Office of the Mayor

On Tuesday, in partnership with the Long Beach Business Journal, I delivered my final Building a Better Long Beach presentation as Mayor. Each year, this presentation highlights the ongoing construction, development and investment that's happening across Long Beach to create new and affordable homes, good jobs, business opportunities and public amenities for our city. It was great to be able to showcase this amazing work in person and reaffirm our community's economic growth and recovery.

This morning, the United States Supreme Court took the extreme step of overturning Roe v. Wade and ending the constitutionally protected right to an abortion. The decision will have devastating consequences and recklessly endangers the basic autonomy, health and wellbeing of women across the country. In nearly half of U.S. states today, reproductive healthcare decisions no longer rest with women and their doctors but instead exist at the whim of state legislators.

Today we are in a country with fewer rights than we had yesterday. A country where someone can be forced by the state to give birth — even if they do not want to, regardless of risks to their lives and health, and irrespective of the costs. This is a dark moment for our country, but we cannot lose hope. We must each fight back and speak up with everything we have.

I'm excited to announce that Long Beach and our Office of Youth Development are launching two grant opportunities to help young people in our city most impacted by COVID-19, chronic health conditions, crime and poverty. This program is funded by Measure US which voters in our city approved in 2020 and is already being used to invest in our environment and our next generation.

Please RSVP to join us for our annual Building a Better Long Beach presentation. We will share developments underway across the city, those ready to break ground and recently completed projects.

This annual event is co-hosted in partnership with the Long Beach Business Journal and we are excited to bring this year's program back in person.

I can't wait to share what our city has been up to, from our major housing and retail developments to our airport, port and Space Beach projects — we have a lot to cover.

We are now only 3 days away from Election Day, and it is as important as ever that you vote in our local, state and federal elections this primary season.

Vote Centers are open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Monday, June 6, 2022. On Election Day, Tuesday, June 7, all Vote Centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

By now, all registered voters in California should have received a Vote By Mail ballot. Vote by Mail ballots can be returned by mail (no postage required) or to a Vote By Mail Drop Box or Vote Center on the day of the election.

In Long Beach and across the state and country, cases of COVID-19 have begun to trend upward again after a significant drop this spring. Luckily, our community has made incredible progress in getting people vaccinated which has helped to keep hospitalizations and deaths down — and it's important that we continue building on this progress to better protect more people.

As we prepare to enjoy a long Memorial Day weekend, let's remember the reason for this important holiday: to honor and remember our fallen service members. Long Beach has a proud military history, especially with the Navy, and we're grateful for this opportunity to honor those that have died in service to our country.

We are heartbroken and angry as we learn more and more of the horrific tragedy that occurred in Texas yesterday. The shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde puts our nation’s failure to act on gun violence in a painful spotlight, and our prayers and support are with the loved ones of those killed and with the community of Uvalde. As a country, we have failed to protect our children and our communities. In just over a week, mass shootings alone have killed 32 people in Buffalo, Laguna Woods and now in Uvalde.

Today we celebrated an incredible milestone for our city and our airport by opening a new ticketing lobby and checked baggage inspection system. We already have one of the best airports anywhere in the country, and these improvements — along with the rest of our Phase II projects — are continuing to make Long Beach an amazing place to fly.

Last week at Colorado Lagoon, we opened the tenth new playground built in Long Beach over the past four years through Measure A Funding. This is a historic investment in our city’s parks infrastructure, and it's been great to see kids and families enjoying these great new playgrounds.

Over the weekend we witnessed a horrific shooting in Sacramento that killed 6 people and injured at least a dozen more. Our love and support go out to each of the victims and their families. This terrible incident highlights a trend in violence we are seeing across the country. From Long Beach to Sacramento to New York, gun violence is devastating communities nationwide and we must collectively do more to take action and keep communities safe.

Since the pandemic started, there has been a clear increase in gun violence from coast to coast. Over the summer, gun sales spiked 64% across America and guns seized by our local police department increased by as much as 51% over the course of the pandemic.

Today I joined leaders from the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to announce the launch of a historic program to dramatically reduce emissions at our ports. This first-of-its-kind plan put us on a strong path toward a greener and more sustainable future by setting up a clean truck fee that will help support the transition to zero-emission trucks moving cargo.

The fee will be paid by cargo owners and it's expected to raise $90 million in just the first year. It's also a critical part of how we're going to meet the ambitious goal of our Clean Air Action Plan and complete our transition to emission-free trucks by 2035

Yesterday we announced some really good news as we begin public discussions of our 2023 budget. Thanks to a strong economic recovery and responsible budgeting, we are once again looking at a budget that includes no significant reductions or cuts.

There are certainly still challenges to come and a lot of hard work ahead, but the news we heard tonight going into our FY 23 budget cycle is fantastic. I want to thank everyone involved in this effort.

To be in a second consecutive year with no budget reductions in the face of a historic crisis is truly commendable.

Today, I joined small business owners, city leaders, and community partners from our Downtown neighborhood for a roundtable discussion about our city's economic recovery. This was the first of nine conversations we will have in each City Council district over the next few weeks.

We had a great discussion, and I think it's important that we continue to hear from local businesses that have been among the most impacted by the pandemic. Our small businesses are a huge part of what makes Long Beach a great community. Their success and their recovery are critical parts of how we will build back safer and stronger from COVID-19.

Mayor Robert Garcia has appointed James Ahumada to be his next Chief of Staff. James is currently the Mayor’s Communications Director where he leads the office’s public relations, media and digital communications efforts. James previously worked as ASI Senior Communications Manager at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and previous to that worked in Washington, D.C. as Legislative Assistant & Deputy Press Secretary for Congressman Henry Waxman. 

A headshot of James is available here. 

Long Beach continues to stand with the people of Ukraine as they fight to protect their homes and democracy in the face of an unprovoked military invasion by the Russian government. In the past days, we've lit up our city landmarks in the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, and our thoughts remain with the millions of people who have been impacted as this war drags into its second week.

We've also partnered with CSULB to support international students from Ukraine and those affected in the region through their Student Emergency Fund for Food and Housing.

Given the recent changes in our health orders, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come and update you on the city's current orders. Over the past two years, our community's response to this historic crisis caused by COVID-19 has been nothing short of heroic. Today, 88% of adults and over 99% of seniors in Long Beach have been vaccinated — and our efforts have been lauded as a model for the rest of the country. Long Beach was the first city in California to vaccinate public school teachers and educators, and we built on this success by moving quickly to vaccinate food and dock workers early last year.

Long Beach stands firmly with the international community in support of the Ukrainian people. The horrific tragedy that is unfolding in Eastern Europe is an unprovoked invasion by Russia. Vladimir Putin must be held accountable for his actions.

Over the past few days, buildings and monuments across our city have been lit in the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag as a demonstration of our solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

Yesterday we joined other city leaders to celebrate the grand opening of Vistas Del Puerto in Central Long Beach. This complex has created 47 new affordable homes in our city for families, our neighbors with chronic health conditions and those who have experienced homelessness. It’s the newest project to be completed after a decade of housing progress.

Earlier today, I joined city leaders to commemorate the official opening of our new Lincoln Park. Located in the heart of downtown Long Beach, Lincoln Park is the next piece of our Civic Center to be completed. It joins City Hall, the Port of Long Beach headquarters, and our state-of-the-art Billie Jean King Main Library to create a space that all residents and visitors can enjoy.

As COVID-19 cases continue to surge around the country and here in southern California, the City of Long Beach is announcing some important operational changes as we take an aggressive approach to help keep our community safe. This increase in cases is incredibly concerning but, thanks to the incredible success of our vaccination program, the number of those hospitalized remains well below what we saw during last winter's surge.

Of those who are currently hospitalized, 72% are unvaccinated.

The holidays have given us a chance to gather once again, and vaccines have made it safe to do so.

But, COVID-19 continues to persist and at the moment, we are battling the Omicron variant. This newest variant is highly transmissible and has caused case numbers to surge across the country, including here in Long Beach. This moment is showing us how absolutely critical vaccines are to keeping our families safe and businesses open.

While our case rates are rising and along with it, hospitalizations – our hospitalization rate is nowhere near what it would be if not for the 85% of Long Beach adults who are vaccinated. Thank you to everyone who’s chosen to get vaccinated. Please continue to encourage others to do the same, and get the booster when it is time.

I want to wish everyone celebrating this weekend a Merry Christmas and a safe holiday with loved ones. We've come an incredible way in just the last year and I'm grateful to be able to spend this time with family and friends.

From our team to yours, happy holidays! Here is our holiday card with me pictured with mascots from CSULB, LBCC and our LBUSD high schools.

After serving nearly 30 years in public office and the last eight in the United States House of Representatives, Congressman Alan Lowenthal announced his well-deserved retirement earlier today. Since 2013 he has represented our city with distinction in Washington D.C. and has also served in the California State Senate, State Assembly, and on the Long Beach City Council.

Congressman Lowenthal has made our city and our nation stronger.

For the tenth consecutive year, Long Beach has been recognized as one of the best cities in the country when it comes to LGBTQ+ inclusion.

I hope you had a happy and safe Thanksgiving. We are excited to bring back in-person holiday celebrations this year --- thanks to everyone who contributed to our city’s 83.4% vaccination rate.

To kick off this holiday season, we have three great programs for you – all happening this week:

As I write to you today, families across our city and country have begun gathering to celebrate Thanksgiving. For many of us, this holiday season will be the first we've been able to see our family. Just one year ago, we were in an extremely different place and I am grateful for the tireless work and sacrifices of so many that have made it possible for us to celebrate together.

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my family, for my friends and for our amazing Long Beach community. But I would be remiss if I didn’t also take a moment to be thankful for the memories we have of those who are no longer with us today. Long Beach has lost 1,052 people to COVID-19. The lives of their families and friends will never be the same. As we gather, in a way that we might not have before, please take a moment to remember those who we lost — and an extra moment to be thankful for those who are still with us today.

On Tuesday, Nov. 30, in partnership with the Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, we will be lighting up the tallest Christmas Tree in Long Beach! You are invited to join us in-person or through our live streams which will be aired at lbtv3.com or on the City's Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages. 

Earlier this week, the Center for Digital Government announced that Long Beach has been recognized as a Top Digital City, ranking #1 for cities of our size. This is the eleventh year in a row that Long Beach has been recognized as a Top 10 Digital City and I want to thank our entire city team for all they do to keep us ahead of the pack. This award demonstrates how investing in technology is foundational to creating a resilient, responsive and smart city.

The Long Beach Health Department is now offering COVID-19 vaccine boosters to everyone 18 and older. Vaccines are continuing to save lives and they remain our absolute best defense against a possible COVID-19 surge over the winter.

To ensure everyone is able to access vaccines, Long Beach has clinics open six days a week across the city. To receive a booster, all you need is to have gotten the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago or finished their two-dose Moderna or Pfizer vaccination series at least six months ago.

