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Doug Krikorian / Viewpoint

Frankly, I'm Surprised Long Beach Chief Of Police Robert Luna Didn't Think A Contingent Of Extraterrestrials From Another Galaxy Was Responsible For The LB Crime Wave

Mr. Krikorian, an award winning journalist and author of two books, earned multiple awards in his 22 years of writing for the Long Beach Press-Telegram and 22 years for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. He is happily retired.



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(March 22, 2021) -- Not a day passes now in Long Beach without a shooting, or a murder, or some sort of vile criminal activity transpiring, which, alas, long has been endemic to a sprawling metropolitan city with a population that exceeds a half million.

The only difference these days in the great LB is that such phenomena are on the dramatic uptake---31 percent higher than a year ago---with our local City Hall leaders blithely accepting such a harrowing reality by doing nothing decisively about it.

Oh, the Long Beach City Council, whose members deservedly are known in this communiqué as the 9 Unworthies, in early February commissioned the LB chief of police, Mr. Robert Luna, to dispense a report on the increasing crime wave under his watch which descended to the dark abyss in that infamous 2020 Great Memorial Day Plunder & Pillage Festival in which 210 businesses were looted in downtown LB.

Well, Mr. Luna, who ordered 50 of his officers to stand down in the early part of that horrifying rampage, has come up with a compelling reason for this scary crime increase after careful deliberation and intense research.

I figured for sure he would point to the depletion of his once mighty department that has had 20 percent of its force eliminated in recent times by horribly misguided budget cuts---from around 950 officers down to the present level of 750.

I drive around LB all the time, and it's become conspicuous to me the absence of police vehicles on the streets, as cars routinely now exceed the speed limits throughout the city, especially on major thoroughfares such as 2nd Street, Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach Blvd., Carson Street, Ocean Blvd., Studebaker Road, etc., etc., etc.

In the good old days when cops were a noticeable presence in LB, you'd routinely see them pulling over cars and giving drivers moving violation tickets. I can't even remember the last time I saw such a scenario.

And, for sure, I figured the gentleman who so meekly accepted that alleged stand-down order from Mayor Robert Garcia 10 months ago would have learned his lesson and would have pointed out the negative impact that has ensued from the City Hall folly of eliminating the LBPD's Gang Unit.

But, nope, Mr. Luna, ever the enlightened visionary, came up with his very own rationale for the rampant rise in gunfire, robberies, muggings, killings and other illegalities now polluting the area.

It is, of course, The Great Pandemic that has been the cause in Mr. Luna's deeply-researched, deeply-flawed view!

Wow!

Please, spare me such bunkum!

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Frankly, I'm surprised Mr. Luna didn't blame it on a contingent of extraterrestrials from another galaxy, or on the Russians or on some other fanciful delusion.

Actually, the terrible outbreak of Covid-19 in my myopic view would seemingly decrease the crime rate, since more people would be safely staying at home gazing at Netflix programs than going out and engaging in Gun Fight At The OK Corral recreations.

But I must bow to Ol' Doc Luna, who ascribes the rise in crime to the awful residual effects of Coronavirus even though I, so naive and uneducated, so damned ignorant, ascribe it to a depleted police force that has been weakened even more by being ordered to tread gingerly these days when performing its dangerous duties. . .

  • I don't know about you, but I become almost nauseous when I read how the outgoing CEO/President of the money-hemorrhaging, non-profit Aquarium of the Pacific, Dr. Jerry Schubel, earned more than $540,000 in income and benefits in 2019---and some of his underlings were earning in the $200,000 range.

    What a ripoff!

    The place that never should have been built---I was a passionate critic of the project at its inception---blows at least $12 million a year and recently was given a kindly $5 million loan from the LB politicians, always quite prolific at handing out gobs of money to those not deserving it. . .

  • Long Beach recently received a $208 million windfall from the federal government and I hear approximately $80 million of it will controlled by the LB City Manager, Taciturn Tom Modica, and another $50 million will go to beefing up the pensions of local government workers like, well, Taciturn Tom Modica.

    It's nice to know that a good, decent, honest human being like Mr. Modica is being assured of getting his $300,000-a-year or so pension one day for the draining work he's now putting in daily at City Hall. . .

