june 9-22, 2015

June 9-22, 2015 www.lbbusinessjournal.com

Long Beach Business Journal2599 E. 28th Street, Suite 212Signal Hill, CA 90755-2139562/988-1222 • www.lbbusinessjournal.com

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FOCUS ON WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Carolyn BaerUrban Table

Toyicha ChisomSet Free Enterprises

Victoria NguyenLong Beach Smiles Dentistry

Maureen BennitPirates Cove

Profiles On Local Women-Owned Small Businesses – See Pg 22

Long Beach Women-Owned Businesses Mirror National, State Growth Trends

Hotel Exec Kristi Allen To Be Installed June 18 As Chair Of Long Beach Chamber

SPECIAL REPORT – CITY OF SIGNAL HILL

City Sees Rise In Sales TaxRevenue And Is Targeting

New Economic Development � By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

D espite some upcoming fi-nancial hurdles, the City of

Signal Hill is projecting a budgetsurplus next fiscal year as the localeconomy continues to graduallyimprove, according to city officials.The fiscal picture bodes well for the2.2-square-mile city that receives70 percent of its revenue from salestax generated from the Signal HillAuto Center, big box retailers suchas Office Depot, Costco and HomeDepot and other outlets.

With high demand for residen-tial and commercial real estate,new developments are movingforward after being held up bythe state’s redevelopment dissolu-tion process. Also, some projectswere delayed as the city con-ducted a comprehensive updateto its oil code to allow develop-ments above or near oil wells.

While major retail chains andoffice buildings have recentlyfilled in some vacant lots, futuredevelopment might be a bit of astruggle since the city is absent re-development funding that oncecovered oil well cleanups. Still,the city is establishing plans to

continue growing its economicbase. In fact, new residential proj-ects are about to get underway,and auto dealers are expanding.

This fiscal year, Signal Hill isanticipating a $1.4 million budgetsurplus, which will be used to payfor capital improvement projectsand to supplement reserves setaside for looming budget chal-lenges, including state mandatesand increases in employee pensioncosts expected in the next fewyears, city officials said.

Deputy City Manager CharlieHoneycutt, who was selected bythe city council to replace retiring

Ken Farfsing Is Retiring After Serving 19 Years AsCity Manager Of Signal Hill

See Story on Page 20

‘Changing Times AndEvolving Chamber’ Is

Her Theme For The Year

� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER

Senior Writer

K risti Allen, vice presidentof operations for Ensemble

Hotel Partners and the new chairof the board for the Long BeachArea Chamber of Commerce, haslived and worked in Long Beachfor just eight years, and in thattime has already become exten-sively involved in the businesscommunity.

In addition to her position withthe chamber, Allen currently alsosits on the board for the LongBeach Convention & Visitors Bu-reau, the city’s newly formed eco-nomic development commissionand is a past president of theDowntown Long Beach Associatesboard. She has also held board po-sitions with the Pacific GatewayWorkforce Investment Networkand International City Theatre.

A native of California, butraised in Hawaii, Allen has had alifelong fascination with the hos-pitality and tourism industry. Hercareer in that sector began in theform of an internship at a restau-rant at age 15 when she lived inHonolulu. Allen eventually left theisland state to earn a bachelor’sdegree in business administration

with a minor in human resourcesfrom the University of Vermont.She later graduated from the WaltDisney World College HospitalityProgram.

Allen worked in various man-agement positions in the hospital-ity industry in Washington, D.C.,Orlando, New York and finally,

Grassroots Growth: Women In Business Find SuccessThrough Community Networking And Social Media

Kristi Allen, vice president of opera-tions for Ensemble Hotel Partners, willbe installed as chair of the board of theLong Beach Area Chamber of Com-merce during the organization’s 124thGala on June 18.


Senior Writer

T alk to women who havestarted up small businesses

in Long Beach and you might getthe impression that the days of at-tending networking mixers andpouring money into multi-mediaadvertising campaigns are in thepast. Instead, local women-ownedbusinesses like Rainbow Juices,Peppered Up Foods, Sliced &Diced Eatery and the soon to openbook bar, The Brass Lamp, wereall built up through grassrootscommunity networking and theuse of social media.

Rainbow JuicesIn an enclosed patio behind

Rainbow Juices’ recently openedstorefront location in DowntownLong Beach, owners and partnersChrissy Cox and Dawna Bass toldthe Business Journal that theirbusiness grew organically throughword-of-mouth referrals. When

the two began making cold-pressed juices from their homeseveral years ago, it wasn’t longbefore their friends in their roller

derby community and in Cox’syoga classes began inquiringabout the juices, they recalled.

(Please Continue To 5)

Significant Turnover In LeadershipContinues In Long Beach Government


Senior Writer

L eadership in Long Beachgovernment has experienced

a tidal wave of change during thepast year, with a new mayor, sixnew councilmembers, a new assis-tant city manager and deputy citymanager, 18 new commissionersfor two new city commissions,and new leaders for the port, air-port, police department, disasterpreparedness, economic develop-ment and civil service.

Change is continuing. In thepast month, both the general man-

ager of the water department,Kevin Wattier, and the director ofthe department of parks, recre-ation and marine, GeorgeChapjian, announced they wouldbe leaving the city. Wattier is retir-ing in September, and Chapjian isleaving on June 25 to head up theSanta Barbara County Commu-nity Services Department. Amonth earlier, City Clerk LarryHerrera-Cabrera retired.

On top of all those changes,City Manager Pat West confirmedto the Business Journal thatHuman Resources Director Deb-

(Please Continue To Page 13)




Senior Writer

T he Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, whichincludes the City of Long Beach, is

ranked second in the nation (after New York)among regions with the most women-ownedbusinesses. As of this year, there are 436,900

women-owned businesses in the region, accord-ing to the recently released American ExpressOPEN State of Women-Owned Businesses re-port for the year 2015.

Nationally, the total number of women-ownedbusinesses in the United States grew by 74 percentfrom 1997 to 2015, according to the report. Over


1_LBBJ_June9_2015 2_PortAnniversary 6/6/15 4:52 PM Page 1

Inside This Issue4 Inside City Hall

• Where Is $10.2 Million Going?By Former Councilmember Gerrie Schipske

5 New Chamber Chair• An Interview With Hotel Executive Kristi Allen

7 Newswatch• Selling Long Beach As A Destination

• Midtown Business Improvement District

• Urban Village Opens On Long Beach Boulevard

• Comment Period For New Gated Community

• Fitness Center At Former Pool Hall Okayed

• Fracking In Long Beach Called Safe By City Official

• New Contract For City Bike Share Program

14 Special Report: City Of Signal Hill

22 Focus On Women In Business

26 In The News• Long Beach Launches New Website

• Schooner Or Later Marks 30 Years

• Cancer Concierge Network’s Wellness Center

• MemorialCare Health System Repeats Safety Grade

• Seva Opens Downtown Within Walmart Store

• Total Wine And More Opens At L.B. Towne Center

28 Perspective

30 Art MattersPresented By The Arts Council For Long Beach

31 The Nonprofit PagePresented By The Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership

Free: Long Beach Business Journal Digital Edition, Monday Morning Coffee, NewsFlash

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2 Long Beach Business Journal June 9-22, 2015

1_LBBJ_June9_2015 2_PortAnniversary 6/6/15 4:52 PM

2015


June 9 4 Long Beach Business Journal June 9-22, 2015

Where Is $10.2 Million

Going?

Long Beach City Hall has always salivated over thepossibility of forcing the water department to turn overfunds, just as has done with the tidelands and the gas andoil departments. Why gosh golly, the City Charter evenallows the water commission to transfer “such monies nolonger necessary for the purposes of the Commission.” However, the water commission (appointed by the

mayor and confirmed by the city council) has consis-tently said “no” to a transfer of funds. Besides that, peskyProposition 218 requires that water rates can be no morethan the actual costs of the service and that revenue can’tbe transferred for use elsewhere.So what can a city thirsty for cash do? Ah, patience

young grasshoppers, one only needs to get the right legalopinion, and one can do anything. Cities are allowed to place a “franchise fee” on waste-

water, oil, gas, gasoline, electrical energy, communica-tions, and liquefied petroleum gas pipelines. Keep inmind these fees are paid for by private and public utilities

that place these pipelines within a city’s boundaries andpay these fees instead of property taxes. Someone in city management got the bright idea in

2003 (with the blessing of the city attorney) that the citycould get water department revenue after all by placinga “pipeline permit fee” on all the pipelines that bringpotable water to consumers. The fee is based on pipe di-ameter and lineal footage. Then in 2006, after “giving” the city sewer system to

the water department, the dity turned around and slappedthe same “pipeline permit fee” on all sewer main linesthey just gave to the water department.Wait, you say. Isn’t the water department a “municipal

utility” with water pipelines and sewer lines paid for bythe consumers? And doesn’t Proposition 26 (whichamended the California Constitution) require that anyregulatory fee imposed by a city to generate revenue“shall not exceed the funds required to provide the prop-erty related service and shall not be used for any purposeother than that for which the fee or charge was imposed”?

So what, you say?For starters, your water and sewer rates have increased

as a direct result of these back door fees, which currentlyamount to $10.2 million and are set to increase to $10.5million in 2016. No, you don’t see the fees detailed in your bill; they

have been quietly passed along to you in increased rates.Most significantly, the purpose of the fees have not beenaccounted for nor has there been an assessment as towhether or not the amount of the fees are appropriate.Secondly, after the pipeline fees were imposed, the

water commission in defense (or some think, in retalia-tion), started to charge other city departments for waterfor the first time. This has been a considerable burdenon parks, recreation and marine department which main-tains all the city parks and medians.And what about the cities of Fullerton, Roseville and

Fresno which were sued by the Howard Jarvis TaxpayersAssociation (and lost) because of similar fees on theirown utilities?Don’t forget that the city also imposes a “utility users

tax” upon “every person using the city water which is de-livered through mains or pipes.” Can you say, “tax on tax?”Instead of looking for ways to drain more money from

taxpayers through its utilities, maybe we need to amendthe City Charter to read: “after payment of enumeratedexpenses and funding of enumerated reserves, each cityutility shall apply all annual profits thereafter remainingto rate reductions.”Next column: 50 Years and What Do You Get....An-

other Year Older and Deeper in Debt or, How we got theState Legislature to do the Civic Center deal.

(Gerrie Schipske is a native of Long Beach, an attorney,registered nurse practitioner and full time instructor atCSULB Department of Health Care Administration. Shewas elected to both the Long Beach Community CollegeBoard of Trustees and the Long Beach City Council. She isthe author of several books on Long Beach history andher blog, www.longbeachinside.blogspot.com.) �

INSIDE CITY HALL

� By GERRIE SCHIPSKE

Contributing Writer


San Francisco, where she worked for 15years before moving to Long Beach toserve as general manager of the HiltonLong Beach. From there, she was recruitedby Ensemble Hotel Partners, the hospitalitydivision of a real estate development firm,Ensemble Investments, and was soon pro-moted to vice president of operations. Inher current role, she oversees operations atthe Hotel Maya and the DoubleTree ByHilton Carson.Working in the hospitality industry dur-

ing and after the Great Recession has givenAllen a front-row seat to recent fluctuationsin Long Beach’s economy. “Business is back. You can feel it,” Allen

said in an interview at the Long BeachBusiness Journal’s offices on May 26.“When I started here in 2007, obviouslyLong Beach tourism saw a little peak andthen the recession hit. Towards the end oflast year and the beginning of this year, youcan tell that it is back to pre-recessionarylevels,” she said, noting that the Hotel Mayais now quoting rates it hasn’t used since be-fore the recession.“There are a lot of good signs that the

economy is improving and that we areheaded in the right direction in LongBeach,” Allen said. “It is growing. DouglasPark is huge . . . the development in Down-town Long Beach is huge,” she observed,adding that the Port of Long Beach’sgrowth is also promising. “One of the reasons I am so excited to be

the chamber chair this year is because of allthe change in the city,” Allen said, referring

to changes in leadership at city hall, theairport, port and even California StateUniversity, Long Beach. “This is the year,with all of these new players in place, thatwe have an opportunity to change notonly the reputation of the chamber, butour involvement in the city and in busi-ness as the major voice of business in thiscity,” she said.At a recent retreat in La Jolla where

chamber boardmembers set priorities forthe coming year, Allen unveiled the themethat would guide her leadership. “Mytheme for the year is ‘changing times andevolving chamber,’” she said. “We are going to look at the entire organ-

ization from top to bottom and really seewhat are we doing right, what are we doingwrong, what can we change, [and] whatsmall changes we can make within thechamber to make a big impact,” Allen said.

Getting Ahead Of AMinimum Wage Increase

At the chamber retreat, in addition tohearing from Port of Long Beach Chief Ex-ecutive Jon Slangerup and recently elected4th District Councilmember Daryl Super-naw, the board determined its top priorities.It identified its No. 1 priority for the yearas staying ahead of what Allen views as aninevitable proposal to increase the mini-mum wage in Long Beach across all indus-tries. The Los Angeles City Councilrecently approved an ordinance to raise theminimum wage in L.A. to $15 per hour by2020. Long Beach could be next.“This is Long Beach, and we do know

we have a very heavily labor-influencedcouncil. The votes are there for minimumwage,” Allen said. She predicted that anycity council vote on a minimum wage in-crease would be similar to a recent vote to

approve a citywide project labor agreement(PLA) – a vote that succeeded 8 to 0 (priorto Supernaw’s election). Even Coun-cilmembers Stacy Mungo and Suzie Price,who in their races for council a year agowere endorsed by the chamber-affiliatedLong Beach JOBS Political Action Com-mittee (PAC), voted in favor of the PLA. When asked why the PAC-supported coun-

cilmembers would vote in favor of the meas-ure, Allen said, “I am not on the city council,but my perception of them is they knowwhere the votes are, so they know when theycan win and when they can lose.” She contin-ued, “Fight the battles you can win, fight thebattles you can make a difference in. I thinkthat’s what I see the council doing.”As board chair, Allen is operating on the

assumption that a minimum wage increaseordinance can, and will, pass. “In all hon-esty, do I think we are going to fight andwin against minimum wage? No,” she said.However, she stressed that the business

community should focus on “being collab-orative and working with the city counciland other organizations to make sure it [aminimum wage increase] has the leastamount of impact on our small businesses.”About 90 percent of the chamber’s esti-mated 1,000 members are small businessowners, she noted.The chamber board may try to be proac-

tive in tackling a minimum wage increaseby commissioning a study on the impactsit would have in Long Beach, Allen said.While a study might not prevent such an in-crease from passing, it might help to lessenits impacts. “The study might give us pa-rameters on which to draft the ordinance,”

June 9-22, 2015 Long Beach Business Journal 5NEW CHAMBER CHAIR 2015

Hotel Exec Kristi Allen(Continued From Page 1)


“One of the reasons I am so excited

to be the chamber chair this year is

because of all the change in the city.”

Kristi Allen, Chair of the BoardLong Beach Area Chamber of Commerce


June 9

she said, but acknowledged that a minimumwage increase might be proposed beforesuch a study could be completed.Cultivating Stronger RelationshipsAnother of Allen’s priorities for the year

is creating stronger ties between the cham-ber, city officials and other Long Beachbusiness organizations.

“I feel it is better than it has been in awhile,” Allen responded when asked howshe felt about the state of the chamber’s re-lationships with city elected officials, com-missioners and staff. “There is always roomfor improvement. This is the best opportu-nity we have had in many years to reestab-lish a better relationship with city hall andcity elected leaders.”

Allen partially credited Mayor RobertGarcia for putting the chamber in a betterposition to grow city relationships. “A little

of that is due to Robert Garcia, who has apretty strong relationship with the chamberregardless of the fact that we did not sup-port him in the race,” she said. The JOBSPAC supported his opponent, DamonDunn. “I applaud him for being able toreach out the olive branch and maintain thatrelationship,” she said of Garcia.

Garcia’s olive branch came in the formof an appointment – earlier this year, he ap-pointed Allen to the newly formed LongBeach Economic Development Commis-sion. “When he called me and asked me tobe an economic development commis-sioner, he said, ‘I want you to represent thechamber on the economic developmentcommission, specifically. We need thevoice of business there,’” she recalled.

“He has some great economic develop-ment goals,” Allen said. “If we can supporthim on those goals and hopefully give himdirection on what the business community

would like to see as far as economic devel-opment, that would be great,” she added.

