triambosphere contains 3 terms: TRI –AMBOS – PHERE. Tri is for a sequence of 3 simultaneous events which can only

be understood in the Rational Culture, namely: the dematerializa-tion of the Inhabitant of the Rational World, which was isolated inthe matter, through the development of the Reasoning. The Reasoning is the creator of this material world and is awaiting

its awakening to return to the Rational World. It is the owner of theFree will which is the cause of this world; as a consequence, it gotkept in the matter, and it is suffering the consequences of its actions. 2) The demagnetization of the electric magnetic forces in the

material body, when the material body starts being ruled by theRational Force of the Reasoning known as the RATIONAL EN-ERGY. It is, as though, the ducts of forces in the material body hadbeen filled by a sole Energy. The Material Body is, then, promoted

to a superior class of life, known as “RATIONAL APARATUS”.3) The Rationalization of the “matter”, or better, the Rationali-

zation of the individual with eternal life or BODY OF RATIONALENERGY, which is the creator of the microbes that form the ma-terial body. Again, the BODY OF RATIONAL ENERGY is the ef-fect created by the RATIONAL WORLD INHABITANT that wasmaterialized as REASONING MACHINE – the sole existentialregister that identified the Rational origin of the material body. TheRationalization involves both of them, in which they know and ac-knowledges their World of Race and return to it.Two bodies into one: the body of the extinguished Inhabitant of

the Rational World that was materialized. And the body of the eter-nal living being which is the cause of the existence of the matter –the creator of the microbial life. All the spheres of life relate to all dimensions of the eternal life

composed by the first world and its transitory lives or the beads(second world). Thus, TRI –AMBOS-PHERE is a dimensional passage, in

which the two go back to their World of Origin, THE RATIONALWORLD, precluding their existence in the material world whereeverything is passing and transitory. How on earth could we ever know of this passage. Then, it was

nor in the thought neither in the imagination but in the developmentof the Reasoning. The passage or death of the material body as it was understood

did not take anyone to the RATIONAL WORLD – OUR WORLDOF ORIGIN – because the RATIONAL BODY OF ENERGYwhich gave cause to the existence of the microbe was kept in thisdimension of deformed artificial cosmic life. The true passage, Rational, happens while the material body is

living; for it is still in life that the Development of Reasoningcomes about and not in the death as it was thought. The TRIAMBOSPHERE is the passage and not life after

death. It is the true resurrection of humanity. And it is time nowwe meet this reality.St. Francis of Assis used to say: “It is dying that we will be

born to the eternal life; and this was Nature’s preparation throughnumberless transformations made by Nature that were calledreincarnations by others. Everyone will go back to their real WORLD OF ORIGIN, leav-

ing the three dimensional world straight to the ETERNAL – theRATIONAL WORLD. THE BOOK UNIVERSE IN DISEN-CHANTMENT IS THIS DIMENSIONAL PORTAL which willvery soon be fully open for the RATIONAL PROGRESS. EVERY-ONE WILL RETURN TO THE RATIONAL WORLD. OBS: This text will be evidently continued, for new informa-

tion is always forthcoming through new illustrations in the RA-TIONAL BOOKS.For requesting the Book Universe in Disenchantment in Cali-

fornia/USA, e-mail: [email protected]– Paid Advertisement –

Capt. Medina Gonzalo IsNew Marine Safety ChiefCapt. Gonzalo Medina has been promoted toserve as the city’s chief of marine safety effec-tive December 5. A 19-year veteran of the

Long Beach FireD e p a r t m e n t ,Medina wasappointed to theposition by FireChief MikeD u R e e .“ G o n z a l oMedina has along history ofdedicated andp r o f e s s i o n a lservice in theLong Beach FireD e p a r t m e n t ,

and he will provide steady leadership for themarine safety division,” DuRee said in astatement. The marine safety division isresponsible for the safe and lawful use of thecity’s beaches and waterways and includesrescue boat operations, lifeguards and aswiftwater rescue team (Photograph courtesyof the City of Long Beach).

City Hall News In Brief(Continued From Page 5)

Planning Commission ‘Defines’ NightclubOn November 20, the planning commission voted unanimously to clearly define

what constitutes a nightclub. The resulting definition described a nightclub as as anybar, cocktail lounge or dance club with an entertainment permit for amplified musicand dancing, in conjunction with alcohol sales. A city memo provided to the com-mission prior to the vote indicated that the zoning code requires a conditional usepermit for a nightclub; however, the zoning code offered no definition of nightclub.In the Downtown Dining and Entertainment District (DDED), sales of alcohol foron-premises consumption are permitted by right and don’t require a conditional usepermit. As a result, conflicts arose between certain businesses and adjacent resi-dents in the DDED. In August of 2013 the city council placed a moratorium on theissuance of entertainment permits within the Downtown Dining and EntertainmentDistrict. The council will now consider whether or not to approve the planning com-mission’s definition. �




with a 25 percent contingency for anamount not to exceed $7,500,000 for aperiod of two years with an option to renewfor an additional year. CouncilmembersO’Donnell and Richardson were absent forthe November 18 vote.

Pet Ordinance – At the regularNovember 18 meeting, the city councilconsidered a recommendation requestingCity Manager West and City AttorneyParkin to draft an ordinance requiring petowners to spay or neuter their animals.Vice Mayor Lowenthal made a motionalso making it unlawful to sell dogs, rab-bits or cats in any pet shop unless theyare obtained from the city animal shelter,humane society, non-profit rescue organ-ization, or are bred in Long Beach undera breeding permit or are AKC show cer-tif ied. The motion carried by 8-0.Councilmember O’Donnell was absentfor the vote.

Homeless Shelter – The council voted8-0 at the November 18 meeting to declarea shelter crisis and suspend applicable pro-visions of local law in order to authorize awinter shelter between December 1, 2014,and March 15, 2015. The vote authorizesCity Manager West to execute an agree-ment wherein the city will sublease 12,000square feet of space at 6845 Atlantic Ave.to the Long Beach Rescue Mission for useas a homeless shelter. The monthly baserent will be $6,000. CouncilmemberO’Donnell was absent for the vote.

Park Naming – Two parks in the 6thDistrict are closer to being named after

Latina Superstar Jenni Rivera and thecivil rights organization, the NationalAssociation for the Advancement ofColored People (NAACP). On November20, the Long Beach parks and recreationdepartment voted unanimously in favorof approving the names. The housing andneighborhoods committee as well as theparks and recreation commission willnow consider the matter. “It was anothergreat day for Long Beach,” saidCouncilmember Andrews in a statement.“I want to thank all the community mem-bers that came out in support of theparks.” Jenni Rivera, an alumnus of LongBeach Polytechnic High School, waskilled in a plane crash in 2012. TheNAACP is the nation’s oldest and largestcivil rights organization.

Airport Honored – On November 18,the Long Beach Airport was honoredwith the Helen Putnam Award forExcellence in Public Works,Infrastructure and Transportation. Theaward, presented to the city council bythe League of California Cities, recog-nized the airport’s new concourse forproviding travelers a unique and innova-tive space that serves as an ideal gatewayto the city.

Modica Appointment – By a vote of8-0 the city council approved theappointment of Tom Modica to the posi-tion of assistant city manager. Modicapreviously served as deputy city man-ager. Modica’s appointment wasapproved at the November 11 meeting. �

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New Assemblymember To StepDown December 1; Mayor’s Office

To Staff District Until SpecialElection Early In 2015


With two years remaining on his term,4th District Councilmember PatrickO’Donnell will soon vacate his seat toassume his new role as a state assembly-member. O’Donnell beat challenger JohnGoya in a November 4 runoff election forthe 70th Assembly District. O’Donnelltold the Business Journal he plans toresign his seat on December 1.

Long Beach Assistant City ClerkPoonam Davis said officials won’t pro-ceed with an election to replaceO’Donnell until the councilmemberresigns.

“Once he resigns, then the council has60 days to call for the election – declare avacancy first, then call an election,”Davis said.

Once an election is called, the city has120 days to hold the special election for anew 4th District councilmember. Davisestimated the cost at $180,000.

Though O’Donnell’s seat could remainvacant for as long as four months, DanielBrezenoff, deputy chief of staff for MayorRobert Garcia, said his office plans tooversee the 4th District office.

“We will staff that office and we will behandling constituent services. We willmake sure it’s a seamless process; therewill be no lapse of service,” Brezenoffsaid.

However, during that interim until anew councilmember is elected, the citycouncil will be left with eight votingmembers, with five votes required to passmost items.

In the 2012 April primary, a termed-outO’Donnell ran as a write-in candidate toretain his 4th District seat. He went upagainst business consultant DarylSupernaw and retired Long Beach PoliceOfficer John Watkins. After a recount,Supernaw was declared winner of the pri-mary election by 13 votes. O’Donnell,whose name did appear on the general elec-tion ballot, won the runoff by 12.2 percent.

When reached by the Business Journalfor comment, Supernaw stopped short ofsaying he will definitely run in the spe-cial election. In an e-mailed statement hesaid his decision will depend on supportfrom campaign volunteers as well aswhether questions over election issuescan be dealt with.

“In the June 2012 runoff election, Ibeat the incumbent in the eastern half ofthe 4th District by 40 votes. Many ques-tioned the voting results in the westernhalf at the time. If we can get those issuesresolved, I would certainly consider run-ning,” the statement read.

Watkins meanwhile indicated he willrun.

“I am planning on running, I’vealready got my team in place. We’re justwaiting for the vacancy to be opened up,”he said.

Like 7th District CouncilmemberRoberto Uranga, Watkins collects a citypension making him ineligible to simul-taneously collect a council salary.Watkins said he plans to use the moneyhe would normally collect from servingas a councilmember to instead fund dis-trict projects.

“It was never an issue in the last cam-paign. I was going to donate it all to char-ity, so it continues to not be an issue,”Watkins said.

While the city awaits O’Donnell’s offi-cial resignation, the councilmember saidhe plans to take a leave of absence fromhis job as a high school teacher. Headded that he’s taken time in recentweeks to meet with some of the leader-ship in Sacramento.

“I met with the speaker of the assemblyand laid out my priorities, which are edu-cation, and being a strong voice for theports that are in the district,” O’Donnellsaid.

He added that serving the City of LongBeach has prepared him well for hisfuture job.

“You can apply a lot of what I’velearned in Long Beach to the stateassembly from a budget perspective, ajobs perspective, a transportation per-spective and the perspective of dealingwith many interests that want to weigh inon issues. Long Beach is a good trainingground for that,” he said. �

Councilmember O’Donnell’s Assembly Win Could Lead To Four-Month Vacancy For Council Office

Fourth District Councilmember Patrick O’Donnell is stepping down from his city council seat onDecember 1 as he prepares to transition to Assemblymember O’Donnell, representing Long Beach,Signal Hill, Avalon and parts of San Pedro. He replaces current assemblymember, Bonnie Lowenthal,who is termed out. O’Donnell, a teacher in Paramount, served two four-year terms on the city counciland was elected to a third term two years ago. He is taking a leave of absence from his teaching posi-tion while serving in Sacramento. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)



services in the harbor and San Pedro, andwe do the business portion of the servicesfor Orange County,” Nick Schultz, execu-tive director of Pacific Gateway, told theBusiness Journal in an interview at hisoffice. “We’re an interesting WIB in thatwe’re the only one that services other WIBsas a provider. I think that’s a testament tosome of our expertise,” he said.Governmental workforce developmentagencies like Pacific Gateway are primarilyfunded through the Workforce InvestmentAct and by earning competitive grants.Pacific Gateway is administered by theCity of Long Beach.