  • Remember those LB city workers who were furloughed at least one day a week during the height of The Great Pandemic? Don't feel too sorry for them. The ever munificent Long Beach politicians have set aside $5 million to reimburse them for their lost wages. . .

    They even threw a bone---a puny $5 million one---to the hundreds of local restaurants who suffered among the greatest financial strains from the needless lockouts. . .

  • It was nice driving down 2nd Street through Belmont Shore Friday night and seeing the restaurants serving customers inside their premises again.

    Why in tarnation were they prevented from doing so in the first place?

    Oh, I forgot, our beloved governor, Gavin Newsom, decided it wouldn't be good for us, absconding with our private rights of freedom in his ridiculous lockdowns that didn't exactly change the course of the Coronavirus. . .

  • The death of Elgin Baylor, one of my boyhood heroes who would become a close friend when I wound up covering him as a young beat writer with the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, leaves me saddened and leaves me with a lot of glad memories I will recount in another column.

    He was a bright, good man who was the best gin rummy player---along with the late kicker Ben Agajanian---I ever played against, as he beat me repeatedly during competitions on air flights around America for a few years.

    He also was the original Julius Irving, an acrobatic, high-jumping player with a vast repertoire of moves who defied gravity when driving to the basket and often seemingly hanging in the air before launching shots that more often that not went through the hoop. Never will I forget the courtly gentleman I was privileged to know so well for so long. . .


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    Previously by Mr. Krikorian:

    The Creator Of Two Iconic Long Beach Dining Establishments, Schooner Or Later and Tantalum, LB Bachelor Denny Lund Also Has Been A Creator Of Glad Times


