February 3-16, 2015 Section A

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lbbusinessjournal.com

February 3-16, 2015

Long Beach Airport: Déjà vu – All Over Again!

Officeholder Accounts Are Being Tripled Lack Of Transparency An Issue As Oversight Minimal

■ By RON SALK Guest Commentary

■ By DAVE WIELENGA Staff Writer

he same outdated, fallaT cious arguments mustered by a small but vocal fear-monger-

(Please Continue To Page 24)

Herlinda Chico

Richard Lindemann

Daryl Supernaw

4th District City Council Seat: Three Candidates Face Off In A Winner-Take-All Election April 14 ■ By DAVE WIELENGA Staff Writer esidents of the 4th District R will have been without representation on the Long Beach City Council for five months on April 14, when a special election will fill the 4th District seat that’s been empty since Patrick O’Donnell departed for the California Assembly in November, halfway through his third council term.

It’s a winner-take-all race for candidates Herlinda Chico, Richard Lindemann and Daryl Supernaw, none of whom have

ever won elected office. But victory would give them less than a year until the 4th District’s next regularly scheduled election on April 12, 2016. By then, all three could be running again.

Supernaw and Chico ran for this office in 2012 when O’Donnell announced his candidacy for the California Assembly in the waning months of his second council term. When O’Donnell changed his mind, announcing he wanted a third council term instead, Chico withdrew. Supernaw stuck it out and won the primary, but a runoff that got ugly in bad-mouthy and big-

money ways ended with O’Donnell’s victory.

Chico and Supernaw are back to finish what they started, and, joined by Lindemann, it’s a field of residents whose addresses roughly span the east-west boundaries of the 4th District, which itself stretches across about half of the city’s waistline and most of its socio-economic spectrum.

The candidates’ perspectives reflect that, too.

Supernaw, 62, is a lifelong resident of the 4th District who makes his living as a consultant and who has made his name as a (Please Continue To Page 3)

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n a little more than a year, an eight-tenth-of-a-mile stretch along 4th Street between Temple and Hermosa avenues has been transformed into an international restaurant row, featuring flavors from more than a dozen different nations.

Starting at the end of 2013, five new restaurants opened on 4th Street, bringing the total for that

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ing group of opponents of the airport more than a decade ago are now being resurrected to oppose JetBlue's adding international flights to its schedule, even though the airline is limited – and would remain limited – to 32 flight slots per day. Currently, the airline's daily flights average only in the low to mid-20s.

Hard to believe, but it was 10 years ago, almost to the day, that I, as chair of the Airport Advisory Commission (AAC), presented our findings to the city council based on a 6-3 vote in support of long-overdue improvements to an aging airport.

After more than a dozen public hearings conducted by Airport Director Chris Kunze and the AAC, it was determined that the noise ordinance was inviolable and that enlarging the airport would not contribute additional noise. Indeed, the 41-flight "minimum" cap has been firmly in place, even after enlarging a greatly undersized airport that was built to accommodate 500,000 passengers, not the approximately 3 million now passing through each year.

Adding international flights (to Mexico and Latin America) will in no way impact or violate our sacrosanct grandfathered noise ordinance. (See LBBJ editorial, December 9, 2014, by George Economides.). The ordinance limits flight activity, not where the planes fly. It is a non sequitur and

he Long Beach City T Council appears poised to finalize two ordinances that

stretch of the street to 11 sit-down dining establishments.

Anchoring the international restaurant crawl at 4th Street and Temple Avenue is Kafe Neo. Co-

owned by brothers Pete and Gus Sverkos, the restaurant sits in a repurposed auto repair shop that was once owned by their father.

This “American Kitchen with a Greek soul,” which opened its doors in 2007, offers ambient outdoor seating, a wide variety of (Please Continue To Page 8)

would triple the amount of money its elected officials can collect in their officeholder accounts and raise the amount of money donors can contribute.

The proposals to amend Long Beach Municipal Code Sections 2.01.380 and 2.01.1020 are the last two items on the regular agenda of tonight’s (February 3) city council meeting. Both are set to receive their second reading, the final requirement before becoming official.

The first of the pending ordinances authorizes members of the Long Beach City Council to fund their individual officeholder accounts with up to $30,000 a year in donations, three times the (Please Continue To Page 6)

State Of The Port: “We are focused on building the port of the future – one that has the highest efficiency and speed to market. One that is the greenest port in the world.”

Jon Slangerup, Chief Executive Port of Long Beach See Story Page 14

Also . . .

Port Of Long Beach Green and Growning See 16-Page Section B

The Business Of Weddings

Local Wedding Planners Talk About Local Trends ■ By DAVE WIELENGA Staff Writer he “I do’s” are the short, T sweet centerpieces of every wedding day. Under the right circumstances, these two-word pledges of allegiance can lift a marriage ceremony to its dramatic high, underscore the essence of this long tradition and give the reception the kick in the pants to become a real party.

But they don’t say much by

themselves. Without the larger context of a thoughtful collaboration of vows, these declarations of unwavering, unending commitment would have little meaning.

This can be said about the entire wedding day. Like the vows the couple take before the “I do’s,” it is the plans they make for the reception that determine the substance, style and fun of the celebration.

Fortunately, a wedding plan can include just about anything these

days. Here are some current trends: Picking a date and place for a wedding day once meant coordinating the schedules of two venues – one for the ceremony, one for the reception.

“One of the bigger trends is having the ceremony and reception at the same location,” said Tamera Schulz, senior catering sales manager at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

(Please Continue To Page 21)

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE 2 Long Beach Business Journal

February 3-16, 2015

3 Newswatch 3-4th District Special Election, continued from Pg 1 4-Importance Of Getting Involved, Leadership Long Beach 6-Officeholder Accounts, continued from Pg 1 8-Evolving International Restaurant Row, continued from Pg 1 11-Leases And Transaction 12-Ports Good Neighbors In Protecting Environment 13-Photo: New West Project Area Council Leaders Introduced 14-State Of The Port Address, with photographs

16 In The News • Fisher House Coming To Long Beach VA Campus • LBCC Opens New Renovated Classrooms On PCH Campus • New Head Of School For Westerly Named

17 Business Of Weddings • Alternative Registries Grow In Popularity • Local Wedding Trends, continued from Pg 1

24 Perspective Realty Views Housing – New Lending Rules Could Help Buyers By Terry Ross Small Business Dollars & Sense Making Time For Small Business Retirement Planning By Ben Alvarado Trade And Transportation Chassis Take Center Stage

By Tom O’Brien HealthWise I Have Chest Pain. Now What? – Differentiate Heartburn And Heart Attacks By Cindy Peters, RN Guest Commentary Long Beach Airport By Ron Salk

26 Art Matters 27 The Nonprofit Page Section B Port Of Long Beach Greening And Growing Celebrating The 10th Anniversary Of The Green Port Policy

@LBBizJourn GET ALL THREE FOR FREE . . .

DIGITAL DIGIT TAL

edition

W WWW.LBBUSINESSJOURNAL.COM WW.LBBUSINESSJOURNAL.COM

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NEWSWATCH February 3-16, 2015

4th District City Council Special Election April 14 (Continued From Page 1)

community activist during 35 years as a homeowner on the east side of the district.

He was a founder of the Atherton Ditch Adjacent Neighborhood Association (ADANA), named after the open-air flood control channel that he spent 20 years working to ultimately cover and landscape, and he was an original member of the City of Long Beach Sustainability Commission, which he currently chairs. Supernaw grew up near the Traffic Circle and the nowshuttered Fire Station 17, where his late father was a firefighter.

“Whether it’s a curse or a blessing, I really care about the community, and people come to me with their issues . . . there’s never a shortage of issues,” Supernaw said. “I’m an independent community activist – that’s my brand, to put it in marketing terms, that’s what got me all the votes last go-round. It’s an overused cliché, but I’m a go-to guy.”

Chico, 41, moved into the 4th District in 2011, settling in the area above the Traffic Circle known as the Zafaria District.

Before that she was best known in Long Beach for her work on the staff of former 7th District Councilmember Tonia Reyes Uranga. She was born in the City of Commerce, where she is employed as a media specialist at City Hall.

“I’m the candidate with the most experience and it’s a nice balance of public sector and private sector,” Chico said. “I’ve worked for five city governments, including Long Beach, so I know how city government works. But I’ve also worked for one of the largest business improvement districts in Los Angeles.”

Lindemann is a retail salesperson who has lived in Long Beach for 53 years, all in the 4th District – first toward its eastern limits, and the last 45 in his wife’s westside childhood home around Pacific Coast Highway and Ohio Street, not far from the old railroad tracks.

“I live here, but I lived there, so I understand what’s going on in both areas,” Lindemann said. “Most of the 4th District’s representation for the last 40 years has been from the east side, in some cases to the detriment of the west side. In some cases we have gotten the short end of the deal. Almost everybody I talk to around here has said that it seems like nobody cares.”

Each candidate’s assessment of the 4th District begins the same way – with the importance of ensuring public safety and preserving the airport noise ordinance.

Next they note the district’s diversity and from there the many stark contrasts between its east and west sides, soon emphasizing the importance of addressing inequalities in living conditions, economic opportunity and participation.

“It’s essential public safety is funded – our personnel and the equipment they need,” said Chico, who is endorsed by the Long Beach Police Officers Association (POA), which represents the rank and file. “Long Beach’s port, airport and waterways create needs other cities don’t have. It’s important we get the best of the best, trained in our own academy, specifically for Long Beach.”

Long Beach Business Journal 3 Public safety in the 4th District demands more from its council representative than platitudes, Supernaw said.

“Most people don’t realize the level of violent crime on the west side of our district,” he contended. “With seven homicides in 2012 and eight in 2013, the 4th District led the city in that dubious category.

“And another big issue in the 4th is fire protection. Engine 17 has been mothballed and I know of three houses in the area that have burned – total losses – as a result of that engine company not being there.”

Lindemann wants to see a greater focus on gangs and prostitution, which he views as sources of burglary and theft, as well as drains on the ambiance and enthusiasm of neighborhoods. But he believes solutions go beyond crackdowns on perpetrators.

“Budget cuts have curtailed services that were effective,” he said. “We need things that get younger, pliable kids out of bad elements and into recreational things. We need cleaner parks, with more places to skateboard and play basketball and soccer.”

The mention of JetBlue’s plan to push the city council for a U.S. customs facility that would serve international flights at the Long Beach Airport, and Supernaw begins to nod.

“Everyone who proposes anything for the Long Beach Airport begins by saying they’re not going to touch the noise ordinance,” he said. “But on any given Tuesday night, it only takes five councilmembers to remove that ordinance. That’s what’s so risky about the 4th District going several months without a councilmember. ”

Chico said that violations of the noise ordinance should be litigated if necessary.

Supernaw suggested it might be worth examining the structure and amount of the fines for noise ordinance violations to create a strong deterrent.

Chico believes that the first step to solving some of the 4th District’s most frustrating problems is to dissolve some of the barriers between people.

“One of the most important issues to me is community engagement,” she said. “There are distinct differences between both sides of the district. I’m very proud that the 4th District is so diverse. I’m also very proud we have a small portion of Cambodia Town. But the differences create some challenges.

There are people living in severe poverty.

(Please Continue To Page 4)

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NEWSWATCH 4 Long Beach Business Journal

Importance Of Getting Involved Leadership Exchange Set For February 26, At Molina Event Center ■ By RICK CAMERON Managing Director, Planning and Environmental Compliance, Port of Long Beach and LLB Class of 2013

T

he Port of Long Beach understands and embraces that we are a vital economic engine for the City of Long Beach. The Port of Long Beach also understands and embraces that we are a trustee for the community and that we are a vested partner in seeing our city grow and prosper.

As a business entity we are about creating a sustainable enterprise of commerce. As a community member we know that it is incumbent upon us to be involved and connected with others on how we can work together to move Long Beach forward.

I know that I am better able to help the port achieve our business and community goals because of my involvement in the Leadership Long Beach organization. As a graduate of the Leadership Long Beach Class of 2013 and current LLB boardmember, the connections I have made and relationships that I have built have strengthened me as a leader for the port and as a leader in my community.

Business leaders who are interested in learning how to get more involved and connected will have an opportunity at the upcoming Leadership Long Beach ‘Leadership Exchange’ event being held at the Molina Event Center in Downtown Long Beach on Thursday, February 26. This free business mixer will provide community stakeholders and private businesses in the transportation industry, especially those connected to the port, the opportunity to network with others and hear about ways we can work together to address the needs and challenges of Long Beach.

Port of Long Beach Harbor Commissioner Lou Anne Bynum, a member of the Class of 1993 and past president of Leadership Long Beach, along with other community members will speak about opportunities to get more involved in Long Beach. A goal of the event will be to enhance a line of communication between business and community stakeholders and demonstrate how this type of involvement benefits all involved – the people, the organizations, and ultimately, our community.

To attend the event or for more information about Leadership Long Beach, call Oscar Cosby at 562/997-9194 or e-mail at o.cosby@leadershiplb.org. Or register online for a free ticket at http://leadershipexchangelongbeach.eventbrite.com.

Leadership Exchange business mixer; Thursday, February 26, 5:30 p.m. reception, 6 p.m. program; M15 Molina Events Center, 200 Oceangate, Long Beach.

(Leadership Long Beach was founded in 1989 by some of our community’s most influential and visionary stakeholders. These founders envisioned the formation of a civic improvement program that would serve the community by educating and motivating leaders on issues important to the future and sustainability of our city. Over the last 25 years, more than 1,000 alumni have graduated from our leadership programs. For more information, check us out at www.leadershiplb.org or www.facebook.com/leadershiplongbeach.) ■

February 3-16, 2015

4th District City Council Special Election April 14 (Continued From Page 3)

4th City Council District District Population 2010 51,456* District Population 2000 Percent Of Total City Population 11.13% Percent Of Total City Population Latino: Percent Of All Latinos In City 9.81% Latino: Percent Of All Latinos In City White: Percent Of All Whites In City 12.58% White: Percent Of All Whites In City

52,155* 11.30% 10.07% 12.29%

“I want to get in there and revital2010 2000 ize that area – provide services to District Total % Of Total District Total % Of Total help the people up, get a business Latino 18,476 35.9% 16,631 31.9% improvement district. I’m hoping White 17,075 33.2% 18,792 36.0% that bringing people together can Black 5,742 11.1% 6,641 12.7% help us do it.”

