In a move that has stunned nature-lovers across the state, Gov. Schwarzenegger's latest budget proposal would shut down 20 percent of the state's parks, as well as cut down on lifeguards at state beaches. Of course, we all know California needs to balance the budget. But we're talking about a step that would save $9 million -- less than 0.1 percent of the state budget. Meanwhile, the costs to our environment, our quality of life, and our confidence in state government would be incalculable.
Let's kill this idea before it gets any further. Please urge the governor to back off of this wrong-headed move. Here is the LINK for you to do your part and send in an electronic letter. Please help save our parks.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The Future of Long Beach Water
There has been something going on down on the sands of Long Beach. A tall crane and some other engineering odds and ends have been seen by many as they drive down Ocean Blvd. at the foot of the bluffs at Junipero Ave.The Under Ocean Floor Intake & Discharge Demonstration System is an experiment by the Long Beach Water Department in an attempt to turn seawater into clear, high-quality drinking water. Called “The Long Beach Method,” the procedure aims to save energy by pushing seawater through two membranes at less pressure than traditional desalination technology.
The effort to turn sea water into clear water began almost 10 years ago, when the program received the green light for development by Congress on Oct. 9, 1996.
To read more of this story see the Beachcomber on line HERE. And to find out more of what is going on in Long Beach, check out www.LocalLongBeachOnLine.com
Monday, January 7, 2008
Cessna leaves Long Beach for Mesa, Arizona
Joel Davis grabbed his hard hat in a construction-site trailer and peered through a window at the Superstition Mountains. "It's impressive," he said of the view. "We were very fortunate to get this piece of ground."In the next several weeks the Cessna Aircraft Company executive hopes to sell that captivating vista and more to nearly 80 of the manufacturer's mechanics and their families. "We want the children, the wives, everybody involved," he said. "This is a major change in their lives. There is an ocean where they're living now and we want it to be a family decision to come over here."
Their elaborate introduction to Mesa and invitation to move here from Southern California starts later this month as the company prepares to relocate its Long Beach, Calif., aircraft maintenance operations to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. "It's kind of a Herculean effort because of flying so many people over here," Davis said. "We want them to become acclimated to the community. It's quite an ordeal to close one operation and open another."Such a massive and painstaking exercise to woo employees and their families to pull up roots and resettle in another state is rare in Mesa, said Charlie Deaton, president of the Mesa Chamber of Commerce, which is helping Cessna carry out the project.The costly venture will pay dividends, however, if it enables Cessna to retain much of its experienced workforce, said Deaton and other business analysts."These are highly skilled people who know the airplanes, said Doug Oliver, director of Cessna's corporate communications. "They have a wealth of information and knowledge that's hard to find."And even if all of them make the move, Cessna will eventually hire additional mechanics to keep up with a growing demand being fueled by the company's climb in aircraft production, said Davis.
From the Arizona Republic
Their elaborate introduction to Mesa and invitation to move here from Southern California starts later this month as the company prepares to relocate its Long Beach, Calif., aircraft maintenance operations to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. "It's kind of a Herculean effort because of flying so many people over here," Davis said. "We want them to become acclimated to the community. It's quite an ordeal to close one operation and open another."Such a massive and painstaking exercise to woo employees and their families to pull up roots and resettle in another state is rare in Mesa, said Charlie Deaton, president of the Mesa Chamber of Commerce, which is helping Cessna carry out the project.The costly venture will pay dividends, however, if it enables Cessna to retain much of its experienced workforce, said Deaton and other business analysts."These are highly skilled people who know the airplanes, said Doug Oliver, director of Cessna's corporate communications. "They have a wealth of information and knowledge that's hard to find."And even if all of them make the move, Cessna will eventually hire additional mechanics to keep up with a growing demand being fueled by the company's climb in aircraft production, said Davis.
From the Arizona Republic
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Long Beach Breakers Basketball and Disney!
LONG BEACH, Ca--Disney will be involved in the next two Long Beach Breakers basketball games as they are looking for students to fill their PAID internship jobs (www.disneycollegeprogram.com).
The Breakers are back in action tonight at 730pm and Sunday at 530pm. Home games are played at the Long Beach City College Gymnasium on Carson Street. Tickets are available through ticketmaster (213 480 3232) or at the door. Kids under age 13 are always FREE.
For more information, call 562 277 2344 or visit www.lbbreakers.com.
The Breakers are back in action tonight at 730pm and Sunday at 530pm. Home games are played at the Long Beach City College Gymnasium on Carson Street. Tickets are available through ticketmaster (213 480 3232) or at the door. Kids under age 13 are always FREE.
For more information, call 562 277 2344 or visit www.lbbreakers.com.
RowofLife Surfing the Mid-Atlantic
RowofLife has hit the 1000 mile mark on Day 31 of the Atlantic Rowing Race. That just leaves about 1552 to go; No Problem! They are really turning it on now. They have increased their load to move along faster. They can't make a full side because they lack legs. Franck has an infected stump and is not able to wear his prosthesis. Angela's back is not exactly happy, but when is it ever. Atlantic Jack said in their blog "The next boat to catch is Angela & Frank(sic) in "Row of Life", this will be a tough one as although they only have one fully functional leg between the 2 of them, they are complete rowing animals. " Atlantic Jack is moving at an unbelievable pace. I just wish we could figure out what is coming out of their water maker, so we could have some too. Maybe if they catch us, they will share the secret to their speed.
