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July 16
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of July 16, 2021 7/16/2021
July 9
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of July 9, 2021 7/9/2021
July 2
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of July 2, 2021 7/2/2021
June 25
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of June 25, 2021 6/25/2021
June 18
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of June 18, 2021 6/18/2021
June11
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of June 11, 2021 6/11/2021
June 4
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of June 04, 2021 6/4/2021
May 28
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of May 28, 2021 5/28/2021
May 21
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of May 21, 2021 5/21/2021
05-13-21
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of May 13, 2021 5/13/2021
May 7 2021
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of May 7, 2021 5/7/2021
04-29-21
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of April 29, 2021 4/29/2021
4-23
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of April 22, 2021 4/22/2021
April 16
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of April 16, 2021 4/16/2021
4-9
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of April 9, 2021 4/9/2021
April 1
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of April 1, 2021 4/1/2021
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Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of March 19, 2021 3/19/2021
Coronavirus CA
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of March 12, 2021 3/12/2021
March 5 2021
Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief of March 5, 2021 3/5/2021
12-26
Business Brief 02-26-21 2/26/2021 Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief for February 26, 2021
ROUND THREE v 4
Business Brief 2-19-21 2/19/2021

Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief for February 19, 2021
Black History Month
Business Brief 02-12-21 2/12/2021 Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief for February 12, 2021
SuperBowl
BUSINESS BRIEF 02-04-21 2/4/2021

Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief for February 4, 2021.
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Business Brief 01-29-21 1/29/2021 Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief for January 29, 2021.
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Business Brief 01-22-21 1/22/2021 Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief for January 22, 2021.
Found LA 01-15-21
Business Brief 01-15-21 1/15/2021 Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief for January 15, 2021.
Tax Credit
Business Brief 01-08-21 1/8/2021 Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief for January 8, 2021.
12-31
Business Brief 12-31-20 12/31/2020 Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief for December 31, 2020.
12-23
Business Brief 12-23-20 12/23/2020 Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief for December 23, 2020.
12-18
Business Brief 12-18-20 12/18/2020 Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief for December 18, 2020.
12-11
Business Brief 12-11-20 12/11/2020 Welcome to the Economic Development Business Brief for December 11, 2020.
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Independent jobs coordinator pilot Program 3/2/2020

ED Staff anticipates it will return to City Council with findings and recommendations regarding the results of the Independent Jobs Coordinator Pilot Program prior to the expiration of the current PLA.  


Update on the Independent Jobs Coordinator Pilot Program
CA Competes Tax Credit
State of California Accepting Applications for CA Competes Tax Credit 1/24/2020 The State of California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development is accepting applications for the California Competes Tax Credit. Applications for the current round of funding are due Monday, January 27, 2020.
State of the City
Mayor Delivers Annual State of the City 1/17/2020 On January 14th, 2020 Mayor Robert Garcia delivered his annual State of the City address and discussed Long Beach's challenges, opportunities, and successes.
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Pop-Up Gives Small Businesses Taste of Owning Their Own Shop 1/2/2020 The Corner Pop-Up is a place to experience Long Beach's entrepeneurial scene, where residents and visitors can discover new, locally-developmed products and services. The creative space is a partnerhsip among the City of Long Beach's Economic Development Department, Pacific Gateway, and LINC Housing.
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City of Long Beach Year in Review 1/1/2020 The City of Long Beach is proud to release the 2019 Year in Review, a book that offers a snapshot of the City’s accomplishments and accolades for the year.
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Focus on Downtown Long Beach 1/1/2020 The Long Beach Business Journal's 2019 Focus on Downtown Long Beach.
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El Dorado Park Concessions Opportunity 12/26/2019 The City of Long Beach (City) is looking for an innovative business model to provide park visitors with enhanced visitor experiences and that are novel and creative while generating park-supporting revenue within the City’s largest park.
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Report: Long Beach Airport has $1.6B impact on region 11/21/2019 The Long Beach Airport generated about $1.6 billion in economic impact during 2018 and helped support over 10,000 jobs, according to a recent report released by a consulting firm.
Unison Consulting.
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Long Beach, California, Has L.A. Vibes But A Charm All Its Own 11/20/2019 A visit to southern California that doesn’t include a stop in Long Beach, though, would miss out on a city filled with one-of-a-kind waterfront attractions, excellent food and public art all around—but without the crowds and sprawl of its more famous neighbor. Here’s how to spend a weekend in Long Beach.
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BID Initiatives Bring Shoppers And Diners To Bixby Knolls 11/18/2019 Between supporting local business owners, bringing new ventures to the neighborhood and organizing events to engage the community, Cohn said there’s never a dull moment at the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association's office. 
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Luminaries Talk Trade, Global Business At Long Beach Convention 11/18/2019 In early November, top executives from major U.S. and international companies – from Walt Disney International to Johnson & Johnson and many others – as well as leading government officials and trade experts, gathered at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center for a two-day conference on the topic of thriving in global markets. 
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In Long Beach, a business model to keep innovation cooking 11/13/2019 The Office of Civic Innovation launched in October of 2018 and has since taken on a wide range of clients, showcasing the many ways their expertise in human-centered design, data analysis, and engaging residets as co-creators can deliver better results.
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Rising Up: Former Verizon building on Ocean Blvd. to become 11-story residential complex 11/8/2019 The former Verizon Building on Ocean Boulevard, in Long Beach, is getting taller.
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More renderings show off Uptown Commons, more tenants announced 11/7/2019 The Uptown Commons, one of three major North Long Beach developments that include the similarly named Uptown, as well as Shaheen Sadeghi’s ambitious Canvas project, will be taking over an empty, two-acre lot at 6600 Atlantic Ave.
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Carnival Panorama Starts 38-Day Journey to North America 11/4/2019 Carnival Panorama has left Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, Italy and is now bound for her new homeport of Long Beach, California.
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Growing Long Beach: Climathon Tackles Economic, Climate Solutions For Global Issues 11/4/2019 If there were only 24 hours to develop a solution to one of the world’s biggest economic issues, could it be done? The participants of the global, 24-hour Climathon faced that challenge head-on on October 25.
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Real Estate & Development: 2ND & PCH Is Open For Business 11/4/2019 The highly anticipated 2ND & PCH retail center celebrated its grand opening with city officials, developers and hundreds of residents in attendance on October 24.
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City Council Approves Permanent Lease With Community Hospital Operator 10/21/2019

The Long Beach City Council unanimously voted Tuesday, October 15, to approve a permanent lease and cost-sharing agreement between the City of Long Beach and the selected operator for Community Hospital Long Beach – Molina, Wu, Network, LLC (MWN).
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Building A Better Long Beach: The Final Piece Of The Douglas Park Puzzle 10/21/2019 For nearly a decade, development has been ongoing at Douglas Park, a 261-acre commercial park consisting of light industrial buildings, offices, hotels and retail. The bulk of development was completed by Sares-Regis Group, which sold off some small parcels to other developers. 
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Growing Long Beach: Cohesive Efforts Lead To ‘Activation’ At The Promenade 10/21/2019 For the past several years, the assertion that Long Beach is going through a “renaissance” has been made so often – by elected officials, real estate brokers, business leaders and even economists – that it seems to have become a full-fledged local mantra.
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Long-Term Lease Agreement Puts Community Hospital On Track To Open 10/16/2019

Long Beach is one step closer to reopening Community Hospital.
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Rising Up: Central Long Beach Parking Lot to Become 7-Story Apartment Complex 10/11/2019 A parking lot in Central Long Beach will soon become a seven-story housing development.
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Growing Long Beach: Work Group Aims To Address City’s Office Vacancies 10/7/2019 Identifying a need to address an increase in office vacancies, particularly in Downtown Long Beach, a collection of office brokers and city officials established a work group in late 2018 to lure potential companies and tenants to the region.
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Building A Better Long Beach: Bringing Expanded Support Services To Midtown 10/7/2019 Construction is well-underway on the new Mental Health America of Los Angeles (MHALA) facility, which is set to bring mental and physical health care services, as well as employment support and opportunity, housing support and more to Midtown.
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Overlooked by Venture Capitalists, Underserved Entrepreneurs Find Support from Local Governments 10/3/2019 Nearly 70 percent of residents in Long Beach are black, Asian or Latino, and these residents are disproportionately poor compared to white residents. Recognizing that its long-term economic prosperity is closely tied to the prospects of its large minority and immigrant communities, the city has made economic inclusion a key priority. 
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Mayor Garcia Announces New Technology Companies, Affordable Housing for Educators Coming to the City 9/24/2019