Today I joined President Biden, Vice President Harris, and mayors from across the country in Washington, D.C. to mark the signing of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal into law. This is a historic achievement for our country, and Long Beach will benefit tremendously from this important investment. We are likely to see hundreds of millions of dollars invested into our community from this package.

This morning I had the opportunity to sit down with Senator Alex Padilla, Congresswoman Nanette Barragán and leaders from across California for a conversation about addressing the challenges in our supply chain that are evident at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. These challenges have placed our community and the country's largest port complex in the national spotlight, and our city is committed to being a part of the solution with funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package that President Biden will sign into law next week.

On Veterans Day and throughout the year, we honor the incredible heroism and sacrifices made by those who've served our country. This Veterans Day is also the 10-year anniversary of Measure C and our city's Veterans Preference Program which I authored as a member of the City Council in 2010.

Measure C awards additional Civil Service points for veterans, disabled veterans, and spouses of disabled veterans when they pass our city's civil service exam for city employment. To date, Measure C has provided 4,488 veterans additional opportunities to seek employment with the City, making up 7.6% of all qualified candidates over the past 10 years. This is great news for these veterans, and for our city's civil service work.

Earlier this year, I joined the coalition of big city mayors from California and secured state funding for youth workforce development with a focus on climate change. Thanks to these efforts, I'm proud to announce that the State of California has provided $5 million to help us establish a youth Climate Corps in Long Beach.

This funding is part of the State's 2021 budget and includes $150 million to support a youth workforce jobs program in California's 13 largest cities. The goal is to increase youth employment, develop experience towards a career in public service and strengthen our capacity to address key areas of education, climate and food insecurity.

Starting this coming Friday, Nov. 5, parents will have the opportunity to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. The Long Beach Health Department will begin offering the Pfizer vaccine to children ages 5 to 11 years old. This is great news for our city and better positions us to end this health crisis.

Thank you to all those who have already received the vaccine. Because of you, our city's adult population is nearly 82% vaccinated. And with everyone in Long Beach 5 and older soon able to receive the vaccine, that means 93% of our entire city's total population will be able to receive this life-saving shot.

Starting tomorrow, the Long Beach Health Department will begin offering COVID-19 boosters for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. This is in addition to the Pfizer booster already being administered to eligible people.

Our city has been doing a great job getting vaccinated, now with nearly 81% of our adults having received the COVID-19 vaccine. This is thanks to all of you who heard our call to get vaccinated, and did the responsible thing. Now, with these additional boosters available, we will be able to further protect our frontline workers and our other high-risk populations.

By now you have seen numerous news reports about the incredible congestion and backlog we face at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. The global pandemic and decades-old supply chain challenges have caused disruptions across the port industry, trucking, warehousing, rail, and goods movement.

We are receiving historic amounts of cargo that our national infrastructure is not built to handle. Fortunately, we are making progress by working with the U.S Department of Transportation and moving to a 24/7 port operation along with other public and private sector partners.

We hit a major milestone today with 80% of adults in Long Beach vaccinated against COVID-19. This accomplishment is thanks to the efforts of our dedicated Health Department, community medical partners and everyone who has made it a priority to get vaccinated. Having 80% of adults in our city vaccinated is a huge success for the health of our community, and it is a major step towards ending this pandemic once and for all.

Last week, the City of Long Beach also joined organizations across the region and the state in requiring proof of full vaccination for our employees. This policy will help to keep our city workers and the community we serve safe. Long Beach has also implemented a vaccination requirement to enter indoor bars and nightclubs as we continue to encourage vaccinations for every eligible member of our community.

Today, our Health Department announced that we are starting to provide boosters for those who received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and are eligible.

These boosters will be available for people who received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine at least 6 months ago and also are:

• age 65 and older,
• a resident of a long term care facility,
• someone with an underlying medical condition,
• or someone with high institutional or occupational risk.

Those with high occupational risks include healthcare workers, first responders, teachers and daycare staff, grocery workers and workers in homeless shelters or prisons.

Today is Long Beach Gives — our city's annual online giving event that showcases hundreds of our local nonprofits. Through Long Beach Gives, you can donate directly to causes that you care about in our community. You can learn more, find your cause and donate today at the link here.

It has been an incredibly busy year at the Port of Long Beach. In 2020, our Port processed a record 8.1 million container units — the most in its 110-year history — and this year it is on pace to receive more than 9 million.

The Port of Long Beach has broken monthly cargo records in 13 of the last 14 months amid a historic surge that started in July 2020. August 2021 was the port's best August ever and I applaud the outstanding dedication of our ILWU dock workers, truck drivers and everyone else who keeps our port running each day.

It has been 17 long months since Long Beach experienced our first cases of COVID-19. Today, we learned that 1,000 people in our community have died from this terrible virus. The pandemic has had unimaginable impacts and caused the most devastating loss of life in our city's history. My heart goes out to the hundreds of families that have lost a loved one during this crisis.

I know the pain that comes with loss, especially given how quickly this virus acts — and no one should ever have to go through that. We must cherish the memories of the people who've died and celebrate the lives they led.

Earlier this week, Long Beach had the honor of hosting President Joe Biden during his first trip to California since taking office. The President landed at the Long Beach Airport for an event in the city and stayed the night in Downtown Long Beach.

Our city has been hailed as a national model by the President and leaders across the country for the work we have done to get our community vaccinated, and we're grateful for the distinction of being one of the very first places on the West Coast visited by President Biden during his term.

This morning I had the honor of joining members from the Long Beach and Signal Hill community to honor those we lost twenty years ago on September 11. We gathered at the 9/11 Memorial in Signal Hill.

This will always be a day to uplift the memories of those killed in the attacks, and to stand in unity with the countless people whose lives were impacted by the devastation of that day. I also want to recognize the bravery and sacrifice of the first responders who risked their lives to get people to safety.

Last night, the Long Beach City Council voted unanimously to adopt a budget for the next fiscal year. Our 2022 budget is balanced, responsible and reflects the city’s strong foundation for a recovery from this historic economic and public health crisis. It includes no cuts, no deficit, replenishes our reserves and positions Long Beach to continue building back stronger than ever.

COVID-19 has had significant fiscal impacts to nearly every organization, and Long Beach has not been an exception. Last year, we were faced with hard decisions that required sacrifice to preserve the future of our city – and while revenues are still in the process of returning to pre-pandemic levels, we are seeing gains and are fortunate to have federal and state funds to support many new and existing programs and services in FY 22.

The federal government has announced that starting late September, booster shots will be made available to those who initially received the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines eight months after their second dose. In Long Beach, we are already planning for this major effort and are committed to making these shots available to all residents and workers in the weeks ahead.

We’ve built the infrastructure to take on this challenge. Our health department will be providing detailed information in the weeks ahead about how to get your booster shot.

The Long Beach Unified School District announced they are joining our other educational institutions in requiring proof of vaccination or weekly negative COVID-19 tests for all of their employees.

LBUSD is now the largest school system in California to implement this mandate, which I strongly support.

Long Beach has been a leader throughout our vaccination program and we are now the largest city in California to require vaccinations or testing for employees of our city government, community college, state university and school district.

We are announcing today that all City of Long Beach employees will need a mandatory vaccination or be required to show a weekly negative COVID-19 test. Thank you to the 72% of city employees who have already been vaccinated and to the hundreds of thousands of Long Beach residents that have as well.

Nearly 72% of adults in our city are now vaccinated against COVID-19. This is a tremendous achievement and I want to thank all of the incredible people whose hard work and dedication allowed us to roll vaccines out quickly and become a national model for vaccine distribution.

We are proud to report today that every child at our emergency migrant shelter has been reunified with family or sponsors in the United States. The shelter opened on April 22 and now, 3 months later, we are able to close the shelter, on time, as promised with 1,538 children reunified.

Since it opened, staff and volunteers at the shelter have worked tirelessly on behalf of these children to make sure that they were well cared for with access to excellent medical care from UCLA Health, legal representation from the amazing Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and — most importantly — a safe home in our country.

Today, we welcomed Governor Newsom to Long Beach for a roundtable discussion about public safety with mayors and police chiefs from California’s 13 largest cities. Our nation is facing a gun violence public health epidemic, and every leader who spoke today, spoke about the incredible challenge posed by this increase in firearms.

Here in Long Beach, firearm-related arrests are up more than 60% from last year and total firearms seized are up 51%. We discussed ways in which cities and the State can come together to take on crime and keep our communities safe. After the discussion, we had a chance to visit local small businesses on Retro Row and talk about our city's economic recovery as we move out of this pandemic.

Today, I joined our City Manager in releasing our proposed budget for FY 22. COVID-19 had a significant impact on the current budget cycle — which was marked by sacrifice and hard budget decisions to preserve the future of our city. While our city’s revenues are still in the process of returning to pre-pandemic levels, we are fortunate to have federal and state funds to support existing programs and services.

I am proud that this proposed budget, totaling $3 billion, continues Long Beach’s strong history of providing services to residents and makes meaningful investments to help our community build back stronger than ever.

This year's proposed budget includes no cuts, no deficit, and replenished reserves.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our city in many ways, including a significant increase in trash produced. Last year, our refuse workers were tasked with collecting an additional 18 to 19 thousand tons of trash.

In addition to this increase, our Public Works team was personally affected as many staff had to quarantine or care for family during the pandemic. I’m proud of the extraordinary work that has been done to continue residential and commercial refuse service even as we have had to pick up more trash and illegally dumped items.

In fact, in one year we picked up 25,000 mattresses. That’s a lot of trash. And we still have a long way to go to ensure we become the cleanest big city in California. But we have a plan to get there.

We continue to make incredible progress at the Long Beach migrant shelter. As of today, 1,280 migrant children at our site have been unified with family or a caring sponsor in the United States. These reunifications represent dedicated humanitarian work from our federal partners at Health and Human Services, UCLA Health, the staff at the Long Beach Convention Center, and the committed lawyers and staff at Immigrant Defenders that work to represent the children.

I’m grateful that U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra, immigration and civil rights lawyers, and community leaders have called our shelter a national model.

We hit a major milestone in Long Beach today with 70% of adults in our city having been vaccinated against COVID-19. We've also vaccinated over 99% of seniors. We have gotten here thanks to the efforts of our dedicated Health Department, community medical partners and everyone who has made it a priority to get vaccinated to help protect themselves and keep our community safe. 

It’s great to have summer in full swing with long days and great weather to be outside. This summer is already shaping up to be much better than last year, with events at our parks returning for residents. I couldn't be more excited to see some great movies with families and friends from across Long Beach. Our parks are once again destinations for outdoor fun brought to you by the city.

Here are the movies being shown in our parks during the month of July. Each movie starts at dusk.

We're excited today to annouce our guaranteed income pilot program. This initiative will help 500 single parents in our city who are living in poverty and struggling to meet basic needs. 

Direct payments will focus on the 90813 Zip Code which is the highest concentrated area of family poverty in Long Beach and has a median household income 25% lower than any other zip code in the city. The pilot program will provide up to 500 participants with $500 per month for 12 months.