American Indian 142 0.3% 188 0.4% There’s an intimate quality to 7,962 15.4% 7,704 14.8% Asian Lindemann’s approach to business Pacific Islander 183 0.4% 206 0.4% development.

Other 191 0.4% 147 0.3% “The south end of the 4th 2+Races 1,685 3.3% 1,846 3.5% District borders on Cambodia *Population of the district prior to any redistricting changes voted on by city council. In 2001, city Town, and they seem to patronize council boundaries increased district population to 52,198 from the 52,155 total shown above. their own stores, so I think that Total city population: 462,257; total Latino population: 188,412; total white population: 135,698 end is doing OK,” he said. “But 2000 city population: 461,522; total Latino population: 165,092; total white population: 152,899 the East Anaheim business section, you see this [business] go out popular as any in Long Beach if we put on hold. That’s probably not the case in and this go out, and then something our minds to it,” he said. “The East Long Beach. It should be.” else goes in and it goes out. I can’t tell Anaheim Street Business Alliance Looking across the city, the candidates you how many times that little restau- (EASBA) already exists and it has hun- again identified the same top issues – rant on the corner of Obispo and dreds of businesses paying dues, but Long Beach’s financial problems and its Anaheim has turned around. I think maybe 100 of those businesses are bene- fragile infrastructure. business districts are a key part to any fiting. We have to ensure it’s a robust “Infrastructure is huge. My wife area. There’s no business district on organization and doing the right things to works at Wilson High and she says she PCH, and that’s another thoroughfare increase business.” won’t buy a new car until Atherton is that suffers from turnover. I’d like to Supernaw wants the same at City Hall. paved,” Supernaw said. “But everything get ahold of somebody to get some“We can do outreach to businesses comes back to finances. When your thing rolling for that area.” but we have to be sure the services are budget is stretched you can’t trim trees, Supernaw said that enhancing busi- there,” he said. “A prospective business and soon you’ve got an issue with nesses and neighborhoods begins by can call most cities for a traffic count – insufficient lighting because the trees shoring up existing services. the number of cars that pass a certain are overgrown.”

“The Anaheim Corridor could be as address – and get it after a minute or so Meanwhile, another threat to Long Beach’s financial health is emerging – the price of oil, which is currently hovering just above $40 a barrel down from $115 a barrel last summer.

The current city budget was calculated on an estimated price of $70 per barrel, but City Manager Pat West urged calm during an early January interview with the Long Beach Business Journal. He pointed out that oil represents about 4.4 percent of the city’s budget – $17 million, by his estimate at the time – and that the immediate impact of the low oil price would be on capital projects, not the operating budget.

But West added, “It’s certainly going to impact the assumptions we make for next year’s budget, Fiscal Year 2016.”

Supernaw said he is familiar with situations of this kind.

“This describes my role at work – working for companies and running companies in crisis mode,” said Supernaw, whose first response looked at the bright side. “A lot of good things happen when the price of oil goes down – the city saves money on fueling its vehicles. Low fuel costs mean people have more disposable income, which in theory drives more sales tax revenue.

“But, that being said, I have no idea if we could crunch the numbers to make them even out. My thought is no. [The price of oil] has dropped too far and we have too many issues at hand. I don’t like austerity programs – saving your way out of an (Please Continue To Page 5)

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NEWSWATCH February 3-16, 2015

Long Beach Business Journal 5

4th City Council District

City of Long Beach map

North

The odd-shaped 4th City Council District is a result of back-room politics during councilmember redistricting sessions following the release of the 2000 Census. The city’s population grew in several districts between the 1990 and 2000 Censuses. To ensure population balance in all nine council districts, several boundaries had to be moved. Northeast Long Beach (the 5th District, which butts up against other cities to the north and east, and the airport to the west) had nowhere to move but south and take population from the 4th District. Initially, the plan was to move the 4th District boundaries south of Atherton Street into the 3rd District and pick up several high-end residential neighborhoods around Cal State Long Beach. The 3rd District boundaries would then be moved west along Ocean Boulevard. Both residents and the councilmembes of the 2nd and 3rd Districts balked, resulting in the 4th District forced to move west into several poorer neighborhoods. Then 4th District councilmember insisted on having part of El Dorado Park, even though that – Publisher George Economides area has no residents, to make up for the forced push west. District boundaries did not shift much following release of the 2010 Census.

economic crisis – but this is where you have to get into the books and take a look. I don’t want to speculate, but it doesn’t look good.”

Chico comes from the same place.

“We all smile when we’re at the gas pump, but then reality sets in,” she said.

“What is the best way to deal with this?

We’re going have to look at options like bringing back the utility users tax. Or maybe a half-cent sales tax. We have to find funding somewhere for the programs

and services we offer – and everyone has their particular program or service they simply do not want cut. We need to get creative.” ■

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NEWSWATCH 6 Long Beach Business Journal

Officeholder Accounts For Local Elected Officials Are Tripling (Continued From Page 1)

existing annual limit of $10,000. It additionally authorizes each councilmember to accept contributions to those accounts of up to $750 per donor per year, an increase from $500.

The second proposal gives Long Beach officials elected by a citywide constituency – mayor, city prosecutor, city attorney, city auditor – authority to triple the amount they can raise for their officeholder account from $25,000 to $75,000 annually.

It also authorizes each of these officials to accept contributions to those accounts of up to $1,000 per person per year, an increase from $750.

Nowhere among the proposed changes to the existing officeholder account ordinances is there a mention of increasing third-party oversight of those accounts.

Transparency standards for Long Beach officials with officeholder accounts will continue to be the minimum requirements of the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC).

According to City Clerk Larry HerreraCabrera, these requirements oblige Long Beach elected officials to report all transactions in their officeholder accounts every six months of each calendar year – that is, between January 1 and June 30, and between July 1 and December 31.

February 3-16, 2015 The officials have one month to complete the reports, which are thus due on July 31 and January 31.

The city clerk puts the reports on the City of Long Beach website under the category of “Campaign Finance Reporting,” where they are available to anyone with access to the Internet. The reports are also available in person in the city clerk’s office at Long Beach City Hall. A quick examination by the Business Journal of several of the filings the past few years shows that the information provided is minimal and oftentimes a description is not included.

Officeholder accounts are individual treasuries that each elected official is allowed to fill with donations and spend discretionarily within permissible categories – generally, governmental and legislative.

Their roots in Long Beach sometimes become tangled with those of the Long Beach Campaign Reform Act (Measure M), which Long Beach voters passed in 1994 to impose limits and transparency on the money in Long Beach politics.

Long Beach officeholder accounts were created a year later by the city council, perhaps to provide a little wiggle room from the constraints of Measure M. The officeholder account permitted Long Beach elected officials to raise up to $5,000 annually that could be spent discretionarily within established categories.

Over the years, councilmembers sometimes have become frustrated by the aging financial limits that Long Beach’s citizenry imposed upon them with Measure M.

Occasionally, they have sought to change them. That’s permissible, says City Attorney Charles Parkin.

“We have told them to get the vote of the people,” Parkin said.

Apparently, that prospect has been too daunting.

“So the limits of Measure M haven’t changed,” Parkin told the Business Journal, “except for inflation.”

But the numbers in the officeholder account ordinances are easier to adjust.

“Changes to officeholder accounts don’t have to be approved by the people, because the ordinances were created by the council,” Parkin explained. “The council can amend and change them as they desire.”

According to Parkin, the officeholder account was changed in 2010 to increase it to $10,000 for city councilmembers and $25,000 for citywide officials.

Tonight it looks like it will be changed again.

But the process has gotten a little contentious.

The proposal to triple the size of officeholder accounts was introduced by 1st District Councilmember Lena Gonzalez on January 6. On one hand, she framed the proposal as an act of selfless generosity, an opportunity to “give back to our local communities.” On the other, she argued that the increases were needed so Long Beach could keep pace with other area cities, such as the City of Los Angeles and the City of Anaheim.

The council approved the idea by an 8-0 vote, but 3rd District Councilmember Suzie Price expressed uncertainty about its impact on future councils.

At the council’s January 20 meeting, when the proposal received its first official reading, the uncertainty grew into opposition that blossomed the instant Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal – presiding in the absence of Mayor Robert Garcia, who was in Washington, D.C., for a meeting of the U.S. Council of Mayors – introduced the item.

“I am going to be opposing this item tonight,” announced Price, “for the very reasons and concerns I shared last week. I respect my council colleagues and on this issue I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree.”

Gonzalez immediately responded.

“I am on the opposite side of that,” she said, “so I am asking for continued support on this. We’ve talked about this a multitude of times.”

Eighth District Councilmember Al Austin spoke next, and he essentially asked Price whether she was amenable to a compromise and questioned what that might look like.

Austin said he wanted the council to be as unified as possible, especially when money was the issue, and introduced a substitute motion that reduced the maximum value of an account from $30,000 to $20,000.

That brought forth a variety of perspectives.

Councilmember Rex Richardson, 9th District: “I don’t think a compromise is necessary. We have a majority in favor and had good healthy discussion. There is a lot of context. Consider that city council budgets have diminished significantly over the last 10 years. We have to find outside sponsors to help pay for community events, to provide meals at community assemblies. I am

appointed to a number of committees that require travel, and I’ve had to miss some because we just don’t have the money.”

Councilmember Gonzalez added: “We based [our $30,000 officeholder account limit recommendation] on information from adjacent cities. This wasn’t just an arbitrary number we picked out of the sky.

This was information we got from various cities our size or larger. Long Beach is pretty much behind the times, antiquated in our policy. Our main goal here is to reform a lot of our campaign finance policies. This was something we could do; that was attainable.”

Councilmember Price responded: “One thing I want to point out and I hope we can respect it as we move forward [is] if an idea or concept is discussed in committee, it is perfectly acceptable and appropriate for councilmembers who don’t sit on that committee to question the findings and recommendations of the committee. That’s actually our job, what taxpayers have elected us to do.”

When the Long Beach Business Journal reached Austin on his cell phone a week later, he was candid.

“I thought the argument by Councilmember Price was valid,” he said.

“I have also been hearing the concerns of some constituents.”

Austin favors increasing the dollar amount of officeholder accounts, and he explained his position at the council meeting two weeks earlier.

“I think it’s necessary, and I think it’s time,” he said. “Long Beach is a big city.

There are great demands on us as city councilmembers.

“But the limit on officeholder accounts was raised in 2007 – eight years is a long time, but I don’t think inflation tripled during that time. I don’t think anything has gone up that much, except maybe health care.”

As mentioned earlier, Austin’s substitute motion would have doubled the limit, from $10,000 to $20,000.

“Doubling it is probably too much for most people,” he observed, “but I thought it was a fair compromise, considering it would have unanimous council support.”

The proposed ordinance was approved, 5-3. Gonzalez, Lowenthal, 6th District Councilmember Dee Andrews, 7th District Councilmember Roberto Uranga and Richardson were in favor; Price, Austin and 5th District Councilmember Mungo were opposed.

Tonight’s second reading is scheduled as items No. 20 and 21, the last two entries on the regular agenda, right before the only item of new business – a request for “a resolution making the month of February 2015 be officially deemed "Spay/Neuter Awareness Month."

For more on the subtleties and permissible uses of officeholder accounts, the Long Beach Business Journal reached out to City Attorney Parkin. Following is part of a conversation with Parkin that included Business Journal Publisher George Economides.

LBBJ: Can one councilmember donate money [from his or her officeholder account] to another councilmember who is running for office?

Parkin: The money can only be spent for the purposes set forth in the ordinance, and (Please Continue To Next Page)

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NEWSWATCH February 3-16, 2015

Long Beach Business Journal 7

it incorporates additional rules from the government code. Funds canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go to another candidate for city, state or federal office, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s under a separate section, 2.01.390. So the specific answer to your question is that Councilmember 1 cannot contribute money to Councilmember 3 when [the money is coming] from the officeholder account.

LBBJ: What if a councilmember wanted to give officeholder account money to a union? Or letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s say the mayor donates money to a Washington, D.C.-based PAC? Parkin: Then you start getting a little grayer because the restrictions on the officeholder account arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really black and white. The funds have to be used for a legislative or governmental purpose.

LBBJ: Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pretty open.

Parkin: In the past, some councilmembers have called us and asked if they can donate or sponsor â&#x20AC;&#x153;X,â&#x20AC;? and we try to do our research with the FPPC to make sure itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an appropriate expenditure. Sometimes we find out after the fact that they donated to â&#x20AC;&#x153;A,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bâ&#x20AC;? or â&#x20AC;&#x153;Câ&#x20AC;? so we have cautioned the councilmembers that they are responsible and it is their violation. Even if they bring it to us and we say â&#x20AC;&#x153;yeah, we think so,â&#x20AC;? even if weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re wrong, they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t rely on the city attorneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office. They need an opinion from the people at the FPPC; theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re the only people who can OK that.

LBBJ: Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sort of an honor system, if officials have to report and occasionally ask questions before they do anything.

What about further transparency? The mayor is big on technology, a lot of coun-

Adam & Ev Eve e g got ot star started ted o over ver a Rib!

cilmembers have websites and so forth.

What if they were asked to post officeholder account information â&#x20AC;&#x201C; specific expenses and revenue â&#x20AC;&#x201C; on a weekly basis.

Would that be out of line?

Parkin: No. They certainly can do that.

The FPPC requirements are the minimum requirements. If officeholders chose to post their income or receipts or expenditures monthly or quarterly or weekly, they could do that.

LBBJ: Plus the fact they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exceed a certain amount of money per year, right?

Parkin: Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a limit on fundraising, no limit on expenditures. So if a councilmember has been in office two years, and has accumulated a maximum each year, there may be $20,000 in the account.

LBBJ: It carries over?

Parkin: Yes. You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to empty it December 31. It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to go to zero.

