🌱 El Dorado Park Duck Pond Hiatus + Ultimo Ave Vacant Lot Suit

Good morning, Long Beach; today is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day! It's Tuesday, so let's get you started with everything you need to know going on today in town.

It’s nesting season, which gives the City some breathing room to find $3 million. Also, there’s a suit about the City’s vacant lot fees. Finally, a shoutout to American driver Josef Newgarden, who won the Grand Prix IndyCar race.

First, today's weather:

Mostly sunny and breezy. High: 71 Low: 50.

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Here are the top five stories in Long Beach today:

1. El Dorado Park Duck Pond Update: We learned Monday that pond repairs are on hold while the birds are nesting, which puts the project on hiatus until August or September. In the meantime, the City is looking for $3 million to finish the project. For years, there have been pond leaks and overwhelmed aerators. The latest plan is for the City Council to “approve a grant application to the state Land and Water Conservation Fund Program for up to $3 million.” (Press-Telegram)
2. There’s a vacant lot on Ultimo Avenue. Since 2017, the City has charged an annual fee to owners of vacant lots, saying “it would discourage illegal dumping and blight and encourage property owners to turn their vacant plots into gardens and farms.” On Friday, the lot owner sued with the support of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. The suit alleges that there was no “proper notice to the public and approval by a majority of the affected property owners or by two-thirds of the electorate.” (My News LA)
3. The winner of Sunday's Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach IndyCar race is American driver Josef Newgarden. He successfully navigated 85 laps to come in ahead of France and Spain in second and third places respectively. While the course only measured 1.97 miles, it had 11 turns that required nerves of steel and plenty of strategic driving. (Fox 11)
4. Residents have until Wednesday to apply for the “Los Angeles County’s guaranteed income program, which will provide 1,000 randomly selected residents with $1,000 a month for three years—no strings attached.” Participating ZIP codes are parts of “90802, 90803, 90804, 90806, 90807, 90813, 90814, and 90815.” (LB Post)
5. Long Beach State hosted the 27th annual Challenger Cup event on Friday. “Cal State Fullerton’s track and field teams finished third in men’s and fourth in women’s scored events.” “Long Beach took first place in both men's and women’s events, while Santa Barbara finished second for both events and Irvine ended in third place for women’s events.” (Daily Titan)

Today in Long Beach:

• Parkinson’s Wellness Program Speech and Physical Therapy Class at the Long Beach Medical Center (10 AM)
• San Pedro Little Gatherers Kindness Easter Gathering at Averill Park (10 AM)
• Long Beach Chamber of Commerce Networking Luncheon at Parkers' Lighthouse (11:30 AM)
• 5 Costly Mistakes First-Time Authors Make For Book Publishing Webinar (4 PM)
• Game Night at Trademark Brewing (4:30 PM)

From my notebook:

• The Long Beach Firefighters assisted with a sheared fire hydrant over the weekend. That’s one way to stay cool after some extreme heat over the last couple of days 💦 🚒 (Facebook)
• Our Long Beach Poly neighbor lost their cat around 14th and Elm. Have you seen him? (Nextdoor)

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Thanks for following along and staying informed! I'll be in your inbox tomorrow morning with your next update.

— Sylvia Cochran

About me: Sylvia Cochran works out of sunny Southern California and has been freelance writing full-time since 2005. She loves dogs, cats, books, plays Best Fiends (don't judge), embraces social justice, and tries to live out Micah 6:8.