Dear Friend --

Earlier today we hosted Governor Gavin Newsom for a freeway clean-up in North Long Beach. Trash, litter and dumped items have been a rising concern across the state and in our city throughout the pandemic, and last year alone our refuse workers were tasked with collecting an additional 18 to 19 thousand tons of trash. We produced more trash during the pandemic than ever before. Today we had a chance to talk with the Governor about this issue and take actions to address it.

A few years ago, we launched our Clean Long Beach Initiative. Since then, our city has doubled clean teams and implemented new technology like the updated Go Long Beach App, and we recently announced an additional $4 million for clean city improvements.

Over the next year, we will double our clean team staff again to help us meet the goals we have laid out. Cleanliness is an important part of civic pride and is essential to our economic recovery and to the quality of life for every Long Beach resident.

I also want to thank the Governor for his investment in these efforts. His Clean California Plan will put more than $1 billion behind these efforts across our state. Cities like Long Beach will benefit from over $700 million in funding for litter abatement and local beautification projects.

Thank you to Governor Newsom, Congresswoman Barragán, Assemblymember O'Donnell and Senator Bradford for joining us today, and I look forward to making Long Beach cleaner than ever.

Thank you,

Mayor Robert Garcia