LBBJ: Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a what-if: Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m on the city council for four years, raised $25,000 a year, didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t spend a dime. I have $100,000 in my account. I decide Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to run for mayor. I start throwing parties all over the city â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a safety fair, something put on by me to gain publicity. That would be legal?

Parkin: Yes, if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re using it for a governmental or legislative purpose. I think what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve pointed out is the advantage of having this account when running for an office. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not transferring the money to your campaign account, your campaign is not using it, but it is increasing your visibility through various community events.

LBBJ: And in your position as city attorney, what is your annual limit?

Make your Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Reservations now online or at 562-439-7427 Open at Noon!

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Parkin: It was raised to $75,000.

LBBJ: So you save it a few years, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t spend a dime, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got $375,000, and then you want to run for mayor.

Parkin: Well, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to run for mayor, but youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re right, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a significant amount of money.

LBBJ: Do councilmembers have to spend their officeholder accounts within their districts?

Parkin: No, there is not a geographical limit. If theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re buying a table at St. Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s auction and they are from the 5th District, they can do that.

LBBJ: Mr Parkin, we wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ask you to respond to this, but there seems to be a transparency issue here from a group of

S FT U BVS BOU

elected officials who like to claim they are all about transparency when running for office or reelection. There is virtually no oversight. Officeholder accounts are ripe for misuse by doing favors for individuals or groups in return for political support down the road. Filing reports every six months is not transparency. If they want to prove they have nothing to hide, then they should upload to their websites, on a weekly basis, every dime that is donated and who gave it, and every dime that is spent and who received it. And the information has to be specific: individual and/or group names, date, location, name of event, type of event, etc. If this were put to a vote of the people, it would fail. â&#x2013;

1_LBBJ_Feb_3_2015_SectionA_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 2/1/15 3:01 PM Page 8

NEWSWATCH

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Kafe Neo 2800 E. 4th St. 987-1210 • www.kafeneolb.com Monday-Thursday: 9 a.m.-10 p.m.

Friday: 9 a.m.-11 p.m.

Saturday: 7:30 a.m.-11 p.m.

Sunday: 7:30 a.m.-10 p.m.

MVP’s Grill & Patio 2742 E. 4th St. 439-0809 • www.facebook.com/MVPsGrillandPatio Monday-Wednesday: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

Thursday-Saturday: 9 a.m.-10 p.m.

Sunday: 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

Yummy Garden 2741 E. 4th St. 433-6185 • www.theyummygarden.com Monday-Thursday: 11:15 a.m.-9:30 p.m.

Friday: 11:15 a.m.-10 p.m.

Saturday: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.

Sunday: 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.

Restauration 2708 E. 4th St. 439-8822 • www.restaurationlb.com Monday-Wednesday: 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

Thursday-Friday: 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

Saturday: 8 a.m.-10 p.m.

Sunday: 8 a.m.-9 p.m.

AJI Peruvian Cuisine 2308 E. 4th St. 439-8545 • www.ajiperuvian.com Monday-Sunday: 5-10 p.m.

Friday-Saturday: 5-11 p.m.

Sunday: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. & 5-10 p.m.

4th Street’s Evolving International Restaurants (Continued From Page 1)

American classics with a Greek twist, and traditional home-style Greek cuisine.

“Our food is a reflection of us growing up here and also being Greek,” Pete said.

Among Kafe Neo’s most popular offerings is the lamb souvlaki plate, which features skewered bell peppers and cubes of lamb loin marinated in extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and Greek spices. Other favorites include the crusted salmon, a baked salmon layered with pesto and mizithra cheese, and the Zeus fries, shoestring fries topped with Kafe Neo’s secret spicy sauce, feta cheese and Greek seasonings.

Both Pete and Gus said they are happy with the street’s transformation. “Prior to 4th Street being a destination, this neighborhood was kind of a no-man’s land when it came to food and establishments, so we’re really happy that more restaurants have joined us,” Pete said.

Less than a half block west of Kafe Neo stands MVP’s Grill & Patio, which recently relocated to this part of 4th Street after closing its nearly 60-year-old location between

Loma and Grand avenues on 4th Street. Coowned by Fernando Lule and Oscar Barajas, the new location offers both indoor and outdoor seating as well as a restroom, which the grill lacked at its previous location.

“Location was key for us and, since we had the original location for over 60 years on 4th, we wanted to still be on 4th Street, which has a lot of walking business,” Barajas said.

The new location also features a bigger kitchen, which has allowed MVP’s to expand its menu to include salads that had not been offered at the other location, Barajas said. Among MVP’s popular menu items, most of which are named after famous athletes, is the Christiano Ronaldo sandwich, consisting of grilled chicken breast, pastrami, avocado, lettuce, tomato, mozzarella cheese and MVP’s signature Cajun dressing served on squaw bread.

Another standout is the George Foreman V burger, which boasts a one-third-pound patty served on a sesame seed bun with avocado, bacon, cheese, tomatoes and the MVP’s own Cajun dressing. Barajas said

P3 Artisan Pasta

2306 E. 4th St. 439-8565 • www.p3pasta.com Monday-Thursday: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Friday: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

Saturday: 10 a.m.-11 p.m.

Sunday: 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

number nine

Kafe Neo Crusted Salmon: Salmon baked and layered with pesto and mitzithra cheese.

2118 E. 4th St. 434-2009 • www.facebook.com/numberninenoodles Sunday-Thursday: 11a.m.-9:30 p.m.

Friday & Saturday: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

The Social List 2105 E. 4th St. 433-5478 • www.thesociallistlb.com Monday-Sunday: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.

Lola’s Mexican Cuisine 2030 E. 4th St. 343-5506 • www.lolasmexicancuisine.com Monday-Sunday: 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.

Honduras Kitchen 1909 E. 4th St. 624-8849 • www.hkhonduraskitchen.com Monday & Wednesday-Sunday: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Tuesday: Closed

Pike Restaurant & Bar 1836 E. 4th St. 437-4453 • www.pikelongbeach.com Monday-Friday: 11 a.m.-2 a.m.

Saturday & Sunday: 9 a.m.-2 a.m.

MVP’s Grill & Patio Christiano Ronaldo sandwich: chicken breast, pastrami, avocado, lettuce, tomato, mozzarella cheese and signature Cajun dressing on squaw bread.

many customers also rave about their Cajun fries, which were voted as the best fries in Orange County by OC Weekly in 2011.

Another new addition to 4th Street is Restauration, an American bistro that features traditional favorites with modern twists. It is owned by husband and wife duo Dana and Rob Robertson, and opened in mid-2014. In addition to much of the restaurant’s interior and furniture being recrafted out of discarded wood and other materials, Restauration also touts “finely recrafted” food using organic and seasonal produce grown mostly in Long Beach and neighboring cities. Restauration also cooks with herbs and leafy veggies grown in vertical gardens that line the edges of the restaurant’s patio dining area.

One of Restauration’s signature dishes is its meatball margherita pizza, which consists of a vegan crust, rustic tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, pork shoulder meatballs that are braised and ground in-house, and fresh chopped basil. Another standout according to Dana are the Brussel sprouts, which feature fresh roasted summer corn and red peppers, a tomatillo-agave vinaigrette and a grip of fresh herbs.

“Just some fresh, thoughtful food is what we like to put out,” Dana said.

Further down the street, adjacent to Portfolio Coffeehouse, are Aji Peruvian Cuisine and P3 Artisan Pasta. Co-owned by three partners, the restaurants opened next to each other at the end of 2013. Inside Aji’s warm, wood-clad interior, food lovers can enjoy traditional Peruvian cuisine, which bears influences of Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, German, Italian and African culinary traditions. Mitto Barriga, co-owner and executive chef, said Aji’s menu consists of all the flavors he recalls while growing up in Peru.

“I don’t play too much with the flavors,” Barriga said. “It’s 70 percent traditional with a little twist here and there.”

Aji's most popular dish, among both Peruvians and those unfamiliar with the cuisine, is the lomito saltado, a Chineseinfluenced dish that features tenderloin filets sautéed in a flaming wok with onions, tomato, red wine and soy sauce.

The lomito saltado is served with rice and hand-cut fries. Another popular dish is the causa, a chilled potato mash seasoned with aji amarillo, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

The causa is topped with octopus with an olive aioli and avocado; spicy tuna with lemon and a rocoto sauce; Dungeness crab

1_LBBJ_Feb_3_2015_SectionA_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 2/1/15 3:01 PM Page 9

NEWSWATCH February 3-16, 2015 with avocado and a jalapeño aioli, or a shrimp tempura with salsa golf al Pisco and avocado. Barriga said their ceviches, which differ from Mexican ceviches, are also very popular.

“The Peruvian ceviche is completely raw and everything is fresh,” Barriga explained. “We don’t let it sit. It is fresh, we mix it, and we plate it. So it’s cooking while I’m making it, cooking while the server is going to the table and its still cooking while you are eating it.”

Next door, P3 Artisan Pasta draws on Argentinian heritage and Italian influences for its cuisine. Specializing in made-fromscratch pasta, pizzas and empanadas, P3 also offers gluten-free pastas and pizzas.

“We don’t want to label ourselves as a certain kind of food,” Fernanda Campi, daughter of one of the restaurant's owners, said. “It’s family food; a place you come to no matter where you are from.”

Among P3’s specialties is the salmon artichoke pasta, consisting of fresh salmon, artichokes and garlic mixed in a creamy pink sauce. Customers can choose a pasta from an array of options laid out in the display case. Customers can also buy raw pasta at P3 to prepare at home.“A lot of people like the option of making their own sauces with our pasta and making it their own,” she said.

Further down the street is number nine, a California-Vietnamese fusion restaurant that opened its doors in 2009, and one of only two restaurants on 4th Street boasting a parklet.

“We make sure to only use the freshest ingredients,” George Glikman, manager of number nine, said. “Just some light, healthy food, something that you can eat every day and you don’t get sick of it.”

Among its main offerings is phở, a rice noodle soup. Unlike most restaurants that serve phở, number nine offers the choice of vegetable, chicken or beef broth, which can be customized with chicken, rare steak, brisket or a combination of those items. “

Long Beach Business Journal 9 Most places will just do one broth and usually it will be a small pot of this really concentrated broth to which they just add water,” Glikman said. “We make these huge pots that have lots of servings and I guess you could say we really babysit the process.” Another number nine specialty is shrimp spring rolls.

Across the street, The Social List, which opened its doors in mid-2014, is a joint venture between siblings Erica Norton and Luis Navarro, the owner of Lola’s Mexican Cuisine. Originally geared exclusively as a European tapas restaurant, The Social List recently began offering full dinner plates as well.

“We started off with the small sharable plate concept and then we started getting some feedback from people who wanted to have dinner,” Norton said.

Included in restaurant’s dinner offerings is the tri-tip steak, an 8 oz. tri-tip steak marinated with garlic, salt and pepper and served with garlic herbed butter and roasted garlic mashed potatoes.

In spite of the new additions, Norton said that the shareable plates, such as the croquetas de jamon, which are crispy, creamy serrano ham and chicken dumplings drizzled with a Spanish aioli, continue to be among customers’ favorites. The steamy clam casino, consisting of littleneck clams sautéed in a butter white wine sauce with bacon and onions, and served with a side of rustic toast, is another popular dish. Norton said the whole idea of The Social List is to get people out and having a good time.

“Everything is very communal,” she said. “Sometimes people have to sit uncomfortably close and spark up a conversation with the person next to them,” she said. “Everything is about going out and having a good time and sharing an experience with your food or with your wine or with your friends . . . and that is kind of the play on our name, too.”

Norton said she loves the new direction

4th Street has taken.

“We always laugh because people are always like ‘Oh, I bet you don’t want any other businesses to open up on 4th, and that’s the opposite,” she said. “I want it to be thriving down here. The more businesses that open up, the bigger buzz it creates. It becomes a destination.”

Navarro agreed and added that, when Lola’s first opened its doors in 2008, 4th Street was still very much in transition and gang activity was a predominant feature on the street. In 2010, two years after the Long Beach Art Theater was renovated, Navarro began to see a major shift

in the street’s atmosphere.

“It was almost like an injection of energy around that time, where we got new folks moving into the city and people got more involved in the community,” he said. “Now this is a really fun, vibrant community.”

Navarro added that, in addition to the street undergoing a transformation, Lola’s has also transformed over the years.

During the early days, Navarro recalled, Lola’s mainly focused on reproducing family recipes and traditional Guadalajaran cuisine. “As we have also evolved and transformed into the business we are today, (Please Continue To Next Page)

Lola’s Mexican Cuisine Butternut Squash Enchiladas: two corn tortillas stuffed with Jack cheese and smothered with a creamy butternut squash sauce, topped with roasted vegetables and sliced sirloin steak.

number nine Five spice chicken and crispy shrimp cold vermicelli rice noodles

Restauration Meatball Margherita Pizza: vegan crust, pork shoulder meatball, basil, buffalo mozzarella.

The Social List The LBC sandwich: Portobello mushroom cap marinated in red wine and stuffed with a four-cheese and artichoke heart blend. Served on a brioche bun with pesto and mixed baby greens.

P3 Artisan Pasta Salmon Artichoke Pasta: fresh salmon, artichokes and garlic mixed in a creamy pink sauce.

Aji Peruvian Cuisine Causa Sampler: chilled mashed potato topped with octopus, crab, shrimp and spicy tuna.

1_LBBJ_Feb_3_2015_SectionA_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 2/1/15 3:01 PM Page 10

NEWSWATCH 10 Long Beach Business Journal

February 3-16, 2015

Honduras Kitchen Pollo Mesapa: fried chicken served on a bed of fried green bananas and cabbage chimol, Honduran sauce, pickled onions and Honduran dressing.

4th Street’s Evolving International Restaurants (Continued From Page 9)

we keep these traditional family recipes but now we’ve also gone into the modern side of Mexican cooking,” he said. “We’re more or less doing now what you could find in Mexico City today.”

