Monthly Archives: June 2022

As the 2028 Olympicsset to be hosted in Los Angelesdraw nearer, Long Beach continues to prepare for its role in the international event.

Mayor Robert Garcia announced the 8 by 28 initiative in 2016, which highlights eight major development projects the city is aiming to complete by the time the Olympics arrive in town.

Some of the projectswhich are mostly being funded by Tidelands Operating Fundswere conceived prior to the announcement of the initiative, but they were brought under the umbrella as a representation of the citys efforts to revitalize the areas that will act as the Long Beach Sports Park, the main hub for the Olympics in the city.

Here is a look at the progress of the eight projects that are part of the initiative.

Metro Blue Line improvements

Improvements to the Metro Blue Linenow known as the A Lineis one of the first projects completed as part of the initiative. LA Metro pumped around $350 million into the improvements to the agencys oldest line in service, which launched in 1990.

The renovation, which wrapped up in November 2020, modernized the connection between the Seventh Street Metro Center in Long Beach and the Compton Station.

Weve been pushing Metro for a long time to really upgrade the A line, City Manager Tom Modica said. Now we have brand new stations that got redone and brand new cars that got redone.

These improvements were made by Metro mainly to bring the line up to modern safety and technology standards. That includes the addition of new crossover tracks and signal system and the addition of digital displays to stations on the line.

This project helps connect Los Angeles with Long Beach, which will be two of the main hubs of the 2028 Olympics.

Beach concession stands

Improvements to three of four concession stands along several of the citys beaches have already been finished.

The completed standswhich are located at Bayshore Beach, Junipero Street and Granada Streeteach host their own food vendors.

At Bayshore Beach is Grill em All, a heavy metal themed burger establishment that caught the publics eye when it was featured as a food truck on Food Networks Great Food Truck Race. A water play area was also installed by the city at this stand, which has been such a success that Joshua Hickman, who serves as the Business Operations Bureau Manager for the Department of Public Works, said inspired a similar project in Downtown currently under construction. (Those projects are not related to the newly installed Wibit at Alamitos Beach.)

The vendor for the Granada location has yet to start operations as it works through the Coastal Commission permit process, but the stand is open after receiving a major facelift and a water feature playground.

Juniperos location received a similar renovation to the Granada location, but it was given a different color scheme to differentiate the two stands. It has welcomed Saltwater Deck, which serves grass-fed beef burgers, wraps, breakfast burritos and frozen yogurt.

The fourth location, which is currently under construction at Alamitos Beach, is the largest project among the concession stand improvements. Unlike the other projects, an entirely new structure is being built at Alamitos Beach. The core and shell constructionwhich refers to the construction of the structure of a building before developing individual unitswas recently completed, Hickman said.

Gaucho Grillan Argentine steakhousewill set up shop at the Alamitos Beach stand, which will include a full kitchen and bar for the restaurant. The restaurant is working through its final permits. The stand is expected to be in full operation by next year.

Its going to be a cool, cool place once that gets opened, Hickman said.

Airport improvements

At the Long Beach Airport, which will welcome many Olympic attendees, the Phase II Terminal Area Improvement Project is set to improve the travel experience.

A new ticketing lobby opened to passengers at the airport in May, which has already helped to expedite the check-in process. Improving the baggage claim area is another point of focus, which Modica expects to be completed at the end of this year.

COVID didnt knock this project off of its timeline, but it did put the status of the project as a whole into question.

COVID almost ended that project completely as people werent flying anymore, Modica said. But I would say because we had such a long lead time, were not really that far off schedule.

Other amenities that will be included in the improvement project are a rental car return lot to facilitate smoother rental car use, general terminal improvements including to the roadways, and an overhaul of the airports Meet and Greet Plaza.

Modica said he expects the overall project to wrap up by the 2028 deadline.

Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier

A redesign of the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier, which was originally built in 1916 at 39th Place and moved 100 feet away from its original location in 1965, envisions the site as a venue to view sailing events during the Olympics.

The pier is currently straight, at about 1,620 feet long and 26 feet wide through most of its length, but the redesignwhich went through a visioning phase in which community members provided input on four potential designscould change that.

