Seal Beach Opens Eminent Domain To Secure Access at Riversend

The land in question is 21,000 square feet that would appear to be undevelopable.  It is where the city’s sewer line ends and a sewer clean out exists.  

The group that owns that parcel also owns the 10 acre parcel that used to be owned by the LA Dept of Water and Power.  And therein lies the problem.

When the Dept of Water and Power owned that little segment they gave the city right of access.  The group that bought the 10 acres also inherited the parcel in question and believe that the city’s access right ended at that time.

That owners group has been trying to develop a resort hotel on that 10 acre piece of land for about 20 years. The city, in the past, has shown an interest in such a development as long as there is substantial open space left for the community.  The owner’s group does not want to grant sufficient open space in the city’s view.

The attorney for the group said his client’s would donate the 21,000 feet to the city but apparently there was a caveat that the city would have to agree to approve the development the owners want to build their hotel complex, although that did not come up in Monday night’s meeting.

After listening to the attorney’s “offer” on behalf of his clients the council, without comment, voted that the city should begin “eminent domain”  proceedings to acquire the property.

Edward Selich, the Project Manager, implied quite strongly that they would fight the city’s offer for the land next to the sewer clean out and try to get more than 200 times what the city is expected to offer.

What’s Up In Seal Beach wants to congratulate the city council for taking the eminent domain position.  Too many city councils in Orange County have given way to threats and demands (which seem little better than blackmail) in the last 40 years and their cities have become shells of what they once were.

Seal Beach citizens have consistently supported those who want to keep our city as it has been for 100 years. A sort of “Mayberry by the Sea.”  Take a walk down Main St. any weekend and ask the visitors why they are visiting and the locals why they live here.  You know the answer.

Prepare yourselves folks.  This one is far from over and we’ll again here about: height limits, owner’s rights (over majority rights) apple pie and the Flag.   Just remember  one thing….. IT’S  ALL ABOUT MONEY ….and maybe just a little greed! 

NFL Spreads Week 2

                                                                                             O/U

KANSAS CITY  –  Oakland +3                                      38

TENNESSEE    – Houston   +6 1/2                               40 1/2 

New England  – NY JETS   +5  (Take the pts!)  45 1/2 

GREEN BAY  –  Cincinnati  +9                                      42

Minnesota      –  DETROIT +9 1/2                                46 1/2 

PHILLY          –  New Orleans     P                                 46

ATLANTA     –  Carolina    +6                                         43

WASH           –  St. Louis      + 9 1/2                                36 1/2

JACKSONVILLE – Arizona   +3                                    42 1/2

SAN FRANCISCO – Seattle   + 1 1/2                              39 1/2

BUFFALO           –  Tampa Bay +5                                   42    

DENVER             –  Cleveland + 3                                     37 1/2

SAN DIEGO       – Baltimore +3                                       40 1/2 

Pittsburgh           – Chicago  +3                                         37 1/2 

DALLAS              – NY Giants + 3                                     44  1/2

Monday Night

Indianapolis   –  MIAMI+3                                               42

Audience Members Amaze at Oprah Season Premiere Party

The Black Eyed Peas helped Oprah kick off her 24th Season Party last week in Chicago. Oprah closed down Chicago streets to film her Season Premiere which both thrilled and annoyed many of the Chicago natives. The show was a star studded event with performances by the Black Eyed Peas, James Taylor and Jennifer Hudson among others. If caught the show or have seen the video floating around the web then you know that it was the Black Eyed Peas and the Flash Mob (a pre-arranged meeting where the group all practiced the dance ahead of time) audience members that stole the show.

Check out the video here:

One Million Dollar Reward Offered for Stolen Warhol Paintings

A series of Warhol Paintings were stolen last week from the LA home of noted art collector  and business man Richard L. Weisman.   The series of 12 pieces had been commissioned by Weisman himself in the 70’s.   He asked Warhol who was a friend, to create a series of silkscreens featuring various sports figures including Mohammed Ali, OJ Simpson, Dorothy Hamill, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Chris Evert.