Not only is Long Beach’s skyline growing, but its plethora of new developments are also attracting top-tier businesses to the city. That was the message Mayor Robert Garcia sent during his annual “Building a Better Long Beach” presentation on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
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With $84 million North Long Beach Warehouse Project, North Long Beach Continues its ‘Renaissance' 9/24/2019 Construction of a massive, 415,592-square-foot warehouse is set to move forward at the southwest corner of Artesia and Paramount boulevards and will be named Bridge Point.
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Building A Better Long Beach: Veteran And Senior Housing Project Nears Completion 9/23/2019 The two-phase affordable housing development known collectively as The Beacon is nearing completion, with the Beacon Place phase, a 39-unit building reserved for homeless veterans, complete and nearly 100% leased.
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New Partnership To Assist Underserved Women Entrepreneurs 9/23/2019 Southern California-based East West Bank and microfinance nonprofit organization Grameen America recently announced a collaboration to assist low-income women entrepreneurs with access to capital and financial services through a new branch at 316 E. Anaheim St. in Long Beach’s Cambodia Town. 
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Growing Long Beach: Canadian Businesses Consider Expanding In Long Beach 9/23/2019 Since city officials promoted Long Beach as a prime destination for business growth in Vancouver earlier this year, multiple Canadian businesses have expressed interest in expanding their operations to Long Beach, according to Seyed Jalali, the city’s economic development officer.
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Bridge Development Advances Big Warehouse Project in Long Beach 9/20/2019 A plan for a massive warehouse in Long Beach has advanced with the approval of the city’s Planning Commission.
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Long Beach Approves Plans for 23-Story High-Rise and Eight-Story Building – Adding 345 Housing Units Downtown 9/19/2019 The Planning Commission approved 3rd+Pacific — a long-anticipated project that will merge six downtown lots to create an eight-story mid-rise and a 23-story tower — at its Thursday, Sept. 19 meeting.
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49-Unit, six-story Linden Development Completed in Downtown 9/16/2019 More housing and commercial space has arrived in Downtown Long Beach as the once-empty lot at the southwest corner of Fourth Street and Linden Avenue has become The Linden, a 49-unit, six-story mixed-use residential complex.
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Growing Long Beach: New Initiative Aimed At Business Retention, Employee Ownership 9/9/2019 This month, the Long Beach Economic Development Department hosted the launch of the Accelerate Employee Ownership Initiative at Studio One Eleven, 245 E. 3rd St. The event publicly introduced the city’s partnership with the nonprofit Project Equity, a San Francisco Bay Area-based organization that is dedicated to promoting business retention and employee ownership regionwide. 
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City Council Approves Funds To Establish Community Development Corporation 9/9/2019 In an effort to implement recommendations made by the ‘Everyone In’ taskforce for economic inclusion, spearheaded by 9th District Councilmember Rex Richardson, the Long Beach City Council has approved funds in the amount of $125,000 for the establishment of a Community Development Corporation (CDC).
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A Hand-up With a Pop-Up: LB Economic Development Department Seeks to Help Small Start-Ups with Free Retail Space 9/5/2019 It may sound like just a dream for small-business entrepreneurs, but, beginning next month, the City of Long Beach will offer 900 square feet of retail space to several local start-ups– free of charge.
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Long Beach Kicks Off New Startup Accelerator 8/28/2019 The City kicked off the Long Beach Accelerator, a startup incubator program formed as a partnership between the city, Cal State Long Beach and the investment company Sunstone Management, with an investor reception Tuesday, Aug. 27.
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Corner Pop-Up Gives Entrepreneurs Space To Test Their Ideas 8/26/2019 Emerald Austin had always dreamed about opening her own baking business and sharing her sweets with the community...
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Entrepreneurs Offered Brick-And-Mortar Experiment At Long Beach's Corner Pop-Up 8/24/2019 Entrepreneur Emerald Austin’s dream is to one day open a brick-and-mortar for Royal Gourmet Cookies, and she’s getting a two-week glimpse of what that would be like as she sets up shop at The Corner Pop-Up.
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Bryant Rubber Corp. Relocates Headquarters to Long Beach, Calif. 8/19/2019 Manufacturing company Bryant Rubber Corp. plans to move its headquarters from Harbor City, California, to a newly renovated building in Long Beach, California, where the industrial market is heating up as a result of the area's proximity to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Sunstone Management Launches LBA Sunstone Fund I, Partners with Seraph Group to Launch Additional Seed Fund 8/15/2019 Sunstone Management, a diversified capital management and investment firm based in Long Beach, Calif., has launched a new fund to facilitate the growth of startups participating in the Long Beach Accelerator™ program. 
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City sells vacant lot to make way for more senior affordable housing 8/14/2019

Making way for more affordable housing for seniors, the Long Beach City Council has formally approved the sale of a 15,795-square-foot lot in Central Long Beach to affordable housing developer Mercy Housing California of Los Angeles.
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Renderings Reveal What the New Breakers Hotel (and the Sky Room) Will Look Like 8/14/2019 New renderings reveal what the Breakers Building will look like after community-investment partnership Pacific6 has completed its renovation of the 14-story building on Ocean Boulevard.
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Long Beach moves ahead with 88-unit affordable housing complex in Cambodia Town 8/13/2019 The City Council voted unanimously during its Tuesday, Aug. 13 meeting to approve a five-story, 88-unit affordable housing complex in Cambodia Town, at the intersection of East Anaheim Street and Walnut Avenue.
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LBCC Reboots Trade Programs 8/12/2019 With a tight labor market and high demand for workers skilled in the trades, Long Beach City College (LBCC) is bringing back some of these programs this fall, as well as adding new ones.
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Cal State Long Beach Ranked as Country’s 13th Best College for Affordability 8/12/2019 Cal State Long Beach has been ranked as one of the nation’s “best bargains” in education in a report released Monday by Money magazine.
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Small Business Center Helps Entrepreneurs Determine Steps For Expansion 8/12/2019 For aspiring entrepreneurs who are interested in starting a business but have no clear path on how to get started, the Long Beach Small Business Development Center (SBDC) aims to serve as a roadmap.
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Long Beach Officials Break Ground on New Alamitos Beach Concession Stand 8/1/2019 Officials broke ground Thursday, Aug. 1, on an Alamitos Beach cafe and concession stand, a precursor to two similar projects that will also come to the Junipero and Granada beaches
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After Decades Of Service To Long Beach Residents, Historic Companies Double-Down On Local Investment 7/15/2019 Long Beach has bestowed its business owners with many favorable circumstances: mild weather, a gateway to the Pacific Ocean and a large natural oil field underneath their feet, to name a few. But the city isn’t shielded from the perils of the global economy, and Long Beach’s legacy companies have seen the city through it all.
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Food Business Uses City Loan Program To Expand Operations 7/15/2019 Emphasizing the importance of organic food, local residents Chrissy Cox and Dawna Bass co-founded Rainbow Juices in 2012 as a home business to provide fresh, cold-pressed juices to the community.
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Long Beach Company Laserfiche Invests in New Bixby Knolls Development 7/9/2019 Laserfiche is a global software company, but CEO Chris Wacker will tell you it’s also a local company — one that continues to invest in Long Beach.
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Long Beach Civic Center Readies for Grand Opening 7/5/2019 Long Beach’s new Civic Center is preparing for a grand unveiling later this month, but construction has officially wrapped up on the new complex.
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Growing Long Beach: Fellowship Program Connects College Grads With Employers 7/1/2019
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Five-Unit Affordable Housing Complex for Adults with Disabilities to Open 6/25/2019 A small parcel on Redondo Avenue between First Street and Broadway has been converted to a five-unit affordable housing complex specifically for adults with developmental disabilities thanks to a partnership between nonprofit Home Ownership for Personal Empowerment, or HOPE, and the City of Long Beach.
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Marketing Long Beach As A Package Deal To Tourists 6/17/2019 Whether it’s scouting for whales in the bay, day trips to Catalina Island or shopping for vintage finds on 4th Street, there are plenty of activities visitors to Long Beach can busy themselves with. Still, the city’s history as an oil town, a naval base and later its industrial development as part of the nation’s largest port complex have at times overshadowed its leisurely offerings
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Pilot Program For Minority Business Owners Provides Perspective And Community 6/17/2019 Guests gathered to celebrate the graduation of seven local businesses from the city’s GROW Long Beach pilot program, an initiative designed to help entrepreneurs of color grow and expand their businesses. Spearheaded by the city’s economic development department and led by GROW Long Beach Consultant Vivian Shimoyama, the program seeks to connect business owners with resources and help them develop a vision for the future growth of their companies.
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Condos And Retail Are Coming To Central Long Beach 6/17/2019 Located at 1570-1598 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach Garden Home consists of 14 one-bedroom and 22 two-bedroom condominiums on the second through fourth floors of the development.
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IN PICTURES: A sneak peek inside Long Beach’s first distillery, Portuguese Bend 6/14/2019 The first unveiling of Portuguese Bend Distilling, Long Beach’s first distillery, brought in media and investors to preview the space and taste the spirits of the much anticipated project on Thursday night. Originally announced in 2017, owners Luis Navarro and Brenda Riviera, the duo behind Lola’s Mexican Cuisine and The Social List on Fourth Street, and owner and master distiller Simon Haxton, welcomed guests after many a sleepless night preparing for this day.
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Podcast: New City Program Helps Diverse Entrepreneurs 6/10/2019 On Friday, a group of seven business owners successfully completed GROW Long Beach, a grant-funded pilot program designed to help minority business owners grow and expand their operations. The Long Beach Business Journal spoke to participants Jeff Beasly and Jennifer Bermudez-Perez about their experience with the program, and learned m
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Workers break ground on 102-unit affordable housing project in Central Long Beach 6/7/2019 The Las Ventanas development, formerly known as the Pacific Apartments, is now officially under construction and is set to house 102 affordable apartment units at Long Beach Boulevard near Pacific Coast Highway.
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Growing Long Beach: SCORE Offers Business Owners Free Mentoring And Workshops 6/4/2019 Business owners and entrepreneurs in the City of Long Beach can now take advantage of free mentoring and workshops provided by SCORE, a nonprofit association funded by the United States Small Business Administration.
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Nonprofit Aims To Address Succession Gap Among Long Beach Businesses 6/3/2019 For the next two years, Project Equity is partnering with the City of Long Beach, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and Citi Community Development to identify and meet with businesses that are interested in transitioning into a worker-owned cooperative. Citi has committed $300,000 to the effort, Edwards said.
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Building A Better Long Beach: 2nd & PCH Bringing New Food, Shops And Services 6/3/2019 The 215,000 square-foot development at the southwest corner of East 2nd Street and Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), the aptly named “2nd & PCH,” is scheduled to open in October 2019. Owned and developed by CenterCal Properties, the shopping center replaces the aging SeaPort Marina Hotel and is slated to feature a host of amenities, including fire pits, wi-fi stations, bicycle lanes and landscaping.
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The Wrapping Comes off at Long Beach's AMLI Park Broadway Development 5/30/2019 After more than two years of construction, Chicago-based AMLI Residential is nearing completion at its mixed-use development Downtown Long Beach.
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Long Beach Moves Out of L.A.’s Shadow 5/29/2019 Long Beach is slowly but surely moving out of Los Angeles’ shadow. The ongoing renaissance may be overdue, but it is picking up steam. This year, 1,500 apartment units are scheduled for delivery in Downtown Long Beach along with 38,000 square feet of commercial space, and the construction pipeline is continuing to grow. The city is supporting the growth as well with infrastructure updates and renovation plans for government buildings. All in all, it means big changes for the market.
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Long Beach Breaks Into the Startup Accelerator Space 5/29/2019 The City, Cal State Long Beach’s Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and investment company Sunstone Management are partnering to launch an accelerator aimed at bolstering new tech companies.
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Economic inclusion is the focus of Long Beach’s ‘Everyone In Latinx Community Conversation’ 5/28/2019 Economic inclusion was the focus as members of the Latino community from Long Beach and around the region gathered at Centro CHA, a non-profit human and social service agency, to collaborate with city officials this week.
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CenterCal Releases List Of Leases For 2nd & PCH Center 5/21/2019 Long Beach has a slew of new shops and restaurants coming its way this fall — including the likes of Urban Outfitters, Shake Shack and Sephora — when the 11-acre 2nd & PCH project opens its doors.
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New Startup Accelerator Plans To Bring Tech Boom To Long Beach 5/6/2019 From Silicon Valley in the Bay Area to Silicon Beach in West Los Angeles, the California coast is famous for its startup culture. A new public-private taskforce in Long Beach is now hoping to extend the startup axis further to the south.
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LBCC Kicks Off New Initiative To Link Students With Employers 5/6/2019 On a sunny morning at the end of April, elected officials from several South Bay cities, representatives from local businesses and Long Beach City College staff came together to celebrate the launch of the school’s new Center for Community and Industry Partnerships.
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Long Beach Strengthens its Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: The City of Opportunity for Workers, Investors, and Entrepreneurs 5/6/2019 In April 2017, Mayor Robert Garcia and the City Council adopted the Blueprint for Economic Development (Blueprint). The Blueprint serves as a call to action for the City of Long Beach, private sector, academia, and community-based organizations (CBOs) around a strategic vision for economic vitality. It is already producing new, more efficient ways of assisting entrepreneurs and cultivating an environment that not only welcomes but encourages partnership.  
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Long Beach’s First Winery Coming To Downtown 5/6/2019 California wines are known throughout the world. But despite favorable weather conditions, Long Beach’s urban, industrial coastline and a lack of rolling hills for grapevines to rest on have precluded the city from taking part in this profitable industry. Luckily for wine aficionados, that hasn’t held back a small but flourishing scene of wine stores and tasting rooms in the city. And soon, Long Beach will welcome its first winery, located in the heart of downtown.
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Long Beach Public Art Festival Spurs Economic Activity 5/1/2019 As the City of Long Beach (pop. 478,561) emerged from the Great Recession, its mayor and city council prioritized economic development by adopting the Blueprint for Economic Development, a set of strategic guiding principles focused on efforts to create businesses, well-paying jobs and increased standards of living for diverse residents. One key element to becoming an exceptionally livable, inventive and inclusive city, articulated in the blueprint, was public art.
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Long Beach Schools Aim to Connect More Students to Local Jobs. This is How They Plan to Do It 4/26/2019 Graduates of Cal State Long Beach and City College will soon have help finding jobs because of two separate programs, announced this week, that will connect local businesses to Long Beach alums for employment opportunities.
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Long Beach Provides Update on 10-year Blueprint for City’s Economic Development 4/25/2019

