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BY JONATHAN VAN DYKE

STAFF WRITER

While the property based im-provement district (PBID) issue has been a bit of a calling card for Second District candidate Janet Ballantyne, she said she really believes that district residents deserve to have a new voice and fresh perspective on all the issues that affect their lives. “I actually have been thinking about running for City Council off and on for about two years,” she said. “Then I started thinking more seriously about it and I have been very involved with the PBID

issue and have been very vocal with that. I just found a lot of re-sistance to having our voices heard on behalf of our building… And just as it relates to local issues, it’s been diffi cult to connect with our City Council. “It’s the old adage of, it you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” Ballantyne, who was born in New York, has lived in the Sec-ond District for fi ve years and in

California for 20 years. She is the homeowners association presi-dent for a complex on The Prom-enade, which has helped her keep up-to-date on a number of issues. “I’ve seen that there is so much to be done in my district that no-body is even talking about,” she said, noting she felt there was a bit of a complacent attitude in city hall. Ballantyne has been working fulltime the last 10 years at a fi -nancial service fi rm in El Segun-do as a sponsors relations man-ager. She said the rigors of the

Vocal Resident Seeks Election

(Continued on Page 4)

BALLANTYNE

—Gazette photo by Geronimo QuitorianoAfrican dancers and other entertainers took over the Aquarium of the Pacifi c last weekend for the African-American Festival.

DANCES WITH THE FISH


STAFF WRITER

Just don’t call it the “Amazing Race.” Last year, the Downtown Long Beach Associates and Garnica Interiors present-ed an event that mirrored the famous and award-winning reality television show — including the bulk of its name. The fi rst time out was a success, but Garnica Inte-riors founder Joen Garnica said a change to Downtown’s Amazing Chase for next weekend’s event was needed, despite much of the event’s charm remaining intact. “We got a very nice letter from CBS telling us to knock it off, hence the name change,” she said with a chuckle. “The event really marries all of the things that I work on (as a business owner and com-munity member). It brings together neigh-borhoods, walkability of downtown, great art, public transportation, downtown busi-nesses and the residential element.” For the uninitiated, the Downtown Amazing Chase will be somewhat like its predecessor — teams of two to four people will race around downtown Long Beach completing clues and challenges to see what team can fi nish with the best time. “It’s a morning and afternoon fi lled with adventure,” Garnica said. “We have intel-lectual, physical and food challenges.” The clues to get to those challenges will be made up from interesting facts about the city — questions and statements regard-ing history, architecture, current news and neighborhood trivia. What businesses and services will make up the some 25 challenge locations? “They are all under wraps — not even my husband knows about them,” Garnica said.

Groups VieFor DLBA’sChase Win



STAFF WRITER

The people producing the Fred Hall Show don’t want you to forget the beauty of being outdoors. Starting next Wednesday, the Fred Hall Show — The Ultimate Outdoor Experi-ence returns to Long Beach. It will offer opportunities to try out products and ser-vices related to hunting, camping, diving, shooting sports and international travel. “I grew up in the outdoors fi shing and hunting and just being outdoors,” said Bart Hall, show producer. “I see — even in my grandchildren — some disturbing trends. A lot of people are losing touch with being outdoors. They think being outdoors is go-ing to a local park. You need to get out into the mountains or get on a lake. When you do that, stress levels go down and you get more in touch with our natural world.” The Fred Hall Show began in 1946 as what organizers called California’s fi rst sportsman show. As the years progressed, the boating and fi shing aspects grew and began to dominate the show fl oor. “It is the largest consumer fi shing show in the world,” Hall said. “And it is the larg-est boat show in the western United States, the largest travel show in the state of Cali-fornia and the largest shooting show in Southern California.” And, Hall said attendance at the Fred Hall Show increases each year. “This event allows an enormous amount of people who admire these pursuits to as-semble and celebrate that outdoor lifestyle,” he said, noting that during the show’s fi rst 38 years, nothing was even for sale. “We want to make sure people gather and cel-ebrate that passion. That’s what separates us from the others.” Included in the 500 outdoor apparel, vehicle and equipment booths, there will be many different exhibits and interactive demonstrations. There will be fl y fi shing and casting les-sons, air gun and archery ranges, laser shot games, mobile aquariums, Dock Dogs and

Fred Hall Show Promotes Outdoors


—Gazette fi le photoREEL CATCH. A participant at last year’s Fred Hall Show hooks a fi sh.

| GAZETTE NEWSPAPERS | March 2, 2012GAZETTE COMMENTARY

Defends TeachersTo The Editor, I am writing as a lifelong Long Beach resident who attended LBUSD schools and whose own children currently attend elemen-tary school in this district. While I appreciate the Gazette’s will-ingness to meaningfully engage with education issues I fear that framing the core issue as one of teacher accountability is a missed opportunity at best and a case of blaming the victim at worst. Each school district already has their own method of teacher evaluation in place, with most centering on a series of classroom visitations and a summary report by one of that teacher’s adminis-

trators. Teachers are expected to raise test scores every year de-spite being threatened with lay-offs, taking pay cuts through fur-lough days, and having class sizes explode due to year after year of underfunding from Sacramento. Teachers are professionals who want to work next to other effec-tive professionals. Teacher unions want to represent members who are effective. I assure you that teachers want their own children to be taught by quality educators. Neither teachers nor their la-bor groups hire teachers, evaluate teachers, or grant tenure to teach-ers; these all remain the responsi-bility of the district. But the nar-rative of “bad” teachers is unfair

to everyone and only serves to destroy a system it purports to re-form. It is no accident that one of the few remaining unionized work-forces in this country, one that re-mains a core bridge to the middle class both for its own members and through the education we provide our students, is under at-tack by a well-funded right wing who want to privatize public edu-cation under the guise of such misguided experiments as vouch-ers and for-profi t charter schools. A system already exists for teachers to be evaluated by ad-ministrators hired by the district. An honest discussion about im-


Here we go, messing with time again. First there’s the Leap Year thing. I get a kick out of that. The whole idea that we can just randomly add a day to a month provides a sense of power — or maybe it’s whimsy. Before you pick up the pen, or look up my email address, yes I do know why there is a leap year every four years and yes I realize that it isn’t random. But try tell-ing those folks born on Feb. 29 that they aren’t special. Go ahead, ask. Next week, March 11 to be ex-act, we get to spring forward into Daylight Saving Time. We all agree that it’s suddenly an hour later than it was a second or so ago, and it is. Makes you feel sort of like Capt. Picard, doesn’t it? I was talking to son Alex last night, and he was bragging about how he and Lynn had trained pre-cious granddaughter Allison to wake up at 5:30 in the morning so they could get her to day care on time. Realize that we’re talk-ing about a 7-month-old sleeping through the night, then waking up early enough to be fed, dressed and happy to be getting in the car to go see her friends. “It’s pretty cool,” Alex said. “We even get to have some to-gether time before we leave.” Then, cruel old man that I am, I brought up Daylight Saving Time. “Oh, damn,” he said. “We spring forward, huh? That means …” That’s right. Allison’s 5:30 sud-denly becomes Alex’s 6:30.

