The mind boggles, but apparently the U.S. Marine Corps is planning an
"amphibious military assault display on the beach" in Long Beach. This
is to be part of ShoreFest, a sea and air show which promoters hope
will draw 500,000 people to Long Beach.
According to a recent article in the Press Telegram, "the scheduled
events include 'a spine-tingling military 'invasion;' hundreds of U.S.
Marines will swarm the beach in amphibious assault vehicles, as
Hovercraft provide water cover while planes and helicopters provide air
cover.'"
This adds insult to injury for our troops in Iraq. While they're
getting their balls blasted off in Baghdad, some sleazy promoters hope
to make big bucks out of this Mickey Mouse shit in Long Beach.
Here's the article. After you read it, you will know as much as I do
about this entire affair.
********************
Article Published: Thursday, September 11, 2003
http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/ 0,1413,204%257E21474%257E1626139,00.html
ShoreFest planning worries residents
By Jason Gewirtz
Staff writer
LONG BEACH City officials and organizers of a massive air show and sea
festival from Oct. 3 to 5 continued to finalize logistics for the event
Thursday, as neighborhood groups express frustration over the event's
parking and traffic plans.
The city has given the promoters of ShoreFest until Monday to establish
final details of the event, including the location and costs of remote
parking lots where organizers hope most attendees will park.
Meanwhile, police officials are warning residents to prepare for
ShoreFest as if it were the Grand Prix, or any of the city's larger
events.
"We do expect traffic delays, parking congestion and noise,' said Karen
Owens, Police Department spokeswoman. "There will be military jets and
a large number of people coming in.'
Large is right.
Promoters of the air show hope to attract 500,000 people to Long Beach,
including spots downtown, at Long Beach Airport and along the beaches
in Bluff Park and Belmont Shore.
The main event will feature displays from the Blue Angels, Canadian
Snowbirds and other air acts to take place over the skies of the
coastline. Organizers are also planning five "fests' scheduled to
include an amphibious military assault display on the beach, a concert
with "one of the world's great entertainers,' boat regattas, amusements
for children and a display of a NASA Mars rover, among others.
The event was designed to coincide with the opening of the downtown
Pike at Rainbow Harbor complex, whose opening has since been pushed
back to mid-November.
While planning for ShoreFest has been in place for more than two years,
officials and promoters were still meeting this week to finalize the
details, including parking and event locations.
"It's not ideal that we're coming to decisions at this late of a date,
but it's also not alarming,' said David Jacobson, ShoreFest spokesman.
Officials also have yet to secure approval for the event from the
California Coastal Commission, though David Ashman, the city's special
events manager, said the city hopes to have that approval once
logistics are final.
Late changes, particularly in parking arrangements, are coming as
homeowners groups along the ocean continue to voice concerns about the
show's impact on their neighborhoods.
"Few people understand what a half- million (people) means,' said Isaac
Waksul, a board member of the Bluff Park Neighborhood Association.
"It's hard to comprehend.'
In Belmont Shore, Homeowners' Association president Jeanette Gavin said
residents are concerned about the parking plan for the event.
"What we feel is they're doing a very inadequate job preparing people
for the parking situation,' she said.
Bluff Park neighborhood leaders presented promoters with a list of
their concerns late Wednesday, and Waksul said he was hopeful that some
of the impact could be lessened by providing incentives for people to
park elsewhere.
Logistics USA, the Arlington, Va.- based parking consultant for
ShoreFest, said promoters intend to have festival attendees park using
outlying lots and be shuttled to beach viewing locations and to
downtown events.
But the plans have changed "180 degrees' in the last week, said the
company's Joe Ratti. While it's not ideal to have changes three weeks
before the event, Ratti said, there is still time to communicate the
parking plans to residents and festival attendees.
Organizers had planned to charge $18 to park in the remote lots, whose
locations have still not been determined, Jacobson said. But those
plans are in flux, including decisions on whether to charge attendees
for the parking or for the shuttles.
Other changes include moving a "headliner' concert from Long Beach
Airport to a spot near the Pike project. Promoters have yet to announce
the headlining act.
"It's a question of lining it up still,' Jacobson said.
As for the Pike, developers predict that the first phase of the
dining/retail/entertainment complex will open sometime in November. Ann
Forella, the marketing director for Developers Diversified Realty
Corp., said the company was disappointed that the opening wouldn't
match the air show as originally planned.
"Ideally, we wanted it to coincide with the opening of the Pike
project,' she said.
Jacobson stressed that planning has been a challenge because this is
the first time the event, designed to be annual, has taken place. Few
air shows have the collection of military and civilian aircraft and
watercraft displays that ShoreFest plans, as well as a concert, he said.
According to a news release, the scheduled events include "a
spine-tingling military 'invasion;' hundreds of U.S. Marines will swarm
the beach in amphibious assault vehicles, as Hovercraft provide water
cover while planes and helicopters provide air cover.'
Owens, the Police Department spokeswoman, said residents should begin
preparing for the noise, traffic and parking impacts of those events so
they are not caught by surprise on Oct. 3. The event, she said, could
be comparable to the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Olympics with
different activities at multiple venues.
"We want to make sure that people are aware of the scope of this
event,' she said. "It's a great opportunity for people, but they need
to plan ahead.'
City officials are waiving the first $250,000 in city costs for
ShoreFest, though City Manager Jerry Miller said the costs will likely
top that figure. The promoters will be responsible for reimbursing the
city for any costs above that amount, Miller said.
While organizers work out the last- minute logistics, they are also
contending with a lawsuit filed by one of the event's first promoters.
Ted Plana has sued ShoreSales, the official promoter, and DDR, saying
the companies failed to pay him for work he performed lining up the
Blue Angels and Snowbirds. The case was filed in California but has
since been moved to Maryland.
Jacobson said the promoters deny the charges.