Branching out too far?
It’s not often that a new public building or facility is named in the city of Long Beach. When such an occasion arises, the building is usually named for a local resident who has distinguished himself/herself through community service or monetary contribution.
The suggestion to name the new north Long Beach branch library in honor of Michelle Obama fails to meet any portion of that criteria. Under the city’s guidelines, she does not qualify for the honor.
With a new main branch library in the works, naming a lowly branch library in honor of Obama would be a definite slight. I cannot fathom her being pleased to find that she is not considered worthy of having the hub of our library system named in her honor.
There are any number of local individuals who truly deserve such an honor. The late Bill Baker is one name that comes to mind; Eleanore Schmidt is another. Mr. Baker was the chairman of the North Long Beach Project Area Committee for Redevelopment and chairman of the Redevelopment Agency Board during the time the planning for the new library was conducted. Ms. Schmidt was director of Library Services in those years. Both championed the library “cause” for the 20 years it has taken to bring the plans to fruition.
While it is true that the middle school and high school children (ages 12 to 17) may have made the suggestion to name the new library for Ms. Obama, do we want to turn over this decision to persons whose decision-making abilities are not yet mature enough to trust? Remember…these children are not old enough to vote in our elections. Additionally, they have precious little historical knowledge of our city.
To keep this whole matter simple, why not keep the name of the North Long Beach Branch of the Long Beach Public Library? Keeping the existing name of the north branch would not only identify a geographic location for the new facility, the name would be a source of pride for North Long Beach residents.Martha Thuente
Long BeachThe power of visibility
This is a plea to drivers to turn on their headlights. I’m sad to report that after 4:30pm, you can count the many drivers that must have x-ray vision or think their cars are visible in the dark of night. This also goes for unlit bicyclists, joggers, walkers, runners and dog walkers. “Hello…we can’t see you!”
The 99-cents store sells glow in the dark tape and yellow safety vests. Try one. It could save your life. By the way, flashing your car headlights at the cars or people goes completely unheeded.
There are so many ambulances and paramedic vehicles with sirens blasting on Atlantic Avenue and Long Beach Boulevard at all hours of the day and night, make sure to watch the drivers that do not yield and keep driving like they are on their phones or something.Linda Liscano
Long Beach
