State officials are considering various construction options for significant repair work on the Vincent Thomas Bridge, including one that would fully close the bridge for more than three years beginning in fall 2025. A draft environmental analysis released this month shows the most significant impact of the work will be traffic and congestion in San Pedro, Wilmington, Carson and Long Beach, potentially for an extended period of time. The report lays out four updated timing scenarios for the work: A full closure that would last 16 to 41 months, depending on the type of material chosen for the ..read more

An enormous cruise ship that will start sailing out of Long Beach has just docked here for the first time. The Carnival Firenze is 1,061 feet long. It can carry up to 4,126 guests and 1,425 crewmembers on its trips along Mexico’s Pacific Coast to destinations like Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta. The Firenze is slightly larger even than the Carnival Panorama, which arrived in Long Beach in 2019 and measures 1,055 feet with a 4,008 guest capacity. Originally built for Carnival’s sister cruise line Costa, the Firenze was completed near the end of 2020. The Carnival Firenze on April ..read more

Long Beach Airport set a monthly record for passenger boardings in March, surpassing the previous record set in 2018 before the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said Wednesday. The local airport saw 182,382 boardings in March, compared to the previous record of 178,836 in July 2018. March traffic rose 18.1% compared to March 2023, officials said. LGB — and most other airports across the nation — took a significant financial hit during the pandemic, particularly early on when plane travel was severely restricted to prevent the spread of the virus. Passenger traffic at Long Beach Airport bottomed o ..read more

The Hotel Maya on Long Beach’s waterfront and the union that represents its hospitality workers announced they’d reached an agreement to end a long-running dispute. Employees at the Maya and dozens of other Southern California hotels have staged strikes and boycotts since July as part of a campaign by their union, Unite Here Local 11, which represents 32,000 hospitality workers in the region. The dispute at the Maya has involved dueling complaints that the union was bargaining in bad faith and that workers were subjected to violence on the picket line, including allegations that a striking wo ..read more

Long Beach State will play host to a premier men’s college basketball tournament in 2025 featuring Division-I, Power 5 and mid-major schools. The inaugural Battle At The Beach will include multiple games on three consecutive days during the early-season Thanksgiving tournament window, Nov. 19-21, 2025. All of the games will be nationally televised. The organizer, a consulting firm called The 44 Group, said Long Beach and the iconic Walter Pyramid were an optimal fit. “Long Beach is an often-overlooked gem – the culture is unlike anything I’ve seen in all of my travels,” Jason Tilton, founder ..read more

Two companies based at the Port of Long Beach won a combined $44 million to help reduce truck emissions at the nation’s largest port complex, officials announced Monday. The federal grants from the Department of Transportation include $34.8 million to the Long Beach Container Terminal to support its electrification advancement project, which will reduce fossil-fueled trucks and cargo-handling equipment with zero-emission technology and improving overall terminal efficiency to minimize truck idling and gate congestion. Another $9.1 million will go to WattEVER Inc. to support a project that wil ..read more

City officials on Thursday approved plans for a large new hangar complex for private chartered flights out of Long Beach Airport. The project along Spring Street near Redondo Avenue is a 74,000-square-foot complex on 7.5 acres that includes three hangars and a 10,000-square-foot space for offices and shops. The project also includes 60,131 square feet of new concrete aircraft ramp paving and 117 parking spots. The company behind the project at 3605 E. Spring St. is Aeroplex Group Partners, which will lease the space to private operators. The company has similar operations at Van Nuys and Sant ..read more

A Metro train that runs from Downtown Long Beach north to Pasadena is newly dressed up in bright artwork thanks to an advertising campaign by the Taiwanese Tourism Administration. The train’s new elaborate designs — showcasing the food, culture and landmarks of Taiwan — are the work of artist Hong Yi, who appeared via video conference from East Asia Monday at the launch of the new campaign hosted by Intertrend Communications in Downtown Long Beach. The art was inspired by some of Taiwan’s best-known attractions, such as its Dragon Boat Festival and temples, and food, including Boba tea and tr ..read more

Long Beach lowered the tax rate for cannabis retail and cultivation businesses in an effort to help business owners who say they are struggling to compete with the illicit market. The City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to lower the tax rate overall for retail businesses from 8% to 7%, and reduce the tax on cultivation businesses from $14.96 per square foot to $13.09 per square foot. These taxes are on top of the city’s regular sales tax of 10.25% and the state’s excise tax of 15%. “The cannabis industry is overtaxed and over-regulated,” Councilmember Cindy Allen said. The city also exp ..read more

Los Angeles City Councilmember Tim McOsker has introduced a motion calling for an analysis of the Port of L.A.’s Vincent Thomas Bridge in an effort to prevent a tragedy similar to the one that brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. McOsker, who represents the city’s 15th District, which includes the harbor area, introduced the motion on Tuesday. He wants the analysis by Port of L.A. engineers to also include information on the circumstances that led to the collapse of Baltimore’s Key Bridge where a huge container ship, the Dali, crashed into the span on March 26. Six construc ..read more