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Merry Christmas, District 5; and beginning on the 26th, Happy Kwanzaa! To those who observe these special holidays, I wish you a joyous and peaceful celebration, making warm memories with loved ones. Regardless of what or if you celebrate, I hope you all enjoy the long weekend, breaks from school, and any well-deserved vacations as we move towards wrapping up the end of the year.
As a reminder, several City facilities and services will be closed for the Christmas holiday observance on December 25th, including our CD5 Office. Click here for a complete list of affected City facilities and services. Please note, Long Beach Transit will be operating on a “reduced Sunday schedule” on Christmas Day; click here to see their hours of service.
As Long Beach Unified schools take their winter breaks, the Parks, Recreation & Marine Department will be offering Winter Fun Days at various parks all over the city from December 26 – 29 and January 2 – 5 from 12pm – 5pm. The free, extended supervision recreation program for youth ages 5 – 12 will include activities such as arts & crafts, sports tournaments, holiday celebrations, and more! Click here to learn more or see the flyer below to call the location of your choice for more information.
As for upcoming events, tomorrow, December 23rd, you can get some last-minute holiday shopping in at the Giving and Gifting Female Makers Market on the Hangar Lawn at LBX from 12pm – 5:30pm. Shop from over 40 woman-owned small businesses for a range of products while enjoying live entertainment and LBX eateries. Support these female entrepreneurs and make an added impact—they’ll be donating a portion of your purchase to the Long Beach Rescue Mission to aid people experiencing homelessness this holiday season. Then, next Wednesday, December 27th, you can celebrate Kwanzaa with the community, at the African American Cultural Center of Long Beach’s Kwanzaa Celebration. Doors at the Expo Arts Center (4321 Atlantic Ave) will open at 5pm. Join in for a cultural celebration that will include music, dancing, a candle lighting ceremony, a Karamu Feast, and more. Find more information in the flyers below.
Finally, save the date for the upcoming State of the City address by Mayor Rex Richardson on Tuesday January 9, 2024, at 5:30pm in the Terrace Theater (300 E Ocean Blvd) to highlight key accomplishments led by the City of Long Beach in 2023 and to discuss priority focus areas for the year ahead. The State of the City is free and open to the public. Community members are invited to attend in person (RSVP required) or watch the livestream on the City’s social pages or LBTV. The next normally scheduled Council meeting will be held the following week on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. A list of items of interest will be included in a future newsletter.
As always, I am grateful for your continued engagement with me and my office, and I look forward to seeing you out in the community.
Happy Holidays,
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Megan Kerr, Councilwoman
Long Beach, District 5
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Upcoming Events &
Community Meetings
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Long Beach Police Department
News & Reminders
East Division DUI Checkpoint - 12/22/23
Tonight, December 22, 2023, LBPD will be holding a Driving Under the Influence (DUI)/Driver's License (CDL) Checkpoint somewhere in the East Division from 6:00pm to 2:00am. The East Division covers a large area of the city; the checkpoint may or may not be located within our district. Click here for a map of LBPD Divisions.
DUI checkpoint locations are determined based on data showing incidents of impaired driving-related crashes. The primary purpose of DUI checkpoints is to promote public safety by taking suspected impaired drivers off the road.
The LBPD reminds the public that impaired driving is not just from alcohol. Some prescription medications and over-the-counter drugs may interfere with driving. While medicinal and recreational marijuana are legal, driving under the influence of marijuana is illegal. Click here for more information.
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Long Beach Recycles
News & Reminders
Free Holiday Treecycling
Long Beach Recycles reminds us after the holidays to keep the memories, but recycle the tree! From December 26th through January 12th, recycle your tree at one of the 12 Treecycling Drop-Off locations throughout the city! The location within CD5 is at Wardlow Park (Monlaco Rd at Rutgers Ave). Click here or see the flyer for the full list of drop-off locations.
If you are unable to drop your tree off, free holiday tree pickup will be available for City refuse and recycling customers on Saturday, January 13th. Please place the tree where your recycling is normally collected by 7:00am. Remember:
- All decorations and stands must be removed
- Trees over 12' should be cut in half
- Flocked trees will be accepted
Have questions or need more information? Visit longbeach.gov/lbrecycles or call (562) 570 2689.
