May 13-26, 2014 Section A

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ege The Coll s es Of Busin ion tra t Adminis B At CSUL

Health Wise

The Misconc eptions Of Strok e

sters CSULB Fo rs eu Entrepren ture u F Of The e4 g a P e Se

See Page 20

lbbusinessjournal.com

May 13-26, 2014

Measure U In Signal Hill, Two-Thirds Vote Could Be Required For Some New Taxes ■ By BRANDON FERGUSON Staff Writer his June, Signal Hill voters T are considering approving an amendment that would significantly change the city charter. If passed, the Taxpayers Right to Know and Vote Initiative, also known as Measure U, would require the city council to obtain two-thirds public approval via special and general elections before raising certain taxes. The measure would also require increased disclosure of how the revenues are to be spent.

In February, the city council unanimously adopted a resolution opposing the initiative after an independent report, conducted by Urban Futures Inc., argued the initiative would have a nearly $2.1 (Please Continue To Page 12)

A 48-Page Insert Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville

■ By DR. ROBERT GARCIA

■ By DAMON DUNN

am running for IloveMayor because I Long Beach. We

’ve walked 12,000 Iwithhomes and talked thousands of resi-

have a great city and I believe our best days are ahead of us.

When I was elected in 2009, we had a $40 million deficit and public pensions were spiraling out of control. Despite the recession, we worked to make city government leaner, more frugal, and more effective. Our historic pension reform deal will save taxpayers (Please Continue To Page 17)

Election Day is Tuesday, June 3, 2014

dents over the past year. I am convinced that people in Long Beach are committed to our community and want only the best for our future.

I moved here three years ago and became an active member of the community . . . joining the board of directors of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, Long Beach (Please Continue To Page 17)

Pride Weekend An ‘Economic Engine’ For The City Of Long Beach ■ By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER Staff Writer ow in its 31st year, Long N Beach’s annual Lesbian and Gay Pride Celebration has become what Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride, Inc.’s (LBLGP) Frank Rubio, vice president of festival, calls an “economic engine” for Long Beach, attracting more than 100,000 visitors and generating $10 million in economic impact to the city each year.

The two-day event is the second largest in Long Beach after the Toyota Grand Prix, according to the Downtown Long Beach Associates (DLBA), a nonprofit organization that oversees downtown’s business improvement district. LBLGP estimated that 76 percent of event attendees are from outside of Long Beach. According to Rubio, visitors come from across the country and abroad to attend what has become known as

Long Beach Business Journal 2599 E. 28th Street, Suite 212 Signal Hill, CA 90755-2139 562/988-1222 • www.lbbusinessjournal.com

A Salute To Bob Foster On His Eight Years As Mayor Of Long Beach

Mayoral Candidates Garcia, Dunn Oil, Gas Tax Explain Why They Deserve Your Vote Boost For

“pride weekend,” which includes a parade on Ocean Boulevard and a festival with music, dancing and other attractions along Shoreline Drive. This year, the event takes place May 17 and 18.

LBLGP’s mission statement is “To engage in and support bridge-

building activities that educate, encourage and celebrate LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] inclusion and pride.” One of the nonprofit organization’s goals for the pride event is to create “a safe, welcoming space (Please Continue To Page 18)

Education Or Job Killer?

■ By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER Staff Writer

A

California State Senate bill proposing an oil and gas severance tax – imposed on operators for the privilege of extracting those resources – has the state’s business community and the oil and gas industry on the offense. Senate Bill (SB) 1017 proposes a 9.5 percent tax on the average price per barrel of California oil and a 3.5 percent tax on the average price per unit of gas.

The California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) has labeled SB 1017 “job killer” legislation. Industry professionals say their added costs from the tax will translate to higher prices at (Please Continue To Page 10)

MemorialCare And Cedars-Sinai Create Joint Strategic Investment Firm – Based In Downtown Long Beach See Page 8

Sheriff’s Race Long Beach’s Top Cop, Jim McDonnell, Says He’s The ‘Right Guy At The Right Time For That Job’ ■ By MICHAEL GOUGIS Contributing Writer or more than three decades, Jim F McDonnell has worked closely with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LAPD).

But crucially, McDonnell says, he has not worked for the department.

It’s this close-but-not-too-close relationship, McDonnell says, that makes him the ideal candidate to succeed Sheriff Lee Baca, who resigned earlier this year amid scathing criticism of the department.

A former high-ranking Los Angeles Police Department administrator and the current chief of police in Long Beach, McDonnell has amassed a wide coalition of law enforcement, public safety oversight officials and community leaders to support his campaign leading up to the June 3 primary election.

“I believe that right now, I’m the right guy at the right time for that job,” McDonnell, 54, says.

(Please Continue To Page 9)

Long Beach, CA PERMIT NO. 254

PAID PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE 2 Long Beach Business Journal

May 13-26, 2014

3 Newswatch 4-Positive Results For Alcohol Nuisance Abatement Ordinance 7-Long Beach City Hall News In Brief 8-MemorialCare/Cedars-Sinai Create Joint Strategic Firm 13-Wells Fargo, Port Donate To Urban Forest 14-I-710 Freeway Connector To Ocean Boulevard Closed 15-BO-beau-kitchen + rooftop Opening May 15 16-For The Child Celebrates 40th Anniversary

17 Mayoral Candidates 18 Focus On The LGBT Community 18-Gay And Lesbian Chamber Offers Visibility For Businesses 18-State Legislation Aimed At Helping LGBT-Owned Firms 19-The Center: A Hub For The LGBTQ Community

20 In The News 20-Big Saver Foods Openss On 7th Street 20-Five O’Clock Wine Bar Opens In Alamitos Bay Landing 20-CSULB Ranked No. 10 In Country For Best Value 21-Hybrid Imaging Suite Opens At Long Beach Memorial

22 Perspective Realty Views Rental Affordability Also Taking A Hit

By Terry Ross Effective Leadership If You Are Dancing With Discomfort, Take The Lead By Mick Ukleja HealthWise The Misconceptions Of Stroke

By Dr. Nima Ramezan Trade And Transportation E-Commerce And Omni-Channel By Tom O’Brien Earth Talk Meatless Meat

Insert A Salute To Bob Foster On His Eight Years As Mayor

GET ALL THREE FOR FREE . . .

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NEWSWATCH May 13-26, 2014

Gonzalez, Tagaloa Ready For June 3 Runoff Election ■ By CINDY SANTOS Staff Writer Residents of Long Beach’s 1st District are gearing up for the June 3 runoff election when they vote for a new city councilmember to replace Vice Mayor Robert Garcia, who is facing off against Damon Dunn in the race for mayor.

In the April 8 primary election, frontrunner Lena Gonzalez, a field deputy for Garcia’s office, came in first place with 45.5 percent of the vote – just shy of the 50 percent margin needed to secure a victory and forcing a runoff. Misi Tagaloa, a minister at the Second Samoan Congregational Church, placed second with just over 30 percent of the vote.

Both 1st District candidates favor increasing the minimum wage and offering more affordable housing to low-income residents. Although both candidates cite crime and economic revitalization efforts as their top priorities, they differ on how to move forward on those agendas.

Gonzalez and Tagaloa both have longstanding ties with Long Beach. Gonzalez, a California State University, Long Beach graduate with a degree in political science and the mother of a 13-year-old son, over-

Long Beach Business Journal 3 sees community improvement projects for the 1st District. One of her roles at Garcia’s office is to work with the police department and to attend community meetings.

Public safety tops her list of concerns due to the high crime rate in the 1st District.

“Our district suffers from the second highest [rate] in violent crime,” Gonzalez said. To reduce crime, she said Garcia’s office has teamed up with the Long Beach Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and the Downtown Long Beach Associates to add more security cameras downtown. “Public safety is No. 1 for me,” she added.

To contribute to revitalization efforts, Gonzalez wants to bring more businesses into the 1st District.

“We’ve done a really great job with downtown,” Gonzalez said. Improvements are still needed along Anaheim Street, Atlantic Avenue, Pacific Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway, she said.

As the seventh largest city in California and the home of the second busiest port in the nation, the City of Long Beach should establish an economic development bureau to attract new businesses and to retain established businesses, Gonzalez said.

Such a bureau might have come in handy when Albertson’s shut down 11 underperforming stores throughout Southern California, including one on Long Beach Boulevard within the 1st District.

“We didn’t hear about it [Albertson’s] leaving until about three weeks before it left,” Gonzalez said. “If we had known (Please Continue To Page 4)

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NEWSWATCH 4 Long Beach Business Journal

May 13-26, 2014

CSULB Fosters Entrepreneurs Of The Future CSULB’s Innovation Challenge just announced the winner for its fourth annual competition. Open to undergraduate and graduate students university-wide, the Challenge encourages students from all majors to bring in innovative ideas that they believe could be developed into a successful business. The winner is awarded $10,000 in seed money and up to $40,000 of in-kind services to launch

By Barbara Barcon, Member, Advisory their business idea. This year’s Committee for winner, InfluidS, led by Innovation and Entrepreneurship Shahab Taherian, is a business that will bring clarity and insight to pulmonary physicians’ most complex diagnostic challenges through easy, accurate and reliable computer simulations.

Students with an idea, product, proto-type or a service form teams in the fall of each year and are then matched with a mentor to help them through the process and provide business guidance. During the process the students are instructed on how to write a business plan to prove out and assess their business ideas. Supplementary training includes a free six-session Entrepreneurship Program over the summer and additional information sessions during the fall semester. The info sessions include overviews on Intellectual Property and How to Write a Business Plan.

Since its inception in 2011, nearly 300 students have been involved with the Challenge, several businesses have started and are going strong, and studentmentor relationships are thriving in many cases.

The vision for the Challenge began with a partnership between the College of Engineering and the College of Business Administration. Dean Forouzan Golshani (COE) and Dean Michael Solt (CBA) both saw this as a vital opportunity in the University and set out to create the Challenge. Four years later it is going stronger than ever. Dean Solt sums it up by saying, “Alumni and members of the community are thrilled that we are helping students who can then help our economy grow.” And Dean Golshani states “Our aim is to weave a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship into the fabric of CSULB and create awareness among all students.”

The University involves faculty and local professionals to be mentors, judges and sponsors for the Challenge, all to educate and foster future entrepreneurs and encourage business growth. Almost all involved return year after year to support this very practical and hands-on experience. To learn more about the Challenge and how you can be involved visit the website www.csulb.edu/innovationchallenge or email us at innovate@csulb.edu.

(The College of Business Administration at Cal State Long Beach is an AACSB accredited business school that provides undergraduates and MBAs with the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in their careers and to propel the economic development of our region.) ■

As field deputy for Vice Mayor Robert Garcia in the 1st Council District, Lena Gonzalez oversees community improvement projects. She graduated from California State University, Long Beach in 2009 with a degree in political science. Gonzalez is running for Garcia’s council seat. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville) Long-time Long Beach resident, 1st District city council candidate Misi Tagaloa is an ordained minister at the Second Samoan Congregational Church. Originally from American Samoa, Tagaloa is married with three children. He holds a degree in civil engineering from the University of Hawaii, an MBA from California State University, Long Beach and a master’s in theological studies from Claremont School of Theology.

(Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

1st District City Council Race (Continued From Page 3)

about it sooner, it could’ve given us an opportunity to help this private owner . . . but that just came after the fact. It was a little too late at that point.”

