MacArthur Park Neighborhood Pledge

Because we can't clean trash everywhere, I wanted to give the residents of MacArthur Park a chance to do something small. This pledge is simply an agreement to keep your home and the area immediately surrounding it litter free as well as keeping an eye out for your neighbor's safety.

It sounds like a small thing, but if every neighborhood resident did it, neighborhood cleaning would go much quicker, bussinesses would benefit and our safety would almost be ensured.

My Pledge For A Safe And Clean MacArthur Park Neighborhood

1. I promise to do my part to keep my home, the nearby sidewalks, yard and immediate alley ways litter free.
2. I promise to sweep/ rake fallen leaves, trim grass and clear weeds within a reasonable time frame.
3. I will keep my eye open for the safety of my neighbors and my community.
4. I will make an effort to support my local businesses, schools and neighborhood parks when I have the time and resources.
5. I will keep my home free of graffiti and larger dumped trash. Remember the Go Long Beach Ap, can be used if you need help with either, at no cost.

How do I submit the pledge?

Simply email me that you are taking the pledge.
Please include your name and address you are taking the neighborhood pledge for. A dot will be added to the map above in the general vicinity where the pledge was taken.

I am adding a few dots to represent the people who have not officially taken the pledge but I have seen, on much more than one occasion, make an active attempt to keep the neighborhood clean, especially when they go well beyond their own property line.

And our goal is to fill that map with green dots.

If anyone outside the boundaries of the MacAthur Park Neighborhood [PCH to Anaheim and Junipero to Orange] takes the pledge, we will give that Long Beach resident credit on a larger Google Map that covers all of Long Beach.

Sunday Safety Update: 04/19-2015 - 04/26/2015

Our crime free month has come to an end with a string of car thefts down walnut. There were also car thefts in Rose Park and virtually everywhere else on the crime reports map. Note: ours came on the same day when there was a string of tagging along 15th street from Walnut to the other side of Orange. There was also tagging that same day down Walnut from 15th. The tagging on that street was black in color and probably from the Crips Gang. There was also reported tagging on Altimos in red from the East Side Longs.

You will notice around the same time a pattern of car thefts following the V in the map. On the other side of Orange, since none of the streets are connecting the person responsible was more than likely coming from Altimos Blvd, the only street that closely connects all incidents. Please follow the link to keeping your car safe one more time. Be on the look out for any more tagging along major arteries like 14th or 15th street. And remember you can use the Go Long Beach App to make tagging vanish virtually over night.

There was also an officer involved shooting on the south side of Anaheim close to a storage facility. You can find the full details here. 

On Thursday, April 23, 2015, at approximately 2:45 P.M., officers responded to a residential multi-unit complex in the 1100 block of Hoffman Avenue regarding a report of several subjects unlawfully trespassing and vandalizing inside a vacant residence which resulted in an officer involved shooting. 

This is the second death in the area this year. While it is tragic, I think we should also give the police credit from bringing the numbers way down. Also the loitering at Orange and 17th, seems to have been brought to a halt. The first was the stabbing at Cabrillo on the west side of the 710. In this latest shooting, it was one of five suspects who were killed while engaging in criminal activity including vandalism, gang tagging and breaking and entering.

Gardenia Clean Up PCH to 14th Finished

Today there was an announced clean up of Gardenia Street from PCH to 14th. Because I had more volunteers we were able to get up a lot of the leaves lining 17th street. The Go Long Beach App was used to schedule pick ups for the bigger items that could not be fitted into the cans.

The Results: Litter that was removed from Gardenia today

Thank you to all the volunteers that came out. Also it was nice to meet the members of WESCA and the city workers involved with Litter Free Long Beach at the earlier clean up on Orizaba.

There will be no street cleaning next Saturday as I will be in Arizona for two days. We will resume at 10am on 05/08/2015 where this started about a month ago at 15th and Cherry. There is a chance there may be some city involvement in the future, which will hopefully give us a little more room than the four rolling trash cans.