Schultz is relatively new to PacificGateway, having been hired on as executivedirector in mid-June. He has a 20-yearbackground in workforce development,most recently serving as the workforceinvestment board director for AlamedaCounty in Northern California. Schultzsaid he made the move to Long Beach par-tially because of the city’s appreciation forworkforce development as a key compo-nent in economic development.

So far this year, Pacific Gateway hashelped place 2,407 adults and dislocatedworkers, as well as 800 youth, in jobs andhas assisted 1,231 businesses. The numberof businesses and youths supported in2014 has increased since previous years,Schultz said. He estimated the total num-ber of adults and dislocated workers serv-iced by Pacific Gateway this year hasdecreased from previous years becausethe unemployment rate has been decreas-ing and, as that occurs, demand for jobplacement services dips. In Long Beach,the current unemployment rate is hoveringaround 8.6 percent.

There are still plenty of people who needPacific Gateway’s job placement services,however. For example, layoffs of more than2,000 employees of The Boeing Company’sC-17 manufacturing program in LongBeach, which is being shuttered, havealready begun in phases and should becomplete some time next year when the lastC-17 comes off the production line.

“As Boeing moves towards their closure,we’re on site to assist the impacted employ-ees daily,” Schultz said. “We continue towork with Boeing to ensure that properresources are going to be in place as allthose folks eventually term out. We actu-ally did an onsite job fair where we got 22or 23 [aerospace and aviation industry]employers to come, including NorthropGrumman, SpaceX, Gulfstream,” he noted.

One of the principal services PacificGateway offers to the community is anonline labor exchange where individualsmay search for jobs, work on and post theirresumes, and more. The network’s arrayof services for the unemployed, underem-ployed and dislocated workers alsoincludes workshops, job training and evenhelp registering for insurance throughCovered California.

Next year, Pacific Gateway is going toadvocate for better local hiring practicescitywide.

“We’d like to see and are going to putforth some recommendations about what

we call a first source hiring program,”Schultz said. “What that program would dois similar to a project labor agreementarrangement: it would leverage every citydollar in a process that ensures non-con-struction and service-related projects mustattempt to procure human capital and netnew jobs [hired] from the local commu-nity,” he explained. “We’re going to make abig push for that in the coming year.”

The number of businesses serviced byPacific Gateway has increased this yeardue to the organization’s increased out-reach efforts, Schultz said. To determinewhere to direct business outreach, PacificGateway relies on labor market data.

“We have some tools that give us somepretty strong data about what the industryclusters are in this area and how thoseclusters are primed for growth,” heexplained. The industry clusters with thelargest opportunities for increasedemployment and sustainable wages in theLong Beach area include health care,tourism and hospitality, and trade, trans-portation and logistics, Schultz said.

Pacific Gateway’s labor market analysishas revealed local small businesses cur-rently hold the most opportunity forgrowth.

“At a minimum, 80 percent of the growthwe hope to experience and should be ableto take advantage of here in the communi-ties we serve is going to come from busi-nesses that right now employ less than 25people,” Schultz said. As a result, PacificGateway is going to focus on expanding itssmall business outreach in 2015.

“In order to ensure we can capitalize onthat forecasted growth, we have to make anextra effort to start to get to know the folkswho are employing under 25 people so wecan really be in a position to help them andfacilitate that projected growth to the max-imum over these next few years.”

Schultz sees Pacific Gateway playing animportant role in the city’s revitalized eco-nomic development efforts that are under-way through its newly restored economicdevelopment department.

“In the long term, I would love to be ableto be at the front of the city’s businessexpansion and retention strategy. I thinkthe data we have, the trends we’re seeing

and our ability to interpret those as well asthe concentrated effort to validate that datawith the business community gives us aunique insight into what’s happening on theground,” he said. “There is an opportunitythere to take that into a strategy that can,with the city’s combined capabilities,attract complementary businesses to movein and can help us as a city to market ourassets,” he added. Schultz and the head ofthe economic development department,Mike Conway, meet regularly to discusssuch strategies, he said.

The principal way Pacific Gateway helpsboth businesses and individual job seekersis through job training services, to whichmost of the organization’s budget is dedi-cated, according to Schultz.

To determine a business’s employmentneeds, Pacific Gateway directly reachesout “to try to understand what positions intheir organizations support growth andwhat types of knowledge, skills and abili-ties really make a high-performingemployee,” he explained. “We can dorecruitment and hiring fairs and then,based on whether the business findsmatches or not, we turn back around andtrain to help them fill some of the open-ings or do some on-the-job training,” hecontinued, adding that Pacific Gatewayalso works with outside entities such asLong Beach City College to provide spe-cialized training.

Recently, Pacific Gateway helped a newbusiness in North Long Beach, theNorthgate Gonzalez Market, hire a bigchunk of its more-than-180-person work-force, Schultz said. “We’re proud to saythat 86 percent of the folks they hiredwere local Long Beach residents whocame through the process here,” heemphasized. “And 40 of them startedbecause of on-the-job training contractsthat we put in place for them.”

Pacific Gateway continues to servicemore and more youth due to its success insecuring competitive grants for youth-related work experience efforts, Schultzsaid. “That will actually continue basedon our financial situation into the nextcouple of years,” he said.

Pacific Gateway has a variety of pro-grams aimed at placing youth in jobs and

internships, including Hire-A-Youth,which enables young people to gain workreadiness training and a nationally recog-nized work readiness certificate and thenget placed in a specialized internship orjob. The organization also has a summerYouth Jobs Program in which young peoplegain about 100 hours of work experience atlocal schools, organizations and busi-nesses. In addition, Pacific Gateway offersyouth training academies in partnershipwith local businesses and groups that pro-vide more intensive occupational training.

The organization also often engageswith city and community partners to helpyouth in specific areas or with certainneeds. In early November, PacificGateway helped 8th DistrictCouncilmember Al Austin’s office spon-sor a Black College Fair at the LongBeach Convention & EntertainmentCenter. The event was held to inform localstudents about opportunities to attend his-torically black colleges. “About 5,000people came through for that event,”Schultz said. “Being a part of the citystructure, we’re pleased to have the flexi-bility to get out there and be the conduitfor those types of things for residents.”

Pacific Gateway also recently assisted6th District Councilmember DeeAndrews in holding a career explorationprogram for youth in his district. “LongBeach Memorial Medical Centerbrought them onsite in the hospital’ssimulation lab to let them know aboutsome health care careers. That was areally great program that I would love toreplicate with the other districts in thecity,” Schultz said. �

Pacific Gateway’s Executive Director Nick Schultz says that so far this year, the agency has helped place 2,407 adults and dislocated workers in jobs, andhas assisted 1,231 businesses.(Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

Pacific Gateway WorkforceInvestment Network

3447 Atlantic Ave.Long Beach, CA 90807

562/570-9675 Toll Free: 1-800/292-7200

[email protected]

To contact the Business AssistanceTeam and learn more about its pro-grams call toll free: 1-866/848-3321.

Pacific Gateway

Workforce Investment(Continued From Page 1)



pool, which was the site of Olympic timetrials in 1968 and 1976, was declaredseismically unsafe in 2013. A $4.6 mil-lion temporary pool was built to servethe community that same year, andremains open.

On October 21, following a series ofstudy sessions involving communitystakeholders, the city council votedunanimously to approve a new BelmontBeach and Aquatics Center, which willinclude two 50-meter pools (oneindoor, one outdoor), a separate divingwell and a general use whirlpool. Theoriginal design was expected to cost$99 million to construct, but, followingcommunity input, several new featureswere approved including an adjustablefloor for one of the pools andincreased seating capacity (to 1,250).The new design is expected to cost$103.1 million.

An economic impact study, commis-sioned by the city and conducted by CalState Long Beach Economics ProfessorEmeritus Joseph Magaddino, consideredvarious seating configurations allowingvarious levels of competition. It wasdetermined that a 1,250-seat arrange-ment would allow the facility to hostcompetitions such as Olympic trials andNCAA division championships, andpotentially bring the city an estimated$30,624,789 annually from lodging,food and retail expenditures.

In an e-mail to the Business Journal,Dino D’Emilia, vice president of con-struction services for Anderson Penna,the company charged with demolishingthe Belmont Pool, said crews havebegun removing old equipment and con-ducting hazardous materials abatementwork. It’s estimated that demolition willconclude in late March. The CaliforniaCoastal Commission still needs toapprove the new facility’s constructionand is expected to consider the matter inNovember 2015.

While f inancing for the new poolcomes from oil revenue in the city’stidelands fund, concerns have risen inrecent months of a possible shortfall dueto declining oil prices. According to 3rdDistrict Councilmember Suzie Price,$66 million in tidelands funding has

already been appropriated and is avail-able for the project. An October citymemo stated that in order to address theremainder of the funding, City ManagerPatrick West is expected to develop analternative FY15 tidelands capitalbudget by the end of December “toaddress the changing situation.”

Price told the Business Journal thatshe will be scrutinizing various capitalimprovement projects in her district andpotentially reprioritizing them.

“It’s a matter that will be studied overthe next couple of months to determinewhat projects are critical and which canbe delayed,” Price said. “If you look atthe f ive-year [Capital ImprovementPlan] for the tidelands fund, you’ll seewe have $15 million allocated to theBelmont Pier down the road in a coupleof years. We may have to delay that.That may be a project that is not of crit-ical importance right now.”

Further questions about Belmont Poolfunding were raised last week when ananonymous tipster told the BusinessJournal that $40 million appropriatedfor the pool project would soon be

siphoned to the city’s public worksdepartment. When reached for com-ment, Assistant City Manager TomModica said this was not the case,adding that there were a lot of miscon-ceptions floating around.