I can’t wait to hear how on March 12 Alex and Lynn (I sus-pect the hard work will fall to Lynn) explain to Allison that she suddenly has an hour less to wake up and get ready to go. I might be wrong, but I suspect that the concept of arbitrarily changing time might be a bit beyond the 7-month-old brain. Then there’s going to be the bedtime fun that night. I’ll guar-antee that Allison still will be full of playtime energy when the clock hits 7 p.m. Her body is go-ing to be pretty sure it’s still an hour before bedtime, no matter what Daddy says. Personally, I’m a big fan of Daylight Saving Time. I get up in the dark year-round anyway — we haven’t managed to mess with time enough to make the sun rise before 5 a.m. — and I love the chance to get a little extra light in the evening. It also means that summer’s not far away. Longer days are a boon, particularly in Southern Califorr-nia. Time to get out in it, if you know what I mean.

• Lenten update. For those of you who missed last week (I can’t believe anyone did, but just in case), I’ve decided to partake in the tradition of giv-ing something up for 40 days. In fact, I’ve bought in to Justin’s four

food groups for 40 days deal. Only I could only come up with three things to give up — cook-ies, chocolate and potato chips. So I asked for suggestions. One earnest vegetarian decided to try to convince me to give up meat despite my declaration that I was once and forevermore a carnivore. He put his heart into a two-page missive full of logic, fact and graphic word pictures. Call me stubborn, but I had grilled steak Saturday, plank salmon Sunday and chicken stew Monday. I’m afraid that’s not go-ing to change. Another writer offered up an entire food group — dairy. I start-ed to trash that one, too, but then gave it another thought. While I enjoy a glass of milk on occasion, I seldom crave one. Ice cream is a treat, but it’s been pretty cold lately. I gave up butter long ago. But she was upfront about the hardest part of the deal. “You’ll have a tough time giving up cheese,” she said. She’s right. I love cheese, and a slice or two of sharp cheddar is my preferred snack. “But if it was easy it wouldn’t be a sacrifi ce, now would it,” my malicious wife Maria observed. So I’ve sworn off dairy for the duration. I’ve added a bit of a ca-veat — if there’s cheese already in a dish (think ravioli), that doesn’t count. Still, I’ve already made it through two days. Cheese? Don’t need no stinkin’ cheese.

Government, any government, is infamous for how long it takes to get anything done. There are good reasons for the pace of bureaucracy — making sure all the Ts are crossed and the Is dotted, including every-one who should be included, fol-lowing proper procedure, being transparent, etc. But there are consequences, too. Especially when you don’t even meet your own deadlines. More than two months ago, when the City Council decided to halt the Second+PCH devel-opment in mid-bureaucracy, city staff was told to prepare a plan to update the underlying master planning document — SEADIP, or the South East Area Devel-opment and Improvement Plan — and bring it back within 60 days. Then, when Fourth District Councilman Patrick O’Donnell tried to speed the process up at the Feb. 7 City Council meeting, Assistant City Manager Suzanne Frick said that plan to update the plan would indeed be in council members’ hands by Feb. 20. Didn’t happen. There are lots of good reasons why, we’re sure, and the promise now was to have the memo on council desks by Thursday (yesterday). But the fact is, in the same period of time development op-ponents Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust has gone out and hired a consultant and set up a public meeting. That meeting will take place this Saturday. Elizabeth Lambe, the Land Trust’s executive director, said her group is merely trying to make sure the update plan proce-dure has appropriate community involvement. In fact, she said, consultant MIG Inc. are special-ists in community inclusion. Inclusion. That’s a buzzword for making sure that your voice is heard, nay, given preference, when it comes to making plans and setting priorities. We completely believe that the Land Trust folks are just trying to make sure the community is involved in the SEADIP revamp. It’s just that we’ve watched them in action in the past, and their idea of community involvement is making sure that their view — stopping development and recreating the wetlands — holds sway. Okay, that’s the way a democ-racy works. We have to give these advocates credit for understand-ing the process and marshaling their forces to attempt to infl u-

ence the process to suit their de-sires. The question is, are they going to have an open fi eld? City offi -cials, both elected and appointed, swear up and down “all stake-holders” will be at the table once the real work of deciding what a new SEADIP might look like be-gins. But while the bureaucracy does its bureaucratic thing, the advocates are busy shaping the parameters of the discussion. Given enough time, the Land Trust mantra of no impact will be the baseline for future planning, not one seat at the table. Our friends on the city man-ager’s 13th fl oor of City Hall undoubtedly are pounding their fi sts on the table about now, say-ing, “it’s only an extra 10 days, for crying out loud.” Considering that the delay was caused by an attempt to nail down funding for the study, the wait is worthwhile, they’d surely argue. And they’d be right. Only … That 10 days means the mo-mentum has shifted. It now ap-pears to many, with some justifi -cation, that the Land Trust folks are being proactive in updating the master plan while the city is dragging its feet. Offi cials are estimating that the process is going to take two to three years to complete (which, in bureaucratic speak, likely means three or four years), so there will be plenty of time. In fact, a big chunk of that time will be devoted to trying to make sure every segment of Long Beach’s community has its say before any decisions are made. A bad precedent has been set with this missed deadline. An-other bad precedent — allowing what we perceive to be a relative few people to dictate the debate — is on the verge of being set. It’s up to our city leaders to make sure all sides have the chance to be involved in mapping the future of this important part of our city. And it’s up to you to be sure that you take advantage of that chance. We do not begrudge the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust its efforts — they are doing what they said they would do, and they are doing it openly (Saturday’s meeting is open to the public). What we want is to have the city lead the planning process. That’s their job, their mandate. And leading means being in front, not coming late to the start-ing line.

