Greetings Mariners,

As we enter week 8 of COVID-19, please be reassured by knowing that our team continues to adapt and rise to the challenge of providing critical services during these difficult times. While portions of life are at a standstill your marinas and beaches staff are still hard at work. Recent storm debris in the waterways and on the beaches, is being removed. Landscaping improvements and maintenance continues to provide beauty and joy. Work order requests are being addressed to ensure the safe enjoyment of the marinas. Restrooms are cleaned and detailed daily to aid in preserving your health. Launch ramps and marina docks are checked daily. Marina Agents continue to provide customer service via phone, email, or by appointment. Marine Safety and Marine Patrol remain on duty to provide in-water and land security and emergency response services.

In addition to providing core services, our staff have been assigned to support the COVID-19 Response Team. Lifeguards have been assigned to the Rapid Assessment Clinic at Long Beach City College, Pacific Coast Campus. Custodial Services staff is providing daily cleaning services for persons experiencing homelessness during this pandemic at the Silverado Park shelter. Several staff are providing administrative support for the All Hazards Incident Management Team and the Emergency Operations Center. Maintenance staff conducts daily inspections and repairs of barricades and social distancing & closure signage along the City’s tidelands areas. It makes me extremely proud to be a part of a Team that serves the public under all circumstances. It is what we do best!

As we move forward Marina management is working diligently to curtail operating and maintenance expenditures. We also recognize that many of you are feeling the economic impact of the “Safer at Home” health order. Marina fees, like all fees across the City, are still due as scheduled. Please note that we are willing to work with you. However, you must do your part by communicating your need promptly. Contact Todd Leland, Marine Operations Superintendent or myself with information regarding your specific situation. By working together, we can ensure the continued viability of the marina and more importantly, the lasting enjoyment of your vessel.
 
You’ve probably also seen some new faces around the docks and parking lots. Since our last communication, the Marine Patrol Division has hired five new officers and Police Sergeant James Smigla, was appointed in late February as the officer over the Division. When you see them, stop and introduce yourselves, let them know who you are, what your concerns are and more importantly welcome them to our community.

As always, send in your suggestions and feedback on matters that are important to you, your voice matters.

Until next time,

Elvira Hallinan
Your Long Beach Marinas Manager
As we adhere to the City of Long Beach Safer At Home order through May 15 please continue to do just that. Stay safer at home and only come to the marinas or your vessel to complete vital tasks or for an essential activity.

All Beaches remain closed at this time. Our waterways remain open and accessible by Davies and South Shore Launch Ramps. Practice appropriate social-distancing and keep six-feet of distance between you and others out in public at all times. Wear face coverings when unable to insure six-feet of distance and wash/sanitize your hands frequently.

Marine Bureau staff is on duty and continues to maintain the marinas. Please keep docks, fingers and gangways clean and clear to allow enough social-distancing space for staff and your fellow mariners. 

Did You Know
Red tide is a common name for algal blooms, which are large concentrations of aquatic microorganisms, such as protozoans and unicellular algae (e.g. dinoflagellates and diatoms). The upwelling of nutrients from the sea floor, often following massive storms, provides for the algae and triggers bloom events. Algal blooms can occur worldwide, and natural cycles can vary regionally. The growth and persistence of an algal bloom depends on wind direction and strength, temperature, nutrients, and salinity content of the water. Certain species of phytoplankton and dinoflagellates like ‘Gonyaulax’ contain photosynthetic pigments that vary in color from brown to red. These organisms undergo such rapid multiplication that they make the sea appear red.
With Memorial Day ahead of us we hope many will proudly fly an American flag as part of their celebration.

Your flag should be clean with no tears, rips, or soils. Sometimes all your flag needs is a proper cleaning to return to its original appearance, extending its life. If that is the case, flags can easily be washed with mild detergent and cold water, then hung or laid flat to dry. But if you see your flag has no more life in it, then yes, it’s time to go.

A worn flag that is “no longer a fitting emblem for display” should be retired in a dignified way. The Seal Beach Yacht Club is honored to coordinate with Cub Scout Pack 116, The Captain’s Locker and The Sun Newspaper to respectfully retire worn or torn flags. To properly retire any worn American flag bring it to Captain’s Locker at 194 N. Marina Drive or The Sun Newspaper at 216 Main Street in Seal Beach. If you purchase a new flag at Captain’s Locker they will also donate a portion of the purchase price to Pack 116. Please check with them in advance for office hours by calling The Captain’s Locker at (562) 598-6611 and The Sun Newspaper (562) 430-7555.

The Boy Scouts of America have a long history of properly retiring flags. At our flag retirement ceremony concluding this program Chaplain George Vogel from the Veteran’s Affairs Hospital will provide a blessing. For more information about the flag retiring ceremony visit: http://www.usscouts.org/ceremony/flagret1.asp.
Please join us in welcoming aboard our new Marine Patrol Sergeant, James Smigla a Long Beach native. He attended Millikan High School and joined the Marine Corps upon graduation. He has over twelve years of service with the Long Beach Police Department. He comes to Marine Patrol having worked as a Patrol Sergeant in the East and West divisions. Prior to promoting, Sergeant Smigla was a detective with the Special Victims Section, worked as a Field Training Officer, Terrorism Liaison Officer, and was an Arrest and Control Instructor. Also joining Sgt. Smigla’s Marine Patrol detail are five new Special Services Officers.

