September 2-15, 2014 Section B

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Corporate Presence And The 1st Annual Interview With Mayor Garcia

Inside This Issue • Q&A With Mayor Garcia • The Growing Corporate Presence In Long Beach

Mayor Robert Garcia with his staff at the Main Branch Library. Pictured from left are: Devin Cotter, legislative deputy; Daniel Brezenoff, deputy chief of staff; Maria Banegas, administrative aide; Mark Taylor, chief of staff; Mayor Garcia; Sharon Weissman, senior advisor; Carolyn Jones, legislative fellow; Isaac Romero, field deputy; and Tim Patton, senior administrative deputy.

(Photograph By The Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

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MAYOR ROBERT GARCIA September 2-15, 2014

Long Beach Business Journal 3-B

Mayor Robert Garcia and his staff flip through some of the books available at the Main Branch Library. In his Fiscal Year ’15 budget recommendations to the city council, Garcia has proposed adding $200,000 to supplement the library’s material and information budget. Pictured from left are: Mark Taylor, chief of staff; Maria Banegas, administrative aide; Daniel Brezenoff, deputy chief of staff; Devin Cotter, legislative deputy; Mayor Garcia; Isaac Romero, field deputy; Sharon Weissman, senior advisor; Tim Patton, senior administrative deputy; and Carolyn Jones, legislative fellow.

(Photograph By The Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

A Q&A With First-Year Mayor Robert Garcia

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t 36 years young, no one would be surprised if of his budget recommendations is to rename the city’s technolRobert Garcia were a bit nervous in taking the ogy department to better reflect this growing movement: the leadership reins of one of the largest, most diverse technology and innovation department. cities in the country – both in population and eco- The Peruvian-born, openly gay mayor beams as he describes

nomic interests. Quite to the contrary, Garcia exudes an infec- the singular moment of his past that helped him attain the role of tious confidence that makes people pay attention to the new mayor – and that was becoming an American citizen. “That gave mayor of Long Beach.

me a lot of confidence and most importantly gave me a sense of

Garcia is at least 20 years younger than the previous three city- duty to my community and to my country. So for me, that is what drives me: a consistent appreciation for our country.” wide elected mayors of Long Beach when they took office In this interview, which included Business Journal Senior (Ernie Kell, 1988-1994; Beverly O’Neill, 1994-2006; and Bob Writer Samantha Mehlinger and Staff Writer Brandon Foster, 2006-2014), allowing him to better relate to the increasFerguson, Mayor Garcia discusses his priorities and shares his ing number of Millennials (those born 1980 to 1995) and many vision for the future of Long Beach, in addition to covering a of the Generation X segment, who have relocated to the city or variety of topics from the pending city budget to economic returned to their hometown over the past decade. development to public safety. He also talks about his respect for These new residents are involved in the city’s growing tech former Mayor Foster and about his plans to continue the fiscal and creative sectors, and are concerned about mobility and susdiscipline policies of his predecessor. tainability issues – areas in which Garcia is savvy. In fact, one – Publisher GEORGE ECONOMIDES

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MAYOR ROBERT GARCIA 4-B Long Beach Business Journal

September 2-15, 2014

Looking Back On The Campaign LBBJ: Looking back on the campaign for mayor, is there anything that surprised you or that you didn’t quite expect?

Garcia: One of the great things about running for mayor is that you learn so much more about your city. I have always considered myself a Long Beach guy, somebody who loves Long Beach so much, and someone who knows a lot about the city. What surprised me going through the campaign was how much more I learned about the city. I was able to go to streets I had never heard of and neighborhoods I had never been in, and talk to people – all types of people – I had never met before. That surprised me. That is one of the great things about campaigns – you really get to know your city and the people there in a completely different way. You listen to them, and you find out what their wants are, what their needs are. That was surprising, because I always pride myself on knowing Long Beach very well – and I did – but I learned so much more.

LBBJ: Have you reached out to Damon Dunn since the election?

Garcia: Damon and I spoke after the election. We spoke by phone a few times. We also met in person as well and had a nice conversation.

LBBJ: We also understand that you met with Randy Gordon of the Long Beach Chamber, whose political action committee opposed you. How did that meeting go?

Garcia: It went fine. We met maybe three weeks or a month after the election. We had a brief breakfast just to chat about the election. He had reached out and so we sat down and we had a good frank conversation. I shared with him my point of view on the election and about how the chamber acted, what they did and didn’t do during the election. So I gave him my two cents on that.

LBBJ: Have you been invited to speak to their chamber board?

Garcia: Randy did invite me to speak to the board at some point in the future.

Organizational Items LBBJ: Have you completed the hiring of your staff?

Garcia: I have. It’s a great team. I wanted to make sure we brought in all stars and people who love Long Beach and are ready to work and believe in the vision. So we have the team complete.

LBBJ: So how big a staff are we talking about?

Mayor Robert Garcia uses the Express Lane at the Main Branch Library to check out some of his favorite leisure time reads. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

Garcia: The mayor’s staff, as you know, also serves as the chief legislative office. The mayor’s staff has always been divided into two. You have what’s called the administrative office, which provides services, not just to the mayor’s office but to the whole city council, then you have the policy staff. [See staff photos on cover/Page 3 for names and titles.]

LBBJ: Do you have a personal secretary?

Garcia: No. LBBJ: You formed a transition team prior to taking office. What has been its role and will it continue to meet for the foreseeable future?

Garcia: I wanted to make sure we brought together a diverse group of people who represented all parts of Long Beach. I had a relationship with all of them in some form and I respected them. I wanted to make sure they were able to share with me their vision of Long Beach. They don’t all agree on everything.

I wanted a few things. First, I wanted their assistance in appointing and advising on commission appointments, and they have done a great job of that. They have provided dozens and dozens of names for commission appointments. We will be making over 100 commission appointments in the next couple of months. So it has been a great opportunity to get some of that information. In addition, a lot of them are going to be commissioners because I want to keep them involved in that form. Doug [Otto] also did a lot of the inaugural events and chaired a lot of the inauguration stuff, which was fantastic.

The team has been meeting every few weeks to talk about a variety of issues. We have talked about sustainability; we have talked about education; we have talked about economic development. And we have had roundtables to hear team members’ ideas and discuss what they think we should be doing. I found it very informative; we’ve gotten some great ideas. I have also met individually with most of them, sitting down both individually and in small groups just to hear their thoughts and hear where they see the city at, and where its future is. So it has been great. I’m very thankful for their time. These are volunteers, doing it out of their love for the city and their support of me. I am just very thankful. They are right now putting together a transition team report which will be out sometime in the next month or so. That report will capture what our main goals and themes are.

LBBJ: Will that be released?

Garcia: It will be released to the public, absolutely. It will be timed and released before the 100-day mark.

LBBJ: You mentioned commission appointments. Didn’t former mayor Bob Foster appoint a bunch of people before you took office? There are still 100 seats left?

Garcia: Yes. LBBJ: What about the harbor commission? When are you going to make an appointment?

Garcia: The decision has been made. We will be making an announcement shortly.

LBBJ: Have you met individually with councilmembers?

Garcia: I have. I have now met multiple times with all of them.

LBBJ: What about city management, the city attorney, city auditor and city prosecutor?

Have you met with each of them?

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MAYOR ROBERT GARCIA September 2-15, 2014

Long Beach Business Journal 5-B

Garcia: Absolutely. One of the first things I did after I was elected was have breakfast with the citywide elected officials. We got together and had a great discussion, and that is something that had never really happened before. We actually are having a standing regular meeting. We’re going to work together. I told them we’re all on the same team. We all have to make sure the city is functioning correctly.

In addition, one thing that was important for me was to make sure I visited with all of our city departments. So my first week I visited with the employees at the port and sat down with all of our employees at the clerk’s office. This morning I met with all of the employees in technology services. I’m going to have Q&A discussions with all of our departments. When I visited the clerk’s office, the clerk told me the mayor hadn’t met with his whole team since he had been city clerk. I think the same was true for the port. It’s important for all of our employees to know that the mayor, one, supports them, but, two, expects excellence. That it is our job to make sure we are being good stewards of taxpayer dollars, and that every day we are out there working. We’ve got to be working to make the city better. They’re excited to work together. This morning we had the whole technology services department in the meeting and we talked about innovation and how we all can create a 21st century government, but it is going to take all their work to do it.

LBBJ: Looking back on your 36 years, is there one moment that stands out that has helped you get to this position?

Garcia: Absolutely. The one moment that stands out for me is when I became an American. That is by far the single most important thing that has ever happened to me. I view my life in terms of before I was an American and after I became American. Most of my life leading up to that was the process of trying to become an American, living an immigrant experience, having to go through the waiting lines, being ripped off by attorneys, and all that process. My whole family was immigrant and didn’t have a lot of support. But, then, once you get to that point where you become a U.S. citizen, for my family and me, it was like, we then had access. For us, it created a sense of equality where we had access to all these great opportunities, educational opportunities. And it made me realize that I was as American as everybody else. That gave me a lot of confidence and, most importantly, gave me a sense of duty to my community and to my country. So, for me, that is what drives me: a consistent appreciation for our country.

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MAYOR ROBERT GARCIA September 2-15, 2014 LBBJ: We believe you were the first councilmember to post your meeting schedule online. Are you doing the same thing now as mayor?