Currently, the most popular item that foodies can enjoy, while seated in Lola’s parklet, on the patio or inside, are the butternut squash enchiladas, which consist of two corn tortillas stuffed with jack cheese, smothered with a creamy, savory butternut squash sauce. The dish, part of Lola’s fall/winter menu, is topped with grilled sirloin steak and a side of grilled veggies.

However, Navarro said, Lola’s signature dish continues to be the birria Guadalajara, a spicy stew traditionally made from goat meat. At Lola’s, birria is made with pork and veal that are marinated and rubbed

with adobo spices. The stew is then left to simmer for six hours until tender. “It truly reflects what we are, where we’ve come from, and what we do,” Navarro said.

On the west side of Cherry Avenue is Honduras’ Kitchen, which opened in 2006.

According to Rafael Larios III, owner of Honduras’ Kitchen’s Long Beach location, many people misunderstand Honduran food and often mistakenly believe to be like other Latin foods.

“The one mistake people make when it comes to Honduran food is that they confuse it with Mexican food and we’re really far from that,” Larios said. Honduran cuisine, he explained, is actually a blend of indigenous, Spanish, Caribbean and African cuisines. Among the staples of Honduran cuisine are green bananas and ripe plantains, which accompany most of the dishes at Honduras’ Kitchen.

Pike Restaurant & Bar Fish and Chips: beer-battered sole fish served with thick cut steak fries, coleslaw, tartar sauce and a lemon wedge.

For those new to Honduran food, Larios III said he recommends the arroz con pollo, which consists of seasoned yellow rice with shredded chicken and vegetables, served with salad and sliced bread. Another popular dish is the bisteak encebollado, which is a grilled steak topped with caramelized onions and Honduran sauce, served with rice, beans, salad and the choice of green banana or plantains. “It’s a very tropical Caribbean cuisine,” he said.

The baleada, a handmade tortilla with beans and cream cheese, and Honduras’ Kitchen’s coconut-based soups, are also popular choices, Larios added.

Trailing off the restaurant crawl, one block west of Cherry Avenue, is the Pike Restaurant & Bar. Owned by Chris Reece, former drummer for Social Distortion, this restaurant has resided on 4th Street since 2002. Otilia Reece, co-owner of the Pike, noted that 4th Street’s environment has improved greatly in the past years. “It was

a lot different back then . . . a lot shadier,” she remarked. “There are definitely a lot more people and shops now. It has come along really nice.”

Although it boasts a great selection of menu options, the Pike is most famously known for its fish and chips, consisting of beer-battered and golden fried sole fish served with thick cut fries, coleslaw, tartar sauce and a lemon wedge. The Pike is also known for its tacos and the Pike burger. In addition to the restaurant and bar, the Pike also features DJs and bands with no cover charge.

“It’s great,” Otilia said. “During the day people are mostly coming in for the food and then at night, people are here for the entertainment because we have free entertainment.”

Despite numerous efforts by phone and in person, the Business Journal was unsuccessful in reaching a spokesperson for the Chinese restaurant Yummy Garden. ■

1_LBBJ_Feb_3_2015_SectionA_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 2/1/15 3:01 PM Page 11

NEWSWATCH February 3-16, 2015

Leases And Transactions INCO Commercial Realty announced the following transactions: • Continum Ventures LLC purchased 7,320 square feet of residential space at 2284 Locust Ave. in Long Beach for $1,125,000. The transaction was handled

by INCO’s Eric Christopher.

• Peace 33 LLC purchased the building at 2750-2760 E. Spring St. in Long Beach for $2,950,000. The transaction was handled

by INCO’s Doug Shea and Paul Phillips.

Coldwell Banker Commercial BLAIR WESTMAC announced the following transactions: • Dan Gonzales purchased a 3,050square-foot office building at 207 E. Broadway in Downtown Long Beach for $1,290,000. The seller was Loft Developments. CBC Blair’s Becky Blair, Sheva Hosseinzadeh and Cameron Jacques handled the transaction.

• Aqua Empire LLC dba Business Is Grooming signed a five-year lease for 1,200 square feet of retail space at Cypress West Center in the City of Cypress. CBC Blair’s Brian Russell handled the transaction.

• Kristin and Chi Kredell signed a threeyear lease for 3,235 square feet of industrial property at 1965 Obispo Ave. in Signal Hill. CBC Blair’s John Eddy handled the transaction.

Long Beach Business Journal 11 • Tri Pacific signed a seven-year lease for 2,250 square feet of retail space at 5764 E. 2nd St. CBC’s Blair, Hosseinzadeh and Eddy handled the transaction.

• New Balance Athletic Shoes leased 2,100 square feet of office space at 1356 Coronado Ave. in Long Beach. CBC’s Eddy handled the transaction.

• Cafe Lafayette LLC signed a five-year lease for 1,800 square feet of retail space at 330 Main St., Unit F in Seal Beach. The transaction was handled by CBC’s Eddy.

• A private family trust purchased a 5,709-square-foot retail building at 4850 Santa Monica Blvd. in Los Angeles for $1,055,000. The transaction was handled

by CBC Blair’s Eddy and Tyler Rollema.

• Engineered Floors LLC leased 127,375 square feet of industrial space at 675-679 Placentia Ave. in Fullerton in a transaction valued at nearly $3.3 million. Eddy and Rollema handled the transaction.

Lee & Associates announced the following transactions: • Purple Communications signed a lease for 6,416 square feet of office space at 5000 Airport Plaza Dr., adjacent to Clark Avenue. The building is owned by Legacy Partners. Representing the tenant were Lee’s Shaun McCullough and Jeff Coburn, and representing the landlord was Robert Garey of Cushman & Wakefield.

• Arcade Factory leased 3,444 square feet of industrial space at 21016 Alameda Ave. in Carson Lee’s Brandon Carrillo, Garret Massaro and Ryan Endres handled the transaction.

• Biotelemetry signed a 39-month lease for 1,497 square feet of office space at 249 E. Ocean Blvd. in the International City Bank Building. Lee’s Coburn and McCullough and Cresa’s Christian Riegel handled the transaction.

• Rescare Workforce Services signed a lease for 19,718 square feet of office space at 7077 Orangewood Ave. in Garden Grove. The transaction is valued at nearly $2.3 million. Lee’s McCullough and Say Jeon represented the landlord, while CBRE represented the tenant.

GJ Property Services announced the following transactions: • James Stinnett dba Right Move Real

Estate has signed a two-year lease for 585 square feet of office space at 3450 E. Spring St. GJ Property’s Don Johnson handled the transaction.

Avanath Capital Management announced the following transaction: • Avanath acquired Northpointe, a 528unit multifamily property at 5441 N. Paramount Blvd. in Long Beach for $80.6 million. The complex, built in 1967 under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program and renovated in 2002, is 97.5 percent occupied and sits on a 23-acre site.

Avanath Capital Management is a private real estate investment manager based in Irvine. ■

1_LBBJ_Feb_3_2015_SectionA_LBBJ MASTER LAYOUT 2/1/15 3:01 PM Page 12

NEWSWATCH 12 Long Beach Business Journal

February 3-16, 2015

Ports Have Evolved As ‘Good Neighbors’ In Protecting The Environment ■ By DAVE WIELEGNA Staff Writer A decade after the Port of Long Beach (POLB) and the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) embarked on a quest to reshape themselves into stewards of the natural resources in their care, Aquarium of the Pacific President and CEO Jerry R. Schubel has given his blessing to their progress – and heralded what just might be the beginning of their legacy.

“It’s clear to me that the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have become very good neighbors,” Schubel asserted as he opened a January 22 press confer-

ence that was webcast live from the Aquarium’s Ocean Science Center.

“Through their efforts, they have become positive factors in our environmental protection efforts here in Southern California, and they have set an example for ports throughout the United States and around the world.”

The hour-long event included Rick Cameron, managing director of POLB’s planning and environmental affairs, and Chris Cannon, POLA’s director of environmental management, who each filled dual roles as recipients of Schubel’s accolades and as presenters, themselves.

Cameron clearly appreciated Schubel’s

endorsement of the ports’ increased attention to environmental issues, and he emphasized that the changes in procedure are rooted in a change of heart.

“From the harbor commission down, the refocus and change in our culture at the port has been an amazing transformation,” Cameron, said. “The bottom line is that we are a better neighbor.”

As examples of multi-tasking go, this one is pretty impressive. Long Beach and Los Angeles remain the two busiest container ports in the United States, handling 43 percent of the nation’s imports and providing thousands of jobs in Southern California and far beyond. But even while

operating at an urgent pace, the ports have been devising and applying environmental strategies to their operations that have brought reductions in air pollutants, increases in wildlife populations and enhancements to habitat. Impressively, much of this change has been accomplished voluntarily.

“Many of the changes are non-regulatory efforts,” Schubel pointed out. “That’s the real example of environmental stewardship they have set.”

That example got a lot of new followers on January 1, although not necessarily because they like the idea. A new set of international shipping regulations drastically expanded the legal reach of International Maritime Organization (IMO) emissions regulations from 24 nautical miles to 200 nautical miles off the coasts of North America and certain other areas of the world.

Until now, the local ports were more or less going it alone. Each has chosen its own path, although they have always communicated and frequently coordinated their journeys.

Long Beach’s environmental voyage was launched at the moment in 2004 that the board of harbor commissioners adopted its Green Port Policy. At the outset, the policy seemed like little more than a list of positive affirmations. But over the years the document has become POLB’s star map, supplying the coordinates by which its mission is charted.

During the webcast, Cameron of POLB and Cannon of POLA touched upon some of the significant milestones of the past 10 years, beginning with their collaboration on the 2006 Clean Air Action Plan, which addresses air pollution from ships, and their separate but simultaneous Clean Trucks programs. Together, the directors reported, those programs have achieved a 90 percent reduction in overall emissions within the port complexes.

When Schubel heard that figure, he jumped in to clarify.

“That’s within the ports complex – the ‘within’ is important,” Schubel said, emphasizing that the 90 percent reduction refers specifically to emissions from trucks and ships while they operate inside port boundaries; it does not measure or necessarily indicate improvement in the quality of the air anyone is breathing.

The collaborative Clean Air Action Plan features two prominent elements.

One provides incentives for ships to reduce speed as they approach the harbor, which not only diminishes their noxious engine emissions but has the bonus benefit of reducing collisions with migrating whales.

Another element requires ships to plug into the ports’ onshore electrical power while moored for loading and unloading rather than run auxiliary engines, a procedure that will eliminate the ship’s emissions altogether.

Long Beach and Los Angeles have also introduced two hybrid tugboats, a promising development for one of shipping’s highest-polluting vehicles.

Meanwhile, there’s a rebound in (Please Continue To Next Page)

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NEWSWATCH February 3-16, 2015 wildlife along the harbor waterfront, which Schubel traced to the ports’ commitment to the twin pillars of the modern environmental movement, the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act of the 1960s and 1970s, respectively.

“You may wonder how two of the biggest ports in the world can coexist with marine life,” Schubel said. “Yet all the surveys over the past two years have shown a steady increase in the quality of marine habitat. Right now, under massive ships and next to large container terminals, biologists are finding giant kelp, eelgrass and nesting endangered species.

“Where once there was a paucity of marine life – and not very long ago – now we see over 60 species of fish, hundreds of species of invertebrates and nearly 100 species of birds. The harbors are teeming.”

Cameron appreciated the compliments and is proud of the voluntary environmental standards established and practiced by the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, but he sounded happiest about the new regulations that were imposed on New Year’s Day by the IMO under Annex VI of the MARPOL (marine pollution) by the International convention Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships.

“Now it’s a fair playing field,” he said.

The expanded reach of those regulations means all ships within 200 miles of the coast must now slow to a speed of 12 knots (the previous limit was 20 knots) and must comply with stricter fuel standards so as to reduce sulfur oxide and other emissions that are factors in diminished air quality and increased global temperatures.

Cameron said it wasn’t always easy to live with the competitive disadvantage the Port of Long Beach’s imposed upon itself by adhering to environmental standards that were higher than the norm.

“When we first developed our Clean Air Action Plan in 2006, lots of people in our industry were raising their eyebrows and saying, ‘That’s impossible,’ or, ‘That’s crazy,’” he recounted. “But we were very forward-looking. We knew we were doing things that weren’t even in the regulations.

But we knew we had to, that somebody had to start.”

But the peer pressure the Port of Long Beach tried to apply, and the example it tried to set, weren’t always a match for market forces.

“A lot of shipping lines were saying, ‘We’ll go to another port that doesn’t have those standards,” Cameron said. “But now all ships that enter U.S. waters at any port must follow the same standards. From a business standpoint, that’s important.”

Cameron paused, and before continuing he looked around the Ocean Science Center, focused for a moment on its iconic glowing globe – the Science on a Sphere attraction – which was streaked with lines that illustrated the world’s shipping routes.

“What’s more important is that these new regulations are going to bring more environmental improvements,” he said.

“We’re going to get emissions reductions much sooner through uniform conformity with these standards than by complying in an individual terminal, an individual port

Long Beach Business Journal 13

Newly elected Westside Project Area Council (WPAC) Chairman Paul Collins [left] and Vice Chair Larry Maehara stand in front of the Westside Montage mural in West Long Beach. Collins, architect and owner of Pac-Design, and Maehara, owner of Berth 55 Seafood Restaurant, were selected through a unanimous vote last month to replace former WPAC Chair Tony Rivera, owner of Easy Roll-Off Services and former Vice Chair Jane Kelleher, president of Sav-On-Signs, Inc. Collins, who has worked with WPAC since 1993, said he is happy to have been selected for the position. WPAC, which was founded in 1975, is a non-profit organization that acts as an intermediary between Westside business and property owners and the City of Long Beach. Collins added that there are two major issues WPAC will continue to focus on this year. The first issue is the Port of Los Angeles’ plans to build a train station on Pacific Coast Highway. “It’s not going to benefit our community and will be a detriment to our community,” he noted. The second issue WPAC will work on is making sure the 9th Street Bridge connecting the Westside to Downtown Long Beach is not removed. “If they close the 9th Street Bridge, it will take a long time for us to get to downtown, because then we will have to go up Anaheim and hit all the lights . . . where there is a lot more traffic and a lot more lights,” Collins said. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

or an individual coast. That’s the true magnitude of the fair playing field.”