I don't really have any before and after pictures because honestly Gardenia wasn't that bad.

Long Beach police involved in shooting after responding to report of trespassers

An officer-involved shooting took place today in the Cambodia Town neighborhood of Long Beach after police responded to a report of several trespassers tagging a vacant apartment.

The shooting resulted in a 19-year-old man being hit by gunfire. He was taken to a hospital and was in critical condition as of about 7 tonight, according to Long Beach Police Sgt. Megan Zabel.

Read the whole story at the Press Telegram.

* The MacArthur Park Neighborhood extends our thanks to both those who reported the tagging and the Long Beach PD. As much as this is bad news, the lat two incidents of violence in our neighborhood resulted in the perpetrators being led away in handcuffs. That's what happens when neighbors keep their eye open and watch out for each other..

Recent Update/ With Suspect Names

Both the below LB resources will eliminate any tagging free of charge. And they work quickly.

You can quickly rid yourself of any graffiti by using the Go Long Beach App.

Or just call the Graffiti Abatement Hotline.

(562) 570-2773

Because What Helps Your Neighbors Helps You

The MacArthur Park Neighborhood will be sending a little help this way before their own clean up begins at PCH and Gardenia at 10am.

West Division Leadership Forum: In Review

Too many 4th of July calls to field

Tonight at 1900 Atlantic Ave around fifty concerned community members of West Division met to discuss crime and safety in their neighborhoods. The West Division recently merged with the South Division making it one of Long Beach's largest divisions. It currently encompasses a network of neighborhoods including: MacArthur Park, the AOC7, Altimos Beach,  East Village, Wrigley, Downtown, Roosevelt and the Washington Neighborhoods.

The meeting began with a presentation focused on communication and questions about the 911 dispatch center. The presentation began with facts about response times based on the severity of the report. According to the presenter calls are broken down into three levels of severity, with level one receiving the fastest response time: usually just a few minutes. 

Because the majority of concerns I see posted on Nextdoor were about response time, here was a direct answer to questions about how long it may take 911 to pick up a call.

According to the presenter normally calls are picked up on the second ring. However, if the call comes in late at night when less officers are manning the phones and a lot of citizens may be calling in about the same thing, it may take a little longer to sort through all the calls. In other words, if there are gun shots at 2am and twenty people call in about it, someone will have their call fielded last and may experience a longer wait time.

Much of the meeting centered on remaining a "hard target" for trending crimes. If you follow this blog you already know that trend is auto theft. Commander Smith did say that owners of older model Hondas and Toyotas should be on higher alert. Also it was stated most of these crimes are happening later at night, around midnight. Questions bout how to protect yourself from other trending crimes, like the theft of catalytic converters, were not greeted with answers.

You can find out how insurance companies have answered these questions, since the problem does affect their bottom line.

Questions that came from the community ranged from concerns about abandoned vehicles with expired registration and compliments to neighbors who had thwarted recent theft attempts. One comment that stood out was how a group of neighbors wanted to host a movie night of the lawn of the neighbor who helped stopped a neighborhood theft. The reason was two-fold: to say thank you and to get the neighbors out and talking to each other. The more people in your neighborhood that come together, the safer it will be. And ideas like this would bring out people who may not show up at volunteer opportunities like neighborhood clean ups. 

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Question: What can I do for my neighborhood to quiet things down on the 4th of July?

Answer: You got me. Probably nothing.

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My biggest disappointment with the meeting was Commander Smith's answer to how can we bring the noise down on the 4th of July, which was unacceptable in my neighborhood last year. To sum up the answer I got from Commander Smith [I am paraphrasing here]: 

You got me. There are too many calls. It's the fault of the neighboring cities that sell them. You can only put up so many signs. Get used to it being uncomfortably loud.

With my respect and admiration to the officers who have done wonderful things for my neighborhood most of us will never know about because we aren't the ones dealing with them, that's not an answer I am willing to accept.