Surfing is Angela's first love. On New Year's Day she is usually out surfing in Huntington Beach with all her surfing buddies. She would like to thank all her surfing buddies, the Huntington Beach Long Board Crew, and the Surf Museum in Huntington Beach, for the support they have given her. Well what would New Years be without surfing? Well apparently the powers that be also thought Angela should surf today. The wind was blowing the wrong way today. The water was choppy and not good for rowing. Then it happened….the wind created big waves, excellent for Ocean Rowing Boat Surfing. Angela and Franck guided themselves with their oars and were able to catch a dozen or so good waves. They did not get long rides, but it was fun. Franck caught on to the English surf logo. Soon after the first wave, he kept asking if the next wave was a good one for surfing. We are going to work on him saying, "Dude." Both Angela and Franck seemed exhilarated by their morning session of surfing the 2/3 meter waves. So, while the rowing completely sucked today….the surfing was EXCELLENT.
The weather has been very rough and the winds not good for rowing. They are hoping for the winds to start blowing back in the westerly direction so they can take advantage of the winds and the equatorial currents. It has been tough to make progress and Angela and Franck have been rowing together many hours a day. It has taken a physical toll, but their spirits remain high. I just found out at the beginning of the race Angela fell off her seat and bruised her back very badly on Franck's foot stretchers. She was unable to do anything but crawl out onto the deck. She was not able to row. That was one of the reasons for their slow start. Also Franck was very sea sick at first and not able to row. So compared to the start, they are doing well now, but it is still not a picnic. They are trying to make sure they take the time to get rest so they can heal and stay healthy. It is a long race and they are ready for the long haul.
Angela is the Founder and Director of the California Adaptive Rowing Program in Long Beach, CA www.carplb.net . It is a free program where differently-abled people learn row with the help of dedicated volunteers. It is part Long Beach Rowing Association and they row out of the Pete Archer Rowing Center. Boy About Town, Patric, of Long Beach found out about the program and was very excited. He took the time to come down with his partner and 2 friends to check out the program on Saturday. He gave CARP a Super-Fabulous rating. Boy is amazing and so very funny! He wrote about it in his blog, which Angela found very entertaining when I read it to her. His blog is at http://fab-boy-about-town.blogspot.com/ and his visit to the rowing program is called "Boy gets a new outlook" http://fab-boy-about-town.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2007-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2008-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=21 Vicki, Tom and the volunteers are doing a wonderful job with CARP. It is running as smoothly as ever and Angela is so proud. Angela and Franck called the dock while Boy was there and was able to talk to him as well as Vicki, Tom, Kurt, Ron, Nahu, Loren, Wanda, Christian and some others. The spirit of the CARPies filled Angela and Franck with new energy! They rowed 52 miles that day. Boy About Town is apparently well read and I have received many messages from people who found out about Row of Life from Boy's Blog. Angela is looking forward to meeting Boy in person and doing some events together, when she returns. Boy also writes a weekly newsletter. .
Surfing is Angela's first love. On New Year's Day she is usually out surfing in Huntington Beach with all her surfing buddies. She would like to thank all her surfing buddies, the Huntington Beach Long Board Crew, and the Surf Museum in Huntington Beach, for the support they have given her. Well what would New Years be without surfing? Well apparently the powers that be also thought Angela should surf today. The wind was blowing the wrong way today. The water was choppy and not good for rowing. Then it happened….the wind created big waves, excellent for Ocean Rowing Boat Surfing. Angela and Franck guided themselves with their oars and were able to catch a dozen or so good waves. They did not get long rides, but it was fun. Franck caught on to the English surf logo. Soon after the first wave, he kept asking if the next wave was a good one for surfing. We are going to work on him saying, "Dude." Both Angela and Franck seemed exhilarated by their morning session of surfing the 2/3 meter waves. So, while the rowing completely sucked today….the surfing was EXCELLENT.
The weather has been very rough and the winds not good for rowing. They are hoping for the winds to start blowing back in the westerly direction so they can take advantage of the winds and the equatorial currents. It has been tough to make progress and Angela and Franck have been rowing together many hours a day. It has taken a physical toll, but their spirits remain high. I just found out at the beginning of the race Angela fell off her seat and bruised her back very badly on Franck's foot stretchers. She was unable to do anything but crawl out onto the deck. She was not able to row. That was one of the reasons for their slow start. Also Franck was very sea sick at first and not able to row. So compared to the start, they are doing well now, but it is still not a picnic. They are trying to make sure they take the time to get rest so they can heal and stay healthy. It is a long race and they are ready for the long haul.
Angela is the Founder and Director of the California Adaptive Rowing Program in Long Beach, CA www.carplb.net . It is a free program where differently-abled people learn row with the help of dedicated volunteers. It is part Long Beach Rowing Association and they row out of the Pete Archer Rowing Center. Boy About Town, Patric, of Long Beach found out about the program and was very excited. He took the time to come down with his partner and 2 friends to check out the program on Saturday. He gave CARP a Super-Fabulous rating. Boy is amazing and so very funny! He wrote about it in his blog, which Angela found very entertaining when I read it to her. His blog is at http://fab-boy-about-town.blogspot.com/ and his visit to the rowing program is called "Boy gets a new outlook" http://fab-boy-about-town.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2007-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2008-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=21 Vicki, Tom and the volunteers are doing a wonderful job with CARP. It is running as smoothly as ever and Angela is so proud. Angela and Franck called the dock while Boy was there and was able to talk to him as well as Vicki, Tom, Kurt, Ron, Nahu, Loren, Wanda, Christian and some others. The spirit of the CARPies filled Angela and Franck with new energy! They rowed 52 miles that day. Boy About Town is apparently well read and I have received many messages from people who found out about Row of Life from Boy's Blog. Angela is looking forward to meeting Boy in person and doing some events together, when she returns. Boy also writes a weekly newsletter. .
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