As for what comes next? There are a lot of big plans with potentially negative environmental consequences, among them the Port of Long Beach’s Middle Harbor project and the BNSF Railway’s plan (currently in court mediation) to build the 153-acre Southern California International Gateway project on Port of Los Angeles property.

“I’m well aware of these pending and proposed developments,” Schubel told the Long Beach Business Journal when asked about his rousing endorsement of the ports during the webcast. “Putting my name and the Aquarium of the Pacific on another entity is not something I take lightly. But I feel comfortable with it now. Ten years ago? I wouldn’t have done it.” ■

Carson Chamber To Host 15th Annual Business Expo February 21 The Carson Chamber of Commerce is holding its 15th Annual Business Expo from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 21, at the Carson Community Center. Admission to the event, which features a variety of businesses promoting their products, is free and open to the public. In addition to networking opportunities, there will be entertainment, vendor gifts and raffle prizes. The Center is located adjacent to the 405 freeway at the Carson Street exit. For more information, call the chamber office at 310/217-4590.

– From Staff Reports

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NEWSWATCH 14 Long Beach Business Journal

February 3-16, 2015

Port Of Long Beach Chief Exec Vows To Resolve Congest ■ By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER Senior Writer In his first State of the Port address, Port of Long Beach Chief Executive Jon Slangerup was frank in his assessment of the well-being of the port, making it clear that, if the confluence of issues creating epic congestion at the port are not solved, and solved promptly, the port is going to lose business. The port is reaching out to every relevant corner of the trade industry to resolve current congestion and prevent it in the future, he emphasized.

The event was held at the Pacific Ballroom at the Long Beach Arena on January 29 in front of nearly 1,000 people.

Following his assessment of the port’s current operations, Slangerup unveiled a plan to take the port into a new era of sustainability with a concept dubbed Energy Island. As an energy island, the port will one day operate with a fully self-sustained energy grid made up of the cleanest technologies, such as solar power, wind power, fuel cells, natural gas and perhaps even technologies currently in development. In addition to enabling the port to generate enough reliable energy to survive a catastrophic event, the new energy infrastructure would also help the port achieve Slangerup’s related green goal – to make the Port of Long Beach the world’s first zero emission port.

“We are focused on building the port of the future – one that has the highest efficiency and speed to market. One that is the greenest port in the world,” Slangerup said.

Photographs by

From left: Port of Long Beach Chief Executive Jon Slangerup; Harbor Commissioner Tracy Egoscue; Harbor Commissioner Lou Anne Bynum; Mayor Robert Garcia; Harbor Comm Commissioner Lori Ann Farrell; and Harbor Commission Vice President Rich Dines. The State of the Port was held in the Pacific Ballroom of the Long Beach Arena, with an estima

Overcoming Congestion “Clearly the single biggest and toughest challenge the port is facing is congestion, which poses a threat to our market share and a risk to future revenue growth,” Slangerup stated about midway through his speech.

“Long Beach and Los Angeles, as the San Pedro Bay [port] complex, have historically been the most direct route and most efficient route connecting Asia to the important and largest U.S. export and import markets. But this has changed abruptly due to epic levels of congestion that we have been experiencing since last October,” Slangerup said. “If we don’t fix this immediately, we will drive away business permanently.”

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia welcomed attendees to the State of the Port on January 29

From left: Steve Goodling, president and CEO of the Long Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau; Rick Davis of Davis Consulting Group; 3rd District Councilmember Suzie Price; 7th District Councilmember Roberto Uranga; and David Thornberg of SA Recycling.

The congestion issues all started in “the good old days, which was about 18 months ago,” Slangerup quipped. At that time, ocean carrier lines formed alliances, combining their cargo on ships much larger than had ever been seen by the industry before, able to carry 14,000 twenty-footequivalent units (TEUs). “To put this in perspective, a 14,000-TEU vessel is as long as the Empire State Building is tall. It’s also as wide as that 405 freeway out there, both northbound and southbound lanes combined, just to give you a sense of it,” Slangerup explained.

At the same time, the ocean carriers decided they were no longer going to maintain ownership of chassis, the truck trailer equipment for hauling containers, in order to cut back on costs. When they sold them off to three local leasing companies, those companies did not maintain large enough fleets to cope with demand from increasingly larger vessels, Slangerup explained.

On top of that, the way the containers were stored on the ships changed – and not

From left: Thomas Jacobsen, Jacobsen Pilot Service; Jon Slangerup, executive; and Charlie Parkin, Long Beach city attorney.

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NEWSWATCH February 3-16, 2015

Long Beach Business Journal 15

ongestion And Unveils Expansive Clean Energy Initiative deployed to local ports to move cargo, exacerbating the backlog.

To sum it up: “The West Coast ports found themselves in the perfect storm – and we are still in it,” Slangerup said.

There is no blanket solution to the problem other than working with every party involved: the neighboring Port of Los Angeles, ocean carrier lines, the ILWU and PMA, the chassis leasing companies, railroads, and others. Both ports have worked with, and are continuing to work with, all of these parties to come up with solutions, Slangerup assured his audience. An interoperational pool of chassis is set to be fully operational in March, the ILWU and PMA have accepted the help of a federal mediator for their negotiations, and the ports continue to work with other supply chain stakeholders to resolve remaining issues.

The Current State Of The Port

Photographs by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville

ert Garcia; Harbor Commission President Doug Drummond; and Harbor ach Arena, with an estimated 1,000 people in attendance.

for the better. “When ships were smaller, ocean carriers employed a method of loading containers called block stowage. They grouped containers in blocks at the origin port based on destination and mode of transport – either truck or rail,” Slangerup said.

Now, containers are stacked haphazardly, making it necessary to unload cargo in Long Beach not meant for this destination just to get to the correct cargo. That takes time, causing backups further along the supply chain. To make matters worse, railroads diverted cars to other parts of the country with high demand, leaving local ports short of necessary transportation for cargo.

Then there is the matter of the labor contract negotiation between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the group representing longshore workers’ employers, the Pacific Maritime Association. As Slangerup said, that process “took a serious turn for the worse in the fall,” Since then, an insufficient number of workers have been

Service; Jon Slangerup, Port of Long Beach chief city attorney.

Despite facing epic levels of congestion, last year the Port of Long Beach experienced a modest 2 percent increase in total cargo traffic, Slangerup said. “In total, our port moved nearly seven million TEUs,” he noted. That marks almost a complete recovery from the Great Recession.

As the port expands with massive capital improvement investments, namely the Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project and the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project, Slangerup expects it to remain a vital economic engine for the people of Long Beach. Those projects are expected to generate 5,000 construction jobs over the next few years, he stated.

Today, the port supports one in eight jobs in Long Beach – 30,000 jobs total.

Regionally, it supports 300,000 jobs, and on a national level at least 1.5 million jobs.

“With cargo and revenue growth, we can continue to reinvest in our port infrastructure and in our beloved community and create even more jobs,” Slangerup said.

He noted that the port remains on firm financial footing, as it relies upon stable revenue sources including leases to terminal operators and cargo fees. “With the U.S. economy continuing to improve, with unemployment going down, gas prices going down, resurgent manufacturing and higher consumer spending, we expect economic gains this year,” Slangerup said.

Energy Island With a dramatic flourish – suddenly lighting the entire ballroom in a golden orange tone – Slangerup announced the introduction of a new initiative intended to make the Port of Long Beach the world’s greenest port: Energy Island.

“Energy Island will transform the port into a showcase for advanced technologies that harness the sun, the wind [and] the sea, and it will provide a self-sustaining, reliable energy sys-Marianne Venieris, former executive director, Center for International tem for the entire port of theTrade & Transportation, and Noel Hacegaba, managing director, commercial operations and chief commercial officer for the Port of Long Beach future,” Slangerup said.

The need to have its own reliable energy source, coupled with the port’s commitment to creating a greener future, is behind the initiative. “As we move towards our goal of becoming a zero emission port, we are increasingly reliant on electrical power. At the same time, the grid is aging, and there is increasing concern that a regional outage could cripple both our port operations and the Long Beach community,” Slangerup explained.

Fire Chief Mike DuRee with Chief of Police Robert Luna In a large grid outage, Energy Island’s grid of sustainable energy would not only meet the port’s peak demand for energy, it would also “provide dedicated emergency power to our community’s critical operations such as hospital, police, fire and city operations,” he noted.

Slangerup provided a more in-depth look at this policy for the Business Journal’s special publication on the 10th anniversary of the Green Port Policy, on page 14 in Section B. ■ Bonnie Lowenthal, left, former California State Assemblymember; and Michelle Grubbs of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association.

Representatives of Total Terminals International, from left: Janelle Long Rivas; Jonathan Archer; and Phillip Wright.

Jeff Williams, left, executive director of Leadership Long Beach and Dr. Mike Walter, former member of the Board of Harbor Commissioners.

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IN THE NEWS 16 Long Beach Business Journal

February 3-16, 2015

Fisher House Coming To Long Beach VA Campus Families of veterans receiving care at the Long Beach Veterans Administration Hospital will now have a welcoming place to stay while visiting their loved ones. A two-story Fisher House is expected to be completed by the end of 2015 on the VA campus in Long Beach. The house, which will accommodate up to 16 families at a time, will feature a mixture of one- to two-bedroom units and will house a minimum of two people per room. Kitchen, living room and dining room facilities will be shared. Groundbreaking for the nearly 16,000-square-foot Fisher House is expected to take place by the summer, according to Steve Kuykendall, president and CEO of Fisher House Southern California, Inc. The non-profit organization, made up of volunteers, has been fundraising for 12-18 months for this project and is just $1.3 million shy of its $6 million goal. “We’ve made a lot of progress in a very short time,” Kuykendall noted. “We’ve got a very dedicated board of 13 people.” The Fisher House Southern California will hold a reception tomorrow, February 4, to discuss the project’s progress.

Currently, there are 65 Fisher Houses in operation, 62 in the United States and three in Europe.

For more information or to donate, visit www.fisherhousesocal.org. (Aerial photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville; example of house provided by Fisher House.)

Patrick Brown New Head Of School At Westerly Westerly school, which prides itself as the only independent school in Long Beach, recently selected Patrick Brown to become the new Head of School. Brown, who has 25 years of experience in independent school education and administration, will officially begin his new position on July 1, 2015. In the meantime, Brown will work with outgoing Head of School Chris Rodenhizer to ensure a smooth transition. In a statement, Rodenhizer said “I could not be more excited to have Patrick guide Westerly to its next phase. His natural connection to students, insightful questions about our community and excitement of his appointment give me great assurance that this amazing little school is in the right hands.” Brown’s most recent position was as head of St. Michael’s Parish Day School in Tucson, Arizona, where he directed curriculum design and implementation. According to a statement from the school, both enrollment and the school’s financial state flourished under Brown’s leadership, who helped raise nearly $6.4 million for construction projects. Brown is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Arizona.

Blanchard Named Provost Two Renovated Classrooms Open On City College’s Pacific Coast Campus Long Beach City College celebrated the grand opening of two newly renovated buildings at its Pacific Coast Campus last week. The 1930s art deco-influenced AA and BB buildings, which had not been renovated in over 35 years, were redone to provide state-of-the-art classrooms, new staff lounges, restrooms, a faculty office suite, new conference rooms and a centralized Academic Learning Center. The building, which was paid for using Measure E bonds, was also fitted with environmentally friendly features designed to save energy and reduce water consumption. Above at the ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the renovated buildings were, from left: Roberto Uranga, 7th District councilmember and former member of LBCC Board of Trustees; Jeff Kellogg, president of LBCC District Board of Trustees; Eloy Ortiz Oakley, LBCC superintendent-president; Doug Otto, vice president of the LBCC Board of Trustees, AnnMarie Gabel, LBCC vice president of administrative services and Dee Andrews, 6th District councilmember in whose district the campus is located. Below, prior to the ribbon cutting, elementary school students help lead the Pledge of Allegiance. (Photographs by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

California State University Chancellor Timothy P. White recently announced Loren J. Blanchard, provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Xavier University of Louisiana, as his choice for the next executive vice chancellor for academic and student affairs for California State University (CSU). “Without question, Dr. Blanchard has the vision and talent to propel us forward as we fulfill our obligation to meet the educational needs of our highly diverse student population, thereby sustaining the vitality of California’s society and economy,” White said in a statement. Blanchard, whose appointment still needs to be approved by the CSU board of trustees, was selected through a nationwide search. If approved by the board during their January meeting, Blanchard will serve on the chancellor’s executive leadership team and lead the CSU Graduation Initiative. He will also be responsible for developing and overseeing the educational policy for the entire CSU system.

Blanchard, who holds a Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Georgia, will begin his employment with CSU in July.

New Partner At HCVT Sam Bachstein, a certified public accountant, was recently made partner at Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt LLP (HCVT). Bachstein, a graduate of California State University, Northridge, has worked at HCVT since 2005. As part of his responsibilities, Bachstein provides audit services to private companies in Southern California. ■

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THE BUSINESS OF WEDDINGS February 3-16, 2015

Long Beach Business Journal 17

Alternative Registries Grow In Popularity ■ By RABIYA HICKEN Contributing Writer More and more engaged couples are leaving toasters and crystal salad bowls off their wedding registries and choosing instead to register for money, honeymoon activities and even down payments for a new home.

This recent development in the wedding industry is due to the fact that a majority of soon-to-be-wed couples already live together and accrue many of the homemaking necessities before getting married, according to Sara Osias, global partnership development manager at Wanderable, a website where couples can register for money or any of over 2,800 honeymoon experiences in 189 cities around the world.

“Nearly 75 percent of couples already live together before marriage,” Osias said.

“The need for pots, pans and other items for starting a household aren’t necessarily as relevant in our day and age anymore.”