    Krikorian Notes: From Cal Gov Gavin Newsom Keeping Long Beach Restaurant Diners Outdoors For No Plausible Reason To His Equally Despised Michigan Counterpart, Gretchen Whitmer, Actually Allowing Indoor Dining In Her State To Cock Of The Walk John Morris Speechless (!) To Dickie (Too Fast, Too Furious) Babian Turning Crow's Over To His Son To My New 7-1, 354 Bodyguard Aaron Gray Taking Over From The Undersized 6-0, 225 Mike (The Hammer) DiMarzo
    Krikorian Notes: From Gavin Newsom Praising Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia As Though He's Destined For Mt. Rushmore To Newsom Hoping The Rest Of California Follows The Jill Baker LBUSD Path (???) To The Tiger Woods Car Accident To Bad Stu Ledsam's Son Kyle's Big Award To Vons Pavilion GM Steve Carr Performing Cashiering Duty To My Watching the Amazing Emerzian Twins Next Week In Michigan
    Krikorian Notes: From A Most Surreal Development That Has Me In A State Of Giddiness---Our Beloved Long Beach Actually Now Serious About Building A New Swimming Pool After Coastal Commission Approval And Strong Endorsements From Such Local Leaders As Mayor Robert Garcia and City Manager Tom Modica and Their Political Accomplices To Mike O'Toole Doing a Solo, He-Man Rowing Act On A 32-Foot Gondola Carolina Filled With 14 People Around Naples Canals To Jill Baker’s Typical Back-to-School Delaying Tactics To My Receiving My Periodic SAG-AFTRA Residuals From My Once Flourishing Acting Career That, Sadly, Went The Way Of My Once Flourishing Radio Career
    Long-Time Belmont Shore Resident Dorcas Baldwin, 85, Endures Frightening Experience Of Homeless Man Breaking Into Her Bay Shore Avenue Home And Taking A Shower Before Long Beach Cops Come To The Rescue
    CIF Southern Section Commissioner Rob Wigod Hoping Gavin Newsom And His Health Department Toadies Come To Their Senses For Projected High School Sports Restart On March 19
    Terry Antonelli Orchestrating Rise Of L’Opera After Its Tragic Fall In The Great Long Beach Memorial Day Pillage & Plunder Festival
    Krikorian Notes: From Mayor Garcia's Spineless Speech To Jill Baker's Passing The Buck Alliance With Gavin Newsom To A Positive Long Beach Vaccination Experience To Welcoming New Neighbor George Gascon To Mike The Hammer Bludgeoning Me About Boxing To The Amazing Tom Brady
    The Memorable Life Of Tommy Lasorda: From World Series Titles To Slim-Fast Diets To Obscenity-Laced Jim Healy Tapes To Pitching To Jack Clark To A Sacred Legacy Of Laughter And Success On The Ball Yards Of America
    "A Lady Shrieking "Wear A Mask!" On Bay Shore Ave. Results In A Mask-Wearing Epiphany For Our Columnist
    A Christmas Tale Of Reflections And Remembrances
    A Christmas Tale Of Reflections And Remembrances" Krikorian Notes: From New LA County DA George Gascon Moving To Naples To LBUSD Superintendent Jill Baker Continuing To Stunt Growth Of 70,000 Students To Distress Of Locked Down LB Entrepreneurs Jeff Cozart, Mike Neufeld, John Sangmeister To LB’s Very Own Kato Kaelin, Steve Folger, Squiring Kelly Clarkson In Nashville
    Krikorian Notes: From Joe Jost Owner Ken Buck Sounding Off On The Lockdowns To Big Ben Goldberg's Boat Parade Party In Huntington Harbor To Bob Ludlam Departing LB For Prescott -- The Leisure World of Arizona -- To LB State President Jane Close Conoley Not Faintly Resembling Her Esteemed Predecessors To Mike (The Hammer) DiMarzo Invading Miami For Nightclub Frolic To LB State Women's Soccer Coach Mauricio Ingrassia Suddenly Looking Like A Matinee Idol
    When Is LBUSD Superintendent Jill Baker Going To End Her Calamitous Lockdown That Has Caused So Much Chaos And Heartache And Disruption Among 70,000 Students?
    Krikorian Notes: From Councilman Rex Richardson Displaying Courage To Show Up At A Long Beach Restaurant Association Meeting To The Countless Millions Lost On Unoccupied LB Buses To LB Health Czar Kelly Colopy’s Latest Mean-Spirited Edict To the Irritating Silence Of LB City Manager Tom Modica To LB Mayor Robert Garcia Ignoring His Constituents For Political Reasons To Bob The Black Labrador Parading Down The Peninsula Boardwalk Holding A Large Palm Limb In His Mouth
    How Many Long Beach Restaurants Will Be Forced to Close After Latest Lockdown Lunacy?
    Where's Krikorian? Temporarily On "Injured Reserve List" Recovering From Shoulder Replacement Surgery
    Krikorian Notes: From Nico's George Mlouk Praising LB Mayor Robert Garcia For Working To Help LB Restaurateurs To A Plea To LB Health Czar Kelly Colopy To Restrain Her Overzealous Sleuths To Lakers Deserving NBA Title To LeBron James Turning Anthony Davis Into Passionate Competitor To Vital Contributions Of Lakers Coach Frank Vogel And GM Rob Pelinka To Sadness Of Passing Of The Great Joe Morgan And Its Impact On Maury Wills' Hall Of Fame Chances