Two years into the City of Long Beach’s 10-year blueprint for economic development, the Economic Development Commission will provide an update on milestones met thus far at a meeting on Tuesday, April 30 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the City Council Chambers.

 
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Long Beach Becomes First City in California to Recognize Businesses Owned by Veterans, People with Disabilities, LGBTQ Community Members in its Contracting Process 4/24/2019 Long Beach has become the first California city to explicitly recognize businesses owned by veterans, people with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ community in its bidding process.
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The Grow Long Beach Fund Helps Local Businesses Expand And Thrive 4/22/2019 The City of Long Beach offers microloan options for startups and small businesses with five or fewer employees, but what about established businesses that want to expand their operations? The Grow Long Beach Fund makes it possible for these businesses to receive up to $2 million in financing.
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Immigrant-Owned Small Businesses Thrive In A Diverse Long Beach 4/22/2019

Founded by George Economides, an immigrant from the island nation of Cyprus, the Business Journal has been reporting in the City of Long Beach since March 1987. In honor of National Small Business Week (May 5-11), and the immigrant heritage of this publication, the Business Journal spoke to local entrepreneurs who have traveled over oceans and continents to make this city their home, and who continue to help the local economy thrive.
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With Coachella Wrapped, Goldenvoice Heads West to Long Beach for Summer Festival Season 4/22/2019

The LA promoter is betting on smaller, genre-specific festivals on a site near the popular Queen Mary.

Planning to attend a music festival in Southern California this summer? Bring a towel and some sun block, because the region's live music scene has shifted back to the coastal waters of LA and Orange County.
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Cal State Long Beach Announces Fellowship, Tech Incubator Partnerships at Economic Forum 4/18/2019 Cal State Long Beach President Jane Close Conoley announced Thursday that the university would be entering into two new partnerships this year that could impact graduate students and the city’s ability to attract tech entrepreneurs.
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Long Beach Eyes Spreading its New Wealth More Widely Among its Residents, Officials Say During Economic Forum 4/18/2019 In many ways, Long Beach is at its economic peak — the city has a historically low unemployment rate; new investments are pouring in; and per-capita income levels are growing faster than the county or state at large.
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Growing Long Beach: City Program Beautifies Anaheim Street Businesses 4/8/2019 As part of its continuing efforts to support new and existing businesses in Long Beach, the city’s economic development department is carrying out a pilot program to refresh storefronts along Anaheim Street, Carson Street and Pacific Avenue. 
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Long Beach Breaks Ground on Vistas del Puerto, a 48-Unit Affordable Housing Complex 3/28/2019 Just one week after Long Beach officials broke ground on a 95-unit affordable housing complex in Central Long Beach, they returned to the neighborhood to start work on another 48 below-market-value units.
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Developers of 2nd and PCH, Breakers, West Gateway and More Update Long Beach on Their Plans 3/26/2019 Local developers of some of the city’s biggest upcoming projects met with the city’s Economic Development Commission on Tuesday, March 26, where they updated the commission on their plans — and assured commissioners that Long Beach staff is helping the process run smoothly.
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Growing Long Beach: How Pacific Gateway Connects Employers To Qualified Candidates 3/25/2019 The City of Long Beach’s workforce development arm, Pacific Gateway, is a resource for both employers and job applicants in Long Beach and Signal Hill, as well as the Los Angeles harbor communities. 
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Cal State Long Beach to Open 16 classrooms in Downtown Next Year 3/21/2019 Cal State Long Beach will open 16 classrooms in Downtown next year as part of the city’s larger plan to revitalize the area and focus on workforce development, officials said Wednesday.
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48-Unit Affordable Housing Development Vistas Del Puerto Set to Break Ground 3/21/2019 In a partnership between affordable housing builder Clifford Beers Housing and Killefer Flammang Architects, 48 new affordable units will break ground on March 27 near the Blue Line at Pacific Coast Highway and Long Beach Boulevard.
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The Spark at Midtown, a 95-unit affordable housing complex, is just the beginning of new development in Central Long Beach 3/20/2019 Walking around downtown Long Beach, it’s hard to miss the ubiquitous hard hats, cranes and mid-construction skyscrapers. The neighborhood is without question the epicenter of the city’s development boom — but those investments are crawling northward.
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Long Beach Airport Named one of the Nation’s top 5 Airports 3/19/2019 The accolades the Long Beach Airport continues to receive seem endless as with great design comes great praise: Money magazine has named Long Beach’s center of aviation as one of the nation’s top five airports in terms of overall quality, timeliness, and price.
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Developers to Break Ground this Week on 95-unit Affordable Housing Development 3/19/2019 One of Long Beach’s least-discussed affordable housing developments—the five-story, 95-unit mixed-use project dubbed The Spark—will officially break ground Wednesday, March 20.
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Economic Development Initiatives Support Small Businesses, Reward Innovation 3/11/2019 For the entrepreneur looking to grow his or her business in the City of Long Beach, there are several assistance programs of which to take advantage. Seyed Jalali, economic development officer for the city’s economic development department, told the Business Journal that Long Beach actively engages with its business community.
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Pacific Gateway Receives National Recognition 3/11/2019 The 2015 closure of Boeing’s C-17 Globemaster III manufacturing facility at the Long Beach Airport spurred Pacific Gateway, the city’s workforce development agency, to analyze the economic composition of Long Beach – who its major employers are, what industries are driving growth and the demographics of Long Beach workers.
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Brewery Scene Creates A Buzz In Long Beach 3/11/2019 Long Beach is fast becoming a hot spot for craft breweries. The city’s business services bureau reports that there are at least 14 breweries currently operating within city limits, and more than half of them have opened since 2015.
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Kiva Long Beach Gives A Boost To Fitness Start-Up Gravity Ball Health Systems 3/11/2019 What began as a solution to help a family member regain autonomy over his weight lifting routine following an injury eventually turned into one of Long Beach’s latest start-ups: Gravity Ball Health Systems.
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Major Retail Projects Taking Shape Across Long Beach 3/11/2019 From Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) to 61st Street and Atlantic Avenue, major retail centers are sprouting up from one end of Long Beach to the other.
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Long Beach Experiencing Development On A Scale Not Seen In Over A Decade 3/11/2019 With thousands of residential units and millions of square feet of commercial real estate under construction or in the pipeline, Long Beach is experiencing a level of development not seen in over a decade, according to city staff.
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Attractions Expand Their Offerings As Visitor Numbers Grow 3/11/2019 Whether it’s for a weekend getaway or as a stop on the way to cruise the Mexican Riviera, there are plenty of reasons to visit Long Beach. Booming development and a growing dining and entertainment scene have put the city on the map.
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Long Beach Industry Snapshots 3/11/2019 A diversity of business sectors drive the Long Beach economy, some with roots dating back to the city’s origins, and others that have blossomed more recently. The city’s economic strength and stability has been bolstered by the variety of its industries; when one slows, another is there to pick up the slack.
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Leaders Approve Massive Laserfiche Expansion in Bixby Knolls 3/6/2019