Garcia: We are looking for technology to do that. We started doing that on the city council but the technology wasn’t there. We were haphazardly having to enter the information. There is no system. Right now we’re redoing and we’re buying new software for our whole commission backend system. We’re also looking for something similar for calendaring commissions. So, if we are able to find something I would be happy to do it. I am as open a book as you can get when it comes to stuff like that.

Long Beach Business Journal 7–B

Second, economic development is going to be important because, on the revenue side, the more economic development we can generate, the more we can support business coming in and providing good jobs. The more that our port is operating in a way that is universally respected and that people feel good about – and the more they want to make the investments here because of the infrastructure – that is going to provide and support all the 30,000 local jobs and the hundreds of thousands of regional jobs.

I want to make sure that the port is truly the port of the future, that it’s innovative, that we’re building the infrastructure, that the bridge is being done with the right support, that we’re building Middle Harbor out, and, as competition conPriorities tinues to grow across the world, that the port is well posiLBBJ: Have you established a set of goals and objectives, tioned to succeed. Because that is our number one industry – and, if so, what are they? goods movement, logistics, trade. So we have got to support Garcia: I have. For me, there are a few important things that the port and its operations. I have done everything I can to I am really focused on right now. But first, the most important ensure the port knows we’re all fighting for the same thing. thing is passing a responsible budget and keeping on course I’ve met with all the employees, the harbor commissioners.

“I have done everything I can to ensure when it comes to being fiscally responsible. That is the single We’re on the same page. We’re all on the same team, just the port knows we’re all fighting for most important thing and the most important job I have as moving forward. I feel really good about where the port is mayor. I want to make sure we’re passing a budget that considright now, to be honest. So that is the second thing: the port the same thing. I’ve met with all the ers the future, that is really taking a step forward when it comes employees, the harbor commissioners. and economic development. to meeting the challenge of unfunded liabilities in the future Other issues that are very important to me, as an educator We’re on the same page.” and that doesn’t overspend. myself, I think the mayor and the city have a role in education, I feel very fortunate that I got to live through the recession and that role is about collaboration. It is not about control, but as vice mayor and as a councilmember. I saw what happened when councils before had it is about collaborating with our educational partners. I developed a policy addressed to decided to make commitments that we couldn’t keep, and overspend. So I came into this all three institutions early on and laid out some goals for us on the education side and with the mindset that, when we have extra money, we put it away. And if we don’t start where the mayor’s office and the city can be a partner. We have the Long Beach College putting more money away on our future unfunded liability, we are going to be in pretty Promise, which is really a national educational partnership. We have the number one bad shape in the future. So the budget and being responsible on the budget is the single applied-to Cal State in the entire state of California; we have this great community college most important thing.

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MAYOR ROBERT GARCIA September 2-15, 2014

Long Beach Business Journal 9–B

that does all these really wonderful things and we have, as we know, a world-renowned urban unified school district. Part of all that is this Long Beach College Promise that they’re all members of. The city needs to engage and be a part of the Long Beach College Promise. We haven’t been before, and it is important for us to become part of it now.

The city has a role in connecting young people to internships so I have committed and pledged to double the number of internships during my first term. The City of Boston, as an example, has 50,000 public school students and 15,000 internships. The City of Long Beach has 80,000 public school students and 1,500 internships . . . Using technology, and with our connections and experience in the education sector, we’re going to double the internships from 1,500 to 3,000. You can take that to the bank.

And, in fact, maybe we can do even better than that. We have to remember that, every time we give a youngster an internship, that student is more likely to get a job with that organization. Which means that, that company is not hiring outside the city, they’re hiring somebody who wants to be in Long Beach. That person then has the money to put back into the economy or get additional college credit, or whatever it is they are receiving from that internship. We are partnering with all three institutions to look at internships as part of this educational agenda.

In addition to that, I have always believed the best investment educators and communities can make is in early childhood education, and I think there is a role for the city to facilitate and promote early childhood education in preschool. It is happening in other municipalities across the country and we’ve got to be involved in that as well. So there is a lot we can do on the education side. I am committed to a very strong education agenda.

Finally, technology and innovation. We’re restructuring our technology services department at the city to be focused on innovation.

We’re going to create a 21st century city. We are going to invest in innovation and ensure we are doing everything we can to make government more accessible and open for people.

LBBJ: What do you expect to “We’re going to be launching a project accomplish during your first 100 days in office? that is going to take education in the Garcia: In the first 100 days, City of Long Beach to the next level. It’s one goal was to put together an going to be a big idea. It’s going to involve all-star team, which we have all of our institutions we have partnered done. The second was to ensure we pass a responsible and sound with on this kind of educational agenda.” budget, which we are going to do and are working on right now.

And the third was to launch our education initiatives. We will be doing that very shortly; we have already begun to talk about what those are. I’ve mentioned them to you. But we are going to launch a really big and exciting way as part of a new collaborative project.

So we have been working very closely with Cal State Long Beach and the new president, who I have developed a very good friendship with, as well as President Oakley, who obviously I have worked with and for a long time, and with the superintendent, who in fact after this interview I’m meeting to continue this conversation. We’re going to be launching a project that is going to take education in the City of Long Beach to the next level.

It’s going to be a big idea. It’s going to involve all of our institutions we have partnered with on this kind of educational agenda.

LBBJ: When are you going to announce this?

Garcia: This will be announced around mid-October. We’re going to get past the budget but it will be within the first 100 days. \

City Budget LBBJ: You’ve issued your recommendations for the next budget year. Can you explain each of those briefly?

Garcia: Sure. First thing I did was reinforce what Mayor Foster had presented. I have a lot of respect for Mayor Foster and what he did, particularly with the budget and what he did financially. We worked together and did some really tough things, but the right (Please Continue To Next Page)

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MAYOR ROBERT GARCIA 10-B Long Beach Business Journal

September 2-15, 2014

things. So the first step I took was to reinforce the issues LBBJ: Have you had discussions with councilmembers that he had brought up in his budget message, which about your recommendations? included looking at skill pay, our negotiation process, and Garcia: Yes. Let me mention the last recommendation. I also where we are financially when it comes to our retirement recommended we do some one-time funding – $200,000 for programs and our health benefits. So all of that is on the library materials. I think we’re a little bit short on where we table first. And I made it very clear that, as we go into negoneed to be to also transition our collection digitally . . . it’s tiations with our employee groups, we can’t shy away from amazing how many checkouts we’re having with people checkhaving a discussion and a negotiation process about all of ing out digital materials. They’re checking them out onto their those things. That was number one. iPhones or their iPads, so I want to make sure we provide that The second thing I did was propose that we take $2 million support so we don’t get left behind with changes in technology. of the surplus from 2014 [current budget year ending And also we put another $50,000 to the arts council. They have September 30] . . . and put that into our CalPERS stabilization a new director and they’ve got some new initiative there. So fund reserve so that we don’t spend it on other things. Again, those are my budget recommendations. And to answer your just having lived through this [recession], the more money we question, yes, I have talked to the council. can put away the better.

LBBJ: Let’s talk more about arts. You said $50,000?

I also recommended that we fund a historic preservation Garcia: An additional $50,000. planner within the budget.

LBBJ: An additional $50,000. So what’s the total?

LBBJ: We used to have one, right?

Garcia: So the total they’re getting is about $450,000. I’ll Garcia: We did. Unfortunately, because of the recession, have to double-check.

“I think the city’s business that position was eliminated. It is very needed. We have LBBJ: Where do you see the role of the business community friendliness is a work in progress. great historic districts, as we know. They need that support. in supporting the arts, since the arts are important in attracting We need to have someone there who is monitoring them and It’s like painting the Golden Gate Bridge – and retaining business? ensuring that these . . .

Garcia: There is absolutely a role for business in attracting it’s never done. You can never LBBJ: That position is out of [Long Beach] Development and supporting the arts. be business friendly enough.”

Services?

LBBJ: Do you have any ideas on how?

Garcia: [It is] out of development services, and it is a planGarcia: Sure. First, when we had redevelopment, we alloner position. I also recommended restructuring two parts of the city departments through cated a percentage toward funding the arts. So that was in place. We don’t have that any the budget. One is to rename technology services the department of technology and inno- more. I think as a community we have to have a conversation at some point about how and vation and restructure the way the department works, with a focus on innovation and part- if the development communities can have that – every great international city has a thrivnerships with the university and our educational institutions. The second recommendation ing arts scene. And we’re better off because of it. was to reorganize and restart an economic development department within the city, and LBBJ: We’re facing huge pension obligations. How do you plan to address those? so we’re taking six, seven positions that are elsewhere and putting them together into a Garcia: It is a huge challenge, but, as we move forward into future budget cycles, new department, which will be economic development. The name of the department will the reason we are projecting deficits a few years out is in direct relation to what we’re be economic and property management development. paying into our CalPERS system. While all deficits are bad, these deficits in fact are LBBJ: Out of the city manager’s office? actually kind of responsible management because we’re finally paying what we Garcia: Yes. And that will be a whole new division created as part of this budget. Also, should have been paying a long time ago. In the past, we had not been making the as part of my budget, I asked that we do not immediately contract out the street sweepers. type of payments we should have been making. Now, fast forward a few years into our Instead, we ask the street sweepers themselves to come up with the savings and for them future, we will begin to make those payments. So, while you will see some deficits in to look within the department to provide savings. That’s something I believe we should the future, those deficits essentially are CalPERS payments. We’re going to have to always do, rather than just deciding to contract out – see if the department itself can be lean up a little bit, but it is in the long run financially to our benefit. We’ll be seeing more efficient. the long-term benefits decades out. There will be a point in the future where that will I will give you an example. In Long Beach, there is a four-hour window for street be smoothed out and we will actually start to see the return on our investments. I think sweepers to come by and sweep the street. Well, you know, that can be two hours. That’s it’s a really good thing. better for residents, it creates savings and efficiencies, and this is a way of looking to them LBBJ: In general, do you feel comfortable with where the city is financially? and having them step up and be a part of the solution.