My mom always said to give back more to your country than your country has given to you. Her words have always driven my love of country and my appreciation for our freedoms. Happy Fourth of July, Long Beach.

This year's Independence Day will have a special meaning for us all. A year ago, in response to spikes in COVID-19 cases, our beaches were closed and we asked our entire community to celebrate safely at home.

Over the past year, there has been an increase in gun violence across our country and here in Long Beach. Gun sales have spiked 64% and guns seized by our local police have increased by 51%. This is a national gun epidemic. 

Now while shootings have increased - murders have not. 6 months into the year we are at two murders below last year at this time and overall murders are still at historic lows especially when compared to the last 30 years.

I sat down today with Police Chief Robert Luna and City Manager Tom Modica to discuss our crime data and map out steps to take on crime moving forward.

Space technology and innovation is our country's greatest frontier, and Long Beach is at the center of it.

Earlier this morning, Relativity Space announced that Long Beach will be the home to their new 1-million square-foot headquarters that will host 2,000 good-paying jobs.

Welcome to Space Beach.

The state legislature recently passed a budget that's great news for Long Beach. This budget includes much-needed funding to address issues we face around infrastructure, housing and climate. Thanks to the work of our Long Bech representatives in Sacramento, State Senator Lena Gonzalez and Assemblymember Patrick O'Donnell, important resources will be coming to our community.

As we close out Pride Month, I'm thankful for the opportunities we've had to uplift the history, activism and accomplishments of the LGBTQ+ community.

Last week, I had the opportunity to represent Long Beach at the White House at an event hosted by President Biden and the First Lady. We marked the progress that we have made on LGBTQ+ rights and advocated to pass the Equality Act in Congress.

I wanted to take a moment this morning to write about the recent gun violence and safety in our community — especially given what happened over the weekend.

As you know, there was a horrific shooting on Saturday evening that left three people injured. Thankfully, Long Beach Police Officers swiftly attended to the victims until paramedics arrived and they arrested the suspects soon after the shooting was committed. We had already surged patrols across the city and are grateful to the officers who responded and saved lives.

Yesterday, Long Beach City College (LBCC) announced that they've been selected by philanthropist Mackenzie Scott to receive a $30 million gift to support their work on closing equity gaps and academic success.

This is a historic donation — the largest LBCC has ever received — and I want to congratulate Superintendent-President Mike Muñoz and the LBCC Board of Trustees for their work that led to this outstanding investment. 

Today marks a new day in Long Beach.

With both our city and the State of California having surpassed the most significant milestones outlined by our health experts and scientists, we have reached a point where we can now fully open the economy.

Measures like physical distancing, capacity limits, and the color tier system will no longer be in place. It also means that California's mask requirements for fully vaccinated individuals will be lifted in most settings according to the CDC's guidance.

Getting a vaccine has never been easier in Long Beach.

Our community has been doing a great job at getting their vaccinations, and to date, nearly 67% of our adult population has received a vaccine. The national goal is to hit 70% by July 4, and we are working hard to hit that target in the weeks ahead. This week, on June 17, our Health Department will host "Sharks for Shots" at the Aquarium of the Pacific where folks will receive free admission when they receive their first vaccine shot.

Tonight, we had the opportunity to celebrate Pride Month in Long Beach by dedicating our new Pride Lifeguard Tower. After the previous tower was destroyed in March, our city responded with support, solidarity and commitment to the dignity of every person.

Long Beach is a community where people of every sexual orientation and gender identity are welcome and included — something that has been demonstrated beyond a doubt by this overwhelming response. This is also why I was so sure that Long Beach would build back better and brighter than before.

As we look ahead to California reopening on Tuesday, I want to take a moment to extend our appreciation to our healthcare providers for their tireless efforts and dedication to our community. This morning I was joined by Dr. Anissa Davis, our City Health Officer, and some of the CEOs of our local hospitals to provide an update on COVID-19 and vaccinations in Long Beach. 

More than 250,000 Long Beach residents have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine — including more than 16,000 residents who have gotten the vaccine at one of our mobile clinics. Community clinics like those at Admiral Kidd, MacArthur and Houghton Parks are key to our vaccine success and have decreased barriers and increased access for residents.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a serious health challenge, but it’s also brought with it, economic impacts that have made it difficult for many to make ends meet. That is why, earlier this year, we launched our Emergency Rental Assistance Program — and when additional funds were made available, we extended the application period so that more folks could apply for the help. $56 million has been made available for rent and utilities assistance through this program.

If you or someone you know needs help paying rent, there’s still one more week left to apply for our Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

This Memorial Day, as we pay tribute to those who’ve given their lives for our country, please also keep their families, friends and fellow veterans in your thoughts. Long Beach has a proud military history, especially with the Navy, and we honor this history every day.

As more and more people are now vaccinated against COVID-19, we are starting to see an uptick in travel again — and the Long Beach Airport has remained the best flying experience around.

Passenger traffic at the Long Beach Airport is returning. We are seeing more than 50% of passengers pre-pandemic back at the Airport and more passengers are returning each week. Air travel is safe for people that have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and the airport continues to be a tremendous source of jobs, investment, and tourism in our city.

The State of California has announced the nation's largest and most ambitious COVID-19 vaccine incentive plan to date. Getting residents vaccinated is the single most important tool we have to save lives and safely reopen our schools and businesses. This is why every Californian who has received at least one vaccine dose will be entered to win up to $1.5 million at a drawing on June 15.

You can get vaccinated against COVID-19, no appointment needed, at our Long Beach Convention Center or at one of our many mobile clinics which are listed here.

If there was a silver lining during the pandemic, it was the amazing outdoor dining scene that sprung up because of our Open Streets initiative. We’ve heard from hundreds of restaurants and community members — outdoor dining and parklets have no doubt helped businesses survive the last year.

Food and culture are so important for any city, and Long Beach has some of the very best. Our restaurants and all of the unique parklets throughout our city add such incredible character and warmth to Long Beach.

As you know, Long Beach recently began hosting migrant children at our Convention Center as part of a humanitarian mission for our country. The support from the community has been overwhelming. You all have donated over 70,000 toys and books.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is also now releasing data on reunifications and total number of kids sheltered. As of this week, 222 children have been reunited with family or sponsors here in the United States. And there are currently 535 kids awaiting reunification.

Starting tomorrow, kids 12 and older will now be able to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Long Beach. This is a huge milestone in our effort to fully vaccinate everyone. 

Youth, ages 12 to 17 years old, will need parental consent in order to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, which is available at longbeach.gov/vaxlb. Those 12 and older seeking to be vaccinated can do so, without an appointment, at the following City-run vaccine sites...

Today was an incredible day as we reopened the emergency department at Community Hospital for the first time in three years. Community Hospital began taking walk-in and transfer patients as of today at noon — and this is just the beginning. We expect in the next few weeks, the hospital may begin to accept patients who are transported by ambulance.

As part of Governor Newsom's California Comeback Plan, Long Beach will receive an additional $21.2 million for our Emergency Rental Assistance Program, bringing our total available funds to more than $56 million. Because of this additional support, we will be extending the deadline for our rental assistance application to June 11 so that more folks can get access to these funds. You can access the application here. 

This program is a huge part of our Long Beach Recovery Act and will assist both renters and small property owners who are struggling to pay their mortgage. 

Starting today through Saturday, May 15, we will begin offering two general admission tickets to the Aquarium of the Pacific to anyone receiving their first COVID-19 vaccination. We are going to do everything we can to keep folks healthy and get them vaccinated.

While we have made tremendous strides in vaccinating 60% of eligible Long Beach residents and 96% of our seniors, we know that vaccine hesitancy for some is real. We hope this incentive encourages more of our neighbors to come out and get vaccinated.

We are proud to report that we just wrapped up our hugely successful toy and book drive in support of the children being temporarily housed at our humanitarian shelter. Our community came together and donated an amazing 30,000 toys and books for the children. They now have a large library of books to choose from to read at their own leisure and plenty of toys, games and drawing materials to spark their imaginations.

Today we are announcing a new community campaign to bring letters of encouragement to the children as they await reunification or placement with a sponsor. This is another great volunteer opportunity.

Starting tomorrow, Long Beach officially moves into the Yellow Tier. Yellow is the least restrictive tier in the State's Blueprint for a Safer Economy and also the last tier that we will enter into before our broader reopenings happen on June 15.

I want to take a moment to once again thank our health care workers and everyone working at our testing and vaccination clinics over the 14 months. Because of their tireless work and the hard work of everyone in the community who has stuck with our health orders, our case rate and positivity rate continue to get lower every day. And because of that, tomorrow we enter the Yellow Tier.

We are making excellent progress in our vaccine rollout and I want to thank you for helping make our city a model in the state. As of today, we have vaccinated more than 94% of seniors, and 56% of all vaccine-eligible Long Beach residents have received at least one dose. Both of these percentages are outpacing state and county figures.

Now, even with as great as our progress has been, we have to continue vaccinating more people and stop variants from spreading. Here’s how we are going to do it:

Today we are proud to announce that SpaceX will be coming to the Port of Long Beach. This is great news for our aerospace industry and for the residents of Long Beach. With this addition, Long Beach is firmly the largest space and technology economy on the west coast, and there is still so much room to grow. 

Welcome to Space Beach.

To ensure we are reaching our community in neighborhoods that were hardest hit during the pandemic we have launched three new mobile COVID-19 vaccine clinics. These three mobile clinics do not require appointments and are open to residents and workers in Long Beach 16 and older.

Each of the mobile clinics will provide walk-up vaccinations each day, no appointment needed. If you get in line and walk-up appointments are all taken on a particular day, our team will provide you with information on alternative mobile vaccination sites or offer you a future appointment.

There is no question that our city has had one of the most successful vaccine rollout efforts in California and as of today, we have hit another huge milestone: Long Beach has now vaccinated over 50% of eligible adults in our city.

Just under two weeks ago we began offering walk-up vaccinations to any resident 16 years or older and were one of the first jurisdictions in California to do so. As our economy slowly begins to open, the vaccination of so many will help slow community spread and move us closer to herd immunity.

Two weeks ago our City Council voted unanimously to provide temporary shelter to unaccompanied children arriving at our southern border. This humanitarian work is being undertaken by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and is first and foremost an effort to move children into a humane environment as they are quickly reunited with family or a sponsor. The Long Beach shelter is temporary until August 1, has no impact on conventions, and is paid for by the federal government.

Over the past weeks, we have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of community support. So many of you have called, emailed or left messages asking how you can help. We are excited to announce that we have launched a new online city portal at longbeach.gov/migrantchildren to coordinate efforts for community involvement.

A few years ago when we learned LA Metro was going to dispose of the very first rail car in service, I introduced legislation to preserve it. Our goal was to bring the car home to Long Beach and transform it into a cafe or museum -- keeping its rich history alive.

This is a big day for California — and for Long Beach.

Today marks the first day that all Californians ages 16+ are vaccine eligible across the state. We have been waiting for this day since the start of this pandemic, and it’s finally here.