Recycle Right This Holiday Season
Ribbons, bows, and ties help add that finishing touch to any gift wrap. But, Long Beach Recycles puts them on the Naughty List when it comes to recycling because they are NOT recyclable! To reduce waste, try keeping them to reuse for future gift wrapping. For more recycling tips, check out these general Recycling Guidelines or follow @LBRecycles on Instagram.
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Long Beach Parking Services
News & Reminders
Preferential Parking Permit Renewals
To those of you who are holders of preferential parking permits, it may be time to renew! The purple-colored permits expire on 12/31/23. You may have already received your permit renewal notice in the mail. If you have not, or if you would like to renew your permit online, visit the Parking Permits webpage and click "Parking Permits Portal" to access your account. You will need your username and password for this online portal. If you do not remember your username and/or password, please call (562) 570 6822 or email FM-Parkingcitation@longbeach.gov for assistance.
As a reminder, Preferential Parking Permits are issued to residents of designated Long Beach parking impacted areas. Each household is allowed up to three residential and one guest preferential permit per year. The annual fee for each residential preferential or guest permit is $34. Click here to learn more.
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Long Beach Chamber of Commerce News & Events
Shop Long Beach This Holiday Season!
The Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce reminds us to shop local this holiday season. But don’t stop there; there is an ongoing need to support small enterprises throughout the year.
To further encourage year-round small business shopping, the City of Long Beach launched the Shop Long Beach program, an initiative funded by the Long Beach Recovery Act focused on supporting small businesses and rewarding customers for shopping in Long Beach. ShopLB allows customers to earn valuable rewards as they support their favorite small businesses and provides incentives to discover new places with an accumulation of reward points to be spent like cash at a wide range of establishments throughout the City. To participate, small businesses and shoppers can sign up at shoplb.org.
The Chamber of Commerce invites you to join in championing their cause and promoting the culture of shopping small and investing in our local Long Beach communities. Use hashtags #ShopSmallEveryDay and #ShopLongBeach to show your support!
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Homelessness Emergency Declaration
Long Beach Inclement Weather Shelter Program
The City of Long Beach will utilize its Multi-Service Center (MSC) to serve as an overnight Inclement Weather Shelter for people experiencing homelessness during the winter months. The City will activate the emergency shelter site during extreme weather conditions to provide temporary, low-barrier, safe, and supportive emergency shelter to protect individuals experiencing homelessness from severe cold and wet weather conditions.
Community members interested in supporting the Inclement Weather Shelter can donate items for hygiene kits and/or cold-weather items like blankets, coats, socks, sweaters, beanies, gloves, and handwarmers.
The facility will be activated as needed now through March 2024. Read these FAQs or visit longbeach.gov/homelessness for more information.
Long Beach Winter Shelter Program
The Long Beach Winter Shelter is open! Beds were made available as of Tuesday, November 14th. Open now through March 31st, we are able to support over 120 beds this winter at our permanent location, 702 E Anaheim. Inclement weather dictating, the shelter may remain open later into spring as well.
City Increases Homeless Service Outreach with Mobile Access Centers
The MAC significantly lowers barriers to providing case management services and other resources for people experiencing homelessness. The schedule below reflects the current schedule, inclusive of both MAC vehicles.
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South Coast Air Quality
Management District (AQMD)
Check Before You Burn: A Message from South Coast AQMD
November marked the start of the South Coast AQMD’s annual Check Before You Burn season. From November through the end of February, residents are asked to check whether a No-Burn Day has been declared before burning wood fireplaces to limit emissions of fine particulate matter (PM2.5).
A No-Burn Day is a 24-hour ban on wood-burning in residential fireplaces, stoves, or outdoor fire pits in the South Coast Air Basin. South Coast AQMD forecasters call for residential No-Burn Days when PM2.5 is expected to reach Unhealthy levels due to air emissions and stagnant weather conditions.
Click here to learn more and to access public resources for daily forecast information.