To build relations at city hall, chamberrepresentatives regularly meet with eachcouncilmember or their chief of staff oncea month, Allen said. “We also meet with[City Manager] Pat West and [AssistantCity Manager] Tom Modica on a routinebasis,” she added, noting that she, chamberPresident & CEO Randy Gordon and Sen-ior Vice President Jeremy Harris typicallyattend those meetings.

Allen has no illusions about the chambergetting all the councilmembers to rally toits perspective on major issues. “We’renever going to agree on everything. I heardsomeone once say, ‘I don’t know the recipefor success, but I know the recipe for fail-ure, and that’s trying to make everyonehappy,’” she said. “So we’re not going totry to make everyone happy.”

Still, councilmembers do seek out the

chamber’s input, she noted. “They’re nothighly publicized, but we get those phonecalls.”

In addition to building relationships withcity government, Allen hopes to formstronger bonds with other business organi-zations in town to promote better collabo-ration. As past chair of the DLBA boardand a current boardmember with the con-vention and visitors bureau, Allen said shehas a “good focus on the different organi-zations and how they could all work to-gether to be successful.” What has beenmissing from the picture in order to makethat happen, she said, is “a uniter voice.”

“There is nothing bringing togetherthe city,” Allen said. “Everyone wants,ultimately, the same big goal. We wantto be a vibrant economy, a great city. Wewant to develop. But there is nothingbringing us together.”

Making ChangesAlso at the top of Allen’s to-do list is

reevaluating the effectiveness of the cham-ber – particularly it’s organizational structureand how well it’s serving its members. “Wecan’t be the same old chamber,” Allen said.

“I am focused on the organization andhow we can make it better. That’s why . .. we are going to evolve, we are going toanalyze everything in the organization,”she said. “We’re taking a look right nowat restructuring the actual office [and] re-structuring what positions we have in thechamber.”

Another goal is ensuring that member-ship is valuable for both new and existingmembers. While the chamber offers fre-quent luncheons and events for businessprofessionals to attend, many of them comewith a price, and it is often difficult for“time-starved” professionals to work thoseevents into their schedules.

“One of the things we were looking at onthe board is, how do we make these eventsmore accessible for our small business own-ers?” Allen said, referring to both price andscheduling. “One of our boardmemberssuggested that some of the bigger compa-nies could adopt some of these businessesand start . . . paying for some of their mem-bership [fees] at these events,” she said.

The board is also considering recordingguest lectures and posting them on thechamber’s website for members who do nothave time to attend events.

While Allen acknowledged that thechamber is some times criticized for theJOBS PAC, she said it has been successfulin the past year. “Everyone always says,‘Oh, the Chamber PAC doesn’t do any-thing.’ In the last year and a half, we havewon six of seven [political] races that wehave supported,” she noted. The only racein which a PAC-endorsed candidate did notwin was the race for mayor.

Currently only a few of the chamber’sboardmembers are also involved with thePAC, but Allen said she is confident thePAC and chamber are sufficiently “atarm’s length,” noting that she is not amember of the PAC and has never at-tended a PAC meeting.

At the end of the interview, Allen sum-marized her objectives for the year: “We’regoing to focus on minimum wage, we’regoing to focus on how we can be a better,stronger chamber and how we can uniteother business organizations in this city andlead them to make a stronger voice forbusiness. That’s it.” �


Hotel Exec Kristi Allen(Continued From Page 5)

NEW CHAMBER CHAIR


June 9-22, 2015 Long Beach Business Journal 7 2015 NEWSWATCH

Selling Long Beach As A Destination – In Washington, D.C.

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia joined the Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) on its annual sales mission to Washington, D.C., last week In addition tothe CVB and Long Beach Convention Center sales teams, general managers and sales directors from Long Beach hotels also took part in the sales mission. The week-long marketing effort included sales calls and special events, reaching out to more than 300 professional meeting planners to show why Long Beach is the perfect des-tination for their meetings. Pictured left to right are: Regina Richardson, CVB; Sarah Nguyen Noh, CVB; Charlie Beirne, Long Beach Convention Center; VeronicaQuintero, Premier Catering; Steve Goodling, CVB; Kelly Fogarty, Queen Mary; Kandy Grzebyk, Long Beach Convention Center; Mayor Garcia; Branden Larsen, QueenMary; Nicole Zylstra, CVB; Joan Cantarelli, CVB; Marissa Rabe, Hotel Maya; Bianca Ware, Marriott; Elaine Gamer, Hilton; Quentin Roberts, CVB; Paul Romero, CVB;Pam Ryan, Renaissance Hotel; Nancy Canzone, Hyatt Hotel; Joe Marcy, Westin Hotel; Silvano Merlo, Courtyard By Marriott; Art Scanlon, CVB; Barb Swaiman, HiltonHotel; Kristi Allen, Hotel Maya; Mark Taylor, chief of staff to Mayor Garcia; Imran Ahmed, Marriott Hotel; Kelly DeSimas, CVB; and Jamie Dominguez, CVB. The June23 edition of the Long Beach Business Journal includes a story about the annual sales mission. (Photograph provided by the Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau)


June 9


With City CouncilSupport, ProposedMidtown Business

Improvement DistrictMoves Forward


Senior Writer

Long Beach city councilmembers threwtheir support behind a proposed MidtownBusiness Improvement District (BID), en-compassing the area of Cambodia Town, atthe council’s June 2 meeting. The councilvoted unanimously to authorize the citymanager to sign a petition in support of theBID on behalf of the city as a propertyowner in the proposed BID area.

The proposed district would includeproperties along East Anaheim Street be-tween Raymond Avenue and Alamitos Av-enue in the city’s 6th District. According toa district plan, authored by Urban Consult-ing Group, Inc., these are natural boundarylines as Raymond Avenue touches the EastAnaheim Street Business ImprovementDistrict, and Alamitos Avenue separates theMidtown/Cambodia Town area from Cen-tral Long Beach.

At the council meeting, 6th District Coun-cilmember Dee Andrews said the city’sbacking “is a great step” and a win, not onlyfor his district, but for the city as a whole.

A business improvement district is aproperty-based assessment district formed

by property owners to “voluntarily assessthemselves for various services beyondthose provided by the city, including en-hanced maintenance, public safety, beauti-fication, marketing and economicdevelopment programs,” according to a citystaff report. There are nine BIDS currentlyoperating within Long Beach in areas in-cluding Retro Row, downtown, BixbyKnolls, North Long Beach and others.

The total of proposed property assess-ment fees to pay for Midtown BID activitiesis $167,453, according to the district planauthored by the Urban Place ConsultingGroup, Inc. In order for the BID to moveonto a final vote, area property owners rep-resenting a simple majority (51 percent) ofthe total proposed property assessment costwould first have to sign a petition.

By signing the petition to create the Mid-town PBID, the city helps the proposed dis-trict take a big step towards achieving asimple majority. Properties owned by theCity of Long Beach make up about 40 per-cent of the total assessment, according toMike Conway, director of the economicand property development department.City properties in the area include LongBeach Transit’s headquarters, a formerLong Beach Redevelopment Agency prop-erty, MacArthur Park, the Mark TwainNeighborhood Library and a memorial forthe Cambodian Killing Fields.

In a phone interview with Conway andthe Business Journal, Jim Fisk, city prop-erty manager for business improvementdistricts, said he expected the petition re-sponses to be reviewed by the city councilat its June 16 meeting.

If a simple majority approve the district inthe petition phase, the BID will then moveon to a balloting phase in which propertyowners may vote yes or no. If the assessmenttotal of the yes ballots is a simple majorityover the no ballots, the BID gets approved,Conway explained. A tentative public hear-ing date to count the ballots and have the citycouncil approve the results is set for August4. If successful, the BID assessment periodwould begin January 1, 2016.

“The Cambodian community has beentrying to do this for some time,” Fisk said.“They have been working with the city, citycouncil and so forth to try to get this ac-complished for quite a while.”

Conway said the first efforts to form aBID in the Cambodia Town area occurredin 2007. A steering committee for the dis-trict is made up of community stakehold-ers. During the planning process for thedistrict, the consulting group held severalcommunity outreach meetings, Fisk said.

Businesses within the boundaries aremostly small businesses, Fisk said. “It is re-ally a mix. There are a lot of restaurants,nail salons, jewelry stores. I would say it isjust kind of a general eclectic mix like wehave in many of these types of corridors,”he said. Conway added that there are retailstores, offices, and civic and religiousproperties within the proposed BID.

“Ultimately it is small business, and thatis what the city is trying to support: prolif-eration and preservation of small business,”Conway said. “These BIDs do an incrediblejob of enhancing safety and beautifying ourcorridors and providing opportunities forbusiness to grow, expand, and relocate.” �

June 9-22, 2015 Long Beach Business Journal 9NEWSWATCH


June 9

� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

The Long Beach City Council hasagreed, on the urging of renters’ rightsgroups, to move forward with a new ver-sion of an existing code enforcement pro-gram for inspecting rental housing in anattempt to increase penalties for propertyowners who don’t comply with publichealth and safety standards.

Renters’ rights advocates and affordablehousing supporters, who pushed city offi-cials to make the changes, however, say thecity’s proposal “falls short” of protectingrenters from being evicted by retaliatinglandlords and goes easy on noncompliantproperty owners. Still, renter advocates ac-knowledge the effort is a decent first step.

The city council voted, 9-0, to move for-ward with changes to the city’s proactiverental housing inspection program(PRHIP). However, before an official coun-cil vote on the item and first reading of theordinance, city staff must return with re-sponses to amendments and requests pro-posed by 1st District Councilmember LenaGonzalez and other councilmembers.

Angela Reynolds, deputy director of thecity’s building and safety bureau, said dur-ing the meeting that the program was first

launched in 1966 and managed by the LongBeach Health and Human Services Depart-ment. In 2013, the program was transferredto code enforcement as part of a govern-ment reform initiative, she said.

The city council item was brought for-ward after renters’ rights supporters, in-cluding Housing Long Beach, a nonprofitaffordable housing advocacy group, pushedfor the city to propose a rent escrow ac-count program (REAP) among other re-quests as part of Long Beach’s eight-year“housing element,” a planning documentthat sets priorities and outlines programsand policies for housing through 2021.

A REAP, already being implemented inthe City of Los Angeles, would allow ten-ants living in “substandard” dwellings topay their rent or a reduced rent to the cityuntil violations are corrected. HousingLong Beach contends that such a programwould cost nothing to the city.

However, city staff disagrees. In January,city staff said a REAP would cost too muchto manage given upcoming budget deficitsand is not needed in Long Beach, arguing thatonly 24 rental units out of the 10,000 units thecity deals with annually in code-enforcementissues have been deemed “substandard.”

Affordable housing advocates, however,have said that the city’s statistics are

skewed, adding that city staff is not prop-erly identifying how many substandardunits are in Long Beach since inspectionsare done by complaint. The city’s programalso tracks only a percentage of the city’srental housing buildings, multi-familyproperties with four units or more that thecity considers a business and tracksthrough requiring a business license.

Reynolds said additions to the existingprogram would include: notifying propertyowners and tenants prior to doing inspec-tions; advising tenants and landlords oftheir rights and responsibilities through abrochure and online; modifying the inspec-tion process; and making efforts to ensurecomplaints are filed anonymously.

She said the program carries fines of upto $500 for noncompliance in the first 120days as state code provides. Noncompliantlandlords could be fined $500 plus penaltiesevery seven days thereafter and cases maybe forwarded to the city prosecutor’s office.

Reynolds said city staff met with afford-able housing groups, including HousingLong Beach, as well as the Apartment As-sociation, California Southern Cities, Inc.to come up with the program changes.

Gonzalez, who said she has seen “de-plorable” living situations first-hand, re-quested city staff budget $75,000 for aCalifornia Franchise Tax Board referralprocess to punish the “worst of the worst”landlords who don’t respond to requiredcorrections by 120 days.

“Some of our residents are living in verybad situations, conditions that affect thehealth and the lives of children and theirfamilies,” she said. “Housing needs to behealthy and safe for everybody. Rentersshould not fear retaliation for voicing their. . . basic needs.”

Gonzalez also requested city staff lookinto whether the city prosecutor would beable to publicize the names and pictures of“bad landlords” for “wasting city re-sources” and making a “significant nega-tive impact on the city and tenants.” �

Comment Period ForNew Gated Community

Ends June 18� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER

Senior Writer

The opportunity to comment on the draftenvironmental impact report (EIR) for aproposed gated community of 131 new sin-gle-family homes directly north of the Vir-ginia Country Club along the Los AngelesRiver ends on June 18.

The proposed Riverwalk ResidentialDevelopment Project by Newport Beachdeveloper Integral Communities would belocated at 4747 Daisy Ave., the site of aformer Boy Scout camp. A second accesspoint at Oregon Avenue would be pro-


Urban Village Opens On Long Beach BoulevardThe developers and commercial real estate brokers behind the newest market-rate apartment complex in Long Beach, Urban Village, gathered to celebrate its completion. Residents have already begun movinginto the 129-unit building at 1081 Long Beach Blvd., which is billed by developer Urban Village Development Company as transit-oriented, modern and “against vanilla.” The complex includes a range of studio,one-bedroom and two-bedroom floor plans, a pool, firepits, a fitness area and more. An official grand opening ceremony is being held June 10 at 5:30 p.m. Pictured, from left, are: Joshua Host, principal andco-founder of Urban Village Development Company; Andrea Besharat, community manager, Urban Village; Percy Vaz, CEO of construction firm AMCAL Multi-Housing, Inc.; Sheva Hosseinzadeh, associate withColdwell Banker Commercial BLAIR WESTMAC; and Brian Russell, vice president of Coldwell Banker Commercial BLAIR WESTMAC.

NEWSWATCH

City Council Moves Forward With ProgramUpdates To Better Inspect Rental Housing


vided for emergency vehicle access only.“The applicant is proposing to cater to

new families, second-time homebuyers,move-down buyers and empty nesters,” ac-cording to the draft EIR. Homes within thegated community, to be built on 10.56acres, would be two and three stories tall.There would be two-car parking garagesfor each home, plus 40 on-street guestparking spots.

Project plans include 157,941 squarefeet of landscaped and open space areas,which would take up 34 percent of theoverall acreage. “This open space wouldinclude: a small pocket park; a recreationcenter with a pool, spa and clubhouse;and private access to the pedestrian/bicy-cle path along the Los Angeles River,” thereport stated.

To mitigate the loss of open space af-forded by the Boy Scout camp, the city isrequiring that the developer create a newpark at the southwest corner of Del AmoBoulevard and Oregon Avenue. “OregonPark would include a soccer field withsports field lighting, tot lot, picnic area,restrooms, bench seating, bike racks andfitness equipment,” the draft EIR said.

Because the new development wouldcreate an estimated net increase of 33,800gallons of wastewater per day, the city isrequiring that a study be performed by anexperienced civil engineer to determine ifexisting sewer infrastructure could handlethe increase. The study must be issuedprior to any grading or building permitsbeing issued.

The draft EIR may be viewed in personat the Main Library, 101 Pacific Ave. or atLong Beach City Hall. To view it online,visit www.lbds.info/planning/environmen-tal_planning/environmental_reports.asp.

After the comment period closes on June18, Rincon Consultants, the consultinggroup that authored the EIR, will reviewthe comments and determine if any addi-tional action is necessary to address con-cerns, according to Long Beach PlanningBureau Manager Linda Tatum.

After that, a public hearing would bescheduled at a Long Beach Planning Com-mission meeting, where the commissionwould recommend that the city council ap-prove the EIR and related zone change andgeneral plan amendment, she said. It typi-cally takes about four weeks after an EIRcomment period closes for a project toreach the planning commission, she noted.

After the council approves the draft EIR,zone change and general plan amendment,

the developer would be able to begin workon the project, Tatum said.

The city looks forward to the additionalhousing and new public park that the devel-opment would create, Tatum said. �

Long Beach PlanningCommission Green

Lights Belmont ShoreFitness Center Project

� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

A proposal to build a new fitness centerat a vacant site formerly occupied by Yan-kee Doodles and a salon at 4100 E. OceanBlvd. in Belmont Shore is moving aheadafter the Long Beach Planning Commis-sion gave its approval and denied appealsby residents at its meeting on June 4.

The plan includes a complete remodel ofthe ground floor and adding an 8,040-square-foot second floor, a 1,000-square-foot mezzanine level and two new rooftopdeck areas, according to a city staff report.

The project, which is being designed byarchitect Jan van Dijs and developed byKurt Schneiter of Maverick Investments,also includes a complete revamping of thebuilding exterior, replacing windowless,two-story facades with “an interesting se-ries of openings, projections and aestheticenhancements,” city staff noted.