Long Beach-based software design company Laserfiche is set for a massive expansion of its headquarters after the City Council approved a project Tuesday night that will add over 100,000 square feet to its campus.
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City Moves Forward on Upgraded Waterfront Amenities; Groundbreaking Expected Next Month 3/6/2019 After unveiling sleek, contemporary renderings of proposals to upgrade the amenities of various areas along the coast of Long Beach, the Long Beach City Council formally decided to move forward on breaking ground on one of three proposed concession areas.
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Veteran-Focused Fourth And Olive Reopens As The Pigburd 3/3/2019 For a restaurant that focuses on hiring veterans, the mission to remain open was accomplished with the help of a war vet and a menu that gives the kitchen the leeway to serve just about anything.
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City Working On New Parking Plan For Alamitos Bay Marina Area In Southeast Long Beach 3/2/2019 For the last two years, parking was at a premium at Alamitos Bay Landing and the nearby marina parking lots thanks to the popularity of Ballast Point and Boathouse on the Bay.
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Building A Better Long Beach: Oceanaire Developer Anticipates June Opening 2/25/2019
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City Program Helps Ambitious Ales Join The Neighborhood 2/25/2019 Bixby Knolls’ latest brewery, Ambitious Ales, held its grand opening on February 16. Juan Carrillo, general manager and co-owner of Ambitious Ales, told the Business Journal that the Long Beach Economic Development Department and the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association (BKBIA), the nonprofit group that manages the neighborhood’s business improvement district, were instrumental in making it happen.
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Opportunity Zones Could Deliver Big Returns To Long Beach Neighborhoods, Investors 2/25/2019 The federal government has created a major incentive for investing in low-income communities in the United States: the Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) program. This program allows investors to postpone and exempt federal taxes on capital gains by investing in property and businesses in federal census tracts designated as opportunity zones. 
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Long Beach Traffic Circle Hosts A ‘Retail Renaissance’ 2/25/2019 Located in the heart of Long Beach’s 4th District and at the intersection of three major streets – Lakewood Boulevard, Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and Los Coyotes Diagonal – the Traffic Circle is awhirl with commuters and commerce
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LIMITLESS Long Beach - Creating an Environment for Businesses to Thrive 2/24/2019 Home to approximately 480,000 people, the multiple award-winning and innovative City of Long Beach offers all the world-class amenities of a large metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods nestled together along the California coast.
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One of LA’s Most Prominent Mexican Chefs Goes Fast-Casual in Long Beach 2/19/2019 Popular Southeast LA chef Thomas Ortega (Amor y Tacos, Playa Amor) is adding another new restaurant to his repertoire this week. It’s called Amorcito Taqueria, and it opens inside the LBX Hangar property in Long Beach, a mixed-used development stuffed with other restaurant ideas.
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Restaurant Weeks Makes Return in Long Beach 2/14/2019 Long Beach restaurants are teaming up for Restaurant Week happening at the end of the month, and like every year, there's going to plenty of food to go around.
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Business Corridor Improvement Pilot Program Brightens Up Norse Village 2/11/2019 During Fiscal Year 2018, the Long Beach City Council set aside $450,000 in savings to create a business corridor improvement pilot program benefiting three business zones on Carson Street, Anaheim Street and Pacific Avenue. The first to reap the fruits of this investment was the Norse Village Business Association (NVBA) area.
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CSU Long Beach And Long Beach City College Partner With Industry To Prepare A Skilled Future Workforce 2/11/2019 During an era of fast-paced technological advancements and economic growth, higher educational institutions in Long Beach are strengthening partnerships within growing industries to ensure their curriculums keep up with in-demand skillsets and to create new programs designed for the future workforce.
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Building A Better Long Beach: Final Four Industrial Buildings To Complete Douglas Park 2/11/2019 For the last decade, Sares-Regis Group (SRG) and its partners have worked to develop Douglas Park on more than 280 acres of land previously owned by The Boeing Company. Come July, the first components of the final major development in the area, Pacific Pointe Northwest, will come online.
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Long Beach’s First Distillery, Portuguese Bend, Set to Open in April 2/8/2019 Long Beach’s first distillery, Portuguese Bend, is set to open in April as construction moves forward since breaking ground last October.
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This Monthly Pitching Competition in Long Beach Hopes to Kick Off a Bigger Startup Community 2/8/2019

Currently, in 30 cities around the world, Founders Live hosts regular pitching competitions in each city and live-streams them, allowing anyone to watch local entrepreneurs everywhere from Long Beach to Harare, Zimbabwe, share the story of their startups.hange that.
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Wells Fargo Grant To Advance Long Beach Everyone In Movement 2/7/2019 A $50,000 grant from Wells Fargo will help fuel phase two of the Everyone In economic inclusion effort. 
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Food Will Take Flight at The Hangar at the Long Beach Exchange this Month 2/6/2019 A list of destinations are posted on a flight board inside The Hangar, but instead of cities, the locales are the options at the soon-to-open Long Beach food hall and include eateries such as Jay Bird’s Nashville Hot Chicken and Mexican restaurant Amorcito.
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City Council Approves $9.5 Million Purchase for Year-Round Shelter 2/6/2019 Long Beach plans to open a year-round homeless shelter in 2020 after leaders agreed Tuesday night to purchase land in North Long Beach for $9.5 million.
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Renovation Plans move forward for historic Breakers building 2/5/2019 The City Council on Tuesday unanimously affirmed approval of renovations for the Breakers, giving a green light for the historic building’s transformation into a 185-room boutique hotel.
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Long Beach Grand Prix Announces New Title Sponsor 2/5/2019 Officials for the Grand Prix of Long Beach on Tuesday announced they have reached a multi-year agreement with Acura to become the title sponsor of the city’s largest event, starting in 2019.
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City Partners With Tech Company To Develop App For Small Businesses 1/28/2019 The City of Long Beach has joined forces with a Pasadena-based tech company to deliver mentorship and assistance to small business owners and entrepreneurs planning to start businesses in Long Beach.
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City reveals location of year-round homeless shelter with goal for 2020 opening 1/28/2019 City officials today revealed the location of a much-anticipated year-round homeless shelter they hope to open in 2020 and announced plans for a large campus that would eventually provide wraparound services for those experiencing homelessness.
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Long Beach Port Has Big Goals for Rail Expansion 1/25/2019 The Port of Long Beach is inching closer to its pioneering goals for rail—all part of an effort to create a greener and more efficient port. 
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LBCC now accepting students for classes that could lead to port jobs 1/24/2019 Community members can now register for classes at Long Beach City College could lead them to higher paying jobs at the Port of Long Beach
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Port Of Long Beach Breaking Records, Getting Greener 1/23/2019 A trade war between the United States and China has business owners worried, but at least for now, it has resulted in a record year for the Port of Long Beach.
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After $25M Renovation, One World Trade Center In Long Beach Sees Upswing 1/17/2019 A $25M renovation of one of Long Beach's iconic office buildings is already paying off. California Resources Corp. is the latest company to sign a lease for office space at One World Trade Center, better known as 1WTC.
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Growing Long Beach 1/14/2019

