u/journo_brandon

Forgot to post yesterday, but got more info on the new security measures at Horny Corner:

For decades, Horny Corner has been the unofficial party zone for Long Beach locals and visitors alike, especially on summer holidays like the Fourth of July. The beach is often lined with pop-up tents and people drinking out of red Solo cups.

But this year, the Long Beach Police Department is cracking down on public consumption of alcohol and other prohibited activities, it said Thursday.

Friday morning, crews were seen setting up vehicle barriers and barricades at all entry points to Bay Shore Avenue, including at 54th Place, First Street, Division Street and Second Street. Visitors hoping to catch some rays and join in the festivities Saturday can only enter the area at Second Street and Ocean Boulevard, according to department spokesperson Eric Stachura.

“Private security, assisted by LBPD personnel, will staff the entrances to the beach area and conduct bag searches,” Stachura told the Watchdog in an email Friday. “All bags and coolers will be checked for prohibited items and prohibited items, including fireworks [which are illegal throughout the city], will not be allowed into the area.

“Anyone found in possession of prohibited items will not be allowed into the area,” Stachura added.
Alcohol is also prohibited on all Long Beach beaches, Stachura said, adding that if police or security catch people drinking "enforcement action will be taken.”

Open flame grills and portable barbecues are also not allowed, along with urinating or deficating in public, according to LBPD’s post.

The department is also cracking down on noise, including “loud parties and amplified music,” according to Stachura. When asked who determines what is considered “too loud,” Stachura said officers will make the assessment and dole out whatever enforcement action is applicable.

Last year, the department deployed a “large number of officers” and utilized vehicle barriers around the area, Stachura said. One resident who has lived adjacent to Horny Corner for eight years but declined to give his name told the Watchdog Friday that officers had a difficult time with crowd control last year and noted that more people are expected than usual, likely due to the cancellation of the popular Big Bang on the Bay fireworks show.

The barriers and bag checks are a new safety measure this year, Stachura said. Additionally, the department, with coordination with the Long Beach Fire Department, will keep track of the crowd size and will cut off entry once “capacity” is reached. It is unclear, however, what capacity is at Horny Corner.

“We anticipate the Bayshore beach area will reach capacity,” Stachura said, “so we encourage people to have alternative plans and locations to celebrate the holiday in the event they are denied entry.”

With the cleanup of thousands of gallons of oil from a spill last month ongoing, three companies have been cited for violations related to the incident.

On May 22, Camarillo Drilling was conducting drilling operations for a fiber optic line on behalf of HP Communications near the intersection of E. Cesar Chavez and Eastern avenues. Crews struck a 16-inch pipeline, which resulted in approximately 24,654 gallons of crude oil dumping into the street and storm drains — more than 10 times the initial estimates made by first responders at the time of the incident.

The oil soon made its way to Long Beach, where crews were seen cleaning up the river between Willow Street and Pacific Coast Highway.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District responded to three public complaints the day of the spill, including one report of a strong petroleum odor at Esteban E. Torres High School. Inspectors confirmed the odor and traced it back to the spill site, according to a June 18 press release.

In all, the agency received seven complaints related to the incident.

Following its investigation, AQMD issued both companies, as well as project management company Arcadian Infracom, with notices of violation under its Rule 402 and the California Health and Safety Code Section 41700, which prohibit “emissions that cause injury, nuisance, or annoyance to a considerable number of persons or to the public.”

“NOVs can result in civil penalties,” AQMD stated. “In some cases, facilities may take voluntary actions to reduce emissions or, otherwise, prevent future violations. If no settlement is reached, a civil lawsuit may be filed in superior court.”

Read the company responses and more about the cleanup effort, including impacts on wildlife, at the link.

I got additional info on last night’s military operation:

Helicopters, gunfire and explosions — southeast Long Beach was turned into a mock war zone Friday morning for a military training exercise.

At least a dozen troops descended upon the Golden Sails Hotel aboard numerous aircraft, with some repelling from a helicopter as it hovered over the hotel. Quickly after arriving, the sounds of explosions and gunfire filled the area.

Residents were not informed of the training exercise until social media posts by the city around 6:30 p.m. — less than six hours before the operation started around midnight. The exercise lasted for about an hour, according to witnesses.

In response to questions from the Watchdog about the operation in Long Beach, a U.S. Army Special Operations Command spokesperson responded with a prepared statement related to a similar exercise in Pasadena Thursday.

“The training was coordinated with the City of Pasadena as well as applicable law enforcement agencies to provide the most realistic training environment for U.S. Army Special Operations Forces and Aviation,” the statement reads. “Our ability to operate in various challenging environments is essential to being capable in the most challenging of missions. All safety precautions were observed. We appreciate the support of the citizens and residents in the surrounding areas who were impacted by the training.”

After being reminded that the request was for operations in Long Beach, the spokesperson sent a nearly identical response with the city name added.

The Long Beach Police Department was informed the military would conduct  a training exercise in Long Beach in April, according to department spokesperson Allison Gallagher. Last week, the department was given additional information but was barred from releasing details “to maintain operation sensitivity and security,” Gallagher said.

The LBPD did not inform other city officials until social media posts began surfacing regarding the Pasadena operation, according to Gallagher, who added the collective of city government collaborated “quickly on public messaging that could be released to advise residents of the forthcoming training exercise in Long Beach.”

The department was unable to compile the number of dispatch calls related to the military exercise, but said it will provide the information once it is available.

The hotel, which shuttered in November of last year, is located at 6285 E. Pacific Coast Highway, less than one mile from the Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center.

“I have Veteran spouse with PTSD. I'm sure he would have loved to have advance notice of this, and wished military thought of their own before planning these excursions,” Courtney Pettijohn wrote under the city’s Facebook post. “You can support our troops and still be pissed off, just like we are.”

The medical center did not respond to multiple requests for comment regarding the training, including whether it caused issues with patients or if they thought it appropriate to conduct such an exercise so close to a VA hospital.

Read the rest of the story at the link

Crews are hard at work up and down the Los Angeles River, including multiple spots in Long Beach, cleaning up after thousands of gallons of crude oil leaked from a ruptured pipeline in East LA Friday.

LA County firefighters responded to a hazmat incident near E. Cesar Chavez and N. Eastern avenues around 3:20 a.m. According to California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Kristina Werner, the spill occurred when a telecommunications company crew installing fiber optic cables drilled too deep and ruptured a 16-inch pipeline 10 feet underground.

It took about 30 minutes for the valve to be shut off, according to multiple reports. Early reporting stated 2,400 gallons of crude oil spilled into the East LA intersection, but Werner said that was just an initial estimate by the first crew at the scene and that the department doesn’t “have an actual figure” at this point.

From the streets, the oil made its way to storm drains and, eventually, the LA River. Now, crews at numerous locations are working on the cleanup effort.

“What we did was attack this aggressively, so there are multiple crews at multiple spots up and down the river,” Werner told the Watchdog in an interview Sunday. “Obviously, our main goal is to keep this to the river.”

The name of the telecommunications company that employed the crew that ruptured the pipeline has not been released, according to Werner.

In Long Beach, the cleanup work is focused primarily at Willow Street where a crew of more than two dozen people are removing oil using special pads that do not absorb water but that the oil sticks to. A smaller cleanup is also taking place at Pacific Coast Highway after a small breach at Willow, according to Werner.

A collection boom also has been deployed at Golden Shore “out of an abundance of caution,” according to Long Beach officials.

*More to the story at the link.*