ST3448 by Signal Tribune

ST3448 - May 3_Layout 1 5/2/13 3:31 PM Page 4

4 SIgNaL TRIBuNE

Grocery stores continued from page 1

17-year-old store employee William Linly. On that windy afternoon, Linly finished driving a long chain of grocery carts back to the store front. The Long Beach resident said that he will be transferred to another store, but he acknowledged that the change will affect his commute. It’s further for him on his skateboard, he said. The Ralphs corporate office has not responded to media inquiries that would confirm the closure of the store. If the announcement is accurate, the store’s loss is the latest in the string of closures throughout the Long Beach and Signal Hill area over the last year. Albertsons announced in 2012 that it would close one store on Redondo Avenue in addition to other stores

throughout the country. Top Valu Market, a smaller regional grocery chain, opened a store at the former Albertsons site, but the store lasted for only a short time. They closed their doors last week. There are alternative competitors to the larger chains of grocery stores who are also fighting to stay viable in the grocery business. Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market has a few locations in Long Beach and Signal Hill. The chain announced on April 17 that their parent company Tesco is looking to exit the United States, but that didn’t mean the stores would be closing. Fresh & Easy is up for sale and had already attracted interested buyers. In an interview Tuesday, Fresh & Easy’s spokesman Brendan Wonnacott reiterated their press-release statement. “As they announced on the 17th,” the director of corporate affairs said, “bids have already been received on the Fresh

NEWS

& Easy business, including a number of bids from groups looking to acquire Fresh & Easy as an operating business.” Wonnacott confirmed that no stores would be closing and no layoffs would take place at this time. There is one other regional grocery store that some residents feared had closed permanently. Buy Low Market located at 4700 Cherry Avenue did shut its doors over a month ago, but the store is only going through a transformation. Buy Low Market’s headquarters would not comment more specifically about what the transformation is, but Sheila Vazin, who is fielding questions for the corporate office at the Buy Low Market, said that the location will be reopened as a grocery store. That particular Buy Low Market is located in Councilmember James Johnson’s 7th district. He said that he wasn’t too concerned about access to grocery stores, explaining that there were alterna-

OPINION

Thoughts from the Publisher

an Ode to the IaaO (International association of assessing Officers) By Neena Strichart

by Neena Strichart

Although many folks have a fear of public speaking, it isn’t one of my phobias. I’m not declaring that I am a great orator– far from it– but I do enjoy an attentive audience– or one that at least feigns it well. A month or so ago, my gal pal Vicki invited me to be the welcome speaker for a seminar hosted by the Los Angeles chapter of the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO). The event was to take place at 7:30 in the morning at The Grand in Long Beach. The information I was given was that there would be approximately 100 real-estate appraisers and personal-property appraisers in attendance, most of them employees of the LA County Assessor’s Office. In a short email, Vicki gave me the following as my instructions: “This will be a short, 15-minute welcome talk to be given at 7:45 in the morning and will essentially be the introduction to our day of speakers and presenters. Yours is a talk that is usually given by the mayor of the city in which the day-long seminar is being held.” When I asked her why she wanted to give me the honor of welcoming her group, she said that she believed I could give a little background

as to not only the history of Long Beach, but of Signal Hill as well. I was happy to oblige. I opened my little talk with information on both cities, including some of the particulars on demographics, dates of incorporation, number of schools and parks, and some of the fine points regarding our local elected officials. I then threw in some trivia including the fact that Signal Hill’s first mayor was a woman, and the number of annual parades: Long Beach’s four vs. Signal Hill’s zero (unless you count the line-up and rush into Costco every year on Black Friday). I then continued by explaining that for decades, while the city of Long Beach elects a mayor every four years, the city of Signal Hill’s mayor rotates. I then explained that what I meant was that the office is filled annually by a different councilmember, not that I was implying that we have now, or have ever had, a Signal Hill mayor who stood in one spot spinning– not in public anyway. I ended my short speech with an original poem. I hoped it would help lighten the mood for what I assumed would be a long day of rather serious topics delivered by important speakers. I offer it below for your cheers or jeers.

But I must now confess I’m not under duress I’ve really had quite a nice time.

But numbers don’t lie

Bicycle-unfriendly?

I am a resident of Los Cerritos, and I support the proposed roundabouts in the Los Cerritos neighborhood. The roundabouts will beautify and enhance the community, especially the “Gateway to Los Cerritos” at Pacific Avenue, 36th Street and Country Club Drive, and will improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists due to the reduced speed of traffic. Los Cerritos Neighborhood Association (LCNA) initially opposed the proposed traffic signal at Pacific Avenue and Wardlow [Road], saying it was not needed. However, when the City explained that the traffic signal is required because of the increasing accident rate at this intersection in recent years, LCNA dropped its opposition to the traffic signal. I understand there will be some reduction in available parking spaces near the roundabouts. However, I believe this concern is exaggerated. David Roseman, City traffic engineer, said he would minimize loss of parking as much as possible. Currently, I don’t feel safe riding my bicycle in the streets of my community. With the reduced traffic speed on Pacific Avenue as a result of the proposed roundabouts, I would feel safer and will be more likely to get out of my car and use my bicycle more often. I think LCNA should support what is best for the community as a whole rather than supporting a minority of vocal residents who decided to “just say no” to improving our community. Hayim Zadaca Long Beach

aSSOCIaTE PuBLISHER

MaNagINg EDITOR

Stephen M. Strichart

Stephanie Raygoza

STaFF WRITERS

CJ Dablo

COLuMNISTS

I now bow, and I’ll curtsy And I’ll ask for your mercy For putting up with my small rhyme.