City Needs To MoveTo Keep SEADIP Open

Time Travel Typically Tough On Tots

March 2, 2012 | gazette newspapers | page 3

proving this current method is welcome but scapegoating our neighbors who have already sac-rificed so much does a disservice to us all.

ruben MancillasLong Beach

all accountableto the editor,

I am a high school teacher in the LBUSD and say that I am a leader, an educator, and hold my-self accountable at all times but especially towards educating to-day’s youth. When your editorial stated that “we need to find a way to make teachers accountable for the jobs they do,” I could not agree with you more, yet I feel the same way towards my neighbors, my co-workers, my fellow Americans, my friends, in hopes of some way holding them accountable for the job I expect them to do. Some expectations should be non-negotiable, such as: reliable, honest, dependable, consistent and trustworthy. Unfortunately having students and parents rank teachers is not consistent to what does matter, that of student “learn-ing.” Every other year, teachers are evaluated by an administrator on three different occasions through-out that evaluation year to which a report is placed in their file. These evaluations follow site, district and state standards for teaching. Yet these evaluations never come to light when pink slips are being distributed just before another new year of budget cuts. Seniority takes precedence, but never a mention of quality, ac-countability, passion or student success. This is a slippery slope and up for interpretation depending on the evaluator, but should possibly be up for discussion. The accountability road will never be easy but truly it is up to all of us, as individuals, in any and every situation to be the best person we can be. I challenge all teachers, all peo-ples, neighbors, partners, friends, journalists, politicians, Ameri-cans, to be accountable for all that

we do, to do our best in all aspects of life and to never stop learning and growing. This is what I prom-ise myself and model to my stu-dents every minute of every day.

Danielle sawyerLong Beach

walk the talkto the editor,

From the Gazette, Page 1, Feb. 24, “LBUSD To Axe 308 Em-ployees.” This layoff includes 44 more teachers. Then there is a letter on from Virginia Torres and Joe Boyd, Teachers Association of Long Beach union President and

Executive Director, demand-ing money be spent for a special election to fill a school board va-cancy. The alternative is a simple, no-cost appointment process, but would disenfranchise residents of District 5, they claim. This is a local school board, not

Congress right? The definition of disenfranchise is to deprive voting rights or the right to choose for oneself. Keep in mind that unions like TALB fi-nancially support the campaigns of politicians who many in their membership oppose with no con-

sideration for how their dues are used. As a union member, you cannot opt out short of resigning. Do as I say, not as I do?

robert Van der UpwichLong Beach(Continued from Page 2)

A SEPARATION(PG13)

| gaZeTTe NeWSPaPeRS | March 2, 2012

However, Garnica was will-ing to disclose some examples of challenges from last year like: •Aphysicalchallengethatin-volved racing up the 14 flights of stairs at The Breakers to get to the Sky Room.

• A food challenge involvingfresh and hot funnel cake down at Shoreline Village being digested in two minutes. • An intellectual beer-tastingaffair where team members tried a beer and identified its type at CongregationAleHouse. •Aturnofphrasethatneededtobe deciphered to name an extinct

animal in front of theAquariumof the Pacific. Teams will all gather at the PromenadeSquareParknearFirstStreet and compete in each chal-lenge from there. As the eventcontinues, the teams can earn challenge bonuses that shave off time — costumes are encouraged and give a large bonus. “The costume contest is re-ally important,” she added. “Last year, it brought up a team into the top three.” The top three teams get prize packages. Prize packages — which can include gift certificates and tickets to shows — can be valued at as much as $1,000. Preregistration has begun for the event. The cost is $75 for each team, regardless of its size. The event is capped at a maximum of about 150 contestants — so organizers are encouraging early registration. Downtown’s Amazing Chasetakes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. www.downtownlongbeach.org.

job have prepared her well to get out into the community and begin to represent the Second District people’s interests. “(The job) is really about net-working your contacts, treating people with respect, trying to think of creative ways to bring value to showcase their resources and tools and really representing them and being their advocate,” she said. “I think I can bring a fresh perspective and I don’t have any bias about what can and can’t be done.” She said that networking and leaning on a very motivated com-munity can help the city in these lean budget years.

“Many people want change, but nobody has ever really asked them — they don’t feel plugged in,” she said. “Everyone is concerned about the budget, not just for our dis-trictbutforthewholecity.Alotof that is tied to pension reform, we need to absolutely focus on that, too.” Ballantyne said she is looking to be a business friendly candi-date to be supportive of business-es and open to what owners need to be successful in the city. “The existing businesses re-maining, we need to work really hard to make them happy,” she said. “There’s no way, if we don’t, that they will refer other success-ful businesses to our city.” She also said that public safety

was a concern that continually has come up during her time cam-paigning through the community. “I know police and fire are a very large part of the budget, and they’re potentially looking to take another cut, but that’s a core ser-vice we offer, so we need to fig-ure that out,” she said. “We can-not continue to have less and less cops on the street.” Other than working, and work-ing for her homeowners asso-ciation, Ballantyne said she is a glass blower in her free time, and she enjoys supporting the local arts scene. “I am an art lover and collector and I want to really raise up our city to the art community I know itcanbe,becausewe’renotquitethere at this point,” she said.

Great American Duck races, ascuba dive tank, speed shooting show, precision knife thrower Jack Dagger and The Sporting Chef Scott Leywath. AhighlightoftheeventistheKid’sFishFreeTroutPond. “Probably more kids have caught their first fish there than any spot in Southern California,” Hall said.

About 400 seminars will in-clude subjects like long range fishing, salt-water bass, hunting and emergency preparedness. The entire sports arena will be dedicated to boats as large as 44 feet. TheFredHallShowtakesplaceMarch 7 through March 11 at the Long Beach Convention Center. Tickets are $15 for adults; chil-dren age 15 and younger are free. Formoreinformationandtickets,visit www.FredHall.com.