“We’ll come back by the end of the

year with some recommendations andsome predictions about what happens ifoil is at a certain level . . . and what doesthat look like in the capital plan – whatmight not have funding in the futurecapital plan, what are some options.” �

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CaliforniaCoastal

CommissionApproves Outlets

At The Pike� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER

Senior Writer

DDR Corp, the property managementfirm for The Pike At Rainbow Harbor,received the official go-ahead from theCalifornia Coastal Commission onNovember 14 to reposition The Pike as anoutlet center.“These new developments at The Pike

represent a great opportunity for LongBeach and we’re looking forward to a newera of growth and activity downtown,”Mayor Robert Garcia told the BusinessJournal in an e-mailed statement.“The coastal commission’s approval

clears the way for a retail outlet center

that will bring all kinds of entry and man-agement jobs, sales tax revenue and visi-tors to downtown, which means ourrestaurants, hotels and other businesseswill benefit as well,” Vice Mayor SujaLowenthal told the Business Journal viae-mail. Lowenthal’s 2nd Long Beach City

Council District encompasses The Pike.“I think the outlets will inspire our con-ventioneers to stay an extra day or twoafter their conference and I’ll bet some ofour visitors come away thinking they’dlike to live in Downtown Long Beach, sothe exposure value is particularly excit-ing,” she said.Approved plans include making façade

alterations, adding square footage toexisting retail pads, enlarging the centralplaza, constructing a pedestrian bridgeover Cedar Avenue to connect The Pike’sparking structure to the adjacent buildingoff Shoreline Drive, landscaping andmore. A graphic from coastal commissiondocuments shows DDR plans a 21,900-square-foot expansion of a buildinglocated between Cedar Avenue andAquarium Way off Shoreline Drive ontoproperty in front of the Hyatt The PikeLong Beach hotel. Long Beach

Development Services Director AmyBodek previously told the BusinessJournal this expanded building would beabout two stories tall.DDR is currently working with national

retailers to secure large anchor stores andother tenants, according to MatthewSchuler, director of communications forDDR. “Currently, plans call for five addi-

tional retail anchor stores and variousspecialty shops to accompany H&M andRestoration Hardware Outlet as thenewest retail amenities at The Pike. Welook forward to providing additionaldetails as lease agreements are finalized,”he wrote in an e-mail to the BusinessJournal.The first new anchor tenant, interna-

tional clothing retailer H&M, recentlybegan construction at The Pike andshould be open by Spring 2015, accord-ing to a late October statement fromDDR. The store is taking up eight vacatedretail pads on two floors. The existingRestoration Hardware Outlet, locatedsouth of Shoreline Drive, is also currentlyunder construction as it expands to takeup vacant retail pads on the second floorabove it. �

A H&M store is under construction at The Pike at Rainbow Harbor. The store is taking up 24,000 square feet of space previously used for eight retail pads, including Coldstone Creamery, which has moveddirectly next to the future retailer. The trendy men and women’s clothing retailer is set to open in the second half of 2015. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

another truck. The chassis is the frame andwheels on which containers sit. For months, truckers at both POLB and

Port of Los Angeles have been sufferingfrom a lack of chassis caused by a changein the way the chassis are managed. Priorto about a year ago, chassis were ownedand operated by shipping lines and couldbe dropped off fairly interchangeably atvarious terminals. In the past year or so,however, the shipping lines divested them-selves of chassis ownership, selling themoff to three local companies that do notoperate interchangeably, making it morecomplicated for truckers to pick up anddrop off chassis. This issue has been com-pounded by shipments from large vesselscarrying 10,000 twenty-foot equivalentunits or more of cargo, creating a higherneed for chassis at a time when therealready aren’t enough to go around.“This empty inner storage yard that

we’re making available will allow theseempties to be dropped off at that site, andthe truck pulling that empty container canthen take its chassis into a yard, pick up an

Chassis Fleet(Continued From Page 1)




import container and take it back throughthe supply chain,” Hacegaba explained.“The idea is we’re enhancing space in ouryards, while at the same time facilitating anincrease in the supply of chassis.”

At the November 13 meeting, Slangerupcalled the empty container storage yard atemporary solution and noted he would bebringing the harbor commission a proposalfor the port to purchase and operate its ownchassis fleet to take pressure off the supplychain by the end of November.

The backed-up terminals and slower truckturn times may be a result of more than thechassis shortage and a longer-than-normalpeak season, according to the PacificMaritime Association (PMA). The PMArepresents carriers and terminal operators inongoing labor contract negotiations with theInternational Longshore and WarehouseUnion (ILWU), which represents longshoreworkers at West Coast ports. In earlyNovember, the PMA announced the ILWUwas refusing to send hundreds of workers tothe ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in“orchestrated slowdowns.”

On November 20, the PMA sent outanother press release stating the ILWU washalting “big table negotiations” through theend of Thanksgiving weekend. “This slow-down in negotiations and the union’srefusal to extend the contract are takingplace amid continuing worker slowdowns,which began on Halloween in Tacoma andsoon spread to Seattle, Oakland, LosAngeles and Long Beach. In some ports,productivity remains 30 percent or morebelow normal as a result of orchestratedILWU maneuvers,” the release stated.

Hacegaba had a different perspective.“What I can tell you is based on what wehave seen happen in the Pacific Northwestand Oakland. The situation here in LongBeach is far better because the longshore-men continue to show up to work and theycontinue to complete their shifts,” he said.

But national retailers, manufacturers,farmers and others remain concerned aboutthe ongoing negotiations, which havegrown heated in the past few weeks as thePMA and ILWU continue to trade shotswith finger-pointing press releases. To date,dozens of organizations representingnational and international groups and com-panies relying heavily on West Coast portshave sent pleas to President Barack Obama,asking him to intervene in the negotiations.

The National Retail Federation co-signed one such letter to President Obama

in early November, requesting that hesend a federal mediator to intervene inILWU/PMA negotiations. StephenSchatz, a National Retail Federationspokesperson, said the organizationhasn’t received a direct response on thematter, but met with White House staffrecently to discuss the concerns of thefederation’s constituents. “Having con-gestion build up is one thing, but with therising labor tension there has been a lot ofheated rhetoric applied to both sides. Plusthe congestion is giving a lot of supplychain stakeholders great anxiety,” he said.

Also compounding their anxiety was thaton November 13, port truck drivers beganstriking after several months of a “coolingdown” period orchestrated by Los AngelesMayor Eric Garcetti following strikes inlate summer. As the Business Journal wentto press on November 21, the strike ended.The drivers, backed by the TeamstersUnion, had argued they were misclassifiedas independent contractors and shouldinstead be recognized as employees of thetrucking companies they work for. Strikingdrivers were from trucking companiesPacer Cartage, Harbor Rail Transport, QTSInc., LACA Express, WinWin Logistics,Total Transportation Services Inc. andPacific 9 Transportation.

A November 18 press release from aTeamster’s representative said the strikehad created “a logistical nightmare” beforeit ended as truckers picketed terminals inLong Beach and Los Angeles as well as atrailyards serviced by the impacted truckingcompanies. That might have been an exag-geration, at least according to the Port ofLong Beach’s assessment of the strike’simpacts on operations. Spokesperson LeePeterson told the Business Journal thatonly about a dozen picketers were presentat one port terminal on November 19.

As congestion issues continue, POLBremains dedicated to finding solutions.“The Port of Long Beach is taking this con-gestion issue very seriously. In fact, reliev-ing congestion today and in the future is ourhighest priority,” Hacegaba emphasized.

In a recent statement, Port of LosAngeles Executive Director Gene Serokasaid port staff in Los Angeles was alsoworking to remediate congestion. “We con-tinue working with our customers andlogistics partners to do everything possibleto relieve the current situation and designsolutions that will better enable the supplychain in the future,” he said. �


AUTO INDUSTRY14 Long Beach Business Journal November 25-December 8, 2014

surprised to know, that for decades, LongBeach was home to its own auto row,located along Long Beach Boulevard. Butwith crime spiking throughout the 1980s,and light rail construction causing trafficjams, several Long Beach auto dealers spentyears negotiating with the city about thepossibility of constructing a new auto mall.When those talks failed in 1989, the citywitnessed a mass exodus of longtime LongBeach auto dealers that made their way toSignal Hill, lured by a bigger, better deal.Brad Willingham, co-owner of Signal

Hill’s Boulevard Buick/GMC/Cadillac,remembered when the dealership hisfather, Jim Willingham, owned since theearly 1960s was located at 1881 LongBeach Blvd. just north of Pacific CoastHighway. The elder Willingham grew hisbusiness to include a Lincoln-Mercury,Saab and Subaru franchise, but by the1970s the neighborhood began to change.Panhandlers congregated around the lotsand the county opened a large social serv-ices office in a former bowling alley adja-cent to the Willingham dealership. Parkingbecame scarce, domestic disputes ragednear the boulevard and neighborhood busi-nesses were frequently burglarized.In the days before Internet appointments,

people interested in buying a specific vehi-cle would drive to the lot early and a line ofcars would form outside the dealership,becoming easy targets for panhandlers. “These guys would go up and wrap on

the windows and panhandle; we justwatched our business evaporate in thoseyears,” Brad said.In 1980 the first showroom opened in

what would rapidly blossom into theCerritos Auto Square.Shortly after, a small group of Long Beach

auto dealers began discussing with city lead-ers the possibility of building an auto mall inLong Beach. The group included JimWillingham; Mike Salta, owner of a Pontiacdealership; Gary Cooper, owner of LongBeach Nissan; Jim Gray, owner of Jim Gray’sImports; Bob Autrey, owner of a Mazda andBMW dealership; and Monte Davis, ownerof Glenn E. Thomas Dodge.It was a discussion that Brad said lasted

nearly 10 years. The first time his fathertold him the city wanted to build a mall,Brad was still in college.“He told me, ‘Son, Long Beach is going

to build an auto center, and it’s going to beabout two years out,’” Brad explained.“Every year, it was another two years.”Eventually, seven potential sites were

identified, including the present day KilroyAirport Center at Spring Street nearLakewood Boulevard, and a spot nearWardlow Road and the 710 Freeway. Talksultimately centered on a 70-acre site atSpring Street and Orange Avenue behindthe Sunnyside Cemetery, most of whichwas owned by the city’s water department.But, by 1987, Signal Hill officials weremaking plans of their own.A Los Angeles Times article from the era

described Signal Hill’s vision for building afive-level enclosed auto dealership thatwould feature restaurants, a beauty salon,convenience store and even a dry cleaner.

Though the elaborate plan was eventuallyabandoned, the city still had its eye onLong Beach auto dealers.“Signal Hill basically took [the land for]

what is the auto center today. They had atleast mapped it out, and slowly over theyears they put it in eminent domain andthey did all the things they had to do forredevelopment,” Brad said. “They wouldkeep coming back to us.”Down on Long Beach’s auto row, things

continued to get worse as constructionbegan on the light rail system connectingLong Beach to Los Angeles. JimWillingham said he could still rememberthe effect it had on the dealers. “They took out all the beautiful islands

and landscaping. Then they had to widenthe street by narrowing the sidewalks. Itremoved all the parking,” Jim said. Removal of a water main reduced

Boulevard traffic to one lane in eitherdirection. Originally expected to take twoyears, the project dragged on for three anda half. Sales plummeted from as many as100 cars a month down to 30.“No one in their right mind would go

down there,” Brad said.Long Beach’s proposed price for the sale

of the land rose as high as $13 a squarefoot. Signal Hill meanwhile offered its landfor $10 a square foot. Jim Gray explained to the Business

Journal that the Long Beach property wasin need of significant cleanup.“That property had a lot of oil and

problems with the land” Gray said,adding that the Signal Hill property hadproblems of its own.Putting Long Beach at a distinct disad-

vantage, two-thirds of the City of SignalHill had been declared a redevelopmentzone, giving it immediate access to a bondthat would cover the construction of thenew mall. Long Beach meanwhile plannedto raise money for its mall by securing guar-antees from the dealers that they would payfor construction through sales tax revenue.“[Signal Hill] had put everything in the

city in redevelopment. So they were ableto deal with the problems of the contami-nants through the redevelopment agency,”Gray said.Ultimately, the prospect of guarantee-

ing Long Beach a set amount of revenuebroke the deal.