Duty’s done with great pride Though assessors do hide How hard they work day into dark.

Jennifer E. Beaver Carol Berg Sloan, RD

Nick Diamantides

Shoshanah Siegel

DESIgN EDITOR

Cory Bilicko

aDVERTISINg CONSuLTaNTS

Sean Belk

We’ll complain nevermore When they come through the door But offer to lend them a hand.

If it weren’t for their skills We’d all head for the hills ‘cause none of us has a slight clue.

Mea culpa

aSSISTaNT EDITOR/STaFF WRITER

We should give them their due Say “assessor, thank you” For all that you’ve done for our land.

But nevertheless The math they caress To figure out numbers so true.

In the April 26 story “Los Cerritos neighborhood group survey says residents against proposed roundabouts,” Bob Gill should have been identified as vice president of the Los Cerritos Neighborhood Association.

Jane Fallon

They take time to be right With no oversight But the ones getting taxed just see fees.

They work and they toil Some burn midnight oil Others do it with humor and laugh.

Vivian C. Nelson Long Beach

Neena R. Strichart

Though their jobs are worthwhile They do rarely bring smiles From those they do call assess-ees.

I’m here to give praise To a group this fine day Of assessors who sure know their math.

When I was a kid and one of my siblings, or another child, would call me a mean name and I would complain to our dad, Dad would say “Sticks and stones may break your bones, but names can never hurt you.” Wrong! Dad was well-meaning but so wrong because sticks and stones may break your bones but name calling can hurt until the day you die. Certainly, you may recall some of the lumps and bumps you got as a youngster, but they don’t sear your memory as name-calling did. People leave their name and family to escape the name-calling they endured as a child because the pain is too raw to live in the same environment with. Isn’t that a shame? It takes so little to be kind and so much pain you must have endured to take your hurt out on others. As I age, I realize how unloved the name-callers must have felt to inflict their pain on others. I wish I could tell them all that someone loved them even if they were never told so.

be used in the future. “I would love to be able to get them to be able to change their mind,” Austin said in an interview Tuesday, “because I think that, you know, Bixby Knolls has served Ralphs very well over the past decade or more that I’ve know that they’ve been there.” He described the Ralphs store as a “major anchor” on that end of the Long Beach Boulevard corridor. Austin acknowledged that Ralphs’ decision to close hits home. The councilmember says he has been shopping at Ralphs for the last 12 years. His wife shops at Vons. Austin says he would miss the familiar faces of the employees. What was on his grocery list on his last personal trip to his store? Charcoal, lettuce and some beer, he replied. He was planning to barbecue salmon for a Sunday-night dinner. ß

There are lows and are highs And in history will sure leave their mark.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

a world of hurt

PuBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

tives like Trader Joe’s and another Ralphs store to serve the area. “The future of Long Beach is very bright,” Johnson said in a telephone interview Wednesday, “and I’m confident that we’ll continue to attract businesses that serve the community well.” In addition to the traditional and alternative grocery chains, customers also have the option to shop at Target, Walmart, and 99¢ Only Stores for their groceries. The possible loss of a Ralphs grocery store in Bixby Knolls, however, bothered Councilmember Austin in the 8th district. Austin said that he wouldn’t want to see the building sit vacant and that he’s been receiving numerous emails and communications from residents who are concerned about the site. He said that he has been working on setting up a meeting with Ralphs representatives to determine how the site could

May 3, 2013

Leighanna Nierle

aDMINISTRaTIVE aSSISTaNT/WEBSITE MaNagER

CuLTuRE WRITERS

Tanya Paz

Daniel Adams Vicki Paris Goodman Gregory Spooner CONTRIBuTINg PHOTOgRaPHER

Matt Sun

EDITORIaL INTERNS

Ariana Gastelum Brandy Soto Leonardo Poareo

CONTRIBuTINg WRITER

Rachael Rifkin

DESIgN INTERN

Kaelyn Bruno

The Signal Tribune welcomes letters to the editor, which should be signed, dated and include a phone number to verify authenticity. Letters are due by noon on the Tuesday before desired publication date. The Signal Tribune reserves the right to edit letters for grammar, language and space requirements. The Signal Tribune does not print letters that refer substantially to articles in other publications and might not print those that have recently been printed in other publications or otherwise presented in a public forum. Letters to the editor and commentaries are the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Signal Tribune or its staff. Although the editorial staff will attempt to verify and/or correct information when possible, letters to the editor and commentaries are opinions, and readers should not assume that they are statements of fact. Letter-writers will be identified by their professional titles or affiliations when, and only when, the editorial staff deems it relevant and/or to provide context to the letter. We do not run letters to the editor submitted by individuals who have declared their candidacies for public office in upcoming races. This policy was put in place because, to be fair, if we publish one, we would have to publish all letters submitted by all candidates. The volume would no doubt eliminate space for letters submitted by other readers. Instead, we agree to interview candidates and print stories about political races in an objective manner and offer very reasonable advertising rates for those candidates who wish to purchase ads. The Signal Tribune is published each Friday with a circulation of 25,000. yearly subscriptions are available for $45.

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