Just another WordPress site

Tag: Seal Beach City Council

  • August 15th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1949, the Seal Beach City Council passed what was described by the Los Angeles Times as “an ironclad anti-gambling ordinance.” 

    There was already a city ordinance against gambling on the books, but the new ordinance was designed to close loopholes in the previous ordinance. This followed a failed city initiative to allow poker rooms in Seal Beach that was voted down by Seal Beach voters in July 1949. 

    The city council meeting was packed with a charged crowd as Mayor Frank Shufelt, councilmen F. O. Brostrom, Albert R. Leonard, Emil F. Jacobsen, and Oliver L. Bowers voted unanimously to adopt the new ordinance. Richard Steyling, chairman of the Seal Beach Civic Improvement Association, the organization sponsoring the ordinance, told the Long Beach Independent that the new ordinance would ban virtually every type of game of chance from Seal Beach.

    Well, that settles that.

    Aug_15_1949_gambling_ban_headline

    Of course, nothing was settled. The battle between gambling interests and anti-gambling forces would continue in Seal Beach well into the next decade.

    – Michael Dobkins

    Have you enjoyed this and other This Date in Seal Beach History posts?

    If so, please consider making a small donation of a dollar or more to help defray the online subscriptions and other research costs that make this blog possible.

    Donations can be made securely with most major credit cards directly through PayPal. Just click on paypal.me/MichaelDobkins to go to PayPal. Thank you.

    This Date in Seal Beach History also has an online store hosted at Cafepress where you can order shirts, tote bags, stationery, and other gift items imprinted with vintage Seal Beach images. Visit the online store by clicking here.

  • May 4th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1933, the Seal Beach city council took measures to balance the general fund  by instituting a new work schedule and pay for the city’s water, street, and janitorial workers. The modified schedule cut four weeks down to three weeks. The cost cutting measures did not affect the police department or elective offices.

    The trouble with keeping the general fund in the black was no doubt related to the world being more than three years into the Great Depression. Local lore has it that times became so dire that many Seal Beachers were forced to illegally shoot jackrabbits on the Hellman Ranch to feed their families while sympathetic Seal Beach policemen looked the other way. 

    – Michael Dobkins

    Have you enjoyed this and other This Date in Seal Beach History posts?

    If so, please consider making a small donation of a dollar or more to help defray the online subscriptions and other research costs that make this blog possible.

    Donations can be made securely with most major credit cards directly through PayPal. Just click on paypal.me/MichaelDobkins to go to PayPal. Thank you.

    This Date in Seal Beach History also has an online store hosted at Cafepress where you can order shirts, tote bags, stationery, and other gift items imprinted with vintage Seal Beach images. Visit the online store by clicking here.

  • February 17th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1938, the Seal Beach City Council discussed a petition from the Seal Beach Improvement Association asking the council to support efforts to build a new bridge over the entrance to Anaheim Bay. The petition requested that a telegram be sent to Congressman Harry Sheppard for help obtaining government funding for the proposal and that the city engineer work with county engineer to make a survey of the project. Ultimately, the council decided to send a wire to Congressman Sheppard in spite of City Attorney Burr Brown’s objections.

    – Michael Dobkins

    Have you enjoyed this and other This Date in Seal Beach History posts?

    If so, please consider making a small donation of a dollar or more to help defray the online subscriptions and other research costs that make this blog possible.

    Donations can be made securely with most major credit cards directly through PayPal. Just click on paypal.me/MichaelDobkins to go to PayPal. Thank you.

    This Date in Seal Beach History also has an online store hosted at Cafepress where you can order shirts, tote bags, stationery, and other gift items imprinted with vintage Seal Beach images. Visit the online store by clicking here.

  • February 14th In Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1929, the Seal Beach City Council awarded the contract for a new city hall to architect W. Horace Austin after considering preliminary plans presented by local architects.

    Austin’s plans included a fire station, a police station, a city library, offices for city staff, and a second story assembly room for public meetings. Austin himself would supervise the Spanish style construction as soon at the city closed a deal to purchase the future city hall site.

    W. Horace Austin was a prominent architect in the area during the first half of the Twentieth Century, and many of his landmark designs still stand today, including Wilson High School, the Press-Telegram building, the downtown Farmers & Merchants Bank, and the Long Beach Airport.

    And, of course, the old Seal Beach City Hall, still located on the corner of Eight Street and Central Avenue today. It was officially opened and dedicated eight and a half months later on October 29th, 1929. City bureaucracy move faster in those days.

    – Michael Dobkins

    Have you enjoyed this and other This Date in Seal Beach History posts?

    If so, please consider making a small donation of a dollar or more to help defray the online subscriptions and other research costs that make this blog possible.

    Donations can be made securely with most major credit cards directly through PayPal. Just click on paypal.me/MichaelDobkins to go to PayPal. Thank you.

    This Date in Seal Beach History also has an online store hosted at Cafepress where you can order shirts, tote bags, stationery, and other gift items imprinted with vintage Seal Beach images. Visit the online store by clicking here.