A memo released by the city in April stated Long Beach was bringing an engineering firm to study a rainbow-shaped design, which community members said reminded them of the iconic Rainbow Pier.

The community really wholeheartedly preferred the horseshoe shaped pier, which harkens back and pays homage to the Rainbow Pier that was once a focal point Downtown, Hickman said.

While the design has been agreed upon, Hickman said that the timeline is still up in the air. He said that the project is still set to be completed by the 2028 deadline, but the exact timing is unclear.

It is going to take a little while to get through the concept phase, get through the technical studies, Hickman said, but this project is currently in line for that 2028 deadline.

Lifeguard towers

Another item on the list is replacing the citys 23 lifeguard towers, which are nearing the end of their service lives. But that process has proved more complex than initially anticipated.

One challenge came when one of the towers, painted with a rainbow of colors and dubbed a Pride Tower to celebrate the LGBT community during 2020s Pride Month, was vandalized and burned down almost a year later. A new Pride Tower was erected in June last year.

While the timeline for this project has not been significantly impacted by COVID or this incident, the cost may have been. Hickman estimated that the cost for each lifeguard tower was around $60,000, but that figure is from prior to the pandemic.

Theres been some inflation and other things that have impacted different costs, Hickman said. So, those are somewhat old numbers.

Hickman could not provide current estimates for the cost.

Long Beach Arena

The Arena itself received renovations in the form of the Pacific Ballroom in 2013, but there is still one major step that needs to be taken to prepare the venue for the Olympics.

Our arena is heavily used right now, but the seats arent really used, Modica said.

Once a place that hosted a plethora of concerts and some of the biggest sporting events in the world, including volleyball events at the 1984 Olympics, the arena has since seen its use shift to events like conferences that fit within the arena space itself and dont require use of the built-in seating.

Now, the city is looking to prepare the arena for a return to its rootsand the seating needs to be upgraded. The arenas seating is the primary issue that needs to be addressed for spectators to view handball events, which Modica expects to be completed by the 2028 deadline.

On top of seating upgrades, Modica said there will be small improvements to HVAC and other systems that keep the building functioning behind the scenes. The full scope of the improvements has yet to be finalized.

Convention Center hotel

While there are plenty of hotels in the Downtown area, city officials hope to provide even more accommodations in the immediate vicinity of the Long Beach Convention Center to maximize convenience for visitors.

To that end, work on conceiving a new hotel at 100 E. Ocean Blvd., at Pine Avenue, was key to facilitating the hosting of the Olympics. Plans for the project were shown to the public in 2019, and the land for a 30-story hotel has been sold to American Life, Inc., Modica says, but COVID-19 caused a long delay in the process.

Obviously in the pandemic hotel financing has become difficult, Modica said. Theyre looking to get their project up and going.

Despite this, Modica expects the project to be complete in time for the Olympics, but the timeline is still unclear. The hotel will join a long list in Long Beachs Downtown scene, but its location is crucial for Modica and his team.

That will be a huge, 20-plus story hotel right there on our key corridor overlooking the entire event, Modica said. So thatll be a customer experience as well.

Belmont Beach and Aquatics Center

The largest and longest standing project is also one of the only pieces of the 8 by 28 initiative that will not be ready in time for the Olympics.

Work to build a new Belmont Pool started in 2014, soon after the previous buildingwhich played host to the 1968 summer Olympic swimming trialswas demolished due to safety concerns related to the buildings age. The city has been using an outdoor pool in its stead, but a new swimming complex has been in the works ever since.

However, delays in receiving approval from the Coastal Commission pushed the project beyond the Olympic deadline. After designs for the pool were held up for years in legal challenges and appeals by residents, the commission tasked the city with making concrete changes to the plans for the complex last February to make the pool more accessible for those in less affluent communities.

Plans for the new complex feature a 50-meter Olympic-sized swimming pool alongside a shallower pool for classes and youth. Diving boards will be installed at several different heights, and the existing outdoor pool will be replaced by another more permanent pool as part of the complex, which will be outfitted with new restrooms and showers.