Susan Miller, Ann Cantrell and El Do-rado Audubon filed appeals to the city, ob-jecting to the approval of a local coastaldevelopment permit and zoning exemp-tions for the project.

According to city staff, the appeals werefiled because of concerns about the size ofthe roof deck area and proposed activities;the roof deck’s proximity to bird nesting lo-cations; parking impacts associated withthe building’s expansion; the need for Cal-ifornia Coastal Commission review; and amisapplied categorical exemption statute.

Also during the meeting, the planningcommission approved an amendment to thedevelopment agreement for the GoldenShore Master Plan, for commercial and res-idential developments in Downtown LongBeach on a 5.87-acre site on the south sideof Ocean Boulevard at Golden Shore. Theamendment added language that the appli-cant agrees to include a local hiring com-ponent in construction contracts. �

June 9-22, 2015 Long Beach Business Journal 11 2015


June 9

Gas & Oil DepartmentOfficial Says FrackingIn Long Beach Is Safe

Despite Protests� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

A Long Beach Gas & Oil Departmentofficial said that controversial hydraulicfracturing, also known as fracking, at off-shore oil islands has been conducted safelyand poses no threat to public health or tothe environment.

Kevin Tougas, oil operations manager forthe department, gave a presentation onfracking in the city to the Long Beach Sus-tainable City Commission at the request ofCommissioner Elliott Gonzales, a vocalcritic of fracking, during a May 28 meeting.

Tougas said that, according to studies,fracking, which involves using highly pres-surized water and chemicals to stimulategeological formation or shale rock to in-crease flow of hydrocarbons to oil wells,poses no risk for contaminating the city’sgroundwater and doesn’t increase potentialfor earthquakes in Long Beach, as someenvironmentalists have asserted.

The presentation counters protests at cityhall and elsewhere by environmental groupsthat say fracking is threatening California’swater supply in a time of drought whilecausing other environmental hazards andraising the risk for a major seismic event.

In his report, Tougas said that the first oilwell that the city fractured was in 1970, andto date the city has completed 196 frackingstimulations, mostly on the oil islands inthe harbor. Since 2011, the city has volun-tarily posted all of its fracking jobs on thewebsite www.frackfocus.org.

Tougas said that since 2013 the city has

moved from using fresh water to using pro-duced water (water found deep below theearth that is undrinkable) and a portion ofreclaimed water in fracking jobs.

In addition, he said frack fluid, whichis 99.5 percent water, is put back into theground through a “closed loop” system inthe city’s water flooding project in the oilproduction process. Tougas said none ofthe fluids are deposited into pits or intothe ocean, an issue raised by environmen-tal groups.

He also said the Los Angeles RegionalWater Quality Control Board has made adetermination that none of the groundwaterunder the city is suitable for drinking.Tougas also said that the Long Beach WaterDepartment and other local water agenciescontinually test water wells and “none ofthem have ever reported any issues of pol-lution coming from our oil operations.”

Regarding concerns about leakingmethane into the atmosphere, he said the

city implements vapor recovery on all tanksand vessels.

Tougas added that there is no evidencethat fracking has ever caused a seismicevent in Long Beach, or will in the future.Unlike in Oklahoma, where fracking hasbeen linked to earthquakes from the injec-tion of frack fluid, he said in Long Beachthe oil is being extracted while fluid isbeing injected, creating a balance.

“There’s been no credible link betweenany hydraulic fracturing here in LongBeach and earthquakes,” he said. “Our ownassessment of the geological structure forour oil field is that the fault structure thatwe have is incapable of generating enoughenergy to cause a sizable earthquake.”

In addition, Tougas said the city and itscontractor are participants of a consortiumrun by USC to determine if any risk existsfrom hydraulic fracturing or other oil activ-ities. He added that the South Coast AirQuality Management District is notified ofany frack job, and that all fracture stimula-tions must be approved by the State Divi-sion of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources.

Though Gonzales requested that the re-port be forwarded to the city council, thecity attorney’s office clarified that the com-mission only has authority under its bylawsto receive and file the report. �

$40,000 In GrantsAvailable For DowntownBeautification Projects


Senior Writer

The Downtown Long Beach Associates(DLBA), the nonprofit organization over-seeing downtown’s business improvementdistrict, is giving away $40,000 in place-making grants for projects promising tobeautify the downtown area. Individualprojects may receive up to $10,000 fromthat pool of funds, according to a press re-lease from the DLBA.

“The initial application simply asks for adescription of the project in 200 words orless, how much it will cost, and how it willbenefit Downtown Long Beach. That’s all,”Sean Warner, the DLBA’s placemakingmanager, said in a statement.

The DLBA’s Public Realm Committeewill review applications and choose proj-ects to advance to a second round of the se-lection process.

“Following that review, successful proj-ects will then be chosen and that capitalizeon the uniqueness of Downtown LongBeach, improve the aesthetic quality anduser experience of public spaces, and/or en-hance the perception of public safety,” ac-cording to the DLBA. “Ultimately, we arelooking for ideas that creatively solve simpleproblems or projects that aesthetically andphysically contribute to the greater good ofa neighborhood,” Ryan Altoon, chair of thepublic realm committee and executive vicepresident of AndersonPacific LLC, a real es-tate development firm constructing a two-building high-rise luxury apartmentcomplex in downtown, explained.

The DLBA is hosting a mixer for inter-ested applicants tomorrow, June 10, from6-8 p.m. at MADE in Long Beach, 236Pine Ave. Applications are available atwww.downtownlongbeach.org/placemak-ing-grant-program. �

12 Long Beach Business Journal June 9-22, 2015NEWSWATCH


New Commission ToOversee BusinessLoan Programs

� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

The Long Beach Economic DevelopmentCommission formed a three-member sub-committee at its meeting on May 26 to over-see the city’s business loan programs,reviving an economic development tool.Michelle Molina, Blair Cohn and WalterLarkins serve on the revolving loan subcom-mittee, according to city officials.

The subcommittee will hold noticedmeetings on an as-needed basis to providediscretionary oversight for approving loansbelow $100,000 to businesses through var-ious funding sources. Loans above$100,000 require discretionary oversightfrom the city council.

The next meeting of the commission isscheduled for June 30. �

New Contract ForBike Share Program Awarded To CycleHop

� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

The Long Beach City Council awarded a$2.2 million contract at its June 2 meeting toSanta Monica-based CycleHop for the pur-chase and installation of bike share equip-ment after two previous attempts to roll outan initial phase of the program fell through.

The contract, funded by a grant the cityobtained in 2007 and 2009 from the LosAngeles County Metropolitan Transporta-tion Authority (Metro), is for 500 bicyclesand 50 bike stations.

The Long Beach bike share equipmentwill be compatible with Santa Monica’sequipment and that of other cities in the re-gion, according to a statement from Cycle-Hop, which recently relocated itsheadquarters to Santa Monica from Florida.

According to a city staff report, the citycouncil authorized a contract to Tustin-based Bike Nation, Inc. for Phase 1 of apilot for the bike share program after a re-quest for proposals process in 2012.

Phase 1 was focused on a small, public-private partnership launch in DowntownLong Beach to be entirely funded by theprivate sector. Phase 2 included expandingto additional neighborhoods and destina-tions throughout the city with funds setaside for capital costs, city staff said.

However, in the months following thecontract award, “the bankruptcy of a majormanufacturer and software provider led tothe collapse of the market for advertisingon bike share equipment,” city staff said.

After Bike Nation pulled out of the deal,Germany-based Nextbike agreed to take overthe pilot program but that deal fell through aswell because of time constraints. It was statedthat Phase 1 was “no longer financially or op-erationally feasible” for the company.

City staff expects to determine a bike shareoperator and operating model in comingweeks and will work with CycleHop to installand deploy the bike stations and bikes. �


bie Mills plans to retire within four months.And a new Technology and Innovation De-partment director, Bryan Sastokas, startsnext Monday, June 15.

West said, “We have an executive searchfirm doing a nationwide search right now”to find a replacement for Mills. He said hehad planned on making a formal announce-ment soon. Mills will remain in her positionas the search continues, West said. “But shedefinitely is planning to leave in probablythree to four months. It could be a littlesooner; it depends on how quickly we selecther successor.”

Asked for a comment, Mills told theBusiness Journal, “I was born and raised inLong Beach and have had a long and re-warding career with the city. After 33 years,I’m looking forward to spending more timewith my family, friends and my horses!”

A search firm will also be hired to seek areplacement for Chapjian, although one hasnot been selected yet, West said. In themeantime, Stephen Scott, business opera-tions bureau manager for the parks depart-ment, has been appointed interim director.West said he was “very comfortable” withScott guiding the department, as he has “alot of experience.”

Mayor Robert Garcia released a state-ment with a similar sentiment to West’s. “Igreatly appreciate Steve Scott’s willingnessto step up and serve,” he stated. “I know heis going to do a great job leading the men

and women in ouraward-winning parks de-partment as we seek apermanent director.”

West said contractswith executive searchfirms typically cost be-tween $15,000 and$20,000 and are paid forby the city departmentwith the vacancy.

The Long BeachBoard of Water Commis-sioners is in charge offinding a replacement forWattier, who announcedhis retirement plans inSeptember. On June 4,the board approved a

$20,000 contract, plus $7,500 for expenses,to conduct an executive search for a newgeneral manager. With Wattier’s retirement,the city loses a manager with vast experi-ence – he has worked in the water industryfor the past 35 years.

“In his 14 years as general manager ofthe Long Beach Water Department, KevinWattier has built a reputation as one of themost knowledgeable water experts in thestate, if not the country,” Harry Saltzgaver,president of the board of water commis-sioners, said in a statement. “He has ledLong Beach to a place where the residentscan be assured of quality water supply, evenin tough times.”

“I’ve been privileged to lead one of theregion’s best water utilities for the past 14years,” Wattier said in a statement announc-ing his retirement.

With these department heads retiring, thecity will soon have four new faces of lead-ership. Sastokas is the newest of these faces.He replaces former director of technologyservices, Curtis Tani, who retired last year.The appointment of Sastokas to lead the re-vamped Technology and Innovation Depart-ment was announced on May 27. He has 20years of experience as a technology execu-tive in both the public and private sectors.

“Bryan is committed to an innovative ap-proach to city government and will be anoutstanding asset to our team,” Garcia saidin a statement. “His leadership will greatlyenhance our efforts to focus on the technol-ogy that benefit our residents, businessesand visitors.”

Management turnover at city hall is “al-ways challenging, because you develop re-lationships with department heads,” Westsaid. “The department heads also have theirown special relationships with not only theelected officials and the councilmembers,but they all have commissions that they dealwith,” he said, adding that they also workwith community groups. When new depart-ment heads are hired, there is an adjustmentperiod for the affected parties, he stressed.

“But we have been through this a lot. Weare a big city,” West continued. “People re-tire or people are lured to other cities all thetime. And our departments do a very goodjob of succession training, so that in almostall cases there are really good No. 2 or No.3 [department leaders] to fall back on.”

As city manager, West makes the hiringdecision for most city departments. How-ever, the City Charter directs the city coun-cil to hire the city clerk. �

Leadership Changes In

Long Beach Continue(Continued From Page 1)

Bryan Sastokas

Stephen Scott

NEWSWATCH


June 9

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City Manager Ken Farfsing next month,told the Business Journal that the city isprojecting a $300,000 budget surplus nextfiscal year, which starts July 1.

Honeycutt said sales tax revenue is pro-jected to grow next fiscal year by 10.6 per-cent to a total of $15.7 million, adding thatincreases in auto sales and office supplysales are anticipated to be the main driversof the revenue growth.

“The economy is steadily improving inSignal Hill,” he said. “Our auto dealers aredoing well . . . The [city] departments doa really good job of managing their budg-ets so our expenditures are coming inunder what we anticipated. So, betweenthat and the improved sales tax revenue,it’s helping the bottom line.”

According to fiscal year 2015-2016budget projections, the city is anticipating amodest $10,000 increase in property tax rev-enue and “steady growth” of host fee revenuefrom the EDCO trash-disposal transfer sta-tion that is expected to increase by $25,000.

However, the city is projecting oil produc-tion barrel tax revenue to decrease by$200,000. In addition, California PublicEmployment Retirement System (CalPERS)costs are expected to rise by $400,000 nextfiscal year, according to city staff.

Honeycutt said CalPERS costs are antic-ipated to increase by a total of about $1million over the next five years, as the re-tirement system tries to offset losses in in-vestments and real estate holdings causedby the recession.

“The stock market has improved over thelast few years so [CalPERS is] takingstrides to get their fiscal house back inorder,” he said. “But they’re going to in-crease the costs to their member agenciesto make up for some of those losses, andwe’re going to see some fairly sizeable in-creases in our PERS costs.”

Additionally, state mandates regardingthe National Pollutant Discharge Elimina-tion System (NPDES) permit program,which controls water pollution caused bywastewater and stormwater, is expected tocost $1 million a year.

For more than a year, the city has beenworking on its stormwater managementplan to figure out ways to prevent pollutantsfrom entering flood channels, including theLos Angeles River, the Los Cerritos Chan-nel and San Gabriel River, Honeycutt said.

One mandate includes preventing dirtfrom running off vacant properties when itrains by installing specific landscaping, hesaid, adding that the city has budgeted about$100,000 to address city-owned propertiesand will be proposing a new ordinance todeal with various vacant oil field properties.

Another major challenge for the city iscontinuing to grow its economic base,which will be particularly tough since thestate eliminated redevelopment nearly fouryears ago, eviscerating the city’s onlysource of funding for oil well cleanups,Honeycutt said.

He said the city council has recentlylaunched a new “economic development di-vision” and has established a fund to set asidenearly $600,000 in seed money to pay forconsultants to test and locate abandoned oilwells, and for city officials, including Hon-eycutt and Economic Development ManagerElise McCaleb, to market mostly vacant for-mer redevelopment properties to developers.

Before the state abolished redevelop-

ment in 2011, the city purchased about 25acres of land, which has since been heldup in the state’s redevelopment dissolutionprocess, he said.

However, the state has recently ap-proved the city’s long-range propertymanagement plan, which provides stateofficials with an outline of how the cityplans to dissolve the properties, specify-ing whether they will be used for govern-ment use, such as a proposed dog park, orfor future economic development.

Now that the state has approved thecity’s plan, Honeycutt said Signal Hill hasstarted receiving interest in former redevel-opment properties that remain the onlygame in town for new inventory.

“We’re starting to get some interest fromdevelopers who want to come into SignalHill and start developing,” he said.

For example, former redevelopmentacreage at the corner of Spring Street andAtlantic Avenue is being sold to Signal HillPetroleum for mixed-use development thatmay include office, retail and possibly anew hotel, Honeycutt said.

“I’ve got a lot of interest in that property,”he said. “Long Beach Memorial [MedicalCenter] is really interested in getting an ex-tended-stay hotel there to serve the chil-dren’s hospital because they have familieswho have to spend a week here while theirchild is getting treatment . . . so, we thinkthere’s a built-in market for a hotel there.”

Other interest in former redevelopmentproperties has come from auto dealerslooking to expand at the Signal Hill AutoCenter, he said.

Still, Honeycutt said future developmentis likely going to be a challenge since it islargely unknown exactly how many aban-doned oil wells there are in the city andhow much upfront money will be requiredto clean them up.

“I guess the challenge is making thesedeals happen,” Honeycutt said. “It’s a goodchallenge to continue to grow our eco-nomic base.”

In addition, the city council has recentlyapproved long-awaited changes to the city’soil code after the state’s Division of Oil,Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR),enacted procedural alterations to approvingoil well abandonments nearly five yearsago, shifting responsibilities to cities.

The amendments to the city’s oil code arenow expected to allow commercial and res-idential projects to be built on or near aban-doned oil wells.

Real Estate

Boasting picturesque views, an ideallocale in the middle of Southern Cal-

ifornia and business-friendly policies, SignalHill continues to be in high demand for bothresidential and commercial property, ac-cording to local real estate professionals.

Richard Daskam, a real estate broker forKeller Williams Realty, said the first-timehomebuyer market has been “very active.”However, he added, overall, inventory ofboth available single-family homes andcondominiums remains low.

“We’ve been fighting this dwindling in-ventory for a good year now,” said Daskam,adding that home prices will likely rise mod-erately over the next year by about 5 percent.