Misi Tagaloa, a Long Beach resident for three decades, has lived in the 1st District with his wife and three children for the past 20 years. He has been a minister at the Second

New Director Named For Long Beach Civil Service Kandice Taylor-Sherwood was appointed Director of Long Beach Civil Service and takes over in mid-June for Mario Beas, who retired last year. The civil service department recruits and screens city employees and provides support to the Long Beach Civil Service Commission. TaylorSherwood, who holds a master's degree in industrial/organizational psychology and previously served as the senior human resource development specialist for the City of Anaheim, said she was looking forward to the position. “I am delighted to be appointed the next director of civil service and will do everything in my power to foster a culture of customer service and enhance coordination with all city departments so they can hire the most qualified candidates in a timely manner,” she said in a statement issued by the City of Long Beach. Larry Keller, director of the Long Beach Civil Service Commission, hailed Taylor-Sherwood’s leadership abilities. “Kandice Taylor-Sherwood exemplifies the type of leadership we were looking for in a new civil service director. She has demonstrated the ability to manage a complex set of responsibilities over the course of her career,” Keller said. ■

Samoan Church since 2001 after spending several years in the private sector. In 2010, he launched an unsuccessful campaign to unseat Garcia.

Like Gonzalez, Tagaloa sees crime as the district’s single biggest problem. “We did a survey not too long ago and the thing that’s coming back as No. 1 – and very important to the respondents – is the gang activities,” Tagaloa said.

“There’s a disproportionate number of sober-living homes in the 1st District compared to other districts in the city and that’s attracting a certain group of people to our area.”

According to Tagaloa, the respondents who completed the survey also cited property crimes – including vandalism – as a major concern, along with a lack of programs to prevent youth from tagging and selling drugs.

Citywide, Tagaloa is interested in fostering a pro-business climate to encourage economic growth and job creation. “We need to take a closer look at how we’re running our city,” Tagaloa said. With a budget of nearly $3 billion per year, Tagaloa wants the city to prioritize its financial resources to improve the local economy. “I’d like to be able to attract more businesses to Long Beach,” he said. ■

Positive Results For Alcohol Nuisance Abatement Ordinance ■ By BRANDON FERGUSON Staff Writer According to a report presented to the Long Beach City Council on May 6, the Alcohol Nuisance Abatement Ordinance (ANAO) is seeing positive results. The ordinance, sponsored by 9th District Councilmember Steven Neal and 8th District Councilmember Al Austin, was passed in 2013 and focuses on improving North Long Beach liquor stores.

City liquor stores typically operate with a conditional use permit, which prohibits pay phones and requires security equipment but, according to Rex Richardson, Neal’s chief (Please Continue To Page 7)

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NEWSWATCH May 13-26, 2014

Alcohol Nuisance Abatement Ordinance (Continued From Page 4)

of staff and councilman-elect for the district, several North Long Beach “grandfathered” liquor stores were built before the requirement of conditional use permits.

“We found that a majority of liquor stores in North Long Beach, 26 in particular, all came in before we had modern standards,” Richardson said. “We found that a majority of them had no conditional use permit. . . . They had loitering, they had graffiti, no landscaping, no cameras.”

The ordinance seeks to modernize these liquor stores and make them safer by removing pay phones and installing video surveillance and lighting systems. Other required improvements include the removal of posters, advertisements and other window obstructions.

Noncompliant stores are subject to dueprocess hearings before the city’s site plan review board, which could potentially affect their ability to sell liquor.

“If you don’t meet the new standards then there’s a process available to increase how we hold them accountable,” Richardson said.

According to the report presented to the council May 6, which was prepared by graduate student Michelle Diggs in conjunction with Neal’s staff and the Long Beach Development Services Department, 42 percent of the liquor stores in question are on track to meet the ordinance’s requirements and 46 percent are nearly compliant. Three liquor stores have yet to comply. “After these stores that are nearly compliant come online, then we’ll step up enforcement on the three stores that haven’t complied yet,” Richardson said.

According to Richardson, the public response to the ordinance appears favorable.

“The residents may not see the subtle differences between a pay phone being there or not being there,” Richardson said. “But what they don’t see anymore is the loitering.” ■

Long Beach City Hall News In Brief ■ By BRANDON FERGUSON Staff Writer Plans For Dunkin’ Donuts Approved – At the May 6 meeting, the Long Beach City Council voted 5-2 to approve the construction of an 1,899-square-foot Dunkin’ Donuts to be built on the southwest corner of Flint Avenue and 7th Street in the Alamitos Heights neighborhood of Long Beach. The approval allows for the destruction of two existing one-story buildings. The business is one of the national franchise’s first stores to be built in Southern California. The planning commission approved the project on March 6, but with the condition that an existing donut-shaped sign be retained and incorporated into the proposed site. Several residents opposed the project, citing traffic concerns. Councilmembers Robert Garcia and James Johnson – both in runoff elections June 3 for mayor and city attorney, respectively, voted no.

Contract Awarded For Construction of Naples Seawall – The contract for con-

Long Beach Business Journal 7

Councilwoman Schipske Presents Candidate Forum For Residents, May 19th She may be out of office in two months, but that’s not stopping Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske – who finished fourth in the recent mayoral race – from continuing her involvement with the residents of the city. Schipske has invited residents to attend a Candidate Forum on Monday, May 19, featuring runoff candidates Robert Garcia and Damon Dunn in the mayor’s race, Charles Parkin and James Johnson in the race for city attorney, and Stacy Mungo and Carl Kemp, who are facing off to replace Schipske in her 5th District city council seat. The event begins at 7 p.m. at the El Dorado Community Center Bridge Room, 2800 N. Studebaker Rd. Questions will be asked by representatives of neighborhood associations. struction of phase one of the Naples Island Seawall Project was awarded to Ford E.C. Inc. of Los Angeles at the May 6 city council meeting. The cost of the contract, which included a 15 percent contingency, totaled $11,417,637. Construction crews will focus on the Rivo Alto Canal between the Ravenna and Toledo bridges. The seawall, built in the 1930s, was evaluated in 2009 and found to be in significant disrepair.

The project involves installation of a new seawall and includes new guardrails, sidewalks and an improved drainage system.

More Than $5 Million For Pipeline Replacements – At the May 6 city council meeting, Long Beach City Manager Patrick West was authorized to execute a $5,362,963 contract with Lake Forest-based ARB Inc. to replace approximately 56,000 feet of aging pipeline for Long Beach Gas & Oil. Construction is expected to begin this month and is to be completed in early December. $15 Million Contract For Street Improvements – Tonight (May 13), the city council considers a $15,000,000 amendment to the city’s contract for street improvements with All American Asphalt.

In February 2013, the council approved the original $15,000,000 contract, which also provides construction improvements for parking lots and airport taxiways. In August 2013, the city approved an additional $15,000,000 amendment to the contract. Tonight the city will consider extending the contract term to February 26, 2016.

City Council To Consider Forgiving $2.9 Million Debt – Tonight, city councilmembers consider forgiving a $2.9 million loan the Housing Authority of Long Beach borrowed from the city in July 2004.

According to the agreement for the zerointerest loan, the city has the right to forgive any portion of the loan at its sole discretion. A letter submitted by housing authority staff stated, “Given that the loan agreement contemplates forgiveness of the loan, the department of development services expected that the loan would eventually be forgiven in exchange for resources provided by the housing authority. As a result, the requested action will not have a fiscal impact on the department of development services’ existing programs.” ■

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Bidder Registration Register with the City of Long Beach at www.longbeach.gov/purchasing to receive notifications of bid opportunities. Additional details on upcoming bids and how to register can be found on the website.

Small Business Enterprise Program Take advantage of the City of Long Beach Small Business Enterprise (SBE) Program. To learn more about becoming a part of the SBE Program and certification process, visit the City’s Purchasing website.

HUD Section 3 Program The City of Long Beach Section 3 Program provides economic and employment opportunities to low-income residents and businesses. More information is located on the City’s Purchasing website.

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NEWSWATCH 8 Long Beach Business Journal

May 13-26, 2014

MemorialCare And Cedars-Sinai Create Joint Strategic Investment Firm ■ By CINDY SANTOS Staff Writer MemorialCare Health System and Cedars-Sinai Health System are partnering to create a strategic investment firm to provide funding for companies that develop innovative products and services for the healthcare industry.

The collaboration, called Summation Health Ventures, is a new company based in Long Beach that is equally owned by both health systems, although additional partners may be included in the future.

Summation Health Ventures replaces its predecessor, MemorialCare Innovation Fund, which was a private equity firm that invested in health-related companies.

MemorialCare has more than 20 years of strategic investment funding experience through the MemorialCare Innovation Fund “We’d really like to have a very active and symbiotic relationship with the [Summation Health] portfolio companies to search for a win-win scenario,” said

Brant Heise is the senior managing director for Summation Health Ventures, a partnership between MemorialCare Health Systems and Cedars-Sinai Health System. He was previously managing director for the MemorialCare Innovation Fund. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

Brant Heise, the managing director of Summation Health Ventures. “It’s a very innovative way of helping further the healthcare system’s mission.”

Care Team Connect, one of the many companies MemorialCare Innovation Fund supported, used the fund’s financial backing to develop an integrated management software program to streamline patient information by tracking health history,

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treatment options and follow-up care.

Heise said funding companies like Care Team Connect will help Summation Health Ventures develop more innovative medical devices to improve quality of care while cutting healthcare costs. “Everything we get involved with is for the benefit of patient care,” he added.

“The goal there [with Care Team Connect] was to make sure the patients

continue to get clinically better and more stable as opposed to bouncing back into the emergency room. We helped to refine that technology from a user’s perspective,” he said, adding that MemorialCare’s investments paid off by helping to develop breakthrough technology and by later selling the company.

Since MemorialCare is based in Fountain Valley and Cedars-Sinai is based in Los Angeles, both health systems selected Long Beach for its central location as Summation Health Venture’s headquarters.

MemorialCare Health System is a nonprofit organization that includes six area hospitals – Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, Miller’s Children Hospital Long Beach, Community Hospital Long Beach, Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center and Saddleback Memorial Medical Center locations in Laguna Hills and San Clemente – in addition to medical groups, independent practice associations and several outpatient centers.

Cedars-Sinai Health System is the largest non-profit hospital in the Western United States. Formed in 1902, CedarsSinai is an 886-bed medical center with outpatient and research facilities. Its campus also includes the recently opened Advanced Health Sciences Pavilion, the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and the Regenerative Medicine Institute.

Both health systems have a total of seven hospitals – the largest campuses in the west – along with the largest children’s hospital and 250 healthcare provider locations that serve two million patients per year. ■

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NEWSWATCH May 13-26, 2014

Sheriff’s Race (Continued From Page 1)

McDonnell, who served on the Citizens Commission on Jail Violence, says what he can bring to the Sheriff ’s Department is a unique combination of law enforcement administration experience and a professional distance from the troubled Sheriff ’s Department.

And make no mistake, the Sheriff ’s department is facing a very tough period of soul-searching. The case of Henry Marin serves as a painful tragic-comic illustration.

Marin was tossed off of a reality show depicting candidates in the 18-week Sheriff’s academy training program for making potentially life-threatening mistakes during training. Somehow, later, Marin wound up as a real-life Los Angeles County deputy working as a jailer, where he was caught trying to smuggle a burrito filled with heroin to an inmate. It sounds surreal. It is all too real.

“I thought I knew the Sheriff’s Department from an outside perspective, “McDonell says.

“I was appointed by Don Knabe to the Citizen’s Commission on Jail Violence, and I spent a year studying the jails and studying the culture that emanates from the jails within the department. And I found out that I really didn’t know that department. It was an eye-opener for me. Well beyond what I expected to find, we continued to find.

