HCBF Appoints New Executive Director: RL NEWS Briefs June 3, 2015

HCBF Appoints New Executive Director
SAN PEDRO — On June 2, the Board of Directors of the Harbor Community Benefit Foundation announced the appointment of Ben Schirmer, a San Pedro resident, as its new executive director.
Schirmer has worked in San Pedro since 2003. For the past 12 years, he has served as the executive director of Rainbow Services, an agency that provides comprehensive services to victims of domestic violence and also advocates for the issue at state and local levels.
During his tenure there, he led the agency through several stages of growth including the completion of a new emergency shelter, the addition of a second community center and the renovation of its existing community center.
Schirmer succeeds Mary Silverstein, the first executive director of the
The Harbor Community Benefit Foundation was formed through a historic agreement between the Port of Los Angeles and17 environmental and community groups, resolving community concerns about the impacts of the TraPac project approved by the Port in 2008.

Harbor Commissioners Adopt POLB Budget
LONG BEACH — On June 2, the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners approved an $829 million budget for the Harbor Department’s next fiscal year, including more than a half a billion dollars for capital improvements at the Port of Long Beach.
The budget, which will be presented to the Long Beach City Council for its consideration, designates $555 million for capital investments including the port’s major terminal redevelopment and bridge replacement projects.
For the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, 2015, the budget anticipates a 6.1 percent increase in operating revenue over the current fiscal year’s income. The Harbor Department generates revenue from goods movement through the Port of Long Beach, and receives no taxpayer revenue to operate.
Also, the newly approved budget includes the anticipated transfer of $17.74 million to Long Beach’s Tidelands Operating Fund, which is used for beachfront improvements in Long Beach.
The biggest pieces of the capital improvement budget are the ongoing Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project and the Middle Harbor Redevelopment, which is building the greenest container terminal in the world. Other improvements include sewer and street projects, dredging and rail improvements.
The budget also includes funds for planning activities for the port’s “Energy Island” concept of enhancing energy security and sustainability, and for ongoing improvements as part of the critical “supply chain optimization” efforts to boost efficiency at the San Pedro Bay ports.