According to the latest multi-listing serv-

June 9-22, 2015 Long Beach Business Journal 15SPECIAL REPORT – SIGNAL HILL

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During thelate 1990sand into thenew century,hundreds ofsingle-familyres idences,townhomesand condo-miniums werebuilt in SignalHill, many onthe hill topand along thehill’s ridges.The develop-ment pushedthe city’s pop-ulation ton e a r l y11,500 peo-ple. This Busi-ness Journalphotographis from 2012.


June 9

ice (MLS) data, there were14 active listings in SignalHill on the market thismonth, with seven of thempending or in escrow, he said.

Single family homes inSignal Hill range in pricefrom about $500,000 to$1.5 million, according tostatistics from the PacificWest Association of Real-tors® (PWAR).

Ian Hand, a 20-year SignalHill resident and realtor withColdwell Banker Coastal Al-liance, said a total of 41 salesof single-family homesclosed escrow last year. Headded that the median salesprice for homes in SignalHill through April was$652,500, up 10.6 percentfrom the same time last year.

Hand said inventory istight for homes, particularlybelow $1 million. He saidhomes above the million-dollar mark are sellingslower than those with alower price point.

“We have magnificentview potential from Signal Hill that islargely unrealized by a lot of the popula-tion,” he said, adding that there are dispro-portionately more condos in Signal Hillthan there are single-family homes.

Daskam said homes in the “mid-pricerange” are selling the fastest – within thefirst few weeks of being put on the market.

“It’s always been good in Signal Hill be-

cause of its location, midway between LosAngeles and Orange County,” he said. “Soit’s a great place to have one person work-ing in one part of Southern California andanother working in the opposite end of SoCal. It’s a great middle ground, plus you getthe newer homes on top of the hill.”

The problem, Daskam said, however, isthat in general the city suffers from low in-

ventory. “There’s re-ally nothing for sale,relatively speaking,here,” he said.

With high demandand low inventory,Signal Hill continuesto be a prime locationfor new residentialdevelopment.

Irvine-based resi-dential developerSummer Hill Homes,for instance, plans tobuild 25 three-storydetached single-fam-ily homes on landowned by Signal Hill Petroleum atCrescent Heights Street and WalnutAvenue.

According to Honeycutt, the pro-posal to build the residential com-munity, which would be called“Crescent Square,” is now movingforward after being on hold whilethe city conducted studies regard-ing the impact of developmentsover or near oil wells, and updatedits oil code regulations.

Another development includesan affordable housing project to be

called “Gundry Hill,” which is being de-signed by Long Beach-based architecturefirm Studio One Eleven. The project isSignal Hill’s sixth affordable housingcommunity.

The new affordable-housing developmentbeing constructed by developer Meta Hous-ing through the pending allocation of statetax credits is expected to include 72 multi-

family units that would be three and fourstories high, according to city officials.

Construction of the project, which pro-poses to include a community building, acommunity garden, a “tot lot” and a court-yard with on-site management, is expectedto get underway by December, city officialsconfirmed.

According to a May 12 development sta-tus report provided by the city, there aretwo other residential developments beingproposed in Signal Hill.

For nearly a year, the owner of propertyat 2599 E. Pacific Coast Hwy. has beenproposing to build nine detached residen-tial units at the site. However, records indi-cate that the proposal includes a buildingthat would exceed the city’s height limit.

In addition, the owner of 1939 TempleAve., where there is currently a nonconform-ing industrial building, plans to sell the prop-erty for development of residential homes.However, the applicant is still working to lo-

16 Long Beach Business Journal June 9-22, 2015SPECIAL REPORT – CITY OF SIGNAL HILL

Emre Comertoglu is general manager of the Chipotle restaurant,which opened late last year at the Signal Hill Gateway Center,Spring Street and California Avenue. (Photograph by the BusinessJournal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

Ian Hand, a 20-year Signal Hill resident and a realtor with Coldwell BankerCoastal Alliance, is seen in front of a single-family home located on Sea RidgeDrive in Signal Hill that is up for sale for $1,045,000. (Photograph by the Busi-ness Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)


cate oil wells and come up with a plan toleak-test the wells, according to city officials.

Commercial real estate developers areinvesting in Signal Hill as well. For in-stance, developer 2H Construction is fin-ishing a two-story, nearly19,000-square-foot medical office buildingat 845 E. Willow St. Jeff Coburn, commer-cial real estate broker and principal at Lee& Associates, said construction of thebuilding is scheduled to be completed bythe end of June. He said leases are up forsignature by an undisclosed party.

Another new medical office building inSignal Hill is located at 2651 Walnut Ave.,Coburn said. He added that the nearly10,000-square-foot building has receivedinterest for leases; however, the building iscurrently up for sale.

Overall, recommended office buildings

in Signal Hill are running about 90 percentoccupied, Coburn said, adding that the mar-ket suffers from low inventory.

“I would say the market’s been healthyfor office space,” Coburn said. “It’s justthat in Signal Hill there is a limited supplyof office product.”

The industrial real estate market has aneven lower inventory. Patrick O’Healy, pres-ident of O’Healy Commercial Real EstateServices, said the vacancy rate for industrialproperty in Signal Hill is a little less than 2percent, down from last year. He said thereare only a handful of buildings above 3,000square feet currently on the market.

“I think we’re enjoying a very strongmarket,” he said. “I have fewer industriallistings today than I’ve had as long as Ican remember.”

O’Healy, who said he is currently the

busiest he has been in nine years, saidpent up demand has finally caught upwith the local marketplace, which has ex-perienced a significantly low vacancyrate, adding that prices for industrialproperty should continue to rise despiterecent macro economic figures.

Retail And Restaurants

Some retailers in Signal Hill are seeingan uptick in sales while others remain

flat, but most business owners agree thateconomic conditions continue to improveafter the Great Recession, which forcedmany stores to close or at least scale back.

Signal Hill is home to a wide range of re-tailers, from small, independently ownedstores to big box retailers, such as TheHome Depot and Costco, which continue


Jimmy Eleopoulos, owner of Big E. Pizza at 3225 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., shows off the restaurant’s recently expanded area that includes considerably moreseating and a semi-private dining area that has already proven popular with local groups. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)



to be among the top sales tax revenue gen-erators for the city.

Randy Kemner, owner of The WineCountry on Redondo Avenue, said last yearhis business began seeing an uptick in salesfrom the previous year, adding that saleshave continued to rise since then.

“It’s going quite well,” he said. “This isthe longest period of time we’ve seen ayear-to-year substantial increase actuallysince 2007. It’s very encouraging.”

Kemner attributed the bump in salespartly to the drop in gas prices last year thathe said gave people more discretionary in-come. In addition, he said “millennials” arenow becoming regular customers of qualitywines and craft beer.

He added that The Wine Country,which is celebrating its 20th anniversarythis year, has also made some changesthat have “energized” the store, includ-ing investing in wine lockers for cus-tomers to rent, installing a 32-foot-longcraft beer display case, expanding thestore’s craft liquor selection and hiringexpert staff.

Kemner noted that new restaurant venueshave begun opening up in Long Beachwhile his online business is picking up,adding that both are indications of an over-all improving economy.

Charles Feder, co-owner of RossmoorPastries, which is located next to The WineCountry, said that, “sales are up,” but headded that there are still challenges.

Like Kemner, however, Feder said thedrop in gas prices has positively impactedhis business in that he is selling more ex-pensive cakes.

On the other hand, Feder said Califor-nia’s increase in its minimum wage islikely going to negatively impact salessince he may have to raise prices to coverwage hikes.

“My genre is the food industry,” Federsaid. “We’re in the industry where [cus-tomers] have a lot of discretion aboutspending, so if we have to raise our pricesbecause of that it’s going to impact oursales.”

On a positive note, he said building a5,000-square-foot bakery for a new lineof gluten-free products has improvedoverall sales “big time.”

Mike Casares, co-owner of Circle Pet &Aquarium Maintenance, which relocated toRedondo Avenue and Hill Street near Ross-moor Pastries from its former location onXimeno Avenue about five years ago, saidbusiness has been “tough.”

He added that, like many independentlyowned small businesses, his main compe-tition has been corporate chains. For in-stance, Petco has opened three new

“Unleashed” stores within a one-mile ra-dius of his shop, Casares said.

“We’re pretty much a dying breed overhere of an old-school, family-owned petstore,” he said. “It’s not great, but we’re em-ploying young kids who are up-and-comingand learning about the hobby themselves.It’s pretty exciting.”

Casares said Circle Pet, which has serv-iced fish tanks for famous comedian andSignal Hill resident Gabriel Iglesias, willbe featured on Animal Planet’s new seasonof the TV show “Tanked” next month.

The Undershirt, a Signal Hill-basedcompany providing career apparel withcustom printing and embroidery, saw an in-crease in sales all through last year, saidowner Shari Blackwell. However, she saidthis year so far has been “disappointing,”as sales have started to drop.

“Overall, last year was a great year,”Blackwell said. “All 12 months weregreat and I really felt like the recessionwas over and I might had been out of it.Then it declined again in the first quarterof this year.”

She attributed last year’s increase in salesto an improving restaurant industry.

“It seemed that people had more dispos-able income to eat out more, so my restau-rants were ordering more,” Blackwell said.“This year, I’m hopeful the second quarterwill be stronger than the first.”

New retailers and restaurants in SignalHill have continued to pop up in the lastyear. For instance, a new Chipotle, Star-bucks and Sprint store opened up late last

year as the newest additions to the SignalHill Gateway Center, owned by Signal HillPetroleum, off Spring Street between Cali-fornia and Atlantic avenues.

Ashley Schaffer, real estate manager forSignal Hill Petroleum, said, overall, businessat the new storefronts has been steady so far.

“From a visual standpoint and from whatpeople are saying in the community, thatwhole new development is really crank-ing,” she said. “It’s been really busy.”

In addition, Big E Pizza, in its 29th year,has expanded its location in Signal Hill onPacific Coast Highway, now offering aparty room and additional seating.

Owner Jimmy Eleopoulos said that theexpansion has increased business recentlyand will help the restaurant service ordersfor large parties, baseball teams and specialevents. “We’re definitely booking a lot ofparties now and we’ve actually booked outfor the whole graduation period for privateparties for the new room,” he said. “Ourlunch business has basically tripled be-cause of the size.”

Business this year at City Mex, a Mexi-can quick-service restaurant that has beenlocated at the corner of Willow Street andCherry Avenue for nearly 17 years, has sofar been flat over last year, according toowner Steve Jones. However, he said thecatering business has steadily improved,and adding breakfast to the menu last yearhas proved successful.

Jones added that the restaurant industryin general is “cyclical.” However, saleshave been better in recent years than in

2008 and 2009, when many restaurantswere forced to close, adding that vacantstorefronts are starting to fill back up again.

Auto Industry

Auto dealerships in Signal Hill con-tinue to report a steady increase in

sales, resuming a trend experienced acrossthe nation for the past few years. In fact,auto dealers, most of which are the city’stop sales tax revenue generators, have indi-cated double-digit increases for year-to-date sales as of the end of May.

At the Boulevard Buick/GMC dealershipin Signal Hill, sales so far this year are upmore than 35 percent for the combinedbrands compared to the same time periodin 2014, according to Chad Charron, gen-eral manager for the dealership located onCherry Avenue as part of the Signal HillAuto Center.

The dealer also owns a Cadillac dealer-ship that was previously located in LongBeach and was moved to Signal Hill in2012. Charron said the sales increase fromlast year might rise to 45 percent duringsummer months, when sales are highest forvehicles. “I’ve seen great, great growth,”Charron said. “It’s exciting.”

While the market for luxury-brand auto-mobiles is moving a little slower than otherbrands, Charron said, vehicles are still leav-ing the lot. He said there has been a new“collective demographic” in which moreyoung people are now potential buyers. “Idon’t know if it’s the funny commercials,all the marketing they’re doing or the newtechnology, but we’re being consideredquite a bit more,” Charron said.

He added that the newest model to theBuick portfolio lately has been the Encore,a small SUV with a host of new amenitiesand technology. Charron said sales of themodel so far this year are up 140 percentover last year.

Bob Davis, president of Glenn E.Thomas Dodge, which is also locatedalong Spring Street in Signal Hill AutoCenter and offers new and pre-ownedDodge, Chrysler, Jeep and RAM vehicles,said sales at the auto dealership are up 27percent so far this year compared to lastyear. He said most of the sales growth hasbeen in Jeep and RAM pickup trucks,adding that the sales increase in recentmonths has been “more significant” thatin previous years.

Davis said other dealerships at the SignalHill Auto Center have reported rising saleswhile the auto industry overall in theUnited States continues to improve.

“It’s steadily been climbing,” Davis said.“I think, as a whole, the industry has comeback from the days of 2008, 2009 and2010. The dealers who I speak to seem tobe pleased with what’s going on . . . Thereare different kinds of predictions [aboutwhether] it’s going to keep going, or if thisis it. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

The increased sales activity is com-pelling some auto dealerships to expand inorder to offer a wider selection of vehicles.

Glenn E. Thomas Dodge, for instance,is in negotiations with the city to purchasethree acres of former redevelopmentproperty to expand on Spring Street.Davis said he would be able to make anannouncement about the expansion in thenext few months.

“You have to have more inventory on theground,” he said. “The sales growth in the


Chad Charron, right, is general manager of Boulevard Buick/GMC, and Alex Paramo isthe new car manager. Located at 2800 Cherry Ave. in the Signal Hill Auto Center, salesat the dealership are up about 35 percent so far this year compared to 2014, accordingto Charron. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)


Signal Hill Petroleum oilrig workers pull out active tongs during breakout operations on well D-77 locatedin D Drill site at Walnut Avenue and Willow Street. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)


last few years has been significant so thatmeans more cars to repair . . . I think every-body is looking for some room.”

In addition, the BMW dealership inSignal Hill is the process of expanding toa vacant lot, also a former redevelopmentproperty, at Walnut Avenue and CherryAvenue that was once slated for a CarMaxdealership. A city official said the autodealer is separating out its BMW brand tothe new site and is situating its Minibrand at the corner of Spring Street andCherry Avenue.

Oil IndustryOil production in Signal Hill today looks

nothing like it did during the peak yearswhen oil derricks famously dotted the city’shilltop. However, hundreds of active oilwells among homes and retail shoppingcenters are still permitted to operate within

city limits and continue to be a major taxrevenue generator for the city.

This year, however, as the price of oil hasdropped by about 50 percent from the fourthquarter of last year, Signal Hill Petroleum(SHP), the main oil operator in the city, hasrecently “slowed down” its investments indrilling, said SHP Chief Operating Officerand Executive Vice President Dave Slater.

“We’re a privately held oil and gas pro-duction company, and our strategic para-digm has always been, when oil prices areup and we have stronger cash flow, that’sthe time when we invest more heavily indeveloping technology in drilling oil andgas wells,” he said.

Signal Hill city officials, meanwhile, areprojecting oil production barrel taxes to de-crease by $200,000 next fiscal year com-pared to this fiscal year.

Still, Slater said oil production so far re-mains up from last year, adding that the

company is on track to produce about 20percent more oil this year than last year,when the company produced a total ofabout 1 million barrels of oil.

The main driver of the increase in oilproduction for SHP has been its ability touse new technology to find oil resourcesdeep in the ground through a process called3D seismic imaging. Using data from thissurvey, the company has increased its oilproduction to about 3,500 barrels of oil perday, according to previous reports.

Throughout the past five years, SHPhas been investing in constructing “veryuniquely designed and configured drillingrigs” for operating in the oilfield, whichcovers the entirety of Signal Hill and aportion of Long Beach.

“When you add it all up, we have put a lotof money back into the field,” Slater said.

With oil prices down, however, thecompany is currently drilling “shallower

and less expensive wells,” he said. Addi-tionally, SHP, which owns most of theland in Signal Hill, is focusing more onreal estate development projects.

He said recently completed revisions to thecity’s oil code that SHP assisted with willnow give developers more guidance on howto propose projects over or near abandonedoil wells. According to city officials, changesto the code were put in place to make sureabandoned oil wells are properly leak-testedfor methane before projects are developed.

“The city I think took very responsibleaction in revisiting and updating the oilcode, especially as it relates to developmentand oil wells,” Slater said. “Public safetyand doing things environmentally solid ispriority for everybody, and we believe thatthe city was able to accomplish a revisedoil code that provides a much stronger andbetter roadmap for the city and developersto move forward with.” �

2015


June 9

� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

After 19 years as Signal Hill’s top cityexecutive, City Manager Ken Farfsing, whohas seen the city flourish with new homes,retail establishments and parks, is retiringat the end of the month.