“Allegations of corruption, brutality, favoritism, pay-to-play, on and on and on.

Dysfunction. I didn’t anticipate that I would find those things in the organization that was right next door for so many years. (But) you ask any insider and they say, yeah, this is what we’ve been living with for a long time.”

That is why, McDonnell says, it is so important that the next sheriff come from outside the department, and why it is so important that they walk in with no baggage, no obligations. McDonnell says he will not take campaign contributions from anyone working at the Sheriff ’s Department, nor anyone working for the Long Beach Police Department.

The outsider perspective is something McDonnell knows about from both sides.

As a longtime LAPD administrator, he didn’t see the need to bring in Bill Bratton as chief – until Bratton took the reins.

“I didn’t believe the LAPD needed an outsider. I had written a plan on what was wrong, what needed to be done, and felt that we were in a good place to move forward,” McDonnell says. “He (Bratton) came in and sat down with the team he had assembled and he raised questions that we didn’t even think to ask because we had grown up in the organization. That outside perspective, that fresh set of eyes, is very valuable when you’re looking at an organization that is in need of transformation.”

And McDonnell found himself in Bratton-esque shoes when he became Long Beach chief four years ago.

“Similarly, when I came into the Long Beach department, the organization did not want an outsider – and particularly did not want an LAPD outsider,” McDonnell says.

“When you go into a new organization, you go in not trying to make it like your old organization, but rather finding the strengths, respecting the traditions, building on the very good people in the organization, setting the standards high, setting mile-

Long Beach Business Journal 9 stones by which to reach your goals and then putting systems in place to hold people accountable for their behavior and their performance so that you can measure and clearly share with everyone how we’re doing against our goals, like any business does.”

The problems at the sheriff’s jail point to underlying problems that affect the entire department, McDonnell says.

“The jails are a symptom of the dysfunction,” McDonnell says. “The biggest priority is restoring public trust in the organization and pride within the organization which then helps further the organization and then gets you to be able to accomplish your goals.”

Key to reforming the department is reforming the mindset of the sworn personnel, who typically start their careers precisely in the place they don’t want to be.

“The culture that has been created by everybody coming out of the academy and doing – recently – up to six or seven years in the jails before they ever make it out to the streets shapes their beliefs, shapes their self-image, shapes so many things for the rest of their career.

“A young person who is 20 years old, they go in there and by the time they come out of the custody environment, they’ve spent a quarter of their career there before they get to the street. So they’ve been socialized a certain way by dealing with certain people for a long period of time. For them to immediately be able to transition into being a street deputy, and be able to do community policing effectively, that’s a hard thing to do.”

Creating a two-track system in which a new recruit or promoted employee does not

have to spend time working in custody, and eliminating the “dumping” of troubled employees into the custody system, can help effect that change in mindset, McDonnell says.

“It’s not going to be a dumping ground. If there’s a problem with someone in the patrol function or the jail function, we deal with them where they are. That hasn’t been done.

We deal with them. We do it in Long Beach, we did it in Los Angeles,” McDonnell says.

McDonnell points to other successes during his tenure in Long Beach. Violent crime is at an all-time low. Property crimes are down. Relationships with ethnic communities have improved. And response time to an emergency call is among the nation’s quickest.

(Please Continue To Page 10)

1_LBBJ_May 13_SectionA_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 5/11/14 7:30 PM Page 10

NEWSWATCH 10 Long Beach Business Journal

May 13-26, 2014

Sheriff’s Race

know what they’ve been through,�

McDonnell says. “It’s not a good way to do business in such a critical role.�

And it will pay dividends for the economic health of the region. A solid, effective public safety network makes a region desirable to businesses, corporations, employees, tourists – the collateral positive impacts extend far beyond the jails and sheriff’s substations. “In any community, when you look at where families decide where they want to live, where businesses decide to locate, the first thing they look at – is it safe? Do I want to move my family there? Then they look at other things – schools, etc. But they have to feel safe,â€? McDonnell says. “We need to move forward and promote the safety of the region.â€? â–

(Continued From Page 9)

Good policing, and good management of the other, widely varied responsibilities of the Sheriff’s Department (it operates one of the biggest bus fleets in the U.S., and have you ever thought about the size of the department’s laundry operations?) will pay dividends for the employees of the department, sworn and civilian, and make them better at their jobs, McDonnell says. “Looking at where that organization is today reminds me very much of where the LAPD was in the 1990s. Particularly in the public and in the media eye, the organization doesn’t have two good days in a row.

That’s a tough way for the deputies and employees to come to work every day. I

Oil, Gas Tax (Continued From Page 1)

the pump, more imported resources and a loss of jobs, and they have formed a coalition against higher oil taxes.

In an phone interview with the Business Journal, SB 1017 author, California Sen. Noreen Evans (2nd District), described many concerns raised by oil and gas industry representatives as “red herrings� and myths.

Evans’ proposal alters the state’s education code by creating an oil and gas severance tax to finance a new California Higher Education Fund overseen by a governmental agency called the California Higher Education Endowment Corporation. The fund and corporation would have an oversight board with members from the three

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California college systems as well as members appointed by various legislative and governmental officials. The board would appoint a director for the corporation.

Fifty percent of funds derived from the new tax would go to the University of California (UC), California State University and the California Community Colleges systems, while the remaining funds would be divided evenly among the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the California Health and Human Services Agency. Evans estimated that the bill could generate $2 billion in annual revenue for these agencies. “We have been singling the oil industry out for special treatment for decades and it’s time for the free ride to stop,� Evans told the Business Journal.

While California is the only oil-producing state without a severance tax, it has ad valorem (property) taxes on oil and gas administered by each county, a statewide assessment of about 14 cents per barrel of oil and per 10,000 cubic feet of natural gas, as well as other taxes and fees levied by individual cities and counties – including severance taxes. “The suggestion that the industry does not pay its fair share is false,� Tupper Hull, representative of the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) told the Business Journal. “The State of California derives enormous amounts of revenue from the oil industry and oil production through a variety of other means,� he said. “In 2012, which is the last year that data is available, the petroleum industry contributed $21.5 billion into state and local government budgets.� WSPA represents the interests of companies such as Occidental Petroleum Corporation and BP, among many others.

Ralph Combs, manager of corporate development at The Termo Company, a Long Beach-based oil and gas company, also said the oil industry is already subject to many taxes. “Oil and gas producers in California are subject to substantial corporate income taxes, property taxes, sales and use taxes, and numerous regulatory fees and charges,� he explained. “In addition to property taxes on buildings and equipment, oil producers pay property taxes on the taxable value of their oil reserves underground.�

When asked to respond to comments from oil industry representatives that, considering the aggregate taxes the California oil and gas industry has to pay, the industry is on par with other oil-producing states in terms of how much it pays in taxes, Evans replied, “That is another red herring and another myth that needs to die.�

In March, a coalition of state organizations called Californians Against Higher Oil Taxes formed, partially in response to the bill.

Members include the California Chamber of Commerce, several regional chambers of commerce, the Western States Petroleum Association, the Kern County Board of Supervisors, local unions and others. “This severance tax, in addition to all the other fees and taxes that the oil companies are already required to pay, would make us one of the highest taxed states in the country with regards to oil severance,� Jennifer Barrera, policy advocate for CalChamber, told the Business Journal. According to SB 1017, out of the top four oil-producing states in the country, only Alaska would have a higher severance tax than California

1_LBBJ_May 13_SectionA_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 5/11/14 7:30 PM Page 11

NEWSWATCH May 13-26, 2014 if SB 1017 passes. Other high oil-producing states have less expensive taxes, including Texas and North Dakota at 7.5 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively.

When asked how many companies represented by WSPA have expressed concern about SB 1017, Hull replied, “All of them.”

He summarized their concerns and those of the WSPA. “Substantially raising taxes on energy production will result in a decline in domestic production, a loss of California jobs and upward pressure on prices at the pump, none of which . . . are in the best interests of the State of California or taxpayers,” he explained.

CalChamber, Combs and David Slater, COO and executive vice president of Signal Hill Petroleum (SHP), expressed concern that the new tax would reduce California’s competitive edge in the oil market. If the tax passes, Barrera said it would be cheaper to import oil than to extract it in California.

Hull agreed. “The policies that discourage or suppress domestic production only foster and encourage greater reliance on imported oil, which again is something Californians . . . have determined is not in the best interests of the state,” he said.

Sabrina Lockheart, communications director for Californians Against Higher Oil Taxes, said that due to increased costs to the oil and gas industry caused by the new tax, consumers should expect increased costs, “not just [for] what they pay at the pump, but for the goods and services they use that rely on fuel-based transportation to get to the marketplace.”

Barrera noted, “To assume that the oil companies who were targeted with this tax would just absorb the tax entirely is unlikely.”

Evans disagreed. “That is one of the red herrings that the oil industry throws out there in order to scare people. It is completely false,” she said of the bill impacting consumers’ pocketbooks. “That myth was debunked many years ago. Oil is traded on a global market and an oil severance tax in the State of California would not affect the price at the pump,” she said.

Local oil and gas industry professionals are concerned that a new tax on their profits would hurt business. Slater said that SHP’s cash flow would “be dramatically reduced” if SB 1017 passes. As a result, he said, “I can’t say we would lose jobs, but we certainly aren’t going to grow like we have been.” Over the past five years, SHP has added about 45 new jobs. “The jobs that we’re adding are a lot of six-figure positions. . . . They are upper-middle class jobs with full benefits. There is nobody else I can point to in our area of Long Beach that is adding those kinds of jobs,” he said.

Combs summarized the potential impact of SB 1017 on Termo as such: “[It would] greatly increase the cost of production, lower economic returns and most likely cause us to look to other states for new projects.”

Slater called the proposed tax “patently unfair,” and said that the oil and gas industry was being singled out.

“I have been working on this legislation for five or six years. I have always welcomed having a discussion with the oil industry, but all they want to do is kill the legislation,” Evans said of outreach efforts to the oil and gas industry. She said that last month her office held an online town hall

Long Beach Business Journal 11 meeting about SB 1017 and invited WSPA to send a representative, but the invitation was refused. In response, Hull said in an email, “I am not aware of any invitation from Sen. Evans to WSPA to participate in a town hall meeting on the oil severance tax. And all invitations to speak or participate in forums go through me.”

The bill exempts oil and gas owned by the state or any of its political subdivisions from the tax. Long Beach Assistant City Manager Tom Modica said the City of Long Beach would lose millions in oil revenue every year if this provision were not in the bill. At this time, the city has no position on SB 1017, he said. He noted that the severance tax created by SB 1017 would not supersede existing oil taxes in Long Beach, which amount to about 43 cents per barrel.

The California State University and California Community Colleges systems have no position on the bill, representatives said. The University of California’s position is to “support if amended,” said Sherry Melton, UC spokesperson. “The amendments the university is seeking are mainly related to language that would establish a new, bureaucratic structure to oversee the distribution of funds raised by this tax. We believe this structure is unnecessary,” she explained. “UC is also concerned about language that prescribes how the funds could be used by the higher education segments. We feel that UC and the other segments are in the best position to know what our critical funding needs are and to establish those budget priorities,” she added.

Melton said UC has no “expressed pref-

erence for an oil severance tax over other means of increasing funding for public higher education,” but appreciates the effort to increase support of higher education.

The California Board of Equalization’s (BOE) analysis of SB 1017, dated May 1, noted that its administrative costs for implementing the bill “are substantial,” but did not yet have a cost estimate. BOE also wrote the tax’s implementation date of January 1, 2015, was “insufficient” because the board needs an additional six months to prepare.