    Famous Long Beach Restaurateur Phil Trani Days Of Joyful Memories And Pandemic Miseries
    Krikorian Notes: From The Irritating Silence Of The Long Beach Politicians In Not Supporting Their Citizens To The Whereabouts Of LB Mayor Robert Garcia To The Whistles Favoring The Lakers Against The Nuggets To The Greatness of Patrick Mahomes To The End Of A European Vacation Streak That Started In 1989
    LBUSD Superintendent Jill Baker’s 70,000 Student Online Virtual Teaching Miscalculation A Disaster!
    Krikorian Notes: From The 9 Unworthies Of The LB City Council To The LB Upstick In Shootings And Speeding To Restauranteur John Morris Horseback Riding On A Wyoming Mountaintop To The Walking Adventures Of Earth Man
    Jeff Cozart's Time Of Torment: Will His Belmont Athletic Club Survive Gavin Newsom’s Latest Lockdown?
    Krikorian Notes: A Labor Day Elegy For Those In The Long Beach Business Community Who Were Violated In The Memorial Day Looting Frenzy To The Palm Tree Limbs Littering 2nd Street To The Scooters Littering The Belmont Shore Bridge To The Virtual On-Line Spectacle At Big Mike O'Toole's Household
    Krikorian Notes: From Long Beach Mayor's Ascent To Dem Stardom Because Of Lockstep Embrace Of The Party's Policies To The Enchanting Parklet Dining On 2nd Street To Tearing Down The Hoops in Belmont Shore To Greg Silver's LB Departure To Huntington Beach To Bob Rice Protecting Me From Isiah Robertson
    Don Kramer Was A Character Like No Other With His Zaniness, Goofiness, Joyfulness, Kindliness Who Left All Who Knew Him With Lasting Memories Of Slapstick Antics And Mirthful Anecdotes
    Krikorian Notes: From Majority Of LB Teachers Skipping Classrooms For The Comforts Of Home To Dr. Jill Baker Becoming Another Maria Montessori To Terry Antonelli Discussing Resurrection of L'Opera To Mayor Robert Garcia Touted By MSNBC's Brian Williams As A Future U.S. Senator To Kershaw's Magical Transformation
    Long Beach's Renaissance Man, Chuckie Miller, Reflects On His Entrepreneurial Life And On Racial Inequity
    Krikorian Notes: From LB's Elected Leadership's Reimagining Delusions To the Gaslamp's Outdoor Wall Video Band Show To The Ghastly USC Coach, Clay Helton
    FDR's Grandson, Delano Roosevelt, Talks Democratic Party, JetBlue, Long Beach And His Life
    LBPD Chief Robert Luna: Stand Up For Your Fifty Ousted Cops!
    What Next From Long Beach Health Boss Kelly Colopy, Hazmat Suits For Our Restaurant Servers?
    Sadly, Our National Pastime No Longer A Pastime For Me
    Parklets! Three Cheers For Long Beach Politicians!
    Memo To LBUSD Sup Jill Baker: Return The Kids To the Classroom!
    A 2 1/2-Hour Commute To Work A Joy To This 86-Year Old Gentleman
    Long Beach Politicians Once Again Fail Long Beach
    Is Long Beach Destined to Become the City That Never Sleeps?
    I Never Thought I'd Live To See These...
    Ben Goldberg Exits Long Beach, Now Nearby Refugee In OC
    Long Time Long Beach Resident Dave Lopez Climaxes Storied 48-Year TV Career
    From Krikorian's Notebook: When Will LB Police Chief Luna Come Clean About May 31 Downtown Long Beach Looting Frenzy?
    From Krikorian's Notebook: (1) LBUSD Mgm't Mulls Keeping K-5 Kids Indoors Without Normal Access To Playground, Cafeteria, Auditorium Activities; (2) And More...
    Will LB's New School Sup't Allocate Untimely Pay Raise To Serve Students?
    Awaiting Governor's Dictate To Decide Fate Of This Year's (July 3) "Big Bang On the Bay"
    Mayor/Council Sounds Of Silence After LB Cops Let Some Pillage Our Village
    Excuses By Long Beach Police & Politicians Dishearten Damaged LB Businesses
    Hallelujah! LB Mayor Pleads For Sac'to Permission To Lift Closures That Needn't Have Occurred
    Speak Up, Mr. Mayor, On Governor's Unwise Edicts. You Can Do That And You Should
    My Beloved Long Beach: A Victim Of Irrational Government Overreach Beyond Reasoned Response To Virus
    Support really independent news in Long Beach. No one in LBREPORT.com's ownership, reporting or editorial decision-making has ties to development interests, advocacy groups or other special interests; or is seeking or receiving benefits of City development-related decisions; or holds a City Hall appointive position; or has contributed sums to political campaigns for Long Beach incumbents or challengers. LBREPORT.com isn't part of an out of town corporate cluster and no one its ownership, editorial or publishing decisionmaking has been part of the governing board of any City government body or other entity on whose policies we report. LBREPORT.com is reader and advertiser supported. You can help keep really independent news in LB similar to the way people support NPR and PBS stations. We're not non-profit so it's not tax deductible but $49.95 (less than an annual dollar a week) helps keep us online.



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