Ninth District

For the fifth consecutive year, the Uptown Jazz Festival is back!

The 5th Annual Uptown Jazz Festival is making its way back to Uptown in style, featuring show-stopping headliners Goapele and DW3! 

$1 million dollars in grant funds were received by the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for enhancement of the HEAL (Healthy Eating Active Living) Zone Initiative, an effort launched in in order to foster healthier lifestyles in North Long Beach. Kaiser Permanente was responsible for awarding the funds, honoring a larger part of their HEAL Zone investment to promote healthy communities across Southern California.

The presence of HEAL Zones foster a chance for direction towards a healthier lifestyle, more specifically, those met by challenges in undeserved communities. Reducing the likelihood of developing diseases such as diabetes and hypertension is a probable outcome for this initiative, and a constant goal for DHHS and the Coalition for a Healthy North Long Beach since asserting partnership in January 2012.

“Poor nutrition and lack of exercise are key drivers of diabetes, obesity and heart disease,” Kelly Colopy, director of health and human services, said in a statement. “Increasing education, access to healthy foods and safe, fun places to exercise makes health easier. It takes all of us working together to make this possible.” - Read more from the Long Beach Post here!

One of the best strategies to reduce childhood obesity is to improve the food and physical activity environments of a neighborhood while also improving the nutrition and exercise habits of entire families. Since establishment in 2007, the City of Long Beach DHHS Childhood Obesity Prevention and Advocacy Program is tirelessly reaching towards that goal.

The Coalition for a Healthy North Long Beach meets regularly - learn more and get involved with the coalition by emailing: healthynorthlb@gmail.com

It's Now Participatory Budgeting Vote Week!

This years' voting will be accommodated with a movie in the park, this Friday, May 13th. North Long Beach residents are invited out to Ramona Park for a movie and Participatory Budgeting (PB) project voting and a showing of Hotel Transylvania 2! PB Voting will take place from 5:30-8:30 p.m, while the movie will is set to start around 7:45 p.m.

RSVP for the event here!

Vote at the Field Office

In-person voting hours are available at the District 9 Field Office this year!

Monday - Thursday, May 9-12th, 12:00-7:00 p.m. 
Saturday, May 14th, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 
For more information, contact (562) 570-6137 or visit www.pblongbeach.org!

For the fifth consecutive year, the Uptown Jazz Festival is back!

Please join Hamilton Neighborhood Association, Long Beach Neighborhood Services Bureau, Women in Non-Traditional Employment Roles, and other Community Groups by saving the date, Friday, April 22, 2016. 

On this date we will be planting 100 trees in and around Hamilton Middle School. Check back for more information as we get closer to the date.

This past weekend we topped off the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library alongside our Mayor, Robert Garcia, and ecstatic community leaders and friends. Check out more photos here.

"Topping-off" refers to the point in time during the construction of a new building when the highest structure or beam is added. For the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library, the original spire from the former Atlantic Theatre was used to “top” our new building. 

The library incorporates a reproduction of the former Atlantic Theatre's iconic tower into a glass roof accenting the children's section. The original spire, which has been refurbished, was placed atop the tower this past Saturday, March 12th, 2016.

North Long Beach residents worked together in order to bring about mural and landscaping improvements at the Golden State Humane Society. The beautification effort is the first project of Long Beach 9th District Councilmember Rex Richardson's "Creative Corridor Challenge", a civic engagement initiative to unite artists, residents, and stakeholders to identify and collaborate on projects that will beautify North Long Beach's corridors.

Checkout the iClip footage!

Partnering with the Arts Council for Long Beach, Squeeze Art Collective, The Uptown Property & Community Assoc, and the City of Long Beach Office of Sustainability, Richardson dedicated $50,000 to support community driven projects that include tree planting, mural installations, vacant building and/or lot activation, and public art and utility box beautification.

Several murals are planned to make their way to more corridor walls within North Long Beach, with 7 total in this years' challenge!  Regularly check insidedistrict9.com for more updates!

On Wednesday, March 2nd, 2016, we celebrated the Birthday of Dr. Seuss, a beloved childhood author his memory still lives on today!  In honor of Read Across America, Councilmember Richardson read to students at Colin Powell Academy (150 W. Victoria St., Long Beach, 90805).

Students around the country spent Dr. Seuss' birthday in the most scholastic and appropriate way, reading Seuss' books on the beloved writer's 112th birthday! Thank you Colin Powell Academy for allowing me to read with you and launch the ‪#‎ReadwithRex‬ challenge.

We will also be kicking off “Read with Rex” where I will challenge the community to check out and read 10,000 additional books within the first 100 days of the new Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library opening later this summer!!

This past Tuesday, February 1st, 2016, Black History Month was celebrated in style alongside other council districts, with council district 8 at the forefront of organizing.

After loosening our limbs together to the tune of African drums, we enjoyed some wonderful live singing and powerful words from our leadership. I had the pleasure of delivering a resonating message to those in attendance, highlighting the collective council efforts such as the My Brother's Keeper Program, which benefits young men of color.

Check out some more amazing photos from the memorable day.

Today's 28th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade was a great success.

Our theme for our entry this year was "I Am My Brother's Keeper", which highlights our Long Beach "My Brother's Keeper" initiative to support boys and young men of color. We were joined by the Jordan High School Omega Brothers, Jordan Math Collaborative, Southern California members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and the Jordan High School Marching Band. 

Check out more photos from the day.

The audience was on hand for stepping, training, chanting, and an overall demonstration of college bound young men of color from North long Beach and beyond.

The DeForest Park Wetlands Restoration Project will provide for the development of 39 acres of wetlands, riparian and upland habitat, accessible public trails, and educational interpretation along the Los Angeles River, from DeForest Park to Del Amo Boulevard. Along with the adjacent Dominquez Gap wetlands, the DeForest Wetlands Restoration Project will create almost 3 miles of recreated wetlands along the Los Angeles River, and will be a significant step in completing the 52-mile Los Angeles River Greenway. 

Long Beach was one of just fourteen new 2014 additions to Bloomberg Philanthropies’ highly sought-after Innovation Team grants. In conjunction with local groups, it has whetted its engagement chops by “taking the pulse” of the community through compelling, well-attended events like its People’s State of the City. Further, it has gained experience with online engagement through its Go Long Beach app, which was among the first in the country for a city of its size. And we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Council Member Rex Richardson’s community website, which is one of the best district online portals that we’ve seen.

Long Beach residents got a small glimpse into the future of transportation at Houghton Park Saturday morning as they viewed Teslas, electric motorcycles and a prototype of an electric bus that will soon be ferrying people around the city.

The Long Beach Drive Electric celebration was the first in what local advocates and leaders hope will be an annual showcase of electric vehicles and emerging green technology.