His last day will be June 30, when he willhand over the reins to Deputy City Man-ager Charlie Honeycutt, a 28-year city em-ployee who will be promoted to the topslot. The city is currently seeking a newdeputy city manager to replace Honeycutt.

Farfsing’s career in public service spans37 years in five Southern California cities.Before becoming Signal Hill’s city man-ager, he had a plethora of city governmentexperience under his belt, previously work-ing as South Pasadena’s city manager andthe deputy city manager for Downey.

Earlier in his career, Farfsing, a 61-year-old Alhambra resident, also worked for theCity of La Verne as community develop-ment director and the City of Santa FeSprings as an intern. He earned a master’sdegree in planning at USC.

When Farfsing came on board as SignalHill’s city manager in 1996, the city was inthe middle of planning the future of the“hilltop,” well known for its picturesqueviews, after a legal battle with a developerthat owned much of the land and wanted tobuild mega high-rise condos. At the time,the hilltop was mostly vacant.

The city eventually moved forward with

scaled-down residential development andadded a park and trail system. Today thepanoramic views fetch residential real es-tate prices in the million-dollar range. Va-cant lots left behind in Signal Hill’s famousoil field have since been developed into re-tail shopping centers.

Councilmember Michael Noll and Coun-cilmember Tina Hansen are the only re-maining councilmembers who were on theinitial city council that hired Farfsing out

of four candidates nearly two decades ago. Noll, who was elected to a sixth term in

2013, said the city council made the rightdecision in choosing Farfsing, who showeda passion for city government and publicservice, he said.

“He showed a lot of enthusiasm for peo-ple and the city,” Noll said. “That was oneof the big reasons we chose him, and wecertainly did a good job of choosing.”

Honeycutt, who is slated to officially take

over as Signal Hill’s new city manager nextmonth, said Farfsing’s problem-solvingability has been a major gain for the city.

“One of Ken’s strengths has always beento analyze an issue and strategically de-velop a plan to address it,” said Honeycutt,who called Farfsing his mentor. “And Ican’t think of a time when his strategydidn’t benefit the city.”

In an interview with the Business Jour-nal, Farfsing said his biggest challenge as


“ Local assemblies of the people constitute the strength of free nations.

Municipal institutions are to liberty what primary schools are to science:

they bring it within the people’s reach, and teach them how to use and enjoy it.A nation may establish a system of free government, but without the spirit of municipal institutions it cannot have

the spirit of liberty.” —Alexis de Tocqueville

KEN FARFSING’S spirit for municipal institutions and 19 years

in Signal Hill have made the community what it is today. His dedication has been a shining beacon for public servants throughout the region.With gratitude to Ken, a special friend and colleague, who embodies the best in public service...

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR RETIREMENT!

O U R A T T O R N E Y S H A V E R E P R E S E N T E D T H E C I T Y O F S I G N A L H I L L S I N C E 1 9 7 8

HONORING KEN FARFSING C I T Y M A N A G E R O F S I G N A L H I L L


City Manager Ken Farfsing Retiring After 19 years Of Service To Signal Hill

Signal Hill City Manager Ken Farfsing, left, with Deputy City Manager Charlie Honeycutt at city council chambers. Honeycutt is replacing Farfsing, who is retiringat the end of the month. The 2.2-square-mile city has a population of approximately 11,500. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)


Signal Hill’s city manager has been balanc-ing a budget that relies mostly on sales taxrevenue, adding that Signal Hill is a “no-low property tax” city. The 2.2-square-milecity, incorporated in 1924, does not imposea utility users tax and maintains a very lowbusiness license fee.

He explained that the city receives onlysix cents for every dollar of property tax in-come while the rest goes to Los AngelesCounty and the Long Beach UnifiedSchool District. With 70 percent of thecity’s revenue derived from sales tax, thecity has to rely on economic developmentto grow city services, Farfsing said.

“The services that people see in SignalHill, the road repairs . . . the parks, thecommunity services and the library [are]funded through sales tax, primarily,” Farfs-ing said. “It’s not an easy city to managefrom a financial standpoint. It’s a lot harderthan any other community I’ve worked in.”

Asked what he would have done differ-ently if Signal Hill had unlimited funds,Farfsing said he would have focused moreon street maintenance and fixing the cir-culation of roads, adding that it’s often dif-ficult to obtain funding for suchmulti-year projects.

Farfsing said his greatest achievementhas been assisting the city in developingfive new parks that he said have improvedquality of life for residents and profitabilityof businesses.

“If you look at the amenities the city isproviding for the residents and businesses,it’s really exciting to see,” Farfsing said.“I’m not saying I did all that, but I certainlyworked on all of those [park projects].”

He added that the city has recently builta community garden and is planning to de-velop a new dog park off California Av-enue, just north of Spring Street, and a“city view” park with a new pedestrian trailon Crescent Avenue, immediately west ofCherry Avenue.

During the majority of his tenure, thecity has seen little turnover in city staffand on the city council. Aside from Coun-cilmember Lori Woods, who was electedto her first term in 2013, beating 12-yearcouncilmember Ellen Ward, most coun-cilmembers have remained in office for atleast a decade. Signal Hill currently hasno term limits.

Having little turnover has brought “stabil-ity” to Signal Hill, Farfsing said. However,he said that whether the city council shouldchange is a decision left up to the voters.

“The way I look at it is, if [voters] feelthe city is running well, then there is noneed for them to make a change,” Farfsingsaid. “Cities that run into problems havehigh turnover . . . so, I think, to some ex-tent, the stability is good, but I also thinkthat change is good.”

Noll said Farfsing brought a back-ground of being able to “put things to-gether to make a package” that wouldbenefit developers as well as residents,creating an atmosphere that enabled thecity to build up its economic base and be-come “successful.”

One of the main drivers of economic de-velopment has been redevelopment fund-ing, which, before being eliminated in 2011by the state legislature because of budgetcuts, covered the cost of oil well cleanups

and the preparation of land for commercialor residential development, he said.

Farfsing said Gov. Jerry Brown and thelegislature made “strategic mistakes” byeliminating redevelopment funding in Cal-ifornia. Even though the state is consideredthe “seventh largest economy in the world,”California is one of the only states in thenation with “no economic developmentplan,” Farfsing said.

“It’s a very unplanned state,” he said,adding that the state legislature “chasesbusinesses out of the state to its detriment.”

Farfsing, who has built up reserves andhelped Signal Hill weather the recession,said the city council recently set up an eco-nomic development fund (so far worth$600,000) that would enable the city to bet-ter market former redevelopment proper-ties for potential developments.

However, without redevelopment fund-ing, which once totaled $13 million a yearfor Signal Hill, economic growth won’t beas robust as it has been in the past, he said.

“We’re going to have to go out and lookfor the oil wells and test them and get themready so a developer can understand whatthey’re dealing with,” Farfsing said. “So Ithink we’re slowly pulling together some ofthe tools that we need to continue to revi-talize the community. I’m not saying it’seasy. It’s difficult without redevelopment.”

The state’s decision to eliminate redevel-opment funding also took away funding foraffordable housing, Farfsing noted.

He said affordable housing projects oftentake several years to finish. During histenure, two affordable housing projectswere completed and a third is now being

proposed. Affordable housing is importantfor a thriving community, Farfsing said.

“Having no funding to help do affordablehousing I think really hurts the area,” hesaid. “It makes it really difficult for youngfamilies to stay here and it makes it diffi-cult for employers to attract employees ifthey can’t find a place to live and if theyhave to drive two hours to get to work . . .it’s just not good for productivity.”

The timing of Farfsing’s retirement,meanwhile, coincides with a settlement re-garding a lawsuit the city filed against theWater Replenishment District of SouthernCalifornia (WRD).

After a legal battle that carried on for sev-eral years, the case in which the cities ofCerritos, Downey and Signal Hill allegedthat the WRD had illegally increased re-plenishment assessments (RAs) in violationof Proposition 218 has been recently settled.

The settlement provides that WRD willpay the cities’ attorney fees and related ex-penses, worth an estimated $4 million.WRD will also pay $5 million in basin im-provement projects for the cities withinseven years and may meet that obligationthrough any combination of state and fed-eral grants or its own funding sources.

“Hopefully [the WRD] understands that[it] has to be responsive to the cities thatpurchase the water from them, because ul-timately we have to pass those costs on toour residents and our businesses,” he said.

Farfsing said his next move is to “slowdown,” however he still plans to stay in-volved with the California Contract CitiesAssociation to help cities tackle major is-sues, such as stormwater requirements. �




June 9

a more recent period of time, the growth rate of women-owned businesses from 2007to 2015 was 21 percent.

Women-owned firms now account for 30 percent of all businesses in the country. “Asof 2015, it is estimated that there are just over 9.4 million women-owned businesses inthe United States, generating nearly $1.5 trillion in revenues and employing 7.9 millionpeople,” according to the American Express OPEN report.

Businesses where women are equal owners – for example, businesses equally ownedby husbands and wives, such as Long Beach’s Pirates Cove, profiled in this section –make up 17 percent of U.S. businesses, according to the Small Business Administra-tion’s Office of Advocacy. That brings the total share of American businesses in whichwomen have equal or full ownership to 47 percent. These 14.7 million firms, as esti-mated by American Express OPEN, “generate nearly $3 trillion in revenues and employnearly 16 million people.”

In California, the number of women-owned businesses increased at a slower pacethan the overall country from 2007 to 2015, with about 14 percent growth, accordingto the American Express OPEN report. There are currently about 1.2 million women-owned firms in California, employing nearly one million people and generating about$218.9 billion in sales.

The industries with the largest number of women-owned businesses in the countryinclude health care and social assistance, services (such as beauty salons or pet-sittingbusinesses), professional and technical services (such as accounting or law firms), ad-ministrative support and waste management, and retail.

All of the local women business owners interviewed by the Business Journal saidthat since opening – whether 20 years or six months ago – they have added employeesand seen an increase in business, reflecting the state and national growth trends amongwomen-owned firms. �

Carolyn BaerUrban Table

5000 E. 2nd St., Long Beach • 562/438-9400www.urbantablecafe.com

After getting a taste of running cafes at museums and parks, long-time catererCarolyn Baer was inspired to open her own cafe and market, Urban Table, on

2nd Street in Belmont Shore.About 28 years ago, Baer started up Cheers Catering, a Los Angeles-based catering

company that she still runs today. “When you cater, you cater at so many fabulous lo-cations,” Baer said. After catering for the Natural History Museum and the Autry Na-tional Center at Griffith Park, her company took over food services in cafes at bothlocations. “It’s really nice to have customers come to you – to have everything youneed there,” Baer said. “Whereas with catering, with every single job you do you’repacking up everything you need . . . and taking it to a new location.”

The positive experience Baer had at these venues led her to seek out a storefront lo-cation for a new business based closer to her home in Belmont Shore, where she haslived with her husband for the past 12 years. “I think Belmont Shore is such a uniqueplace,” she said. “It’s a great vibe, and great people live here.”

Baer opened Urban Table in September 2014 as a fast-casual dining establishmentand market. “We have changed a lot,” Baer noted. “We are now full service, so it is allseated dining.” The location now also has a license to sell beer and wine, enabling Baerto serve drinks to diners, sell craft beer and wines from the market, and even hold winetasting events.

Urban Table’s market sells pre-prepared foods such as chicken, potato salad andgrilled veggies. “We also have items you can grab off the shelf that are more gourmet,like honeycomb and bourbon barrel salts and sugars, and some nicer olive oils andvinegars,” Baer said.

Baer has also begun selling a growing number of products from independent LongBeach-based companies such as Black Ring Coffee, Polly’s Gourmet Coffee, The Pie Barand Romeo Chocolates. “It’s cool. I like selling local,” Baer said.

Since opening, Urban Table has developed a larger customer base. “We started slow,and every single week has been better than the week before,” Baer reflected. “Now weare getting really busy.”

Baer’s biggest challenge running Urban Table has been mastering marketing via socialmedia. “I am learning as I go, and it’s a challenge,” she said. One of the ways she has in-creased her business’s visibility is by participating in the Belmont Shore Business Asso-ciation’s monthly summer event, Stroll & Savor.

Baer recently started up drop-off and take-out catering through Urban Table, an aspectof the business she hopes to focus more on in the future. “Developing that end of the busi-ness is the first priority right now,” she said. �

Maureen BennitThe Pirates Cove

419-C Shoreline Village Dr., Long Beach • 562/435-2210www.piratescoveonline.com

Maureen Bennit has been a fixture at Shoreline Village, where she has been op-erating The Pirates Cove with her husband, Ralph, for 24 years. And she

doesn’t plan on quitting anytime soon. Owning a retail store has been a dream come true for Bennit, and she can’t imagine

doing anything else. “I don’t think I’d ever want to close the store,” she said. “I’m 69years old, but I am not ready to retire.”

Bennit has worked in retail throughout her entire career. In the 1970s, she had anarts and crafts store in El Segundo, but eventually sold the business. Following thatventure, she became a buyer for a store in the Del Amo Fashion Center. But she alwayswanted to go back to owning her own store, she said.

She got the chance when someone she knew put up his glass engraving business forsale in Shoreline Village in the early 1990s. Bennit and her husband purchased theshop, and then turned it into an arts and crafts-focused store called Crafts Gallery.

In the early 2000s, a customer inspired her to take her shop in a new direction. “Ihad Crafts Gallery for some years until finally one day this scraggly looking gentlemanwalked in the store and asked if I liked pirates,” she recalled. “Of course I said yes. Sowe started going into the pirate theme.”

Bennit’s decision to transition Crafts Gallery into a pirate-themed souvenir and giftshop was further cemented by her experience visiting the cast and crew of “Pirates ofthe Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” as they filmed scenes in Long Beach.“What made me go into the pirate theme was meeting a lot of people in the movie andgetting to go on the ship that Johnny Depp was on,” she recalled, adding that she metquite a few of the film’s cast members.

In addition to pirate-themed products, the shop sells sundries for boaters and a widerange of products such as headwear, postcards, T-shirts, Long Beach-themed souvenirsand even movie-themed gifts. “I’m always finding new merchandise, and that’s whatgrows my business,” Bennit said. “If something is trending I get it in, I sell it real quickand then it is on to something else,” she explained. “I think my success is because Iam a good buyer.”

One of the most challenging aspects of operating her store is staying ahead of hercompetition. She tackles that challenge by attending trade shows to find the latest prod-ucts and goods. “The biggest challenge I would say is always going to [trade] showsoutside of California . . . and always looking out for that certain product that no oneelse has,” she reflected.

Since Bennit has no interest in retiring any time soon, her goal is to continue growingher business. “My goal is to keep doing what I am doing, and hopefully the businesswill grow,” she said. �

22 Long Beach Business Journal June 9-22, 2015WOMEN IN BUSINESS



Toyicha ChisomSet Free Enterprises, Inc.

6159 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach562/646-6185 or 1-844-WIN-6388

www.setfreeenterprises.com

What began for Toyicha Chisom as a home-based consulting career has taken shapein a storefront location in North Long Beach, where she offers a range of wellness

and financial services.After being laid off from the University of Southern California in 2009, where she had

been a budget analyst and an office manager, Chisom said she soon began working fromhome as a weight loss consultant. With the help of an all-natural liquid supplement shecreated, which she said is formulated to suppress appetite and break down body fat, shehad lost 132 pounds in 18 months. Her success led her to start her consulting business,Set Free Weight Loss, through which she also sold and promoted her formula.While Chisom said word of mouth helped her gain new clients, the early years of

her business were not without growing pains. “Everything has been grassroots,” shesaid of the evolution of her business. “That’s why I can appreciate where I am now, be-cause it has definitely been a struggle. There were times when I didn’t know how I wasgoing to pay my bills,” she said. Armed with a bachelors degree in criminal justice and a masters in public administra-

tion, Chisom set out to grow her expertise by earning certifications as a notary, credit spe-cialist, treasury professional and more. With the combination of these certifications, andher own experience successfully contending with personal finance issues, she diversifiedher business to provide credit, tax and other professional services.While health and financial services are two areas that may not seem to go hand in hand

on the surface, Chisom believes they are linked. “Health and wealth go together. If youdon’t have your health, you’re definitely not going to move as fast in order to achievegoals in business, or whatever you aspire to.”Chisom’s clientele grew to the point where she needed a storefront location. About

three years ago, she opened Set Free Enterprises in North Long Beach. The businesshas three divisions – Set Free Tax & Professional Services, Set Free Credit Repair andSet Free Weight Loss. Opening in North Long Beach “was actually strategic to makesure that I was in the area that needed my assistance with all the services that I provide,”she explained.Moving forward, Chisom said her next challenge is identifying what other services she

can provide through Set Free. “I guess my challenge would be, what’s next? What otherproducts and services could I add to the Set Free brand in order to help other people?” In the future, Chisom hopes to open additional locations in Long Beach and perhaps

even Los Angeles. �

Victoria Nguyen, DDSLong Beach Smiles Dentistry

5533-A E. Stearns St., Long Beach • 562/296-6111www.longbeachsmilesdentistry.com

Dr. Victoria Nguyen has known she wanted to pursue a career in dentistry since shewas in middle school. After graduating from University of Southern California’s

school of dentistry in 2010, she began pursuing opening her own practice.“I always wanted to; I knew from the moment I graduated,” Nguyen responded when

asked what inspired her to open her own dental office. Before she accomplished that goal,Nguyen gained experience working in other dentists’ practices.Some of those dentists motivated her to start her own practice in an unexpected way.