“It’s retail. There are no guarantees,” JimWillingham said. “We don’t know whenGM’s going to go on strike. If GeneralMotors goes on strike, we don’t have anycars to sell for a couple months.”One by one, Long Beach dealers signed

on with Signal Hill: Bob Autrey was thefirst, followed shortly by Mike Salta.Four more dealerships followed en masse.The Long Beach Press Telegram reportedthat Boulevard Automotive group movedon February 15, 1991. According to Bradand Jim, they were the last to go.Twenty-five years ago this month, in a

December 1989 issue of the BusinessJournal, Publisher George Economideslikened Long Beach’s failure to build theauto mall to a football game in which thecity was without a decent quarterback.Referring to city leaders, who seemed toexpress little concern over the loss of thedealerships, Economides wrote, “forthem to brush aside the loss of the autodealers (our largest potential source oftaxable sales) as insignificant, scares meas to the sanity of these people who guideour community.”In a 1989 interview with the Los Angeles

Times, Long Beach CommunityDevelopment Director Susan Shick saidthe deal couldn’t have worked without thesales tax guarantee. “The city can’t put upall the money and take all the risk,” shesaid. “That’s not the way it works.”Responding to a request from the

Business Journal, the City of Signal Hillreleased figures detailing sales tax rev-enues from auto dealerships, including theSignal Hill Auto Mall, going back to 1991.Since then, the city has collected close to$45 million from auto retailers. Fifth District Councilmember Stacy

Mungo, who also chairs the city council’seconomic development and finance com-mittee, said she continues to work onways to help existing Long Beach dealer-ships thrive. “What the economic committee has done

is delve into who are the brands that arerepresented in the region, and what are welearning about the dealers that have stayedby us when they were enticed to leave toother cities,” Mungo said.Currently, Long Beach has 33 former

redevelopment agency sites around the citythat are ready for future development.

While Long Beach awaits state approval tobegin developing those properties, MikeConway said he’d like to see auto retailersreturn to town.“New dealerships, we’re certainly on the

hunt for them. And we have some potentialnew dealerships that we’re working on nowwhich are kind of exciting,” he said, addingthat he couldn’t discuss specifics. But those with ties to the automotive

industry remain skeptical. Todd Leutheuser, executive director of

the Southland Motor Car DealersAssociation, explained that existing dealer-ships have radius protection prohibiting thesame dealerships from selling cars within a10-mile radius of another.“So when you start looking at who’s

within 10 miles of whom, the worldbecomes pretty small, pretty quick,” he said.Jim Gray also expressed doubt, explain-

ing that, in urban centers, it’s preferable tobundle dealerships in groups.“Even if you could meet the other require-

ments, [the city] doesn’t have enough ofwhat would be needed to build a Cerritos, oreven what Signal Hill has now.” �

Sales Of Plug-InVehicles ShowPromise, But

Electric Future IsFar From Assured

� By BRANDON FERGUSON

Staff Writer

Recent statistics detailing sales of plug-in vehicles show promise for the future ofclean technology – but just how promisingdepends on whom you ask. In September, the Plug-in Vehicle

Collaborative (PEVC) announcedCalifornia surpassed 100,000 plug-in carsales since the market launched in 2010,accounting for 40 percent of all PEVsnationwide. The PEVC is a public-private organiza-

tion made up of automakers, utilities andcharging equipment providers that seeks topromote PEV market growth. PEVs differfrom standard hybrids in that they primarilyrun on a rechargeable electric battery asopposed to an internal combustion engine. “We believe California is on track for a

big advancement in the adoption of plug-inelectric vehicles,” said PEVC ExecutiveDirector Christine Kehoe. “We passed the100,000 mark in August. We’re nowapproaching 110,000, so we have steadilyincreasing sales.”This revelation inches California closer

to a goal set by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2012to put 1.5 million zero-emission vehicleson the road by 2025.Still, not everyone is impressed. Todd Leutheuser, executive director of

the Southland Motor Car DealersAssociation, explained that the overall mar-ket share of hybrid and plug-in electricvehicles remains small. Year-to-date fig-ures maintained by the California New Car

Jim Willingham bought his dealership, then located on Long Beach Boulevard, in the early 1960s. Butby the next decade, the neighborhood had changed with panhandlers and crime driving away cus-tomers. This was due, in part, to the county opening social services office adjacent to the dealership.(Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

Auto Dealers –

A Look Back(Continued From Page 1)



AUTO INDUSTRYNovember 25-December 8, 2014 Long Beach Business Journal 15

Dealers Association show that electricsand plug-in hybrids make up less than 2percent of overall automotive marketshare, a slight increase from the yearbefore. Standard hybrids, meanwhile,accounted for about 6 percent, down a per-cent from the previous year.

“They’re moving the needle, but it justisn’t necessarily making business sensefrom the consumer side,” Leutheuser said.“There’s not a super compelling case.Gasoline is relatively inexpensive still.”

Though the environmental benefits ofdriving electric may be attractive to manyCalifornians, when faced with the highersticker price of electric vehicles consumersare opting for old-fashioned gas-burningengines by a substantial margin.

“In the consumer’s mind, being altruisticabout the environment is pretty low,”Leutheuser said. “When you’re going towrite a check for $20,000 to $40,000, youfind out how low that is.”

At the Edmunds.com website, where con-sumers can comparison-shop for cars, theMSRP for new hybrid and electric vehiclesdoesn’t dip below $18,000. The bulk of thevehicles listed, including the Honda Accord,Nissan Leaf and Chevy Impala, are listed inthe $25,000 to $35,000 category.

Jeremy Acevedo, a senior analyst withEdmunds, told the Business Journal that,although plug-in electrics and standardelectric vehicles have performed com-mendably in the past few years, even bitinginto the standard hybrid market share, theyhaven’t reached the level of acceptanceexpected of the technology.

“One of my reservations when looking atthe success of this segment, between plug-ins and [electric vehicles], is they don’t havetremendous traction at the prices they’relooking to command,” Acevedo said.

Angie Nucci, senior environmental pub-lic relations specialist with Honda North

America, told the Business Journal thathybrid and plug-in electric vehicles con-tinue to be part of the company’s efforts toreduce harmful emissions, though shehinted at other technology that couldbecome more prevalent in the future.

“We’re looking at all types of drive trainsand various forms,” Nucci said. “Whetherthat’s a plug-in hybrid, which we havethrough our Accord, or conventionalhybrids [and] also fuel cells.”

Nucci said the company will be makingannouncements in the near future about itsnext generation of fuel cell cars and addedthat hydrogen-powered vehicles would be abig topic of discussion at this year’s LosAngeles Auto Show.

“I think there’s going to be a lot ofannouncements about hydrogen. Definitelykeep your eye towards that,” Nucci said.

Pitted against competing technologies,sticker shock and declining fuel prices,plug-in vehicles also face a limited charg-ing infrastructure, particularly at work-place locations and multi-family dwellings.

According to Larry Rich, who serves asthe sustainability coordinator for the city’soffice of sustainability, Long Beach cur-rently has 52 charging stations at 11 city-owned lots, from the Queen Mary to the air-port. He explained that, although the cityhas done almost all it can in terms of bring-ing charging stations to public property,gaps exist in the private sector at buildingssuch as apartments and condominiums.

“There’s not a separate meter in yourparking structure. And while some peoplecan find an outlet in their parking garageand plug into it, it oftentimes leads to com-plaints by the other residents saying, ‘Hey,we’re all paying for that,’” Rich said.

While the city could potentially developa policy that provides incentives or requiresdevelopers to install charging stations inmulti-family structures, it hasn’t done so

yet, and, according to Rich,the office of sustainabilityhasn’t received a policydirection from city leader-ship to focus on that area.

“It’s just a matter of prior-itizing it,” Rich said. “Wehave a sustainable cityaction plan. It has manygoals and policies andactions that are proposed tobe taken during this decade.But we can’t work on all ofthem at once.”

Though challenges towidespread adoption ofplug-in vehicles remain, thefuture of the technologycontinues to show promise.Earlier this month theUnited States Air Forceannounced it was rolling outa 42-vehicle fleet of plug-invehicles to be used at LosAngeles Air Force Base. It’sthe first time the U.S.Department of Defense hasused such vehicles in a non-tactical role.

Looking forward to 2015,Kehoe said the PEVC willmake the issue of work-place and multi-familydwelling charging stations apriority. But, despite beinga booster for the technol-ogy, even Kehoe admits thegovernor’s goal of 1.5 mil-lion zero emission vehiclesby 2025 is a lofty one.

“I can’t guarantee thatwe’ll get to that aspira-tional goal. But we will bea lot closer to it than we aretoday.” �


As technology continues to enhance the tools we use on adaily basis, the opportunity for headaches seems to grow.Just ask any anyone who’s tried to execute a simple text mes-sage with Siri, the voice-activated application for the iPhone.

Recent reports suggest that, when it comes to sources ofdaily frustration, the family car is increasingly joining theranks of traditionally digital gadgetry.

According to a J.D. Power and Associates (JDPA) studyreleased in August, integrated audio, communication,entertainment and navigation systems (also known asinfotainment systems) in new cars have become the most“problematic component category” for new car owners.The study was based on responses from more than 86,000new vehicle owners surveyed.

Drivers were particularly irked with problems stemmingfrom voice recognition systems, which surpassed windnoise as the problem most frequently reported by new carusers. Another frequently reported issue involved difficultypairing a car’s built-in blue tooth system with cell phones.

A 2014 auto reliability study conducted by ConsumerReports revealed similar complaints with drivers indicat-ing that infotainment systems were the number oneoffender when it comes to overall car reliability.

“Right now it’s the most prevalent problem we’re seeingin new cars,” said Jake Fisher, director of automotiveresearch at Consumer Reports. “In occurrences, it’s farmore than any other issues.”

The study listed the most and least reliable models of

2014, comparing each with where they had ranked theprevious year. Fisher explained that common gripescover a wide spectrum of woes.

“It ranges, but some of the complaints could be the sys-tem locking up, so you have to reboot the system or turnoff the car and turn the car back on to get it working again,screens going blank, not pairing with your phone. All dif-ferent types of issues,” Fisher said.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Statistics show thatmanufacturers experiencing problems with newly intro-duced systems have had success improving them withsubsequent models.

“Without a doubt, as time goes on, they’regoing to work out these bugs; we’re seeing it nowwith our data. We compared last year’s data withthe year before and invariably every system con-tinues to get better, ” Fisher said.

He pointed to the example of Ford and Lincoln,whose MyTouch system has shown significantimprovement over last year. The system features atouch screen in the center console that allowsdrivers to control Bluetooth, navigation, audioand other features.

“What’s going on is the penetration of these sys-tems is increasing almost exponentially. Maybefour years ago it was only common in BMWs orluxury cars. Now we’re seeing [infotainment sys-tems] in virtually every car out there,” Fisher said.

Todd Leutheuser, executive director of theSouthland Motor Car Dealers Associationexplained that cars have evolved so rapidly over

the past decade, it comes as no surprise that there aresome bugs to work out.

“We’ve seen tons of generational increases in new cartechnology. In fact, in the last 10 years we’ve probablygone through three generational changes,” Leutheuser said.

He added that, as technology evolves rapidly, manu-facturers aren’t that far behind when it comes to makingimprovements.

“While certain manufacturers have had growing pains,what you hear in news reports in 2013 might not be true withthe same make and model in 2014. Because they’re con-stantly fixing, renewing and improving their technology.” �

Sometimes Auto Manufacturers Have To Play Catch-Up To Improve Digital Gadgets

Pictured is the nfotainment system in a 2015 BMW I3. The digital systemallows drivers to pair mobile devices with the car for hands-free communica-tion, and also provides navigation, climate control and vehicle information.(Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

2015 Chevy Spark EV shown on the lot at Harbor Chevrolet, 3770Cherry Ave., Long Beach.

2015 Ford Fusion Energi shown on the lot at Worthington Ford,2950 N. Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach.

