DISQUS

I love how the mike murchison post reads like a press release filled with fluff and everyone else has a different take on the queen. mike, aren't you a lobbyist within the city or something like that. did you get downgraded to pr or something?

If craig beck thinks city place was such a mistake then why does he back the city place lofts that are part of the overall development plan, which for those of you that aren't familiar are the "lofts" built in the albertsons parking lot that look like complete crap. Check this video for a cameo from mr. beck himself. http://lang.presstelegram.com/video/082707_real...

i can't wait to see what the RDA has in store for the AOB site when they finally clear the land.

What's interesting to me from this topic is the RDA's involvement with a bunch of crappy projects. I don't think we can point to another city run agency that has a worse track record then these guys. Does every city have an RDA? Why does ours suck so bad?

hey dave, did the library actually some former glory. serious question actually as i haven't been around long enough to see it as anything more then a homeless encampment.

just catching up on this post. good stuff. sounds about normal, lbrez setting up shop in some far off corner and the rest of us throwing bricks through his window.

btw, who is criticizing business in general on here, you keep asking about that? i thought most were just criticizing the idea of throwing a home depot on a spot for the sake of filling it with "something".

lbrez, how many home depots will it take for the city to turn around its financial situation and pay for all the cops and fireman? that's the only way that will happen right, developing every parcel of land. how about a walmart for the east side of the city, look at how much good that did for the west side of the city.

FYI to khigginbotham after reading through this. On one hand you ask the city to build new developments that reflect the historical of Long Beach but then bag on what you call reinterpretive schlock. I would keep in mind that those two things are pretty much the same thing. Reflecting the historical style of the city usually means that you get get pasted on faux architecture, such as city place in downtown or the Aqua condos, perhaps our worst example of architecture for the city.

good contemporary architecture should not mean that we'll look like Irvine. adaptive reuse projects celebrate our past so i love those where there is merit, but new designs take us forward and help to celebrate a future. just make sure the architect on the project isn't one of the usual suspects being hired from irvine that thinks rough stucco is really neato.

Sassy. Thanks for the reply. I see your point and have looked at it from that perspective but i disagree that it's all about the building. AOB is soo much more then just a building. Yes, it can be argued that the building is not all that special, but I think you have to take into consideration the overall soul of the business, which is represented by its history, its loyal customer base, it's walls, it's stories, books, smell, etc, etc.

Why move the business, why not look at ways to make it work for its location? Step in, get creative and reinvent it to act as a backbone for the "arts exchange" being planned. To pave the way for this new creative development by taking away this creative cornerstone just makes no sense at all.

The overall business represents the true soul of long beach, it's part of what makes this place authentic.

So Sassy, have you looked at it from this overall perspective or are you only looking at it as a building that you think just ain't that great?

Sassy Sue. Just out of curiosity and yes this is a serious question, why are you so happy to see AOB go? Furthermore, how do you see that improving the area versus hurting it?

Most smart cities go out of their way to save businesses and buildings that are unique to the area, create a draw and help to define a city. I love new shit too, when done right. But the juxtaposition of new and old should be embraced.

As a city trying to compete against not just other national cities but international cities, we should be doing what we can to save what is unique about Long Beach, which helps to create a sense of place and create a draw for people that don't just want watered down anywhere USA type scenarios.

So as i said i'm confused by how this makes you happy and how you think this could actually be a good thing. I guess the obvious answer would be that i paves the way for something new. But there are other areas to develop new that don't have to do with steamrolling something unique to the flavor of long beach.

would love to hear your thoughts expressed on that.

Fuck if Andy isn't always right on. And Josh, your point about employing a little vision and creativity to rethink and transform the business is the point that i've been making to anyone that will listen. Do i blame AOB for taking the money, no. Do i blame the city for dangling the carrot and robbing us of one of the few remaining examples of what makes long beach...long beach, yes.

The only thing i can hope for now is that you (the city/RDA) store the inventory and work them into the new design of the "art block" that you're planning to create. If you come anywhere close to what Portland has with Powell's Books...you could be a hero. But then again, are the Powell's or the AOBs of the world manufactured, i don't think so.

To add to the added, i believe in the sphere of influence. We may not be able to solve drugs, gangs, etc, but there are things that are within our control like improving our water quality and beaches. The end result being that other things come along for the ride, basically what Dave is saying as well.

These aren't new concepts and they shouldn't be considered pipe dreams. Other people have dealt with much worse and turned around their situation.

ahhhh bill bill bill.

sorry i didn't know i would have to give you the dummies guide to my last email. i won't forget from here on out. you can take my email literal and blow it out of proportion or you can see it for what it is. by having a diverse community no one stands out, get it. black, white or brown, rich, poor or working class. you know why people always bitch about riding the blue line but always say how rad it is to ride the subway in NY, see the above. lets not get in a tiff here, i hope that you see my point more clearly now.

and most of the problems that you're bringing up aren't being looked at as problems by the people on this board, just fyi. They're being looked at as benefits. Our city is dirt poor, ask the mayor if he wouldn't like to see more attention brought to our fine city to drive up revenue and give him and his staff more to work with. Having LB overcome it's piss poor reputation isn't a bad thing.