Garcia: I don’t know that I feel comfortable. I feel like we are doing everything we can LBBJ: But you’re going to lose parking ticket revenues. I am sure people will be to put ourselves in a stronger position, but we should never be completely comfortable happy with that. with where we are financially. When you get too comfortable, you start overspending and Garcia: Absolutely. you start creating a problem you don’t want to end up with.

LBBJ: On the contracting out of street sweeping, what kind of savings are you looking for city employees to come back with, and how much time do they have to come back with The Business Community recommendations?

LBBJ: We have talked about some issues in the business community and there are Garcia: We’re going to give them this next fiscal year to look at – so, by the time some more we want to bring up. Let’s start with: do you consider the city business friendly the next budget process starts. We have been very clear with them. If, at the end of this and where is there room for improvement? year we don’t see any type of initiative and savings, then we are going to have this disGarcia: I think the city’s business friendliness is a work in progress. It’s like painting cussion again. the Golden Gate Bridge – it’s never done. You can never be business friendly enough.

LBBJ: Was there a proposal put forward by staff or another councilmember that There are always regulations. Things are always changing and so I think we are always showed what the savings would be if it were contracted out? having to adapt and change and get better and innovate. Are we more business friendly Garcia: There was. The city manager put out a memo. I want to say that the savings today than we were a few years ago, or 18 years ago? I think we are. But I also think we could have been about $800,000 to $900,000 dollars if we were to contract out. However, have a long way to go, and I think that we still have challenges in our permitting process. there are two caveats. One, just because something is less expensive doesn’t mean it’s a There are still challenges in streamlining some of our business licensing issues, but we better service. And, two, when you’re talking about services like refuse and street sweep- have some good people there who want to make things better. In addition to that, we have ing, what always happens is, if you contract the service out and you do get immediate sav- done some really great things. Take the Downtown Plan. Ask developers in Downtown or ings, by the time that contract is up, they basically control your destiny. Part of the deal is the Molinas [of Molina Healthcare] how efficient the Downtown Plan was for them to get they purchase all of your equipment and they own all of it. You are then at the mercy of their projects in place and they are going to give you glowing reviews. We have done some that contract. I think there is value in having our own team do this work because they are really big things like the Downtown Plan and others, and we continue to do reforms to held accountable to us. We’ve got to make them more accountable, we’ve got to prove the make the city more business friendly.

LBBJ: You talked a little bit about economic development and what you want to see service and then find efficiencies. We think we can find $400,000 to 500,000 worth of there and the formation of this division. What about programs to retain businesses, attract efficiencies and savings out of the department that we can do ourselves.

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MAYOR ROBERT GARCIA September 2-15, 2014

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business and to help businesses that are already here to grow? Is that part of what you’re seeing in this new division? And, secondly, there is not a lot of data available about Long Beach. Before you can develop an economic development plan, you have to have good data. That’s our concern. Do you have any thoughts on these items or are you going to leave it to the new division to come up with a plan?

Garcia: I do have thoughts on that . . . To answer your questions, first I think economic development is everyone’s job. Just because we have an economic development department doesn’t mean every single person in the city shouldn’t be thinking about jobs and economic development. There has got to be a culture of economic development. The second thing is, we have to do a better job of working with those who are doing it right. Take Long Beach City College and some of the programs they have: the [Goldman Sachs] 10,000 Small Businesses program, the workforce development programs they’ve got, and some of the classroom-to-job training programs. These are already in place. They’re successful, and the city’s got to be more of an integrated partner in some of those programs.

Same thing goes for the university. They have incubator projects happening and there is foundation money in place for some of these workforce economic development efforts.

That’s got to be integrated with the city. So it’s important to take that kind of partnership and collaborative approach that we have, and work closer together.

In addition to that I, like you, believe in metrics and data. I think we have to have a datadriven government. That’s how you make smart decisions. Like you, in the past I have been frustrated that there is not as much clean data as we would like. I really want to make sure that we have clean data, that we are asking the right questions and that we are able to pull up this information quickly. That is an expectation I will have of this new department – to be able to provide this good data. That’s a big part of it.

LBBJ: Do you consider the PBIDs [property and business improvement districts] vital in helping the business community?

Garcia: Extremely vital. In fact, I think that the future of economic success in large part is relying on partnerships with the PBIDs. Look at the work that has happened in our PBID areas and, in fact, we’re growing. Bixby Knolls is a great example. Second Street, downtown. Now you’ve got this PBID in North Long Beach that’s developing. You’ve got the PBID out in the east side in the Zaferia area. You’ve got some really great work hap(Please Continue To Next Page)

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MAYOR ROBERT GARCIA 12-B Long Beach Business Journal

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pening. I find that the dollars invested in PBIDs – when the Public Safety city gets involved and supports them – it stretches the dollar.

LBBJ: Do you consider Long Beach safe?

These PBIDs, particularly the managers of them, they love the Garcia: I do consider Long Beach safe. In fact, Long Beach area. They are on the ground. They’re invested in the area. is safer today than it has been in 40 years. Long Beach is safer They know the area. They are going out of their way to attract than sometimes people give it credit for. That doesn’t mean we business, bring in small businesses, take care of the street and still don’t have some public safety challenges in certain neighkeep the infrastructure up. I think PBIDs are a big part of it. I borhoods, and it doesn’t mean that we aren’t experiencing in support them. I think we will likely see a few more of them in some neighborhoods an increase in property crime, because we the next few years. We need to start a PBID on Anaheim to are. We take that very seriously. But is Long Beach safe? support the Cambodia Town area. That’s an incredibly imporAbsolutely. tant PBID. There is discussion about creating a PBID in West LBBJ: Do you think there is more that needs to be done in Long Beach along Santa Fe [Avenue]. There are discussions terms of public safety? out there and I am very supportive.

Garcia: There is always more that needs to be done.

LBBJ: There are some cities raising the minimum wage and We’re doing what we can with the resources we have, and I some legislation being batted around about the minimum think what we’re doing is incredible work. The police wage. What are your thoughts on that? department and the fire department are doing a great job Garcia: The state just recently raised the minimum wage. I and, as this budget continues to slowly get better, you’re have always believed that, when there is equity in raising going to see more improvements. We’ve invested in a lot of wages, it is always the best way. What I mean by that is, when “If you’re only planning for the next three technology for our safety teams. We’re actually going to see the state does it, it provides equity amongst all cities and all an increase in police officers, although a small increase. I municipalities. I thought that was the right thing. We did a liv- or four years, then you’re not doing the think all that’s going in the right direction. We brought the ing wage campaign not that long ago that raised wages. The right thing. A lot of what we work on academies back. I’m feeling really good about where we’re city council by ordinance also did living wage increases at certoday is not going to be achieved for a going in the future. tain locations. That’s in place. That is what has moved forward.

LBBJ: We’re going to most likely lose our police chief As far as anything beyond that, that’s not on the table right while, but I think that’s smart planning. [the favorite to be L.A. County’s next sheriff]. How is that now. It’s not being discussed.

You’ve got to look long term.” [hiring] process going to work? Is that strictly up to the city LBBJ: So there is no effort to raise the minimum wage for manager? restaurants?

Garcia: We haven’t discussed that process yet.

Garcia: Not in Long Beach. . . . I think it is important that we recognize that, LBBJ: But the way it works under our City Charter, isn’t it that the city council hires whether it is county or city, there are very different legal interpretations of what cities the city manager, [then] the city manager hires the employees? can and can’t do when it comes to wages. We have done so far in Long Beach what Garcia: That is correct. has been within our legal parameters to do. I supported the living wage increases that LBBJ: Are you supportive of the fire chief’s Rapid Medic Deployment program? we’ve done. I think the state did the right thing with the increase as well. So I think Garcia: Everything that I’ve seen so far and the data that has been presented have we’re in a good place. Certainly I can’t speak for anyone else who may be having the shown us that it is actually decreasing our response times. You can’t get too far ahead with discussion. We’re right now focused on getting the budget passed and doing what we only having a month’s worth of data obviously, but it is a pilot program. Am I supportive need to do.

LBBJ: During your inaugural address, you spent quite a bit of time talking about the of the pilot program? I am. We’re looking at how this is going to play out over the next year, but the chief is very confident that it is better firefighting and it in fact provides betpoverty level. ter medical service. He has been pretty clear also that this is a pilot program. We’re going Garcia: Yes. to see if this thing actually works the way we expect, and we’re doing everything we can LBBJ: Do you have any thoughts on what you’re going to do moving forward?