2015 BMW I3 at Long Beach BMW, 2998 Cherry Ave. in SignalHill. Not satisfied with merely being electric, BMW claims the car’sinterior is 25 percent crafted from renewable or recyclable materials.(Above photographs by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)


Q&A WITH CITY AUDITOR LAURA DOUD16 Long Beach Business Journal November 25-December 8, 2014

lion worth of parking citations for the pastfew years. The report won the nationalBronze Knighton Award from theAssociation of Local Government Auditors– the third time Doud’s office was recog-nized with a Knighton Award.

Under Doud, the Office of the CityAuditor has also been recognized for itswebsite and is a member of several nationalorganizations, including the Association ofLocal Government Auditors, the AmericanInstitute of Certified Public Accountants,the Association of Certified FraudExaminers, and others. Including Doud,there are 18 staff members within the cityauditor’s office.

A Long Beach native, Doud is a graduateof Wilson High School, Long Beach City

College and California State University,Long Beach. After earning a degree inaccounting, she began working for the cityas a staff auditor in 1993. From 2003 to2006, she served as a controller for theWater Replenishment District of SouthernCalifornia. She has served as city auditor forthe past eight years after first being electedin 2006 and reelected in 2010. In this year’selection, she ran unopposed. Doud holds alaw degree from Pacific Coast UniversitySchool of Law and is a certified publicaccountant and a certified fraud examiner.

On a patio at the Hotel Maya overlook-ing the Long Beach skyline, Doud spoke tothe Business Journal about her duties asauditor, the impact of her office’s audits tocity operations, her priorities for her thirdterm, current issues on her radar and more.

LBBJ: How do you determine whichaudits to pursue?Doud: That’s a really good question. We

have limited resources and there are a lot ofbig important issues facing our city, so wealways want to be strategic on where weuse our resources to basically give the tax-payers the biggest bang for their buck. Theoverarching things we think about when wedecide to do an audit are the importance ofit to the public, the relevance of it, makingsure it will be valuable and useful, and thatit could make a difference.

Those are things we look for, but we alsoget requests a lot. We get requests from themayor. We get requests from city council.We get requests from city management. Weget requests from the public. We are 100percent open to all of those requests. Then

we sit down as a management team anddecide what is most relevant, timely, criti-cal and important, and what could have thebiggest impact. That is kind of how we goabout choosing and identifying the riskstoo, the risk potential, [and potential] lossof revenue. So there are a lot of factors thatgo into determining what audit we do. CanI just back up for one minute?LBBJ: Sure.Doud: The charter has specific responsi-

bilities for the city auditor. First and fore-most is that we fulfill our charter responsi-bilities. We are responsible for the compre-hensive annual financial audit. We do con-tract that out to KPMG [an audit, tax andadvisory firm], but we oversee it. We arealso required by the charter to audit thecity’s quarterly cash and investments. Weare required to audit cash disbursementsand cash receipts and garnishments. Thereare requirements such as the Prop H oilproduction tax audit. We’re required to dothat by ordinance. So, first and foremostare the charter responsibilities and thenthere are the ordinance-mandated audits.Third, we get fraud hotline calls that wetake seriously. We have a fiduciary duty tofollow up on those calls. With the otherresources we have, we take requests fromthe public and from a number of sources. LBBJ: How often do you get requests

from people at city hall?Doud: Not too often, but we do receive

them. We’re working with the mayor rightnow on our information and technologyaudit. City council in the past has asked usto look at the port. The port makes thattransfer to Tidelands Fund, and we wereasked to audit that. We were also asked toaudit the harbor [commission] travel. Thatwas a group request from council, thebudget committee, the public and themedia. We were getting questions from alot of places. City management justrecently asked us to audit the marina. Wejust finished two marina audits, one in cashcontrols and one on contract management.They are posted on our website. People cango to our website and pull them up andreview them and see what we’ve done. LBBJ: As you mentioned, your office

has a hotline to report city fraud. Does thatphone ring a lot?Doud: We get a constant stream of calls.

Some calls are more serious than others.One of the things we are working on is pro-ducing an annual report on our fraud hotlinecalls. We will have a report next year on that.LBBJ: How have your audits effected

changes in city operations?Doud: I think it has really had a powerful

impact and change in the city because wespend so much time in the planning phaseof our audits, [and] because making a dif-ference and making changes is probablyone of the most important things to me. Iam not here just to issue an audit report andget a headline or say, “I caught you doingsomething wrong,” or to criticize or embar-rass, or anything like that. One of the great-est rewards for me is to find improvementsin how we can do things better. We don’twaste a lot of time on things we don’t thinkwill make a difference. If we think we havean idea and we charge off on a path on anaudit and then we find that halfwaythrough it is not going to result in what wethought, we back off. We don’t waste our

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Q&A WITH CITY AUDITOR LAURA DOUDNovember 25-December 8, 2014 Long Beach Business Journal 17

time. Because we spend so much time inthe planning process, we have come upwith some really good audits, and I cangive you a couple of examples.

The very first one we did was the oil pro-duction tax. We don’t have enough time forme to go through the whole thing, butthrough our audit we did find the City ofLong Beach was charging the lowest priceper barrel on oil. It was a benchmark studywhich, as a result, ended up in a ballotmeasure. To get a tax increase, you need atwo-thirds vote. And we got two-thirds per-cent of the vote. There had never been a taxincrease voted on by the public before in thehistory of Long Beach. You can barely gettwo-thirds of the people to agree on applepie, let alone a tax increase. But I think,with a lot of planning and preparation andcollaborative work with the city, we were onto something very important. Since thatvote, the city has collected over $22 millionit otherwise would not have had for policeand fire. So when you talk about what kindof change has it had, it didn’t just happenthat one year. Because of our audit and oilproduction tax, every single year the city isreceiving $3.5 million to $4 million more asa result, and it was specifically allocated forpolice and fire. Every year we can sustainapproximately 12 more police officers, 12more fire fighters, better equipment, bettertraining. This is really a big deal in times ofdownsizing and budget cuts and revenuedropping. This was a huge shot in the armfor the city. I’m really proud of that.

We also audited the police department –the first time the police department hadbeen audited in over 12 years. At the timewe started, the department had approxi-mately $12 million in overtime. We lookedat why there was so much overtime and wecame up with some recommendations, andas a result their overtime has decreasedtremendously. It has had a significantimpact on the budget because of the recom-mendations we made to help deploymentand some recommendations in civilianiza-tion, [such as] taking the police officerswho are in the office, putting them out onthe streets and replacing them with civil-ians. So, as a result, there have been morecops on the streets and there has been lessovertime. I think there were some reallygreat recommendations that came out ofthat that have caused great change. LBBJ: How much was the overtime

reduced?Doud: The next year I believe it had

gone down to $4 million. What it is today Iam sorry, I don’t know. But a year after ouraudit was issued, it went from $12 millionto $4 million.LBBJ:What year was that?Doud:We issued it in 2007. So the fiscal

year 2008 was $4 million. I think there havebeen some significant other ones as well,like animal control. At the animal control[division of the Long Beach Parks,Recreation & Marine Department] there wasa theft. There is a woman sitting in jail rightnow partially due to the work that our officedid. That was a high profile case that I thinkreally brought attention to segregation ofduties – not to let the same person collect thecash, to record the cash and to make the bankdeposit. You need to have segregation ofduties. There needs to be better oversight,better accountability, better transparency. I

think it really caused some changes. I knowwithin animal control it did.

Also the Alamitos Bay Marina. Thecity – a couple of years ago – was about toissue over $90 million in debt to fund the$96 million project at the marina. Westarted asking questions about how theywere planning to finance the debt and theydidn’t really have a plan, so the city hired afinancial consultant to figure out if theycould afford this debt for this huge projectand the financial consultant came back andsaid [the city] can’t afford it. So it’s a goodthing we were asking the questions. Theythen went to a phased-in approach, to reha-bilitate the portions they could afford. LBBJ: Is that the dredging and rehabili-

tation project they are working on now?Doud:Yes, at Alamitos Bay. It’s by basin,

and it is phased in as they can afford it. Itreally addressed the importance of having aplan and ensuring you could finance itbefore you put the city on the hook for it. LBBJ: Have your recommendations on

the various audits you’ve conducted beenfollowed through on? If not, why?Doud: Some have. Not all that we would

have wanted. If not, why? Well, I thinkthere are a couple reasons. One, we haveexperienced a recession. City revenueshave gone down. Budget cuts have beenreal. City management has had a challengewith managing their resources and some ofour audits recommend having a segrega-tion of duties. They don’t have theresources to hire more people to segregate



Q&A WITH CITY AUDITOR LAURA DOUD18 Long Beach Business Journal November 25-December 8, 2014

it, or they have had to downsize staffing sothere is not as much oversight. I know theyhave experienced some challenges therewith decreased revenues and a limitedbudget. But, as we’ve talked about, a lot ofour recommendations deal with antiquatedsoftware and information and technologies.

One particular one [city management]did follow throug on was the parking cita-tions audit, where we found out there wasover $18 million in outstanding parkingtickets and the system was so outdated, itdidn’t interface with the DMV. They had allthis old data that was clogging up the sys-tem. They had no way of purging it. Thesoftware was so old and clogged and it did-n’t even produce proper reports to manageanything appropriately. So we took it to[city] council, and council did approve aninvestment to improve their system andsoftware to increase their collection efforts.So that was a good thing that took place. LBBJ: Do you typically find that when

your recommendations aren’t followedthrough on, it has to do with resourcesand funding?Doud: Often times. One report that will

be really important is going to be a sum-mary of all of our recommendations andthe implementation of our recommenda-tions. There is a lot of work that goes intothese reports. We take it seriously. We’rerequired to abide by generally acceptedgovernment auditing standards and there isa high level of standard that all of ourreports meet. They are solid reports, andthey are bulletproof. They have not beenchallenged in any way. I feel very passion-ately about these recommendations beingimplemented, and there are not as manyimplemented as I would like. So we’replanning to put a summary report togetherto show what has been recommended andwhat has been implemented.LBBJ: How often do you repeat audits

you have done in the past, or audits for thesame departments?Doud: Not very often. It’s a big city.

There is a lot going on constantly. We’re try-ing to keep up with what’s current and don’thave a lot of extra resources to go back.There are some departments and things wehaven’t even gotten to yet. So I want to try toget to everything before repeating [audits].LBBJ: If you were to repeat an audit,

why would you do so?Doud: We would go where the greatest

risks are. Where are the greatest risks forloss of revenue and potential liability andfraud? We would keep our ears and eyesopen at council meetings. We listen tocouncil meetings, water commission meet-ings, read the agendas, read the newspa-pers. We’re looking at all these things. So itwould most likely be due to risk. Also, wefollow the money. Where is the money, andalso, what is important to the public?LBBJ: Do you conduct, or have the free-

dom to conduct, audits of city agencieswith non-General Fund budgets? Forexample, the harbor department, waterdepartment, airport.Doud: Yes. We have done several audits

of the harbor. We did the harbor transferbudget, and as a result there was anotherballot measure. Since the 1980s, I thinkdue to a vote from the public, the port hadbeen making a transfer to the Tidelands

Fund on 10 percent of their net [revenue].It created a lot of tension between the cityand the port because of that term, “net.”