Through a unique program offering 0% interest loans – half crowd-funded and half paid with matching dollars – Long Beach baker Arturo Enciso was able to raise $10,000 to help meet growing demand for his homemade breads.
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Crews break ground on 271-unit, mixed-income residential project in Downtown 1/14/2019 After receiving approval from the Long Beach Planning Commission last June, construction crews have broken ground on an eight-story, mixed-income residential complex at the southeast corner of Seventh Street and Pacific Avenue in Downtown.
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Long Beach Moves Into Phase 2 Of Economic Inclusion Initiative 1/14/2019 Two years ago, the City of Long Beach adopted its Blueprint for Economic Development as a vision for increasing its standard of living and supporting new and local businesses in the area. Building on that blueprint, 9th District Councilmember Rex Richardson spearheaded an initiative dubbed “Everyone In” to promote economic inclusion for the minority community. 
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Long Beach Builds In 2018; More Developments To Come In New Year 1/4/2019 Glance across the city skyline and you can’t miss them: Construction cranes in motion, reshaping Long Beach with more than $5 billion in private and public development underway in 2018 — and more to come in 2019.
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Long Beach Port Likely Set Cargo Record In 2018, But Not All Is Rosy As Trade War With China Continues 1/3/2019 Early tallies for 2018 show cargo volume continued increasing at the Port of Long Beach, despite worrying signs about the economic effects of the ongoing trade war with China.
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Graduation Rates Increase for Cal State Long Beach, LBCC and Long Beach Unified in 2018 12/31/2018 Thousands of graduates in Long Beach celebrated a successful year in 2018, with graduation rates up in all levels of education.
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Laserfiche unveils massive plan for new headquarters in Los Cerritos 12/21/2018 Laserfiche, the Long Beach-based software development company, has unveiled its massive plan to build a 74-foot-high, 102,848 square-foot office building and separate, three-story parking garage.
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Forbes: A Taste Of Long Beach, California 12/20/2018 When’s the last time you dined in Long Beach? From Mexican, Cambodian and French to vegan and barbecue, you can find nearly every cuisine under the Californian sun in this diverse coastal city. Thanks to its array of multicultural influences, local California classics such as fresh seafood never get old.
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Workers Break Ground on 34-room, Five-Story Boutique Hotel in Downtown 12/20/2018 Construction workers have begun work on a 34-room boutique hotel that will be privately operated by independent developer Yogesh Patel and located at the northwest corner of First Street and Long Beach Boulevard.
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Eclectic, Scenic, Professional, Entertaining, Delicious: Downtown’s Business Districts 12/17/2018 Downtown Long Beach is made up of five business districts – the waterfront, the West Gateway, the East Village Arts District, the Pine Avenue and Promenade area, and North Pine –representing different hotbeds of business activity with unique clusters of industries, shops and restaurants, each boasting a distinct vibe and energy.
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New And Existing Downtown Businesses Supported By A Variety Of Local Programs 12/17/2018 For entrepreneurs looking to set up shop or invest in Downtown Long Beach, there are a number of assistance programs at their disposal. This includes city resources, as well as those provided by the nonprofit Downtown Long Beach Alliance (DLBA) and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) hosted by Long Beach City College
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Downtown: Transforming Into ‘An Even Better Version Of Itself’ 12/17/2018 On numerous occasions, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia has described the downtown area as “booming,” particularly with regard to the amount of development underway, planned or proposed. Currently, there is an estimated $3.5 billion being invested to further develop Downtown Long Beach, a number that does not include several sizeable projects that are proposed or under review, according to city staff.
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Long Beach Civic Center Development Progressing Ahead Of Schedule 12/17/2018 Way inside the new 11-story city hall and Port of Long Beach office buildings, both part of the city’s largest and most expensive development – the new Long Beach Civic Center.
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Downtown Dining Scene Experiences Influx Of Locals And Visitors 12/17/2018 Downtown Long Beach dining is becoming increasingly diverse, as a mix of new restaurants and tried-and-true favorites draws in visitors and attracts new residents. Venues ranging from tablecloth restaurants to small cafes and casual eateries offer cuisine from every continent and cater to an eclectic palette, from classic Italian pasta to perfectly seared scallops.
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Apartments And Retail Spaces In High Demand Downtown 12/17/2018 Real estate experts say urban development in Downtown Long Beach is attracting affluent renters and retailers eager to capitalize on their new wealth.
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Collective Retail Spaces Are On The Rise In Downtown 12/17/2018 The women who are leading the expansion of retail in downtown all have one thing in common: their commitment to unique products and local collaboration. With those key elements in mind, Michelle Molina and Heather Kern of MADE by Millworks, Kathleen Engel of MAKE Collective and Elizabeth Kobliha of Long Beach Vintage Etc. set out to create a different kind of retail environment featuring local vendors, artists and manufacturers in open spaces that invite shoppers to explore.
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Myriad Of Industries Shape Downtown’s Business Community 12/17/2018 Downtown Long Beach, the largest urban downtown waterfront between San Diego and San Francisco, provides a scenic backdrop for area residents, visitors and employees. Its proximity to the San Pedro Bay ports and major freeways, its waterfront attractions, its comparatively affordable real estate to surrounding beach cities, and its central location between the Los Angeles and Orange County markets have made downtown a hub for several industries.
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Royal Treatment: How Urban Commons Is Restoring The Queen Mary 12/17/2018 While the Queen Mary is arguably the most iconic fixture of the Long Beach skyline – and one of the most historic – she has hardly been treated like royalty. For decades, the city’s landmark fell into major disrepair. That’s all changing with new leadership and a long-term plan to transform the Queen into a major entertainment venue.
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Expansion To Enhance Aquarium’s Reputation On A ‘National Scale’ 12/17/2018 The Aquarium of the Pacific’s (AOP) new 29,000-square-foot Pacific Visions wing is its first major expansion project since opening in 1998. “When it opens, the new wing will be distinguished among aquariums as a bold and unique venue for connecting the public with science and environmental issues, and for exploring our relationship with our planet,” Jerry Schubel, AOP president and CEO, said. 
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How the Queen Mary Became a Mini Music Festival Hot Spot in 2018 12/17/2018

Since its arrival more than 50 years ago, the Queen Mary has been a busy events venue and hotel, hosting dozens of concerts through the years as well as annual events such as Christmas-themed happenings and Dark Harbor during Halloween.
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Professional Services Executives Are Keen On Downtown Long Beach 12/17/2018 Whether dealing in advertising or financial management, professional service providers in Downtown Long Beach all agree: it’s better there.
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Community And Diversity Bring New Businesses Downtown 12/17/2018 When it comes to Downtown Long Beach, businesses move in for the same reasons that people do: the sunshine, salty breeze and progressive social scene. New business owners who spoke to the Business Journal said they were attracted to the area’s blend of history and hip vibe.
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Holiday Shoppers Add To Fabric Of Downtown's Small Business Community 12/15/2018

Entrepreneur Laurie Gray lives and works downtown, and she says that’s where she does all of her holiday shopping, too.“I hardly ever leave downtown,” the owner of The Pie Bar (450 Pine Ave.) said, noting that there’s no real reason to go far from home since everything she needs is right in her own backyard.
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These Four New Restaurants are heading to the Long Beach Exchange in Early 2019 12/7/2018 Tacos, ramen, Nashville-style chicken and Latin food spots have been added to the menu of restaurants coming early next year to the Long Beach Exchange.
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Long Beach, CA: More Than L.A.'s Kid Brother 12/6/2018 Long Beach is chock-a-block with things to do even if you opt to skip the beach. The city is probably most famous for the Queen Mary, an elegant Cunard cruise liner that retired to life as a hotel in the 1960s.
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Despite Steep Competition, Hospitality And Tourism Industry Continues To Grow 12/3/2018 With increasing convention and meetings bookings and growing interest in the city as a tourist destination, Long Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) President and CEO Steve Goodling is bullish on the future of the city’s hospitality, tourism and convention industry in 2019 and beyond.
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Long Beach Enters New Partnership To Promote Trade With Canada 12/3/2018 The Long Beach City Council recently approved the formation of a new partnership with the MAPLE Business Council, an organization that specializes in promoting economic activity between Southern California and Canada. As a result of the agreement, the two parties are planning to host networking events, expand training programs for business owners interested in working across the border, and arrange for business delegations to visit our neighbor to the north.
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Where to shop local in Long Beach on Small Business Saturday 11/21/2018 American Express launched Small Business Saturday eight years ago to support the small ventures hurting from the recession. Always the Saturday after Thanksgiving, it’s now an annual tradition to shop small for the holidays, with Long Beach businesses—from entire corridors to pop-ups—celebrating the occasion.
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Virgin Orbit’s Cosmic Girl Aircraft and LauncherOne Rocket Complete ‘Flawless’ Test Flight Over SoCal 11/19/2018 It was one big step toward plans to reach orbit early next year with Long Beach-based Virgin Orbit’s “flawless” test flight of its rocket which soared under the wing of a customized former passenger aircraft over Southern California on Sunday.
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Alamitos Bay Parking: Why It’ll Get Worse, and What the City is Doing About It 11/17/2018 When the restaurants in Alamitos Bay Landing and along the stretch of Marina Drive south of Second Street are busy, parking is a nightmare. And they’re usually busy. To address the need for additional parking, the City’s Economic Development Department is heading the Alamitos Bay Parking and Circulation Master Plan and seeking creative ways to increase mobility along Marina Drive.
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Building Parklets in Long Beach Could Face Fewer Obstacles as city Looks to Streamline Process 11/14/2018 Whether you’re Downtown, on Retro Row or in Bixby Knolls, parklets and sidewalk dining areas are becoming more and more ubiquitous in Long Beach and the city is looking at ways to make it easier for businesses to apply for them.
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Long Beach Unveils new Career Resource Center to Help Job Seekers 11/13/2018 Need help writing a resume? Looking for tips on salary negotiations? Or just trying to find some general career advice? Long Beach has the spot for you.
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The Breakers Hotel To Be Reborn In 2020 11/5/2018 Almost 100 years since it first opened its doors to downtown Long Beach, the historic Breakers building will soon be back in business as a hotel. Purchased in November 2017 by Pacific6, an investment group made up of six Long Beach entrepreneurs, the hotel is slated to open in 2020.
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Historic mosaic mural unveiled to the public shows parts of Long Beach’s vibrant past 10/27/2018 It was a complete surprise to the new owners of a prominent bank building on Ocean Boulevard when they discovered a hidden mosaic on its facade, one with regional historical significance, its colorful tiles covered in white and kept from the eyes of the public for years.
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Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket paired with ‘Cosmic Girl’ 747 aircraft at Long Beach Airport 10/26/2018 Virgin Orbit, a division of Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, for the first time this week attached its LauncherOne rocket to a customized 747 airplane at Long Beach Airport — part of a plan to have a mobile launch site for small satellites going into space.
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Long Beach Mayor Discusses Airport, breakwater in 2028 Olympics Preview – and Hints City May Land More Sports 10/25/2018 When the International Olympic Committee announced the 2028 Summer Olympics would be hosted in Los Angeles, it was well known Long Beach would play a key role. According to L.A.’s winning bid, the water polo, BMX, handball, sailing, triathlon and open-water swimming competitions were all slated to happen in L.A. County’s second-largest city.
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Local Agency Provides Skills Training For Job Seekers: Pacific Gateway Connects Employers With Workers In Training 10/22/2018 Pacific Gateway, the workforce development arm of the City of Long Beach, provides workplace-related skills training to local residents who are underemployed or in need of employment. The agency also works with area employers to find and train local talent based on industry needs.
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Long Beach College ‘Promise 2.0’ Guarantees Transition For LBCC Students To CSULB 10/22/2018

Partners in the Long Beach College Promise, an initiative that prioritizes Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) students for acceptance to California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and provides them a tuition-free year at Long Beach City College (LBCC), announced new enhancements to the program with Promise 2.0 taking effect next fall.
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Local Women In Business Optimistic About The Future 10/22/2018 Women in business are proliferating throughout the United States. The latest American Express OPEN State of Women-Owned Businesses report found that, as of 2017, women were starting businesses two-and-a-half times faster than the national average, and that there were 114% more women-owned businesses in the U.S. than there were two decades ago. By comparison, in the same time period the overall national growth rate for businesses was 44%
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Improved Prices Lead to Strong Investment From Area Oil And Gas Operators 10/22/2018 After the Brent and Western Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil benchmarks reached a four-year high in October, the Energy Information Administration expects prices to remain steady into next year. Prices are forecast to average $74 per barrel (bbl) by the end of 2018, a marked improvement over 2017’s $54.25 bbl.
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Small Business Showcase: Atlantic Avenue, North Long Beach 10/22/2018 Artist Cynthia Lujan opened Flatline Art Gallery with her co-director, Elizabeth Munzon, last year. Both Lujan and Munzon had experience in putting on exhibitions in alternative spaces before opening the art gallery. Each month, either Lujan or Munzon curate a show at Flatline Art Gallery to exhibit visual art from the Long Beach community. The gallery showcases photography, painting, sculptures, digital media and more from Long Beach artists.
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Height wars in Long Beach continue: Report details 30-story hotel project 10/19/2018 The height wars within Downtown Long Beach have officially begun. Shortly after the Shoreline Gateway broke ground earlier this month—what will be the city’s tallest building at 417 feet when complete—the city released its environmental report on a 30-story hotel being proposed for the site at 100 E. Ocean Blvd.
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Hospitality Industry A Big Plus For City Coffers - Local Hotels Bring In A Record $28.6 Million In Transient Occupancy Tax 10/8/2018 The Long Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), a nonprofit organization, which runs the Long Beach Tourism Business Improvement Area in downtown and markets the city as a convention and tourism destination, announced that in fiscal year 2017-2018 ending September 30, hotels brought in a record level of transient occupancy tax (TOT): $28.6 million. That’s an 8% increase from the previous fiscal year and a 130% increase since 2002.
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Shoreline Gateway, soon to be Long Beach’s tallest tower, breaks ground 10/4/2018 The second phase of one of the largest developments in Long Beach, at Ocean Boulevard and Alamitos Avenue, officially broke ground today, bringing Long Beach tallest building one step closer to reality.
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Portuguese Bend, Long Beach’s first distillery, breaks ground and releases renderings 10/4/2018