Seating is also key for spectators, and plans for the project call for almost 2,000 seats to be built throughout the complex, including 1,555 at the main pool.

Currently, Modica said the project is in its financing stages, and the team working on the project is hoping to have that completed by the end of the year, with construction expected to start soon after.

While the pool is on track to be completed before 2028, city officials said it will not be ready for use in time for the Olympics. The cost, meanwhile, is expected to be in excess of $100 million. Modica said more specific projections on the costs for the pool and other projects will be shared in an upcoming town hall on the initiative.

Editors note: This story has been updated to clarify the timeline for the Belmont Beach and Aquatics Center. It is on track to be completed before 2028, according to city officials.

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Work on 8 by 28 Olympic initiative continues - Long Beach Business Journal - Long Beach News

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The 29-year-old biological male who came in first place at a New York women's skateboarding competition is a father of three and a combat veteran who was previously rejected from the Olympics for having too much testosterone.

Ricci Tres, who also goes by Ricci And Tres, won over Shiloh Catori, a 13-year-old girl who is ranked 133rd in the Boardr Global Ranks, which are based on performance in skateboarding competitions. Tres, by comparison, sits at 838 in the rankings.

Tres took the top title in the women's division of The Boardr Open, taking home $500.

"I have three kids, I'm married, I did my timein the military, I own a company. I've decided that I like being pretty and cute," Tres said in an interview about skateboarding last year. "So everything that goes with that is female. I love female bodies. I think it's a work of art."

LOS ANGELES 29-YEAR-OLD TRANS WOMAN BEATS 13-YEAR-OLD GIRL TO FIRST PLACE IN NYC WOMEN'S SKATEBOARDING CONTEST

Tres does not intend to medically transition outside hormone therapy.

Tres has taken hormones but was previously informed that his body still had too much testosterone to compete.

"I know I'll never be a woman because women are miraculous. They have babies and create life and do all that awesome stuff," Tres said in the interview. "I'll never have that ability. But I feel like I'm a woman. I would have wished to be born one. So I'll try to fill that image as much as I can for myself."

Many on social media excoriated the tournament for the biological and age disparities between the competitors, including female skateboarder Taylor Silverman, who spoke out in May after repeatedly placing second in skateboarding contests against biological males.

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The skateboarding competition comes amid a national debate over whether biological men have a competitive advantage over biological women.

On the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the Biden administration has indicated that it wants transgender athletes to enjoy the same protections that Title IX initially afforded women when it passed half a century ago.

Fox News' Jon Brown contributed to this report.

Timothy Nerozzi is a writer for Fox News Digital. You can follow him on Twitter @timothynerozzi and can email him at timothy.nerozzi@fox.com

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Trans skateboarder who won first prize against teen is a combat vet, dad who was rejected from the Olympics - Fox News

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(Andrew Vera-Jackson Photo)

For Tucson-native Andrew Vera-Jackson, wrestling isnt just a sport its a lifestyle. Since he first stepped foot on the mats back in middle school, the initial spark Vera-Jackson had for the sport has continued growing into a fire still burning bright within him.

Sports have always been my escape in life, Vera-Jackson said. I just kind of fell in love with wrestling while still doing multiple sports. As I was transitioning to high school, I knew I had to focus on something if I wanted to go to college, so I ended up choosing wrestling.

While Vera-Jacksons overall journey has been vastly different than most other athletes, his relentless dedication and commitment to his goals opened doors to opportunities he never dreamed of having.

A 2015 graduate of Cienega High School, Vera-Jacksons legacy on the Bobcat program isnt limited to being a school record holder; He also was a two-time state medalist, an All-American wrestler and a member of Team Arizona.

Vera-Jackson earned a scholarship to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, AZ where he continued his wrestling career, but he said making the decision of where to attend was far from easy. Receiving nearly three dozen letters from universities across the nation, Vera-Jackson said he had little guidance in terms of navigating the process, leaving him to figure it out on his own.

If you got a letter, then you just reach out to the coaches and go from there, Vera-Jackson said. My first two letters were from Stanford and Columbia, which was really exciting.