There were a lot of questions about whatwas involved in that net. We were asked bycity council and the port to look at it. Theport was saying, “Look, we’re not hidinganything.” And the city was like, “Well, wewant to make sure it’s all transparent.” Andone of the things we found in that audit wasthat the port was actually netting their prioryear transfer to come up with their base toget to their net and get to the next transferamount. We didn’t think that was right.Don’t net the transfer out. That caused aballot measure because we came to a dis-agreement. We recommended to get rid ofnet [revenue] and just go to gross [revenue].Instead of 10 percent net, go to 5 percentgross. Then just take it off the top and theycan run their business the way they need to.So now [with voter approval] the transfer isbased on 5 percent of their gross.

As you know, we just did an audit of theharbor [commission] travel as well that hascaused some change in their policy andtransparency and accountability. It hasbeen a good thing. We have also done anaudit of the water department and lookingat how they budget and what they basetheir rate changes on. We also are undergo-ing a contract audit right now on the air-port. That will be issued probably within amonth or two. LBBJ: What about groups who work

closely with the city and rely partially oncity funding, such as the PBIDs,Downtown Long Beach Associates, LongBeach Transit and Convention & VisitorsBureau? Are you able to audit thosegroups?Doud: Yeah, we are. They are not

General Fund, but we are allowed to. LBBJ: Have you ever audited any of

those groups?

Doud:We haven’t yet, no.LBBJ: Will there be an audit of the

port’s capital improvement projects, suchas the Gerald Desmond Bridge?Doud: The Gerald Desmond Bridge is a

massive project. It would be a huge under-taking. It is being funded by federal, state,county and port money. I think there willbe a lot of auditors looking at it. And we’recertainly keeping an eye on it, but as theyare in process, we are not planning ongoing in at this time.LBBJ:What would cause you to look at

one of those projects?Doud: I think if there was an allegation

of misappropriation or inappropriatespending that surfaced and there was causeto believe that it could be [accurate]. Or ifthe public was requesting information theyweren’t able to get and there was a feelingof not being transparent.LBBJ: You mentioned the port travel

audit. Have you ever audited the travelexpenditures of the mayor and city coun-cil?Doud:We have not yet.LBBJ: What would be a situation in

which you would do that?Doud: I think if there were allegations of

some sort we would definitely put that as atop priority. LBBJ: For instance, you said you

audited the harbor commission travelexpenditures because of media attention,public requests. Doud: We got it from so many sources.

That was a concern to the public and themedia and a lot of people, so we felt it wasappropriate to do that. If that became anissue [with the mayor or council], wewould look at that as well.LBBJ: Have you been approached by

anyone at city hall to assist in the new civiccenter project?Doud: Last Tuesday night [November

11] at their study session at Houghton Park,I believe [7th District] CouncilmemberRoberto Uranga mentioned that he wouldlike the city auditor’s office to have somesort of oversight role. We are definitelykeeping our eyes wide open and listeningand attending all of the hearings and listen-ing to the public, because there is a lot ofconcern. It is a lot of money. It is a big proj-ect. It is a big decision. I don’t have a vote,but I believe the auditor’s role is to ensurethat there is a fair process and that city lead-ers give the public an opportunity to vocal-ize or express their concerns and the thingsthat are on their mind and what they wouldlike to see. And, when they have questionsabout costs, that financial management pro-vides those costs to them – what the city ispaying now, what they project to pay and soforth. I think the city is doing a great jobright now reaching out to the public andspending time in open public forums, goingout to different parts of the city and talkingabout these things and listening to the pub-lic. They are doing a good job. I am just inan oversight [role] looking at the processand making sure, again, if there is informa-tion the public wants, just making sure theyget it. If not, I would be of help in that area.If there were questions that weren’t beinganswered, or financial questions, we couldassist in that regard.LBBJ: So right now you’re just kind of

keeping an eye on it?Doud: And observing and watching and

listening. LBBJ: How might the falling price of

crude oil impact the budget? Is that some-thing you’re taking a look at?Doud:Yes. The city is budgeted at $70 per

barrel for their operating budget and thenanything above and beyond $70 a barrel isused for capital projects. If the price of oildid drop below $70, which it hasn’t yet, butit could, it could have real and serious risks

City Auditor Laura Doud has been a Long Beach resident all her life. As auditor, she is able to examine city departments, divisions, staff and elected officials, aswell as certain agencies receiving city funding, to ensure public funds are being spent efficiently and effectively. One of her priorities for her third term is examiningand issuing recommendations about how to address a systemic city issue of outdated technology. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)



Q&A WITH CITY AUDITOR LAURA DOUDNovember 25-December 8, 2014 Long Beach Business Journal 19

to the budget and potentially city services.Not to mention the capital projects, right? LBBJ: Do you think when they bud-

geted it they did so conservatively?Doud: I think they did, because at the

time it was close to $100. It is continuallydropping. The fact that they went to $70 ata time it was pretty high . . . it is so volatile.Nobody knows the future. So I think thatwas a conservative approach.LBBJ: We talked a little about this ear-

lier. In several cases, your audits haverevealed outdated or inefficient technologyas a factor in inadequately managed fundsor as a potential cause of future issues. Inyour view, is this a consistent issuethroughout city departments? Doud:Yes. It really is. As you have men-

tioned, almost every audit that we’velooked at has [identified] outdated ineffi-cient technology. The city appears to bedoing a lot by hand, manually, that it couldbe doing with automation and technology.That’s one of the reasons we’ve initiatedthis technology improvement audit. It’s asystemic problem. Instead of just lookingat it department by department, we’re look-ing at a citywide issue and concern and tak-ing inventory of all of the city’s systemsand addressing them citywide. And [weare] comparing them to what other citiesare doing and with best practices on howwe could best serve our constituents toimprove technology. It is available; we justhave to be smart about it.

It is changing rapidly. I mean technologyis complicated. There is a lot to it. That isone of our greatest challenges that we face.Technology is one of the most importantthings to keep on top of. If our goal is toimprove city government for our con-stituents, we have to put this as a priority.We have to keep current. We have to keepup to date on this. It’s a big deal.LBBJ: To what extent does it seem like

much of the city’s technology is outdated?Doud: A lot of the software is outdated.

We found that even some of the manufac-turers of the software the city is using don’teven service it any more. The reports thatare being generated aren’t always the mostrelevant reports. There are weaknesses wefound in the reports being generated and inthe functionality of the technology where itdoesn’t absolutely prevent people fromgoing in and making edits and changes,and then not having a proper tracing ortrack of who edited what and why are all ofthese edits being made. It’s things like thatthat we really need to strengthen the con-trols over to ensure that there isn’t anyfunny business. When you’re dealing withcash, too, you just have to have the strictestof controls in all regards.

We are planning on issuing a report toMayor Garcia’s new [technology and inno-vation] commission. We are going to bedoing some really good work and I’mexcited to have a report in the next fewmonths and issue it publicly to his newcommission and all who are interested.LBBJ: What was the impetus for the

Police & Fire Public Safety DispatcherOvertime Audit?Doud: It was a fraud hotline call. So we

did a little bit of preliminary analysis onthe call and we found that the overtime didseem to be significant, so we felt it wasimportant to follow up and look into.

LBBJ: Can you share what the overtimewas?Doud: We don’t really talk about our

audits while they’re in process, because wehaven’t given the department a chance torespond and they might have a good reasonfor it, and that wouldn’t be fair. LBBJ:What are your priorities for your

third term as city auditor?Doud: I’ve thought about this for a while.

I can’t think of anything more importantright now than getting on top of the technol-ogy issue. I don’t think that can be overem-phasized enough, the importance and thesignificance [of that issue]. It’s a big proj-ect. The report we’re working on now is tak-ing a lot of time. And when a report doescome together and we issue it [in Februaryor March], it’s going to take a lot of effortfrom a lot of people to make this work. Howdo we make this work? How do we coordi-nate all of this system management so thatit’s no longer these silos in these depart-ments working independently and not com-municating with each other . . . that we’reall on the same page, and that it is easy forthe public to pay tickets or pay for servicesonline and do a lot more online than theyare now able to do?

Over the next four years, I believe I amgoing to be heavily involved and this is goingto be on my mind a lot. How, as a govern-ment, we can be innovative just like privatebusinesses are. They are constantly thinkingof better ways to service their customer.

As the independent elected auditor, oneof the things that makes my job work sowell is that the public is my client. I workfor the public and I have a responsibility tothem to make government accessible, open,transparent, accountable, efficient andresponsive, and I want to do a better job atthat. I want to reach out to the public moreand I want the public to reach out to usmore. Are we meeting their needs? What isit that we can do better? What is it that youwant that we’re not providing? LBBJ: Is there anything else you would

like to discuss?Doud: I’m so incredibly blessed to have

the best staff I have ever had – the mostprofessional, dedicated and committed topublic service that I have ever had. They’reoutstanding. I am super grateful for themand their hard work because we have issueda number of really positive reports thathave caused me to decide to issue thereport on summarizing all of our recom-mendations and implementation. That ishow strongly I feel about the importance ofimplementing these recommendations.

I have to give my staff the credit for beingso dedicated and focused. It’s not easy toput an audit together. You really have to becommitted. We receive resistance sometimes, and sometimes it’s not easy.

I’m really grateful for the trust the publichas put in me. As an independent, electedofficer of the City of Long Beach, that’s abig deal. And to be the steward over thecity’s finances, to be the oversight – kind oflike the independent check and balance, Iam committed to it. We have a lot morework to do. I am looking forward to the nextfour years. I am really grateful to have a jobwhere I look forward to waking up in themorning and going to it. To be involved andfeel like we’re making a small difference insome way, it’s really a satisfying feeling. �


IN THE NEWS20 Long Beach Business Journal November 25-December 8, 2014

Starbucks Opens At Signal Hill Gateway CenterA new drive-through Starbucks store opened at Signal HillPetroleum’s Signal Hill Gateway Center, 999 E. Spring St.,following a ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 12. Thelocation is one of the first of Starbucks “Reserve” brandedstores, a new format the company launched in Septemberdedicated to selling premium-branded Starbucks Reservecoffee. Like all new Starbucks Reserve stores, this 1,700-square-foot location features an interactive roasting experi-ence and a tasting bar. “We are so pleased to have thenewest Starbucks in the city and look forward to a long, last-ing relationship,” Signal Hill Mayor Ed Wilson said at theribbon-cutting event. Dave Slater, executive vice presidentand chief operating officer of Signal Hill Petroleum, alsoexpressed his approval, saying, “The enthusiasm and sup-port from the community has been overwhelming and welook forward to enjoying an excellent cup of coffee with ourneighbors and friends at this great location,” A new Sprintstore also recently opened at the center, and a ChipotleMexican Grill is opening in December. Starbucks is opendaily from 4:30 a.m. to midnight. At left, Bobby Casillas,front right, store manager of the new Starbucks, andStarbucks employees celebrate the store’s opening.(Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

Signal Hill city officials, Starbucks employees andrepresentatives from Signal Hill Petroleum gather forthe grand opening of a new Starbucks store at theSignal Hill Gateway Center. Pictured at the ribbon-cutting, from left to right, are: Signal Hill PoliceCaptain Christopher Nunley, Mayor Ed Wilson,Starbucks District Manager Fauzia Adams, SignalHill Councilmember Lori Woods, Signal HillPetroleum Slater and Signal Hill Petroleum executivevice president and chief operatin officer, Dave SlaterSignal Hill Petroleum Real Estate Manager AshleySchaffer. (Photograph by the Business Journal’sThomas McConville)