Instead, Osias added that a greater number of couples today attach more value to experiential gifts, such as those offered by Wanderable, and similar services like HoneyFund. The use of these registries, (Please Continue To Page 19)

The Hatch My House registry was launched in December 2009 by a couple a few days prior to their wedding. Rieve and Erin-Marie MacEwen “hatched” the idea during the winter of 2008 just prior to being engaged. Since they had been living together, they realized “they did not necessarily need the things listed on a typical wedding registry,” according to their website.“They already owned everyday plates and glasses, a set of towels and bedding. The thing they really wanted was help with a down payment on a home. Living in San Francisco, a down payment seemed to be an unobtainable goal. However, they thought that with a small start from friends and family, that goal might actually be reached.” In 2011, they brought in partners Paul Martinelli and Robert Frank to further develop the site. According to Rieve MacEwen, the site has 2,500 registries to date. (Photograph of Hatch My House website)

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THE BUSINESS OF WEDDINGS February 3-16, 2015

Alternative Registries (Continued From Page 17)

most of which charge the couple a small percentage user’s fee, has more than doubled in recent years.

“About five years ago, only 5 percent of couples registered by an alternative registry, like a honeymoon registry,” Osias said. “Two years ago, in 2013, that number was 34 percent.”

To date, Osias said, nearly 22,000 couples have signed up to use their service, which started in 2013. Wanderable allows couples to book and register for hot stone massages, dinners at the beach and even plane tickets.

“The most insane story we’ve had is a couple who had their entire $10,000 Tanzania honeymoon gifted to them . . . four months ago,” she said.

Osias said that in addition to couples living together, an increasing number of couples are assuming the financial responsibility of their weddings, which makes it hard for them to afford a honeymoon. Small apartments, which are not conducive to storing away fancy china and miscellaneous appliances, are another reason many couples are shying away from traditional registries, Osias added.

Rieve MacEwen, co-founder of Hatch My House, a website that allows couples to register for money they can set aside for a down payment, said he and his wife faced a similar problem when they were getting ready for their wedding in 2009.

Long Beach Business Journal 19 “We already had so much stuff because we were living together at the time . . . the thing we needed more than anything was help toward a down payment so we started researching the idea, but there really wasn’t too much going on in the market,” MacEwen said.

To help them inch closer to the craftsman house of their dreams, MacEwen and his wife set up HatchMyHouse.com, which has had nearly 2,500 registries to date.

Simone Hill, assistant editor at the media company, XO Group Inc., said that, aside from the growth of the alternative registries trend, she has noted a growth in the scope of traditional registries.

“Couples are using traditional registries to register for things that are non-traditional, so couples are registering for camping gear through big box retailers that have a lot of different types of products,” she said.

Other popular alternative registries include Bottlenotes, a wedding registry that allows couples to register for wine, and Deposit A Gift, which allows couples to raise funds for whatever they might need.

Linda duPlaine Gray, owner of A Wedding Store, at 110 W. Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach, noted that many couples are also choosing to raise money for charitable causes instead of registering for gifts. The I Do Foundation and CrowdRise are two examples of such services.

Gray said she thinks these services are beneficial not only for younger couples who have lived together before marriage (Please Continue To Page 21)

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THE BUSINESS OF WEDDINGS February 3-16, 2015

Long Beach Business Journal 21

Alternative Registries

Local Wedding Trends

(Continued From Page 19)

(Continued From Page 1)

but also for older couples who may not need traditional registries as well.

However, Gray advised that couples using honeymoon registries should be cautious about booking travel and events early.

“I’ve had a couple who set up a registry in order to pay for a honeymoon cruise . . . and then two weeks out, they only had like $35 in the account,” Gray said. “So don’t do it if you are using that money to pay for something because you can’t count on people doing it. People would rather give you something face to face.”

Marcie De Leon, a Long Beach-based day-of-wedding coordinator, at www.thecucumberbride.com, said that for her wedding three years ago she set up a registry at Traveler’s Joy, a service similar to Wanderable, in addition to a traditional registry. However, she said, no contributions were made to the Traveler’s Joy registry, possibly because some guests are deterred by the service fees charged by alternative registries.

“Guests like what’s convenient and familiar,” De Leon said. “I forget what ‘cut’ sites like Traveler’s Joy take, but even if it’s a small one it could still be a deterrent for guests.”

Hill said she believes it is a good idea for couples to set up a traditional registry alongside their alternative one. ■

So there’s a trend toward more secular weddings?

“Not necessarily,” cautioned Schulz, whose 30 years in the wedding business have taught her not to jump to conclusions. “People bring their religion – their pastor, priest, rabbi – into our venue.

Many ceremonies are very traditional.

We’ve had a full Catholic Mass.”

Because some of the most popular places to get married in Long Beach are attractions specializing in art, science, culture and tourism, they lend themselves to very non-traditional weddings that range from creative to poignant to kooky.

“Couples bring their personalities into the wedding,” said Jacqueline Alvarez, the catering event manager aboard the Queen Mary. “Because of the ship’s history, the weddings here are often vintage scenes. Fifty percent involve the 1920s and 1930s, with nautical themes or military themes, and lots of art deco.”

Weddings at the Long Beach Museum of Art likewise tend to blend with the building and grounds – the bluff-top summer home and carriage house built in 1912 by wealthy philanthropist and heiress Elizabeth Milbank Anderson.

The Aquarium of the Pacific became a popular wedding site almost the moment it opened 15 years ago. Who knew so many people would want fish to witness their exchange of vows?

“Our three-story blue cavern exhibit is the most popular of our venues,” Schulz acknowledged. “But we also have a new rooftop veranda overlooking Rainbow Harbor for outdoor ceremonies.”

Same-sex marriages aren’t the attention-magnets they were when California first legalized them in 2008, or when they were legalized again in 2013, but their numbers are steadily increasing.

“We had a lot more same-sex weddings last year than the year before, and there are a lot more coming in 2015,” said Alvarez with a look at the Queen Mary schedule. “That’s no surprise considering the size of Long Beach’s LBGT population. But gentlemen are comprising more of the marriages than before, when our same-sex clients tended to be two young ladies.”

Expanding the wedding business into the same-sex market has meant adapting some long-standing practices and terminology to a new etiquette.

“For example, seating people for the ceremony is no longer a question of ‘Bride’s side or groom’s side?’” said Alvarez, who has been planning weddings for 15 years. “There are new questions: Who is leading whom in the procession? Is one person being given away, or both?

“Some clients are OK with the confusion and don’t mind if you make a little mistake in what you say. But with others you have to be very careful. So we don’t say ‘bride’ or ‘groom’ as much. We try to say ‘couples.’ Our literature is being cleaned to reflect the new reality, too.”

The diversity of Long Beach’s population is reflected in a wide array of wed-

Unconventional Registry Web Sites www.hatchmyhouse.com www.featherthenest.com www.wanderable.com www.idofoundation.org www.travelersjoy.com www.WeddingFutures.com www.DownPaymentDreams.com www.TheBigDay.com www.depositagift.com www.bottlenotes.com

Wedding Costs National Average In 2013

Categories Overall Wedding (excluding honeymoon)........$29,858 Venue .......................................$13,385 Photographer..............................$2,440 Wedding Planner........................$1,874 Reception Band .........................$3,469 Reception DJ .............................$1,038 Florist/Decorator........................$2,069 Videographer .............................$1,700 Wedding Dress...........................$1,281 Groom's Tuxedo ............................$248 Wedding Cake...............................$546 Ceremony Site ...........................$1,793 Ceremony Musicians ....................$588 Invitations .....................................$443 Limousine .....................................$732 Favors............................................$281 Rehearsal Dinner .......................$1,184 Engagement Ring ......................$5,598 Catering (price per person).............$66 Officiant........................................$260 Source: TheKnot.com

(Please Continue To Page 22)

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THE BUSINESS OF WEDDINGS 22 Long Beach Business Journal

February 3-16, 2015 Since opening in 1998, the Aquarium of the Pacific has proven to be one of the more popular – and unique – locations for a wedding. The venue includes more than 10,000 animals looking on at no charge – for the animals, that is.

(Photo by Lori Shepler)

Local Wedding Trends (Continued From Page 21)

ding ceremonies. Planners strive to stay culturally aware and sensitive, while holding on to a sense of humor.

“I’ve taken classes about the Chinese tea ceremony, researched Indian weddings, and learned about the chuppah in Jewish ceremonies,” Alvarez said.

“Once you know their traditions and rituals of their culture, clients are more comfortable.”

Theme weddings, designed to be outrageous, or self-indulgent, or pay homage

The Website Your Wedding Company, Outlines 2015 Wedding Trends (Editor’s note: The following three trends in weddings are from the website: www.yourweddingcompany.com. The website covers more than a dozen trends.)

“The following trends have been compiled from hundreds of sources in both North America and Europe to guide your selections and inform you of the vast array of options available.

Wedding Dresses

For an outdoor wedding, what better choice than the Long Beach Museum of Art, where the Pacific Ocean is the backdrop? (Long Beach Museum photo)

Multiple layers and textures are prominent themes for 2015 bridal gowns.

Brides today choose romantic flowing dresses in floor-length styles with combinations of overlaid soft fabrics (chiffon, organza or tulle), crystal studded bodices, lace sleeves and delicate ruffles and floral details. Open-back dresses, visible hemlines and deep V-necks are also gaining popularity. Many designers have included ball gowns and tea-length styles in their lines as well as dresses in off-white and pastels.

Eco-friendly, Rustic Weddings Going green is important in almost every area of life including weddings.

Many couples are choosing organic fabrics, flowers, decorations, food and invitations, etc. Making green and sustainable choices helps our environmental crisis tremendously. Decisions that lessen the amount of carbon emissions promote sustainable practices, support local businesses, foster community and worldwide health and longevity. Let's hope this trend is here to stay!

Wedding Cakes

The Queen Mary provides numerous options for a wedding, including historic indoor facilities such as the Grand Salon, Queen’s Salon, the Windsor Room, Royal Salon and more, or an outdoor wedding overlooking the Queensway Bay. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

Wedding cakes decorated with handmade icing flowers, chocolate shells/starfish and delicate dots and pearls remain popular. Couples are choosing cakes that fit with the location, theme and season of their wedding. Three to four layers is the average size for a wedding of 150 people.

Buttercream or smooth fondant frostings are most common. Popular cake flavors include lemon, chocolate, carrot, spice and "white" although some couples are choosing non-traditional flavors such as gingerbread, espresso and hazelnut.

Flowers, sculptures, bunting and large monogrammed letters are replacing the traditional bride and groom cake top.” ■

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THE BUSINESS OF WEDDINGS February 3-16, 2015 to a particular interest, continue to trend.

“We had a lot of Disney and Nintendo themes last year,” said Vasquez at the Long Beach Museum of Art. “In one wedding, the bride and bridesmaids portrayed Disney animated princesses, while the fiancé was Batman and the groomsmen were other superheroes.”

Riffs on the Queen Mary’s seasonal attractions produce brides in black dresses being walked down the aisle by monsters during Dark Harbor, and Cinderella brides, complete with glass slippers and Prince Charming-impersonating grooms, during Chill.

There is a noticeable shift in style at receptions – away from the traditional sitdown dinner or full-on buffet, toward something that feels more clubby or corporate.

“There are low seating tables and tall standing tables near the dance floor or bar, with small plates of food or hors d’oeuvres,” Schulz said. “The idea is to create flow so people who don’t know each other have a comfortable way to meet.”

Yet Schulz detected the first dance becoming a more elaborate element of the reception.

“There has been a resurgence in its formality, which I attribute to Dancing With the Stars,” she said. “The first dance used to be the bride and groom kind of rocking back and forth, the guests joining with some junior high dance in a circle.”

These days the groom is apt to take a

Long Beach Business Journal 23 dancing lesson to prepare for the big moment.

“What you get,” Schulz said, “is a fullon, choreographed, elaborate ballroom first dance.”

Do-it-yourself weddings are not enjoying the popularity of a few years ago, although the words “enjoy” and “popularity” may be a little misleading. When all those couples were opting to construct their fairy-tale day from a few objets trouvés and a round of bulk buys at office supply superstores, fabric outlets, hobby shops and farm stands, it may have been less about creative inspiration and more about money.

“I believe the number of do-it-yourself weddings is a reflection of the economy,” Vasquez said. “Lots of people were making their own decorations, even baking and decorating their own cakes, then getting up early on their wedding day to set up everything. We’re seeing less of that now. More people are hiring wedding coordinators and stylists to take care of preparations.”

Wedding planners see other signs of budget consciousness, too, beginning with the people they aren’t seeing.

“Guest lists were really large when I started,“ Vasquez said. “Three years ago they got a little smaller, but now they are ticking upward a little into the 120-to-250 range.”

But Schulz noted: “While they are inviting fewer people, they still want all of the pomp and circumstance.” ■

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PERSPECTIVE 24 Long Beach Business Journal

February 3-16, 2015

SMALL BUSINESS DOLLARS & SENSE BY BEN ALVARADO Making Time For Small Business Retirement Planning s a small business owner, it may seem like you spend a lot of your time on day-to-day planning. Your planning time today may consist of setting next month’s sales appointments, placing orders for this quarter, and projecting expenses for the year ahead. But, how much time have you dedicated to developing and maintaining your retirement plan?

When it comes to retirement, the earlier you start planning, the better off you will be long term. More than half of business owners say they aren’t ready to sell their business or quit working and are worried that they will not have enough money in retirement. As the economy continues to improve, more business owners may feel that retirement isn’t as far off in the future as it once seemed. Consider these tips: • Define what retirement means to you – For business owners who aren’t ready to face full-time retirement, a scaled back version of their current role might be the ideal way to slowly step

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back from the business. There are many advantages to this approach, including building additional income and delaying Social Security benefits. Take time to outline what retirement means for you, and build that into your plan.

• Set retirement goals and objectives – Explore business and personal goals, and set a target retirement date that makes sense for you and your business. This can include learning more about your personal financial situation, identifying business transition options, and if you have employees, understanding who will be impacted by your retirement.

• Get familiar with available contribution plans – Fortunately for small business owners, there are a variety of retirement plans available to help with future planning. Profit sharing plans, IRAs and 401(k) plans are the most popular.

Make time to meet with your financial and tax advisor to find a plan for your circumstances.

