Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske

Fifth District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske will hold the first Open Up Long Beach Community Meeting today, Monday, February 6, 2012 at 6:30pm.

Councilwoman Schipske has concurrently launched OpenUpLongBeach.com – a website and a project to make the City of Long Beach more open, transparent and collaborative with its residents.

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Photo by Ron Schott

The Long Beach Geophysical Survey uses state of the art technology to image and map geological strata and potential faults of the Long Beach area.

This week, the Vibro-Seis truck will again be in the 5th District to perform acoustic tests to create maps of the underground.

Read the rest of Seismic Trucks in the 5th District This Week

“Fourteen banners will be flown at the Rosie the Riveter Park and Interpretive Center in honor of these Long Beach ‘hometown heroes’ who gave their lives while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan,” explained Schipske. “It’s the least we can do to remember them.”

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Photo by Brit

People and their dogs are invited to participate in the 11th annual Pet Appreciation Fair and WALK for the Animals on Saturday, October 8, 2011 at the El Dorado East Regional Park Archery Range.

The event is co-sponsored by the Friends of Long Beach Animals and the Long Beach Friends of Long Beach Animals Animal Care Services Bureau.

“The Pet Appreciation Fair and WALK for the Animals helps fund low-cost spay/neutering and humane education programs and to provide medical attention for shelter animals,” said Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, who represents the 5th District. “The 2K and 5K Walks will wind through picturesque parkland over dedicated concrete paths that are an easy stroll for both humans and dogs of all ages and abilities.”

The 11th annual Pet Appreciation Fair and WALK for the Animals is Saturday, October 8, 2011 at the El Dorado East Regional Park Archery Range located at 7550 East Spring Street in Long Beach. Check-in and registration begin at 9 am, and walks begin at 10 am.

The entry fee for individual walkers and teams of up to 12 is $25 per person before October 8 ($30 on October 8). Participants will receive a commemorative T-shirt, a swag bag, and a ticket for an opportunity drawing.

The monthly Animal Care Services Low Cost Vaccination Clinic will offer convenient vaccination and microchip service at the event from 10 am to 12 pm. Patrons should pay with cash only. Visit www.longbeach.gov/acs for a list of all services and fees.

The event also will feature information about pet products, services and adoptions, food, entertainment, including canine agility demonstrations and a children’s activity area.

For more information, visit www.longbeach.gov/acs or www.friendsoflongbeachanimals.org or call 562.988.7647.

Photo Credit

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Photo by Noaman Ali

Councilmembers Steven Neal (9), Rae Gabelich (8), and Gerrie Schipske (5) invite Long Beach residents to participate in a citywide live interactive TeleForum on Thursday, September 1, 2011. Participants will discuss proposed cuts in the fiscal year 2012 budget, and possible alternatives, such as the “Public Safety and Quality of Life Protection Plan” as proposed by Neal, Gabelich and Schipske.

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“If more people walk, they can take more time to scrutinize each street for cracks and potholes, elevated sidewalks, missing signs, graffiti and other issues that make people feel sad about their neighborhood,” Schipske says.

“It’s also a great way to do something great for your body, and neighborhood with your neighbors, “ she adds.

This month’s walk covers the triangular area from Studebaker Road to Stevely Avenue and from Stearns Street to the 405 Freeway.

Residents should wear comfortable shoes, hats and sunblock, bring water and meet at the Stearns Street and Volk Avenue inlet.

A group of 16 residents July 30th found 245 issues in need of improvement in their neighborhood east of Studebaker Road and north of Wardlow Road when they walked with Schipske and her staff.

“Sidewalks are in need of repair,” Schipske explains. Residents also noted 69 Code Enforcement issues; 29 cases of trees in need of trimming; several places where streets have potholes or “alligatoring,” which is multiple cracks and cratering; seven cases of standing water; one sign needed replacement and one resident found graffiti.

“All the service requests are processed into the city’s database, and my website at www.lbdistrict5.com,” Schipske says. “ Residents can click on the maps under Shaping Up the Fifth, which are updated every two weeks to see what’s happening with them.”

“This issue is too important not to engage the community right now,” says Schipske, who led a fight to keep Station 18 open two years ago.

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Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske

You can take an invigorating morning walk and help make your neighborhood a better place July 30th, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. when Fifth District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske brings her ”Shaping Up the Fifth “ to the area east of Studebaker Road and north of Wardlow Road.

Read the rest of Shaping Up the Fifth – Take a Walk With Gerrie

Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske

So you probably have already seen the signs in Long Beach grocery stores telling you that beginning August 1 no more plastic bags and that the City Council has imposed a ten cent per paper bag fee.