Pine Avenue Pop-up Shop –MADE In Long BeachLocalism, Inc., a group dedicated to building and supportingnetworks of local merchants, growers and other organiza-tions, partnered with property management firm DomaProperties to open a 12,500-square-foot retail space at 236Pine Ave. to give local merchants an outlet to sell their wares.The long-term vision is to turn the space, called MADE inLong Beach, into a permanent retail venue where local arti-sans and merchants can either host booths leased month-to-month or create small built-out spaces within the building,according to DW Ferrell, executive director of Localism.About 80 artisans and retailers have already expressedinterest in the location, he said. MADE in Long Beach islaunching some time before Thanksgiving with a holidaypop-up shop full of local vendors and organizations, includ-ing Bike Local, Anandamide, LBC Home Kitchen, LongBeach Jerky Co., Proper’s Pickle, Rose Park Roasters,Reclamation Dept., Wilderess, Heartbreak Coffee and ThePeople’s Soap Company. Following the holidays, MADE inLong Beach is going to transition to leasing to vendors on alonger-term basis, Ferrell explained. By mid-summer, he saidmore permanent build-outs are to be complete, as well as amaker lab for tenants to use for assembling their goods ortesting out new products. Localism is providing tenants withworkers to staff their booths, which is built into the cost ofleasing space. Hours for the holiday shop have not yet beenfinalized, but should be typical of holiday retail hours, Ferrellsaid. Visit www.madelb.com for more information. Picturedat MADE In Long Beach, from left are: Dev Mavi, propertyowner of 236 Pine Ave. and a co-creator of the MADE inLong Beach concept; Scott Hamilton, owner of DomaProperties; Ferrell; Heather Kern, special projects managerfor Localism; and Rashad Captan, founder of Bike Local.(Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)


IN THE NEWSNovember 25-December 8, 2014 Long Beach Business Journal 21

Blake ChristianNamed One Of Top 10AccountingProfessionals In CaliforniaBlake Christian, a partner and cer-tified public accountant with theLong Beach office of Holthouse,Carlin & Van Trigt, has beenselected by the National Academyof Public Accounting Professionalsas one of 2014’s top 10 publicaccounting officials in California.Christian has more than 29 yearsof accounting experience. “We arevery pleased to recognize BlakeChristian, whose commitment to theprofession and mastery of his crafthave earned him this significanthonor,” said NAPAP ExecutiveDirector Paul Witte in a statement.Prior to joining Holthouse, Christianwas a tax partner with the interna-tional accounting firm of KPMGPeat Marwick and also served astax director with a Fortune 500company. Christian is a nationallyrecognized expert and frequentauthor and speaker on state andfederal Location-based Incentive Credits (LBIC’s), including State Enterprise Zone Credits, FederalEmpowerment, Renewal Community, Indian Tribal Lands and Gulf Opportunity Zone Credits. He hasalso assisted in the development of specialized software, which is used by over 200 tax departmentsthroughout the U.S. to identify LBIC’s. He received a master’s degree in taxation from the University ofSouthern California and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from California State University,Long Beach. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

More In The NewsThe Longs Honored – Signal Hill res-

idents Robert Long and his late wifeNancy were honored by the Rotary Clubof Signal Hill for their contributions tochildhood education and to Rotary onNovember 8. The Longs have donatedschool supplies for Signal Hill elemen-tary students and contributed funds fortheir well-being for more than 10 years.After Nancy Long’s passing, her husbandformed a foundation in her name, whichhas since partnered with the Rotary Clubof Signal Hill to deliver school suppliesto local students. In 2013, Robert Longdonated more than $150,000 to the

Rotary International Donor AdvisedFund to be used for clean water programsworldwide. He has been involved inmany aspects of the Signal Hill commu-nity, having worked in the oil industry formany years and as an officer in thePreservation Organization of Signal Hill.Nancy Long was a member of Signal HillCivil Service Commission and a localsmall business owner.Dramatic Results – For the third con-

secutive year, Dramatic Results in LongBeach has been named a “Top-Rated”2014 Nonprofit by GreatNonprofits.org.Dramatic Results, which is headed up byExecutive Director Christi Wilkins, uses ahands-on, art-based approach to learning

by specializing in “curriculum that inte-grates art into other core academic sub-jects meeting California content stan-dards.” Wilkins said, “We are proud of ouraccomplishments this year, includingdemonstrating double-digit gains in stu-dents’ math performance, expanding ourprogram delivery to K-2 students and forbeing awarded a $2 million grant to inte-grate iPad technology with our award-win-ning Math in a Basket program.” Honda Gives Back – Honda Motor

Co. surprised attendees at a weekend galaevent in Palos Verdes when it pledged $1million to Providence Little Company ofMary Medical Center in Torrance. Themoney will be used to fund the hospital’s

planned cardiovascular center of excel-lence. “Once again American Hondashows its spirit of philanthropy and itscommitment of advancing health care inthe South Bay,” Liz Dunne, chief execu-tive, South Bay communities, ProvidenceHealth & Services, South California, saidin a statement. The donation wasannounced in front of a crowd of 700guests at a black tie event hosted by LittleCompany of Mary Medical Center tohonor Honda with a corporate leadershipaward. Stephan Morikawa, assistant vicepresident of corporate community rela-tions for Honda, surprised everyonewhile receiving the award, by announcingthe donation. �

LindaAlexanderTakes ReinsOf NonprofitPartnershipDeborah Goldfarb, left,president of the boardof directors for the LongBeach NonprofitPartnership (LBNP), wel-comes the group’s newexecutive director, LindaAlexander, during arecent reception.Alexander most recentlyserved with First 5 LA,where she worked“closely with LBNP tocollaboratively providemuch needed consultingand support for earlycare and education inLong Beach.” Sheearned her MFT (marriage and family therapy) specialization in counseling psychology at SanFrancisco State University and her bachelors in psychology from California State University, LongBeach. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

Home DepotEmployeesSupport GoldStar ManorOn November 20, morethan 50 local Home Depotemployees donated theirtime and work as well asstore resources to providenew gardening amenitiesand a freshly-painted com-munity center for a localhousing complex for veter-ans and their families. Thecomplex, known as theAmerican Gold Star Manor,is named for the Gold Star Mothers, a group ofmothers who have lost children in service of theircountry. The manor was originally created in the1970s to house these women and still does to thisday, although the facility is also home to veteransand low-income seniors. Led by Home DepotSupervisor Alison Durham and Store ManagerEmily Simpson of Home Depot’s 751 E. Spring St.location in Signal Hill, the volunteers constructednew garden sheds and created a new park areafor residents. According to Terry Geiling, AmericanGold Star Manor president and CEO, Home Depotdonated several thousand dollars worth of construc-tion materials, paint and other supplies for the proj-ects. The American Gold Star Manor VeteransClub, cooked a thank-you BBQ for the Home Depotemployees who volunteered their time to repaint theManor’s community center and improve the garden-ing area. Pictured top, from left are: Veterans Clubmember Sam Kim, Home Depot Store ManagerSimpson and American Gold Star Manor’s Geiling.(Photograph by the Business Journal’s ThomasMcConville)


Dear EarthTalk: We must really be swimmingin electronic waste, what with all the iPhones andother devices that are so common. How is this allbeing dealt with? – Mary Shufelt, New Bern, NC

W ith electronic equipment and gadgetsthe fastest growing waste stream in

many countries, how to deal with so-called “e-waste” may in fact be one of the most pressingenvironmental problems of the 21st century.According to BCC Research, consumersaround the world purchased 238.5 millionTVs, 444.4 million computers and tablets anda whopping 1.75 billion mobile phones in2012 alone. Most of us discard such itemswithin three years of purchase, and this is driv-ing the global growth in e-waste by some eightpercent a year. Meanwhile, a recent study con-ducted by researchers from the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology (MIT) on behalf of theUnited Nations found that the growth indemand for and manufacturing of new elec-tronics will result in a 33 percent increase in e-waste globally between 2012 and 2017.

But why is e-waste any more of a problemthan old fashioned garbage? “Some of the mate-rials in personal electronics, such as lead, mer-cury and cadmium, are hazardous and canrelease dangerous toxins into our air and waterwhen burned or deposited in landfills improp-erly,” reports the non-profit Natural ResourcesDefense Council (NRDC). “And throwing awaymetal components, like the copper, gold, silverand palladium in cell phones and other electron-

ics, leads to needless mining for new metals.”Today some 80 percent of unwanted elec-

tronics are disposed of improperly. “E-waste iseither discarded or exported to emergingnations, where open-air burning and acidbaths are used to reclaim precious metals andother elements,” reports Maureen O’Donnellin EHS Journal. The lack of proper controls in

such countries, she says, has led to elevatedlead levels in children and heavy metals pollu-tion of soil and water. As a result, she adds,“We now stand at the forefront of a growingenvironmental catastrophe.”

The good news is that many nations haveenacted new laws to hold manufacturersresponsible for the future e-waste created bytheir products. The European Union has led theway with its Waste Electrical and ElectronicEquipment (WEEE) Directive, which calls onelectronics makers to “take back” their prod-ucts for recycling when consumers upgrade tosomething new, and restricts European coun-tries from exporting or importing e-waste.Japan and China are among other countriesthat have passed similar laws.

The U.S. government has yet to follow suit,but the Electronics Takeback Coalition(ETC) reports that 21 U.S. states have imple-mented their own “take back” laws, and sev-eral other states are considering similar legis-lation. Meanwhile, environmentalists con-tinue to pressure Congress to consider simi-lar legislation at the national level, givenespecially that Americans are the world lead-ers in generating e-waste.

Additionally, many manufacturers are adopt-ing voluntary e-waste recycling certificationstandards. One is the e-Stewards program,which helps those looking to dispose of obso-lete electronics identify recycling options thatadhere to high standards of environmentalresponsibility and worker protection. Anotherprogram, R2 Certification, run by the non-profit SERI, is supported by several large man-ufacturers, including DirecTV and Microsoft.Consumers can do their parts by choosingmanufacturers that embrace so-called “pro-ducer pays” electronics recycling through par-ticipation in one of these programs.Contacts: Etc., www.electronicstakeback.

com; e-Stewards, www.e-stewards.org;SERI, www.sustainableelectronics.org;WEEE, http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/weee/legis_en.htm.(EarthTalk® is written and edited by

Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a reg-istered trademark of E – The EnvironmentalMagazine – www.emagazine.com. Sendquestions to: [email protected].)

EARTHTALK Dealing With Mounting ‘E-Waste’

EDITOR & PUBLISHER

George Economides

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Larry Duncan

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Samantha Mehlinger

STAFF WRITER

Brandon Ferguson

PHOTOJOURNALIST

Thomas McConville

COPY EDITORPat Flynn

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Vol. XXVII No. 23

November 25-

December 8, 2014

There was a group oftourists visiting a small

village in Europe. Theywalked by an old man sit-ting on a wooden fence.One of the tourists asked,“Were there any great peo-ple born in this village?”The old man replied,“Nope. Just babies!”

That story raises animportant point. Growth

takes time. It is a process. It must be inten-tional. It’s never accidental. And growth is amajor purpose for being alive. It’s a naturalphenomena, so when growth ceases, then lifeloses its intent. The result? We lose vitality.As Coach John Wooden put it, “The momentyour past becomes more exciting than yourfuture is the day you start to die.” In otherwords, you are either green and growing, orripe and rotting.