If you have not already received your first dose and are at least 16 years old, visit MyTurn.ca.gov to sign up and book an appointment. It’s super easy. We are on our way to the end of this pandemic, and with every new vaccinated person, we get one step closer to that goal. Ultimately, it is up to each of us to do our part.

Today, we launched our new $30 million emergency rental assistance program to assist tenants with rent and to prevent eviction.

This program is a huge part of our Long Beach Recovery Act and will assist both renters and small property owners who are struggling to pay their mortgage. Folks can find out more and begin their application by...

Our Port just posted its busiest month and second-busiest quarter ever in its 110-year history, breaking the record for container traffic at a time that is typically the slowest month for trade. This is amazing news, and I applaud our port's outstanding work and the extraordinary dedication of our dock workers, truck drivers, and port workers who went to work every day to keep our port running.

Trade is up 62.3% and imports rose 74% compared to last March. That’s a testament to the continued reliability and efficiency of the Port of Long Beach.

We have exciting news to share. Over 43% of eligible adults are now vaccinated in Long Beach -- that means we can start vaccinating all residents age 16 and over TODAY. With this move, Long Beach once again sets the pace for the State of California and I am so proud of the successful vaccination program we have here in our city.

All Long Beach residents 16 and over are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine without an appointment. You will not see the option to book an appointment online through My Turn until April 15, once the State officially opens up the 16-49 age group category statewide.

As you may know, Long Beach was recently asked to assist the Biden Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with their work to temporarily house and quickly reconnect unaccompanied minors who have been arriving at our southern border. I am proud to report that last night, our Long Beach City Council voted to unanimously approve this partnership.

Long Beach has a long history of welcoming and helping immigrants and refugees. From our Cambodian community to the work done by our churches and faith organizations, we have led with compassion and kindness. As an immigrant, I know how important it is to support all people, especially children -- and I am proud to see our city step up to this challenge.

Tonight, the Long Beach City Council will be considering an item to authorize City staff to facilitate an agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Federal Emergency Management Agency to establish an emergency intake site for unaccompanied migrant children at the Long Beach Convention Center.

Per the State of California, Long Beach is moving into the Orange Tier and our new guidelines will be effective tomorrow. We have made great progress in the last few weeks, and I want to thank the entire community. We need to stay cautious and continue to act responsibly. Here are the new reopening rules:

Here’s some more great news. We just announced that effective immediately, our Health Department will begin vaccinating all Long Beach residents ages 50 years and older. We will be one of the first health jurisdictions in California to expand vaccine access to people in this age group.

For those who are in this age group and have previously signed up through our VaxLB system, our health team will contact you directly to schedule an appointment, or if you did not sign up for VaxLB, you may simply walk up to the Convention Center vaccination site between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through Saturday, no appointment needed.

Join us this morning at 11 a.m. for our annual Building a Better Long Beach presentation. We will share developments underway, ready to break ground and recently completed in Long Beach.

This event is co-hosted in partnership with the Long Beach Business Journal.

We will be going live to discuss changes coming to our city's skyline — and I have a few exciting announcements to share.

One year ago today we lost our first resident to COVID-19. A year later, we are now reporting 901 total deaths since the start of this pandemic. There is no doubt that we are turning the corner and beginning to recover as a community, but we must first remember the real impact this virus has had on our families, friends, neighbors and loved ones. 

Earlier today we held a virtual press conference updating the community on where we stand in our battle against COVID-19. We also held a moment of silence to remember and reflect on the people we've lost. I personally know that behind each metric and statistic is a life, a story and someone who made an impact on this world.

Please join us tomorrow to honor some of Long Beach's most distinguished community leaders with a Key to the City. Ron Arias, Gina Rushing Maguire, and Roberta and Dr. Matthew Jenkins have made incredible contributions to our city and I am thrilled to be presenting them with this recognition.

Though the community will not be able to attend in person this year due to COVID restrictions, I encourage you to watch live at 4:30 PM tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 23, on any of the city's social media channels, or on YouTube.

RSVP to join us for our annual Building a Better Long Beach presentation. We will share developments underway, ready to break ground and recently completed in Long Beach. 

Click below to RSVP

Yesterday the Long Beach City Council voted to adopt the Long Beach Recovery Act -- our $234 million plan to bolster our economy, keep our community healthy and safe, and secure our city’s future.

I previewed the plan to the community last week, and after a thoughtful and robust dialogue last night it was unanimously adopted by the Long Beach City Council.

Now it’s time to get to work.

“These leaders have made incredible contributions to the City of Long Beach and beyond,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. “This year it is so important that we recognize people who have spent their lives lifting people up, and I am so excited to celebrate these exemplary leaders.”   

After many months of focusing on saving lives during the surge, while also successfully launching a citywide vaccination plan, Long Beach is finally at a place where we can officially move from the Purple Tier to the Red Tier in the State's Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

This is great news for our city and only possible because we followed the science and took care of each other. Because we did these things, starting Monday, our community will be able to go back to doing some of the things we have missed the most:

Yesterday, we presented our $207 million Long Beach Recovery Act – a plan to bolster our economy, keep our community healthy and safe – and to secure our city’s future. If you missed it, please check it out on YouTube.

Today marks a somber anniversary. A year ago this week, Long Beach experienced our first three cases of COVID-19 and just days later, business, education, events and our entire way of life came to a halt. There is no question the last 12 months have been difficult, but with our vaccination program is going well, the challenge now is to build back better than ever before.

Over the weekend, the Senate passed the American Rescue Plan, bringing us one step closer to the much needed federal recovery funds we need. It is the centerpiece of our Long Beach Recovery Act.

I hope you will join me as we release the Long Beach Recovery Act at 11 a.m. today. You can watch on all of the city's social media channels, including: Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

Starting Monday, Long Beach residents with disabilities will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. We made the request to the state to start this group early and are grateful for their support. This is a great step in our continued effort to vaccinate everyone in Long Beach. We are very grateful.

Starting March 8, individuals with disabilities who meet the following criteria may show up at the Long Beach Convention Center between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., no appointment needed, to receive their vaccine:

Each week we continue to make more and more progress with our vaccinations. We aren’t going to stop until everyone has a way to get vaccinated.

If you live or work in Long Beach, and are a food or agriculture worker, restaurant worker, bodega or grocery worker, a teacher or school worker at any grade level, a senior 65 or older, or are emergency response personnel and have not received your vaccine yet – there are two ways to get vaccinated:

I have some great vaccine and food news today. Next Friday, our Health Department will be holding a super-sized vaccine clinic at the Convention Center for Long Beach food and grocery workers. Over 3,000 restaurant workers, bodega and market employees, cooks, and anyone working directly in the food industry will be vaccinated on March 5.

We are contacting restaurants and markets directly to sign-up employees and pulling workers from our VaxLB system. We are making progress on getting all food workers vaccinated as we move closer to fully and safely re-opening this important part of our economy. 

Long Beach is turning a corner. We’ve made strong investments in our vaccination process, prioritized teachers, seniors and food workers – and are showing meaningful progress in all areas.

I’m proud to share that we’ve now vaccinated 58% of seniors 65 and older in Long Beach. And we will be vaccinating thousands more this week from our VaxLB site.

This is an important milestone, and affirmation that our process is working. Soon, our Health Department will be taking our vaccination clinics on the road and meeting seniors who are unable to travel where they're at. 

Earlier today, Governor Gavin Newsom visited our Long Beach Convention Center mass vaccination site and personally thanked the National Guard, our nurses, health staff and volunteers who have been working nonstop to get our community vaccinated. We were joined by LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn and State Senator Lena Gonzalez, who have also been amazing supporters of our efforts in the city.

The road to vaccinations has had its challenges, but Long Beach has risen above every step of the way. As of today, we have administered more than 94,000 vaccines in our city – and 38,000 of those have been second doses, primarily for health care workers and those 65 and older.

The Long Beach Unified School District has announced that K-5 instruction will begin on March 29. All K-5 teachers and school staff will have had an opportunity to be vaccinated with both doses before reopening. Teachers and staff deserve to be vaccinated and safe. LBUSD has also made it clear that any families who wish to keep kids home for the semester and continue online learning will be able to do so.

Reopening our schools and the timing of the opening is up to our school district, and they are working closely with our Health Department to follow all CDC and State guidelines. We promised that we would vaccinate our teachers, and I’m proud we are able to do so.

I'm proud to report that in just six weeks, more than 56,000 vaccine doses have been administered in the City of Long Beach, including 8,000 second doses. That means tens of thousands of health care workers, older adults, emergency workers, food service workers and educators have been vaccinated and will be better protected against COVID-19, and in turn, will better protect our greater community.

We have set up multiple vaccine sites throughout the city to make this happen. At CSULB, educators continue to receive their first doses. At Memorial Medical Center, our older adults are being vaccinated. And for those scheduled for their second dose, the Long Beach Convention Center is up and running with drive-thru and walk-up vaccination options.

Earlier today, Governor Gavin Newsom lifted the Regional Stay at Home Order that restricted outdoor dining, barbershops, nail salons and other personal care services in Long Beach and across the state.

Long Beach will adjust its health orders to reflect these changes beginning tomorrow. Restaurants with outdoor dining and personal care services can begin operating safely and under state and city regulations. There is no doubt that hospitalizations have been decreasing over the last week and ICU capacity has increased statewide and locally.

I wanted to take a moment and provide an update on our city's vaccination efforts. Next week Long Beach will start vaccinating educators at LBUSD and LBCC and continue with vaccines for food and healthcare workers, and seniors 65 and over. We continue to administer vaccinations as supply becomes available.

Please know there is a statewide and national vaccine shortage so we can only vaccinate folks based on the supply we are receiving and all appointments for the next week are currently full.

Earlier today, we opened the doors to the Long Beach Convention Center Vax Super Site. So far we are mostly finished with vaccinating healthcare workers, paramedics, firefighters, and nursing home and clinic staff. We have also started to vaccinate folks 65 and older, city emergency response workers, and police. These groups are going smoothly with no major issues. 

Last night, I delivered my seventh State of the City address, but this time virtually. I hope you were able to join us.

We are living in the midst of the greatest challenge of our generation — last night reflected that. In this State of the City, I spoke about the impact COVID-19 has had on our communities and me personally.

Tonight is the 2021 State of the City. I am excited for you to join us at 6 p.m. 

Though folks won't be able to join in person this year, we are providing multiple ways for you to view online.

My Website: Watch live starting at 6 p.m. at www.longbeach.gov/mayor/stateofthecity.

LBTV3: If you have cable and have access to LBTV, you can watch live at 6 p.m. Or you can visit www.lbtv3.com and watch from your phone or computer.

I wanted to provide a vaccination update.

The good news is that most in Group A have already received their vaccine. If you are in Group A, which includes workers in healthcare, medical fields, paramedics, dentists, pharmacists, home healthcare workers, community health workers, and nursing homes, and you have not been vaccinated at your hospital, office, or clinic site we want to get you vaccinated. 