* Update: City council representatives from district 4 and 5 attended the meeting. If there were any representatives from District Two or Six, they were never introduced. Both District Two and Six are served by West Division so they should be present at its meetings. This is important to know because part of the meeting is to report crime trends and measure community involvement. f your council member does not show up and does not send any representative, the consequences for your district are clear.

West Division Leadership Forum

Opportunities To Get Involved: This forum is an opportunity for community and business leaders to become engaged with the Long Beach PD.

West Division Leadership Forum: Keep MacArthur Park Involved

Sunday Safety Update: #5

MacArthur Park Safety Update 5:  There were a few stolen cars on the 5th, most of them south of 15th street. Keep an eye on the cars at heavily trafficked intersections like 15th and Walnut, and Peterson or Grundy close to the park. There were also two incidents on Rose close to the metro station. Remember one side is not lined with any homes so it's only watched from across the street. 

The map above is from April 4th until April 19th 2015. A good majority of the vehicle thefts took place on a Saturday or on the days just before or after. Also, in a lot of cases, more that one vehicle is stolen in more than one place on the same day.

Notice you can see the pattern of burglaries on Anaheim before the city announced anyone was arrested for them.  You can also see a string of assaults clustering around Altimos Blvd and Anaheim. So keep your eye open for strangers when you're walking alone close to the Salvation Army Thrift Store. Everything that happened there was between 11am and 6pm, so don't assume you only have to pay close attention when walking through the area at night.

Because the MacArthur Park neighborhood was crime free for about a week, I am relinking to the neighborhood's biggest problem, the article about preventing car thefts. The Long Beach PD also has a ton of articles on crime prevention. Since Anaheim was having a problem with burglary, here is their publication on burglary prevention. If you see something suspicious the non emergency number is: (562) 435-6711. You can find all other important numbers in the District Six Phone Book.

* Safety Updates will be published every Sunday breaking down the MacArthur park into noticeable patterns of criminal activity. The purpose is make patterns clear so residents know what to keep their eyes open for to best prevent them.

Warner Street Is Clean

This morning there was an unannounced clean up of Warner Street from PCH to Anaheim. At least one side of the street also had most of the fallen leaves swept up as well. 

Because I had the time to get the leaves, there were two bags of trash this time. Below you see an example of what one resident of MacArthur Park did with their landscaping to conserve water.

Next Saturday, 04/25/2015, Gardenia street will be cleaned up. The meeting point will be Gardenia and PCH at 10am. Rolling trash cans, trash bags, iron claws, bottled water, brooms and this time around small rakes will be provided. Thank you to every resident along Warner who showed any appreciation for the clean up. By the way, today that was a lot of people. 

You can follow the cleanup schedule by following this link.

Peterson Cleanup Finished: 15th to Anaheim

Creative Landscapes

Today Peterson Street was cleaned up from 15th to Anaheim. There will be an unannounced cleaning of Warren Street tomorrow, mostly because I intended to get Warren today but just did not have the time to clean up that much trash and attend the second meeting of the Anaheim Re visioning Project.

Thank you to all the neighbors along Peterson, 14th and 15th street that simply took the time to say thank you for the gesture. Below you can see a before and after picture of Peterson where it approaches Anaheim Street.

There could also be a little more attention to the walkway around Mark Twain Library where Peterson approaches Anaheim. You can see the side by side of the library's before and after picture on the Next Door posting.

Before and After

Next week, on Saturday 04/25/2015 at 10am, there will be an announced cleaning of Gardenia from PCH to Anaheim. The meeting place will be at PCH and Anaheim. Volunteers are welcome. Provided will be four rolling garbage cans, iron claws, gloves, brooms and bottled water. See the clean up schedule on the neighborhood cleanup page.

Trash removed from Peterson Street Today

El Sauz Restaurant Restaraunt Review

El Sauz Restaurant is a Mexican Food restaurant located at 1616 Anaheim Street. That's on the South side of Anaheim and Walnut. The restaurant has comfortable seating, decent food and pleasant service.