No one exceeds beyond their wildestexpectations unless they begin with some,well . . . wild expectations. Everyone getsstuck. People who grow do not stay stuck.You don’t drown by falling in the water. Youdrown by staying there.

When people are intentional in theirgrowth, they will realize a success that theywould not in any other way. Fostering devel-opment and growth is a personal choice.When it comes to leading others it is anessential practice that will bring out the bestin your people. If you want them to be thebest, then help them be better.

Organizations can get good at training.Training focuses on a specific outcome that

you would like to see happen. Growth goesdeeper. Growth is about going to a new levelof competency. It can include training, but italso involves mentoring, coaching, reading,and self-directed study.

One of the barriers to growth is the fasttrack mentality. People want everything –including growth – in an instant. Growth isnot “just a search away.” Growth comes as weface life on a day-to-day basis. It’s not anovernighter. It doesn’t happen in a day, but itdoes happen daily. When I was doing my grad-uate work one of my professors said to mycohort group, “It will take 15-20 years foryour experience to catch up to your educa-tion.” I wrote that down, but didn’t reallyunderstand it at the time. I do now!

Everything has a price. When it comes togrowth it means to fully embrace change.There is usually pain involved. That’s whywe use the phrase, growing pains. Growingintellectually includes pain. Growing emo-tionally includes pain. And anybody whoworks out knows that growing physicallyincludes pain. Spiritual growth comes whenwe embrace pain in its totality. We go deeperand integrate fully. It goes beyond align-ment to attunement.

Yet that never happens in the fast lane. A part of growth is accepting change. And

change is about embracing opportunity. It’sliving life to the fullest. It is a welcoming ofgrowth that will make you extraordinary –someone you have always wanted to be. Youfocus on what’s truly important to you.

Do not get numbed by busyness and missthe point of your work, your career, your rela-tionships – i.e. your life. Peter Drucker once

said, “I’ve seen many people who are magnif-icent at getting unimportant things done. Theyhave an impressive record of achievement ontrivial matters.”

Growth is not for sissies. It can include painand loss. Moving forward often involves jetti-soning something else. That’s not easy. Whenyou throw something overboard, rememberthat something better is yet to come.

Nothing – including you – stands still. Ifyou’re not moving forward, you are movingbackward. It’s a principle in this world thatdescribes the universe itself – that which doesnot expand, contracts. You are either gettingbetter or……….

Growth is a process. The mighty oak wasonce a small nut. That 100-foot pine was aseed blowing in the wind. Albert Einstein wasa misunderstood child. Unless a kernel ofwheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remainsalone. At times you might feel like you aredying. At that moment realize a new life isbeing born in you. Adversity doesn’t stop yourgrowth. It often propels you into a new dimen-sion of awareness that is broadening your per-spective and increasing your influence.

Don’t run from it. Embrace it. We teach what we know. We reproduce

what we are.(Mick Ukleja has co-authored several books

including Managing the Millennials. He helpsorganizations create environments in which allgenerations can thrive. He is a keynotespeaker and president of LeadershipTraq, aleadership consulting firm. His clients haveincluded Fortune 500 corporations and non-profit organizations. Check his weekly blog atwww.leadershiptraq.com.)

� EFFECTIVELEADERSHIP

By Mick Ukleja

Green And Growing Or Ripe And Rotting

22 Long Beach Business Journal November 25-December 8, 2014

PERSPECTIVE

Matthijs Rouw, courtesy Flickr


The dust hashardly settled

from the most expen-sive mid-term electionseason ever – withover $4 billion spenton campaigningnationally – and whatdo we have to showfor it? Not much,according to most

observers, if you are looking for substantialchange in legislation or policy when itcomes to real estate.

At the recent National Association ofRealtors (NAR) Convention in NewOrleans, most of the observations werepretty realistic about the likelihood ofsubstantial change in the next two years,now that the GOP controls both theHouse and Senate. The overriding opin-ion is that the current gridlock will con-tinue because of infighting, polarizationand the lack of consensus that govern-ment has a role in helping real estate –even housing.

Two of the biggest threats that realestate has faced over the past few yearsare the legislative movements to increasecapital gain rates and eliminate the mort-gage interest deduction, which saved

homeowners roughly $70 billion last yearin taxes. Many think that these two issuesare safe for now – if for no other reasonthan Washington gridlock will keep any-thing from being done either way.

Two of the speakers at the NAR con-vention – Mark Halperin and JohnHeilemann, co-authors of “Double Down:

Game Change 2012” – headlined theFederal Legislative and Political Forumsession at the New Orleans conferenceand shared their views and analysis aboutthe new political landscape cast by themost recent elections.

“House Speaker John Boehner’s historicmajority will be more conservative thanany other Republican Congress in the his-tory of the Republic. The polarization ofpolitics is the context of everything goingforward,” said Heilemann.

Both speakers were skeptical that anymajor legislation will pass in the next twoyears, especially when it comes to hous-ing policy, which is a divided issue on

Capitol Hill. “There are people inCongress who think there should be norole for the government in the housingmarket. That makes it really hard to doanything on housing,” Halperin added.

Neither President Obama nor the con-servative Republicans are going to wantto compromise on their key principles,

and another stalemate on any progress islikely the outcome, they said. “As of now,President Obama is a spent politicalforce, which is a real turnaround fromObama as a candidate, who was seen assomeone with huge possibility,” Halperinsaid. “The president is now a more polar-izing figure than former Presidents BillClinton or George W. Bush.”

According to the speakers, none of thepresident’s large-scale reforms are going tobe touched in the upcoming lame duck ses-sion of Congress. However, at least one keypiece of legislation that is supported in mostreal estate circles will likely be consideredand passed before the end of the year.

Halperin predicted that the federalTerrorism Risk Insurance Act, which cre-ates the federal backstop that encouragesprivate insurers to make terrorism insur-ance available and affordable for com-mercial properties, will be reauthorizedbefore its December 31st expiration date.NAR is a strong proponent of the pro-gram and feels it is a component to pro-moting commercial real estate and realestate development – two areas of theindustry that are fighting to get back topre-recession levels.

The speakers were pessimistic that thenew congress will tackle tax reform orany real estate-related tax provisions,which require a lot of political strengthfrom the sitting president and a deep will-ingness from both parties to negotiate.

In addition, this gridlock is likely to runover into other areas of the economy thatneed attention that could help business,health care and consumer spending, whichall impact the health of housing and com-mercial real estate.(Terry Ross, the broker-owner of TR

Properties, will answer any questionsabout today’s real estate market. E-mailquestions to Realty Views [email protected] or call 949/457-4922.)

� REALTY VIEWS

By Terry Ross

Real Estate After The Mid-term Elections

Iwas diagnosedwith Type 1 dia-

betes at 19 and wasoverwhelmed andupset, but figured Icould handle it. Iwent through stagesof impending doomthen realized it’s nota death sentence andcomplications areavoidable if you take

care of yourself. Attitude is everything;and I have lived a healthy life with dia-betes for 20 years.

The misconceptions about nutrition anddiabetes tend to be endless. In every class Iteach there is always a new misconception.People do their own research without reallyknowing if the advice is science-based orjust a testimonial. This leads to a lot of con-fusion and it can be challenging to con-vince people otherwise.

I hear misconceptions from class partici-pants like “my friend with diabetes said Ican’t eat carbs” or “I can’t eat fruit becauseit turns to sugar.” Others come into thenutrition class thinking it’s the end of theworld, but by the time the class is over theyrealize it’s not as bad as they thought.

Tackling Diabetes-Related MythsPeople with diabetes follow a special

diet.Newly diagnosed people need to follow a

balanced diet that is individualized to theirspecific medical conditions and needs.Nutrition is only one aspect of diabetescontrol and all newly diagnosed peopleshould attend a diabetes self-managementclass to learn how to obtain the bestglycemic control.

All foods can fit into your meal plan, but

you have to be aware of portion sizes andmake sure your blood glucose levels arestaying within your goals.Eating a lot of sugar can cause dia-

betes.Eating too much sugar does not cause

diabetes, but consuming too much sugarand excess calories can lead to weightgain and obesity. Being overweight does-n’t mean you will automatically developType 2 diabetes. However, being over-weight does put you at risk, and com-bined with other factors, it may increaseyour risk. People with diabetes can’t consume

carbohydrates.People with diabetes must consume car-

bohydrates; they’re your body’s mainsource for energy and brain function.Cutting out carbohydrate foods meansdepriving your body of important sourcesof vitamins, minerals, antioxidants andhigh-fiber foods. No carbohydrate foodsare “bad” in moderation, but most of yourcarbohydrates should come from wholegrains, beans and legumes, fruits, and milkor yogurt.

Be aware of portion sizes and knowwhich foods are carbohydrates, so youdon’t overeat those particular foods. People with diabetes can’t drink

alcohol.People with diabetes can safely drink

alcohol in moderation, but there are cer-tain guidelines to follow. Never drink onan empty stomach, because alcohol canmake your blood glucose drop, even thenext day. Alcohol should be limited totwo drinks per day, and certain drinks(drink mixers, juices, regular soda, sweetwines and sweet vermouth) contain largeamounts of sugar and carbohydrates,

which can lead to high blood glucose lev-els. Alcohol can interfere with some dia-betes medications so you should discussit with your physician.Other Tips for Healthy Eating:• Try to have at least three meals a day, at

the same times and similar amounts. Donot skip meals.

• Always eat on time, especially if youtake diabetes pills or insulin. If you takeinsulin, you may require a bedtime snack.

• Eat a variety of foods each day includ-ing fruits, vegetables, and whole grains orbeans.

• Use low-fat dairy products and leanmeats if you drink milk, or eat cheese andmeat.

• Avoid fruit juice as it raises bloodsugar rapidly. Have a small serving ofwhole fruit instead.

• Try not to eat fried foods. Choosebaked, grilled or broiled food.

• Learn to read food labels and buy a setof measuring cups to measure portions.

• Try to eat food low in saturated fat.• Limit your salt and sugar intake. If you

use table sugar, consider sugar substitutes.Nutrition for people with diabetes is

not a “one size fits all” approach andshould be tailored to each individual’shealth and activity needs. For most peo-ple, it’s an opportunity to learn how totake better care of themselves, eat morenutritious foods and improve overallhealth and quality of life.

– In memory of my brother K.C. HackmanApril 29, 1972 – Nov. 16, 2014 –

(Holly Hackman, RD, CDE, is a regis-tered dietitian and certified diabetes edu-cator at Long Beach Memorial.)

Diabetes And Your Diet

� HEALTHWISE

By Holly Hackman,RD, CDE

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November 25-December 8, 2014 Long Beach Business Journal 23

PERSPECTIVE

The overriding opinion is that the current gridlock will continue

because of infighting, polarization and the lack of consensus that

government has a role in helping real estate – even housing.


CARSON CentertheCARSON Centerthe

Cal StateUniv-Dominguez Hills

Links AtVictoria

E Victoria St

E 223rd St

E Carson St

E Del Amo Blvd

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St

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Norm

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Avalo

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vd

Harb

or F

wy

405

91

110

E University DrW 190th St

CARSON CentertheCARSON Centerthe


november 25-december 8, 2014 section a

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