SB 1017 – which passed two senate committee votes April 24 and May 7 – next moves to the California Senate Committee on Appropriations, where last year another oil and gas severance tax bill proposed by Evans died. ■

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NEWSWATCH 12 Long Beach Business Journal

May 13-26, 2014

Signal Hill business owner and developer Jimmy Eleopoulos opposes Measure U saying the initiative would add undue burden to companies interested in doing business with the city. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

Measure U (Continued From Page 1)

million fiscal impact, which could significantly affect police and other city services.

The council’s resolution warned that legal issues would likely arise over the initiative’s interpretation and would leave complex financial decisions to a voting minority. The resolution also argued the

initiative could require special elections for matters like setting fees for overdue books or pet licenses.

“The proponents’ initial motivation concerning the initiative seemed centered on whether the city might be too aggressive in giving governmental assistance to future developers,” the resolution read. “The initiative as drafted is very broad and goes well beyond this.”

Maria Harris, left, and Carol Churchill are the creators of Measure U. If Signal Hill voters pass the initiative on June 3, two-thirds voter approval could be required in order for the city council to raise certain taxes. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

Signal Hill Vice Mayor Larry Forester, who talked to the Business Journal as a private citizen and not a councilmember, said nothing like Measure U has ever been tried before. “[This initiative] has never been tested in court,” Forester said. “It starts out with the proposition that it’s to prevent developers from using city money and they can spend their own money. But [the initia-

tive] says ‘all taxes, assessments and fees,’ which is too open.”

The initiative’s creators, former Signal Hill councilmember Carol Churchill and resident Maria Harris, said they drafted the initiative out of concern for what they view as the city’s past imprudent financial decisions. Churchill cited $6 million the city prematurely spent in a failed 2006 land deal between the city and Carmax. Harris

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NEWSWATCH May 13-26, 2014

Long Beach Business Journal 13

who holds a Ph.D in public administration and Churchill, an attorney, have argued that the initiative was drafted with existing law in mind and maintained that it covers a very specific set of taxes.

“It’s based upon state law and the state constitution. You can’t have something that is completely out of the framework of existing law,” Harris said, adding, “We require a twothirds voter approval on all new sales and use taxes and property taxes – just those taxes.”

When asked about the potential for special elections every time a library or similar fee is considered, Harris said the initiative’s opponents were simply using scare tactics.

“That’s false. The state constitution and Proposition 26 exempt all those ordinary fees,” Harris said.

Churchill agreed. “[The independent report] fails to take into consideration the fact that there is California law that applies to charter cities that requires them to follow the constitution,” Churchill said, adding, “If you read the existing charter, you’ll see that there’s language in there that says the city can exercise its taxing power consistent with the state constitution.”

But Forester wasn’t as assured. “She keeps saying it’s in the constitution. Not necessarily. A charter city can be more specific,” he said.

Signal Hill Residents for Responsible Government No on U, a group headed by Forester, sent out a mailer last week that included a sizeable list of local politicians and civic groups opposing the initiative.

Among them were Congressman Alan Lowenthal and Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, as well as the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs’ Association.

In addition to special elections concerns, the initiative’s opponents said it would be more difficult to do business with the city.

Signal Hill business operator Jimmy Eleopoulos, who owns Jenna Development Inc. and Big E Pizza, said the existing challenges a company faces when taking a project to city council are already difficult.

“Just to get the council to understand [the project] is hard enough. But to get the whole city to understand, the deal would be off,” Eleopoulos said. “As a developer, we look at how hard . . . and how much pushback we’re going to get,” he added.

Harris sees it differently. “It’s not anti-business. Everyone knows if you increase sales tax or you issue a bond, that goes on to the added cost of doing business,” Harris said. ■

Wells Fargo, Port Of Long Beach Donate To Urban Forest Wells Fargo Area President Sandy Walia (center) recently presented a check for $75,000 to Century Villages at Cabrillo (CVC), a residential community in West Long Beach providing transitional and permanent housing to the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless. Accepting the check are, from left: Alan Hoffman, CFO and senior vice president of Century Housing Corporation; Brian D’Andrea, president of CVC; Kimberly Crawford, CVC’s director of community development; and Steve Colman, CVC’s executive director. More than half of CVC’s residents are U.S. military veterans. The donation, which was made through Wells Fargo’s UrbanLIFT Community Grant Program, funds a project to plant 97 trees for aesthetic and air quality purposes called Urban Forest. The trees expand an existing landscape barrier at the community, which helps capture particulate matter and sequester greenhouse gases.

The Port of Long Beach also contributed to the project, donating $170,000 through its Greenhouse Gas Reduction Program. “We’re very pleased to partner with both the port and Wells Fargo on this very important project,” D’Andrea told the Business Journal. “Not only is this going to help sequester greenhouse gases and improve air quality in our local community, it is also going to aesthetically improve our campus and provide some recreation opportunities for our community,” he said. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

Local Designer To Launch Clothing Line For ELEV8 Boutique At Event May 24 Patrick Santana, owner of ELEV8, an East Village Arts District boutique, announced that local designer R.X. BY D.R. is launching a “unique clothing line” on Saturday, May 24, exclusively for ELEV8.

The launch party, which is open to the public, runs from 7 to 10 p.m. at 132 Linden Ave. The clothing line includes t-shirts, beanies, vests and jackets. The party will also feature skin care samples and beauty tips from House of Aquarius. For more about ELEV8, visit: shop@shopelev8.com.

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NEWSWATCH 14 Long Beach Business Journal

May 13-26, 2014

I-710 Freeway Connector To Ocean Avenue Closing For 30 Months ■ By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER Staff Writer The 1,200 vehicles relying on the southbound I-710 Freeway connector to westbound Ocean Boulevard during peak hours each day are being displaced for 30 months as the connector is demolished for the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project.

Vehicles typically using that connector, which closed on May 10, are being rerouted to the southbound I-710 Freeway Pico Avenue exit. While 300 vehicles typically flow from this exit during peak hours, Port of Long Beach spokesperson John Pope said a traffic study determined the road could handle the heavier traffic displaced by the Ocean Boulevard connector closure.

“We made a lot of modifications to Pico [Avenue] to absorb the extra traffic,” Pope told the Business Journal. “Pico now has three southbound lanes for the stretch of the detour, whereas it had two before,” he said. There are also two dedicated right hand turn lanes now, and with no traffic light at the I-710 Pico Avenue exit, traffic exiting the freeway does not have to stop,

he said. A new traffic light has been added to a former four-way stop at Pico Avenue and Pier D Street to “keep traffic moving more smoothly,” he added. Westbound Ocean Boulevard was also expanded from one to two lanes of traffic.

The Port of Long Beach contracted with the Long Beach Police Department and California Highway Patrol (CHP) for traffic calming measures, such as positioning CHP officers at key locations along the detour, Pope said. Tow trucks are on standby in the event of accidents, he added. “We ask drivers to be safe and

drive slowly through the detour while people are adjusting to it.” During the past few weeks, signs were placed on the southbound I-710 Freeway to alert motorists of the closure.

“It is a pretty easy detour to navigate,” Pope said of the Pico Avenue re-route.

“Our traffic engineers have actually driven it at different times and found it adds about two to three minutes to the drive.” He noted that during the first two to three weeks of the detour, traffic might be slower as people get used to the new route. It is unlikely all traffic diverted from the I-710 connector to westbound Ocean Avenue will use the detour, Pope said, explaining that truckers who are accustomed to the port may come up with their own alternative routes.

The Port of Long Beach has been working since January to inform port tenants and trucking companies of the connector closure, Pope said. The port has been working particularly closely with Matson Ocean Services, a shipping line and supply chain services company with a location near the detour. “The port has also met with nearby Pier T tenants and the Harbor Trucking Association on several occasions, Pope said.

The connector is being demolished to make way for the new bridge’s foundations as it replaces the Gerald Desmond Bridge.

Construction on the first 300 foundations is beginning shortly, Pope said, adding that this is the first visible construction for the new bridge. “We are entering an exciting phase of the project,” he said. ■

Comment Period For Yusen Terminals Project EIR June 16 A draft environmental impact report (EIR) for the Port of Los Angeles’ Yusen Terminals Inc. (YTI) Container Terminal Improvement Project is now available for public review and comment. The POLA prepared the report in conjunction with the Army Corps of Engineers. The YTI project involves improving wharves by deepening berths 214-220. Additionally, gauge gantry cranes measuring 100 feet are to be installed at berths 217-220 and on-dock rail yard capacity for YTI is being created. YTI provides stevedore and terminal service for container shipping lines and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, a Japanese shipping company. YTI has a longterm lease with the POLA ending in 2016, although the port expects the company to extend its lease through 2026. The public review and commentary period for the EIR ends on June 16. The document is available online at www.portoflosangeles.org and in print at the POLA Environmental Management Division and the San Pedro, Wilmington and Central Branches of the Los Angeles Public Library. Submit comments via e-mail to ceqacomments@portla.org and T h e r e s a . S t ev e n s @ u s a c e . a r my. m i l .

Guidelines and addresses for submitting written comments and for viewing the document are available at POLA’s website.

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NEWSWATCH May 13-26, 2014

Long Beach Business Journal 15

BO-beau kitchen + rooftap Opening Downtown May 15 ■ By CINDY SANTOS Staff Writer The highly anticipated restaurant BObeau kitchen + rooftap is set to open on downtown’s Pine Avenue this Thursday, May 15.

BO-beau kitchen + rooftap is the third establishment in Cohn Restaurant Group’s (CRG) “family of restaurants” bearing the BO-beau brand. CRG’s first location, BO-beau kitchen + bar, is located in San Diego’s Ocean Beach, while the second location, BO-beau kitchen + garden, is in nearby La Mesa.

BO-beau kitchen + rooftap’s menu, created by Parisian-trained Executive Chef Katherine Humphus, blends California favorites with French-inspired cuisine.

Located at 144 Pine Ave. – the address that previously housed Mum’s restaurant then Smooth’s Sports Bar – the newly renovated venue features an early 20th century industrial style created by Spacecraft Design Group. The lower level of the 13,722-square-foot building houses the bistro – dubbed “BO-beau kitchen” – and boasts a spacious dining room with a 40-person bar and lounge.

Upstairs, the “rooftap” is a 2,800-square-

Katherine Humphus, a graduate of Parisian culinary school Le Cordon Bleu, is the executive chef for BO-beau kitchen + rooftap. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

foot, open-air patio, featuring a modified menu with casual dishes to pair with a wide selection of beer. The rooftap bar hosts 50 rotating beer taps, in addition to more than a 100 varieties of vodka.

“BO-beau is a made-up name,” said David Cohn, who co-owns CRG with his wife, Lesley. “One of the tricks to coming up with a new restaurant concept is coming up with a name that hasn’t been used somewhere, so people will come up with unusual names.” BO-beau is the combination of two words: “Bo” stands for

bohemian and “beau” stands for beautiful, Cohn explained.

The husband and wife team, who prefer to take their culinary concepts to underserved areas rather than oversaturated markets, were thrilled to bring their unique dining experience to the area.

“We wanted to have a restaurant presence in Long Beach for a number of years,” Cohn said. “When this building became available, we were excited to bring out the BO-beau concept to Long Beach on Pine Avenue.”

CRG purchased the building in late 2012 for $2.1 million. At the time, the property had been vacant for two years.

As part of the Pine Avenue Improvement Project, the two-story building underwent a $4.5 million makeover.