The cheese enchiladas and the main course I had were almost as good as you would find at most major chains. The picture on the left is an accurate depiction of the portion size, very generous for the price.

It took the server a while to seat me. I think this was a communication gap. Regular customers seem to seat themselves at any available table. My impression was the server expected I knew this, but it's not the way I am used to being seated in most restaurants.

On the inside, El Sauz Restaurant is quiet, clean and friendly; It's easy to hold a conversation or meeting. And the servers took care of our orders quickly and politely. The one huge weakness I saw were the complimentary chips and salsa. I love good salsa. The salsa was average at best and the chips were just a little stale. I realize that was the complimentary part of the meal, but it's also their customer's first impression. There are people who do not give you a chance at a second impression.

Overall, I would call El Sauz Restaurant a three star restaurant, with pretty good main course meals. It can also boast fast friendly service and good seating. That said, there's definitely still a little room to improve. 

1st MacArthur Park Neighborhood Association Meeting:

MacArthur Park Neighborhood Association Meeting: 04/17/2015: 6:30pm. El Sauz Restaurant. 1616 E Anaheim St, Long Beach, CA 90813. [close to Walnut and Anaheim]

FB: Events Page

https://www.facebook.com/events/615387511924811/

1st MacArthur Park Neighborhood Association Meeting

Tomorrow at 6:30pm

1616 E Anaheim St, Long Beach, CA 90813

Continued Anaheim Re-visioning Meetings

The purpose of the following meetings is to give the public a say in the effort to bring better foot traffic to Anaheim Street in Cambodia Town between Junipero and Atlantic. Anyone who wants to take part in the re-visioning process is encouraged to attend all upcoming meetings; the city wants the public's input.

Information Session/Stakeholder Strategy Session
Saturday, April 18, 12:00 pm – 2:30 pm, Mark Twain Library Auditorium, 1401 E. Anaheim St.

First Town Hall Community Meeting
Saturday, June 6, 12:00 pm – 2:30 pm, Mark Twain Library Auditorium, 1401 E. Anaheim St.

Second Town Hall Community Meeting
Saturday, July 25, 2:30 – 5:00 pm, Mark Twain Library Auditorium, 1401 E. Anaheim St.

Guest Review: Stem Reap Cambodia Town by Jeff Leon

Siem Reap Cambodian Restaurant 1810 East Anaheim St. Long Beach, CA 562-591-7414 Cambodian cuisine has elements of Vietnamese and Thai food, yet from overlapping palettes of flavors and ingredients comes distinct mélanges of tastes, textures, and aromas. 

The menu may look a bit unfamiliar but the staff are used to serving first timers and they are always ready to describe a dish or make a recommendation. The Cambodian national dish, “amok trey” is a gingery, delicate tasting coconut fish curry served in a coconut. The fish melts in your mouth. 

Cambodian hot and sour soup is a different beast from the Chinese soup of the same name. The taste is a bit lighter, a bit more sour, and less peppery. I’ve had this dish in Cambodia and the house hot and sour soup here did not disappoint. A boba drink for dessert tops off the meal. The prices at Siem Reap are reasonable and the service is good. For me, Siem Reap Restaurant was the first place I tried Cambodian food. It’s a good place for anyone to try Cambodian food.

Jeff Leon: Jeff is a musician and comedian who has appeared in New York, California and on Last Comic Standing. You can check out Jeff's comedy at his website by clicking on his name.

Annual Cambodian New Years Parade And Festival 2015

The morning started with my suspension giving out. So I walked to the festival. Fortunately, I live less than a mile away; so it wasn't that bad. 

The parade began at about 11:00am with the Cambodian Coordinating Council. What followed was a mash up of flags, entertainers, dancers, police, politicians, local businesses, religious organizations and youth groups. The parade itself spanned from Cherry to Warren and then rounded MacArthur Park. 

Afterwards many of the performers in the parade took to the stage.