“What really motivates you are actually bad dentists,” Nguyen reflected. “I worked for afew dentists that were just not the nicest.” She doesn’t look back on those experiences ina negative way, but rather views them as career-building experience. “If I never workedfor them, I would not be where I am today . . . I appreciate them in a different way now,only because it led me to be successful here in this community,” she said.In April 2014, Nguyen opened Long Beach Smiles Dentistry in East Long Beach.

The practice, which she owns the majority of, is operated through Pacific Dental Serv-ices, a national dental company supporting dentists in private practice with adminis-trative services. “Before I bought into this office, I was working at other offices thatwere owned by other dentists inside the corporation,” Nguyen explained. Pacific DentalServices helped her find an ideal location for her business by researching area demo-graphics and taking care of real estate dealings.“We started from scratch,” Nguyen said of her business. “It was a brand new office. We

started with two assistants, an insurance representative, a manager and me. It was just thefive of us.” In just a little more than a year, Long Beach Smiles’ staff has grown to 12people, including two additional dentists.Long Beach Smiles offers general dentistry services such as crowns, fillings and clean-

ings, and has affiliated specialists who can perform procedures such as root canals, boneimplant surgeries and cosmetic procedures such as veneers.Since opening, Long Beach Smiles has managed to bring in about 100 new patients per

month, thanks to patient referrals and positive reviews on the review website Yelp.com,Nguyen said. Both children and adults are welcome as patients.Nguyen’s biggest challenge as her business continues to grow “is that dentistry is very

cyclical,” she said. “Even though you are constantly seeing patients, summer time is slowerbecause parents are on vacation with their kids . . . You just have to be creative in theslower times of the year, because you still have staff that you’re employing.”In the future, Nguyen hopes to bring in more dentists to her practice to accommodate

more patients. �

PATREECE COBURNCommercial Escrow Officer

INTERNATIONAL CITY ESCROW, INC.An Independent Escrow Corporation.Licensed by the Dept. of Business oversight

5000 E. Spring St. · Suite 120 · Long Beach, Ca 90815

www.icescrow.com

562-497-9777

INTERNATIONAL CITYESCROW, INC.

Specializing In

June 9-22, 2015 Long Beach Business Journal 23 2015 WOMEN IN BUSINESS


June 9

“It was like grassroots marketing,” Coxsaid. “I was teaching yoga on the bluff.People would request juices, so I wouldbring a cooler and I would always make afew extra,” she recalled. The two also beganbringing juices to their roller derby events.“It was kind of like walking around withthe cooler that said Rainbow Juices on it,and that’s really exactly how it started,” Coxsaid. Bass added, “We set a price, and thenword of mouth carried on to friends offriends of friends, and soon people we did-n’t know were calling us about the juice.”

Soon after the two began selling theirjuices at Cox’s yoga classes and at rollerderby meets, word of their fledgling busi-ness began spreading beyond their existingsocial groups, Cox recalled. “Shortly afterthat, a yoga student of mine was talking itup around town,” she said. That student, aregular patron of Long Beach coffee shopLord Windsor Roasters, told Lord Wind-sor’s owners that they should start sellingRainbow Juices. “They were actually thefirst people to call us,” Cox said.

Having their juices at Lord Windsor wasa success on day one. “They asked for threedifferent [juice] blends and we did twolarge [sizes] and two small [sizes] of each.The order was really small,” Cox said.“Then they called us midway through thefirst day of sales and they were like, ‘Weneed more juice!’”

At that point, Cox and Bass started up aFacebook page to spread the word about

their fledgling business. Very quickly, thepage garnered 500 likes, Cox said. “I thinkit was the way we were able to grow in thebeginning a lot,” she said of Facebook.

From there, they began supplying otherlocal vendors such as Viento y Agua Cof-feehouse, Eco Coffee, Portfolio Coffee-house, Berlin Bistro and others. Eventuallythey were supplying 13 local businesses,several of which contacted the pair first asLord Windsor had done, thanks to the word-of-mouth chatter about Rainbow Juices.

About a year ago, the two pulled theirproducts from the shelves of local stores tofocus on opening their own storefront. Thedecision was partially made because they

discovered raw juices cannot be sold ateateries unless they are made on site. “Wepulled out of the stores. There is actuallyno truly raw juice in any store unless it ismade there,” Bass said.

But, because of the successful grassrootsnetworking Cox and Bass had already ac-complished, their business quickly found ahome. “We were asked – again asked – tobe a part of this project,” Cox said of Rain-bow Juice’s new location in a recently ren-ovated building at the southwest corner ofLong Beach Boulevard and 3rd Street. “Wehave just been really grateful for everythingthat has kind of fallen into place when itneeded to,” she reflected.

Since then, Rainbow Juices continues togain new customers every day, partially stillthrough word of mouth, but often due topositive reviews on the social media reviewwebsite, Yelp.com. “You know, you don’tneed to look at huge marketing schemes orways to do big advertising,” Bass said. Coxagreed. “We have had other businessesstarting up tell us that we’ve inspired themto push forward and to just try somethingnew, and that they don’t have to have it allset up very corporate,” she said.

Peppered Up Foods/Sliced & Diced Eatery

Griselda Suarez and Amy Eriksen, part-ners and owners of sauce company Pep-pered Up Foods, as well as Sliced & DicedEatery, known as the “purple shack” thatserves up tortas on East Anaheim Street,also grew their businesses through grass-roots efforts and the use of social media.

In 2011, the two started Peppered UpFoods as a small farmers market operation,where they successfully nabbed customers byposting coupons and discounts on the popularwebsite LivingSocial. “When we started . . .we were one of the first farmers market busi-nesses on LivingSocial,” Suarez recalled in aphone interview. “That helped a lot, becauseit got people to our tent,” she said. “Any fanbase that gets a discount is really happy.”

From the beginning, Suarez said she andEriksen “tried all the social networks thatwere trending,” including Foursquare,Facebook and others. “Yelp and Facebookbecame the ones that engaged us. That iswhere we found our customers, so those arethe ones we kept.”

In-person networking turned out to playa major role in shaping the future, andgrowth, of the business. Because PepperedUp Foods’ sauces included only natural

preservatives, Suarez said she and Eriksensought customer feedback not only abouttaste, but also about how long the productswere lasting once opened.

“We asked about the container and thelid: ‘How does it function? How does itlast?’” Suarez recalled. “Then a few weekslater when the customers saw the differenceor they noticed a different packaging . . .they’d be like, ‘Oh, you changed it!’” shesaid. “We found that customers that keptcoming back felt invested in the productsand became part of the Peppered Up FoodsFamily,” Suarez said. “Five years later, wehave a very strong loyal customer fan basethat is not shy in giving us feedback.”

About two years into the farmers marketbusiness, Suarez and Eriksen decided tolaunch a crowdfunding campaign throughthe website Kickstarter to fund new labelsand branding for Peppered Up Foods. Ac-cording to Suarez, the successful network-ing the company had already achievedthrough social media aided in making thecampaign a success. “Our goal was $5,000and . . . we made it to $5,800,” she said.

With the success of Peppered Up Foods,the two owners opened Sliced & DicedEatery in 2013 “as a canvas for PepperedUp Foods.” The menu, which includesMexican and American dishes, incorpo-rates Peppered Up Food sauces.

While the menu is set, Suarez said shestill seeks customer feedback on her sauces.“When I want to try a new sauce or a newdressing . . . I get to test it out here in thekitchen and use it on our food, and that’swhen we get to talk to customers about it,”she said. Recently, customers began re-questing “something extremely spicy” andSuarez developed a new hot sauce.

Between developing a loyal customerbase with grassroots networking andthrough social media, Suarez and Eriksenwere able to start selling products online,and have continued to gain new customers.

The Brass LampSamantha Argosino made a name for

herself – and her future business, TheBrass Lamp – through crowdfunding andsocial media. But before she did all that,she conducted grassroots research tomake sure the new business concept shewas pursuing – a combination coffeeshop, bar and book shop with a quiet,loungey atmosphere – was something thatwould appeal to Long Beach locals.

“I had to determine whether, one, is this

24 Long Beach Business Journal June 9-22, 2015WOMEN IN BUSINESS


Women Entrepreneurs:

Grassroots Growth

Chrissy Cox, left, andDawna Bass opened thestorefront for their smallbusiness, RainbowJuices, this past Febru-ary in Downtown LongBeach. When they firststarted their business,the two mainly sold theirline of cold-pressedjuices to acquaintancesand friends. The com-pany grew organicallythrough word-of-mouthreferrals. (Photographby the Business Journal’sEvan Patrick Kelly)


really a good idea to buy into? And two, isLong Beach the right place for it?” Ar-gosino said. “I hit the ground and I had asurvey on a piece of paper that asked ques-tions like, ‘What do you do in the evening?What’s your drink preference?’” she said,noting that she surveyed pedestrians in bothBelmont Shore and Downtown LongBeach. “[Through the survey,] I kind of gotan idea of their profile: their age, their oc-cupation, whether they have kids or not . ..” she explained.

The survey “confirmed and validated myvision,” she said. The survey results showedthat “there are many single professionals .

. . who don’t have children and who need aplace like this where they can unwind, butit’s not a bar, it’s not a coffee shop,” she ex-plained. “It is kind of that perfect thirdplace, if you will.”

To pursue her vision, Argosino needed fi-nancial backing, which she sought out in acrowdfunding campaign via Kickstarter.While some companies with campaigns onthe website are able to appeal to wide audi-ences because they plan to create productsthat can be shipped, Argosino was trying toappeal to a much smaller audience. “Thechallenge for me was that I am only reach-ing out to Long Beach people,” she said.

Argosino created a video invoking thelook and feel of the establishment shewanted to create and to explain her conceptof a book bar. She used social media tospread the video and gain funders. “I usedthe social media outlets to push that videoevery single day, multiple days a day duringthat 30-day campaign, because I needed toget the money,” she recalled. And she did –by the campaign’s end, 309 backers donated$27,529, exceeding her goal of $25,000.

With that money, Argosino was able toinvest in the 4,000-square-foot first floor ofthe Mark Schneider jewelry companybuilding on The Promenade in DowntownLong Beach. Construction is still under-way, with an open date set for summer2015. She has already hired 24 people.

“I am so thankful that the video was suc-cessful,” Argosino said. In addition to fund-ing her business, it also helped peopleunderstand and embrace her concept of abook bar. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have got-ten any of that publicity.” she said. �


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Samantha Argosino was able to invest in a loca-tion for her new business, The Brass Lamp, thanksto online crowdfunding, social media savvy andgrassroots research. When it opens this summer,The Brass Lamp will be part bookstore, part cof-feehouse and part bar, serving coffee, beer andwine, and small plates. (Photograph by the Busi-ness Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)


June 9 26 Long Beach Business Journal June 9-22, 2015IN THE NEWS

Cancer Concierge Network’s Wellness CenterAccording to founder and Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Wise, Cancer Concierge Network’s (“CCN”)Wellness Center is a 501(c)(3) that accepts directed donations, offers a monthly free “Victory” retreat and awellness plan that provides guidance, education and refers those in search of health and wellness to mind,body and spirit holistic treatments before, during and after a health issue occurs. CCN, which opened latelast year, offers a company wellness plan and a “Pathway to Wellness” membership, she said. CCN’s firstfundraiser for wellness grants for those in need is “The Survivor’s Fashion Show” in Hollywood on June 25.The new Long Beach Holistic Chamber of Commerce will be doing the ribbon cutting at CCN’s grand openingscheduled for 10 a.m. on July 25 and will be the Holistic Chamber’s Business of the Month. Pictured outsideCCN’s office at 1965 E. 21st St. (and Cherry Avenue) are, bottom row: Shirley Avila, CCN specialty estheti-cian; Cheryl Tate, personal chef; Jametra Allen, CCN specialty MT; Ruben Rodriguez, CCN CFO/boardmem-ber; CCN boardmember/benefactor; Kathi Scott, Long Beach Holistic Chamber president; Lisa Ivey, CCNspecialty MT; Christal Peak, owner of The Skin Spa Institute; Elizabeth Wise, CCN founder/CEO; and AlWise, CCN benefactor. Top Row: Laura Stratford, CNC specialty esthetician; Maria Lopez, CCN volunteeradmin assistant; Dr. Daniel Hoover and Marty Phillips, Long Beach Holistic Chamber boardmembers; BernardWilcox, CCN volunteer massage therapist; and Ken Howayeck, Long Beach Holistic Chamber boardmember.Middle Row: Cole Ynda, CCN specialty MT; and Nand Harjani, vice president of Long Beach Holistic Cham-ber. Not pictured, Bob Long. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

Long Beach Launches Redesigned WebsiteOn June 1, the City of Long Beach launched it’s totally redesigned website,www.longbeach.gov, which was “built on a new powerful, efficient and user-friendly content management system,” according to a city statement. Launch-ing an updated, faster, easier to navigate website has been one of MayorRobert Garcia’s (pictured above) top priorities since his election last year.The website was designed and coded by staff of the city’s technology andinnovation department, with assistance from the technology firm Thinklogic.The new homepage provides quick access to frequently used services, in-cluding webpages for paying bills and applying for city permits. New fea-tures include MapIt, a mapping tool identifying important Long Beachlocations, LinkLB, an improved e-mail notification system for city updates,OpenLB, a new portal for city data about community demographics and top-ics like the budget, and access to livestreaming video from LBTV, the city’stelevision station. “Launching a new city website that is dynamic and user-friendly has been a top priority of mine,” Garcia said in a statement. Withthe website, “Our goal is to create a 24-hour online city hall,” he stated.(Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

Schooner Or Later Celebrates 30 Years In Business With Original PricesSchooner Or Later, a staple of the Long Beach restaurant scene, is celebrating 30 years in business at a special anniversary eventon June 12. For the anniversary celebration, owners Denny and Denise Lund (pictured) are bringing back their original 1985 menucomplete with original prices. The event will also feature live music, raffles and more, with 25 percent of sales benefitting the TuberousSclerosis Alliance. The alliance is dedicated to identifying a cure for tuberous sclerosis complex, a genetic disorder that causes non-malignant tumors throughout the body’s organs. In recent years, the restaurant has gotten quite a bit of airtime on national television,including as a regular filming spot for Showtime’s series “Dexter.” Schooner or Later is located at 241 Marina Dr. Hours: Monday-Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 562/430-3495.

Coastal Engineer And Scientist Qing Wang Joins Moffatt & Nichol TeamIn late May, Long Beach-based engineering firm Moffatt & Nichol announced the addition of Qing Wang, a coastal engineer and scientist, to its Long Beach office.In her new role, she is participating in a project analyzing sea-level rise within the area of Long Beach encompassed by the city’s Southeast Area Development Im-provement Plan. Her specialties include “analysis and modeling of coastal processes, coastal flooding studies and hazard mitigation, coastal ecosystems and habitatrestoration, field investigations, and data collection,” according to a statement from Moffatt & Nichol. Prior projects include work reviewing the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency’s storm surge models for the southeast United States, and analysis and revision of FEMA flood elevation maps for New York City after HurricaneSandy. She has also conducted a coastal modeling study related to a breakwater off the coast of Ontario Canada, as well as a “dynamic wave analysis for abeach park in Brooklyn, New York,” according to the company statement. Wang holds a bachelors degree in civil engineering from China’s Hohai University, amasters in water management from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and a masters in coastal engineering from the University of Central Florida.