(Continued from Page 1)

Fred Hall


Chase


Candidate

March 2, 2012 | GAZETTE NEWSPAPERS | PAGE 5

By Ashleigh OldlAnd

Editor

An inner-city youth’s propen-sity for getting into schoolyard scuffles turned into something positive when Anthony Skalberg started taking boxing lessons. Skalberg, 27, is celebrating the opening of dG Boxing on Pine Avenue, which is modeled after dG Boxing Gym on Pacific Coast Highway, where he started taking boxing lessons more than a de-cade ago. “i’m very excited to open another dG location in Long Beach,” Skalberg said. “i’m a lo-cal guy who grew up in a work-ing-class family with very little income, and i feel i am now in a position where i can help the neighborhood kids learn to do what i learned.” He was 13 years old when Skal-berg said his older brother pushed him into the boxing ring. the experience gave Skalberg a new focus, confidence and outlook on life, he said, and helped keep him out of trouble. “i went to high school at Wil-son, and i saw a lot of people making bad choices,” he said. “it

is easier to make a wrong turn than a right one. “i’m not going to forget where i came from, … i want to give oth-ers the opportunity to train — not just to be boxers, but to be fit and confident in themselves and show them they can do something. i want to help kids like me.” Skalberg advanced from ama-teur to professional fighter, mov-ing to Los Vegas to pursue his career in the ring. A shoulder and neck injury he sustained while boxing sent him into an early retirement, so Skalberg said he returned to his Long Beach roots and began training clients at dG Boxing at 5660 Pacific Coast Highway. “i turned pro, and the only thing i knew was boxing,” he said. “But when i started training other peo-ple and could see the results — an overweight lady losing 80 pounds — that was more satisfying than hurting people or getting hurt in the ring.” Although about 10% of the clients at dG Boxing are inter-ested in fighting in the ring, Skal-berg said most of the people who come to the gym are interested in

staying in shape, losing weight, learning self-defense or learning something new. “our training is inclusive,” he said. “We teach the craft of box-ing as well as fitness and healthy eating.” A typical workout at dG Box-ing takes one hour and includes jump roping, a fast side-to-side boxing step exercise in the ring, rounds of shadow boxing, bag drills, endurance drills and bag, mitt and pad work wearing box-ing gloves, among other exercises for conditioning, Skalberg said. Beginners to experienced boxers are welcome, and each client gets one-on-one time and a personal-ized workout program. dG Boxing on PCH’s owner, david Gonzalez, 42, said he is excited to see Skalberg start an-other boxing gym in Long Beach and provide more opportunities for the community to take part in the sport.

“Everybody needs to know ba-sic self-defense,” Gonzalez said. “Plus, this is a great workout and a sweet science.” Skalberg said he’s learned that boxing is a metaphor for life, and those who give up easily in box-ing also tend to give up easily on life. if the people at his gym learn something there and toughen up, he said that same toughness helps overcome the hard times in life. dG Boxing at 745 Pine Ave., which offers training for men and women of all ages, is host-

ing an open house with boxing demonstrations from 5 to 8 p.m. this Monday, March 5. For details about the boxing gym, call 606-2665.

Owner Takes Life Lessons, Opens Pine DG Boxing

ANTHONY SKALBERG

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By Jonathan Van Dyke

Staff Writer

trouble with the law has led to a staff recommendation to deny an expansion of entertainment options at Mai tai Bar. the downtown bar, located on aquarium Way above Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., has requested that the City Council allow it to have disc jockey and karaoke

entertainment. the City Council hearing to determine that will take place at 5 p.m., tuesday, March 6 at City Hall, 333 W. Ocean Blvd.. “(Police) was the main depart-ment that has concerns, and when their concern is a public safety concern, that becomes our main concern,” said erik Sund, the city’s business relations manager.

the staff report notes that the Long Beach Police Department looked into a two-year period — from Oct. 26, 2009 to Oct. 26, 2011 — in order to get a grasp on public safety near the bar. “Based on the (LBPD) Vice Section’s investigation, the police department has determined that the public peace, safety and wel-fare of the general area would be impaired if this permit is grant-ed,” the report says. During that time, the LBPD noted 50 calls for service, 22 in-cident reports and 23 arrests at-tributable to Mai tai Bar. “Nearly all the calls for service were violent incidents related to fights, disputes and a stabbing,” the report says. On Dec. 4, 2011, there was a shooting where six people sus-tained gunshot wounds after a group of patrons were denied entry into the bar and confronted another group as they left. Otherwise, the Long Beach fire Department, Health and Hu-man Services Department and Development Services Depart-ment said the bar was in compli-ance and none of the departments were against the new permit con-ditions. Mai tai Bar has been licensed as a bar/lounge/tavern since June 2005. it has had a permit for en-tertainment and dancing since Sept. 20, 2005 — but during that time disc jockey and karaoke have not been allowed except on a temporary basis here and there. the City Council may grant the conditions, grant them on a one-year short-term basis or deny the conditions. “i am reviewing the police re-port and will be meeting with city staff and Mai tai representatives to discuss the recommended de-nial,” Second District Council-woman Suja Lowenthal said in a statement Wednesday. even if denied, Mai tai Bar still will be able to have live mu-sic and dancing. Bubba Gump Shrimp Company restaurants is the filing applicant and owner of the restaurant below the bar. “they (the owners) are a bit concerned with the recommen-dation because of the way they’d like to operate it,” Sund said. “But there is an ongoing communica-tion and a constant dialogue be-tween them and city departments right now.”

Law Troubles Haunt Mai Tai Request


With just more than a month before the April 10 municipal pri-mary election, candidate forums are starting to pick up. The Wrigley Association will host a forum Monday for the Long Beach Unified School Dis-trict Board Area 2 election. The forum, at 7 p.m. at Veterans Park, 101 E. 28th St., will include in-cumbent Felton Williams and challenger Ricardo Linarez. Next Wednesday, March 7, the Los Cerritos neighborhood

will conduct an Eighth District City Council candidate forum at Los Cerritos Elementary School, 515 W. San Antonio Drive. The forum begins at 7 p.m. and will be moderated by former Eighth District Councilman Jeff Kel-logg (who currently serves on the Long Beach Community College board). Al Austin, Lillian Kawa-saki and Gustavo Rivera all have said they will attend. City Auditor Laura Doud has endorsed Lillian Kawasaki for the

open Eighth District City Council seat. Kawasaki also received an endorsement from the Los Ange-les League of Conservation Vot-ers. Even though the Long Beach municipal election is nonpartisan, the Los Angeles County Demo-cratic Party has offered endorse-ments in several races. Incumbent Suja Lowenthal has that party’s support in the Second District City Council race and Patrick O’Donnell, the current Fourth

District City Councilman who is seeking a third term as a write-in candidate, also received an endorsement. In the Long Beach Community College District election incumbent Doug Otto received the nod in District 4. Ri-cardo Linarez, the challenger in the LBUSD board District 2 elec-tion, got the party endorsement.

Eighth District City Council candidate Al Austin will open a campaign headquarters at 10 a.m. this Saturday. The event is at 3811 Long Beach Blvd.