I wanted to take a moment this evening to message you about the shameful actions that took place today in Washington, D.C.

There is absolutely no question that what occurred was sickening, horrific and completely against what we stand for as Americans. This was an attack on our Capitol and our country's most sacred institutions. It was truly saddening to watch our Congress overrun at the urging of a President who has failed to uphold the oath he took: "to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

I want to close out 2020 with some great news.

We just received news that the California Department of Public Health licensed Community Hospital Long Beach (CHLB) to reopen January 4. This is incredible, and an outcome that we had been working towards all year. With hospitals across our city and state at capacity, this reopening is critical for the safety and care of our community, and couldn't be more needed.

Yesterday, the city provided over 5,000 free combination flu and COVID-19 tests. We do thousands of these tests a day at multiple sites across the city. It’s a massive operation and those that have been working these sites for most of the year are our dedicated city employees. These employees come from various departments and are now trained to do testing.

They are lifeguards, and clerks, and employees from all across the organization who never imagined they would be staffing these sites daily. We also have a small but mighty medical volunteer corps.

Our health department just reported that 14 additional Long Beach residents have died due to COVID-19. This loss of life is devastating. It is double the largest loss of life we’ve experienced in a single day since the pandemic began.

We have now lost over 333 Long Beach residents. This virus is the single largest threat we have ever faced, and remains the biggest threat to life.

Earlier today, at the same hospital where my mom passed away, I witnessed the first medical workers in our city receive the COVID-19 vaccine. As a healthcare worker, my mom would have been in the front of the line with her co-workers. I’m so grateful to have witnessed our heroes get the support they need.

Today, our first batch of vaccines have arrived. We could not be more grateful to Governor Newsom, our state partners, and our team at the Long Beach Health Department.

Tomorrow at 9 a.m., we will begin our vaccine rollout to medical workers in Long Beach. It’s an important and hopeful moment for our community in the fight against COVID-19.

Earlier this morning, we announced our Long Beach City vaccination plan. We've been hard at work on this plan for the past several months and I want to thank our Health Department and the California Department of Public Health.

Our first shipment of vaccines will be arriving before the end of this month and will include 3,900 Pfizer doses, and then in early January, 11,600 Moderna doses will also arrive. Our team has acquired all the necessary refrigeration infrastructure and is ready to go.

Today, Mayor Robert Garcia introduced a $5 million Personal Services and Fitness Resiliency Fund to support barber shops, nail salons and other personal care service providers, as well as independently owned fitness studios and gyms. Many of these small businesses have suffered significant financial losses as a result of public health measures that have been necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19.

"Our personal care service providers do so much to take care of our community and it is important for us to take care of them," said Mayor Robert Garcia. "These small business owners are our neighbors and they need our support more than ever.”

Across the country, COVID-19 deaths are now 9/11-like events happening daily. Our state is facing an unprecedented challenge as cases sharply rise and hospitalizations become dangerously high.

Today, Governor Newsom announced a new Regional Stay at Home Order that becomes effective 24-hours after a region’s remaining hospital ICU capacity reaches 15%. This guidance by the state is the right approach. Now cities and counties will move together as a region instead of having a patchwork of different orders and regulations.

Every year, we have gathered together for one of the largest and exciting events of the year—the lighting of the Long Beach Holiday Tree. It’s one of the largest trees in Southern California and thousands turn out for the celebration, fireworks, and live music.

This year, we won’t be able to gather together or have an in-person event, but we are going to light up the tree tonight at a virtual event for the entire city.

Long Beach, CA – Mayor Robert Garcia has proposed a $5 million Restaurant, Brewery & Bar Resiliency Fund from the anticipated federal COVID-19 stimulus package to assist local Long Beach small businesses who are closed or at limited capacity due to health orders. 

Long Beach and Los Angeles County health officials recently closed outdoor service at restaurants, breweries, and bars due to a spike in hospitalizations and a dangerous increase in the region’s COVID-19 positivity rate.

To the 275 Long Beach families who won’t have their mom, dad, grandparent or child at the dinner table tomorrow, please know that I am praying for you and have you in my deep thoughts. Loss is hard anytime during the year, but especially this year and in this moment.

For many families, they never had a chance to say goodbye in person—or to hold their mom or dad in their last days or hours. These 275 local families have gone through horrific trauma and loss.

California is seeing a record level of new COVID-19 cases at a dangerous rate. Our local hospitals have more than doubled their patients and we broke our city testing record on Friday.

In the last few weeks alone, the data and figures are striking. Here are some of the most concerning indicators...

Due to the spike in COVID-19 cases across California, Governor Newsom just announced a new limited Stay at Home Order that will take effect this Saturday night at 10 p.m. The new order will impact most California cities and is consistent with what we are already doing here in Long Beach. It will require that statewide, all non-essential work and gatherings end by 10 p.m. and resume no earlier than 5 a.m.

This action by the Governor and the state will save lives and provide relief to our hospitals and our healthcare system.

We need the White House and Congress to get back to work on negotiating a COVID-19 relief bill that includes funding to cities and states. For months, members of Congress have been working on a bill that would provide millions of relief to places that need it most—local and state governments, hospitals, and public schools.

On Monday, October 5, we are opening California’s newest icon. Our new international bridge, linking Long Beach to Los Angeles, is a 50-story iconic structure that includes a bike and pedestrian path and incredible lighting features.

A huge thank you to all the union trade workers who built it.

Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed a critical bill into law that ensures protections and sick leave expansion for essential workers impacted by COVID-19.

I want to thank the Governor for signing this bill.

This legislation was hard-fought by SEIU-UHW, the union that represented my mom and dedicated health care workers like her nationwide. 

On Labor Day we honor and celebrate the contributions of hardworking men and women fighting for better working conditions and social and economic rights that strengthen our nation. Thank you to those who power our local economy and the steps they have taken to increase worker protections like instituting the eight-hour workday, ensuring workplace safety, and banning discrimination.

The data shows Long Beach is once again stepping up to the challenge COVID-19 has put before us—and doing the right thing.

We are getting better at wearing our face coverings and making better decisions about who we see and how we distance around other people.

Starting in Seneca Falls in 1848, women fought for and won the right to vote 100 years ago today. We invite you to celebrate this historic milestone by joining women across our community in celebrating and marching for women. Our local Long Beach Silent Sentinels have been organizing events and demonstrations all year.

Long Beach is combatting this health crisis with every resource we can—and that includes widespread testing. We continue to grow our testing capacity and we can now test more people than ever before. We can provide 1,600 free tests a day across all our sites.

That includes our new site at the Port of Long Beach to make it easy for dock workers, truck drivers and folks who work in our goods movement industry to get tested. Our Port workers are so important to our national economy.

We are incredibly saddened to share that my stepfather, Greg O’Donnell, has passed away due to complications from COVID-19. It’s a heartbreaking loss for our entire family, especially for my brother Jake.

Greg was a kind and good-hearted man, an amazing father and grandfather, and the best husband our mom could have ever hoped for.

Long Beach small businesses and up to 5,000 employees can receive free face coverings, face shields and hand sanitizer through a new multi-agency effort.

This personal protective equipment (PPE) has been made available to Long Beach small businesses through the California Office of Emergency Services in collaboration with the California Office of the Small Business Advocate.

On the evening of May 31st, numerous small businesses were vandalized and damaged across our city. I promised we would work to support every business that was looted or needed assistance. While the city provided numerous emergency grants and loans to small business owners, I asked the City Council to create a new Rebuild Long Beach Relief Fund and make $1.2 million available in additional grants to businesses and they did just that.

Earlier this week I shared that my mother, Gaby O’Donnell, passed away due to complications from COVID-19. She was 61 years old.

I’d like to thank everyone who has reached out to me and my family to express their condolences. Your cards, notes and messages have been an incredible source of strength.

It is with deep sadness that I share that my mother, Gaby O’Donnell, has passed away due to complications from COVID-19. My brother and I are heartbroken. Our mother was the kindest and most compassionate person we’ve ever known. She immigrated from Peru to the United States in search of the American Dream—and she found it. She became a healthcare worker, caring for thousands of patients over her career and assisting nurses and doctors who she loved dearly.

The City of Long Beach has issued a Health Order that will provide access to COVID-19 diagnostic testing at all healthcare facilities throughout the City. 

Long Beach is committed to reducing the spread of COVID-19 and will continue to do everything we can to keep our community safe. 

This Sunday morning, I’ve been reflecting on the tremendous outpouring of kindness, love, and prayers from all of you for my mother and stepfather. Your notes and messages this week have been a huge source of strength for my brother and our family.

The nurses, doctors, and medical staff have been incredible and we are in constant communication with them. Both my mom and stepfather are receiving heroic care. They continue to remain on ventilators but are making progress.

Testing is critical to preventing the spread of COVID-19. Long Beach continues to offer free testing for residents during this time, and asks everyone do their part to keep themselves, their families, the community and especially our healthcare workers safe.

A message from the Long Beach Unified School District:

When the new school year resumes on Sept. 1, classes in the Long Beach Unified School District will remain entirely online, at least through Oct. 5, due to the recent spike in coronavirus cases in Southern California. 

Governor Newsom and the State of California have announced additional closures to indoor operations in many counties, including all Southern California counties.

The COVID-19 health crisis is impacting our country, our city, and my family. Both my mother and my stepfather tested positive recently, and both are now hospitalized and on ventilators.

My mom is a healthcare worker. She’s worked in the same clinic for over 25 years and is incredibly careful and understands the seriousness of this virus. Thankfully, both are in stable condition and we hope for a full recovery. They are both receiving heroic care from amazing doctors and nurses.

Many Long Beach residents are struggling with food insecurity right now. With unemployment hitting every community in America, it’s crucial we support our most vulnerable neighbors.

To help those in need, we are hosting a Drive-Thru Food Giveaway on Friday, July 17 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at Long Beach City College, Pacific Coast Campus.

Over the last few weeks, we led a coalition of big city mayors in a tough fight to ensure Long Beach would receive a $40 million relief package funded by the state. The funds are earmarked to assist residents and businesses impacted by the COVID-19 health and economic crisis. We also received $13 million from LA County to assist with our health response.

I want to thank Governor Gavin Newsom for his support and our local Long Beach delegation including State Senator Lena Gonzalez, Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell, and Supervisor Janice Hahn. We are in a critical moment in our city’s history and these resources will go a long way to support our community.

I’ve always said one of the best days of my life was when I became an American. I’m a citizen by choice, not birth—and it’s a privilege my family had to fight and struggle for. I’ve always loved our country and feel a deep sense of gratitude for all it has provided my family. Patriotism is also about reflection and recognizing we are not a perfect union—but a country and people that struggle and often fail to live up to our founding principles.

The City today announced that application forms and program materials are available for a newly launched rental assistance program that will help provide relief to qualified tenants affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program was unanimously approved earlier this month by the City Council.

Today, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the mandatory closure of indoor dining rooms and indoor museum spaces in Los Angeles County in order to limit the spread of COVID-19. Restaurants may operate for outdoor dining, pick-up and delivery only.