June 9-22, 2015 Long Beach Business Journal 27 2015 IN THE NEWS

Long Beach’s Three MemorialCare Health System Hospitals Once Again Recognized For Safety ExcellenceIn early June, the national nonprofit The LeapfrogGroup announced that Long Beach Memorial Med-ical Center was one of 182 hospitals in the nation toreceive straight ‘A’ grades for safety excellence sinceLeapfrog began grading hospitals three years ago.The Leapfrog Group is “an independent national non-profit of employers and large purchasers of healthbenefits,” according to a press release from Memori-alCare Health System. Leapfrog grades the nation’s2,523 hospitals twice annually as part of its HospitalSafety Score ranking procedure. Community HospitalLong Beach also earned an A grade this year. MillerChildren’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach was listedamong only nine other children’s hospitals in thecountry on Leapfrog’s Top Hospitals list, which in-cludes both adult and children’s hospitals. “Thoseearning an ‘A’ demonstrate their commitment to theirpatients and community,” Leah Binder, Leapfrog pres-ident and CEO, said in a statement. “I congratulateMemorialCare Health System’s Long Beach hospitalsfor safety excellence, and look forward to the daywhen all hospitals will match this standard.” Three ex-ecutives from these hospitals gathered in front of LongBeach Memorial to commemorate the recognition byLeapfrog. Pictured from left are: Dr. Susan Melvin,chief medical officer of Long Beach Memorial; DonnaHartman, RN, vice president of clinical quality andpatient safety for Long Beach Memorial and MillerChildren’s; and Tamra Kaplan, Pharm.D., chief oper-ating officer of Long Beach Memorial. (Photographby the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

Seva Studio Opens Inside The Walmart At City PlaceDanny Kan (left) celebrates the opening of his new beauty salon,Seva, alongside his employees. The salon is located within the Wal-mart in Downtown Long Beach, which is the anchor store for theCity Place Shopping Center. Seva Studio is a salon franchise withmore than 100 locations in the United States. Kan’s salon special-izes in eyebrow shaping and facial hair removal with waxing andthreading techniques, eyelash extensions, facials and more. Thesalon is open seven days a week. Salon hours: Monday-Saturday,10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Pictured with Kan, fromleft, are: Jasmeet Kaur, Arti Naidu, Tania Zuniga, and Christy Wu.Walmart is at 151 E. 5th St. For more information about the salon,visit: http://sevabeauty.com/location/long-beach_ca/(Photographby the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

Total Wine & More Opens At The Long Beach Towne CenterTotal Wine & More, a national retailer specializing in wine, spirits and beer, held a VIP event celebrating the opening of its new location at the Long Beach Towne Center on June 3. Grand opening celebrations,including live music and product tastings, lasted throughout the following weekend. Ten percent of all beer and wine sales made during opening weekend are being donated to the Aquarium of the Pacific. “Werecognize that the Aquarium is a source of tremendous economic and educational value to Long Beach, and we are pleased to partner with this important charitable organization to bring increased recognition andsupport to its worthy endeavors,” David Trone, co-owner of Total Wine & More, said in a statement. The store, which includes more than 14,000 products, created 50 local jobs, according to a company statement.“The opening of our Long Beach location gives us an opportunity to invest in this thriving community, bringing new jobs and a host of new and exciting products,” Trone stated. There are 115 Total Wine & More storesthroughout 16 states. Pictured above left are, from left: Joel Cathey, store manager; Greg Galvan, assistant manager; and Patrick O’Meallie, wine manager. Above right are Jim Weiland, left, the firm’s regional vicepresident of operations, and Mark Weber, district manager. (Photographs by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)


June 9 28 Long Beach Business Journal June 9-22, 2015

Tips To Prevent Falls

Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries forthose 65-years-old and older. Every 14 seconds, an older adult is

seen in an emergency department for a fall-related injury. Falls can leadto moderate and severe injuries, such as hip fractures, broken bones andhead injuries, and can increase the risk of early death.Even falls without a major injury can cause older adults to become

fearful or depressed, making it difficult for them to stay active. Identi-fying hazards and taking steps to reduce the risk of falling is a greatway to help older adults stay healthy and independent as long as possi-

ble. The good news is that most falls can be prevented.Prevent falls with these simple fall-prevention tips:• Make an Appointment with a Doctor: A doctor can review medications for side effects and interactions that may increase an

older adult’s risk of falling. Older adults should be prepared to discuss health conditionsand how comfortable they are when they walk. For example, have they felt any dizziness,joint pain, numbness or shortness of breath while walking? A doctor may evaluate musclestrength, balance and walking style (gait) as well.• Stay Active: As we age, most people lose some coordination, flexibility and balance – making it

easier to fall. With the doctor's okay, older adults should consider activities such as walk-ing, water workouts or tai chi – a gentle exercise that involves slow and graceful dance-like movements. Physical therapy and staying active can reduce the risk of falls byimproving strength, balance, coordination and flexibility.• Remove Hazards in the Home: The living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, hallways and stairways may be filled

with hazards. There are many simple and inexpensive ways to make a home safer: Removeboxes, newspapers, electrical cords and phone cords from walkways; Move coffee tables,magazine racks and plant stands from high-traffic areas; Secure loose rugs with double-faced tape, tacks or a slip-resistant backing – or remove loose rugs from the home; Repairloose, wooden floorboards and carpeting immediately; Store clothing, dishes, food andother necessities within easy reach; and Use non-slip mats in the bathtub or shower.• Turn on the Lights: Increase lighting throughout the house, especially at the top and bottom of stairs. Place

night lights in the bedroom, bathroom and hallways. Make clear paths to light switchesthat aren't near room entrances and consider trading traditional switches for glow-in-the-dark or illuminated switches. • Use Assistive Devices: The doctor might recommend using a cane or walker to help with balance. Other assistive

devices can help as well. For example: hand rails for both sides of stairways, non-slip treads forbare-wood steps, a raised toilet seat or one with armrests and grab bars for the shower or tub. The chances of being seriously injured from a fall increases with age. If necessary, a

doctor may suggest a referral to a physical or occupational therapist. He or she can helpolder adults determine other fall-prevention strategies. Remember that an investment infall prevention is an investment in health, wellness and independence for older adults.(Jason Koh, OD, is the medical director of the MemorialCare Rehabilitation Institutefor Long Beach Memorial.)

The Coming

Tidal Wave is Here

There is a demographic threat that isnow being noticed by the mainstream

media. An appropriate metaphor wouldbe that of a Demographic Tsunami.The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics pre-

dicts a slowdown in the labor force growthand productivity in 2015-16. Why? Be-cause of the 70 million-plus Baby

Boomers that will be retiring. Couple this with the fact thatin this year, 2015, 47-50 percent of the workforce will bemade up of Millennials, those born between 1983 and 2001.Millennials are, and will be, entering a workplace that is

in many cases at odds with what they value because it wasdesigned around Baby Boomers expectations. If the work-place cultural clash does not adapt to the work style of Mil-lennials the results will be far less than desirable.Millennials might not be that difficult to attract, but theyalso do not have a need to stay very long. Retention has and

will continue to be a large problem in legacy organizations.Why is retention of this new workforce generation im-

portant? There are several reasons, one of which is theenormous cost associated with turnover. The averageturnover cost of an entry-level employee is 50 percent oftheir annual salary. So if the salary is $50,000, eachturnover costs the organization $25,000.If the company employs 10,000 people and there is a 10

percent turnover (which is not and will not be uncommonwith current conditions), the company loses $25 million tothe bottom line. Therefore it would be very cost productivefor organizations to understand how to ready themselvesfor the shifting workforce.The Builder generation (1925-1945) rarely switched

jobs. Boomers (1946-1964) have an aversion to switchingjobs although it happens from time to time. But to the con-trary, Millennials move fast. If they are not challenged ina job they move on.Take note. Boomers are loyal to employers. Millennials

are loyal to people. This makes their relationship to theirmanagers and peers important. If their relationship withtheir manager is less than satisfactory, they have no problemleaving their employer. As a result, there is a high level ofturnover that will result if the challenge and the relationshipfalter. The ripple quickly makes its way to the bottom line.In our research we discovered that Millennials are more

likely to job hop. Some estimates show turnover rates for Mil-

lennials are nearly 2-3 times that of older workers. They reportthat in 2011 one large wholesaler’s workforce shifted to 50 per-cent Millennials. They issued 40,000 W-2s that year. But theyonly had 16,000 employees! The turnover ratio for Millennialemployees was three times higher than other employees.So what should we do? Organizations should ask some

very simple questions. Rather than vilify an emerging gen-eration, ask, what are the attracters and connectors to thisnew generation? What are the myriad of contributions Mil-lennials bring to the workplace? Where can the organiza-tion flex? It is not uncommon for them to discover betterways of approaching a task that improves productivity. Theflexibility might be in a certain process, or a work sched-ule, or in the way managers motivate their team. Reversementoring means you mentor them, but they also mentoryou. You have more experience, and they have new ideas.Another question is, are we “milking” all the fun out of our

work environment? Millennials love to have fun. And is that re-ally a bad idea to include in our work-life? It doesn’t cost any-thing and studies show it can lead to increased productivity.We have discovered in our research and training that

great managers use these and other skills as effective at-tracters and connectors. (Mick Ukleja keynotes across the country on topics re-

lated to leadership. He is president of LeadershipTraq andauthor of several books. Check his weekly blog atwww.leadershiptraq.com.)

HealthWise

By jason

koh, od

By MiCk

UklejA

The Four Components of

An effective Business Plan

Having a well-thought-out business plan can help a business ownerstay focused on company goals and objectives, yet according to

a recent Wells Fargo survey, only 33 percent of small business ownerssaid they have a formal, written business plan. Many business owners have ideas for plans in their heads, but those

who put plans in writing are more optimistic. In the survey, businessowners with formal plans were more likely to say they planned to addjobs and increase revenue and capital.

The challenge is getting started. Here are the key areas for a plan: Company overviewProvides a description of the business – including your products or services. It

should outline your professional or industry experience, the history of your business,the business structure, staffing, management roles, responsibilities, and a detailedmarketing plan. AnalysisCompetitive intelligence and customer insights are key aspects, so include data on

competitors within your industry. It’s also a good place to explore prospective cus-tomers that might be a fit for your products and services; define how you intend toreach them. Building this information into your business plan is intended to providea competitive advantage, which helps fine-tune your marketing efforts, and maximizesales.Financial DataA business plan should include a financial data section where you outline starting

balances, how you plan to make money and sales forecasts. Keeping financial infor-mation updated and organized is a challenge, yet an essential process to more easilyplan for growth, manage cash flow and prepare for unexpected expenses.Executive SummaryThis part of the plan is often considered the most important when seeking financing

because it provides a high-level summary of the business and recaps the key featuresof your plan in one page or less, including who you are, what you sell, who you sellto, and a financial summary. To help simplify the process, we recently introduced The Business Plan Center on

WellsFargoWorks.com to help you get started. Developing and maintaining a businessplan will help your business perform better in the long run.(Ben Alvarado, a 23-year veteran of Wells Fargo, is the president of the bank’s

Southern California Region, which stretches from Long Beach to Orange, Imperialand San Diego counties.)

Small Business Dollars & SensePERSPECTIVE

Effective Leadership

By Ben

AlvArAdo



renters Getting The

Squeeze in Housing Mix

It is no secret that there has been a shift in thenumber of homeowners compared to renters

over the past seven years due to the economic fac-tors that also led to the housing and mortgagecrises. Owners lost their homes and becamerenters, while those who never were homeownershave struggled to find the financial footing to ad-vance to homeownership.

Now, a new study by New York University's Furman Center,which studies real estate and urban policy, and financed by Cap-ital One bank, lays out a picture of a national market for rentersthat appears to be both limited and unaffordable for vast num-bers of consumers, but is also one with many variables depend-ing on location.In 11 of the most populous cities in the U.S., more than half of

tenants are paying what experts consider unaffordable rents, notesthe study that analyzed U.S. Census Bureau data from 2006 to2013 on the central cities of Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas,Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Fran-cisco and Washington, D.C.While this report is not the first to offer such conclusions, this

is one of the most recent looks at increasing competition and oftenslipping affordability for those renting. The picture looks notice-ably different from city to city, however.As of 2013, most residents were renters in nine of the 11 cities,

all except for Atlanta and Philadelphia, compared with five in2006. At least 60 percent of residents are now tenants, rather thanowners, in Boston, L.A., New York and Miami. Nationwide, about35 percent of people rented in 2013, up from 31 percent in 2006,the Census Bureau says.In each city, the amount of rental housing grew faster than any

rise in owner-occupied homes. In fact, the data suggest somehomes were converted to rentals.Nonetheless, the vacancy rate declined everywhere except

Miami and Washington, where increases were slight. San Fran-cisco surpassed New York as having the tightest rental market:New York's 3.8 percent vacancy rate was the lowest in 2006, butby 2013 San Francisco had the floor with a mere 2.5 percent. NewYork, L.A. and Boston were hovering around 3.5 percent. Atlanta,

meanwhile, had the highest vacancy rate of the cities in the survey,at nearly 10 percent.Amid growing demand and tight supply, median rents rose faster

than inflation in all the cities but Dallas and Houston, where theywere nearly flat. Washington's median rent shot up by 21 percentbetween 2006 and 2013, to $1,307 a month. New York's rose by12 percent, to $1,228. The calculation is inflation-adjusted for2013 dollars, includes utilities and encompasses market-rate, rent-regulated and subsidized housing.New York has about 1 million rent-regulated apartments, per-

haps helping explain why it has a lower median rent than Wash-ington, San Francisco ($1,491) and Boston ($1,263).Meanwhile, median rents were under $1,000 everywhere elseexcept Los Angeles ($1,182).But rents are not the entire story of affordability: Renters'

median household incomes varied widely over the years. Hous-ing experts like to gauge affordability by the percentage of in-come that goes to housing costs, with anything over 29 percentbeing rent-burdened. Over 49 percent is considered severelyburdened.On that scale, the landscape is uneven. The percentage of rent-

burdened tenants grew in six cities while dropping in the rest, andthe findings were full of seeming contradictions. San Franciscohad the highest median rent but the lowest percentage of rent-bur-dened tenants, 45 percent; Miami had a far lower median rent, but68 percent of tenants were burdened.One reason is that San Francisco renters' median household in-

come was $61,200 a year, nearly 1.5 times what their Miami coun-terparts made. San Francisco is also home to the nation’s highesthousing prices, which is widely attributed to the heavy influenceof the high-paying technology jobs in that area.Most observers attribute this rise in the number of renters to

the 2008 mortgage and financial crisis, which left some peopleunable and others reluctant to own homes. And when rent be-comes a stretch, leaving less income to save toward homeown-ership, "it's a reinforcing cycle," Furman Center facultydirector Ingrid Gould Ellen pointed out in the report. Other fac-tors may include home-downsizing within the giant and agingbaby boom generation; and hefty college debt that slows someyoung people's saving for a home purchase. Not exactly arecipe for growing home ownership.In Southern California, recent reports showing a lack of hous-

ing – both for renters and owners – is only going to contributeto the affordability problem, which appears to be just as dire forthose who rent as for those wanting to become homeowners.(Terry Ross, the broker-owner of TR Properties, will answer any

questions about today’s real estate market. E-mail questions to Re-alty Views at [email protected] or call 949/457-4922.)