The value of the collection has not been released however a $1-million reward has been offered by an anonymous source for information leading to the recovery of the paintings.  Anyone with information should contact the Los Angeles Police department.

To read the full article visit the LA Times.

Sonic Boom Rattles Southern California

Seal Beach and Southern California were rattled today around 5:50 thanks to a sonic boom from the Space Shuttle landing at Edwards Air Force Base.    One local resident said, “I thought a car ran into my house.  The whole house shook and there was a very loud boom.  I ran outside to see what it was and then my neighbor told me that the Space Shuttle was landing today.  I had no idea we would hear it all the way down here.”

The Space Shuttle landed in California after a 14 day mission to deliver supplies.  The Shuttle was forced to land at Edwards after weather on the East coasts was determined to be too unstable to land.

Walkers Will Trek 39 Miles in Long Beach this Weekend for Breast Cancer

The Two Day Avon Walk for Breast Cancer will begin opening ceremonies at the Queen Mary on Saturday September 12th, 2009 at 6:30am.  Participants will walk for two days and 39 miles in and around Long Beach.  Saturday the participants will walk a total of 26.2 miles and 13.1 miles on Sunday. 

Throughout the route there will be cheering stations for family an friends to support the walkers.  For a detailed list of locations and peek viewing times please click here.  Come out and support these amazing walkers who have raised thousands of dollars for this great cause and trained for months to complete the 39 mile route.  The walkers will be winding themselves throughout the Long Beach and Seal Beach areas.  

This is an amazing event and it is a priviledge to have it held in Long Beach.  Thank you Avon, The Crew and the Volunteers that make this event possible.  And thank you, to all the Walkers.  Thank you for every step.

Closing Ceremonise will be at the Queen Mary on Sunday September 13th, 2009 at 3:00pm. Come out and show your support and for a possible Patrick Dempsey sighting.  He is scheduled to appear at this weekends event.  

For more information about this event or about making a donation please click here.

Belmont Shore Car Show Sunday September 13

The Bay City Rodders produces the Belmont Shore Car Show, one of southern California’s top shows. This year’s show will take place on September 13, 2009.

The show is held on 2nd Street in Belmont Shore which is part of Long Beach. A large number of blocks of 2nd Street are closed off for the day and the show takes place on the city street. This is a terrific location because this section of Belmont Shore is loaded with restaurants and shops so there is plenty to do and see. The show draws about 700 vehicles and boasts a huge number of street vendors selling automotive related goods as well as many other things. Because the show draws a huge spectator crowd, it has a terrific amount of excitement and energy. This one is not to be missed whether you have a car or just come to look at cars. The level of quality of the cars at this show is second to none. If you want to see a huge number of the finest rods, muscle cars, and customs to be found in Southern California, you don’t want to miss this show.

To see more photos of cars that will most likely be at the show visit our Flickr page. 

$25 Restaurant Gift Certificates for $1!!

Restaurant.com is running a n 90% off $25.00 gift certificate special through September 13th!    You can browse through hundreds of local restaurants including Seal Beach favorites The Abbey and Cafe Lafayette.   Most restaurants require a minimum purchase of $35 to get the $25 discount.   To get the discount you just need to add to your cart, purchase and print.   Some people have reported having to use a discount code if so it’s NINETY.   Check it out the offer expires soon!  Visit Restaurant.com

Alamitos Bay Stand Up Paddleboard Race a Success

 

August 29th was the first “official” Alamitos Stand-Up paddle board race and according to Matty Mitchell, the event organizer, “It was a great success!”  

There were 64 people entered..more women than men!  According to Mitchell the women seem to do better than the guys because they don’t try to “muscle” the boards and, consequently,  the seem to get a better flow through the water. Matty said that even though it is a relatively new exercise in Southern California it started long ago in Hawaii.  

