April 22: Earth Day
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S erving B ixBy K nollS , C alifornia H eigHtS , l oS C erritoS , W rigley Vol. 32 No. 46
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Celebrity racers from Grand Prix visit patients at Miller Children’s Hospital More than a dozen celebrities from the Pro/Celebrity race at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach made a pit stop at Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach on April 14. Kevin Jonas of the pop group The Jonas Brothers, actor Stephen Moyer of HBO’s vampire series True Blood, actor Kim Coates from the FX series Sons of Anarchy, Jillian Reynolds of Good Day LA, actress Megyn Price from CBS’s Rules of Engagement and UFC light heavyweight Tito Ortiz were among the competitors from the race who went room to room visiting patients. Since 1992, the child life program
and tHe
at Miller Children’s has received generous gifts from Toyota Motor Sales USA. Toyota donates money for each Pro/Celebrity driver to the Racing for Kids Foundation– a nonprofit fundraising program that supports Miller Children’s and other children’s hospitals. “We are honored to have the Grand Prix celebrity racers stop by to visit the kids,” said Rita Goshert, manager, Child Life, Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach. “They bring a tremendous amount of joy to our pediatric patients and their families through this often very overwhelming time.”
April 22, 2011
No permits yet for medical marijuana dispensaries in LB CJ Dablo Staff Writer
Although they’ve already survived a change in city ordinances that now prohibits them from operating near parks, medical marijuana dispensaries are still going through a rigorous process before the City of Long Beach issues any permits, a city official confirmed. The future of marijuana dispensaries is still in question for those dispensaries that did survive last year’s
lottery process in which the City randomly chose the collective/cultivation sites that would be allowed to move forward in their efforts to become recognized businesses operating within city limits. In addition, the City is still in the process of dealing with the numerous dispensaries that are prohibited. “We are working aggressively on enforcement issues with the city attorney’s office in the efforts to shut [them] down,” said Business Relations
Bureau Manager Erik Sund, of the illegal dispensaries. The Business Relations Bureau is part of the City’s Department of Financial Management. Approximately 26 sites were named on the City website’s list of lottery winners, however, according to Sund, the individual marijuana dispensaries still need to meet specific requirements and be reviewed in a public hearing before city permits are see dispensaries page 15
Community showcase highlights North Long Beach Stephanie Raygoza Editorial Intern
Courtesy Miller Children’s
Kevin Jonas of the singing group The Jonas Brothers stops to take a photo with patient Micah on his way through Miller Children’s last week.
Just as the ocean’s main resource is water, the community’s main resource is people, said Ninth District Councilmember Steven Neal as he invited visitors, residents and stakeholders to come together for the common goal of discovering North Long Beach at his office’s Discover the 9th District Community Showcase. Although the showcase last Saturday at the Long Beach Logistics Center was cut short because of a gas leak that prompted a building evacuation, guests were still able to take in a few words from Neal and take advantage of the several exhibits and activities, along with seeing the unveiling of the community’s official website. “We want to create a starting point for greater community dialogue about how we can come together with North Long Beach residents and stakeholders to inspire the community for self-discovery,” Neal said. More than 15 exhibits from different organizations, businesses and neighborhood associations capitalized on the theme of discovery by providing informative interactions with community members. The North Village Library, Rancho Los Cerritos Heritage, Long Beach Bike
Photo by Matt Sun
Ninth District Councilmember Steve Neal hosted a showcase last Saturday to share his area’s resources with the community.
Master Plan, Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum, the North Long Beach Initiative and the Redevelopment Agency/North Project Area Committee were a few of the participants. “Today’s program is designed to highlight our community from a unique history and very diverse community and some very exciting public and private developments in our community like the North Long Beach Library and the $105 million Jordan High School renovation,” Neal said.
He kicked off the event by urging visitors to discover what the community holds and the possible benefits that it brings. In showcasing the event’s participants, Neal also stressed that the importance of creating an ideal community requires identifying resources in the community and supporting that effort. “Every preceding problem in our community is actually recognition of a lack of functionality within the community,” Neal said. “It is important that we acknowledge our diverse see discover page 15