By Terry roSS

Realty Views

One of the most difficult concepts toexplain to the general public is that

not every charitable dollar is createdequal. Indeed, there are nonprofit board-members and executive directors who arestunned by the fact that simply havingmoney in the bank does not equate to anorganization’s survivability.Over the past decade, the amounts of

charitable dollars offered to vital causeswith strings attached has grown at a dramatic rate. Somuch, in fact, that some nonprofits have put their own pro-grams into competition with one another in the hope thatone program can lure a contribution at the expense of theothers. An industrial hazard of the Third Sector is that when

the joys of restricted contributions overshadows the cel-ebrations of the unrestricted gift, the very foundationof the house united behind a single mission stands tofall. For a mission-based nonprofit, the ability to ade-quately support its glamorous work in tandem with the

not so glitzy necessities needed to achieve a measurableimpact in a community is one of true tests of Third Sec-tor leadership.The very best metaphor to clearly illustrate the funda-

mental truths about unrestricted giving was developedby my respected colleague and valued friend, Paul Shoe-maker, founder of Social Venture Partners International.Shoemaker will be stepping down this week after 17years at the helm. His legacy includes 39 groups of phi-lanthropists located around the world, including SocialVenture Partners Los Angeles, who are dedicated to for-tifying the infrastructures of nonprofit organizations toeffectively evolve the world. Shoemaker tells the story of how a father/son camping

trip in the forest taught him a valuable lesson about phi-lanthropy as he realized the relationship that exists betweeneach mighty tree and the soil that houses, nourishes andprotects each plant to grow to its full potential.Shoemaker writes, “Being a philanthropy guy, the sym-

biotic relationship between the soil and the trees conjuresthe relationship between a strong nonprofit organizationand the programs it delivers. We all see the program –whether reading to kids, keeping our rivers clean or admin-istering the vaccines. But what fewer philanthropists noticeis the foundation for that program – the organization itself,its infrastructure, the copier, the lights, the desks and thesupport staff. As philanthropists, we can be like I was at the Camp. We

notice the trees, but not the soil; we want to give to the pro-gram, but not the organization. And yet one can’t existwithout the other. In fact, one actually has to come beforethe other. The program will ultimately be no stronger thanthe organization underpinning its delivery. The trees will

go no higher and be no more majestic than the soil it growsits roots into. We have to invest in the organization and itscapacity, just as much as we invest in the programs andservices that we can see. It’s called “capacity building,” butwhatever you call it, it’s a vitally important part of a phil-anthropic investment.”It’s no wonder that Shoemaker leaves his position having

been named among the Top 50 of Power and Influenceamong the nonprofit sector’s top executives and thinkersby The Nonprofit Times.The name of the game today in fundraising is creating

diversified and sustainable portfolios of resources. Thereality is that contributors want a greater say in wheretheir generosity will specifically be put to work. The re-sult is nonprofit leaders who must manage a careful bal-ance between advancing the fundraising ideal whilesuccessfully navigating and mining the giving reality. It begins with every board and staff member fully un-

derstanding and advocating for the powerful impact of theunrestricted dollar. Every potential contributor relationshipmust begin with that end in mind. The potential giver mayelect, in the end, to restrict his or her generosity; however,it should not have been the result of an insider placing oneaspect of an organization’s work as being above all othersin the pursuit of a mission.There is a saying that some people can’t see the forest

for the trees. In the Third Sector, one of the greatest lega-cies of Paul Shoemaker is for us all to remember, “Don’tadmire the trees at the expense of the soil.”(Jeffrey R. Wilcox, CFRE, is president and chief execu-

tive officer of The Third Sector Company, Inc. Join in onthe conversation about this article at the Long Beach Busi-ness Journal website, www.lbbusinessjournal.com)

3rd Sector Report

EDITOR & PUBLISHERGeorge Economides

SALES & MARKETING EXECUTIVEHeather Dann

STAFF ASSISTANTLarry Duncan

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT

SENIOR WRITER

Samantha Mehlinger

STAFF WRITER

Sean Belk

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Gerrie Schipske

PHOTOJOURNALISTEvan Patrick Kelly

COPY EDITORPat Flynn

The Long Beach Business Journal is a publication ofSouth Coast Publishing, Inc., incorporated in the Stateof California in July 1985. It is published every otherTuesday (except between Christmas and mid-January)– 25 copies annually. The Business Journal premieredMarch 1987 as the Long Beach Airport Business Jour-nal. Reproduction in whole or in part without writtenpermission is strictly prohibited unless otherwisestated. Opinions expressed by perspective writers andguest columnists are their views and not necessarilythose of the Business Journal. Press releases shouldbe sent to the address shown below.

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Vol. XXVIII No. 11June 9-22, 2015

PERSPECTIVE

By jeFFrey

WilCox

Unrestricted Giving:

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ART MATTERSBrought To You By The Arts Council For Long Beach • www.artslb.org

Long Beach Business Journal 30June 9-22, 2015

Gallery Corner Exhibition spaces and art institutions can sometimes feel unwelcoming, insular and isolated from the public. Kimberly

Hocking, curator and director of Greenly Art Space has been working diligently for the last five years to, along with her

husband David Hocking, encourage and strengthen community bonds through pointed exhibitions, art making, art ther-

apy and mentoring. “Greenly is not a traditional space and it is sometimes difficult for people to find . . . you have to

look for it,” Hocking said. But when people find it, she said they find an exhibition

that not only draws them in with work from local artists but also with its inspiring

explorations of poignant ideas. “Having a topic that’s inspiring encourages artists

to make art,” she added, and visitors to take action. Carol Roemer, Gail Werner

and Cynthia Evans are among 70 artists showing work in the gallery’s current ex-

hibition, Blue, which asks viewers to reflect on the ocean and assess the impact

we’ve had on our environment. To see Blue before it closes on July 25, call 562-533-

4020 to make an appointment. Visit greenlyartspace.com for more information.

� By LESLIE A.M. SMITH

Arts Council for Long Beach Contributor

For 23 years, Executive Director Christi Wilkins

has been filling a void that local school budgets

could not. She’s been keeping art in schools.

The organization she founded, Dramatic Results, is a

trailblazer of the now in vogue adoption of STEAM in

schools (science, technology, engineering, arts and

math). Through Dramatic Results’ curricula, elemen-

tary school children gain understanding of the engi-

neering design process, electricity and art while

increasing important indicators of academic success

like creativity, persistence and intrinsic motivation.

Using interesting applications like origami and bas-

ket weaving, fourth graders apply math to create art

projects that ignite their natural curiosity and creativ-

ity – and dramatically increase their scores in geome-

try and other subjects. The 2014-15 analyses show

that Dramatic Results’ Math in a Basket program

helped students increase their knowledge consider-

ably: 15% in geometry; 29% in art; 11% in engineering

design process; and 6% in creativity. Other programs

show similar increases across the board.

“These gains are tremendously important when U.S.

students are tied for last place globally in applied

mathematics. To stay competitive, we must educate

a workforce that can apply math to identify and

solve problems,” Wilkins said. “The techniques we

use have proven especially effective with ‘difficult’

students because we engage their hands, minds

and hearts to attain our hallmark – dramatic results.

Seventy-five percent of our students outperform

their peers in math, divergent thinking, persistence

and teamwork.”

Dramatic Results is an award-winning, non-

profit educational arts agency based in Signal Hill.

With a team of talented arts educators and a com-

mitment to diverse partnerships, the organization has

transformed chronically low-performing elementary

students into energized, divergent thinkers. Every year

for 18 years, independent university studies have val-

idated that Dramatic Results delivers 21-point gains in

applied math performance – a huge leap toward im-

proving global competitiveness.

“One of the most important and far-reaching effects

of Dramatic Results’ programs is our ability to inspire

and transform classroom teachers,” Wilkins added.

“Through our intensive training and in-class coaching

over a full school year, inner-city teachers develop new

skills to engage and challenge students to take risks,

problem solve and take ownership of their

learning. Transformed teachers leverage

the impact of our work by thousands of

students over the course of their careers.”

In addition to the 240+ teachers in

Long Beach Unified and Compton Uni-

fied that Dramatic Results has impacted,

for a second year the State of

Alaska/Sealaska Heritage Institute has

contracted with Dramatic Results to cus-

tomize the Math in a Basket program to

their Tlingit/Haida community to help

their Native Alaskan students close the

persistent gap in math performance. An

independent evaluation found a 21-

point gain in students’ math performance.

Dramatic Results has received numerous awards,

honors and acknowledgments. In 2014, it was named

a grantee of the U.S. Department of Education’s Arts

Education Model Development and Dissemination

Program for the fourth time.

“We have seen an increase in recognition of the im-

portance of integrating multi-arts into academic learn-

ing and our work to build a comprehensive education

for all students,” Wilkins said.

For more information, visit dramaticresults.org. �

Women in Arts andCulture: Max Viltz� By SARAH BENNETT

Arts Council for Long Beach Contributor

While most galleries in Long Beach focus on selling locally

made items, Village Treasures on Broadway in down-

town is stocked with art, furniture, textiles and artifacts

from halfway around the world.

But don't let the selection of framed contemporary Kenyan

paintings or tables of Shona figurines intimidate you. Walk in most

days and owner Max Viltz will happily show you around her store-

front, enlightening you to the meanings, symbolisms and histories

behind the Zulu baskets from South Africa, the stone sculptures

from Zimbabwe and the stacks of colorful Kente cloth from Ghana.

“It's the aesthetics of all this stuff that is just like fine art to me,”

she said. “I'm drawn to it. I love it.”

Since 1997,

the gallery, gift

shop and bou-

tique has been a

staple of the

African art scene

in Long Beach

and one of only

a few places

around that im-

ports both vintage and modern pieces of all sizes and price points

from the continent.

The store started as an offshoot of the African Cultural Center

of Long Beach on Atlantic Avenue and 19th Street, and in 2001

opened as Village Treasures in the East Village Arts District. Last

year, Viltz moved a few blocks away to its current location, but

it has always been an extension of her travels to Africa, where

she has visited countries like Mali, Senegal, Togo and Ivory Coast.

“We would come back and tell stories of our travels, of going

to villages and experiencing the culture, the food, the art, the

rituals,” she said.

From the folded stacks of raw textiles – like Malian mudcloth and

a woven raffia from Congo called Kuba cloth – to the well-stocked

clothing boutique tucked in the back room – where you can buy

both everyday and special-occasion outfits – Village Treasures is

more than an exotic art gallery to visit when you need a new piece

of home decor. There is also a wide selection of Afro-centric items

from journals and greeting cards to books, jewelry, oils and incense.

“Village Treasure is a local attraction that many local people don't

even know about,” Viltz said.

An active community member with more than two decades of vol-

unteer work with arts organization boards and committees, Viltz is

a fixture in the Long Beach arts scene beyond her work at Village

Treasures. In addition to booking shows at Seabird Jazz Lounge, as-

sisting the International City Theatre in getting underprivileged stu-

dents to attend performances and serving on the Arts Council for

Long Beach board of directors until she recently termed out, Viltz

has also remained involved with the Mombasa, Kenya sister-city pro-

gram, which she will be hosting a reception for at her shop June 13.

“That's what's great about running a business like this in a city

like this. You can network and collaborate,” she said.

Learn more about Village Treasures at villagetreasuresart.com �

ART MATTERS to Student Mathand Science Performance

Math in a Basket program.

Professional development for teachers.


There has

been a lot of

talk lately

about the cost

of doing busi-

ness, overhead

and what it

means, exactly,

to be a non-

profit. It’s rather

i n t e r e s t i n g

when you think

about it in rela-

tion to the pri-

vate (for-profit) and public

sectors. While many people un-

derstand that there is a cost of

doing business, there is a differ-

ent expectation for the nonprofit

sector. Perhaps the challenge lies

within the name itself – “non-

profit”. Does nonprofit bring

about images of do-gooders for-

going pay or earning so little that

it almost seems like it? Do we

think about organizations making

due with outdated technology,

second hand furniture, and the

like? When we think about peo-

ple working in the field do we

think, “Good for them…” or won-

der how they make a living and

feed their families?

There is a cost to doing busi-

ness, of keeping all the plates

spinning and the gears working.

We call this overhead. It exists in

all sectors and keeps the doors

open, lights on and the right peo-

ple employed and paid. Some-

how, there is a belief that these

costs do not, or should not, exist

for nonprofits. I remember hear-

ing early in my career, about how

great a nonprofit was because

93% of all the money that came

into the organization when to di-

rect services. I didn’t think much

of it at the time because I didn’t

understand the business of non-

profits. Now I wonder how that

organization could have kept its

doors open. Not accounting for

the true cost of things is not a

good business model and is not

sustainable. I believe that unre-

alistic pressures on nonprofits to

minimize their costs are unfair,

and detrimental to society given

the growing impact the nonprofit

industry is having on the econ-

omy at large.

As a community, we rely on the

programs and services provided

by nonprofit organizations. Health

care, education, culture, homeless

and housing, mental health, vio-

lence prevention and intervention;

the list goes on and on. While we

may be aware of, or come in con-

tact with and/or appreciate the

services and benefits provided by

nonprofits, not many recognize

the significant economic impact of

the nonprofit sector as an impor-

tant engine of activity and growth.

When the Long Beach Non-

profit Partnership undertook our

most recent nonprofit economic

impact report, The Power of

Nonprofits: Engines of Growth,

we found that nonprofits, locally

and nationally, grew during the

Great Recession while busi-

nesses contracted significantly.

In Long Beach, nonprofit or-

ganizations account for more

than 10% of the workforce. This

is similar in size to our tourism

industry. Anchored in the health-

care industry, these nonprofits

have a total economic impact of

$2.7 billion in the city and $4.9

billion in the local region.

In addition, at least 50% of

all the nonprofits that we sur-

veyed indicated that they antic-

ipated increased hiring in the

near future.

The first statewide economic

report in California reveals simi-

lar results. Causes Count: The

Economic Power of California’s

Nonprofit Sector, commissioned

by CalNonprofits, shows that

nonprofit organizations rank as

the 4th largest private employer

in California, and account for

15% of the GDP. CalNonprofits

CEO Jan Masaoka said, “Not only

do our state’s nonprofits uniquely

represent the dreams and visions

of California's varied communi-

ties, but they are robust with

human and financial capital.”

It is clear that nonprofits are im-

portant to the foundation of this

community, region and state for

many reasons including its eco-

nomic strength and future growth.

So, perhaps, it is time to reframe

the discussion about the cost of

doing business for all sectors.

How can we begin to discuss the

true cost of doing business, with-

out being apologetic? As part-

ners, funders and donors, how do

you encourage your colleagues to

understand the true value and

worth of nonprofits?

THE NONPROFIT PAGECurated By The Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership

The area’s regional capacity builder, serving local organizations to strengthenand grow through leadership, education and collaboration. Offering:

Professional Development & TrainingNetworking & Collaboration

Custom Training & Consulting ServicesInformation Resources

To learn more, visit us at www.lbnp.org.4900 East Conant St., Building O-2, Suite 225, Long Beach, CA 90808

562.888-6530

The Power of Nonprofits

Linda Alexander, Executive Director

Long Beach Nonprofit

Partnership

Long Beach Business Journal 31June 9-22, 2015

Capacity Corner: Upcoming Calendar of EventsFrom the Nonprofit PartnershipSupervising Skills for Success Wednesday, June 17, 2015, 9:00am-4:00pmLearn tips and tools to excel in supervising others. Identify factors that lead to super-visory success, learn how to successfully confront challenges and pitfalls, and acquirecommunication and motivational methods for improving performance in others.Giving USA 2015 – The Annual Report on PhilanthropyTuesday, June 30, 2015, 8:00am-10:00amYou won't want to miss out on the most comprehensive report on charitable givingin our country. Giving USA is the longest consecutively published, comprehensivereport on fundraising intelligence, now in it’s 59th year. This presentation will ex-amine giving by source, recipient and sector. It will also include a moderated paneldiscussion of local nonprofit leaders who will compare the national numbers towhat they are seeing at the local level in our region. From our PartnersUsing Technology for Disaster Response and PreparednessThursday, June 25, 2015, 11am –WEBINARBe it a natural disaster or political unrest, this online, interactive Ask the Expert sessionwill explore how you can prepare for the unexpected and thrive in the face of catastrophe.Save the Date: Stronger Together Nonprofit Conference 2015Monday, August 24, 2015The second annual nonprofit conference for California with leading edge content andexceptional presenters in leadership, strategy, advocacy, and risk management. Formore info, visit: calnonprofits.orgSave the Date: CalNonprofits 2015 Policy ConventionNovember 4, 2015 – Oakland, CA Focusing on the economic and political forecast for California’s nonprofit sector. Formore info, visit: calnonprofits.org.

Long BeachNonprofits’Economic Impact by the

Numbers*

• 10% of all Long Beach Jobs

are in the nonprofit sector

• 19,230 Nonprofit jobs in

Long Beach (direct)

• 41,970 Total Jobs (direct,

indirect & induced)

• 60% of nonprofits planning

to increase hiring in near

future

• 120,000 Volunteers

• 4.9 Million Volunteer Hours

• Volunteer Value –

$109Million

• $687 Million in Payroll

• $795 Million Equivalent

Payroll Staff + Volunteer

• $2.7 Billion in Expenditures

• $4.9 Billion in total

Expenditures (direct,

indirect & induced)

*Nonprofits: Engines of

Growth. An Economic Impact

Report of Nonprofits in Long

Beach and the South Los An-

geles Region” July 2014,

Commissioned by Long Beach

Nonprofit Partnership.


june 9-22, 2015

Documents