Second District Councilmember Suja Lowenthal, whose district includes the Pine Avenue area, said in an e-mail that the city council laid the groundwork for revitalization efforts downtown by shortening the construction and permit time for developers by nine months. It also streamlined the city’s adaptive reuse and building permit programs by providing property owners with more flexibility to rejuvenate older buildings.

In March, Lowenthal proposed an amendment to the Downtown Dining and Entertainment District ordinance that permits rooftap patios to operate at expanded nighttime hours, depending on the night of the week. The city council approved the amendment on March 18, giving BO-beau the go-ahead to use its patio as late as 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.

“BO-beau joins an amazing group of restaurants on the mid-block of Pine [Avenue] with L'Opera, Kings Fish House, George's [Greek Café], a revamped Alegria and newcomers Pier 76 and The Federal Bar,” Lowenthal said. “Together, these businesses form the critical mass of quality dining in downtown that will attract residents from all over Long Beach and Southern California – not to mention more restaurateurs.” ■

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NEWSWATCH 16 Long Beach Business Journal

May 13-26, 2014

For The Child Celebrates 40 Years Of Service At Fundraiser ■ By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER Staff Writer For The Child, a Long Beach-based nonprofit, commemorated 40 years of supporting the region’s abused and neglected children at its 13th annual Circle of Friends Breakfast on May 1. The breakfast is an annual fundraiser attended by other Long Beach nonprofit organizations, faith-based groups, law enforcement officials and business people.

The event also helps raise awareness about the child advocacy services For The Child provides to the local community, including counseling, on-site response for sexually abused children and birthday baskets for children in need. Additionally the organization runs centers at nine regional courthouses called Kids’ Place, which gives children a calm environment when their guardians have matters before a court.

“In our treatment programs for child abuse we are seeing about 900 children a year, and their families,” said Michele Winterstein, Ph.D., executive director of For The Child. The Kids’ Place program accommodated about 25,000 children last year. In addition to services for children, “We also provide therapy and support services for the parents,” Denise Dahlhausen, development director, told the Business Journal.

The organization has a group of about 75 volunteers, plus a specially trained emergency response team for sexually abused

At left, current For The Child Executive Director Michele Winterstein, Ph.D., left, chats with her predecessor, Beverly Fancher, at the organization’s 13th annual Circle of Friends Breakfast. At right, at For The Child’s annual breakfast fundraiser on May 1, the organizations’ original team was reunited.

Pictured, left to right, are: Bobbie Kendig, founder; Roland Summit, M.D., an original consultant for the organization; and Clara Lowry, founder. (Photographs by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

children made up of 25 volunteers. “If there is a sexually abused child who is going to have a forensic medical examination and a detective-level interview, we provide a volunteer child advocate who goes out with the police and with the forensic nurses doing the medical exam,” Winterstein explained.

“You don’t want that to be a traumatic experience for the child; you want it to be supportive and safe. That whole team helps to make that happen,” she added.

The breakfast event highlighted some of the organization’s achievements, including an update on For The Child’s first-ever scholarship recipient. “She is just completing her second year at a community college

and was on the Dean’s list. She holds down a job and intends to transfer to a state university in one year,” Dahlhausen said.

For The Child’s services are particularly relevant to the Long Beach area, where several zip codes exceed county and state averages for child neglect and abuse. According to the California Child Welfare Performance Indicators Project at the Center for Social Services Research at UC Berkeley, “The rate of abuse and neglect referrals in 2013 per 1,000 children was 51.6 in California and 57.0 in Los Angeles County,” Dahlhausen said. “Six of 10 zip codes in Long Beach ranged from 56.3 referrals to 94.8 per 1,000 children,” she explained.

Dahlhausen continued, “The same source showed rates of entry into foster care in California were 3.4 per 1,000 and 4.4 per 1,000 in Los Angeles County.

Again, six Long Beach zip codes exceeded State and L.A. County rates – ranging from 5.1 to 7.6 per 1,000 children.”

For The Child was formed as the Cedar House in 1974. In 1984, the same founders formed a partner organization called Sarah Center. In 1996, the two joined to become For The Child. The organization’s services are free. “We have a lot of low-income families that come to us for help,” Dahlhausen said. “We don’t turn away kids because they can’t pay.” ■

1_LBBJ_May 13_SectionA_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 5/11/14 7:30 PM Page 17

MAYORAL CANDIDATES May 13-26, 2014

Damon Dunn (Continued From Page 1)

Education Foundation, Rotary, and became a Fellow at CSULB. When middle school sports were threatened by huge budget cuts, I helped raise the money to save it. I also helped develop the Future Business Leaders Academy to help high school seniors at risk of dropping out of school, and supported the Male and Female Leadership Academies to help students learn about business.

Long Beach is special and it deserves only the best from its elected officials, and real answers to the problems facing our city. I won’t take credit for the work of others, and I certainly will not try to make the status quo sound better than it is with more political happy talk.

We have real work to do in Long Beach to create jobs, fight crime and revitalize every neighborhood. We’ve struggled through budget deficits, deep cuts to public services, and a general lack of accountability at City Hall. Unemployment in Long Beach is 10.4%, well above Los Angeles County. Property crime and gang violence are on the rise.

We can do better. My first priority will be to lead a neighborhood-by neighborhood plan to make sure Long Beach meets the needs of its residents. Then I will dedicate myself to the tasks below.

1. Promote long-term sustainable growth and create good paying jobs.

2. Dedicate new revenues to restoring public safety and improving response times to keep our neighborhoods safe.

3. Promote partnerships with schools to promote after-school learning, community services, libraries, and the arts.

4. Revitalize every neighborhood – fixing potholes and sidewalks, trimming trees and cleaning up graffiti.

Retire The Debt Fundraiser For Councilmember-elect Roberto Uranga, May 14 This Thursday, May 14, councilmemberelect Roberto Uranga, along with U.S. Congressmember Janice Hahn will host a “Retire the Debt Fundraiser� to pay off the remaining debt incurred by Uranga’s campaign. Uranga, who ran against three candidates for Long Beach’s 7th District, won the race with nearly 51 percent of the vote. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. at the offices of Keesal, Young & Logan, 400 Oceangate,

Long Beach Business Journal 17 5. Bring transparency to city hall – fighting waste and balancing the city’s budget without new taxes, gimmicks or debt.

I will approach each of these tasks with a real plan, just like I’ve outlined below to create long-term, good paying jobs in Long Beach. • Expand Long Beach’s growing industry sectors: trade and transportation, health care, manufacturing, travel and tourism, and arts and culture. • Promote an Advanced and Emerging Technology Industry Cluster centeredaround cutting-edge research at CSULB. • Educate, train and prepare workforce for jobs of the future in partnership with Long Beach schools and after school programs. • Build 21st century infrastructure that moves goods and services quickly and efficiently, with reduced traffic and environmental impacts. • Promote sustainability through innovative use of green technology and high tech partnerships. • Support a healthy business environment by becoming the city’s number one champion for job growth – dedicating staff to economic development, meeting with employers, advancing reforms, and calling on city departments to make creating jobs easier. • Leverage city enterprises like the port, airport, water, gas, trash to energy plant, and oil production – to recruit other businesses and jobs to Long Beach.

Before all else, I will live by a tough, new code of ethics to stop self-dealing and put serving the people of Long Beach first.

Given the corruption and self-dealing in government today, this commitment underpins everything I plan to do as mayor.

If you share this vision for the future of Long Beach, I welcome your support at www.DamonDunn.com. We can make a difference together. â–

Robert Garcia (Continued From Page 1)

more than $250 million over 10 years. In addition, we turned our years of budget deficits into a surplus and are now putting aside more money into our reserves.

I’ve made the tough choices to get our city back on track and that’s why I am the only candidate endorsed by Mayor Bob Foster.

As Chair of the City’s Public Safety Committee, I have provided consistent leadership and oversight for our Long Beach Police and Fire Departments. I fought to fund public safety services and supported tough gang injunctions. Crime in Long Beach is the lowest it has been in more than 41 years and Long Beach is safer today than it has been in more than four decades. That’s why I have been endorsed by our own Long Beach Police Officers Association.

I also made it my priority to support open government, which is accountable government. I wrote legislation that created the city’s first open government policy, including placing public contracts online and expanding electronic access to council and commission meetings. We installed free Wi-Fi in our public libraries and our parks, and are focused on using technology to provide services more effectively.

We need proven leadership to continue on this path. I am ready to be Mayor on day one.

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Mayoral Debate May 13 A mayoral debate is set for tomorrow, May 13, 6 p.m. at the Beach Auditorium in Cal State Long Beach’s University Student Union. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Parking is free in Lot 3. Presented by the PressTelegram, KABC and CSULB President’s Office, Associated Students and the CSULB Department of Journalism and Mass Communications. The event will be simulacast live on Kbeach.org, on 88.1 FM and at presstelegram.com â–

As your Mayor, my five key priorities will be: fiscal responsibility, economic development, public safety, sustainability and technology.

I am the only candidate running for Mayor with a clear record of pension reform and fiscal responsibility. We must ensure that as the economy grows we don’t overspend and we do pay down our unfunded liabilities. Now that we are in a stronger financial position, we can begin to expand public safety services in a responsible way.

Economic development is a crucial part of my plan to move Long Beach forward.

We can transform Long Beach into the Silicon Valley of the South and attract high tech companies to our city. We must also usher in a new green economy focused on green development, solar technology, and growing opportunities for aquatic recreation and tourism.

As Mayor, I will always support our men and women in uniform and ensure they have the resources they need to do the job. We will grow our police and fire departments in a way that is sustainable and will focus on community policing.

I’m proud of my record as Vice Mayor and Council member. Let’s move Long Beach into the future.

I have often said that Long Beach’s best days are ahead of us. With your support they are.

For more information, please visit my website at RobertGarcia.com. â–

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1_LBBJ_May 13_SectionA_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 5/11/14 7:30 PM Page 18

FOCUS ON THE LGBT COMMUNITY 18 Long Beach Business Journal

Gay And Lesbian Chamber Offers Visibility For Long Beach Businesses ■ By CINDY SANTOS Staff Writer The Long Beach Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (LBGLCC) continues to grow its membership and expand upon the services it provides to the local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) business community.

Originally formed in 1992 as a community support network for the LGBT community, the LBGLCC became a full-fledged chamber in 2012, and is now affiliated with the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Since its inception, the LBGLCC has expanded to neighboring communities including the South Bay and Orange County, where gay and lesbian chambers do not yet exist.

Last year, the LBGLCC had only 35 members. Currently, it has 120 members. By the end of the year, it plans to boost its membership to 150, Laura Lara, president of the LBGLCC, told the Business Journal. Lara said 60 percent of LBGLCC members are gay-owned businesses and the remaining 40 percent are gay-friendly. Some of the LBGLCC’s members include Coldwell Banker, Comerica Bank, DoubleTree San Pedro and Long Beach Law, Inc., among other well-known companies in the area.

LBGLCC members have access to a variety of tools for networking and increasing the visibility of their businesses, such as monthly social mixers, inclusion in a yearly business directory distributed at more than 10,000 locations and reduced advertising rates in local publications.

Originally known as the Long Beach Community Business Network (LBCBN), the organization was founded in 1992 by John Garcia, owner of the first gay club in Long Beach, Ripples.

“In 1992, the Long Beach Community Business Network was founded because at that time there weren’t a lot of rights for gays,” Lara said. With incidents of violence occurring outside of LGBT establishments, the LGBT business community and its supporters banded together to form LBCBN. Lara said the early 1990s were a different time when words like “lesbian,” “gay,” “bisexual” and “transgendered” weren’t acceptable. In order to protect the organization, members of the LBCBN simply called it “the community network” until 2012, when the organization changed its name to Laura Lara is the president of the Long Beach Gay and LBGLCC. Although it had a new Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Lara is the owner of a book- name, the organization’s mission keeping and business management company in Torrance. and vision remained the same: to (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville) have a positive impact on the LGBT business and professional communities and their allies.