Yesterday, as part of our efforts to address both the ongoing health crisis and long standing issues of racial equity, I announced two new funds to support people in our community.

Both funds will start with one million dollars each, through funding our city is receiving from the State of California. My thanks to Governor Newsom and the State Legislature for their support for Long Beach.

The City announced today that, in alignment with Los Angeles County, Long Beach beaches will be closed to the public this Fourth of July weekend starting Friday, July 3 in the morning through Monday, July 6 in the morning in a proactive effort to limit the spread of COVID-19. This closure also includes piers, beach parking lots (except for permit holders), beach access ways, bathrooms and beach bike and pedestrian paths.

Today, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the mandatory closure of all bars in Los Angeles County in order to limit the spread of COVID-19. The governor cited the social nature of bars and the challenges of contact tracing among bar-goes, among the reasons for the action.

The City is encouraging everyone to safely enjoy the 4th of July holiday, and takes seriously the job of enforcing the Long Beach Fireworks Ordinance. All fireworks, including those labeled Safe and Sane, are prohibited in the City of Long Beach. 

Fireworks cause tens of millions of dollars annually in property damage and result in many injuries, the majority of which are suffered by children. Fireworks set off in residential neighborhoods, particularly those that are unexpected, can trigger flashbacks for veterans and gun violence survivors experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. The noise also creates panic for many animals, and shelters fill with runaway pets every year.

Long Beach is proud to announce we have decisively won a class action settlement along with 12 partner cities and agencies against the Monsanto Chemical Company, worth $550 million. We entered this lawsuit to take on a corporate giant which has contaminated our waterways and environment.

Leading the nationwide resolution are the cities of Long Beach, Tacoma, Portland, Berkeley, Oakland, San Jose, Spokane, San Diego, Chula Vista and Baltimore, the Port of Portland, and the counties of Los Angeles and Baltimore. The cases were collectively litigated for more than 5 years.

Long Beach will begin slowly reopening bars and nail salons with distancing and safety protocols this weekend. All other personal grooming/care services like massages, facials, lashes, and tattoo parlors can open next Friday, June 26th. Hospitalizations have remained generally stable and our hospital occupancy remains around 58%, where it has been for the last few weeks. We understand that many small businesses are choosing to remain closed and we support that.

Our Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine (PRM) summer youth and teen programs for 2020 will feature greatly reduced fees, lower staff-to camper ratios and enhanced safety protocols.

The City’s parks programs provide critical opportunities for families and kids to have a healthy, active lifestyle this summer. Staff has worked diligently to modify activities to support safe programs for our youth. 

Last week, the Governor announced 12 more sectors of our economy will soon be allowed to reopen. We have been carefully working on revising our health orders and reviewing hospital capacity and data.

Today, the Long Beach Police Department issued a special order suspending the use of the carotid restraint outlined in our use of force policy.

The Police Department already prohibits the use of “choke holds,” which restrict air flow, as a neck restraint to overcome resistance under any circumstances and has never allowed neck restraint using knees, legs or feet.

All Long Beach residents can now receive COVID-19 testing, regardless of symptoms, at three City-operated testing sites. While testing for non-symptomatic residents has been available, we are expanding the number of locations.

Today we are proposing a major new fund and initiative to directly support the small businesses that were affected by vandalism and looting on Sunday, May 31. We are committed to ensuring every single business that was impacted receives direct grant assistance from the city.

This weekend, Long Beach is likely to reach our 100th death from COVID-19. The United States recently passed 100 thousand deaths. It’s a stark and sad reminder that even as important issues around racial justice and safety demand our attention, we are still in the middle of the health crisis here in Long Beach and around the country.

LA County is not doing a countywide curfew tonight and Long Beach is included in that decision. The last few nights have been peaceful and safe for our community. Please know our public safety team is still fully deployed and thank you to the community for keeping our city safe.

Black leaders, organizers, and students in our community have begun putting together a series of conversations about racial justice and equity and I’m looking forward to participating and listening. I hope you’ll join us as we continue this important work going forward and please read this statement I released yesterday:

As we continue to see civil unrest across the country, and we work to keep our community safe, we must remember we are still in a health crisis.

The City of Long Beach will issue a new health order today that allows hair salons and barbers as well as restaurants for in-person dining to slowly reopen provided these businesses follow guidelines designed to protect employees and patrons and control the spread of COVID-19.

Today we are announcing the launch of a free home meal delivery service for older adults, with meals supplied by Long Beach food providers and restaurants impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the first-in-the-nation program in April as a partnership with counties, cities, and tribes in an effort to keep the most vulnerable population healthy and at home.

Today, the City of Long Beach announced that offices, places of worship and in-person retail may reopen, with distancing restrictions.

Long Beach began easing into another phase of our "Safer at Home" order two weeks ago. And today, I gave an update on where we are with the data. As I have said many times, the data is what will be driving our decisions and timelines.

Tonight, Long Beach moved forward on an Open Streets Initiative that will make it possible to give our local small businesses more support while giving residents more space to physically distance.  The Open Streets Initiative that was approved this evening will make it possible to temporarily re-purpose some of our public spaces–think sidewalks, off-street parking and large parking lots–into safe spaces for physically distanced retail, dining, and potentially even entertainment.

The City of Long Beach has announced it will offer a second free home meal delivery service for older adults in an effort to further assist adults at high risk of COVID-19 and to provide essential economic stimulus to local eateries during the health crisis.

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and we know they are struggling and need support. We’ve been listening to what residents and business owners want and need and one concern that comes up over and over is space to physically distance.

I’m grateful today to the community who is working hard to keep our hospitalizations flat and our reopening plan safe.

As we announced yesterday, the City is adjusting our outdoor recreation guidelines and will reopen public beaches in Long Beach for active recreational activities only - beginning Wednesday, May 13. This aligns with the rest of Los Angeles County and follows California State guidance.

Starting today, the City of Long Beach is implementing new guidelines for the use of beach bike and pedestrian paths and tennis courts in parks to reopen.

We know our community has been anxious to get back outdoors. While our beaches are still closed, we are looking forward to the beach bike and pedestrian path opening up safely. Please remember to practice physical distancing so that we can continue to make more places available.

The following is a message from the Long Beach Unified School District:

The Long Beach Unified School District continues to partner with the Los Angeles County Office of Education, the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, and other regional and state agencies to protect the health and safety of students, their families and school employees during the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.

Effective today, Friday, May 8, 2020, the City of Long Beach will allow retail businesses, with modified operations and proper sanitizing and physical distancing protocols in place, to reopen for curbside pickup and delivery services only.

Starting this Friday, Long Beach and cities in our region will begin transitioning into the next phase of our "Safer at Home" order. We will do this slowly, gradually, and closely monitor data along the way.

Long Beach and most cities will begin easing into the next phase of our "Safer at Home" order in the days and weeks ahead. The Governor announced that as early as this Friday, counties and health departments can begin relaxing our guidelines and has provided regions flexibility on the timeline of openings.

From the start of this health crisis, we promised you we would be guided by the best medical advice and data. We have listened to experts and have forged strong partnerships with the state and neighboring cities. We have not rushed and have worked hard to prepare for any medical emergency.

Congressman Alan Lowenthal and I will be answering your questions about Long Beach, COVID-19, and our federal response to this national health crisis.

Are you a frontline worker? Beginning tomorrow, you can get tested for COVID-19 in Long Beach for free. Whether you have coronavirus symptoms or not, frontline workers can now get tested if you are concerned you have potentially been exposed to COVID-19.

Today, the City of Long Beach launched an online survey, ReopenLB, to seek input from residents, workers and business owners about how to safely reopen the local economy once Governor Newsom’s order indicates it is safe to do so.

The City of Long Beach is expanding testing options beyond our four current drive-through locations. We are adding two new testing locations, including at Long Beach City College’s Liberal Arts Campus in East Long Beach and a soon to be announced location in North Long Beach. These sites will open in a few days.

I know it's a beautiful weekend, with the warm sun shining down on us. I know we're all tired of being inside. But I need to ask all of you to please continue staying home. You are saving lives. The beaches and parks remain closed, including the beach pedestrian and bike paths, and we will be enforcing that as needed.

We are excited that the ventilators being manufactured right here in Long Beach by Virgin Orbit, have received FDA approval and are now being produced. These innovative units will begin shipping to hospitals here locally and across the country. Thank you!

We are saddened today to report Long Beach has lost a total of 27 residents to COVID-19. Our continued love and prayers go out to their families and friends. These losses bring into focus the importance of our Safer at Home order and that we have to do all we can to stay healthy.

I want to congratulate Dr. Jill Baker on being selected as the next Superintendent of Long Beach Schools. The Long Beach Unified School District Board could not have picked a stronger advocate for students and families. Dr. Baker knows our school system and knows Long Beach. She will value and uplift our teachers, educators, and the Long Beach College Promise. We look forward to the continued partnership.

We want to provide an update on current hospital capacity as we enter these critical weeks ahead. We are closely monitoring our hospital bed capacity and doing everything we can to expand it. We are fortunate to have robust partnerships with several Long Beach area hospitals that have quickly adapted to this public health emergency.

We are saddened today to report Long Beach had three additional deaths related to COVID-19, bringing our total to six. All three were in their 80s with underlying health conditions. Our love and prayers go out to their families and friends. These losses bring into focus the importance of our Safer at Home order and that we have to do all we can to stay healthy.

Today, the City of Long Beach launched a Rapid Assessment Clinic to provide medical assistance to people who might otherwise feel compelled to visit an emergency room for their medical conditions.

Rufus is a happy, handsome 8-year-old Pit Bull-Shar Pei mix who loves to give high fives with his paws. After over eight months at Long Beach Animal Care Services (ACS), Rufus is now one of 69 other dogs and 103 cats recently adopted or fostered into homes from ACS since March 13, during an unprecedented show of support from the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The City of Long Beach has released guidance and information on the CDC recommendation for wearing face coverings to protect against the spread of COVID-19.

I’m so inspired by the many individuals and businesses who have reached out and offered their help and support during these challenging times. One of the most important things we can do right now is to support and take care of each other.

We are doing everything we can to prepare for the patient surge in our hospitals in the weeks ahead. Below is a snapshot of the work and the details of our plan:

As promised, I'm sharing the latest data on the coronavirus in Long Beach. Please remember how important it is to physically distance. That's the only way we can slow these new cases.

Today, the City of Long Beach opened our 4th shelter for people experiencing homelessness at Martin Luther King Jr. Park (King Park), located at 1950 Lemon Ave., as part of our ongoing efforts to provide additional shelter to those most vulnerable during the COVID-19 public health crisis.

Throughout this crisis it’s been important to be transparent and honest about the facts on the ground as they relate to COVID-19. Access to solid up-to-date information is crucial right now and we will continue to share what we know with all of you as soon as we can.

