Top News Stories from Long Beach

• While its tropical winds caused minor damage and flooding in Long Beach, Hurricane Earl attracted many spectators and some surfers to the beach and boardwalk on Sept. 3.

• The City of Long Beach in November started to install some 106 stop signs from the west to east ends after several accidents in recent years, some of them fatalities. The installation of all signs is expected by January.

• Closed nearly two years for reconstruction, the Indiana Firehouse in the West End reopened in October. 

• A six-story, 246-unit Shore Road apartment building was partially evacuated after a fire was discovered in the walls and floor between two units on Sept 21.

• A post-Christmas snowstorm dumped as much as two feet of snow in Long Beach and 50 mph winds created high snow drifts throughout the town, creating a snow emergency on Dec. 27.

• Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach) was elected to serve his 11^th term as representative of the 20th Assembly District, narrowly defeating Republican challenger Josh Wanderer on Nov. 2.

• City Manager Charles Theofan, City Council President Thomas Sofield Jr. and Corporation Counsel Corey Klein left the Nov. 3 City Council meeting after former city employee James Hodge alleged all three lied in regard to his lawsuits against the city that a judge had dismissed.

• Supporters of Long Beach Civil Service Commissioner Leary Wade defended him at a contentious City Council meeting on Sept. 7 after City Manager Charles Theofan had earlier asked Wade to resign, saying he pled guilty in City Court to violating building codes pertaining to an illegal occupancy and an illegal kitchen at two properties he owns.

• Long Beach firefighters battled and negotiated with City Manager Charles Theofan over a new minimal manning policy, instituted in September, regarding the number of firefighters required for each tour. The city has since resolved the issue by maintaining the previous number.

• Following years of neglect on repairs and maintenance, the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant started to release unlawful amounts of sewage into Reynolds Channel in March, and Long Beach island residents brought heightened attention to the problem in October and November. Plant administrators said that upgrades and new equipment will be installed in 2011.