“Now in 2014, the gay and lesbian community no longer has shackles on them,” Lara said. “Business is good for the community and the community is good for business. If our businesses thrive, the city will thrive and then the community thrives.”

One of the primary benefits of membership in the LBGLCC is its affiliation with the national chamber. Long Beach members are eligible for NGLCC certification, which enables them to apply for scholarships, leadership training and other business development tools. NGLCC certification also helps LGBT businesses secure government contracts by increasing their visibility in the business community. The NGLCC certification-process sometimes costs hundreds of dollars, Lara said, but by joining an affiliated chapter like the LBGLCC, some fees are waived and the certification-process is expedited.

“It’s the affiliation that’s the benefit for our membership,” Lara said, adding that LBGLCC membership dues are considerably lower than the annual costs of marketing and advertising across multiple platforms. “For $200 . . . you will get your name exposed up and down the West Coast and you’re a part of a national affiliation,” Lara said.

LBGLCC’s long-term goals include forming a foundation for academic scholarships benefitting gay and lesbian students who wish to attend colleges. The organization also hopes to raise funds for aging LGBT couples who may not have families to help care for them as they age. ■

May 13-26, 2014

Pride Weekend (Continued From Page 1)

where people can come enjoy and be themselves regardless of their sexual preference, how they self-identify or race, creed or color,” Rubio explained.

The pride parade and festival is also an opportunity for LBLGP to generate business for Long Beach and give back to the community. The event typically boosts area retail sales, Rubio noted. “We book up the majority of the hotels in the city,” he said.

“People eat; people stay for the weekend,” he added, recalling how a staff member at Long Beach Café recently told him that the two-day event generates one of the restaurant’s busiest weekends. “That’s what we’re really glad about – that not only does our event promote pride and diversity and inclusion, but it also helps support the economy of Long Beach,” he said.

Kraig Kojian, president and CEO of the DLBA, emphasized the importance of the event to downtown’s economy. “As Long Beach’s second largest event of the year, [the] pride [festival and parade] serves as an economic driver for downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods,” he told the Business Journal. He explained that the event creates exposure for businesses in the area, generating new clientele. “In addition to the increased spending which occurs that weekend, there is residual economic impact from the visitors that choose to come back in the future,” he added.

Local businesses and hotels often create their own LGBT pride events during the parade and festival days, Rubio pointed out.

“Other events pop up on our weekend that wouldn’t be happening if our event wasn’t

State Legislation Aimed At Helping LGBT-Owned Firms ■ By CINDY SANTOS Staff Writer The Long Beach Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (LBGLCC) held its monthly mixer recently, where more than 50 attendees heard Sam McClure, the vice president of affiliate relations and external affairs for the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), discuss the organization’s ongoing efforts to help gay-owned businesses at the state and national level.

The NGLCC is an international, nonprofit organization that serves as the voice of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) business community. With 52 affiliated chapters across the country and 16 chapters throughout the globe, the NGLCC is dedicated to promoting economic opportunities for LGBT-owned businesses.

“We’re an umbrella organization for many local LGBT chambers of commerce,” McClure told the Business Journal.

“In California, we’re doing a lot of important work to open up opportunities for certified LGBT business enterprises to do business with the California Pubic Utilities Commission. We’re actually working on a bill right now, called AB [Assembly Bill] 1678, and it will open up opportunities for those certified LGBT business enterprises.”

happening,” Rubio said, using the Queen Mary’s “Poseidon” dance party on May 17 as an example. “We have seen an increase in business related to pride weekend over the last several years in part because we have introduced Poseidon, our dance party targeted to the LGBT community,” Steve Sheldon, the Queen Mary’s director for entertainment events, told the Business Journal. “We are expecting our biggest crowd yet for Poseidon this year and actually moved the event venue to a larger deck space to accommodate more guests,” he added, noting that the number of hotel guests has also increased since starting the event.

Long Beach nonprofit organizations also benefit from pride weekend festivities.

Since the event was founded, LBLGP has dispersed funds earned from the event back into the community, Rubio said. For example, every year LBLGP pays parade and festival volunteers who work at least four hours a rate of $6 an hour. Their earnings are donated to charities of their choosing.

“Some of our nonprofits actually make a hefty amount because we don’t limit how many volunteers they can bring in. It really helps their budgets,” Rubio explained.

LBLGP’s charitable giving isn’t restricted to pride weekend. Rubio emphasized that the organization gives grants to local nonprofits such as the AIDS Food Store, The Center Long Beach and The Historical Society of Long Beach. Last year, 18 local nonprofit organizations received LBLGP grants. “We also give scholastic grants to students that live in Long Beach or go to school there,” Rubio said. In total, Rubio estimated that the organization donates an average of $200,000 to local nonprofits and students annually. ■ McClure said AB 1678 would encourage public utilities to contract with LGBT businesses. Introduced by Assemblymember Richard Gordon, the bill extends provisions that are already available for women- and minority-owned businesses to companies that are at least 51 percent LGBT-owned. It would apply to businesses that provide utilities services – including electricity, gas, water, telephone and wireless – with revenues that exceed $25 million per year.

In April, McClure played a pivotal role in helping to push the bill through the utilities and commerce committee in the state assembly with testimony that swayed a majority of the members. The bill then passed through the appropriations committee. A floor vote is expected in the near future.

“If it passes, it’s really going to open up major opportunities for these LGBT entrepreneurs to grow strong, sustainable businesses that have a big impact on the local economy here in Long Beach,” McClure said.

McClure added that one way for local businesses to be certified as LGBT-owned, is to join the LBGLCC, which will expedite NGLCC certification.

“When we certify businesses, we encourage those businesses to be members of their local chambers. We actually don’t even offer membership at the national level,” McClure said. “If a member from this local chamber [LBGLCC] applies for the LGBT business enterprise certification with us, we’re going to waive their application fee because they’re a member of the local chamber.” ■

1_LBBJ_May 13_SectionA_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 5/11/14 7:30 PM Page 19

FOCUS ON THE LGBT COMMUNITY May 13-26, 2014

The Center: A Hub For The LGBTQ Community ■ By BRANDON FERGUSON Staff Writer The LGBTQ Center Long Beach has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1977 when community members gathered in living rooms to discuss pertinent issues of the day.

Currently, The Center inhabits a 7,200square-foot, multi-story building on 4th Street near Cherry Avenue and serves nearly 25,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) clients. The Center offers many services including HIV testing, mental health services, counseling and after-school programs.

“The Center has been a longstanding resource for our community,” said The Center President and General Board Chair Ron Sylvester. “It’s always been kind of a hub for the community for everything from activism to socializing.”

On May 16, The Center kicks off Pride Weekend with a “Pink Party” featuring dancing, performances by drag queens from the television show Rue Paul’s Drag Race and an appearance by Broadway performer and former Mousketeer Lindsey Alley.

“Every single dollar people spend on either general admission or VIP tickets is going to be used to continue our programs and services here at The Center,” Executive Director Porter Gilberg said. “It’s a party for a good cause.”

To provide its services, The Center relies on government funding, events and private donations. “We have a great relationship

Long Beach Business Journal 19 with the Long Beach Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and their member base,” Gilberg said. “We [also] do have the support of a number of large corporations.

An example would be Edison International who was the presenting sponsor at our gala earlier this year.”

Sylvester added that small businesses also play a role in helping The Center and cited local eatery Hamburger Mary’s, which is providing bar services for the Pink Party. “[Owner Dale Warner] has pledged every penny of what the bar makes back to The Center,” Sylvester said.

Though Gilberg and Sylvester said The Center is currently thriving, both acknowledged it faced challenges during the recent recession. In 2010, the organization was staffed with only one full-time and two part-time employees and had an annual operating budget of $365,000.

“When the recession really took the flooring out from under us, our governing board became a working board and took over the day-to-day operations of the organization until we were able to get the staff back to provide services,” Gilberg said, adding that today The Center employs nine full-time staff members and maintains a $1 million annual budget.

According to Gilberg, it is difficult to understate the value of the services provided

by The Center. “There is really a lot of need in Long Beach. We have extremely high rates of poverty, homelessness and unemployment. We’re here to provide those services to folks who need it most and at the same time to build the collective power and collective solidarity of our community,” Gilberg said.

While he acknowledged that The Center enjoys excellent relationships with the city council and other civic groups, Gilberg added that when it comes to citywide tolerance of the LGBTQ community, there is still room for progress.

“I think Long Beach, like any city anywhere, always has room to grow. LGBTQ people continue to be placed at a disadvantage simply because of who they are or who they love,” Gilberg said. ■

LGBTQ Center Long Beach Executive Director Porter Gilberg stands outside the Center's 4th Street building, which offers services to nearly 25,000 LGBT persons annually. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

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IN THE NEWS 20 Long Beach Business Journal

May 13-26, 2014

Big Saver Foods Opens New Location On East 7th Street Grocery giant Big Saver Foods recently opened a second Long Beach location on East 7th Street to much fanfare. Second District Councilmember Suja Lowenthal and the East 7th Street Collaboration joined Big Saver Foods President and CEO Uka Solanki for the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 7. The newly renovated store features a wave roof, an architectural element reminiscent of 1960s designs. The 2nd District community hopes the store will catalyze revitalization efforts along East 7th Street, according to a statement from Lowenthal’s office. On hand for the Big Saver Foods ribbon-cutting ceremony, from left are: Hannibal Petrossi, architect with Petrossi & Associates, Inc.; Mary Tan; Uka Solanki, president and CEO of Big Saver Foods; Edward Sana Tan, chair of the Cambodian American Chamber of Commerce; Cory Allen, field representative for State Senator Ricardo Lara; Suja Lowenthal, 2nd District councilmember; and Nalini Solanki, wife of Uka Solanki. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

Five O’Clock Wine Bar Opens At Alamitos Bay Landing Long Beach has a new bar for lovers of wine and craft beers – Five O’Clock Wine Bar opened May 5, with a grand opening event scheduled for May 31 at its Alamitos Bay Landing location at 194 Marina Dr., Suite 101. Owner Dena Jones opened the bar after five years working in tasting rooms and in marketing and managerial positions in the regional wine industry. A downturn in the economy was the impetus for a career change for Jones, who first took a job at a winery when opportunities in the architecture field became scarce in 2008. After a few years working for local wineries, Jones started a company called Cal Wine Cellars, a discount promotions website similar to Groupon. “It is strictly wine-focused events and discounts, promotions and coupons to local tasting rooms,” she told the Business Journal. She began to miss working in tasting rooms and interacting with customers, so when the wine bar near Boathouse On The Bay came up for sale, she decided to purchase it. Measuring 700 square feet plus a patio, the bar’s ambiance is intimate and laid back, Jones said. She plans to serve boutique and local wines, local craft beers and small plates. Live music is scheduled on weekends, and Thursday happy hours include half-off of wines and tapas (small plates).

For more information, visit www.fivewinebar.com. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

CSULB Ranked No. 10 Among Nation’s Best Value Colleges ■ By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER Staff Writer California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) recently made Time Magazine’s list of top 10 best value colleges, achieving the No. 10 spot among 1,800 institutions. When compiling the list, Time considered graduation rates, tuition costs and the percentage of students receiving Pell grants, a federal low-income scholarship.