—Harry Saltzgaver

Candidates Gear Up For Community Forums

By Harry Saltzgaver

ExECUTIVE EDITOR

A watered-down billboard or-dinance is among the business items on next Tuesday’s City Council meeting. The city’s planners have been working for two years on revi-sions to the billboard policy in an attempt to reduce the amount of outdoor advertising, particularly in residential neighborhoods. The Planning Commission finally ap-proved a revised ordinance last November, including provisions to begin replacement of static billboards with electronic mes-sage boards as long as there was a reduction of the number of boards. But the City Council rejected those proposals on Dec. 13. In-stead, on a 5-3 vote, planning staff was told to go back and create an ordinance that banned electronic message boards and remove any reference to a “cap and trade” program. That ordinance is set for de-bate next week. It follows council directives, according to the staff

report, and updates standards. It also limits billboards to major streets. The ordinance would re-place a lengthy moratorium on billboards. In other business Tuesday, the council is scheduled to: • Conduct a budget meetingbeginning at 3:30 p.m. to hear a presentation on the fiscal outlook for 2013 and beyond. •Ruleonarequestforanenter-tainment permit with dancing at Mai Tai Bar, 97 Aquarium Way. Staff recommendation is to deny the permit. • Change the name of WestCoast Choppers Place back to Oregon Avenue. •AmendthecontractwithSig-nal Hill Petroleum to modify the calculation of oil sales price. •Considerafive-yearcontractwith the Conservation Corps of Long Beach to provide conserva-tion work on city property. •Approvethesaleoftwousedpolice helicopters for a total of $1,553,998. • Adopt plans and specifica-tions to improve Wardlow Road

between Cherry Avenue and Long Beach Boulevard. The con-tract with Excel Paving Com-pany would be for not more than $1,806,286. •Acceptplansandthecontractwith Encon Technologies, Inc., to rebuild the Alamitos Bay Marina Fuel Dock and increase appro-priations by $914,536.

Council To Discuss Billboard Ordinance


By Harry SaltzgaverEXECUTIVE EDITOR

A private nonprofi t group, the Trust for Public Land, has signed a letter of intent to purchase the Will J. Reid Scout Park from the Long Beach Area Council of Boy Scouts. The urban park, 11 acres bor-dering the Los Angeles River in north Long Beach, has been up for sale for nearly two years. The area council voted in June 2010 to offer the property for sale in the light of declining use, declining membership and budget defi cits. “Our three objectives haven’t changed (since 2010),” said John Fullerton, executive director for the Long Beach council. “We need the money. In the last years, 78% of the use has been either non-Scout or Scouts from other councils, but we would like to see it preserved as recreation. And fi -nally, we would like to preserve the Will J. Reid name in connec-tion with the property.” The park’s location in park-de-fi cient north Long Beach and next to the river attracted the interest of the city, but no money was avail-able for land purchase. Enter the Trust for Public Land, which has been active in Long Beach help-ing to purchase parts of the Los Cerritos Wetlands. “Our mission is to preserve land for natural purposes,” said Alex Size, project manager with the SoCal Natural Lands team at the Trust for Public Land. “Urban land acquisitions are particularly

of interest. This parcel was crying out to remain a park, but we pur-chase land, we don’t manage or maintain it. We need a partner.” Enter the Water Replenishment District of Southern California. The district manages the aquifers and ground water in the region, serving 43 cities. The Long Beach area is represented by Lillian Ka-wasaki, who lives in north Long Beach. “Our ultimate goal is to be inde-pendent of imported water,” Ka-wasaki said. “We’ve been looking at stormwater capture and one of the areas we’ve been studying is around the Dominguez Gap wet-lands. Will J. Reid came up… It made sense to see if we could in-crease the (water) storage there.” Talks began several months ago between the WRD and the Trust. Recent meetings have included Los Angeles County and city of Long Beach offi cials as well. “Ideally, the trust would pur-chase the land for us, then transfer or sell it, likely to a government entity,” Fullerton said. “We know the city is strapped for cash, so the Water Replenishment District probably is our fi nancial reality. But they don’t have money for operations, so maybe there would be a partnership.” George Chapjian, director of the Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine Department, said the county could be involved because the park area could be used as storm and fl ood control — exact-ly why the WRD is interested, as

well. He said the city is particular-ly interested in the Olympic-sized swimming pool and the trailheads that could connect the rest of the Riverlink greenbelt project. Size said that the Trust will do a new property appraisal — the park was valued at $7.6 million two years ago — and currently is reviewing the purchase contract. “We can’t overpay for the prop-

erty — that’s in our charter,” he said. “It’s my job to put the fund-ing together. We’re looking at myriad sources — the Water Re-plenishment District, LA County, the Coastal Conservancy, the Riv-ers and Mountains Conservan-cy… We’re looking for partners. We really can’t say what would ultimately be on the property, but the goal is open space.”

Fullerton said the deal could be done as early as the third quarter of this year. “They might have to buy and hold the property,” he said. “It’s possible we could lease it back until a new operator is ready to take over. We certainly would like to continue using the facility — and keep the Will J. Reid name alive.”

Boy Scouts Move Closer To Will J. Reid Park Sale


By Harry Saltzgaver

ExEcutivE Editor

An initiative drive to ask Long Beach voters to pass a living wage law was announced last week with significant fanfare. Now the proponents will have to hurry to meet the deadline to

collect enough signatures to get the issue on the ballot. the press conference by the Long Beach coalition for Good Jobs and Healthy community in-cluded tales of hospitality work-ers struggling to make ends meet. the organization has targeted the

city’s non-union hotels for several years. under the proposed initiative, hotels with more than 100 rooms, the Long Beach Airport and the Long Beach convention and En-tertainment center all would be required to pay all fulltime work-

ers at least $13 an hour. coalition members said it was their goal to have the initiative on the November 2012 general elec-tion ballot. But to meet that goal, they likely would have to gather 23,000 qualifying signatures in less than three months, according to city clerk Larry Herrera. First, Herrera must approve the initiative title and petition lan-guage. that then goes to city At-torney robert Shannon for final approval. the city has three weeks, 15 working days, to complete that process. then the coalition must file a notice of intent to circulate. it likely would be near the end of March before petitions would be ready to go out for signatures. A qualified signature is some-one registered to vote in Long Beach. in order to get an initiative on a regular election, it requires 10% of the registered voters to sign a petition — 15% for a spe-cial election. there are about 230,000 regis-

tered voters in Long Beach. Herrera said that the November presidential election might be a general election for the country, and also qualifies as a general election for a Long Beach ballot initiative. “the deadline is Aug. 10 to get on the November ballot,” Herrera said. “that would require 1o% of the registered voters, and we would have 30 (business) days to verify the signatures. So that isn’t much time.” in order to verify signatures in time to make the ballot dead-line, the petitions would have to be returned by July 1. the actual number of signatures in petition drives typically are significantly more than the minimum number needed to compensate for the sig-natures that cannot be verified or are duplicated. the next citywide general elec-tion is the April 2014 municipal primary, which includes election of citywide offices the mayor, city attorney, city prosecutor and city auditor.