The Festival featured authentic Cambodian food, entertainment and cultural vendors. The event was co-hosted by  sixth-district city council member Dee Andrews. In addition to Andrews, mayor Robert Garcia and Congresswoman Janice Hahn. According to local residents the turn out was at least twice the turn out last year. 

The festival is the largest concentration of Cambodians outside of Cambodia, showcasing the community’s cultural heritage and thriving community businesses and non-profit organizations. It kicked off the celebration of Cambodian New Year 2559.

Okay, now I feel old. 

More Festival Pictures Here

Two Words

It's more effective to change your surroundings than to wish someone would change them for you.

The Cambodian New Year's Celebration Is Tommorrow

In the coming few months, many MacArthur Park residents will be coming together to make Cambodia Town more inviting and walkable. Tomorrow, LA Sparks will be joining us this year for the Cambodia Town Culture Festival at MacArthur Park, right after the Cambodian New Year Parade! Make sure you make your way over this Sunday, April 12th, 2015 to MacArthur Park. In the meantime, you can also show your support by liking Cambodia Town's Facebook Page. 

14 Street Clean Up Cherry to Orange Is Done

It took a little longer than I wanted, but 14th street is litter free. At least for now. I still have enough supplies for more neighbors to get involved. Every clean up participants will be provided with gloves, rolling cans, iron claws, bottled water and soda if you request request it. Next week I will be getting Peterson and Warren. The starting location will be Peterson and 15th at 10am on Saturday 04/18/2015. 

I also encourage all my neighbors to partner with the AOC7 for their cleanup on 11th street which is happening the same day at 8:30am. There are no before and after pictures because 14th street was clean enough, even by MacArthur Park there was no place to get a great shot. In other words, the neighborhood is starting to clean itself up a little.

Reminder: 14th Street starting at Cherry ending at Orange. 10am.

Reminder there will be a 14th Street starting at Cherry ending at Orange. 10am. I will be pro0viding all supplies. An events page was also created on Facebook this time. The idea here is to build up enough MacArthur Park Neighborhood volunteers by doing this every Saturday at 10am until I have a long enough list to get the city involved. 14th street is bad, so hopefully some help will show up. All clean up materials will be provided including rolling trash cans, iron claws, garbage bags, brooms and dustpans [for broken glass bottles] and bottled water.

New District 6 Phone Book

A one page phone list was created for anyone residing in Long Beach's 6th District. If the number is left out, there is a link to where you can find it.

Rosa Park's Park Cleaned Up

Today from 8:30am to 10am, Rosa Park's Park was cleaned up. Additionally, Orange from 15th to PCH and Barcelona were cleared of trash. 

This weekend, Saturday at 10am, 14th Street. The start point will be 14th and Cherry. 10am start time. I could use help. 14th Street is pretty bad, especially by Cherry.

All cleaning supplies will be provided. Below is how much trash has been cleared out of MacArthur Park over the last five days. That amount could easily multiply by ten with just a little help. It would be really nice to see more people get involved.

Rose, Orange, Barcelona, Rosa Park's Park, 16th, Grundy, Balley, Walnut Way

Tomorrow There Will Be Was An Unannounced Cleaning Of Rosa Park's Park

And I am announcing it

Call it park of Spring Cleaning @ 8:30am. By the end of the week, I intend for every major street to have had the trash picked up. Also a MacArthur Park Neighborhood Association was just created on Next Door, take the time join it.

The neighborhood is also only five members away from it's first goal, 75 members; personally, I'd like to see 100. Let's start building a better neighborhood now.

Also, I added drug recovery centers into the neighborhood resource map. A lot of local violence is drug related. Anything that makes getting help easier, will help everyone.

Two Nearby Cleanups You Can Take Part In

CVHD Neighborhood Clean Up

1203 E 8th St

Step Up to help 

8:30am Start Time

 Craftsman Village Historic District

AOC7 Neighborhood Clean Up

1811 E 11th Street

8:30am Start Time

Unscheduled Cleanup of Walnut Way. 16th and Balley

There was an unscheduled clean up of Walnut Way, 16th and Balley. Like Rose these were three of the cleanest streets in the MacArthur Park Neighborhood.  Also re-cleaned was a small stretch of 17th street between Gaviota and Walnut.