First, remember I voted against this ban and tax.

Read the rest of Councilwoman Schipske Offers Insight Into Plastic Bag Ordinance

Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske

The sounds of Motown will ring out in East Long Beach the evening of July 4th, when Fifth District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske hosts a “Custom Made” music party, at Rosie the Riveter Park and Interpretive Center, Clark Avenue and Conant Street, from 6:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.

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Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske

Is there a sidewalk that needs fixing in your neighborhood? Has a street sign faded and needs replacing? Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske invites you to join her and other residents in launching “Shaping Up the 5th District”– a project that encourages walking while at the same time giving residents a chance to help inventory the things that need fixing in their neighborhoods.

“I started walking the 5th district several years ago,” says Schipske. “But the district is 11.5 square miles and I need help in order to get to every street so that the city has a complete inventory of what needs to be repaired or replaced.”

Read the rest of Schipske Launches “Shaping Up the 5th District” – Combines Walking with Inventory of Infrastructure

Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske

They’re at it again! The wonderful women pilots of the Ninety-Nines are continuing their long tradition of volunteering their time to paint a distinctive marking near or on an airfield to let other pilots know of the location. “And they’re doing just that at the ‘flight path’ in the Long Beach Rosie the Riveter Park and Interpretive Center,” announced Fifth District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske.

“The public is invited to stop by Rosie the Riveter Park bright and early on Saturday, June 11 to watch the women pilots from the Long Beach Chapter of the Ninety-Nines paint a navigation compass in a 36 foot circle set at the end of our ‘flight path’ at the south end of the park,” explains Schipske. The “flight path” features solar powered runway lights and silhouettes of airplanes etched in a landing pattern leading to the circle.

Read the rest of Women of the 99′s to “Fly in” and Paint Air Mark at Rosie the Riveter Park

L. to R. Monique Villa, Miss Long Beach; Miss Anchorage, Abby Hancock; Seymour Moose; City of Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster; Anchorage, Alaska Mayor Dan Sullivan; Marty St. George, JetBlue Senior Vice President of Marketing and Commercial Strategy; City of Long Beach Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske; Miss Long Beach Grand Prix, Venus Ramos.

The Long Beach Airport (LGB) proudly announces expanded nonstop destinations. JetBlue Airways launched daily summer service to Anchorage, Alaska, a new market for both LGB and the airline. Flights will depart Long Beach at 7:35 pm and arrive in Anchorage’s Ted Stevens International Airport (ANC) at 11:54 pm. Return flights will depart ANC at 1:10 am and arrive at LGB at 7:37 am. The Airline will employ it’s Airbus A320 aircraft for this service.

Read the rest of Anchorage Added To List Of Nonstop Flights From Long Beach Airport

Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske

Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske has partnered with Long Beach Cares, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, and others for this year’s “Community baby Shower” to help some of Long Beach’s expectant mothers.

The Community Baby Shower is an annual event started by Councilwoman Schipske, a Registered Nurse Practitioner, in the late 1980s. The program collects donations of basic necessities for newborns. These items are placed into a diaper bag with education information and given to participants in Department of Health and Human Services programs by the City’s Public Health nurses.

Read the rest of Councilwoman Schipske Hosts Annual “Community Baby Shower;” Supports Perinatal Depression Awareness Month

Due to overwhelming student interest and registration totals for the 2011 event, the Solar Grand Prix will take place at El Dorado Park, a larger location than last year. The United Brotherhood of Carpenters has responded to the increase in participation and will construct an additional 10-lane track.

Read the rest of 149 Teams In Place to Compete at 2nd Annual Long Beach Solar Grand Prix

Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske

So Councilman DeLong thinks that my objections to selling city assets and services to private entities is because I received so much money from the unions.

Don’t know if he or his handlers wrote the response to my blog but whomever writes his responses needs to be truthful first. I have not received one penny from the unions that provide the services he is trying to sell — street sweeping, towing, etc. Both Mr. DeLong and I received $350 from the LB Police Officers Association. I received an in kind contribution of printing of campaign signs from the LB Firefighters Association. That’s the sum of what the city unions contributed.

But I did not receive one penny from the unions whose services I believe should not be contracted out.

Now in comparison, I took no money from Tom Dean either. Mr. DeLong did. So are we to infer that is why he pushed the Dean land swap so vigorously? Since councilpersons are limited to receiving $350 from one source (union or non-union) it would seem silly to infer that any council person could be bought for $350. Don’t you think so?

