(Sept. 25, 2016, 10:45 a.m.) -- On August 15, 2016, LBREPORT.com made a request under the CA Public Records Act (CA Gov't Code section 6250 et seq.) seeking access to the following records:
All communications, reports, memos, texts, emails, videos, tapes, power-points, letters and the like from July 15, 2014 to date in the offices of the City of Long Beach's Department of Public Works, Traffic Engineer, Marine Safety Bureau, LBPD, LBFD and/or Councilwoman Suzie Price that concern, refer or relate to diagonal parking, a "road diet," lane narrowing or other traffic calming measures along portions of E. Ocean Blvd. The records requested include but aren't limited to traffic studies, safety studies, communications with constituents and/or current or prospective business owners/operators/developers or entities. [Scroll down for further below.] |
The CA Public Records provides in pertinent part:
On August 16, 2016, the City of Long Beach acknowledged receipt of our request by indicating it intended to take the maximum allowable statutory time: We received your request. Occasionally, when a request involves unusual circumstances or requires a search within several City facilities, our normal response time is delayed. Consequently, pursuant to the Government Code, we are extending the time within which to identify responsive records. We anticipate a response to your request on or before September 8, 2016. Thank you. We received nothing on Sept. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 or 18. On Monday Sept. 19, we contacted the City Attorney's office about this. Our experience in the past has been that the City Attorney's office is attentive and responsive when informed of Public Records Act issues. In recent days, we separately learned that the City Hall staffer who'd been handling records requests retired recently, so what happened may be a "fall through the cracks" snafu, but at this point we honestly don't know. During the interim delay, City Hall agendized an item for the Sept. 20 City Council's "consent calendar" (items with no discussion unless requested by a Councilmember or addressed by the public) that sought approval to allocate FY17 General Fund taxpayer dollars to various Council district projects, almost all benign or clearly consensed (tree stump removal, naming a bridge for a beloved local athletic figure.) But buried among the list of items were three line items allocating sums for the lane-erasing "road diet" and diagonal parking, which could then be implemented without further Council discussion or approval. LBREPORT.com blew the whistle. We reported the upcoming Council action here and here...and (to borrow a phrase from radio's Larry Elder) "the fit hit the shan." We reported what took place here. No, we still don't have the public records we requested. Yes, we'll report what City Hall's latest traffic engineer says. Yes, we'll report what the 3rd dist. Councilmember says, but we'll continue to pursue the public records behind their words. The public has a right to know how and why public officials spend public money as they do. The images below were prepared by city staff and provided to an area resident several weeks ago.
Developing. Opinions expressed by LBREPORT.com, our contributors and/or our readers are not necessary those of our advertisers. We welcome our readers' comments/opinions 24/7 via Disqus, Facebook and moderate length letters and longer-form op-ed pieces submitted to us at mail@LBReport.com.
blog comments powered by Disqus Recommend LBREPORT.com to your Facebook friends:
Follow LBReport.com with:
Contact us: mail@LBReport.com |
Hardwood Floor Specialists Call (562) 422-2800 or (714) 836-7050 |