ong Beach Mayor/Vice Mayor Mum, City Hall Releases Docs That Don't Show, Why Michelle Obama Didn't Attend Opening Ceremony For New Library Named In Her Honor...Although We Separately Learned She Was Likely In Palm Springs Area At The Time

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Long Beach Mayor/Vice Mayor Mum, City Hall Releases Docs That Don't Show, Why Michelle Obama Didn't Attend Opening Ceremony For New Library Named In Her Honor...Although We Separately Learned She Was Likely In Palm Springs Area At The Time

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(Nov. 13, 2016, 7:10 a.m.) -- Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia and Vice Mayor Rex Richardson remain publicly mum, and internal City Hall records provided under state law to LBREPORT.com, fail to disclose the response(s) of First Lady Michelle Obama and/or her White House office to the City's invitation to attend the opening ceremony of Long Beach's new library named (amid some community controversy) in her honor.

Records provided under the CA Public Records Act on November 10 (nearly two months after LBREPORT.com requested them) included no records of the response(s) by the First Lady's White House office to a March 21, 2016 invitation letter co-signed by the Mayor and Vice Mayor, who by July 2016 were reduced to inviting a White House staffer or some other WH representative to attend, who also wasn't visible at the Sept. 10 opening ceremony.

As separately learned and reported by LBREPORT.com, Mrs. Obama was apparently in the Palm Springs area at the time of opening ceremony, basically minutes away via her WH jet, independently spotted by KESQ-TV, Palm Springs as visibly parked at a Palm Springs area airport at the time.

[Scroll down for further.]

A letter dated March 21, 2016, on the letterhead of Mayor Garcia, co-signed by him and then-9th dist. Councilman/now Vice Mayor Rex Richardson, invited Ms. Obama to "a dedication ceremony to the Long Beach Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library in north Long Beach." It left the date open and indicated that Long Beach [city representatives] "will be in Washington, D.C. this April and would like the opportunity to meet with your staff to discuss the event, and explore a timeframe during the fall that would work with your schedule."

The City's letter continued in pertinent part:

After hearing countless testimony, especially testimony from children who have shared their admiration of you and the President, the Long Beach City Council voted to name the new library in north Long Beach after you on December 22, 2015. Our purpose is to inspire a new generation of leaders to read, learn and grow into the positive potential that we know is in each one of our young people.
...It is our sincerest hope that you will be able to visit and read to a few of our neighborhood kids. North Long Beach is a diverse community where the median age is just 29 years old, and the majority of the population is a vibrant mix of African American, and Latino families. We would be honored to welcome you to our great City.

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By late July, the City had sent an invitation to a White House staffer: Jerry Abramson, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. This letter, dated July 25 and also signed by Mayor Garcia and Vice Mayor Richardson, indicated a specific date and time for the ceremony (Sept. 10, 10:00 a.m.) and invited Mr. Abramson or "a representative from the White House" to the event. "We truly look forward to seeing you there," the letter said in its opening paragraph and included the same demographic text (above) as in the invitation to Ms. Obama.

On the eve of the event (Sept. 9), LBREPORT.com emailed Vice Mayor Richardson inquiring if Ms. Obama had accepted or declined the City's invitation. We received no response. LBREPORT.com also contacted the White House press office, where an intake person directed us to email our inquiry, which (with an event deadline coming) we declined to do and pressed to speak with a live person; in response, we were transferred to a voice mail extension where we left a request for information and received no response.

Over a thousand Long Beach residents attended the opening of the city's long awaited new North Long Beach library. LBREPORT.com provided extended VIDEO coverage of the opening ceremony here and showed the interior of the impressive new facility here.

As previously reported by LBREPORT.com, KESQ-TV, Palm Springs independently reported that there were reasons to believe the First Lady was in the Coachella Valley at the time, roughly 120 miles from Long Beach and only minutes away by the First Lady's White House jet, which KESQ reported was parked at a Palm Springs area airport.

Part of the City Council motion to name the library for Ms. Obama, offered by Vice Mayor Richardson, included the following text: "...Direct the City Manager to work with the White House to invite the First Lady to the city of Long Beach for a naming dedication ceremony..."

At the opening ceremony, no LB officials read any response or statement on behalf of the First Lady or the White House, and neither LB's Mayor nor Vice Mayor mentioned that part of the Council motion that directed the City to work with the White House to invite Ms. Obama to attend the dedication ceremony.

Just days after Mrs. Obama returned to Washington (apparently from Palm Springs), she embarked on a multi-city tour of campaign appearances on behalf of Dem Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

At mid-morning November 12, LBREPORT.com emailed the Mayor's Chief of Staff and Vice Mayor Richardson advising them that we were preparing this story; we received no responses as 7:00 a.m. November 13.