Garcia: Everything we’ve been discussing, I think, relates to the poverty level. I view to ensure our health, safety and medical deployment is 100 percent safe. And at the end the decrease in the poverty level [as a result] of everything we’re working on. When you of the day, we’re very concerned and focused on the safety of the individual. I support the provide access to a quality education . . . when you’re making sure that the city is func- chief, and believe the chief has been rolling this out the right way. So we’re going to see tioning the right way and that people have access to government, you’re creating an envi- how this all plays out. ronment where you are able to help decrease the poverty rate. The poverty rate is very real.

It is here in Long Beach. We can’t ignore it no matter where we live. We all can make an effort to lower that rate. It’s quite sad.

LBBJ: Did you bring up something in your budget recommendations about more affordable housing?

Garcia: Yes and no. The recommendation was, we are legally obligated to spend some of the increment money that we have back on affordable housing. There is nowhere else it can go. It has to be spent on affordable housing. My recommendation was to take that money we have to spend on affordable housing and put it into a housing trust fund. By putting it into a housing trust fund, you have some flexibility with those dollars. You also have the ability to then maximize it if there are additional housing opportunities out there. An example is, I am very interested in building housing opportunities for faculty and teachers. If you are a teacher and have your certificate and [you] marry another teacher in Long Beach, and one is working at, say, Wilson [Classical High School] and the other is working at Lowell [Elementary School], you can’t afford to buy a house. The two of you cannot afford to buy a home in Long Beach. We’ve also got to create those middle class opportunities . . . I would love to see a faculty housing project or a teacher housing project in the City of Long Beach.

I think those are opportunities.

LBBJ: We don’t have a whole lot of places we can put housing, especially areas that are safe.

Garcia: I think there are plenty of places. The one thing I would also say is, if you put faculty and teacher housing anywhere, you immediately make that community safer . . .

We’re looking at everything.

And Finally . . .

LBBJ: Your relationships outside the city are important too. Are you developing the relationships in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento that will help Long Beach?

Garcia: I think I came in with those relationships and they are only stronger now. I do.

I have a very good relationship with the mayor of Los Angeles.

LBBJ: You mean the one we’re suing [for the proposed BNSF rail project]?

Garcia: Yes. We’re not suing him, but yes. I have a very good relationship with him.

I have a great relationship with our Sacramento legislative delegation. I was just in Sacramento this last week and met with the governor and with the leadership of the state. I have great relationships, not just with local members of Congress, but also with many other members of Congress. I had breakfast yesterday with [L.A. County] Supervisor Don Knabe. So those relationships are there and are getting stronger. They are important for the city. There are situations that will come up where you have to pick up the phone and work something out with these folks, so it’s important.

LBBJ: Are you laying out a four-year plan or an eight-year plan?

Garcia: I’m laying out a four-year plan. Right now, I believe that [in] any planning you do, you’ve got to think about 10 to 20 years out. If you’re only planning for the next three or four years, then you’re not doing the right thing. A lot of what we work on today is not going to be achieved for a while, but I think that’s smart planning.

You’ve got to look long term.

LBBJ: Is there anything you’d like to add?

Garcia: Just that I love Long Beach and for me it is an honor to be mayor of my hometown and a place I love so much. ■

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CORPORATE PRESENCE September 2-15, 2014

Long Beach Business Journal 13-B

The Growing Corporate Presence In Long Beach: Why New And Established Businesses Call Long Beach Home ■ By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER Senior Writer he presence of large corporations in Long Beach continues to expand as more businesses make their mark on the city by investing in new buildings and growing the local workforce.

Nautilus International Holding Corporation recently became the latest company with international reach to commit to moving its headquarters to Long Beach, relocating after operating 91 years in nearby Wilmington in the City of Los Angeles. The maritime firm signed a purchase agreement on August 18 to build a new 40,000-squarefoot headquarters on 2.57 acres at Douglas Park. Nautilus oversees Metro Ports, a stevedoring and marine terminal operator with facilities at the Port of Long Beach and at ports throughout the country and in Canada; Metro Risk Management, which is focused on claims administration and risk management; and Metro Cruise Services and Metro Shore Services, companies servicing the cruise industry.

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James Callahan, president of Nautilus, told the Business Journal the move is “a concrete demonstration of our nine-decade relationship with the city and the port.” In addition to constructing the new headquarters, the company demonstrated its commitment to Long Beach by signing a 20year operating agreement with the Port of Long Beach, he said.

Nautilus joins a steady stream of businesses relocating their headquarters to Long Beach, in particular to Douglas Park.

Shimadzu Precision Instruments recently decided to relocate its aircraft manufacturing division, Shimadzu Aircraft Equipment USA, from Torrance to Douglas Park, where the firm is building a 58,796-square-foot facility. Shimadzu is building alongside refrigeration equipment and air conditioning manufacturer TurboAir, which relocated its international headquarters to Long Beach late last year. United Pacific, a distributor of after-market classic auto parts and truck accessories, also relocated to Douglas Park from the South Bay late last year.

Perhaps one of the largest companies to invest in Long Beach in the past year is

“We can’t see ourselves being anywhere else but Long Beach.

It’s a great city, great community.”

Kevin Peterson, President and CEO P2S Engineering

Mercedes-Benz USA, which in June broke ground on its one million-square-foot facility to house its Western Regional offices serving the West Coast, Vehicle Preparation Center and Learning & Performing Offices at a former Boeing property off Lakewood Boulevard, across from Douglas Park.

In addition to these and other new members of the business community, the city is home to many locally established companies with large footprints regionally, nationally, and in several cases internationally.

Some of these businesses, such as Farmers & Merchants Bank, have been here for more than a hundred years. Others, like Moffatt & Nichol, an international maritime engineering firm, grew out of local homes with only a handful of workers, to multiple offices

with hundreds of employees. Despite their widespread reach, they remain firm in calling Long Beach their home. The Business Journal interviewed 23 of these companies, both new and old, about why they choose to operate in Long Beach.

Central Location And The Ports epending on the industry a company represents, executive leadership may have different reasons for being located in Long Beach. For example, aerospace firms like being in a city with a rich aviation and aerospace history, while engineering firms want to be close to the San Pedro Bay Ports, which need engineers for many capital improvement projects. But one need look no further than a map to find the number one reason nearly every firm reached by the Business Journal indicated they want to be in Long Beach. As Rob Land, JetBlue’s senior vice president of government affairs, put it: “Long Beach is centered beautifully between Orange County and the heart of Downtown L.A.”

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CORPORATE PRESENCE 14-B Long Beach Business Journal

September 2-15, 2014

The growing operations at the Port of Long Beach is one of the key reasons many businesses – including companies which provide professional services to the international trade community – have moved their headquarters to the city or opened branch operations. A recent example is Vanguard Logistics Services, which leased 24,000 square feet of office space at the 5000 E. Spring St. building at the Long Beach Airport Business Park. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

James Callahan, president and CEO of Nautilus International Holding Corporation, told the Business Journal the company is soon relocating its headquarters to Long Beach after being located for 91 years in nearby Wilmington. Eighty personnel of the parent company and its subsidiaries – Metro Ports, Metro Risk Management, Metro Cruise and Metro Shore – are to be housed at a new location in Douglas Park, Callahan said. The new facility will have capacity for more than 120 employees. Construction is set for completion late in 2015. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

Eric Nichol, president of Moffatt & Nichol, said being located 20 miles from Orange County and Downtown L.A. in either direction “has been very helpful” to his company, enabling it to tap talent from workforces in both areas. The engineering firm, founded in Long Beach in 1945, employs about 130 people in Long Beach and 650 in 60 offices worldwide.

As a maritime engineering firm, being located near the Port of Long Beach is a plus,

Nichol pointed out. Moffatt & Nichol is involved in capital improvement projects at the port, such as developing an automated system of guided vehicles for the Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project. Historically, the company has left its mark on Long Beach by mooring the Queen Mary in the harbor and building the Gerald Desmond Bridge, which is now being replaced.

Long Beach remains a good spot for P2S Engineering, founded in Bixby Knolls in

1991, due to its central location, reflected Kevin Peterson, president and CEO. “It’s a great location for a consulting engineering firm like us because 120 miles from this location we can service a broad base of clients,” he said, referencing areas such as Riverside, San Diego and Santa Barbara. “I would say that probably 70 percent of our work is done in that 120-mile radius,” he added. Locally, P2S does a lot of work with the Port of Long Beach, particularly related to reducing pollutants emitted into the air from ships calling the port, Peterson said.

Global engineering firm AECOM opened Long Beach offices around 2008 partially because of its central location, according to Travis Taylor, associate vice president of the company. Taylor, who oversees AECOM’s Southern California division of its environmental business line,

is a Long Beach native. “It [Long Beach] is centrally located between Orange County and Los Angeles near a very large industrial base, including the ports,” he said of the pros of operating in the city.

Being near the Port of Long Beach is important to companies relying on shipments from abroad, such as United Pacific, which outsources some of its manufacturing, according to CFO Paul Lin. “The close vicinity of the ports is particularly attractive,” Lin said. “You can save a lot of money in trucking from the Port to Long Beach [to Douglas Park] versus to Ontario, where it could be triple the price in trucking to haul the containers.”