After exploring the degree options and speaking with numerous coaches, Vera-Jackson settled on Embry-Riddle because of their academic programs directly aligning with his field of study.

I knew a lot of other schools would be better for wrestling, but at the time, I was like, Yeah, just get through college and then be done, Vera-Jackson said. What I wanted to do with my life and Embry having the program of Global Security Intelligence Studies, it really drew me into them.

While in college, Vera-Jackson also minored in Middle Eastern studies and learned Arabic, his third language. Despite touting a rigorous course load going hand-in-hand with his athletic commitments, Vera-Jackson found a way to transition from the daily grind of high school to college with ease.

Following his junior year, Vera-Jackson was forced to take some time away from both school and wrestling to attend to some family issues. Helping to take care of his mother while she recovered from medical procedures, Vera-Jackson knew his family needed him more at that point in time and made the tough decision to return to Tucson.

When he returned to Tucson in 2018, he began working with the Arizona Department of Corrections, where he stayed for the next three years until he was finally able to return to Embry-Riddle.

It was nerve-wracking at first, Vera-Jackson said. You grow up quickly there. They sent me to a Level 5, Max Capacity Detention Center When I finally took a step away from that and finished school, I was very, very happy I did.

Being the first one in his family to graduate from college, earning his degree was a big deal.

Im proud of what I did and Im excited, Vera-Jackson said. I hope I made my family proud with that. It was a very long road and they just really believed in me.

After finally earning his Bachelors, Vera-Jackson relocated to Fort Worth, TX to join the Spartan Mat Club at Texas Wesleyan University.

They offered me a full ride to my masters program, Vera-Jackson said. I was talking to schools, but this one I felt benefited my program. If I want to take the time to do schooling, I need it to be something thats going to benefit my future.

Anticipating his return to the mat, Vera-Jackson knew it was also going to be a grueling battle to get there. After three years away from training, it was going to take a lot of conditioning and time in the weight room to transition back to peak competition shape.

Grinding his way back to being in training shape, Vera-Jackson started floating the idea of trying out for the Bolivian National Team with his coaches. Initially hesitant, saying he didnt want to waste any more time, he decided to go out and at least try.

His decision to go for it ended up paying off, as Vera-Jackson was named as a member of the 2022 Bolivian World Team back in November. Since then, his sights have been set on making it to the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Im in the process of trying to find a Regional Training Center, Vera-Jackson said. A couple of places are interested, its just going to take a little more time, getting my name out there a little more and bringing back some hardware.

The time between now and the end of 2023 will be a crucial time for Vera-Jackson in his quest to become an Olympian. Not only will he look to compete all over the globe to continue challenging himself against the competition, but he also will continue traveling across the nation for training, working with numerous different training partners while improving and learning new techniques.

My struggle is trying to find more freestyle clinics, Vera-Jackson said. Im trying to get more exposure.

The Tallinn Open took place in Estonia in March, and the Pan-Am Championships took place in Chile in May. Both provided him the opportunity to get more exposure while preparing him for whats to come; The Bolivarian Games taking place in Colombia in July and the South American Games in Paraguay in October.

Competing in so many international competitions can get costly. Flights, hotels, meals and tournament fees are just some of the many expenses competing abroad can rack up, and it doesnt factor in any basic funds needed to continue training at a high level back in Texas.

Every time I go to Bolivia, it costs between seven hundred and a thousand dollars each trip, Vera-Jackson said. Everything I pay is out of pocket. Bolivia doesnt help with any of the financial burden, being a third world country.

Vera-Jackson is currently working towards raising money for his upcoming competitions, and is looking for sponsors interested in continuing to support him on his journey. Individuals looking to donate to his goals directly can do so by visiting his GoFundMe.

Brittany Bowyer is a freelance journalist who started her career as an intern for a small sports website back in 2015. Since then, shes obtained her masters degree in Sports Journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at ASU and is in her fourth year of covering various levels of sports across a broad range of platforms in Arizona. You can follow her on twitter @LittWithBritt

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Grappling to the top, Tucson-native Andrew Vera-Jackson locks in on 2024 Paris Olympics - All Sports Tucson