The Long Beach mayor\u2019s annual State of the City address was interrupted twice by protesters Wednesday night, forcing pauses in the speech and highlighting mounting political and economic pressure on city leadership.<\/p>\n
Chants of \u201cICE out of Long Beach\u201d and demands for stronger labor protections for Black workers echoed inside the venue as demonstrators disrupted Mayor Rex Richardson\u2019s remarks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Security eventually escorted protesters out, allowing the mayor to resume his address. After returning to the stage, Richardson addressed one of the central demands head-on.<\/p>\n
\u201cICE does not belong in our city,\u201d he said, drawing loud applause and a standing ovation from much of the audience.<\/p>\n
Despite the tense moments, the mayor struck an optimistic tone overall, laying out an ambitious vision for jobs, economic development and global events \u2014 even as Long Beach faces a projected budget shortfall tied to declining oil revenue and federal funding cuts.<\/p>\n
Long Beach mayor promises growth amid economic strain at State of the City<\/p>\n
World Cup fan zone, Olympic plans highlighted<\/strong><\/p>\n Among the biggest announcements: a FIFA World Cup Fan Zone planned for downtown Long Beach on Pine Avenue when the tournament comes to Southern California this summer. Richardson said the multi-week activation is expected to draw thousands of visitors and will be funded by a $378,000 grant from Los Angeles Metro.<\/p>\n The mayor also revealed that Ireland will host an international Olympic team house in Long Beach during the 2028 Games \u2014 joining Greece and Denmark \u2014 as part of the city\u2019s effort to raise its global profile.<\/p>\n In addition, Richardson announced construction is underway on a new $21 million waterfront amphitheater near the Queen Mary, which he said is already booking events.<\/p>\n Jobs, business growth and redevelopment<\/strong><\/p>\n Acknowledging economic uncertainty, Richardson set a goal of bringing 4,000 new jobs to Long Beach by 2028, pointing to growth in aerospace, clean technology and advanced manufacturing.<\/p>\n He highlighted Speedo\u2019s decision to relocate its North American headquarters to Long Beach ahead of the LA28 Olympics, as well as expansion from aerospace startup Vast Space.<\/p>\n The mayor also announced that Los Angeles-based Marathon Burger \u2014 founded by the brother of the late rapper Nipsey Hussle \u2014 will open a location in the former Johnny Rockets space on Pine Avenue.<\/p>\n To support local businesses, Richardson unveiled $9 million in small business grants as part of a new initiative called \u201cAnchorLB,\u201d with additional economic announcements expected later this year.<\/p>\n Homelessness and public safety remain challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n While promoting growth, Richardson acknowledged ongoing challenges with homelessness. City data shows homelessness in Long Beach remains high \u2014 up 6.5% as of January 2025, representing about 1,500 more people than before the pandemic.<\/p>\n The mayor announced a new prevention-focused program called \u201cUpstream LB,\u201d aimed at helping residents most at risk of becoming homeless.<\/p>\n \u201cFocusing on people at most risk \u2014 one emergency away from losing everything,\u201d Richardson said.<\/p>\n On public safety, the mayor pointed to declines in violent crime, including fewer homicides, a one-third reduction in shootings, and significant drops in commercial and residential burglaries. He also noted that, for the first time, Long Beach police did not shoot a single person in 2025.<\/p>\n A political moment<\/strong><\/p>\n Richardson, who is seeking re-election, delivered the address amid heightened scrutiny from activists and voters alike. The interruptions underscored the political tensions surrounding City Hall \u2014 even as the mayor pitched optimism and growth for Long Beach\u2019s future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Long Beach mayor\u2019s annual State of the City address was interrupted twice by protesters Wednesday night, forcing…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":517135,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,2961,18448,224,5337],"class_list":{"0":"post-517134","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-la","11":"tag-long-beach","12":"tag-los-angeles","13":"tag-losangeles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115897321639258895","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}