Tag: news

With demand being so high in the housing market, house sales are happening quickly. But that’s not the only thing selling quick. Those new homeowners are also looking to purchase new appliances and electronics for their new house. Best Buy in particular has exceeded their sales expectations. They’ve particularly noted sales of big screen TVs and home consultations and installations. Home Depot and Lowes are also faring well, and Walmart has increased their investment in home goods.

Representatives from Best Buy say that it’s the consultations and installations that put them over the top. There are many companies that sell appliances or TVs or office supplies. But most don’t also offer home services along with the sales. Services such as internet tech support are in high demand for buyers just moving in, who don’t want to waste any time getting connected. However, they’re less certain about their future in the second half of the year, as pandemic restrictions are ending and people are spending less time at home.

Photo by Mollie Sivaram on Unsplash

More: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/27/best-buy-says-hot-housing-market-is-boosting-demand-for-tvs-home-consultations.html

Relativity Space, an aerospace company headquartered in Long Beach, has announced its new rocket the Terran R. The Terran R is fully 3D printed and is reusable. The 3D printing process allows for manufacture in under 60 days, with 100 times fewer parts than traditionally built rockets. Relativity was also working on a smaller rocket, the Terran 1, but decided to raise $650 million from investors to accelerate development of the Terran R.

The Terran R is intended to be a space freighter, capable of carrying cargo between Earth, the moon, and Mars. Relativity believes software-based 3D printing is the future of aerospace manufacturing and can enable efficient space travel. Their eventual goal is human colonization of Mars.

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

More: https://lbbusinessjournal.com/relativity-space-unveils-worlds-first-fully-3-d-printed-reusable-rocket-announce-650m-in-funding

Union labor is strong in Long Beach, where the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has a large workforce. Despite unionization, some things are out of their control. Terminal operators currently are frequently union workers working for a public entity, since ports are usually owned by the city. But the terminals themselves are often owned by private companies, and leased to the city.

In Long Beach, the Pier T terminals are owned by Total Terminals International (TTI), which is itself jointly owned by companies based in Switzerland and South Korea. TTI is in the process of considering terminal automation to improve efficiency. While they may achieve their efficiency goal, it will also cause many of the ILWU workers to lose their jobs as terminal operators. With the terminals being internationally owned, TTI doesn’t have much incentive to care about US workers, unless their decision causes the City to want to break ties with them.

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

More: https://lbbusinessjournal.com/union-leaders-are-fighting-terminal-automation-at-long-beachs-pier-t

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Catalina Island was closed to tourism. Tourism is a major economic sector on the island, making the pandemic a significant economic crisis in addition to a health crisis. With Catalina Island now reopened, tourists are eager to get in on the fun. Tourist activities include kayaking, zip lining, outdoor recreation classes, hiking, tours, fishing, and souvenir shops.

Photo by Jaakko Kemppainen on Unsplash

Here are some photos from earlier in the month: https://lbbusinessjournal.com/in-pictures-visitors-are-flocking-back-to-catalina-island-for-outdoor-adventures-and-fun-in-the-sun

If you know architects, you may know Edward Killingsworth, a US architect who lived in Long Beach. One of the houses he designed still sits at 2 Laguna Place. The estate of the original owners sold it in 2018 with the original design for $2.6 million.

It’s no longer fully Killingsworth, as the new owners have remodeled it, but it retains some quintessential Killingsworth features: plenty of glass, floating stairs, stone countertops, and perhaps most importantly post-and-beam ceilings. It’s been updated with top-of-the-line new appliances and modernized master suite and bathrooms. There’s even an elevator. The new additions bring the price tag up to $5.179 million.

More: https://lbpost.com/news/place/real-estate/ed-killingsworth-on-the-beach-home-he-designed-on-the-peninsula-is-on-the-market-for-5-179-million

The Neverland Ranch, near Santa Barbara, California, is a 2700 acre property previously owned by Michael Jackson. The main residence is 12,500 square feet, and there is also a 3,700 square foot pool house as well as a movie theatre and dance studio. Neverland Ranch additionally features a train station, fire house, and barn. After attempting to list the property for $100 million in 2016 and then again for $67 million in 2017, the trust has now sold it for $22 million.

The new owner is billionaire Ron Burkle, co-founder of the investment firm Yucaipa Companies, who had been an associate of Michael Jackson. Also the controlling shareholder of Soho House, he had been searching for a new location for the members-only club. Burkle eventually concluded that Neverland Ranch was too remote for a new Soho House location, but decided to put in an offer anyway, and was successful.

Photo by Leon Seibert on Unsplash

More: https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-michael-jackson-california-ron-burkle-3ab4c8225d93ac0780aaafcbb2b10055

In the neighborhood of Jordan in Hong Kong is a street called Woosung Street, popular for its restaurants. There is also a hockey academy there, as well as a sports foundation founded by Ahmen Khan. But Khan is doing something else to make people want to come to Woosung Street — he went to a nearby refuse collection site, picked up a refrigerator, painted it blue, and set it up just outside the hockey academy. The color isn’t important, though; what’s important is the sign reading “Give what you can give, take what you need to take.”