DENSO Products and Services Americas, Inc. is located in Long Beach partially due to proximity to the port, according to Richard Shiozaki, senior vice

Construction is underway at Douglas Park on the new 58,796-square-foot headquarters building for Shimadzu Precision Instruments’ Aircraft Equipment USA division. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held July 1, with completion expected in February. The division is relocating from the City of Torrance. Pictured at upper right is the new corporate headquarters for Turbo Air, an air conditioning manufacturer with two dozen offices from coast to coast and in Hawaii. The firm relocated from the City of Carson in late 2013. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

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CORPORATE PRESENCE September 2-15, 2014 president. In an e-mail to the Business Journal, Shiozaki said the Port of Long Beach “is a main gateway for our parts made outside the U.S.A.” The company, a subsidiary of the Japan-based DENSO Corporation, supplies automotive and heavy-duty parts to car dealers, after-market retailers and distributors, according to Shiozaki. The division has been headquartered in Long Beach since 1984.

When asked why Mercedes-Benz chose to locate a new massive facility in Long Beach, the port was the first topic Bob Yeatman, western regional general manager, brought up. “We have had a long relationship with the Port of Long Beach. That is where all of our cars come in to the western part of the U.S.,” Yeatman explained.

He is currently based in Irvine, but is slated to lead the Western Region offices in Long Beach when they open in early 2015. “We wanted to make sure we keep that relationship we have there in place with the Port of Long Beach . . . We just needed more space to ourselves to do all that. That was the genesis for finding another location nearby that could do all this for us,” he explained.

The city’s central location to Mercedes dealers was also influential in the move.

“I feel it is more centrally located,” Yeatman said of Long Beach. “The Los Angeles area is one of our key markets.

Long Beach Business Journal 15-B We have roughly 23 dealers just from L.A. down to Orange County.”

For The Termo Company, an oil and gas company based in Long Beach for 81 years, being located in a city with strong ties the oil industry is a plus, according to Ralph Combs, manager of corporate development.

“Today, our history is rooted in Long Beach and we feel very bound to the city. Southern California still has a very strong oil and gas industry and Long Beach is a good center point for our company,” Combs said.

Easy access to the Long Beach Airport and freeways, including the 405, 605, 710 and 91, were also cited by many companies as pros of having offices in Long Beach.

“For us, the location off the 405 has been really great,” Aaron Leon, CEO of online retailer LD Products, reflected. The company, which opened its headquarters in Douglas Park in 2012, sells printer cartridges, toner and office supplies online.

Daniel Gold, managing partner of Tredway Lumsdaine & Doyle, a legal firm that has had offices in Long Beach since 2001, also cited freeway access and proximity to the airport as a plus for the firm.

“We’re right near the 405 [freeway], the Long Beach Airport and the 605 interchange,” he noted. The firm’s Los Angeles County regional office is located at Kilroy (Please Continue To Next Page)

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CORPORATE PRESENCE 16-B Long Beach Business Journal

September 2-15, 2014

Farmers & Merchants Bank, which has been headquartered in Downtown Long Beach for more than 100 years, has offices spread throughout Long Beach, Orange County and the South Bay. The bank has consistently been ranked as one of the strongest financially in the country. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

Airport Center.

For JetBlue, the airport itself is reason enough to operate out of Long Beach. “It is a wonderful airport,” Land said. “It has got a singularly unique outside atrium with an open-air fire pit at the bar – things you just don’t see at airports anywhere on the globe,” he noted. “We enjoy the historical significance of it; the beautiful art deco terminal [is] a historical landmark. It’s a very special place on so many levels.” JetBlue employs about 750 people through its Long

Beach operations, which are the focal point of JetBlue’s presence on the West Coast, according to Land.

Proximity To Industry-Specific Client Base ertain demographics specific to Long Beach make it an ideal place for firms in several industries to locate, including aviation, health care and banking.

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Pictured is Molina Center, left, and 100 Oceangate, two of the many office buildings dotting the Downtown Long Beach skyline. Molina Center is the headquarters for Molina Health Care, which employs more than 4,000 people in the city and is ranked among the Fortune 500. The 100 Oceangate building recently welcomed U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group to the plaza level.

(Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

Some aviation and aerospace companies have moved to Long Beach’s Douglas Park in recent years to be close to major clients, such as The Boeing Company. Located north of and adjacent to the airport, Douglas Park was built on land once occupied by Boeing, which has offices at the corner of Carson Street and Lakewood Boulevard, across the street from Douglas Park.

Larry O’Toole, CEO of Sanders Industries Holdings and its subsidiary,

Rubbercraft, said Rubbercraft relocated its headquarters to Douglas Park three years ago partially to be closer to clients. The company manufactures rubber and polymer products for aerospace and defense applications. The reason for moving from Gardena, he said, “pertains to easy access to some of our larger customers – Boeing, Northrup Grumman, and several others that are either just a few minutes from the building or easy access on the 405 [freeway].”

Kilroy Airport Center Long Beach, which butts up to the 405 Freeway on one side and the Long Beach Airport on the other, is home to many corporate citizens, including the headquarters for Epson America, Inc., SCS Engineers, SCAN Health Plan and Moffatt & Nichol, among others. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

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CORPORATE PRESENCE September 2-15, 2014 Rubbercraft’s customers also have easy access to the company via the Long Beach Airport. “Some of our customers, if they have to, can even fly in to the Long Beach Airport and we can deliver a part right to the plane’s side and they can take off,” O’Toole said.

Shimadzu Aircraft Equipment is relocating from Torrance for similar reasons. “We make actuators that open the cargo doors on most of the commercial Boeing airplanes,” Joseph Lovegren, senior manager of general administration and compliance for Shimadzu, told the Business Journal.

“Boeing is one of our valuable customers,” Kiyotaka Ihara, president of the parent company and its aircraft division, said on a conference call with Lovegren and Shimadzu CFO Tina Kang. “They have offices around there [Douglas Park] so to have our facility near theirs is a very good advantage,” Ihara said.

The banking industry also has a strong presence in Long Beach, largely due to its central location and opportunities for business in the region, according to local banking executives. Take Farmers & Merchants (F&M) Bank for example – founded in Long Beach in 1907, it has been headquartered in the same building in Downtown Long Beach since 1923 and now employs about 300 people within the city.

Long Beach Business Journal 17-B “Farmers & Merchants as we sit here today is very close to being in the top 100 out of 6,000 banks in the country in asset size. But our home is Long Beach,” W. Henry Walker, F&M president, told the Business Journal. So why does F&M still call Long Beach home? “There is a huge amount of business that flows through Long Beach,” Walker responded. “We see Long Beach as a great place for F&M. It is an economically diverse community.”

Founded in Long Beach in the 1980s, International City Bank also remains headquartered in Long Beach. “We’re a full-service small business bank,” Michael Miller, the bank’s president and CEO, said. “There are certainly a variety of companies that are within the greater Long Beach area directly related to our target market,” he noted. “That’s part of the reason for our formation and focus in this particular area.”

Being located near many businesses is also helpful to Tredway Lumsdaine & Doyle, which draws clientele from the business community, Gold said.

In terms of an employment base, the health care industry may have the largest footprint in Long Beach, with major health plans, several local hospitals and many physicians’ offices located throughout the (Please Continue To Next Page)

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CORPORATE PRESENCE 18-B Long Beach Business Journal city. Health plan provider SCAN Health Plan, founded in Long Beach in 1977, is still headquartered here partially because of access to clientele, according to Sherry Stanislaw, senior vice president and general manager of the Southern California operations of SCAN. “A lot of our customers live in Long Beach,” Stanislaw said. “We provide health care to members who are eligible for Medicare. Most of those members are 65 years or older, and there is a very large retiree population in Long Beach and the surrounding area,” she explained. SCAN employs about 900 people in Long Beach.

Jeff Van Hoy, senior director of business

September 2-15, 2014 development for Dignity Health St. Mary Medical Center, said Long Beach is a good location for Dignity Health, an organization with 38 hospitals nationwide, due to the population base. With a growing 45 year-old to 65 year-old population in Long Beach, “the future is going to have an increased demand for health care needs,” Van Hoy said. “It’s not that we feel good about that, but we feel positioned to meet that need.”

It isn’t just proximity to clients in Long Beach, L.A. County, Orange County or within a few hundred miles that makes Long Beach a good place to operate a business – some companies choose Long

Beach because of its location in relation to clients in other countries.

“Long Beach is a more readily accessible location for customers and prospects based in Asia and Latin America,” Larry Flynn, president of Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, told the Business Journal via e-mail. “Not only can these operators get their aircraft serviced in Long Beach, but we can deliver a new aircraft to them from a site much closer to their home base,” he explained. Since 1986, the company has had maintenance operations for its jet aircraft at the Long Beach Airport, where more than 870 employees currently work.

At International City Bank, our expertise is helping businesses thrive. We offer a personalized and strategic business banking approach that allows you to focus your energy on what you do best.