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City of Long Beach Expects Significant Rain
The National Weather Service has forecasted that a series of storm systems will move into the Los Angeles/Long Beach area Wednesday, Dec. 20, through Friday, Dec. 22. The storms are predicted to bring the first significant rain of the winter season with up to 3 inches of rainfall and a chance of thunderstorms and high winds. The City of Long Beach is implementing its inclement weather action plans and will be monitoring and addressing major issues as they occur.
Long Beach residents can pick up empty sandbags at all neighborhood Fire Stations.
LEARN MORE...
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Immerse Yourself: Long Beach Public Library Expands Digital Resources with Treasure Trove of Arts in Video and Audio
Long Beach Public Library (LBPL) is proud to introduce an extraordinary addition to its Digital Library, the Alexander Street platform by ProQuest. Now accessible to library cardholders, this multimedia treasure trove offers a diverse range of captivating content, including riveting performances from acclaimed institutions such as L.A. Theatre Works, The Royal Shakespeare Company, and the National Theatre.
Patrons will also enjoy an array of musical marvels from the Smithsonian’s Folkways label, as well as video recordings that vividly document music's historical evolution and cultural transformation.
LEARN MORE...
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Long Beach City Council Approves Labor Agreements with Three More Bargaining Units
The Long Beach City Council has approved three-year labor agreements between the City of Long Beach and the Long Beach Association of Confidential Employees (ACE), the Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Association (CPA) and the Long Beach Management Association (LBMA). Each agreement was presented to the City Council for consideration and public discussion on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, all of which were approved with a 7 to 0 vote.
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Sustainable Aviation Fuel Now Available at Long Beach Airport
Long Beach Airport (LGB) is proud to announce the availability of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for use by general aviation jets. This eco-friendly alternative is now offered through Atlantic Aviation, one of two fixed-base operators at the Airport.
Atlantic Aviation plans to maintain a supply of SAF volumes into the market to meet all customer demand.
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City of Long Beach Named One of Nation’s Visionary Digital Inclusion Trailblazers
The City of Long Beach was named a 2023 Visionary Digital Inclusion Trailblazer by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), according to a Dec. 13 announcement. The City was recognized for its continued efforts to close the digital divide.
This year, Long Beach joins a record number of Digital Inclusion Trailblazers, with 47 total awardees representing municipal, county and regional governments paving the way for digitally inclusive communities across the US.
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ACS Advises Pet Owners to Initiate Preventative Measures to Protect Dogs Against Respiratory Diseases
Veterinarians across the country are reporting an increased number of dogs with acute respiratory infections ranging from mild and self-limiting to life-threatening pneumonia. In response, Long Beach Animal Care Services (LBACS) is issuing the following advisory to pet owners.
The disease is reportedly nonresponsive to commonly prescribed antibiotics, and diagnostic testing is often negative for known canine pathogens. With the busy holiday season coming up, LBACS recommends the following steps to safeguard dog health
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City of Long Beach Encourages Residents to Celebrate Safely This Holiday Season
The holiday season is a time for joyous celebrations, beloved traditions, and long-awaited gatherings with family and friends. While everyone should experience the joy and warmth of holiday festivities, safety should always remain a priority. No matter how you celebrate, the City of Long Beach is offering the following tips to ensure an enjoyable, safe and hazard-free holiday season for all.
Click the link below for a comprehensive list of holiday safety tips.
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City of Long Beach to Offer Annual Treecycling Program
The City's Public Works Department will once again offer its Holiday Tree Recycling Program, also known as “Treecycling.” This annual program provides Long Beach residents with 12 convenient drop-off locations for disposal of live holiday trees free of charge from Dec. 26, 2023, through Jan. 12, 2024.
Proper disposal of holiday trees through the Treecycling program prevents fire hazards and reduces illegally dumped trees in alleys and the public right-of-way.
Residents are encouraged to drop off their holiday trees from Dec. 26, 2023, through Jan. 12, 2024, at any of the locations linked below. All locations will operate weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. A map of the drop off locations, available in multiple languages, is available here.
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Upcoming
City Council Meeting
Tues. January 16, 2023, 5:00pm
411 W Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90802
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