And that’s exactly what’s happening. The blue refrigerator project has gone viral, and people are visiting just to drop off food so that others can pick it up for free. The refrigerator is there 24 hours per day. Even though it’s a refrigerator, food isn’t the only thing people are picking up and dropping off. You’ll also find masks, cleaning supplies such as towels, and even clothing items such as socks.

Photo by Latrach Med Jamil on Unsplash
This photo does not depict the refrigerator described in this article.

More: https://apnews.com/article/international-news-hong-kong-coronavirus-pandemic-53cf19c0422259bf5a540196802d6bce

It’s no secret that California has a shortage of affordable housing, and the diminishing construction rates definitely aren’t helping. Fortunately, there’s a rising statistic that isn’t captured in construction rates — conversions. Various types of commercial structures have been being converted into apartments over the past three decades. In the 90s, the most common type was hotels, followed by factories in the 2000s then offices in the 2010s. Now it seems we’re likely to circle back to hotels, which are experiencing extraordinarily high vacancy rates as travel has decreased during the lockdowns and recession. Hotels are also the best target for conversion to affordable housing because they generally produce lower tier apartments. We shouldn’t discount office conversions, either. As businesses are transitioning to partial or full work-from-home models, less office space is required and businesses will be looking for mixed-use structures.

Photo by Rika Sato on Unsplash

More: https://journal.firsttuesday.us/apartment-conversions-add-to-rental-inventory/75350/

The European Space Agency (ESA) has partnered with British metallurgy company Metalysis on a project that could potentially assist in enabling life on our Moon. Much of the oxygen present on the Moon is trapped inside of rock dust, primarily regolith. Metalysis has already been using a process to extract minerals from Earth rocks in their metal production, which happens to have oxygen as a byproduct. They believe a similar process can be used on lunar regolith to extract the oxygen, this time with the minerals as byproduct. The minerals can still be useful, too, as they can be used by 3D printers to build construction material.

In order to make this process ready for use on the Moon, it’s going to need to be less energy-intensive, since there isn’t as much energy available on the Moon as there is on Earth. Metalysis is working in conjunction with the ESA to rework their process with the express purpose of oxygen extraction from lunar regolith in mind. They believe that a more streamlined process with one specific purpose can be more energy efficient. There are also plans to reduce the size of the extraction chamber, which is currently about the size of a washing machine, so that it can be more easily transported to the Moon.

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

More: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Turning_Moon_dust_into_oxygen

For the past year, Southern California Gas Co. has been using renewable natural gas (RNG) sourced from out of state. Now, they’ve partnered with a California company, Calgren, to source their RNG from in-state. Calgren is the largest dairy biogas company in the US. Incentive programs in California will likely bring other companies to do similar, and it’s expected that California will have over 160 RNG facilities with the next three to four years.

The RNG Calgren produces is derived from methane from cattle waste. This is doubly effective because it not only is a source of renewable energy, but also prevents large amounts of methane from reaching the atmosphere, where it would function as a greenhouse gas to accelerate climate change, unlike the renewable fuel produced from it. California has also recently enacted legislation to allow for other sources of renewable natural gas, such as dead trees, which will help the process of becoming carbon-neutral.

Photo by Jakob Cotton on Unsplash

More: https://sempra.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=19080&item=137843

Free flu shots will be available at select LA County libraries while supplies last, and select Kaiser Permanente locations through at least November 14th. Insurance is not required and you do not need to be a Kaiser Permanente member. Flu shots are especially important for those with weakened immune systems or who regularly live with or care for someone who is at risk. This can be due to chronic conditions or age (both under 18 and over 65), but also remember that pregnancy can result in a temporarily weakened immune system.

The following link, provided by California Senator Steven Bradford, provides more information about locations and times that you can get your free flu shot:
https://sd35.senate.ca.gov/sites/sd35.senate.ca.gov/files/e_alert/20201021_SD35_newsletter_459.htm

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

What was previously known as San Pedro Public Market has been rebranded as West Harbor, and is expected to open in 2022 after delays due to COVID-19 that have pushed the date back from the previously expected 2021. The San Pedro Fish Market is definitely staying, and the U.S.S. Iowa may have a new location within West Harbor. Likely or confirmed new additions include AltaSea, Harbor Breeze Cruises, another Gladstone’s location, at least two other restaurants, a farmer’s market, and an amphitheater. Also in the works are plans for a brewery and beer garden, a barge, and possibly a beach. West Harbor is also getting a new nautical theme and color scheme.

Photo by Ronan Furuta on Unsplash

More: https://www.dailybreeze.com/2020/10/08/san-pedros-waterfront-development-gets-a-new-name-more-color-and-dining-buy-ins/