Because of this I also cleared the trash from half of the alley connecting 16th Street and the Balley. I will get the rest of that alley soon. 

Again, the next scheduled clean up is this Saturday on 14th Street. Meet at Cherry and 14th at 10am, all cleaning supplies will be provided.

There Was An Announced Clean Up On Rose Street

Today there was an announced clean up on Rose Street beginning at 10am and ending at 12pm. The clean up covered Rose starting at Anaheim and ending at PCH in the MacArthur Park neighborhood. 

Actually, Rose was probably one of the cleaner streets in the neighborhood.

64 gallons of trash was cleaned off Rose Street

I took some before and after pictures. Unfortunately, the best set of before and after locations, I forgot to take the after picture. Sorry. It was hot outside.

There were volunteers that showed up early. My thanks for trying to participate. I am sorry about the missed communication about start times.

Glass removed, less chance this turns into a flat tire

Next week, I will be getting 14th street starting at Cherry and ending at Orange. If there is as much trash as I expect, the cleaning may need to be divided into two days. But I will be trying for that entire stretch of 14th.

Unless there is a neighborhood meeting that day, most scheduled/ announced street cleanings will begin at 10am. I always try to be at the start up site 10 minutes early..

See the clean up schedule here.

Preventing Car Theft In The MacArthur Park Neighborhood

In order to create a safer neighborhood crime stats from crime reports most of the crime for the MacArthur Park Neighborhood is car theft. In the past month alone there have been ten. So, here's all the wisdom about car preventing car theft in a single place. The top month cars are stolen is July and August. 

Of those cars stolen only 52% are recovered. Short of installing a Lojack system on all the older cars, how can we bring down those numbers? Let's start with the cars that are stolen the most often: During 2013, according to the NICB, with total units cited:

Here are the most common cars that may get stolen: 


What Cars Get Stolen?

1. Honda Accord
2. Honda Civic
3. Chevrolet Silverado
4. Ford F-150
5. Toyota Camry
6. Dodge Ram Pickup
7. Dodge Caravan
8. Jeep Cherokee
9. Toyota Corolla
10. Nissan Altima

The Nissan Altima: A Target for Theives

Top-selling older cars are stolen far more often than brand new cars. This may be because many newer models come with very effective anti theft devices. Older cars are typically taken to chop shops where they are dissected into replacement components which are later marketed on Internet sites and/or sold to unscrupulous auto-parts dealers.

In McArthur Park, especially on Anaheim you will notice a lot of smaller car shops.

Sometimes, thieves steal the car, sometimes they just break in. Be aware radios and wheel covers aren't the only thing thieves may take. The most popular targets are: engine, transmission, air bags, radios, GPS units, iPods, laptops, and purses.

You can't do something to protect the entire list. You can hide your valuables.

How Do You Stop The Car Thieves?

Here are some ways to prevent car theft:

1. Many insurers suggest keeping your registration in a secret place in the car so thieves can't produce proof of registration.
2. Don't leave the keys in the ignition, the car running and double check to see the doors are locked.
3. When parked, never leave your keys in the car. Close all the windows and the sunroof if you have one.
4. Avoid leaving valuables inside your vehicle where they can be seen.
5. Park in a well lit area. Some neighbors park in front of my building because I have security cameras.
6. Have your car’s vehicle identification number (VIN) etched on each of the windows. Car thieves want to get off cheap. They don’t want to go to the expense of replacing all the glass.
7. Put on your parking brake and turn the wheels turned toward the curb or some other obstruction. This makes it harder for thieves to tow your vehicle.
8. f you see someone loitering around the parking lot, it’s best to park somewhere else. Walk a few extra steps if you think safety is an issue.

What Do I Do If My Car Is Stolen?