Bill you snuck that last comment in before i was done with mine, you sneaky bastard.

At first glance after reading your last reply i wanted to say "bill, you're a fuckin' moron!!" But i won't bill, i won't stoop to that level....yet.

Instead i will offer another perspective for you to consider.

The reason people complain about less desirables is because there is nothing else around to mask it out. Take DT, we have homeless people walking around, but the reason it's a big deal is because there isn't enough going on to mask it out. Same thing with the beach. Ever been to HB on a crowded weekend? Trust me there are less desirables that come from the lower socio/economic areas of the OC but they are masked by everyone else. that is diversity and diversity is good. For long beach to be one of the most diverse cities in the country, isn't it weird that it's not represented on the beach for example.

If you want to hide the white elephant in the room, activate the room with other shit that makes people forget about the big elephant, or look past it because they're having a great time.

Bill, for the record i grew up in Orange County, lived in HB, NB, etc. I have fond memories of surfing, swimming, beach parties, bonfires, moonlit makeout sessions, etc, etc. It's an amazing experience for a young kid. I feel bad for any family that lives near our "beach" that can't experience the same thing without packing up the car and having to drive to another city to get their fill of beach living.

Even though it's somewhat of a separate subject, in regards to retail in the DT we used to have good stores here, along the lines of what was mentioned above. They were incentivized, gave it a shot, then moved out because the area wasn't sustainable for them.

The solution won't come from just bringing in more people with more money. that's just a depressing waiting game. Great areas pop up around the world not because they sit around and wait for that one big fish so all the other fish can follow. Broadway and 4th street aren't getting better because people are waiting for a nordstroms to spring up. Sure, it's a different scale but you have to start somewhere to create momentum. there are no shortcuts to creating an authentic community vibe.

Ahhhh Bill, you must be one of our fine east long beach residents living on land that you think might be affected by the breakwater coming down. Or perhaps you're just negative for the sake of negative and you've given up on dreaming.

I'll take a stab at your questions.

Parking: Oil breached $110 a barrel. The future involves alternative modes of transport, stop thinking car and start thinking train, bus, bike, skateboard, scooters and the almighty two feet you stand on. If you really want parking, there is enough room down there to fit in parking, just like they do at other beaches.

Police: No problem. With all the extra tax money the beach drives i'm sure they can afford a few more Ponches and Johns. Same goes for lifeguards and paramedics. Just normal beach operations my friend.

Gangbangers: That same issue exists from here all the way up and through Santa Monica. It's not slowing them down.

The only thing keeping Long Beach the sleepy Iowa by the sea model are people that think like you and question things to death. To quote a great movie line "Get busy living, or get busy dying".

This could and will happen if everyone starts to believe in it and share in the vision...even you LB resident. Delong is a puppet. Sure his constituents have cards to play but the rest of the Long Beach have many more cards to play.

To Keith and the district, good work and keep up the pressure. To Long Beach residents, spread the word and fight the power!!

I can barely understand Rohrabacher. Kind of sad that he doesn't get it. Any company, and the US is a big company, knows that in order to compete on a global level you need to be able to hire the most talented people. It sucks that so many really smart people that could become the next homegrown microsoft are studying here and then being forced back to their side of the pond.

Perhaps Bill should just say look you douchebag, if i was Indian wouldn't you have wanted me here seeing as how i created Microsoft and the money/jobs/economic power that came along with it.

Isn't the developer for this project some schnook out of Texas. That whole thing down there is awful. It was long beach's knee jerk reaction to Irvine's spectrum development. Bad idea to begin with followed by poor execution = lamecity.com It's another thorn in the side of downtown and should be blown up.

Not all rich people make me sick but the kind of people mentioned in this story definitely make me sick. What home owner doesn't understand where his/her property starts and stops? Then when asked about the study you mentioned act like they had no clue they were doing anything wrong. Give me a break. Frank Colonna should be ashamed. Of all people that should know the law. Oh ya...he does know the law, but chooses to have a selective memory when it's favorable to him.

Q: How many old farts complaining about parking and traffic does it take to build a cool city?

A: None.

in parts i think you guys are serious and in other parts i see the humor. it's just a big joke right?

Please please keep the good ol' boys/girls out of office. The ones that have come up within the system and probably owe too many favors to the point where they won't be able to do a damn thing except for continue accepting the status quo. While it seems that every other city around the nation has used the past real estate push as a launching point into more thoughtful city development our city still looks the same if not worse. Only new developments are ones that everybody seems to hate like The Pike and City Place. What we need for Long Beach is a city manager with some balls. Somebody that's willing to take a stand and turn this place around so that we're no longer just the butt end of LA. If the entire general public seems to demand more from our city why don't the city employees follow suit. I vote for Chris Cole as well. Sounds like he has some cahonas.