A Talented, Educated Local Workforce usinesses located in Long Beach have the benefit of being close to many major universities, including the city’s own California State University, Long Beach. The university is consistently ranked by publications such as U.S. News & World Report as not only one of the best California State University schools but as one of the best in the western region of the United States. The city is also home to Long Beach City College, which produces graduates trained in trades from nursing to auto mechanics. There are many other public and private colleges nearby, including the University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Irvine, the University of Southern California (USC) and others.

Molina Healthcare, a company providing health plans through Medicaid, Medicare and other state insurance marketplaces, has had a presence in Long Beach since 1980.

Molina Healthcare is headquartered here with about 4,250 employees working within Long Beach. John Molina, CFO, said Long Beach is a good location for his company’s headquarters because, “first and foremost, it is a good area to draw employees from.”

Molina Healthcare works with local schools to train and hire employees. “We have had an internship program we developed in conjunction with Cal State Long Beach for a long time,” he said, adding that about 75 interns from the school are currently working at Molina. The company is working to develop similar programs with Long Beach City College and USC, he noted.

Moffatt & Nichol also works with Cal State Long Beach to find talent, Nichol said. Nichol, who is on the advisory board for the school’s College of Engineering, said his company’s founders helped to found the college. “It’s easy to find good skilled people who want to be here,” he said of he firm’s Long Beach location.

The California Trust Center for Wells Fargo, located in Downtown Long Beach with about 180 employees, also benefits from the local talent pool, according to Stephanie Adams, the center’s director.

“Long Beach is a great location because we are able to find a diverse and well-educated talent pool. We have a great workforce,” she said.

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A Growing Community And A Helpful City eing located in a city with a growing community and a business-friendly government is a key reason many businesses are located here, according to executives interviewed by the Business Journal.

“There is definitely a great business environment here,” JC Abusaid, president of fiduciary investment management firm

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CORPORATE PRESENCE September 2-15, 2014 Halbert Hargrove, told the Business Journal. “It is a dynamic city; it is growing,” he said. “We are in downtown so we have enjoyed all the commerce transformation, and the innovation in terms of having a lot of commercial space and attracting young families with all the new condos,” he reflected. Halbert Hargrove was founded in Long Beach in 1933 with three employees. The firm now employs 40 people in Long Beach and oversees $4 billion in capital, Abusaid said.

George Adams, president of SA Recycling, a scrap metal recycler and iron ore exporter with operations at the Port of Long Beach, said Long Beach is a great city to work with. “They have gone out of their way to help us, to be proactive, to be supportive and I just couldn’t ask for better partners than what we have found in [the City of] Long Beach,” he said of city staff.

Shiozaki of DENSO also lauded the city government. “The City of Long Beach has been a strong strategic partner that has helped us grow our business,” he said.

Yeatman of Mercedes said the city and port have “gone above and beyond” in helping the company move operations to Long Beach, calling them “pro-business.”

One of the reasons Nautilus International Holding is moving its headquarters to Long Beach after nine decades in Wilmington is

Long Beach Business Journal 19-B because “Long Beach is a very businessfriendly city,” Callahan said. “I think the city understands the nexus between the port and the city and how important it is,” he explained. Additionally, Douglas Park represented a unique opportunity to be a part of a “very progressive, innovative” business community,” he noted.

Frank Komin, executive vice president of California Resources Corporation, a spinoff company of Occidental Petroleum’s California assets, had glowing reviews of Long Beach. Oxy has had operations in Long Beach since 1965 through two divisions – the THUMS Long Beach Company and Tidelands Oil Production Company, contractors operating oil facilities for the City of Long Beach. “The city has an engaged, diverse populace, a civic-minded business community and an experienced professional staff in city government,” Komin told the Business Journal in an email. “It is a sophisticated city government that welcomes and works collaboratively with businesses and maintains and invests in key infrastructure.”

Peterson of P2S Engineering summed up many of the comments from leadership at companies throughout Long Beach: “We can’t see ourselves being anywhere else but Long Beach. It’s a great city, great community.” ■

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CORPORATE PRESENCE 20-B Long Beach Business Journal

Learn More About Some Of The Firms And Entities Doing Business In Long Beach (The following editorial has been provided by the advertiser)

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Customized training programs are developed to meet the needs of companies and organizations and are conveniently delivered through a variety of formats. Through one-on-one consultations, CSULB’s Corporate Education division develops flexible learning solutions to ensure that business training needs are met. Their clients have included: Long Beach Transit, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Goodwill SOLAC, Disney, Boeing, Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network and more.

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hildNet Youth and Family Services was founded in 1970 by a group of Long Beach civic leaders whose goal was to foster the social, emotional, and educational development of troubled and disadvantaged youth. It has since grown from a single youth home that served an average of 100 boys annually to an organization with six locations covering five counties, serving upwards of 7,850 clients annually. Our mission is to provide safe homes, education, and counseling to vulnerable children and families. Our program philosophy reinforces personal responsibility and emphasizes the need for a strong family unit.

ChildNet has been very fortunate to have a passionate and involved Board of

September 2-15, 2014 Directors who recognizes the vast and almost overwhelming need that exists; the need for specialized mental health services, quality foster homes and intensive services for foster youth, special education for atrisk students and support for families who face enormous challenges. In our attempt to meet this growing need, ChildNet leaders designed a Continuum of Care, which enables our professional staff to support clients as they work toward developing a stable family environment or making the often-difficult transition to independent living.

Since the establishment of our Continuum of Care, we have added Foster Family Network (FFN) in 1986; Zinsmeyer Academy in 1990; Behavioral Health Services (BHS) in 1999; Wraparound Support Services in 2006; and Adoption Services in 2009. BHS is our largest program and includes a partnership with FFN to provide Intensive Treatment Foster Care (ITFC) in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.

We firmly believe that every child deserves to live in a happy, safe and nurturing home. And every parent deserves the opportunity to receive the support they need to provide such a home for their children.

ChildNet is here to provide that support.

To learn more about ChildNet’s programs, please visit our website at www.childnet.net

Coldwell Banker Commercial BLAIR WESTMAC Can AB 1103 Stop The Sale Of Your Property?

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n November of 2007, California passed Assembly Bill 1103 (AB 1103), mandating energy benchmarking and energy disclosure for certain non-residential buildings.

Assembly Bill 1103 requires a nonresidential building owner or operator to benchmark a building’s energy use in advance of the sale, lease, financing or refinancing of the entire building. As of January 1, 2014, California requires owners to disclose their building’s energy use to a potential buyer, lender, or lessee.

Building Square footage Requirements: • On and after January 1, 2014, for a building with total gross floor area measuring 10,000 square feet or greater.

• On and after July 1, 2016, for a building with a total gross floor area measuring 5,000 square feet or greater.

As governmental legislation continues to change and influence the market it is important to work with a licensed real estate professional that can help guide you of through the purchase, sale and leasing process of your commercial property. For more information about AB 1103 go to: http://www.energy.ca.gov/ab1103.

Pictured: Becky Blair, CCIM President and Principal Coldwell Banker Commercial BLAIR WESTMAC AIR Commercial Real Estate Member LIC# 00630793 www.cbcblair.com

Landmark Square is the last major office building to open in Long Beach. The Class A building opened in May 1992 and is bounded by Ocean Boulevard, to the right, Pacific Avenue, shown in forefront, 1st Street to the left, and Pine Avenue. Some of the corporate citizens of Long Beach located at Landmark Square include California Resources Corporation (a spinoff of Occidental Petroleum), Wells Fargo, Halbert Hargrove and Merrill Lynch. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)

H & Y Rebar

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ired of driving to Glendale everyday, wife Kim pregnant with our first child and having just purchased our first home, we decided to open up a fabrication shop in Long Beach. I couldn’t have chosen a more stressful time to do it. With my wife Kim’s support, lots of prayers, and help from friends in the concrete and masonry business, I was able to open up shop. Now, with 40 employees – including my son, Chad – 27 years later, it is the only rebar company in Long Beach.

We specialize in anything from subterranean parking structures to backyard patios. And with a group of people who work as hard as these employees do, it is no wonder it is successful. Now with three children, Chad, Taylor and Jordan, and a grandchild Payton, I am starting to feel just a little older. Time flies by!

Fabrication and placing rebar has been done the same way for 50 years. They come up with faster ways to detail, but you still have to bend, and tie the rebar with pliers and roll of wire. The way to keep customers is to service them all as promised. Visit us at www.hyrebar.com for more information.

Pictured: Jim Hofheinz, President H &Y Rebar

Moffatt & Nichol

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n 1945, John Moffatt and Frank Nichol accepted the challenge of developing Southern California’s naval installations at Long Beach and Port Hueneme to be designed, built, and online to secure the nation’s Pacific Coast. They absorbed and mastered the challenges of marine design and construction – not just the piers, wharves and roads that were integral to the facilities – but also the complex interaction of marine structures with the coastal environment. As a result of these experiences and after the war, a partnership was formed that would revolutionize waterfront engineering through the next century.

During their distinguished careers, John Moffatt and Frank Nichol established a reputation for developing creative but practical designs, nurturing a company that continues that tradition today.

As one of the largest specialized maritime planning and engineering companies in the world, Moffatt & Nichol has played a major role in the evolution of the modern marine terminal. The company has earned an international reputation for providing innovative solutions to the complex challenges associated with moving all types of freight – from break bulk and automobiles to more specialized cargos such as coal, (Please Continue To Next Page)

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CORPORATE PRESENCE September 2-15, 2014 oil, biomass, and liquid natural gas.