Auto Theft Has Been Decreasing Since 1991

First make sure your car is actually stolen. On more than one occasion I was in the wrong parking lot and jumped to the conclusion my car was taken. 

Maybe you parked on a different level, or in a different row. Also there are other reasons your car might be gone. Did you park next to a hydrant, in a red zone, in the handicapped space or in a loading and unloading only zone?  You may want to check the police impound before you assume it was theft.

If it was stolen, call the police immediately. Most crimes that get solved, get solved in the first 48 hours, so call ASAP and improve the odds you'll get your car back. After calling the police, ask any people in the area if they saw what happened.

If your car is stolen, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) recommends you give the following information to the police:

1. The year, make, model and color of the car and the license plate number
2. Approximate time the car was stolen
3. Description of anyone you saw loitering around your car before it was stolen
4. Names of witnesses
5. Check online places like eBay and Criags List. In some cases, people have found their own car up for sale on these sites.

What About Anti-Theft Devices?

In order of how effective they are, here are the basic anti theft devices.

The passive immobilizer is now standard equipment on 98% of General Motors' light duty vehicles and nearly all of the new Fords. These immobilizers use a key that contains a computer chip which communicates with the car's engine.

Vehicle Tracking/ ALA Lojack.Even if a thief steals your car, new vehicle tracking technologies can get it back again. The least expensive form of vehicle tracking is “VIN etching.” The more expensive tracking devices are electronic and offer a real-time location of the stolen vehicle using Global Positioning Systems (GPS). These are sold with service contracts, and have a reputation for relocating many vehicles a mere hour after they have been stolen.

Kill Switch: This anti-theft device can be activated to shut down part of the engine's electrical system. (I know you’ve seen this used in “bait cars” on the “COPS” TV show.) Some cars have them built in, and they are pretty easy to install. 

Car alarms feature electronic sensors designed to activate when a vehicle is breached: unauthorized entry, breaking of glass, sudden movement, and perimeter violations. When a threat is detected by the sensors, a siren activates (at over 120 dBs), alerting the car’s driver and everyone else within earshot.

Mechanical Immobilizers are the least expensive car anti-theft devices, designed to restrict access to or movement of the vehicle. The biggest advantage of mechanical immobilizers is their highly visual appearance, which should ward off amateur car thieves, but not the pros. Police authorities recommend including one of these in conjunction with other anti-theft devices.  There are also hood clamps, wheel clamps and steering wheel locks.

The FBI says car thefts are back on a downward trend after seeing a slight increase in 2012. The FBI predicts its final 2013 statistics (to be pasted later this year) will see a 3.2 percent reduction Let's also bring those numbers down in the MacAthur Park Neighborhood..

Spring Cleaning Begins On Grundy

There was an unannounced street cleaning on Grundy from PCH to Anaheim this morning. Ester was also covered from Grundy to Orange. As per the recommendation of a previous neighborhood clean up volunteer, before and after pictures were taken, just so that it's clear this is making a difference.

Tomorrow, 04/04/2015 at 10am, there is an announced cleaning of Rose Street from Anaheim to PCH. Meet at Anaheim and Rose if you want to participate in building a nicer neighborhood. All cleaning supplies including gloves will be provided. Since I am off for Spring Break this week there will probably be a few additional unannounced neighborhood cleanups. I won't post about the unannounced cleanings again until next Saturday.

Check for announced Saturday upcoming neighborhood clean ups here.

To the right, is the amount of trash removed from Grundy and Ester. That's about 64 gallons, or the amount that was taken from 17th street last week.

There will also be a big clean up on 14th street in two weeks, 14th street is arguably the street that needs this the most. Hopefully, there will be a few volunteers, or it may take me all day.

Central Long Beach Neighborhood Resource Map

This is a map of all the neighborhood resources in central Long Beach. It includes neighborhood associations in the 2nd and 6th District. Also included is neighborhood resources as well as homeless, medical, cultural and charity services. They are color coded by district. and service type.