The national weekly news magazine’s rankings were based partially on the Obama administration’s new College Scorecard, which rates colleges by considering graduation rate and affordability. Time considered data from 2,500 colleges across the country, according to CSULB officials. Other California schools in the top 10 included University of California (UC) Riverside at No. 1, UC San Diego at No. 2, UC Irvine at No. 4 and UC Davis at No. 6. CSULB was the only California State University (CSU) in the top 10.

“This is certainly the most significant ranking we have received and we’re very pleased that what we do by providing a high quality, low-cost education is recognized by people around the country,” CSULB Interim President

Donald J. Para told the Business Journal. “To be 10th out of the country in this ranking is wonderful for us,” he said.

Para did point out that, in general, ranking systems typically have some issues, but said overall the Obama administration’s criteria for rating colleges “are very reasonable.”

The ranking illustrates that CSULB is dedicated to ensuring its students graduate, Para said. This year, the college is conferring more than 9,200 degrees to its largest-ever graduating class. “Graduating and completing the [college] degree is essential,” he said. “Even if you go to college for three years and don’t graduate, your job prospects . . . [and] expected lifetime earnings are not going to be much different than if you stopped after high school,” he explained. “Our mission has long been to graduate students with highly valued degrees and we have been recognized for that over the years.”

Para said that the announcement should be “great news to residents of the local area,” and noted that CSULB is committed to serving those residents through its Long Beach College Promise partnership with the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) and Long Beach City College (LBCC). Now in its fifth year, the partnership guarantees LBUSD students one free semester at LBCC and guaranteed admission to CSULB if they follow certain guidelines.

“The three [school] systems have to work together if we’re going to be successful on behalf of the City of Long Beach and the region,” Para said. “What we say to the residents of Long Beach is you can go from kindergarten

through your doctoral degree and never leave the City of Long Beach,” he said of the College Promise. About 35 to 40 percent of CSULB students are from the greater Long Beach region in an average year, Para estimated.

In order to retain its ranking among the nation’s best value colleges, Para said more state funding is needed.

“We cannot sustain the CSU [system] at the quality, accessibility or affordability we have if we do not get additional state support,” he said. “The only alternative is to continue to increase fees on students, which nobody wants to do.”

In 2008, the state provided the CSU system with $3 billion in funding. Last year, California provided $2.1 billion to the CSU system, a third of what it provided six years ago. “Twenty-five years ago, the state was providing 90 percent of support for students and students were providing 10 percent. Currently, it is about 50/50,” he noted.

Support for the entire CSU and other California college systems is important not only to the state, but the nation, Para emphasized. “There are about 18 million people in higher education in this country, three million [of whom are] in California, which means that one out of every six students who are in higher education in this country are in California,” he said. “It means that what happens in California in higher education not only impacts the State of California, it impacts the whole country. And with the CSU, with about 447,000 students, being the largest public higher education system in the country, what happens to us is very important.” ■

1_LBBJ_May 13_SectionA_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 5/11/14 7:30 PM Page 21

IN THE NEWS May 13-26, 2014

Long Beach Business Journal 21 Sustainability. Bowman Change Inc. helps businesses and non-profits make environmental change central to their operations. “Tom has used the award-winning green business plan he implemented at his own company to propel his advocacy work by demonstrating the business case for going green and working to get that message out

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Long Beach Memorial Medical Center (LBMMC) employees celebrated the opening of the hospital’s new hybrid imaging suite on May 1 with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The new suite features advanced imaging technology for complex cardiac issues. Pictured, from left to right, are: Tamra Kaplan, COO of LBMMC; Gregory Thomas, M.D., medical director of the MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute (HVI); Fernando Mendoza, M.D., medical director of cardiac imaging; Rex Winters, M.D., medical director of invasive cardiology; Daniel Bethencourt, M.D., medical director of cardiac and thoracic surgery; Ida Merline, vice president of the HVI; Judy Fix, chief nursing officer at LBMMC and Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach; Henry Van Gieson, M.D., medical director of the cardiac care unit; Derek Lester, director of invasive cardiology; and Steven Appleby, M.D., medical director of cardiac rehabilitation. Below, Guests tour the hybrid imaging suite. The advanced imaging capabilities of the suite’s technology allow doctors to perform a minimally invasive procedure for replacing aortic heart valves.(Photographs by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

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Lee & Associates Names New CEO – Jeffrey M. Rinkov has been named CEO and board chairman of Lee a & Associates, national commercial real estate firm.

Rinkov has worked at the company since 1997. He has served as interim president since November, when he took over for former CEO Edward J. Indvik. The search for a new CEO was conducted both within the company and externally. Lee & Associates was founded in 1979 and has 49 offices – including one in Long Beach headed up by Greg Gill – and 750 agents nationwide. Bill Lee, the company’s founder, said in a statement, “Jeff is the perfect match for this job and he has a keen sense of what makes Lee [& Associates] stand out.� Rinkov said that he and the board are committed to efforts key to the company’s national strategy, such as office expansion, broker recruitment and special services development.

CSULB Director Of Nursing Honored – Soroptimist International of Long Beach honored Lucy Huckabay, director of nursing and a professor at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), with a Woman of Distinction Award at the 90th Women Who Make A Difference Awards brunch on May 3. The award is given to Long Beach-area women who have demonstrated leadership in education, scholarship and mentorship and have achieved distinction in their fields.

Huckabay received the award for nursing education. She has worked at CSULB for 30 years, where she has helped triple enrollment in the School of Nursing. As a World Health Organization Consultant, she has led efforts to create international nursing programs.

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PERSPECTIVE 22 Long Beach Business Journal

May 13-26, 2014

If You Are Dancing With Discomfort, Take The Lead

■ EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

By Mick Ukleja ow do you view the discomforts you encounter? There are three choices: Avoidance – Resignation – Engagement.

Avoidance has its place. Why create discomfort where it’s not necessary? Yet who decides what is and isn’t necessary?

Going to school and work often creates discomfort, but it’s necessary.

Exercising can create discomfort, but we know the benefits. Medical procedures, even though uncomfortable, are a must.

Resignation in the face of discomforts involves acceptance. However, the shadow side of resignation is that it can put the discomforts in charge. We can become the victims of certain “pains” we encounter.

Engagement, I suggest, is a better strategy. How can we leverage the discomforts – both planned and unplanned – for our personal and professional benefit? Sometimes, as Jim Rohn put it, “you need to do the uncomfortable until it becomes comfortable. There are only two pains you have to worry about, ‘the pain of discipline today, or the pain of regret tomorrow.” The successful person is willing to do what the unsuccessful person is not willing to do.

In other words, there are times when we plan our discomforts.

At other times discomforts can come as a result of an unwise choice, or perhaps through no choice of our

H

own. Avoidance doesn’t work, and can actually make the struggle worse.

Resignation often puts us in a reactive mode. Engagement allows us to proactively learn and grow.

Sometimes the struggle is exactly what we need. Without discomforts, struggles, setbacks or obstacles, we would go through life crippled.

Sorrows and setbacks can become our pedagogues – our tutors. They teach us and toughen us. They fortify us like armor. They lay a foundation that allows us to grow beyond our current capacity. They hone our direction by increasing meaning and purpose. They deepen us which in turn strengthens us.

We discover that choosing to live in the discomfort lane is the only way to personal greatness. In fact, your greatness lies outside your circle of comfort.

When we live in a state of comfort the odds are great that we are not going anywhere. We fail to tap into our potential. Without discomfort our tendency is to avoid asking the important questions – What? How? When? and Who? This helps us discard the worn out excuses that are decoys blinding us to the real issues and attitudes that lead to successful living.

So let me give you the bottom line.

The best defense is a good offense.

Walk toward the barking dog. Realize that discomfort is a first cousin to discipline. They often come at us from different directions, but the results can look very similar.

Through discipline we push ourselves to be better. Through discomfort we can do the same. As Scott Peck puts it, “the truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unful-

filled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.” He continues, “problems do not go away. They must be worked through or else they remain, forever, a barrier to growth and development of the spirit.”¹ Even though success begins outside your comfort zone it does not need to be terrifying – just uncomfortable! It comes down to learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Comfort zones rarely produce growth.

Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Habits produce results, and habits have never changed for the better in comfort zones. Anyone who has ever changed an unproductive habit or thought process has intentionally invited a certain level of discomfort.

The good news is that the energy that discomfort creates is the same energy that creates solutions! The finest metals are purified in extreme temperatures. The greatest inventions have been discovered during wars. A lifestyle of comfort, on the other hand, leads to accommodation and immobility. Things that take no effort are not personally valued. Something about our natures need a certain amount of bitterness to appreciate the sweet, toughness to appreciate the smooth, and hardness to appreciate the soft.

But you already know this, don’t you?

How are you using your current discomforts to propel you? ¹The Road Less Traveled; Scott Peck.

(Mick Ukleja is the author of several books, a coach, keynote speaker and president of LeadershipTraq, a leadership consulting firm. Check his weekly blog at www.leadershiptraq.com.)

EARTHTALK Meatless Meat ®

Dear EarthTalk: I recently became vegetarian for ethical reasons, but I am missing the taste of meat.

Are there any tasty veggie options out there that can satisfy my desire for steak and chicken?

– Missy Jenkins, Pittsburgh, PA

side from its brutal treatment of livestock animals, the meat industry is no doubt one of the worst offenders when it comes to the environment.

Producing one kilogram of beef requires 150 square meters of land and 15,000 liters of water, most of which is used to grow feed for the animal. That same kilogram generates 27 kilograms of climate-altering carbon dioxide, the equivalent of driving a car more than 100 miles. Indeed, beef has 13 times the carbon emissions of an equivalent amount of vegetable-based protein.

Hungry mouths around the world take a hit, too: Some 70 percent of the grain produced in the U.S. is fed to livestock animals but the land used to grow it could feed some 800 million people instead. For this and other reasons many of us have given up meat altogether. But it doesn’t mean we don’t still crave the taste.

Fortunately, there are more choices than ever for vegetarians with latent carnivorous instincts. One young company, Beyond Meat, has millions of dollars in funding from high-tech heavyweights and has made a big splash in

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recent months with the launch of its first two meat alternative products, Beef-Free Crumbles and Chicken-Free Strips. Each of its products looks and tastes like the meat it is emulating while offering the same protein content – but without any saturated or trans fats or cholesterol, let alone gluten or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In taste tests, most consumers can’t tell which dishes contain actual beef or chicken versus Beyond Meat’s self-proclaimed “perfect substitutes.”

The company reports that it takes four-tenths of a pound of soy and pea plants to make a pound of their Chicken-Free Strips, versus three pounds of grain-based feed to get a pound’s worth of meat from an actual chicken. That all translates into many fewer pesticides and carbon emissions and much less water used in the process. Beyond Meat’s investors include the leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, Twitter co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams’ Obvious Corporation, and even Bill Gates, who has expressed his hope that the company’s products can play a role in switching more people in developing countries over to plant-based proteins.

Of course, there are many other meat alternatives out there, too. A trip down

the freezer aisle at Whole Foods yields sightings of Amy’s Bistro Burgers, Gardenburgers, Boca Burgers, Gardein Ultimate Beefless Sliders and Beefless Tips, Dr. Praeger’s Veggie Burgers and Sol Cuisine Meatless Chicken.