Bar High To Get Living Wage On November Ballot

By Jonathan Van Dyke

Staff Writer

When it comes to your health and well being, information should not be suppressed and all options should be readily avail-able, organizers of the Health freedom expo say. this is the eighth year of the expo. Wendell Whitman started it. “i think he just found and want-ed to get the messages out — to create a platform for people to come and share their knowledge and to raise awareness,” said Ju-lie Whitman-Kline, Wendell’s daughter and CeO of the event. the Health freedom expo will have more than 200 exhibitor booths with products, education and services. there will be many different doctors, practitioners and health experts speaking each day. there will be hot topic pan-els, award winning documentary films and celebrity appearances. the HealthKeepers alliance, which is the parent company of the expo, works to defeat restrict-ing legislation that limits posi-tive health freedom choices and awareness, organizers said, and that sentiment carries over to the expo. “i think the purpose of the expo is to educate the attendees, pro-vide answers and give options to them,” Whitman-Kline said. “We want people to ask questions and hopefully they can get answers and insight.” the expo will not be focusing

as much on traditional medical and health care. “it’s more about alternative and natural health,” Whitman-Kline said. “there will be all types of exhibitors on the floor. You can sample, taste and try all kinds of things. there are all these options for people to be aware of and this is cutting edge information and products being displayed.” there will be limited edition herbs, traditional flower remedies that work with emotions, muscle testing identification, alternative exercise machines, healthy cloth-ing, books, DVDs, healthy coffee, protein bars, holistic dentistry and jewelry that works with different magnetic frequencies. Panels will include topics like autism, GMO food, labeling, politics of health and the pros and cons of vaccines. there will be about 90 speakers including Deborah ray (vice president of the alliance for Natural Health), richard Hatch (actor from “Bat-tlestar Galactica”), Catherine austin-fitts (publisher of the So-lari Report), Mike anderson (au-thor of “the raVe Diet & Life-style”) and George Noory (host of Coast to Coast aM radio talk Show) — along with numerous other authors and doctors. Whitman-Kline said that if the roster of people and products sounds a little out-there or in-timidating, people should not be scared. “People are not going to find a lot of new age (materials),” she

said. “We try to make people feel comfortable. Our exhibitors are very friendly and want the best for attendees. there’s a time and place for every type of modality

out there and it’s up to the indi-vidual to determine when and what they need.” for information, visit www.Healthfreedomexpo.com.


Expo Explores Alternative, Natural Healthcare WHAT: Health Freedom ExpoWHEN: Today-Sunday, March 2-4 (times vary)WHERE: Convention Center Exhibit Hall ACOST: $20/$45


New Taste In East Village What’s cooking in the kitchen at Asha Moroccan Mediterranean Kitchen is the same food Mom

has been bringing to the table since owner Hend Elarabi, 29, was a little girl. And that’s be-cause Mom, Wafa Jannane, 56, actually is working at the stove at her daughter’s East Village Arts District restaurant, which opened in mid-February. “Mom always has had a passion for food, and she has been a chef at other Mediterranean restau-rants,” Elarabi said. “The recipes we use are from Morocco, where we are from… Food always has been her passion.” Elarabi, a Long Beach resident who has worked as a general manager at restaurants for the past decade, said now is the time for her to try her hand at owning her own business, incorporating fam-ily members into the fold — her mother is the chef and her cousin is the business’s accountant. All food at Asha is prepared fresh daily. Spices used on the

food are imported from Morroco. Elarabi said customer favorites on the menu so far include the lamb chops as well as her person-al favorite, beef couscous with sautéed vegetables. “These are all foods I grew up eating in Morocco,” the owner said. “These are all my home fa-vorites.” Asha, which means a gathering or feast, is located at 149 Linden Ave. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily for lunch and dinner service. For details or to make reservations, call 628-2255.Nisey’s Thrift Opens Nisey’s Thrift Store, located at 6454 Long Beach Blvd., opened in North Long Beach late last year. The store collects and sells gently used and new clothing and retail items. Owner Denise Davis, who also serves as the president of the Col-lege Square Neighborhood Asso-ciation, said she wanted to open a thrift store where the lower-income residents of North Long Beach will be able to find great deals on clothing for work or play. “People who are shopping on a budget will find deals on quality clothes and other items that they otherwise might not be able to af-ford,” Davis said. “I try to seek really nice things and collect in nice areas to pick things my customers can feel good about. For details about Nisey’s Thrift, email [email protected] or call 984-2244.

Gazette Dining Guide guidance on price: $ Thrifty; $$ Night Out; $$$ Splurge

AmericanALONDRA HOT WINGS

245 Pine Ave. #190437-2103

Serving hot wings with a choice of fla-vors, pizza, East Coast-style sandwiches, salads and, yes, fried Twinkies. Open for lunch and dinner. Beer, wine available. alondrahotwings.net. $

AT LAST CAFE204 Orange Ave.

437-4837 This neighborhood cafe between Oc-an Boulevard and Broadway boasts the “Best Chef” winner from Orange Coast Magazine preparing comfort food with fresh ingredients. Open from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. www.jmchefcatering.com for catering. $

BEACHWOOD BBQ131 1/2 Main St., Seal Beach

210 E. Third St.493-4500, 436-4020

Beachwood BBQ offers slow-smoked ribs, chicken, brisket, homemade sausag-es and pulled pork. The menu also fea-tures fish, salads and sandwiches. Large selection of craft beers. Delivery and catering menus. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. $

BLACKBIRD CAFE3405 Orange Ave.