Officer Flournoy grew up in Bellflower and graduated from Los Alamitos High School. While attending college, he joined the Marine Corps as a reservist. After graduation he enlisted into the Army full-time. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in criminal justice.

Officer Guerrero grew up in Orange County. He graduated from Western High School and attended Santa Ana Community College before enlisting into the Marine Corps. After his four years of active duty service, Officer Guerrero became a Wildland Firefighter with the United States Forest Service.

Officer Hutt grew up in Los Angeles County and is a twelve-year resident of Long Beach. She attended California State University Dominguez Hills where she earned a bachelor’s degree in organizational behavior with a minor in public administration.

Officer Pina grew up in Long Beach and attended Wilson High School. After graduation he moved to Santa Barbara where he worked as a firefighter engineer. He missed the city and has since returned to Long Beach to pursue a career in Law Enforcement.

Officer Valencia is a Long Beach native. He graduated from Jordan High School and attended Long Beach City College prior to enlisting in the Marine Corps. Officer Valencia has also spent several years volunteering at the American Cancer Society’s Camp Summersault Day Camp for children.

Long Beach Lifeguards keep the public safe at the beach and in the marinas, but in April they stepped up in a remarkable way for the Greater Long Beach community. Lifeguard Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) volunteered to assist with the COVID-19 drive-thru testing site located at Long Beach City College, Pacific Coast Campus.

The group showed up eager, attentive, and ready to serve during an unprecedented time. They demonstrated professionalism and commitment to serving the public; going above and beyond their conventional roles as ocean lifeguards. Each day there were close to 100 scheduled appointments throughout a three-hour period. The lifeguards were responsible for directing traffic, checking-in those with appointments, handing out the self-testing kits and thoroughly explaining the self-testing procedures.

Lifeguards at the testing site did a remarkable job keeping the system running in a safe, efficient and timely manner. When it came time to move on from the assignment they trained members of the National Guard in the proper procedures to ensure that the testing site would continue to run as smooth as possible. The Long Beach Fire Department, Marine Safety Division is incredibly proud of this group’s diligence and would like to thank all those on the front lines working to keep our community safe.

The Marine Safety staff that worked at the site were: Devon Beebe, Carlos Jimenez, Shawn Farnell, Nick Korsgaden, Ryan Spalding, Chase McColl, Charli Chavarria, Gabriel Buso, Carlos Rojas, Jake Weir, and Paige Cooper.
Temporary shelters opened on April 2 at King and Silverado Park were the first of several that have been set up to serve vulnerable populations impacted by COVID-19. Between the two locations the City of Long Beach is sheltering approximately 130 people experiencing homelessness. The facilities also provide showers, meals, snacks, recreation with social distancing, and additional social service resources that support long term housing.

An operation of this scope requires diligent and vigorous cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting on a daily basis at both shelter locations. Marine Maintenance Custodial staff was assigned the critical task from the start. Tony Esparza - Building Services Supervisor, Anthony Vasquez – Maintenance Assistant III and custodial leads Edna Alvarado, Carmen Viveros and Samuel Zapata have met the challenge and are providing a tremendous service to the Greater Long Beach community.

The entire Marine Maintenance Custodial team has spent time at the shelters to make certain the facilities are ready to serve and provide resources to less fortunate individuals adversely impacted by COVID-19, all while still working seven days a week in the Long Beach Marinas. Dedication and professionalism of this level was recently recognized by our Mayor, Dr. Robert Garcia.

“We are committed to providing shelter to the most vulnerable members of our community in a way that allows for social distancing, especially during this public health crisis,” said Mayor Garcia. “I am so proud of our City Team working around the clock to provide much needed support to those in need, and our City Council for supporting this important work.”

Also putting in custodial hours at the shelters are maintenance staff members Ed Betancourt, Otilia Castro, Raul Chavez, Brian Grimes, Guadalupe Gutierrez, Warren Jackson, Anthony McGinest, Felipe Meza, Hector Morquecho, Maria Narvaez, Soccoro Simental and Victor Trujillo.
Jeff King, Parks Maintenance Supervisor and Alex Perez, Gardener II continue to implement their landscape revitalization plan across both Alamitos Bay and the Downtown marinas.

At Mother’s Beach the planter beds on either side of the parking lot had at least fifty percent plant vacancy. Maintenance staff had Raphiolepis and Flax in stock so they went with this plant pallet throughout the beds. They were able to procure additional purple/bronze Flax and Pink Lady Raphiolepis in 15-gallon containers so the size of the new plants match the existing plants. When the planting was finished a fresh layer of mulch was laid in the beds as well.

In the Downtown Marinas a landscape renovation near Pier J is complete. What was once a barren dirt slope with a row of trees blighted by disease now has a modern design teeming with plant life. Complete soil remediation and a new retaining wall will help foster the growth of planted Podocarpus trees and Myoporum ground cover. The flora will be supported for years to come by a newly installed water-saving irrigation system.
Long Beach Police........................... 911
Marine Patrol Emergency.............. 911 or 9911 (Dock Phone)
Non Emergency........................... (562) 435-6711
Shoreline Office.......................... (562) 570-4950
Alamitos Bay Office................. (562) 570-3215

Maintenance:
Office hours............................. (562) 570-1582
After office hours..................... (562) 570-3101