Engineering News-Record recently ranked Moffatt & Nichol one of the top two firms for marine and port facilities. The key to our success is not only our core group of maritime engineers who specialize in waterfront engineering, but also our fullrange of technical capabilities.

Moffatt & Nichol also provides a wide range of transportation services throughout much of North and South America. The firm has planned, designed, and overseen the construction and rehabilitation of some of the most important bridge and grade separation projects and railway/intermodal facilities in the US. The firm provides the entire range of professional services for highways and multimodal facilities, including major freeways and urban highways, ferry terminals and systems, rural roads, bicycle/pedestrian paths and bridges, and demand management programs.

Moffatt & Nichol operates from 30 offices throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, the company serves a variety of public and private entities worldwide in several primary areas – marine terminals; coasts, water and the environment; waterfronts and marinas; transportation; inspection and rehabilitation; and energy. For more information about Moffatt & Nichol, please visit www.moffattnichol.com.

Pictured: Eric Nichol, President Moffatt & Nichol

NuVision Financial

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ave you discovered the credit union difference when it comes to commercial real estate loans? NuVision is one of Southern California’s leading credit unions in Orange County, headquartered in Huntington Beach with 13 branches throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

When you bring your commercial business to NuVision, you’ll be in close contact with a team of business lenders who are committed to growing your business.

Since NuVision is a credit union, we are able to customize our programs to fit your needs. As a local lender, we understand the marketplace and can help you with the needs of your business. Some features you can expect on your commercial real estate loans are no pre-payment penalties, loans up $7 million, 30-year amortizations, and competitive fixed rates on various terms.

Look to NuVision as your business partner, and work directly with your loan officer from start to finish on your loan. In addition to commercial loans, NuVision also offers working capital loans and business credit cards.

When you work with NuVision to purchase or refinance a building, you’ll discover the credit union difference. Our Business Banking Officers are here to answer your questions and get you started on one of the most important decisions you’ll make.

NuVision is a financial cooperative owned by its members, not outside investors. Every member of NuVision becomes an owner when they join the credit union. In 1935, we started by serving the employees of Douglas Aircraft; and now, more than 75 years later, you too can take advantage of NuVision’s great products and services.

Long Beach Business Journal 21-B

P2S Engineering, Inc. Think Green, Build Strong

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2S is a full-service engineering firm at the forefront of green and sustainable design. For nearly 25 years, we’ve worked with clients in a range of industries – from higher education and healthcare to aerospace and waterfront development – to help elevate the quality and efficiency of their physical space through effective mechanical, electrical and plumbing design. Whether we’re working with retrofit projects, central plant enhancements, or new construction, our engineers focus special attention on efficiencies and leverage our experience to provide sustainable solutions that are both innovative and cost-effective. Think green, build strong: It’s the P2S way.

In addition to design, P2S conducts feasibility studies, and provides master planning and commissioning services. In short, we know how buildings should work, and we create designs to make them work better. Our certified commissioning agents and engineers work in tandem to assess the needs of local businesses, and to create the operating solutions that help them run more efficiently.

Think Green P2S is passionate about designing systems that have a minimal impact on the earth’s natural resources. Our engineers deliver solutions with measurable and verifiable energy savings, which in turn help our clients meet even the most challenging operational goals. In fact, nearly 1/3 of P2S technical staff is LEED certified. LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class sustainable building strategies and practices.

And Build Strong At P2S, we’ve won numerous awards for our work, especially in the field of green engineering. In 2014, one of our projects, the San Diego State University Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union, received the University of California Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Best Practice Award for Overall Sustainable Design. The structure is on track to become the largest LEED Platinum education building in California.

P2S has also been named: • Engineering Giants 300 (No. 48) for 2014, CSE Magazine • Top 25 (No. 16) University Sector Engineering Firms 2014, Building Design+Construction Magazine Leadership P2S founders Kevin and Kent Peterson are both graduates of Cal State Long Beach, and both continue to play an active role in the local community. Their innovative entrepreneurial style led P2S to be named among the “Best Places to Work in LA” by the LA Business Journal for the last six years running. In 2012, the brothers were named Entrepreneurs of the Year by the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce.

P2S Engineering | 562-497-2999 | www.p2seng.com Pictured: Kevin Peterson, President P2S Engineering Inc.

The Petrie Financial Group of Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC

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he ever-changing markets create a financial landscape that requires a hands-on approach to investment planning. That’s why our accessible and informed team offers a thoughtful and practical perspective on all of life’s critical financial decisions. We will help guide you as we work together to weigh your options and identify your unique goals. By constantly questioning conventional wisdom, we provide objective, insightful and timely advice.

Our approach pairs personal attention with informed solutions for balancing risk and growth in your portfolio. We will learn about the things you value most, clarify the goals you want to achieve for yourself and your family, and get a sense of the future you envision.

We deliver advice that is integrated, comprehensive and customized for you, with each member of our team contributing specialized perspectives and experience.

We strive to preserve and grow your wealth while helping you make the best long-term decisions through our portfolio management process, which is based on disciplined planning and analysis of your overall financial situation. With an integrated private plan in place, we can provide investment recommendations that are strategically aligned with your aspirations.

Areas of interest may be: • Investment planning, including portfolio management and tax-advantaged strategies • Retirement planning • Business advisory services, including corporate retirement plans and cash management • Life insurance, annuities and longterm care • Estate planning and investment strategies • Access to lending services through Wells Fargo affiliates Lisa and her team of financial professionals have been providing customized strategies focused on investment planning and management for families and businesses since 1984.

A graduate of the University of California, Lisa is a Managing Director, Senior PIM Portfolio Manager and Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®). After considering such factors as assets, revenue and customer satisfaction, Barron’s has named Lisa as one of the Top 100 Women Financial Advisors.

Today, trusted financial advice is more important than ever. We take the responsibility of providing that advice very seriously.

Our aim is to be your hands-on partner, committed to a relationship that’s relevant to your life and focused on your financial success. www.thepetriegroup.com, 562.799.2182 Pictured: Lisa A. Petrie, CFP Managing Director – Investments Senior PIM Portfolio Manager

PMC

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MC, a trusted advisor to municipalities throughout California since 1995, is celebrating one year of serving clients from its Long Beach office. With more than 130 professionals in offices throughout the Western United States, the firm has successfully worked with over 200 municipal governments to help them realize their vision for a more sustainable

future and create a sense of place and purpose for their communities.

Driven by an increase in development projects, municipal needs for general plan and zoning updates, and a new outlook by municipal governments on how they staff their planning offices, PMC’s Long Beach office has grown from 4 to 14. The local office provides planning and environmental assistance to a number of long-range planning projects in the region, including comprehensive general plan updates for the cities of Huntington Beach and Hermosa Beach, and the development of a Local Coastal Program for the City of Seal Beach.

“The recent recession has limited municipal governments to keep up with the changing economy,” said PMC’s CEO Phil Carter. “Despite having smaller budgets and fewer resources and staff, municipal governments are still obligated to perform all the duties that a city needs to function, including meeting increased demands for services as the economy rebounds.”

PMC is embedded with numerous local planning agencies working on a number of projects and initiatives which are widely considered to be among the most progressive and cutting edge in municipal planning.

PMC’s unique business model of providing on-call contract staffing to municipal governments’ planning offices has given the firm an edge over the competition and positioned the Long Beach office for further expansion and to double in size again by 2015. The office’s key growth strategy – and philosophy – is to focus on hiring outstanding planners who live in the area and understand local communities. Having that home-grown perspective helps to create successful projects that implement a community’s values and policy direction from their elected representatives.

“As planners, we take a lot of pride in designing livable and desirable communities,” said principal and Long Beach office manager Al Warot. “Our staff hails from all over the area. This gives us a unique opportunity to have a hand in designing the communities in which we live, work, and play consistent with policy direction. Everyone in this office shares that passion for making their hometown a better place. That’s not something that our competitors can boast.”

Pictured: Al Warot, Long Beach Office Manager, PMC

Queen Mary

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nce a world-class ocean liner, the Queen Mary is now a full-service Long Beach hotel, historical landmark and entertainment venue, offering guests unique accommodations and a wide array of attractions that simply cannot be found anywhere else.

With an impressive history and tradition of excellence, the Queen Mary gives visitors a unique glimpse into a bygone era when steamships were the most regal way to travel, an experience that visitors will never forget. Marrying iconic tradition and modern technology, the Queen Mary has everything necessary to facilitate a flawless event experience and is one of the most unique meeting, conference and social gathering destinations in Southern California.

With over 80,000 square feet of functional meeting, exhibit, banquet and event space in 14 remarkable Art Deco salons, the Queen Mary provides an unrivaled authentic histor(Please Continue To Next Page)

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CORPORATE PRESENCE 22-B Long Beach Business Journal ical event experience and is the perfect place to host a celebration or social gathering of any kind. Conference rooms start at 522 square feet, perfect for smaller, more intimate setting; while ceiling height ranges from seven feet to an astonishing 130 feet in our 70,000 square foot Queen Mary Dome.