Portuguese Bend, the endeavor announced last year from the owners of Lola’s and The Social List, Luis and Brenda Navarro—and their third dive into gastronomy, offering the city its first Made In Long Beach spirits, has officially broken ground.
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NDC GAF Assists a Long Beach, California Coffee Roasting Business Expand Operations. 10/1/2018 After years of hard work perfecting their light-roast technique, Nathan Tourtellotte and Andrew Phillips purchased a struggling coffee shop on 4th Street in Long Beach, CA and rebranded it as the Rose Park Roasters location.Growth  of their wholesale business since opening the retail storefront has increased significantly, and by 2017, they were ready to expand with the help of a Grow Long Beach Fund loan.
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Helping Prepare The Workforce Of The Future – The Port Of Long Beach Becomes College Promise Program Partner 9/24/2018 At its September 10 meeting, the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners approved the port becoming the fifth partner in the Long Beach College Promise, joining Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD), Long Beach City College (LBCC), California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and the city itself in providing more accessibility to higher education. 
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Small Long Beach businesses could thrive with new law permitting the sale of home-cooked food 9/21/2018 Long Beach is a village of cottage businesses, mini-enterprises where home cooks and bakers create astonishing grub from their homes, package it, and offer it for sale at such establishments as Portfolio and MADE by Millworks in DTLB.
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Long Beach Airport on board to become the nation’s most sustainable 9/20/2018 Long Beach will soon begin to develop a plan to house the country’s most sustainable airport, thanks to a unanimous City Council vote last month.
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New Solar-Powered, All-Electric Townhomes Open In Downtown Long Beach 9/19/2018

LONG BEACH (CBSLA) — New townhouses up for sale in downtown Long Beach come with smart appliances, and no gas bills.
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Details revealed for 97-unit mixed-use project in Long Beach 9/18/2018

Long Beach could see not one, but two large residential projects within blocks of each other move forward this Thursday.
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Long Beach immigrants create thousands of jobs, pay millions in taxes, new report finds 9/18/2018 Immigrants living in Long Beach were 18.5 percent more likely to be entrepreneurs than their U.S.-born counterparts in 2016 and helped create or preserve nearly 6,000 local manufacturing jobs, according to a report released Monday by New American Economy.
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In Long Beach, Plus Development plans 120-unit mixed-use complex 9/18/2018 Plus Development, which has focused primarily on luxury single-family residences, is planning a 120-unit mixed-use development in Long Beach.
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Cal State Long Beach ranks third best Western public university 9/13/2018 Cal State Long Beach is the third best public university in the West, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 Best Colleges report.
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From donuts to beauty supplies and videos—these locals need your money to grow their small businesses 9/12/2018 The City—along with the Los Angeles Local Initiatives Support Corporation and Long Beach Community Foundation—established itself as a Kiva City late last year. It focuses on small businesses, which make up nearly 87 percent of businesses in the city and are one of the biggest sales tax drivers, according to City officials.
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Aquarium of the Pacific’s whale-shaped expansion begins to take form in Downtown Long Beach 9/11/2018 Construction on the Aquarium of the Pacific’s massive $53-milion expansion, dubbed the Pacific Visions wing, continues as the shape of its blue whale-inspired design takes form in DTLB.
LBBiz Workforce
Necessary Skillsets For The Future Workforce – Long Beach Employers Concur That Effective Communication Is A Top Priority 9/10/2018 As the nation, state and region enjoy a state of full employment, businesses are contending with a tight labor market. But, even during a time when job seekers have the upper hand, the only surety is change – whether that’s an eventual change in economic dynamics or changes in the skills required to meet the demands of the modern workforce.
ShorelineGatewayEast
Shoreline Gateway, Soon to be Long Beach’s Tallest Tower, Breaks Ground Next Month 9/10/2018

The second phase of one of the largest developments in Long Beach, at Ocean Boulevard and
Alamitos Avenue, will be breaking ground next month, according to city officials—and bringing Long Beach its tallest building with it.
holiday-inn-long-beach
$30-Million ‘Dual-Brand’ Hotel Expansion Breaks Ground Near Long Beach Airport 9/6/2018 After announcing the expansion last year, the area occupied by the 13-story Holiday Inn will welcome a neighboring Staybridge Suites as workers broke ground on the project today.
CB Summit
California Craft Beer Summit is coming to Long Beach (and bringing the West Coast’s largest beer festival with it) 9/6/2018 Nearly 170 craft breweries and thousands of brewers, beer geeks, and beverage industry folks will be invading our shores as the Californian Craft Beer Summit and its accompanying beer festival come to Long Beach for the first time.
LB Bus Wireless Charging
Wireless charging is now a reality for Long Beach’s battery electric bus fleet 9/6/2018 The city’s battery electric bus fleet will now be able to charge on the go after Long Beach Transit unveiled a wireless bus charging station outside the Long Beach Convention Center Thursday morning.
urban commons
Mapping Downtown Long Beach’s Sudden Development Boom 9/4/2018 The core of the City is experiencing a major flurry of development. At a public presentation in late August, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia rattled off a list of more than 30 projects underway in downtown Long Beach alone.
Building a better LB2
Building A Better Long Beach 8/30/2018 On Tuesday, August 28, Mayor Robert Garcia presented the Building A Better Long Beach Forum, during which he providing an overview of more than 70 projects underway or planned throughout the City of Long Beach.
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40-Story Skyscraper Would be Long Beach’s Tallest 8/29/2018 A 35-story tower at the Shoreline Gateway project is due to break ground in 60 days, earning the title of Long Beach’s tallest building, says Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia. But the high-rise won’t hold that title for long.
LB Airport Upgrades
Long Beach Airport Soon Will Have a Whole New Look. Take a peek 8/29/2018 Long Beach Airport (LGB) is getting ready for another face-lift. The historic airport in 2012 rolled out a sleek indoor/outdoor passenger terminal with new gate areas and upscale eateries. Now it’s set to add new ticketing and baggage claim areas, and transform the main building into a car rental facility.
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Addressing Employment Inequality in the City of Long Beach 8/29/2018 All-time low unemployment rates for the City of Long Beach made headlines last June in the City’s Economic Development Department’s press release. The press release highlighted the 4.1% unemployment rate for the monthly rate of May 2018, recorded and published by the State Employment Development Department (EDD). 
LB Schools
LBUSD High Schools See Academic Accomplishments Aplenty 8/28/2018 High schools in the Long Beach Unified School District continue to reach new heights with existing pathway programs and innovative curriculum.
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Mayor unveils plans to build on city’s largest undeveloped parcel 8/28/2018 Within the next few years, Downtown Long Beach will be taller than ever, with towering new high rises forever changing the city’s landscape.

That was the message from Mayor Robert Garcia on Tuesday as he highlighted nearly six dozen construction projects on the way in a presentation called “Building a Better Long Beach.”
Deidre Norville
Assistance For Minority-Owned Businesses: Long Beach Agencies Expanding Education And Outreach Efforts To Help Firms Succeed 8/27/2018 According to the leaders of the city’s business improvement districts, the Long Beach Economic Development Department and the Long Beach Small Business Development Center, virtually all entrepreneurs face the same two challenges: obtaining access to capital and developing a business plan. By providing opportunities for funding and education, these local entities are striving to ensure that entrepreneurship is accessible for all.
LB Office Building
Long Beach Office Building Acquired for $35.8M, Sets Record 8/23/2018 The Salvation Army has sold a 12-story, 200,000-square-foot office building at 180 E. Ocean Blvd. for $35.8 million, or around $180 per square foot, to an affiliate of Santa Fe Springs-based real estate leasing firm Thrifty Oil Co., according to sources close to the deal.
8 by 28
First look at Long Beach’s “8 by ’28” projects, coming as Los Angeles prepares to host the 2028 Olympic Games 8/20/2018 Last February, after it had been announced that Long Beach is a large part of plans for Los Angeles to host the 2028 Olympic Games, Mayor Robert Garcia unveiled his “8 by 28” plan for capital improvements, and the City Council approved it.
Queen Mary Concerts
Music, The Ocean And History: How Queen Mary Became One Of California's Hottest Concert Venues 8/15/2018 Long Beach, California's Queen Mary has had many lives since its inception in the 1930s. It served for 31 years as a luxury cruise liner before retiring in Long Beach in 1967. Since then it has been a world-famous tourist destination, a haunted house, home to weddings and proms, and more.
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Port of Long Beach Headed for Record Breaking Year as Trade War With China escalates 7/31/2018 The port’s June report showed that container volume increased 14.2 percent compared to June 2017, with the equivalent of roughly 752,000 standard-size containers shipped to and from the facility, which was 4.4 percent higher than the port’s previous record month.
Councilmember Lena Gonzalez
Talking Business With The City Council: Councilmember Lena Gonzalez, 1st District 7/30/2018 Councilwoman Lena Gonzales speaks on the evolution of District 1 and the evercharging ambiance that has made it a growing business hub. Gonazales also provides a sneak peak into new programs and policies that will help small businesses take advantage of the growing local economy.
POLBjobs
Port Supports Maritime Excellence Center At Long Beach City College 7/30/2018 Community college students interested in middle-skills jobs in global logistics and international trade have a new route to help guide them into a career, thanks to the Port of Long Beach.
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Long Beach Apartment Boom: Experts Agree All Indicators Remain Positive 7/30/2018 Demand for housing is not being met statewide, and cities are scrambling to catch up. With thousands of units under construction or planned, and ever-increasing rents, Long Beach is no different.
LB Rents2
Rents Continue To Increase For All Commercial Real Estate Markets 7/30/2018 Strong demand for all types of commercial real estate in Long Beach continues to put upward pressure on rental rates. Rents increased for office, retail and industrial space during the second quarter, according to reports by leading firms.
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Long Beach Developer Ensemble Is Playing Off The City’s Positive Momentum 7/30/2018 In the midst of what some have called a renaissance, Long Beach has seen a mass uptick in the number of residential developments breaking ground. Countless companies are behind projects that will bring thousands of new units to the city.
LongBeachLiveWorkPlay
Strong Demand To Live, Work In Long Beach Prices Increase Across Real Estate Markets 7/30/2018 Sales and lease prices in all real estate sectors in Long Beach are continuing to increase due to strong demand to live and work in the city, according to economists and real estate executives.
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Grad Rates Up for Sixth Straight Year 7/26/2018 Graduation rates in the Long Beach Unified School District increased for the sixth year in a row, again surpassing state and county rates.
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What You Might Not Know About Long Beach 7/26/2018 The skyline is changing daily in this often overlooked city of 500,000, only 90 minutes north of North County. In the last two decades, there’s been a transformation that is creating new spaces and exciting places for tourists and residents alike.
OpportunityZoneLB
When Opportunity Knocks: Cities Eager To Take Advantage Of Opportunity Zones 7/25/2018