Recent  technology in boards has made big boards that one can stand on that only weigh 25 lbs. Prices for boards can vary from $800 for a regular stand-up to as much as $2,500 for an 18 footer.

The race was a three mile tour around the bay and the women’s trophy was won by Shelly Stazis and  the men’s category  was won by local Chiropractor Tom Gallagher. (I forgot to ask who came in first?

For a video of the beginning of the race go to: http://vimeo.com/6374873

Belmont Shore Mom helps young Tibetan girls at risk

Deep in the southern part of the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau, there is a Tibetan Autonomous Region where 99% of the populations are of Tibetan descent. Tibetan is the native language and Buddhism is embodied in the local culture. 

A California woman, Lynn Velez, a friend of  “Whats Up in Seal Beach”  who lives in Hong Kong, has responded to the plight of the needs of these young women and girls. Lynn is well known by us and her hard work and honesty are above reproach. She takes absolutely no compensation for her efforts. (In fact she and her husband are large  donors to the project both in work and cash.) 

 

The girls  come from very poor families who cannot afford to look after them. Some of the girls are from families who “gave” them to other families as house-maids to pay-off generational loans or to receive food and cash so the rest of the family could survive.  Even though it is required by law to send children to school for 9 years, many of these nomadic families do not value formal education and instead keep their girls at home to work because of necessity. 

The SGH is fully “endorsed” by the Local and Provincial Chinese Government… unfortunately that doesn’t include financial help. but even though its only partially built the Seng Girls Home is already  becoming a sanctuary for these Tibetan girls. A school is currently being built; however, there are other necessities that are needed.  Here is the very modest “Wish List” for the Seng Girls Home .

–Bathroom and Toilet. $12,650. At present they use an outdoor privvy. Winter  temps approach minus 25 degrees- –  THIS MUST  BE COMPLETED BEFORE THE FIRST SNOW!   Right now they bath once or twice a year- – only in the summer when water is warmer. Likewise their only blanket is washed once a year. It’s heavy material and needs two or three days to dry..again, only in summer.

 

 

  -Kitchen-$4,500. The kitchen is a simple two burner gas outlet and several large pots. The girls are happy with     these because they are eating regularly but more girls are coming every day and the kitchen must be enlarged. not enough funds to complete it.                          

Seeing the beginnings of their sleeping quarters

     Completion of new Dormitories – $12,100 The 40 girls currently live in the main house but will move into dormitories once completed.  The goal is to eventually accommodate 100 girls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capital Fund for Education–$20,800 – This is for 20 computers, printers, a library with bookshelves, teacher’s resources and a desk and chair for each child. The girls are learning English as well as Tibetan and the Chinese are not insisting on Chinese. Even though they just have rudimentary tools they are excelling at their studies.  And they LOVE IT!

Anything you can give, $5, $20, or more  – – will be of MONUMENTAL help to these girls.  Of course if you can find a BIG donor that will also be very helpful but don’t think that $5 isn’t important.  It is.

Further Information:  Simply contact Lynn Velez at lrvelez@hotmail.com  or call +86 13603012442.

 To donate send your check to ‘Friends of Hong Kong Charities Inc’. 

Friends of Hong Kong Charities, Inc, and mail it to:
Lynn Velez, c/o Alan Mutke,
207 La Verne Ave,Long Beach, Ca 90803.

(Alan is Lynn’s  Father.) 

We will make sure your donation gets to Lynn ASAP.

Important Notes:
 
Make sure to include your name, address and email details so “Friends of Hong Kong Charities” can send you an IRS Tax Redemption Letter. The 501 (3) C U.S. Tax I.D Number for this Charity is: 30-0136665.

Please also note which project your donation is supporting (if no project is mentioned we will use our discretion to apply it where it is most needed).  

The Tibetan girls thank you for your support and we will have a website by Christmas so you can see the results!

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