Read the rest of Councilman DeLong Needs to Get His Facts Straight — and Truthful~Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske

Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske

Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske and the OCTA will conduct a neighborhood meeting on Saturday, March 5, 2011 at 10 a.m. to share general information about the West County Connectors (WCC) Project and the upcoming 7th Street closure and demolition. The meeting will be held at the El Dorado Senior Center at 2800 N. Studebaker.

Residents who are impacted by the West County Connectors Project construction are encourage to attend and learn more about this freeway construction project that will create a seamless carpool connection by linking high occupancy vehicle lanes on the SR-22/I-405/I-605 freeways. Starting in March 2011, the WCC Project will include the closure of the northbound I-405 / westbound SR-22 / 7th Street connector for one year.

Read the rest of Councilwoman Schipske and the OC Transportation Authority to Host Community Meeting on the West County Connectors Project

LBFD Fire Fighters arrived on the scene within minutes to stop the fire on a recycling truck in the 5th District.

Tuesday morning, at abou 9:40 a.m., February 1, the Long Beach Fire Department responded to a recycling truck that was on fire off of the 2800 block of Ladoga Avenue.

Engine 18 arrived on scene in less than five minutes and saw that there was moderate to heavy amounts of fire and black smoke coming from the large recycling truck. Luckily the truck was in the middle of the street and there were no other vehicles or bystanders close by the roaring blaze that was radiating intense heat.

Read the rest of Violent Recycling Truck Fire Causes Large Explosions in 5th District

Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske

Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske’s Lakes, Ponds and Wetlands Taskforce will meet on Thursday, February 3, 2011.

The public is invited to the meeting to hear information the City of Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine tree trimming and lake management policies, in addition to updates on fishing tackle recycling, the proposed dog park, soccer fields at El Dorado Park and the El Dorado duck pond.

The 5th Council District Lakes, Ponds and Wetlands Taskforce works together to improve the quality of Long Beach lakes, ponds and wetlands for plants, animals, and humans. Participants provide feedback and make recommendations to Councilwoman Schipske regarding Long Beach’s natural bodies of water.

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The meeting comes just as the City Council prepares to vote on an ordinance drafted by the City Attorney and City Manager. On December 7, 2010, the council voted to have an ordinance drafted, that would duplicate the one adopted by Los Angeles County. The ordinance would ban plastic bags at local grocery stores and allow the stores to collect 10 cents for each paper bag used in its place.

Read the rest of Councilwoman Schipske to Host Plastic Bag Ban Town Meeting

Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske

Want to know what is planned for the 5th Council District? Then you’ll want to attend the Fifth Annual State of the Fifth Council District  presented by Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske.

The annual event will be held Tonight, January 19, 2011 at 7PM. at the Long Beach Water Treatment Plant at 2950 Redondo Avenue (near Spring Street and Redondo Avenue).

Councilwoman Schipske will provide fifth district residents an overview of: constituent services, 5th district task forces and projects, crime statistics, code enforcement cases, fire service calls, library services, and infrastructure repairs and updates.

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Redevelopment is complicated so I have been doing a lot of research to understand what is going on and I want to share it with you.

Long Beach has 18,000 acres of the city in redevelopment — about 42 percent of the city. That means the tax increment in those areas goes into the redevelopment fund and not the city general fund. Redevelopment funds can only be used in redevelopment areas and for projects aimed at removing blight or developing low and middle income housing.

Read the rest of Councilwoman Schipske Reports on Redevelopment

Long Beach Councilmembers Robert Garcia and Gerrie Schipske, of the First and Fifth Districts, respectively, have cosponsored a series of “Open Government Initiatives” to increase transparency and accountability in Long Beach government.

The two motions are on agenda for the Council meeting of January 4, 2011.

The initiative proposes multiple reforms, including the adoption of an open government policy statement for the City, posting completed contracts on line, a system for on line public comments during Council meetings, and a variety of changes to the City website, such as posting budgetary information, information about lobbyists, and access to government records and public documents.

“Openness in government is what makes democracy possible,” Garcia said. “Citizens have a right to a transparent and accessible government.”

Councilwoman Schipske said, “Since coming to City Council I have tried to take the Thomas Jefferson approach to local government. He said quite clearly that ‘Information is the currency of Democracy’ and it should be our approach as well here in Long Beach.”

Schipske noted that Long Beach doesn’t have to look too far for a model of website transparency adding that the County of Los Angeles has received an A+ rating from sunshinereview.org for its website. “Long Beach is almost there but we need to add a few more features so that the public doesn’t have to ask for information — it will be already there on line.”

Councilmembers Garcia and Schipske have a record of open government reforms. Both have long posted their calendars on line for the public to view, and they cosponsored the first and only lobbyist registration law in Long Beach.