490-2473 Offering a California fresh menu for breakfast and lunch. Menu includes tra-ditional, homemade breakfast fare along with coconut French toast and peanut butter pancakes. An extensive vegetarian menu along with burgers, sandwiches, soups & chili. Coffee drinks. Open 7 a.m.-3 p.m. daily. $

EGGS ETC. 550 Redondo Ave. 433-9588

Offering good old-fashioned country breakfasts and lunch. Daily specials. Pa-tio dining. Open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. $

E.J. MALLOY’S3411 E. Broadway, 433-3769; 4306 Atlantic Ave., 424-5000

E.J. Malloy’s is a pub with attributes of the original 1920s restaurant, along with a secluded patio. Specialties include corn-fed beef, chicken and fish. Breakfast served Saturdays and Sundays. Open all week for lunch, dinner. Full bar at the Atlantic location. $$

KDB10 Aquarium Way

308-7529 KDB, located at The Pike, serves the best in classic American cuisine, includ-ing gourmet pizzas and pastas, fresh salads, BBQ, hamburgers and signature entrees. kdblongbeach.com. $

LASHER’S3441 E. Broadway

433-0153 The winner of numerous awards, Lasher’s is in a restored California Bun-galow. Dinner features home-style re-gional American cuisine, including grilled steaks, fresh fish and rack of lamb. Beer, wine and cocktails, patio dining avail-able. Dinner Tues.-Sun. Sunday brunch is served 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. $$-$$$

THE LOCAL SPOT 6200-B E. PCH

498-0400 From the owners of Eggs, Etc. this restaurant features a variety of burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, wraps, salads and smoothies with an emphasis on healthy food. Open for lunch, dinner 11 a.m.-8 p.m. daily. $

PHIL TRANI’S3490 Long Beach Blvd.

426-3668 Phil Trani’s mixes California style with Continental cuisine, offering fresh seafood from around the world, and premium meats highlighting the fl avors of Europe. They also offer a variety of Italian-American signature dishes. Open for lunch Monday -Friday and dinner 7 days a week. $$

PORTFOLIO COFFEEHOUSE2300 E. Fourth St., 434-2486

BERLIN, 420 E. Fourth, 435-0600 Portfolio Coffeehouse renders culture, friendship and caffeine fixes to java junkies amidst an eclectic collection of people, vintage furnishings, an outdoor patio, and fine art. Healthy snacks, sand-wiches and gourmet desserts are sure to delight. Portfoliocoffeehouse.com. $

CalifornianTHE FACTORY

4020 Atlantic Ave.595-4020

From farm to table daily, harvested or-ganic produce, grass-fed beef, free range chicken prepared with creative flair. Mi-crobrews, boutique wines. Cooking class-es, tasting events. the factorylb.com. $$

UTOPIA445 E. First St.

432-6888 This European-style cafe offers a vari-ety of salads, pasta, seafood and chicken dishes creatively prepared and served in an intimate setting. Work of local art-ists displayed. Open from noon to 9:30

p.m. Monday-Friday, 5-10 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday. Wine bar. www.utopiar-estaurant.net. $$

GreekGEORGE’S GREEK DELI135 Pine Ave.; 437-1184

5316 E. Second St.; 433-1755 Offering a variety of traditional Greek

dishes, superb service, award-winning wines, Friday night slow-roasted lamb special, Saturday night belly dancing, banquet room and catering. Hours for Pine location: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sun.-Thurs.;10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fri. and Sat. Hours for Shore location: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sun.-Thurs.; 11 a.m. to midnight Fri. and Sat. $$

ItalianBUONA GENTE

5205 E. Second St. 438-8763

Located in the heart of Belmont Shore, Buona Gente features a wide selection of authentic Italian specialties, from ap-


March 2, 2012 | GAZETTE NEWSPAPERS | PAGE 13DINING

| gaZeTTe NeWSPaPeRS | March 2, 2012DINING

petizers, homemade bread to pizzas and pasta dishes. A great selection of wine is available including Buona Gente’s pri-vate label bottled in Napa and Sonoma counties. Don’t miss the famous tiramisu. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. $$

FRaNCeLLI’S3404 e. Fourth St.

434-3441 Francelli’s has been family owned and operated since 1969. They offer tra-ditional Italian food as well as thin crust pizza, sandwiches and panini in a casual atmosphere. Specialties Osso Buco, Lasa-gna & Garlic Chicken. Open all week. $

La TRaVIaTa301 Cedar ave.

432-8022 Located in the historic Willmore Building. If luxury, elegance and deca-dent dining interests you, then this is the place. Live opera singers perform on the weekend nights.New banquet room now open. Serving lunch and dinner all week long $$-$$$

NINO’S3853 atlantic Blvd.

427-1003 Nostalgia favorite Nino’s, the oldest Italian restaurant in Long Beach, estab-lished its reputation by word of mouth. Vincenzo Cristiano, owner and chef since 1958, was born and raised in Naples, Italy. Old World Charm, a call bar, cater-ing and banquet room available. Open for lunch and dinner. ninoslongbeach.com. $

THe PIZZa PLaCe1431 e. Broadway

432-6000 A garden cafe to sample specialties such as lasagna, tortellinis, manicotti and Pasta Primavera. There are 26 pizzas to choose from. Beer and wine, desserts, cappuccino or espresso. Delivery avail-

able. Open from 11 a.m. to midnight. www.thepizzaplaxe.biz. $$

MediterraneanaSHa MOROCCaN

149 Linden ave., Suite e628-2255

The latest addition to the East Village Arts District, Asha features specialties from the Moroccan area of the Mediter-ranean including tajnes and harira. Open 11a.m. - 10 p.m. all week. $

Mexican MeRCeD’S

1064 e. Broadway951-5755

Authentic Mexican food. Casual at-mosphere and you can watch your food cooked in the open kitchen. Beer and wine now available. Open Mon.-Thurs. 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 8 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sun. 8 a.m. -6 p.m. $

SeafoodgLaDSTONe’S330 S. Pine ave.

432-8588 Gladstone’s Long Beach is a water-

front restaurant offering views of the Queen Mary and Shoreline Harbor. Fea-turing a variety of fresh fish and sushi, live lobster, crab and more. Outdoor seat-ing available. Crabby Hour is from 2 to 6 p.m. in the Quarter Deck Lounge. Private Room available for banquets or special events.$$

PIKe BaR & gRILL1836 e. 4th St. (just west of Cherry)

437-4453 Serving fresh seafood, clam chowder in a casual atmosphere. Open for lunch & dinner. Daily specials offered. Break-fast served on weekends. Entertainment nightly. Full bar. $

Thai STaR OF SIaM

2109 e. Broadway439-1564

Star of Siam boasts more than 20 years of culinary delights where traditional Thai cuisine is maintained and celebrat-ed. World class beer and extensive wine list. Open daily 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. except Tuesdays. Prices start at $4.75. Patio din-ing. www.starofsiamonline.com. $

YOUR HOUSe2838 e. Pacific Coast Hwy.

498-4949 Authentic Thai cuisine with over 100 items to choose from. Also serving Thai fusion sushi from the traditional to the ex-otic. Open for lunch & dinner, including a great happy hour from 3-7 p.m. Mon.-Sat. Beer & wine, catering available. $

VegetarianSTeaMeD ORgaNIC

VegeTaRIaN CUISINe801 e. Third St.