In Downtown Long Beach, million-dollar homes, high-end condominiums and luxury apartments line Ocean Boulevard, just a few steps from the beach. The waterfront has high-rise hotels, towering office buildings and chic retail and restaurants. The city also has pockets of abject poverty that could benefit from a new federal program designed to bring investment and development into blighted areas
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Long Beach Christens New Luxury Dining, Special Events Vessel MV Sir Winston 7/24/2018 Sir Winston, a luxury private dining and special event yacht, cruised its way into the Long Beach waters, Tuesday, July 24, and officially docked at Rainbow Harbor.
LB Monitor1
Long Beach Small Business Monitor: Key Challenge for LB Small Businesses Today - Finding Qualified Workers 7/23/2018 Finding new employees is a challenge for many small business people today. This may be holding back small business growth and damping down hiring exceptions. There are excellent local resources that are available to Long Beach small business people seeking to find and hire new employees.
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Massive retail complex Long Beach Exchange adds Lululemon, SusieCakes to growing tenant roster 7/19/2018 After announcing an impressive list of grub-hubs to its tenant roster, the massive sprawl of retail known as the Long Beach Exchange—dubbed "LBX" among its patrons and owners—has announced that luxury athletic wear purveyor Lululemon and sweets empire SusieCakes will be opening spaces at the center.
POLB
June Cargo Volume Up for Long Beach, Down for LA 7/17/2018 Cargo movement at the Port of Long Beach set a new record for the month of June while neighboring Port of Los Angeles saw a slight decrease in volume.
VirginLB1
Long Beach-Based Virgin Orbit to bring orbital launch to the UK 7/16/2018 Virgin Orbit is bringing new orbital launch capabilities to the UK that will help expand the country’s space economy and accelerate satellite technology innovation.
Organic Fork
New Organic Food Option Opens In East Long Beach 7/16/2018 For five years, Ivan Flores has operated The Buffalo Spot across the street from Wilson High School. On June 13, he celebrated the soft opening of his latest concept, Organic Fork, just up the street at 5726 E. 7th St.
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Proposed Long Beach housing centered around transit system 7/13/2018 LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- More housing centered around the transit system is coming to Long Beach
MultiFamily1
Long Beach Multifamily Property Sells For $51M 7/12/2018

A 127-unit multifamily asset in Long Beach has sold for $51M, a sign that the city’s rental housing market outside of its downtown corridor is coming up, Stepp Commercial principal Robert Stepp said.
Real Deal
Long Beach resi complex sells for $123M; priciest trade there this year 7/12/2018 IMT Residential acquired a 291-unit apartment building in Long Beach for $123.4 million, making it the most expensive multifamily transaction there this year.
Business Beat
BUSINESS BEAT: LBX Gets Fit With New Businesses; Entrepreneurs Go To Boot Camp; Cleaner Port Trucks Roll Out 7/12/2018 LBX Gets Fit With New Businesses; Entrepreneurs Go To Boot Camp; Cleaner Port Trucks Roll Out
ABC71
More apartments added to plan for Long Beach Verizon building 7/11/2018 LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The renovation plans for the former Verizon building in Long Beach have changed to increase the number of apartments.
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San Pedro Fish Market moving forward with second, full-fledged location in Long Beach (massive trays of seafood included) 7/10/2018 Mike Ungaro’s San Pedro Fish Market, open since 1956, is moving forward with a full-fledged second location right here in Long Beach along Alamitos Bay, replacing Joe’s Crab Shack at 6550 Marina Dr.
MDAB-Exterior-PP-Edit
Engineering: Sector Booming Despite Tight Labor Market 7/2/2018 As of 2016, there were 303,500 civil engineers in the United States, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Reviewing current trends, the bureau projects an additional 32,200 engineers by 2026.
Real Estate Dev1
Real Estate & Development News 7/2/2018 Work Has Begun On New Industrial Campus, Sale Of LBCC Property Approved, Downtown Residential Project Approved, An Update On The Long Beach Exchange, What’s New In Bixby Knolls, and Real Estate Firm Announced New Long Beach Location
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HOW LONG BEACH PROTOTYPED A PARK USING CITYMART 7/2/2018 In 2015, the City of Long Beach set out to position itself as Southern California’s innovation engine: a city that welcomes, supports, and ultimately exports advancements in technology.
GulfstreemLB
Aviation/Aerospace: Commercial And General Aviation Remain Strong, Following Economy’s Lead 7/2/2018 Due to the strengthening economy, businesses and households have found themselves with more discretionary income, which is directly translating to increased sales and passenger numbers for commercial and general aviation, according to industry experts.
LBC
Business Improvement District Leaders Express Optimism Amidst Challenges 7/2/2018 Despite competition from e-commerce outlets such as Amazon, leaders of Long Beach business improvement districts expressed a positive outlook for Long Beach retailers during the rest of 2018.
LB
Construction: Sector Remains Strong Despite Workforce And Federally Induced Challenges 7/2/2018 Growth in the construction industry is strong and very well distributed by sector and geography, according to experts. The nation’s low unemployment rate and recent actions by the federal government have presented challenges for companies to overcome, but have not impacted the demand for work.
Economic Outlook
National, Regional Economic Outlook Positive For Remainder Of Year, Despite Trade Skirmishes 7/2/2018 Unemployment is low, tax cuts are putting more money in consumers’ pockets and allowing for business investments, and wages are increasing – all factors that lead economists to believe that the remainder of 2018 should be positive, with an expected gross domestic product increase of around 3%.
NyTimes1
Beach Is in This California Town’s Name, but It Offers Much More 6/26/2018 Long Beach has a cute and compact downtown, good food, ethnic and cultural diversity, a thriving L.G.B.T. community, and some unparalleled wildlife viewing opportunities.
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Long Beach Sees Historically Low Unemployment Rate 6/22/2018 LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- Long Beach is experiencing historically low unemployment rates at 4.1 percent, and residents are feeling the job growth.
2U
2U, Inc. Agrees to Acquire CritiqueIt, Inc 6/21/2018 The company’s industry-leading annotation software will enhance the teaching and learning experience in 2U-powered programs and short courses
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With Debut Of Flashy Fountains, Convention Center Improvements Come Full Circle – So What’s Next? 6/18/2018 The debut of the new Terrace Theater plaza fountains in mid-May represented the culmination of a master plan to transform the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center’s underutilized venues into turnkey event spaces that are not only contemporary, functional and visually unique, but that also offer a cost savings to clients.
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More Hotel Investment On The Way - Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars To Be Pumped Into Long Beach Market 6/18/2018 Hundreds of millions of dollars are being invested in new hotel developments in Long Beach, with the downtown area alone to see the introduction of nearly 1,000 new hotel rooms over the next several years.
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Long Beach Tourism Professionals Upbeat As Summer Approaches 6/18/2018 Long Beach’s largest attractions and tourism-based businesses are apparently reaping the benefits of a solid economy and bustling convention center, with executives and business owners interviewed by the Business Journal all expressing upbeat attitudes going into the summer.
STIPES
Education Series That Will Provide Long Beach Entrepreneurs the Tools and Skills Needed to Develop & Launch Green Tech Businesses Advances to The My LA2050 Activation Challenge Finals 6/18/2018 The Sustainable Tech Intellectual Property Education Series (STIPES) advances to the my LA2050 Activation Challenge Finals. Voting will begin June 19, 2018.
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Turkish, Vietnamese, Mexican and Canadian Cuisine to Land at LBX Development this Year 6/8/2018