Meanwhile, the Meat Alternatives section of VeganEssentials.com offers up Upton’s Naturals’ Bacon Style Seitan Strips, Sophie’s Kitchen Breaded Vegan Fishless Sticks, Field Roast’s Classic Vegan Meatloaf, and even Meatless Select Fishless Vegan Tuna. Another classic option is any number of meatless products from the Kellogg’s-owned Morningstar Farms, which are widely available in mainstream grocery stores from coast-to-coast and which account for some 60 percent of the meat alternatives market in the U.S. With meat production expected to double by 2050 as the world’s human population tops nine billion, there has never been a better time to start curbing our enthusiasm for conventional steaks, hamburgers, chicken breasts and sausages.

Contacts: Beyond Meat, www.beyondmeat.com; VeganEssentials, www.veganessentials.com.

(EarthTalk® is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E – The Environmental Magazine, www. emagazine.com.)

The Misconceptions Of Stroke or being the No. 1 cause of long-term disability, and the No. 4 cause of death in the U.S., stroke – or brain attack – is often one of the most misunderstood diseases. About 750,000 people in the U.S. will have a stroke this year. With that staggering statistic, most people can’t identify a stroke. And for those who do know what stroke is, and how to identify it, there are still many pieces of the puzzle that remain missing.

There are many misconceptions about ■ HEALTHWISE stroke, when people think of stroke; many

By Nima times they think it’s something that only Ramezan, M.D. impacts the older adult population. The truth is that stroke can happen to anyone at any age, no matter their race or gender. But the fact remains that 80 percent of strokes can be prevented by managing controllable risk factors.

The more risk factors a person has, the greater the chance that he or she will have a stroke. Controllable risk factors generally fall into two categories: lifestyle risk factors or medical risk factors. Lifestyle risk factors can often be changed, while medical risk factors can usually be treated. Both types can be managed best by working with your doctor.

Controllable Risk Factors: • High Blood Pressure (hypertension) • Atrial Fibrillation • High Cholesterol • Diabetes • Atherosclerosis • Circulation Problems • Tobacco Use and Smoking • Alcohol Use • Physical Inactivity • Obesity Uncontrollable Risk Factors: • Age • Gender • Race • Family History • Previous Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack

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In the world of stroke care, health care providers live by a simple saying: “Time is Brain.” There is a narrow window of opportunity – just a few hours – to evaluate, diagnose and treat a stroke victim. Two million brain cells die every minute during a stroke, increasing risk of permanent brain damage, disability or death.

Treatment has come a long way, even in the last 50 years, where many strokes may not have been treatable. Patients today have life-saving solutions available – given that medical attention is provided quickly.

Remarkable advancements in treatment and research have provided wider treatment windows and have allowed for vastly better outcomes for patients in recent years.

There are two types of strokes: ischemic or hemorrhagic. An ischemic stroke occurs as a result of a blockage within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain. It accounts for approximately 87 percent of all stroke cases. A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a weakened blood vessel ruptures and spills blood into or around the brain. Treatment differs depending on the type of stroke.

The only FDA approved treatment for ischemic strokes is tissue plasminogen activator tPA, which works by dissolving the clot and improving blood flow to the part of the brain being deprived of blood. If given within 3 hours (and up to 4.5 hours in certain eligible patients), tPA may improve the chances of recovering from a stroke. A significant number of stroke victims don’t get to the hospital in time for tPA treatment; this is why it’s so important to identify a stroke immediately.

Another treatment consideration for patients with major stroke symptoms soon after onset of symptoms not eligible for any other therapy, is an endovascular procedure, in which trained doctors try removing the blood clot in the brain artery by sending a catheter introduced through a major artery in the leg or arm. Through this less-invasive approach the catheter is then moved to the site of the blocked blood vessel in the brain.

More than 7 million people in the U.S. have survived a stroke.

Although stroke is a disease of the brain, it can affect the entire function of the body leading to significant disability with long-lasting physical and emotional impact. It not only affects the person who suffered a stroke, but it also has a tremendous impact on their family.

A stroke is a medical emergency that must be dealt with in an expeditious manner so the best potential outcome can result. With the continued focus on research and innovative treatment options, in combination with education to the public, we hope to see the number of people affected decrease and that positive outcomes for those who do suffer a stroke will increase.

(Dr. Nima Ramezan is medical director, Stroke Program, MemorialCare Neuroscience Institute, Long Beach Memorial.)

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PERSPECTIVE May 13-26, 2014

Long Beach Business Journal 23

Rental Affordability Also Taking A Hit

■ REALTY VIEWS

By Terry Ross t has been no secret that housingowning affordability has been taking a hit with the price run-up of a year ago, but now comes information that renting is starting to become almost as much of a challenge to consumer’s wallets as owning a home.

By most standards, families would be well-served to keep their housing costs – be they an owner or renter – to no more than 30 percent of gross household income. But according to a Zillow study commissioned by the New York Times, this gauge is going by the wayside in a huge way in most metropolitan markets because of rising rents due to a shortage of rental units and the upward pressure on rental rates.

In 90 metro U.S. cities, the median rent was greater than 30 percent of

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the median gross income. Half of all renters are now spending in excess of 30 percent of their income on rent.

And the problem is getting worse.

The rapid increase in rental demand is tightening the squeeze as the U.S. added a net 6.2 million tenants from 2007 to 2013, while only 208,000 homeowners were created, according to Zillow. These figures are particularly exceptional in light of declining household formations.

Thus, the problem of demand will only compound when Generation Y finally branches off on their own and enters the rental market.

While increasing supply is the obvious answer, the real solution is not that easy. According to Jaime Ross, president of the Florida Housing Coalition, the correction is not going to be as easy as building more rental units.

“Increasing the supply is not going to increase the number of affordable units; that is a complete and utter fallacy,” he said. The market has never corrected itself and it’s only getting worse.”

That’s true in California without a doubt. Multi-family housing starts

have risen steadily since 2012. Yet, vacancy rates continue to decline and rents maintain their steady upward climb.

According to the Zillow research, American renters are spending 29.5 percent of their gross household income for housing as compared to an historical level of almost 25 percent – an increase of 18.8 percent.

Surprisingly, the Los Angeles area is one of the worst when it comes to the current fraction of income going to rent with 46.9 on average – against an historical figure of 34.6 percent.

This is even higher than New York City, which is currently at 39.5 percent (against an historical 23.6 percent – a 67 percent increase!) – a city that is notorious for high rent, but is better balanced than Los Angeles due to higher wages.

Some of the other major cities are well-over the 30-percent desired threshold, including San Francisco (40.7 percent), Miami 43.2) and Riverside (36). Among the lower rental percentages are Phoenix (25.8), Detroit (23.9), Atlanta (24.5) and Washington, D.C. (27.2) A short-term correction is coming

in the near future. Today’s inflated rents are, to some extent, due to the inflated prices of 2013. As we know, investors bought big in 2013, many placing their bets on multi-family properties in addition to single-family residences. Part of the rent inflation we see now is a hangover from last year’s buying frenzy, with investors attempting to realize a healthy return on investment.

A real fix for the systemic economic and social problem may be more elusive. Rental real estate is appreciating faster than the rate of inflation and since shelter is a necessity, it’s proving to be an excellent opportunity for investors but an economic crunch for the middle class. Rather than be homeless, they’ll just devote a larger share of their income to paying for shelter and spend less somewhere else, which then creates weaknesses in other areas of the economy.

(Terry Ross, the broker-owner of TR Properties, will answer any questions about today’s real estate market. E-mail questions to Realty Views at terryross1@cs.com or call 949/457-4922.)

Vol. XXVII No. 9 May 13-26, 2014 EDITOR & PUBLISHER George Economides VICE PRESIDENT SALES & MARKETING Martha Rangel SALES & MARKETING EXECUTIVE Michael Watkins SALES & MARKETING ASSISTANT Heather Dann DISTRIBUTION Conrad Riley EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT STAFF WRITERS Brandon Ferguson Samantha Mehlinger Cindy Santos CONTRIBUTING WRITER Michael Gougis PHOTOJOURNALIST Thomas McConville COPY EDITOR Lindsay Christopher The Long Beach Business Journal is a publication

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Publishing, Inc., incorporated in the

E-Commerce And Omni-Channel

■ TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION

By Tom O’Brien he approaching end of the academic year does not bring me the same sense of closure it once did.

Yes, students graduate; and this is a source of tremendous pride. But like my chosen discipline – logistics – education is much more of a just-intime business these days. Students are much more demanding about what, when and how they study. And a lot more of the educational product is customized, once again just like an agile supply chain. If school is not yet a 24/7 operation, it is at least a year round one.

I’m ok with that. You can’t take a summer off when your focus is an industry as dynamic as global trade.

And the changing nature of my classroom lectures and presentations reflects the changing priorities of key goods movement stakeholders.

A few years ago, we weren’t discussing omni-channel retail in the classroom. This year, we spent a lot of time discussing the changing nature of retail, including e-commerce and product customization, and what it means for not only distribution but the entire supply chain.

The advent of omni-channel retailing reflects the changing shopping patterns of consumers. Supply chains no longer serve only the shipto-store shelf model. They have to accommodate home deliveries centered around Internet sales or deliveries to stores that act more like showrooms, stock room fulfillment

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centers or return centers than traditional retail establishments. The U.S. Department of Commerce reports that online sales now make up more than 5 percent of total retail sales in the U.S.; and projects that this figure will double by 2017.

This has tremendous implications for distribution networks.

Distribution centers (DC) are increasingly built-to-suit or ownerbuilt to ensure more customized material handling. The standard DC with 20-foot- to 24-foot-high ceilings has evolved into one with up to 40-foot-high ceilings that allows for more pallet positions on multiple levels for picking and packing, all in the service of daily fulfillment of online orders. Greater depths and wider column spacing also facilitate wide variations in volumes.

Successful operations depend upon sophisticated technology and management systems, usually customized as well.

Outside of the building, the new designs accommodate an increased number of trucks and trailers that support more rapid flow-through of goods. The location of these facilities is also changing. The need to fulfill orders using same day or next day business models is creating a demand for mega-fulfillment centers in or near major metropolitan areas with access to large markets.

The impacts are felt beyond the DC however. Delivery companies are modifying fleets in order to be able to respond to the changing density of deliveries. More deliveries to the home mean fewer larger shipments, creating demand for different kinds of vehicles and vans. It also means less standardization in packaging, forcing shippers to

respond to a whole host of challenges that include figuring out ways to meet customer demand while minimizing cost. Packaging also has to become “smarter” so that it can be read by smart devices.

Amazon’s decision to change the way it prices its Prime delivery services suggests that the cost of serving the last mile (when that last mile is to each and every home) is becoming a concern.

The cities and regions that host ecommerce facilities are also concerned. They’re concerned about increased truck and van traffic, the impact of 24-hour operations on local communities, and the proliferation of large, trade-related facilities that don’t necessarily fit into a pedestrian-serving or smart growth planning model. On April 1 the State of Minnesota began collecting a 6.5 percent services tax on commercial and warehousing facilities. This experiment will have other states looking to see if it’s an option for them as well.

State of California in July 1985. It is published

The changes in retailing and distribution may mean good news howfor the workforce. ever Customization and the increased handling of individual items – in addition to cases and pallets – make for a more labor intensive operation.

And the increased use of technology provides opportunities for people with skills in systems design, integration and maintenance.

Those opportunities also mean more work for us at the university.

We have to read the signals from the marketplace as well when it comes to designing our various educational programs. But that’s a good problem to have. A dynamic industry means we get to be dynamic too, even if it also means a shorter summer vacation.

(Dr. Thomas O’Brien is the Interim Executive Director of the Center for International Trade and Transportation at CSULB and an associate director for the METRANS Transportation Center, a partnership of USC and CSULB.)

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