A message from Long Beach Unified School District:

The closure of all schools in the Long Beach Unified School District will extend through the end of the academic year, or June 11, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. School had been tentatively scheduled to resume on Monday, May 4.

I know we are experiencing an enormous health crisis, but I want to ask you to focus on another important issue today - The 2020 Census.

I want to encourage everyone to complete the census for your household if you haven’t already.

The City of Long Beach has launched a program that matches people who are unemployed or underemployed with potential employers. The online platform, hosted by Pacific Gateway and called “Work Long Beach,” allows individuals to offer a full range of skills for the hours that they choose to work. This virtual labor market is built around control for work-seekers, and for businesses, it delivers a flexible, quality workforce aligned with ever-changing local needs.

The City of Long Beach is providing an overview of COVID-19 testing protocols as part of its ongoing commitment to keep our community well-informed and safe.

A message from Virgin Orbit:

Virgin Orbit has developed a new mass-producible bridge ventilator to help in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Virgin Orbit team has been consulting with the Bridge Ventilator Consortium (BVC), led by the University of California Irvine (UCI) and the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), a group formed to spawn and nurture efforts to build producible, simple ventilators to aid in the current COVID-19 crisis.

In continuing efforts to mitigate parking impacts caused by COVID-19, the City of Long Beach is adding more free alternative off-street parking options for residents. Residents can apply online for free parking and passes will be issued on a first come first served basis.

We have opened a new temporary housing shelter at Silverado Park, located at 1545 W. 31st St., to provide additional temporary housing to persons experiencing homelessness in the City during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

In continuing efforts to mitigate parking impacts caused by COVID-19, the City of Long Beach is adding more free alternative off-street parking options for residents. Residents can apply online for free parking and passes will be issued on a first come first served basis.

Yesterday the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) was notified that a police officer has tested positive for COVID-19. The total number of confirmed Long Beach cases is 70. The officer involved is a Long Beach resident and his case is included in the updated Long Beach totals.

Today the USNS Mercy, the 1000 bed Navy Hospital Ship pictured below, docks in our neighboring Port of Los Angeles. The ship will be a lifeline for local hospitals, including here in Long Beach, freeing up space by serving patients who do not have COVID-19.

A new emergency ordinance, effective now, temporarily halts evictions for residential and commercial tenants affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of a comprehensive rental relief package unanimously approved Tuesday night by the City Council.

Late last night, eight Long Beach Fire Department firefighters tested positive for COVID-19.

Our love, support, and prayers are with them, their families, friends and the entire Long Beach Fire Department.

Access is now closed to Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier, the El Dorado Nature Center and parking lots at City-owned parks and beaches through April 19 to prevent large groups of people from congregating in public spaces, in accordance with the latest clarification to the state’s “Stay at Home” order and the City of Long Beach’s “Safer at Home” order.

Unfortunately we have had our first death related to COVID-19. She was in her 50s and had pre-existing medical conditions. Our love, support, and prayers go out to her family and her loved ones.

In accordance with the state’s “Stay at Home” order and the City’s local “Safer at Home”order, the City of Long Beach is confirming the closure of sports facilities in Long Beach parks and beaches and asking the community to not gather in open spaces throughout the City.

In an effort to mitigate parking impacts to residents caused by COVID-19 in the most parking-impacted areas of Long Beach, the City of Long Beach will be providing free alternative off-street parking options and increasing on-street parking meter courtesy times.

The WorkPlace job center (4811 Airport Plaza Dr., Ste. 120) will remain open to assist Long Beach families, workers and small businesses affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Our job center is here to assist Long Beach residents file for unemployment, and other protections and services.

We are working with the State to provide additional clarity and guidance to their “Safer at Home” order and to align our local Long Beach order. Among other things, this update clarifies that barber shops, hair and nail salons are non-essential businesses in our “Safer at Home” order. We ask that you follow the City’s amended Health Order and we will provide any additional information if we find that the State’s order has additional restrictions.

A message from LBUSD:

The closure of all Long Beach Unified School District Schools will extend through at least May 3 due to the ongoing coronavirus situation. Schools had originally been scheduled to reopen as soon as April 20. Schools may reopen on Monday, May 4, but an additional extension of the closure beyond that date is possible.

This is an important update from Long Beach Unified School District ----

As previously reported, the Long Beach Unified School District will close schools beginning Monday, March 16. School will resume Monday, April 20. This closure is an extra precaution to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Long Beach Airport is one of the best in the world, with its award-winning concourse, historic terminal, and ease of travel. Now we're modernizing the airport to make the travel experience even better.

This week the City took another huge step forward to protect the environment, especially our beaches and ocean. As a coastal city we have to lead on issues concerning climate change and conservation and over the last few years we have been transitioning away from plastic bags in supermarkets and polysterene food containers at restaurants. Now we've expanded this program to include plastic straws, as well as polystyrene food containers at retail locations.

This week hundreds of volunteers, public safety teams, and city staff will be out in the streets, parks and alleys of Long Beach at dawn to take a count of people experiencing homelessness. This "Point in Time Count" is required in order for the city to be eligible for millions of dollars in funding to help us combat homelessness and bring "Everyone Home."

Last night, I delivered my sixth annual State of the City to the City Council and the community at the Terrace Theater. As I reported then: The state of this city is strong. We are experiencing unprecedented growth in Long Beach, with tremendous opportunity still ahead. Crime is at or near historic lows, we are in the middle of an economic development boom, and our cultural life is thriving.

I hope you'll read this Op-Ed that has been published in this week's Gazette newspapers.

As we enter this new year, and the new decade, I’m reflecting on all the incredible changes Long Beach has experienced over the past year and the past ten years, and looking forward to many opportunities for continued growth and progress in our community.

2019 was a great year for Long Beach, with lots of growth and many accomplishments for the city, from more than $3.5 billion in private and public development and hundreds of new residential homes to new playgrounds, park improvements, and beach amenities. We kept our promise to continue the largest investment in our city’s infrastructure in more than 40 years.

On December 17, 2019, Mayor Robert Garcia will honor Jewels with a Key to the City. 

“We have been proud to honor sports icons, civil rights activists, and other exemplary leaders from across our city, and it’s time to recognize an incredible philanthropist and artist within the LGBTQ community,” said Mayor Garcia.

Last night was a moving and powerful tribute to a Long Beach family who lived their lives being kind to others and giving back to their community. On October 31, Joseph, Raihan, and Omar Awaida lost their lives after being hit by a driver in the Los Cerritos Park neighborhood. The driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

On November 5, 2019, Mayor Robert Garcia will honor Congressman Alan Lowenthal with a Key to the City. 

“Congressman Lowenthal has served our city with distinction for 27 years, beginning in 1992 when he served as a Long Beach City Councilmember for six years, then as State Assembly member for three terms, followed by two terms as a State Senator, and now as our Congressmember in in the United States House of Representatives,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. 

Yesterday I was proud to stand with Councilman Daryl Supernaw and our Long Beach Firefighters as we returned Fire Engine 17 to its home at Fire Station 17 in the Artcraft Manor neighborhood, just a few blocks from the traffic circle, next to Stearns Park.

On Saturday we held the grand opening of Long Beach's new Billie Jean King Library.

My thanks to the hundreds of people and families who attended this event with excitement and enthusiasm to match the excitement of everything this new main library has to offer Long Beach.

I'm proud to announce we've just reached a tentative three-year agreement with the Police Officers Association (POA), which includes pension reform.

This new agreement provides modest pay increases for our hardworking police officers, will reduce costs to the taxpayer with police employees picking up the maximum share of pension costs, and modernizes our benefit package for public safety employees.

We're providing a new paid parental leave program, with up to 160 hours of paid leave for eligible employees for the birth or adoption of a child, or for placement of a foster child in their home. This new leave benefit, as well as an additional holiday and other changes to holiday pay accrual, will improve work-life balance for our public safety staff. 

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia has selected Diana Tang as his next Chief of Staff. Diana is currently the Manager of Government Affairs and Communications for the City of Long Beach and in her role helps manage a team of professionals in the City Communications Office, the Government Affairs Team and city lobbyists in Sacramento and Washington D.C. Her appointment as Chief of Staff is effective September 30, 2019.

“Diana has done a phenomenal job managing our city’s lobbying efforts and our communications office,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. “She knows Long Beach and is ready on day one to lead our team.”

Last night the City Council adopted our $2.8 billion 2020 budget. Like every budget I’ve signed as Mayor, it is balanced and responsible. It will continue the improvements happening around Long Beach, with key investments in public safety, infrastructure repair and other critical services.

Last night the City Council unanimously approved making Sunnyside Cemetery a permanent part of our City’s public parks. The cemetery, where so many Long Beach residents have their final resting place, was unable to continue operation in private hands. It was my commitment that Sunnyside be preserved and cared for properly and now the City will be able to ensure that happens.

I’ve said from the start we would never let Sunnyside Cemetery close or fall into disrepair. On Tuesday, the City Council will look at final steps to take ownership of the cemetery and make it a permanent part of our City's park system.

On November 5, 2019, Mayor Robert Garcia will honor Congressman Alan Lowenthal with a Key to the City. 

“Congressman Lowenthal has served our city with distinction for 27 years, beginning in 1992 when he served as a Long Beach City Councilmember for six years, then as State Assembly member for three terms, followed by two terms as a State Senator, and now as our Congressmember in in the United States House of Representatives,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. 

This week was historic for Long Beach as we celebrated the grand opening of our new Civic Center. This new home for our democracy reflects our city's future - it's open, transparent, and sustainable.

Today at noon, the final two city employees - City Manager Pat West and I - left the Long Beach City Hall that’s been the center of civic life in this community for 43 years. We’re all moving into our new home, just across the street, in the brand new Civic Center.

Mayor Garcia announced his nominations for the following Charter Commissions: Steven Neal, The Harbor Commission; James Ahumada, Citizens Police Complaint Commission; Bandon Downling, Civil Service Commission and Robert Shannon, Water Commission.

The major Ridgecrest earthquakes we’ve been feeling in Long Beach since July 4th are a strong reminder we all need to be prepared for public emergencies. That’s why in 2015 we launched Alert Long Beach, our public emergency notification system.

The City of Long Beach commemorated one of our community’s bravest, Fire Captain David Rosa, by naming our Fire Department’s Regional Training Center in his honor.  We did this today, the one-year anniversary of the day Captain Rosa, a 17 year LBFD veteran, was shot and killed while responding to an explosion and fire downtown.

Today, the City of Long Beach released the results of our homeless count and the numbers are encouraging. While homelessness is on the rise throughout LA County and the region, in Long Beach our count remained basically flat.

Yesterday I joined hundreds of community leaders at the 2019 California State University, Long Beach Regional Economic Forum. The forum discussed the historic strength of the economy:

It’s time for Beach Streets again!

Since 2014, Beach Streets has become one of the premiere events in our city. An exciting and free event for the whole family, Beach Streets turns our roads into an outdoor festival, complete with music, art, and lots of great food, and the chance to walk, bike, skate or scoot around our community, meeting new people and taking in all our city has to offer.