• Create a retirement income plan – The money you save now needs to be enough for 20-30 years of retirement. Take advantage of “catch-up” rules, which allow people in their 50s

TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION BY TOM O’BRIEN Chassis Take Center Stage ost residents of Long Beach, whether part of the goods movement industry or not, probably know that longshoremen and terminal operators have been in negotiations over a new contract and that these negotiations have dragged on longer than most people would have predicted back when the talks started last spring. The casual observer might assume that the stumbling blocks have involved wages, benefits or labor-saving technology.

They’d be right, but only in part. There are a number of other issues critical to both sides that have caused negotiators to dig in their heels.

That’s why it was welcome news last week when the longshore union and the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents the terminal operators, appeared to reach a tentative agreement on the maintenance and repair of chassis. The question had been who gets the work inspecting equipment before the truck driver leaves the port. It’s a relatively new point of contention resulting from the decision of

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ocean carriers – who once owned the chassis – to get out of the equipment business. As a result, third party leasing companies have increased their share of the chassis market.

It’s not the only issue involving chassis to complicate the supply chain of late, and almost all of them are tied to the ocean carriers’ decision to divest themselves of their chassis fleets.

Why the change? Chassis facilitate the movement of intermodal cargo from the ocean vessel to truck and freight rail. Chassis storage has typically occurred at maritime terminals and rail yards. Unlike ocean carriers in other parts of the world, including in Canada, ocean carriers operating in the U.S. have traditionally owned the chassis and provided it to truckers for their use in transferring containers between the ports and distribution and intermodal facilities as part of local trips or drays.

This model is a legacy of the early days of containerization, when ocean carriers invested in equipment in order to secure access to markets in the interior of the United States. The model has worked in California (in Southern California in particular) because available land

to contribute an additional amount to an IRA or 401(k). Work with an advisor to determine how much money you should put away so that you may achieve your retirement goals.

• Review strategies for financing the transition into retirement – Most business transitions will involve some form of financing, and often times, sources and uses of available funds can determine or limit a business owner’s options. Do you have a succession plan in place? Does your business carry any debts?

Will you have funding from an equity sponsor, such as a commercial bank? These are important questions to ask as you develop your retirement plan. Meet with your banker to learn more about your financing needs and product choices.

While planning for retirement can be complex, it doesn’t have to be a difficult or stressful experience. After you’ve developed a strong retirement plan, take time to review and update it annually to ensure you’re staying on track.

(Ben Alvarado, a 23-year veteran of Wells Fargo, is the president of the bank’s Southern California Region, which stretches from Long Beach to Orange, Imperial and San Diego counties.)

has allowed terminals to store chassis on site and to place containers “on wheels,” instead of stacking them, as a service to customers.

But this approach requires inefficient repositioning between inland distribution centers, warehouses and ports to return the equipment to its owner. It also creates situations where truckers are required to swap out or flip “foreign” chassis for one belonging to the ocean carrier stored on site. This necessitates more inefficient movements of equipment inside the terminal.

In recent years, carriers simply had to admit that this model of equipment management is not sustainable. At an estimated cost of $8,000 per chassis, there are too many chassis being stored at too high a cost to carriers with not enough space. In addition, recent federal action on equipment “roadability” has eliminated much of the need for carriers to compete on the basis of their equipment’s reliability. 2010 legislation passed by Congress authorizes the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to mandate various fitness tests for chassis. The result is more standardized equipment across the industry.

The current environment features a number of different new chassis management business models including regional cooperatives and port or terminal-wide pools. Truckers themselves have the option of purchasing chassis, but often storage is problematic. The transition from

ocean carriers to third party leasing companies has resulted, at least in the short term, in equipment shortages, a problem exacerbated by peak demand for equipment as a result of larger vessels calling at the local ports. In August 2012, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach created a Chassis Operations group. The result has been an increase in equipment interoperability but it hasn’t fully resolved the problem of inventory visibility along the entire supply chain.

Chassis management changes may yet have other implications both at terminal facilities and outside the gates. The shift to management by third party chassis providers creates a need for chassis storage facilities for leasing companies, chassis pool operators and trucking companies near the ports and rail yards and at inland locations near distribution centers and warehouses. This has the potential to change intra-metropolitan freight flows, creating demand for infrastructure, including new access roads, particularly in the vicinity of the ports. There may be agreement on what happens to chassis inside the terminal gates but the impacts outside the gates are far from clear.

(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.)

GUEST COMMENTARY BY RON SALK

(Continued From Page 1)

a gigantic leap in logic to assert, as some critics have, that adding these flights will change our legally fixed obligations. Indeed, it will only make our award-winning airport more attractive to travelers and enhance our city's tourism and business prospects for the future.

It will probably also ensure that JetBlue, one of Long Beach's most exemplary corporate citizens, will continue to be here for many more years. In changing times, the addition of West Coast international flights to its network is essential to the airline's business model. Keep in mind, we are not adding more flights than allowed by the ordinance, so there are no legitimate reasons

for opposing this request. When it gets down to the bottom line, what we would be doing is adding a new, attractive and exciting component to what our wonderful airport offers – international air travel opportunities by JetBlue and other carriers serving the airport.

International flights and customs facilities are nothing new to Long Beach Airport.

From 1965, and through the '70s especially, a number of charter flights called for customs clearance service, which was on call as needed.

In the '60s, Lufthansa and two other carriers flew charters to Europe from here.

Now, JetBlue has advised the city that it would like to see a U.S. customs office re-established at the airport, but not necessarily create a new "Port of Entry" designated facility. The airline has offered to pay out-of-pocket costs for a significant portion of the facility – though all carriers, sharing costs, would get to use it, and the city would own it – with the exact amount to

be determined by the PFC (passenger fee) funds remaining at the time the agreement is executed.

The excuse given by the city council and the city manager that a decision on this urgent request had to wait until a new airport director was selected and on the job is wholly unjustified. City officials are far more capable of making this decision than a new appointee with little experience in our community. It is just another reason to delay making the call.

On Tuesday, February 17, the city council is planning to include a study session on the airport at its regular meeting, leading to a consideration of JetBlue's request at a subsequent meeting.

This will be to familiarize new councilmembers with airport issues. If past history is any measure, there may well be an attempt to further delay this important business decision. In February 2005, I stood before the city council, along with then-Public Works Director Christine Andersen, to request that the improvement and enlargement of the airport move forward. Through all of the

many public hearings that led to that moment, most of the voices heard by the AAC were from opponents of the airport.

Only toward the end of that process did the business community and the traveling public show up in force. Let's not let history repeat itself. I urge all of you who are proud of our airport and the worldclass services it provides to make your voices heard at the February 17 meeting. Let our councilmembers know how valuable JetBlue and the airport are. This is not about noise, but about maximizing Long Beach Airport as a vital and vibrant economic engine for our International City.

(Ron Salk, president of Salk International, LLC, served on the Airport Advisory Commission from 2000 to 2008 and was, variously, chair and vicechair for four of those years. He is a leading authority on airport ground transportation and editor and publisher of Salk International's Airport Transit Guide, founded in 1982, and now a toprated app for Apple and Android tablets and phones. www.salkinternational.com.)

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PERSPECTIVE February 3-16, 2015

Long Beach Business Journal 25

REALTY VIEWS BY TERRY ROSS New Lending Rules Could Help Buyers t appears that the three largest players in the home mortgage industry are taking significant action this year that could be a significant boost to residential real estate and be a real shot of adrenalin for homeownership.

In a move that had been anticipated since late last year, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will soon begin accepting down payments as low as 3 percent before the end of March for loans that they purchase on the secondary market, giving cash-strapped buyers the opportunity to get into a home with a minimal down payment.

And then just weeks ago it was announced by the Obama Administration that the U.S. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) program, which requires a 3.5 percent minimum down payment, will reduce its mortgage insurance premiums. During the recession the FHA’s share of the home loan market rapidly increased and now stands at 15 percent because private lending standards took a lot of consumers out of the market.

With this change, the annual fees the FHA charges to guarantee mortgages will be cut by 0.5 percentage points, to 0.85 percent of the loan balance. This is still higher than the preGreat Recession fee of 0.55 percent. The

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announcement left unchanged the upfront fee and the requirement that borrowers pay the ongoing fee for the life of their loan. Under the new premium structure, FHA estimates that two million borrowers will be able to save an average of $900 annually over the next three years if they purchase or refinance homes.

According to analysis from Goldman Sachs, FHA’s share could increase dramatically with this new pricing. An FHA mortgage requires an average FICO credit score of 690, versus 760 for Fannie- or Freddie-backed mortgages. And how will that impact the housing market? The same Goldman Sachs analysis found that a 1 percentage point rise in mortgage rates in 2003 led to an 11 percent decline in housing starts.

So, by that math, if FHA were to get a 25 percent share of the mortgage market, there would be 14,000 more housing starts over the course of the year than there otherwise would be.

FHA fees had gone up in recent years because of losses during the housing crises, but, because of gains in recouping these losses through higher fees and an increased market share, the FHA is now once again in the black.

This financial recovery is a major reason for the rollback in higher fees.

Like other private mortgage insurers, FHA suffered significant losses in the Great Recession. Beginning in 2009 it adopted a series of aggressive credit management initiatives and raised both the upfront and monthly

insurance fees to add new revenue to offset these higher losses. While it never failed to pay a valid claim, its main insurance fund fell below the required 2 percent reserve level.

Last year the agency needed an infusion from the U.S. Treasury to make up a capital shortfall. This was the first time since FHA’s founding in 1934 that it required any support from U.S. taxpayers.

Since the beginning of the financial crisis, FHA has stepped up to the plate and provided critical countercyclical support to the housing market by helping millions of Americans purchase and refinance their homes when private capital either fled the market or raised its prices beyond many consumers’ reach,” said Barry Zigas, director of housing for the Consumer Federation of America.

While the previous move to roll out new Fannie and Freddie programs offering 3 percent down is a less costly option than an FHA mortgage, they do have stricter underwriting guidelines and in reality might not be as readily available as FHA loans. Just because Fannie and Freddie are willing to purchase this low down payment type of mortgage doesn’t mean lenders will be willing to originate them. Prior to this change, Fannie and Freddie required a minimum 5 percent down payment mortgage.

This minimum contribution was already low, in light of annual home price fluctuations, especially during this volatile recovery.

HEALTHWISE BY CINDY PETERS, RN I Have Chest Pain. Now What? – Differentiate Heartburn And Heart Attacks hest pain is one of the most common reasons people go to a hospital’s emergency department. In the United States, there are nearly 6 million non-injury emergency department visits annually where chest pain is the primary reason.

Sudden onset of severe chest pain should always lead to seeking immediate medical attention if not resolved within several minutes. However, severe chest pain only occurs in about half of all heart attack cases. Chest pain may also be a common symptom of other non-cardiac related issues, including panic attacks or heartburn.

How do you know when to take an antacid or when to call 9-1-1? It is recommended that every adult learn the common symptoms of a heart attack in order to possibly save your own life, or the life of a loved one.

Heart Attack Coronary artery disease (CAD), the most common type of heart disease develops when plaque – a waxy substance made up of cholesterol deposits – builds up in the arteries that supply blood to the heart. When buildup continues, your arteries can narrow over time, making it harder for blood to reach the heart. A piece of plaque can break off and cause obstruction. This can lead to a section of the heart muscle dying or being severely damaged. This is what causes a heart attack.

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Major warning signs of a heart attack are: • Chest pain or discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain • Pain or discomfort in the jaw, neck, back, arms or shoulders • Feeling light-headed or faint • Shortness of breath • Sweating • Nausea Panic Attack Panic attacks can be so intense, and the symptoms so similar, that many people believe they’re experiencing a heart attack. There are no known medical causes for panic attacks, but factors like sudden life changes, traumatic events or significant stress often are at the core of an attack. Panic attacks usually come with no warning signs and most peak within 10 minutes.

Some of the common symptoms of a panic attack are: • Chest pain or discomfort • Dizziness or faintness • Feelings of fear • Nausea or upset stomach • Numbness or tingling in the hands, feet or face • Fast heart rate or pounding heart • Shortness of breath • Sweating, chills or hot flashes • Trembling or shaking

Heartburn Most people will experience occasional heartburn brought on by triggers like certain foods, alcohol and some medications. Heartburn is a non-cardiac chest pain that occurs when stomach acid backs up into your esophagus – the tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach – and irritates it. Most heartburn can be relieved with over-the-counter medicine.

Signs of heartburn are: • A sharp, burning sensation just below the breastbone or ribs that can last a few minutes to several hours • Chest pain usually occurring after meals, when lying on the back or exercising • Burning in the throat or hot, sour, acidic or salty-tasting fluid at the back of the throat Occasional heartburn is common but consistent heartburn, more than twice a week, may signify gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a chronic digestive disease. With GERD, the muscles at the end of your esophagus do not close tightly enough. This allows contents of the stomach to back up, or reflux, into the esophagus and irritate it. If left untreated overtime, GERD can lead to more serious complications.

Knowing the reason for your chest pain can lead to appropriate treatment that may be lifesaving. Schedule your check-ups with your physician annually. Know your risk factors for heart disease.

(Cindy Peters, RN, MSN, ACNP-BC, is with the Center for Women’s Cardiac Health & Research at Long Beach Memorial.)

With such low down payments, new homebuyers have less skin in the game. Thus, if home prices dropped, say, more than 3 percent in a year, homebuyers would suddenly have a negative equity asset on their hands. This negative equity condition has recently proven to be an incentive to default on mortgage payments.

Lenders tend to be more conservative than Fannie and Freddie, citing the fear of buy-backs when underwriting errors exist and the homebuyer defaults. This fear is particularly warranted when programs – such as these – introduce a greater risk of default and impose additional underwriting requirements. Therefore, expect lenders to be very cautious when it comes to offering 3 percent down payment mortgages of the conventional type.

If lenders do decide to take on the additional risk, these low down payment programs might open the door to homeownership for many ready and willing first-time homebuyers years before they otherwise would have been able to purchase.