437-1122 This casual hipster vegetarian restau-rant offers nutrition for the body & soul. Use fresh locally grown organic produce. Anything on the menu can be made vegan. Offers both take out and back-yard cafe-style patio. Has outdoor seat-ing. Hours: Open 11:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11:30-9:30 Friday & Saturday, Noon-5 pm. Sunday. $

VietnamesePHO aMeRICa

1826 Pacific ave.218-0204

Authentic Vietnamese cuisine with a large selection of Pho, rice, vermicelli and vegetarian dishes plus boba drinks. Open all week. Dine in, take out and ca-tering. Credit cards accepted. $


Dining Guide


March 2 - Redefi ning Women’s Work and Youth’s Education Awards Banquet, 6 p.m., The Reef, 880 Harbor Scenic Dr., $145, (213) 749-3970.March 2 - First Fridays in Bixby Knolls, 6:30-10 p.m., Atlantic Avenue between San Antonio Drive and Bixby Road, http://bixbyknollsinfo.com.March 3 - Camerata Singers and Central4 Piano Quartet perform Brandenburg, 7:30 p.m., First Congregational Church, 241 Cedar Ave., $25 in advance, $30 at the door, 522-1045, www.longbeachcameratasingers.org.March 3 - Azar Nafi si, author of “Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books,” 8 p.m., Carpenter Center, 6200 Atherton St., $35, discounts for seniors and students, 985-7000, www.CarpenterArts.org.March 3-17, University Players: “Sonia Flew,” by Melinda Lopez, 8 p.m. Tues.-Fri., 2 and 8 p.m. Sat., Players’ Theatre at CSULB, 1250 Bellfl ower Rd., $15, $12 for seniors and students, 985-5526 or www.csulb.edu/depts./theatre.March 5 - Leadership Long Beach New Member Mixer, 5:30-7 p.m., Rock Bottom Restaurant, One Pine Ave., RSVP to 997-9194.March 5 - Bixby Knolls Supper Club, 6:30 p.m., Nino’s Italian Restaurant, 3853 Atlantic Ave., reservations required, [email protected] 6 - L.B. Shakespeare Celebrates author Gabriel Garcia Maquez’s Birthday, 8 p.m., Richard Goad Theatre, 4250 Atlantic Ave, $10, $5 for seniors and students, 997-1494, www.LBShakespeare.org.March 6, 7 - “Male Matriarch,” by Amir Levi, 8 p.m., Long Beach Playhouse Studio Theatre, 5021 E. Anaehim St., $20, $15 for seniors and students, 494-1014, http://lbplayhouse.org. March 6-March 10, “Quills,” by Doug Wright, 8 p.m. Tues.-Sat., Cal Rep on the Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, $20, $15, for seniors, students and military, 985-5526, www.calrep.org.

March 5 - Buena Vista Wine Dinner, 7 p.m., Café Piccolo, 3222 E. Broadway, $49.95, 438-1316, www.cafepiccolo.com.

March 2 - VA Long Beach Creative Arts Contest and Show, 10a.m.-1 p.m., Pantages Theater, Building 126, Second Floor VA Center, 5901 E. Seventh St.March 2 - March 2 - Book Signing and Lecture: Michelle Latiolalis, author of “Widow: Stories,” 3 p.m., Baughn Center Room P104, Long Beach City College, 4901 E. Carson St., 243-7114 or www.lbccbaughncenter.com.March 2 - Committee of 300 New Member Mixer and Happy Hour, 5 p.m., La Traviata, 301 N. Cedar Ave., www.redcoat.comMarch 3 - Assistance League Cameo “Nothing But the Blues” fashion show and luncheon, 10 a.m., Convention Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., $95, email to [email protected] 3 - Friends of Music Broadway Music Dinner Fundraiser, 6 p.m., Cal Heights

United Methodist Church, 3759 Orange Ave., $23 donation, 595-1996, www.calheightsumc.org.March 3 and 4, “Straight Talk” cable TV show with Chris Lytle from the Port of Long Beach, 9 a.m., 7 p.m. Sat. and Sun. LBTV Channel 3 and FiOS Channel 21, and 10 a.m., 8 p.m. Sat. and Sun., Charter Channel 101, www.StraightTalkTV.com.March 4 - Plant Expert Barbara Eisenstein talks about “Wilding Your Garden,” 1 p.m., Prisk School, 2375 Fanwood Ave.March 4 - “Love Letters” with David Birney and Michele Roberge to benefi t Carpenter Center Classroom Connections, 2 p.m., Carpenter Center, 6200 Atherton St., $50, 985-7000, www.CarpenterArts.org.March 4 - National Elementary School Spelling Bee for Grades 3-5, 2 p.m., Bay Shore Church, 5100 E. The Toledo, $40, $5 for spectators, www.SpellingBees.com.March 4 - Music by Night Blooming

Jazzmen, 4 p.m., Los Altos United Methodist Church, 5950 E. Willow St., free will offering.March 7 - Long Beach Reads One Book: Evening of Zorro Culture, 5:30 p.m., Museum of Latin American Art, 628 Alamitos Ave., $20 reservations required, email to [email protected] 8 - Wooden Remembered Fundraiser for Children’s Maritime Foundation, 9 a.m., The Grand, 4101 E. Willow St., $55, www.naifalongbeach.org.March 8 - Long Beach City College Senior Center Tour: LB Airport Historical Tour, 9 a.m., call for departure details, $25 plus any addition fees, 938-3048.March 8 - spcaLA Pet Foster Parents Class, 10 a.m., Pitchford Animal Village, 7700 E. Spring St., registration, www.spcala.com.

March 5 - Wrigley Neighborhood School Board Candidates Dist. 2 Forum, 7 p.m., Veterans Park, 101 W. 28th St.March 7 - Eighth Council District Candidates Forum, 7 p.m., Los Cerritos Elementary School, 515 W. San Antonio Dr.March 7 - Steve Kuykendall for Congress Kickoff Reception, 6

p.m., Long Beach Marriott, 4700 Airport Plaza Dr., $150, (310) 370-7676.

March 6 - Overview of Dementia with Nurse Carol Hahn, 10 a.m., St. Mary Medical Center, 1050

Linden Ave, free, RSVP to 491-9811.

March 7 - Chamber Networking Breakfast, 7:30 a.m., Holiday Inn Airport, 2540 N. Lakewood Blvd., $30 includes breakfast.NIGHT OUT

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