DAILY 49ER California State University, Long Beach
Vol. LXVII, Issue 65
www.daily49er.com
Covered California deadline approaches Students may only have four more days to sign up for health insurance before fines increase.
By Abdiel Bustillo Staff Writer
Cal State Long Beach students may be feeling the pressure as the Jan. 31 sign-up deadline for healthcare under Obama’s law approaches.
Fines for not signing up in the next four days have risen 113 percent from $325 in 2015 to a $695 minimum in 2016. In order to avoid these fines, students should take the appropriate steps. Students can visit CSULB’s Student Health Services homepage and click the Frequently Asked Questions link,
Thursday, January 28, 2016 which will direct them to the information they need to get coverage. For students who would like to get in contact with the Covered California organization, the phone number is 800-3001506. Covered California’s website also offers a 6-step chart to help get insured.
That’s Wal, folks As part of a massive global store closure, Downtown Long Beach will lose one of its go-to spots today. By Ariana Sawyer & Valerie Osier Staff Writers
The once colorful aisles had been emptied to reveal slate gray shelving in row after row. The now former customers wheeled carts around in search of the best bargains. It wasn’t hard with everything at a 25 to 50 percent discount. The Wal-Mart Discount Store, a popular shopping spot in downtown Long Beach, is closing today. In what Wal-Mart describes in a statement as a “a disciplined strategy of actively managing its portfolio,” the company is closing 154 stores across the United States and 115 outside of the country In October 2015 the company conducted a review of the 11,600 stores worldwide and assessed each store’s financial performance and “alignment with long-term plans,” according to the statement. “Actively managing our portfolio
of assets is essential to maintaining a healthy business,” said Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Wal-Mart in the statement. “Closing stores is never an easy decision, but it is necessary to keep the company strong and positioned for the future. It’s important to remember that we’ll open well more than 300 stores around the world next year. So we are committed to growing, but we are being disciplined about it.” Approximately 300 employees from the downtown store will be impacted by the decision, according to Director of Communications Delia Garcia. Wal-Mart will try to place the employees at nearby stores, and when they cannot, the company will provide 60 days of pay and severance if eligible and if they have not been placed by the end of the 60 days. The nearest Wal-Mart location is about 4 miles away and there are seven Wal-Mart stores within 10 miles. It is so far unknown what will replace the store on 151 E Fifth St. This downtown Wal-Mart location has approximately 1.5 stars on Yelp, with some reviews describing it as “one of the sketchier Wal-Marts,” “the worst Wal-Mart ever,” and “ratchet.” Managers at closing Wal-Marts have been instructed to not comment to media regarding their stores.
K aren Sawyer | Daily 49er
Shelves stand barren after shoppers cleaned Wal-Mart out during its closing sale. The Wal-Mart Discount Store, a popular shopping spot in downtown Long Beach, is closing today.
Smithsonian honors video from CSULB alums CSULB alumnus and Rose Parade float designer inspired a work of historical art.
By Erik Ohrstrom Staff Writer
News 2
A video created by two students in the Film and Electronic Arts Department of Cal State Long Beach will be added to the Smithsonian Institution in the American History Collection. Rod Velasquez and Zachary Stuart created the tribute, titled “Mr. Rose Parade,” to honor architect and CSULB alumnus Raul L. Rodriguez, who died in February 2015. He is known for his work as Tournament of Roses Parade
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float designer, and his designs have decorated places such as Caesars Palace, Circus Circus, Tropicana and Flamingo Hilton hotels. In 1993 he was honored as distinguished alumnus at CSULB for the College of the Arts. “Once I researched Paul, I fell in love with his artwork and spirit, and ultimately felt compelled to do him justice,” Stuart, a production management
major, said in a statement. “It was an amazing experience about an amazing person.” Rodriguez created his first Rose Parade float when he was 15 years old, and has continued to design floral floats in the parade since then. In the history of the parade he won a total of 23 awards, such as the Sweepstakes Trophy, the Tournament of Roses Parade’s highest honor, which is more than anyone in
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history. “Raul Rodriguez had such an incredible influence on float design and I wanted to undertake a project where the facilitation between ideas, impact and artwork were fundamental in the presentation of the video,” Velesquez, a documentary production major, said in a statement. “Learning of Raul’s impact was very inspiring. It made me feel like anything can be possible.”
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