(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. XXVIII No. 2 February 3-16, 2015 EDITOR & PUBLISHER George Economides SALES & MARKETING EXECUTIVE Heather Dann GRAPHIC DESIGNER Chris R. Weber OFFICE ASSISTANT Larry Duncan EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT SENIOR WRITER Samantha Mehlinger STAFF WRITER Dave Wielenga CONTRIBUTING WRITERS April Economides, Rabiya Hicken PHOTOJOURNALIST Thomas McConville COPY EDITOR Pat Flynn The Long Beach Business Journal is a publication of South Coast Publishing, Inc., incorporated in the State of California in July 1985. It is published every other Tuesday (except between Christmas and mid-January) – 25 copies annually. The Business Journal premiered March 1987 as the Long Beach Airport Business Journal. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited unless otherwise stated. Opinions expressed by perspective writers and guest columnists are their views and not necessarily those of the Business Journal. Press releases should be sent to the address shown below.

Office South Coast Publishing, Inc. 2599 E. 28th Street, Suite 212 Signal Hill, CA 90755 Ph: 562/988-1222 • Fx: 562/988-1239 www:LBBusinessJournal.com Advertising and Editorial Deadlines Wednesday prior to publication date. Note: Press releases should be faxed or mailed. No follow up calls, please. For a copy of the 2015 advertising and editorial calendar, please fax request to 562/988-1239. Include your name, company and address and a copy will be sent to you. Distribution: Minimum 22,000.

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Business Journal Subscriptions Standard Bulk Rate: $28.00 1st Class: $70.00 (25 issues–1 year)

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ART MATTERS

Long Beach Business Journal 26 February 3-16, 2015

Brought To You By The Arts Council For Long Beach

Why the Arts Matter . . .

In and Out of the Port of Long Beach . . .

■ By VICTORIA BRYAN Executive Director Arts Council for Long Beach

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conversation between Michael Gold, Director of Communications and Community Relations, Port of Long Beach, and Victoria Bryan, Executive Director, Arts Council for Long Beach.

Long Beach resident, Michael Gold (pictured) supervises a 16-person communications and community relations team and directs a budget of more than $4.5 million annually. He oversees media relations, crisis communications, and community and educational outreach efforts and also directs the production of publications, video programming, and advertising campaigns to promote the advancement of the Port by informing, educating, and engaging the Port's diverse stakeholders.

Art Matters: From the Port’s perspective, why do the Arts matter?

Gold: The Port is a big part of Long Beach and the arts matter because the community matters to us. We’re a strong supporter of preparing the next generation of the Long Beach workforce. The workforce we’re looking for will be well-rounded, which includes understanding and

appreciating the arts. As well as workforce preparation, a vibrant arts scene is also important to attracting the best and brightest to Long beach – and keeping them here!

Art Matters: How does the Port contribute to the arts?

Gold: Our commitment means being part of Long Beach’s signature events and organizations. including: the Symphony Pops series, the Aquarium, The Museum of Latin American Art, International City Theatre, the Arts Council, and this year, we’re the title sponsor for the Camarata Singers’ season. A lot of residents don’t who the Port is and what we do. I lived here for 13 years before joining the Port and for me, it was kind of a black box on the waterfront. I didn’t know what was happening there. 2015 is the ten year anniversary of the Green Port policy and it was that policy that drove a greater level of community involvement. In 2005, we were having difficulty getting projects through. We lacked credibility.

We’ve always had a big impact, both positive and not so positive, so we needed to establish credibility and trust to give our community a better sense of who we are and what we do. It builds a backbone of trust when people see us support the things that are important to them. ■

Port of Long Beach Photo Tour and Exhibition In 2013, The Port of Long Beach and the Arts Council partnered to create the first annual Port Photo event, a three-part photography learning experience for amateur and pro photographers alike. Each year, the free program culminates with a gallery showing of work by each of the 80 participating photographers.

To find out more about the arts within the Port, I asked Jen Choi, The Port’s Manager of Creative Arts and Design, about the origin of the annual Port of Long Beach Photo Tour Port of Long Beach Harbor Commission President Doug Drummond and 1st District Councilwoman Lena and Exhibition.

Gonzalez display recognition award for Dave Freeman’s Watercolors at right.

“It began in the partnership between our creative arts section and community relations. We realized the Port is a beautiful place and only a few people get to see it, so we wanted to open that up. I get requests to photograph the Port all the time, students, amateurs, professionals – my answer is always ‘no’ because of security. We wanted an event where everyone can have a really great time and it’s contained, so we wouldn’t have to worry about security. We decided to combine harbor tours with a photo component. The Long Beach arts community is more robust now than it’s been in a long time. We saw an opportunity to take advantage of that - we let the artists in and we get so much in return.”

The 80 spaces available for the 2014 Port Photo Tour filled up within four minutes of release. Photographers, watch for this year’s opportunity! More news will be available in the Summer.

Port of Long Beach Tour information: http://www.polb.com/community/tours/phototour.asp

Gallery Corner This Gallery Corner edition features the next generation of artists and the next generation of arts technology. Throughout history, the arts have evolved to adapt to technological changes – just think how different theatre would be without lighting design! Success of new technology in the arts depends on a very particular skill set of creativity paired with the technical know-how. For many Long Beach students Digital Revolution is creating this opportunity. Digital Revolution, a Bixby Knolls based filmmaking and digital media arts education organization, offers programs for students ranging from digital design, creative coding, stop motion animation, and moviemaking. Max Gonzalez, a 10th grade student at Milikan, recently took a filmmaking class at Digital Revolution. From the experience of learning an editing software, Final Cut Pro X, he believes that it wasn’t just fun, “but an important and useful skill to put on his resume.” Anthony Puente, Digital Revolution’s founder says that, “training young people in digital arts is both part of a vital 21st century skill set and an empowering outlet for their creativity and artistic voice." An artistic voice directly expressed through working with technology. Want to see work by this next generation of artists? Visit our homepage at www.artslb.org to see the student produced film, The Final Test, recently featured in the Color Me Long Beach film screening.

Group of students from Digital Revolution’s Summer Filmmaking Class. More information at www.the-digitalrevolution.com

Long Beach Museum of Art

Art of Weddings ■ By SARAH BENNETT Arts Council for Long Beach Contributor

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ooking to make your wedding into a work of art?

Many of Long Beach's most prominent arts venues are available to rent for the big day, and some even come with an on-site event-planning team that can help create all-inclusive wedding packages perfect for you and your guests.

With a catering company, furniture rentals and breathtaking views of the harbor all part of the location's amenities, the Long Beach Museum of Art's historic property makes for one of the most complete wedding venues in the city. Inside the 100-year-old Anderson House are prep rooms for the wedding party plus Claire's at the Museum, the institution's restaurant which is available to create American-style cuisine fit for hors d'oeuvres, table service or buffet-style dining.

Perched high on the bluff overlooking Cherry Beach and with free access to the museum's exhibits for wedding guests during cocktail hour, it's no wonder the museum hosts more than 40 nuptials per year.

“It's such a different venue – none of the weddings my friends or family has ever attended were like mine,” says Amanda Lopez, a professional photographer who got married at the Long Beach Museum of Art in 2012. “I went to art school at Cal State Long Beach and always knew I wanted to get married [at LBMA]. It felt like home.”

The Museum of Latin American Art is similarly prepared to host weddings both big and small, either in its spacious Balboa Studio or outside in the intimate Sculpture Garden, where abstract works by Peruvian artist Fernando de Szyszlo and Mexican artist Leonardo Nierman surround. Chefs from the museum’s casual Cafe Viva provide thoughtful catering, allowing wedding guests to dine on contemporary cuisine from Latin America and beyond.

Even without the benefit of a built-in event-planning team, however, there are a half-dozen other Long Beach arts venues available for unique receptions and ceremonies.

The Art Theatre, the Aquarium, the Queen Mary and the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden – all of which have at one point or another hosted an art performance of some kind – are available for special events of various sizes. And theaters, such as the Long Beach Playhouse, offer rentals of their variously sized stages that can easily be used for weddings. (LBP sees at least a few each year.)

Even on the Cal State Long Beach Campus, the University Art Museum is open to hosting more events for the community, especially in its newly renovated outdoor plaza, which has its grand opening this month.

Churches may be traditional and banquet halls are an easy solution, but Long Beach's diverse art venues provide contemporary spaces for eclectic weddings, complete with the best art and ambiance in the city. ■

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THE NONPROFIT PAGE February 3-16, 2015

Long Beach Business Journal 27

Early Childhood Education: A Smart Return On Investment For Long Beach Some of our city’s major economic and social problems as crime, such teenage pregnancy, excessive high school dropout rates and adverse health conditions Andrea M. can be traced to low Sulsona levels of skill and Executive Director YMCA of Greater ability. A mountain Long Beach of evidence shows Early Childhood that early childhood Education education (ECE) has both academic and economic benefits for society. The economic benefits include: decreased welfare and unemployment costs, lower arrest rates, reduced expenses related to grade retention and special education, and higher earnings, which translate to tax revenues.

The Labor Center at UC Berkeley has found that two of the ways that the ECE industry supports state and local economic development are by

promoting the workforce mobilization and productivity of parents and by promoting the cognitive and social development of children.

These children grow to be individuals less likely to need public services and more likely to make positive social and economic contributions.

Studies of the costs and longterm benefits of high-quality ECE

Capacity Corner: Upcoming Calendar of Events From the Nonprofit Partnership One Person Development Office, February 4, 2015, 9 am–4 pm Designed for the organization that has only one person managing its fundraising, this workshop will help participants prioritize efforts and help identify the most effective and sustainable fundraising techniques.

Essentials of Fund Development Certificate Program, February 11th, 18th, 25th (3 full-day sessions, every Wednesday) 9 am–4 pm Through 18-hours of instruction, participants will learn how to create their fund development plan by participating in interactive discussions and hands-on activities while receiving feedback on a prior or upcoming grant proposal and/or fundraising

Human Resources: Harassment Prevention, February 12, 2-5 pm This training covers the laws regarding unlawful harassment, discrimination and retaliation; the potential liability for unlawful harassment; developing harassment prevention policy, complaint and investigation procedure; and partnering with HR to create a harassment free, respectful workplace for everyone

Networking Coffee: Top 10 Financial Tax Considerations for Exempt Organizations in 2015 & Beyond February 4, 2015, 8-9:30 am This session dives into the real world application of best practices for effectively managing the tax, legal and accounting infrastructure of a nonprofit organization.

Specifically, it will review board oversight responsibilities, internal controls, unrelated business income guidelines and budgeting tips and tricks. For information on all events listed above visit: lbnp.org

From our Partners FREE GuideStar Webinar - Nonprofit Kick Start 2015: Creating Healthy & Productive Meetings

short-term, for every $1 invested in early-learning programs in the state a total of $1.68 is generated in spending. Early childhood education outperforms retail trade ($1.65), transportation ($1.63), construction ($1.59), wholesale trade ($1.51), and manufacturing ($1.46).

Despite the growing evidence that early childhood education has economic benefits, the California 2015 budget falls short with ECE investments designed to help all of our State’s residents experience the benefits of an economic recovery. The 2015-16 budget, essentially held funding steady for programs have consistently found early learning and development substantial savings derived over for children from birth to age 5.

Given the foundational importhe course of years and decades. tance of the first five years of life Impressive returns on investment and the rapid brain development to the public range from $2.69 to begins at birth, a stronger that $7.16 per dollar invested. Quality investment in our most vulnerable ECE also helps foster the developinfants and toddlers clearly would ment of a productive workforce to have had great returns in the meet the future needs of California future.

Regarding his Preschool businesses in light of our state’s for All initiative changing economy Mayor Robert Quality early and shifting demoGarcia said, graphics. childcare ensures “Making preschool Researchers throughout the a strong workforce. accessible to all children is not just nation are docuabout education but also the city’s menting the importance of the economy.”

He connects ECE to the ECE industry as an engine of ecoLong Beach College Promise, that nomic development. For example, strives to support the developan evaluation of Chicago Public Schools' federally funded Child ment of a skilled educated workParent Centers found that for force by ensuring that children every dollar invested in the pre- today are ready to access higher school program, nearly $11 is pro- educational opportunities that will jected to return to society over be available in the future.

Despite Long Beach offering participants' lifetimes—equal to an State Funded Preschools, Child 18 percent annual return. A report Developments Centers, Head Start, showing that Michigan's Great family childcare homes, and a variStart Readiness Program, which ety of other options, there remains supports preschool for at-risk chila major unmet need for early care dren, has saved the state at least and education. According to the $1 billion over the past 25 years.

Department of America’s Edge, a national non- California profit organization of business lead- Education, the demand for new ers whose members work to preschool spaces was more than 8 strengthen businesses and the times the number of spaces availeconomy through proven invest- able this year. In Long Beach, about ments in children, has released a 25% of preschool age children do new report finding that, in the not attend an ECE program.

Kick start your nonprofit’s 2015 meeting strategy on Thursday, February 12th at 11 am with an exclusive GuideStar webinar featuring the sector’s leading experts in social media and fundraising, Beth Kanter, author of Beth’s Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media and Andrea Kihlstedt, fundraising consultant at AndreaKihlstedt.com: Looking Under the Surface. To register for the event please visit: Guidestar.org and go to webinars under the “News” section.

Women's Leadership Summit: Working our Power, February 24, 9 am-2 pm How to influence the right people and capitalize on opportunities to persuade others in power. Featuring a powerful panel of women from the corporate, foundation and academic worlds. For more information visit cnmsocal.org Service Grants for Nonprofits: Taproot Foundation is pleased to announce an opportunity for select nonprofit organizations in the L.A. metro area to receive capacity-building Service Grants. We are inviting organizations to apply for a Taproot Foundation Service Grant in the areas of Leadership Development, Marketing, Information Technology and Strategy Management. The application deadline is MARCH 3rd. For more information visit http://www.taprootfoundation.org

The area’s regional capacity builder serving nonprofits throughout Southern California through leadership, education and collaboration. Offering: • Professional Development & Training • Networking & Collaboration • Consulting Services • Information Resources To learn more visit us at www.lbnp.org.

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