More tenants were announced today by the East Long Beach development Long Beach Exchange (LBX), joining a diverse list of retailers already open for business.
BixbyConstruction
Real Estate & Development 6/4/2018 New Commercial Space Coming To Bixby Knolls, Pine Avenue Business Owner Opens Nation’s First Fitness Parklet, Ramen Hub In Bixby Knolls, Construction Employment Continues To Increase Nationwide.
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Long Beach partners with nonprofits for small business crowdfunding campaign 6/1/2018 As Long Beach continues to become a magnet for businesses big and small, the city recently partnered with nonprofits to help entrepreneurs obtain zero-interest loans to start or grow their businesses through internet crowdfunding campaigns.
The Place
The Place Breaks Ground At The Streets Downtown 5/26/2018 The Place at The Streets, a new 20-unit residential and mixed-use development on Fifth Street and Promenade North, broke ground last week.
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Local Resources To Develop A Successful Business From The Ground Up 5/21/2018 To attract business and foster growth and sustainability with those already here, the City has a number of programs to educate and assist entrepreneurs.
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Expanded Online Resources Give Businesses A Leg Up 5/21/2018 The City of Long Beach is leveraging data and technology to make the city more accessible to new businesses and increase the productivity of existing ones.
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Getting The Job Done: Pacific Gateway Initiatives To Address Long Beach Labor Market Needs 5/21/2018 To address a lack of connectivity between prospective employees and the workforce, Pacific Gateway is opening a new center located at 4811 Airport Way this July.
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Virgin Orbit: Continuing The Legacy Of Aerospace Innovation In Long Beach 5/21/2018 On a site steeped in Long Beach’s long history of aviation and aerospace innovation, Virgin Orbit is continuing that legacy with the development of a rocket launch system meant to provide more accessible, affordable small satellite launch services than are currently available.
The Lab1
The LAB To “Canvas” North Long Beach With Maker Culture 5/21/2018 The LAB is preparing for its first foray into Long Beach with its development of 59 parcels spread out along the Atlantic Avenue corridor, collectively and tentatively named Canvas.
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International Trade And The Port Of Long Beach 5/21/2018 The Port of Long Beach is on track to surpass 2017, its best year ever for cargo throughput. Overall cargo volumes through the port increased by more than 17% through the first four months of 2018.
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Investors spend nearly $1 billion on Long Beach apartments, outpacing Greater LA 5/21/2018 Investors spent nearly $1 billion buying Long Beach area apartment buildings over a 12-month period, outpacing any other submarket in Greater Los Angeles.
TheRealDeal
Small-scale investors flocking to Long Beach seeking high returns 5/17/2018 Long Beach, once known as a blue-collar port city catering to manufacturing jobs, is sleepy no more. The rising tide of the Los Angeles residential real estate market has lately led a flock of investors to the city, located on the southern end of the county.
Everone In
Long Beach's Everyone In Summit Seeks Economic Equity 5/14/2018

A rising tide is supposed to lift all boats. That doesn't seem to be the case with the current booming economy, though, and the Everyone In movement is trying to do something about that.
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The Flourishing Industries Of Douglas Park: A Center For Economic Growth 5/7/2018

The companies located in Douglas Park represent a wide array of industries. Several hearken back to the aviation roots of the site.
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CSULB Economic Forum: U.S. Approaching Record Economic Expansion; Long Beach Experiencing Development Boom 5/7/2018 The sold-out event – presented by the CSULB Department of Economics, Office  of Economic Research – took place on April 25 at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center. 
LBC
Across All Sectors, Real Estate Seeing Increased Pricing And Strong Occupancy 5/7/2018 A strong economy has led to increases in rental rates across all sectors of real estate, with no sign of stopping, according to economists and real estate experts. 
Hotel Study
Hotel Market Study Predicts More Demand, Especially For Business Travel 5/7/2018 A study of the Long Beach hotel market, conducted by BAE Urban Economics and real estate consultant group Maurice Robinson & Associates, predicted that long-term demand for hotel rooms will increase through 2040, especially among business travelers
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Bringing ‘Something Special’ To Douglas Park: Long Beach Exchange Pays Homage To The Past While Looking To The Future 5/7/2018 Businesses have begun opening their doors at Long Beach’s largest experiential shopping center, with many more highly anticipated vendors to come. 
Internet Access
Internet Access May Soon Improve in Downtown, Northwest Long Beach 5/3/2018 Long Beach could see faster and stronger internet coverage in the coming months, especially in neighborhoods where access is lacking.
DTLB
DLBA, CSULB Release Downtown’s 2018 Economic Profile 5/3/2018 The Downtown Long Beach Alliance and California State University, Long Beach’s Office of Economic Research partnered for a second year to survey downtown business owners and create the 2018 Downtown Long Beach Economic Profile.
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Trendy Long Beach Exchange development starting to take shape at Douglas Park 5/2/2018 Three anchor tenants have opened and others are soon to follow at the Long Beach Exchange development that’s reshaping Douglas Park.
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World Famous VIP Records Launching New Business Incubation Center to Help Start Up Small Businesses 5/2/2018 Last Friday, the World Famous VIP Records introduced the new World-Famous VIP Business Incubator and Multi Media Center to city staff and community leaders. 
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New Affordable Housing Complex, Dedicated to At-Risk Populations, Proposed for Development in Central Long Beach 5/1/2018

The Long Beach Community Investment Company (LBCIC), the body that oversees and administrates the City of Long Beach’s affordable housing funds, has voted to approve an negotiation with Long Beach-based LINC Housing Corporation for the development of a massive property at the southeast corner of Magnolia and Pacific Coast Hwy.
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Mayor Robert Garcia Has a Plan to Put Long Beach on the Tech Map 4/27/2018

If anyone is at the center of everything relevant in politics and culture today, it’s the 28th mayor of Long Beach, Calif., Robert Garcia.
Queensway Bay in Long Beach, Calif., with the Queen Mary and docks in the distance. A $250 million entertainment and hotel complex is planned for the waterfront next to the Queen Mary. Credit Jake Michaels for The New York Times
After Years of Decline, a California Port City Sheds Its Past 4/24/2018 About three dozen development projects, valued around $3.5 billion, are underway or in the pipeline in Long Beach.
1million cups
Program Listens To Entrepreneurial Pitches In Long Beach 4/16/2018 One organization is providing a platform for people to pitch their business ideas and raise an open ear to others.
LB Disability Comm Resource Guide
Local Leaders Discuss Expansion of Job Opportunities for Residents with Disabilities 4/3/2018 Dozens of local leaders gathered last Thursday at the Long Beach office of the College Internship Program (CIP) to discuss opportunities to help more Long Beach residents with disabilities find jobs, RespectAbility announced.
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Long Beach hotels, restaurants and other tourism sites plan second combined job fair 3/26/2018 Last year, Long Beach hotels, restaurants and other tourist-related industries joined forces as the Long Beach Hospitality Alliance to both increase the industry’s visibility and expand the labor pool. They’re doing it again.
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Long Beach Airport Sets Record For Passenger Numbers And Awaits Additional Improvements 3/26/2018 The Long Beach Airport (LGB) saw more than 3.78 million passengers depart and arrive through its concourses in 2017, 250,000 more passengers than originally projected by airport staff.
Business Beat
BUSINESS BEAT: Survey 'Upbeat' For Small Businesses; Local Super Docs Named; Subs Help Cause; Cargo Numbers 3/22/2018 “Still upbeat” is the phrase of choice for small business optimism levels in 2018, according to the Long Beach Small Business Expectations Index published annually by California State University, Long Beach.
Queen Mary
Plenty to do in Carnival's Long Beach Home 3/15/2018 With a new ship coming next year, Carnival Cruise Line had its pick of more than a dozen U.S. cities for a homeport. But when it arrives in 2019, the Carnival Panorama will be headed for Long Beach, Calif.
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Carnival Cruise Line Celebrates Grand Reopening of Expanded Terminal in Long Beach 2/13/2018 Carnival Cruise Line celebrated its official grand reopening of the Long Beach Cruise Terminal renovation and expansion on Saturday.
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Long Beach Has 'Limitless' Opportunities for Developers and Brokers 2/12/2018

The Economic Development Department is preparing to launch its new “Limitless” campaign to showcase the city's real estate potential.
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$100-million outdoor coastal mall replacing obsolete Long Beach hotel 12/26/2017 A sprawling, run-down hotel near the water in southeast Long Beach is being replaced with a laid-back $100-million outdoor mall that will make food and leisure front and center.
ACarrillo DLBA
Education and assistance are key when locating a business Downtown 12/18/2017 Choosing a location to open, relocate or expand a business is an important decision with many potential pitfalls and challenges.
More Assistance Resources
More assistance resources than ever for long beach entrepreneurs 12/18/2017 When it comes to business assistance, the City of Long Beach is working with several partners to create innovative solutions, some of which are the first of their kind...
LBBJ Real Estate Investment
Who's Investing in Long Beach 11/6/2017 Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia frequently describes the city as “booming.” One of the measures he uses to demonstrate this is the number of developments underway and planned citywide.
Everyone-In
Vice Mayor Richardson Launches “Everyone In” Initiative, Addressing Economic Inclusion 11/3/2017 This spring the city council adopted the Blueprint for Economic Development, a guide meant to prioritize the creation of businesses, well-paying jobs and economic inclusion for all Long Beach residents for the next ten years.
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Educator-Turned Chocolatier Opens Gourmet Confection Shop on Long Beach’s Growing Decadent Row 10/11/2017 If you would have asked Romeo Garcia ten years ago what his future would hold for him, being a professional chocolatier in his own kitchen on Pine Avenue would not have been his answer.
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Small Business Showcase: 4th Street’s Retro Row 10/9/2017 In 2002, Gary Farley began pursuing his dream of owning a record store. He opened up shop in Costa Mesa but ultimately closed down. Farley began selling records in the back of a Long Beach women’s boutique clothing store owned by a friend in 2012.
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The 2028 Summer Olympics is Coming to Long Beach 9/13/2017 The LA 2028 campaign tweeted this morning that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially confirmed that Los Angeles will be the host city of the 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games.
woman-owned-business-accelerator
Downtown Long Beach Associates Launch Woman Owned Business Accelerator 9/1/2017 The Downtown Long Beach Associates’ (DLBA) Woman Owned Business Accelerator Program is now accepting notices of intent to apply for a total award bucket of $15,000. Notices of intent are due Tuesday, September 5, and will be followed by a Facebook Live Information Session Q&A to be held Wednesday.
Growing-LB_6848-640x439
Growing Long Beach: Workshop Series Teaches Locals How To Build Their Businesses 1/1/0001
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