Last night we took a big step forward by approving an interim agreement that could re-open Community Hospital this year. Long Beach and MWN, our operating partner, are now in the position to work directly with the California Department of Public Health and Office of Statewide Hospital Planning and Development for the State approvals needed to reopen the hospital. MWN will now complete the application for a new hospital license and the City will continue to work with the State on seismic compliance.

This week, in a major step forward for our Everyone Home Long Beach initiative, the City Council approved the purchase of land for Long Beach’s first city-run homeless shelter and bridge housing campus. More than just a shelter, the 3-acre site in North Long Beach will provide a bridge of services and support that people need to get off the street and into permanent housing.

A year ago at the State of the City I called for the creation of a year-round municipal shelter to support those in Long Beach experiencing homelessness. While we have actively partnered with LA County to open a winter shelter every year, the city needs a year round facility.

Last night I gave my 5^th State of the City address and my first one in my second term as Mayor. I discussed our historic low unemployment rate, crime rates dropping, and investments in infrastructure.

As we bring 2018 to a close, it's an opportunity to look back at the great year here in the City of Long Beach. It was another banner year of progress and growth for our city, and we were recognized for our efforts in sound financial reporting, public safety, economic inclusion, technology, addressing mental health and homelessness, housing, city planning, community preparedness, sustainability and LGBTQ inclusion and civil rights.

We are happy to announce the appointment of Xavier Espino to Fire Chief. Espino is a Southern California native who has served Long Beach in the Fire Department since 1986, where he has most recently served as assistant chief. He is a second-generation firefighter; his father retired as a Los Angeles County Fire Department captain. 

Thank you, Long Beach. I want to thank so many of you who were able to join us last week for our inaugural swearing in. I’m very grateful to our California Attorney General Xavier Becerra who administered the oath of office to me. I wanted to share my remarks after being sworn in and what to expect during this next term.

Long Beach lost a hero yesterday. The entire City and Fire Department family continues to mourn the loss of Captain David Rosa, a 17 year veteran of the Long Beach Fire Department who was killed in the line of duty. Captain Rosa’s body was escorted to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office with full honors. Firefighters and community members from our city and throughout the region turned out to show their support.

I want to take this opportunity to bring you the latest news on Community Hospital. As you know, maintaining a hospital with emergency services has been a priority for us. 

I'm really proud the Port of Long Beach was recognized recently as the “Best Green Seaport” in the world at the 32nd annual Asian Freight, Logistics and Supply Chain Awards in Shanghai hosted by the Asia Cargo News shipping trade publication.

Today I signed into law an ordinance that bans Styrofoam food containers. This law will phase out the distribution of these single-use plastic products that find their way into our rivers and the oceans. These products are causing major damage to marine life and our ecosystem.

In the two months leading up to my second inaugural in July, I will not be going to City Hall. Next week, I'm kicking off the #GoLongBeachTour, a nine week tour of our community.

In the two months leading up to my second inaugural in July I won't be going to City Hall.

In 2013, the year before I was elected, we were euthanizing more than 4,000 animals a year at our animal shelter. Since then, we have made progress every single year, and last year we euthanized 1,065 animals at the shelter. We are making progress thanks to our amazing animal rescue & spay/neuter organizations, our animal advocates, the team and volunteers at Animal Care Services, and our City Council.

Over the last few years, I am proud we have appointed more women and diversified our commissions to ensure representation from across the city. I am committed to appointing even more women to close the gap and ensure women are leading at all levels of government.

This weekend we had the grand opening celebration for the Red Car Greenbelt, our newest park space that will enhance Long Beach’s walkability and bikeability with a newly paved path that adds routes for walkers and links to the to the Colorado Lagoon and bike path on 6th Street.

Last week, I held the annual Go Long Beach Awards, where I get a chance to honor some bright stars in Long Beach who are doing incredible things in our community.  It’s such an honor to spend time with them and recognize their efforts that make Long Beach a better place to live and work.  I’m sure you’ll agree that these honorees are well deserving.

We are investing historic amounts of resources to fix our city’s aging infrastructure. One of these exciting improvements is happening in Alamitos Bay in the Bayshore area.

Today I'm announcing a new initiative, 8 by 28, focused on completing 8 critical projects in Long Beach for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and Paralympics. We are taking a cue from Mayor Eric Garcetti’s 28 by 2028 initiative for LA County Metro.

Today I joined our Long Beach Chief of Police to announce Long Beach ended 2017 with the lowest number of murders recorded in our city’s history.

We saw a 33% reduction in murders from 2016 to 2017. There were 22 murders in 2017, down from 33 recorded in 2016. We know every victim had a family and each incident is tragic. As always, our Long Beach Police Department is committed to bringing justice to each family.

It was another great year in Long Beach!

2017 was a record-breaking year for Long Beach, from record lows in unemployment, to record highs in economic development and growth in wages.

I was happy to participate last week in the Long Beach Police Department's latest Academy Graduation, for Academy Class #91. The graduation at the Long Beach Performing Arts Terrace Theater was another example of our ability, thanks in large part to Measure A funding passed by Long Beach voters in 2016, to improve safety in our city.

Modernizing our city's infrastructure has been a priority of ours since I became Mayor. And one of a city's most important responsibilities is emergency response. That's why beginning today, hearing and speech-impaired residents of Long Beach and those in situations where it is too dangerous to dial 911 for help in an emergency can text to 911.

On Tuesday, November 28th, in partnership with the Long Beach Convention and Visitor's Bureau, we will be lighting up the tallest Christmas Tree in Long Beach!

This morning the City of Long Beach in partnership with the The Long Beach Community Investment Company (LBCIC) and Century Housing Corp. celebrated the grand opening of Anchor Place, a new affordable housing development at the Century Villages at Cabrillo (CVC).

Today, developer Thomas Safran & Associates, Clifford Beers Housing and Long Beach city officials will celebrate the opening of Immanuel Place, a new senior affordable housing complex built into a former church.

The longest tenured train car on Los Angeles’s oldest light rail line will soon retire to Long Beach.

Metro’s board of directors approved a framework on Thursday for preserving train cars now being decommissioned and replaced by the transit agency after nearly 30 years of service on the Blue Line, which opened in 1990.

As Mayor and as an educator, supporting our libraries and promoting literacy are both very important to me. That's why I'm inviting you to join the Mayor's Book Club, which will feature local writers and an annual conversation and event.

July 15 marked the end of my first two years as Mayor of Long Beach, and I wanted to share some of our accomplishments. This infographic highlights the progress we've made on economic development, education, livability, and civic innovation. 

I'm looking forward to two more years of hard work and strong progress!

 Last night it was my honor to present my second State of the City address at the Terrace Theater. More than 2,000 people attended – and at least 1,000 more streamed it to watch on-line.

The night was a chance for me to share many of our accomplishments and plans, as well as the challenges we face. It was also an opportunity to show everyone this fantastic video, “This is Long Beach”. 

Traveling to and from LAX just got a lot easier for Long Beach residents. 

Today, Long Beach Transit begins its new FlyAway bus service from Long Beach to LAX. Hourly service will be provided from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily from the Long Beach Transit Hub at First Street and Long Beach Boulevard. The fare is $7 one way, and for every adult fare, two children age five or under can ride for free  

Last night, after many years of public discussion and deliberation, the City Council gave final approval to plans for a new Civic Center for Long Beach. The new center will include iconic architecture, a completely new main library, a revitalized Lincoln Park with new spaces for events, a new City Hall, and the Port’s headquarters, as well as a residential and retail component.

It is vital to move forward with this project, not just because our current Civic Center needs replacing, but because of the tremendous positive economic impact for downtown.

Last week I joined Councilman Daryl Supernaw and our city team as we rolled out our new emergency notification system, Alert Long Beach. I want to encourage you to sign up, so you can to stay informed about major weather events and public emergencies.

You can sign up for Alert Long Beach here  

Today, in a brief ceremony at the Cesar Chavez Park Children’s Garden, I signed the Compact of Mayors to join the world’s largest coalition of city leaders addressing climate change. 

More information about the Compact is here: 

http://www.compactofmayors.org/

The City of Long Beach has already been working to combat and adapt to our changing climate, and those efforts will continue. But now, as part of the Compact of Mayors, the City will expand its efforts. 

Two days after I was installed as Mayor, I gave my very first speech at Cal State Long Beach on my education initiatives. I discussed the city joining the Long Beach College Promise initiative and launching the Mayor's Internship Challenge. I also spent time discussing an issue which I think is critical to the success of our city: universal preschool. 

Thanks to the Long Beach Unified School District, we have added over 800 new preschool seats in the last year. 

I was deeply honored to be in Washington, D.C. this week at the invitation of President Obama and the First Lady to help them welcome Pope Francis on his first official visit to the United States.

I joined the President and other mayors and officials as Pope Francis arrived at the South Lawn of the White House. I am proud that our city was represented at this historic event. 

I want to make sure you are aware of two important community meetings happening tomorrow.

First, an opportunity for residents to learn about the steps being taken to prevent future power outages like the ones we’ve recently experienced, and then my final “Meet the Mayor” event of the summer.

July 15 marked one year since taking office as your Mayor. I've been focused on four key areas: Education, Economic Development, Civic Innovation, and a Livable and Sustainable City.

Please take a minute to check out the four graphics we've created to keep everyone informed about what we are working on.

Last week, Long Beach experienced one of the biggest public emergencies in the city's history. Thankfully, due to a strong response from our city team, our public safety personnel, many volunteers, and community partner agencies, we saw no serious crime, injuries, or property damage. I’ve never been prouder of Long Beach.

Now that the power is back on to all customers, we will be taking a long, hard look at why this happened, and what needs to be done to keep it from occurring in the future. Meanwhile, I want to encourage everyone to use this experience as a reminder of how important it is to be prepared for an emergency.

Yesterday morning at the Aquarium of the Pacific, in collaboration with our  education, business, and community partners, I was honored to kick off the Long Beach Internship Challenge. And, if you own or work in a business or organization that can offer internships, I want to ask you to join this challenge.

The evening of January 13, 2015 at the Terrace Theater

5:00 PM: Terrace Theater lobby opens. Food trucks available. Mingle with friends and family

6:30 PM: State of the City

RSVP at:www.StateoftheCityLB.com

Last week, Long Beach went big and approved a project team to build a new downtown Civic Center. After many months of public meetings, careful study, and healthy debate, Plenary-Edgemoor Civic Partners was unanimously selected by the City Council. This is great news for our city: We are going to get a new Civic Center and revitalize our Downtown.

The project includes a new Main Library, Lincoln Park, City Hall, Port Headquarters, and new housing, retail and a hotel.

Long Beach has been named a Top Ten Digital City for the fourth year in a row, earning sixth place for large cities - one rank higher than last year, and the 3rd best in California.

I'm proud that Long Beach is a leader in innovation and continues to improve in our use of technology to increase efficiency, transparency, and responsiveness. And, I'm committed to continuing to move forward in this area...