The map also contains areas that match up with Next Door's neighborhood divisions. Each rectangle contains a little more about that neighborhood and the best links that support it. I will be adding more neighborhood associations and services as I find them.

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Annual Cambodia Town Culture Festival

Facebook Events Page

In Response To The Press Telegram About The Deadly 90813 Zip Code

The Press Telegram recently ran an article about the 90813 zip code being Long Beach's deadliest zip code. The problem is they are using statistics from ten years ago. In order to be useful to residents of the area, you need to see how things are changing, be it for the better or the worse.

Breakdown of what the numbers say

1. The amount of homicides in Long Beach has declined 76% over 15 years. 
2. The number of homicides in 90813 has decreased over the last three years
3. A map of those homicides shows a heavier cluster south of Anaheim Street.
4. The percentage that represents of Long Beach homicides has fluctuated as the number of homicides in Long Beach has went up and  down since 2011.
5. The number of homicides so far in 2015 in the 90813 zip code was zero as of February 28th, 2015.

The article for the Press Telegram states there have been 110 homicides in the 90813 zip [Central Long Beach], second only to the 90805 zip code, which serves long beach. 

The 90813 gets a worse rap because  because 56 - 58% remain unsolved. In Long Beach overall, about 38% of all homicides go unsolved. A twenty two percent higher unsolved murder rate for the 90813 zip code does look exceptionally bad.

An objective look at three years of numbers:

Long Beach Police have detailed statistics going back around three years. They have less detailed statistics for the last 15. 

Over the last 15 years the murder rate in Long Beach is down by 76%. Violent crime is down by 51% and property crime is down 51%. That said, if homicides are down 76% over 15 years, it's reasonable to infer they are down for every zip code in Long Beach. So overall, that's positive news for Long Beach and inconclusive news/ but probably positive news for the 90813 zip code.

Now, over the last three years, I can break it down crime stats by zip code. And if you look at 90813 over the last three years, there are some bright spots and there are also some patterns. 

Understanding The Homicide Map Above

The above map tracks homicides in from 2012 until 2014. If you see a green dot there was a homicide in 2014. If you see a blue dot, a homicide took place there in 2013. If you see a red dot, a homicide took place in 2012. 

No homicides were mapped above PCH or below 7th street, as that would be out of the 90813 zip code. 

In 2014, there were a total of 23 homicides in Long Beach; The 90813 experienced about 26% of those homicides as there are 6 blue dots. While the city as a whole did experience less murders, 90813 did not. That's neutral news as the city itself saw an overall decrease, but 90813 didn't do any better than last year.

In 2013. the city experienced 33 homicides.  The 90813 zip code experienced 6. That was approximately 18% of all the homicides in Long Beach. While Long Beach's homicide rate was up, the homicide rate in the 90813 murder rate was 25% less than the previous year. That is positive news for the 90813 zip code overall.

In 2012, there were a total of 30 homicides. The 90813 zip code experienced 8. That was about 26% of all homicides in Long Beach that year. That's seems negative because 2012 saw 20% more homicides than the previous year. This doesn't tell you anything about 2012 except it experienced more homicides in the 90813 zip code than the year that followed. Stats for the previous year are not available to compare to 2012.

What Do These Numbers Really Say

Overall, that's an inconclusive analysis of the last three years at best. You really can't even tell from the map if the problem is clustering in certain blocks because there are almost as many single dots as there are clusters. All you can say for certain is the numbers are going down and the occurrences seem to be evenly spread. There is one place where there is some very good news. If you're wondering about the homicide rate in 2015. So far it's two as of February 28th and neither took place in the 90813 zip code.

Update. As of 04/01/2015, the numbers are not yet published for March. However, this morning I saw this bad news in the Long Beach Website feed.  I believe this will fall in the 292 reporting grid. Since this is three years in a row for that grid, you fight this by starting neighborhood watches in that area and taking your neighborhood back.

2nd Update: Based on conversations with police, this was not a shooting, it appears it was a homeless man who died from alcohol poisoning.