From corporate year-end-events to sorority or fraternity parties, anniversaries, baby showers and more, the Queen Mary is more than just an events venue – it’s an entire experience. From historic tours, to paranormal attractions, shops, spa and various events, there are a wide variety of things to do and see while aboard the ship.

The Queen Mary’s award-winning culinary staff creates innovative banquet cuisine for groups from 10 to 5,000 and even offers event goers the unique experience of enjoying the maiden voyage meal. Our chef’s expertly recreate the meal that travelers ate in 1936 when the Queen Mary first set sail. Take a culinary journey with world-class meals from all over the globe.

When the Queen Mary epitomized luxury ocean travel, she raised the bar for customer service and satisfaction. Although the ship no longer crosses the Atlantic Ocean, our dedication to customer service has never wavered. From the moment you step onto our famed wooden decks to the moment you depart, we guarantee you will receive nothing but first-class treatment.

Transport yourself back in time aboard the legendary Queen Mary.

Republic Services “We’ll Handle It From Here” Customer First: t Republic Services, there are no more important relationships than the ones forged with each customer.

Listening and understanding the needs and wants today, and to anticipate how each customer may evolve is essential in providing the services of tomorrow.

We’ll handle it from here™, Republic’s tagline, lets customers know that they can count on the Blue Trucks to provide an effortless experience, backs the promise that service will be on-time, a customer will never be missed, the area will be clean and supports the promise to deliver superior products and services to meet customers’ needs; and remind customers about Republic’s environmental commitment.

In the end, it means caring about making a difference in customers’ lives, while helping them feel at ease, uplifted, even delighted in choosing Republic Services.

National Strength: Republic Services is the second largest non-hazardous solid waste collection and recycling services company in the US providing service for commercial, industrial, municipal and residential customers through 336 collection operations in 39 states and Puerto Rico. Republic’s assets and infrastructure consists of ownership or operation of 199 transfer stations, 190 active solid waste landfills, 69 recycling centers and 64 landfill gas and renewable energy projects.

While operations are national in scope, physical collection and disposal of waste is very much a local business and the dynamics and opportunities differ in each market.

By combining local operating management with standardized business practices, cus-

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September 2-15, 2014 tomers receive greater overall operating efficiency across the service spectrum with day-to-day operating decisions maintained at the local level, closest to the customer.

Long Beach Area: Republic is the largest holder of exclusive solid waste collection and recycling services in the market. Holding 37 long-term contracts in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino Counties and servicing over 225,000 residential and just under 20,000 commercial/industrial accounts, Republic is a leader in environmental sustainability and management. In addition, Republic has non-exclusive contracts or permits for residential and/or commercial solid waste collection and recycling services in twenty-one (21) jurisdictions in the L.A. County area and 34,000 open area commercial/industrial accounts in the County.

In the market the company owns and/or operates a materials recovery facility, six transfer stations, and one landfill and the largest Materials Recovery Facility in Southern California. Its operations facilities in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Gardena, Sun Valley and Anaheim dispatch over 600 frontline collection vehicles daily.

Republic is also a proud local employer employing many local residents who serve the communities in which they live.

Pictured: Ron Krall, Area President Republic Services

Science Care Change The Future Of Health Care s an alternative to traditional burial, funeral, or cremation, the Science Care whole body donation program offers the chance to make a contribution benefitting others. You can help advance medical research and training and improve quality of life for patients and the community.

There is no age limit with the Science Care donor program and most all will qualify, including those with cancer, heart disease, arthritis and diabetes. Pre-registration with the program is NOT required. Plus, you can often choose to be both a whole body donor and an organ donor for transplant. By donating your whole body to research, you live on by allowing doctors, surgeons and medical students the ability to study new life-saving medical and surgical procedures, techniques and treatments.

And there is an overwhelming need for whole body donors. Whole body donation for medical research and training immediately impacts and furthers the knowledge and skills of physicians and surgeons, improving the quality of life for patients today and for future generations.

A life-affirming choice, the Science Care donor program is no cost to the donor or family, and each donor and family is treated with compassion, care, respect and dignity. Upon acceptance, the program covers the costs of transportation from the location of passing, cremation with the return of cremated remains in 3-5 weeks and the filing of the death certificate.

A few areas in which whole body donors are advancing medicine: • Heart disease treatment development • Diabetes • Joint replacements • Cancer research • Osteoporosis

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• Advanced drug delivery • Alzheimer’s research Body Donation Process The process for donating your body is straightforward and intended to be simple for your caregivers and loved ones.

• It begins with a short medical screening over the phone, either at the time of passing or when under hospice care, to determine if the donor matches current research criteria.

• Our team will coordinate the transportation and obtaining of proper, legal consent.

• The tissue is placed with a variety of medical research and education projects.

• The tissue not utilized for research is cremated and available for return within 35 weeks.

• Following donation, the family will receive information regarding the current research projects.

Science Care’s local donation center is in Long Beach, but we also serve nationwide.

To learn more, join the registry of donors or to begin the donation process, call Science Care anytime at 800.417.3747 I Support Life® Pictured: Melinda Ellsworth, Director Donor Services, Science Care

Signal Hill Petroleum

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ignal Hill Petroleum is an independently owned California-based energy company specializing in the sustainable exploration, development, and production of oil and gas in urban areas. Over our three decades of operation, we have developed a unique expertise, not only in urban oil and gas production operations, but also in urban drilling and seismic exploration.

We here at Signal Hill Petroleum believe in the importance of sustainability as it relates to the oil and gas industry; not just in regard to the environment, but also by sustaining our local community and economy.

Our primary focus is to provide the next generation with an exceptional standard of living, with a healthy environment to live in, and jobs they can obtain to support themselves and the community in the future.

Over the years, we have lead the way in establishing responsible operating techniques and technologies that have been the foundation for safely co-existence with closelyspaced residential and commercial neighbors.

Our ability to successfully operate in such close proximity to homes and businesses is entirely unique and unprecedented within the industry. We have taken on the challenges brought on by this urban environment by pioneering and utilizing new technologies.

Our company has developed in-house production equipment, techniques, and seismic exploration technology that has allowed for safe drilling in the most urban environments, bringing value to both residential and commercial developments in Long Beach and Signal Hill. With well locations placed near homes, in shopping center parking lots and nestled among City parks, our exploration team puts priority on safety and maintaining good neighborhood relations in our efforts to access new oil and gas sources.

As part of our environmental efforts, we have invested in a cutting-edge emissions control electrical turbine generator that uses its own natural gas to power its operations.

What would otherwise be stranded gas, a biproduct from the oil production, is turned into the cleanest electricity in the country.

We firmly believe in investing in the

communities where our business footprint resides, and are proud to partner with local programs that directly benefit local residents and businesses. This commitment to serving our community through investing in education, community programs and philanthropic initiatives made us the 2013 winner of the Oil & Gas Award in Corporate Social Responsibility. Our goal is always to be the best neighbor possible.

Wells Fargo Mobile Services Are Important To Our Customers, So They Are Important To Us usinesses are looking at technology and innovations all the time. They want new ways to be more efficient and therefore save time that they can devote to serving their customers,” said Ben Alvarado, pictured, Orange County and Long Beach Regional Banking President. “Our CEO Mobile services are essential for these companies. For people who are always on the go or out of the office, mobile deposit capability is a major asset because it does something huge: it eliminates the time spent driving to the bank or the office to make deposits.”

Businesses Deposit $1 Billion Through Wells Fargo Mobile App Wells Fargo’s customers have the longest history of any bank benefitting from time saving, cash-flow conveniences found in business mobile banking, because we were the first major U.S. bank to offer mobile services for corporate and commercial customers. Recently our business customers have made more than $1 billion in mobile deposits through our CEO Mobile® Deposit service. With the free CEO Mobile iPhone app, customers can use an iPhone or iPad to quickly scan and deposit checks and money orders conveniently and securely, enabling them to speed up their cash flow.

About The CEO® Portal And The CEO Mobile service The Commercial Electronic Office® (CEO) portal offers Wells Fargo commercial and corporate customers single sign-on access to nearly 90 online banking applications and reports, including cash management, credit, investments, foreign exchange, trade finance, capital markets, trust, insurance, and health benefits. The CEO Mobile service is an extension of select CEO portal services, giving customers the ability to access accounts and make important decisions when they’re in a meeting, on the go, or traveling. Customers can use the CEO Mobile service to initiate and approve payments, make deposits, receive alerts, review balances and reports, transfer funds, manage business expenses, and administer and reset passwords.

Mobile Banking Security Wells Fargo has 12 million active mobile customers. All Wells Fargo Mobile® Banking services use the same security standards as Wells Fargo Online®.

• View accounts by nicknames you set, not account number • Online Security Guarantee coverage • 128-bit encryption masks your sensitive information If a business or retail customer’s phone or tablet is lost or stolen we have 24/7 assistance to deactivate your app, 1-866863-6762 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to deactivate your account. ■

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Long Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau U U U U

One-Stop Resource For Meetings & Conventions Industry Award-Winning Convention Service & Sales Teams First Class Accommodations State-of-the-Art Convention Center

Let Us Help Make Your Next Meeting Or Convention A Success For more information, please contact Steve Goodling at (562) 495-8350 or visit our website at visitlongbeach.com

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