Grant Opportunity!

SANER is working to expand our reach and we are adding new members/followers every day. More and more people from other neighborhoods are reaching out to us asking about General Aviation noise and lead pollution above their homes here in Long Beach.
To more effectively reach impacted residents and assess their health, safety, and noise concerns, SANeR wants to launch an outreach project via direct mail.
In order to fund this effort, SANeR is looking at possible grant funding.

As it turns out, there is a grant opportunity right here in Long Beach funded by fines collected from Noise Ordinance violations! This grant, titled Airport Noise Ordinance Neighborhood Impact Fund is administered by the Long Beach Community Foundation who distribute the fine monies once a year.
A small committee has worked on the grant application which is due this week.

The Airport Noise Ordinance Neighborhood Impact Fund states the following purpose:

GRANT PURPOSE
The Airport Noise Ordinance Neighborhood Impact Fund was funded with fines paid by certain airlines that have violated flight path noise restrictions at the Long Beach Airport. These charitable dollars can be used to fund projects that improve or benefit residents under the flight paths who are most impacted.

The borders of the flight path (as noted on this map within the black area) are meant to serve as a guide to show the most impacted areas.

Examples of worthy projects include public area improvements that benefit the impacted residents, community gatherings, neighborhood festivals, and nonprofit programming benefiting residents within the flight path, just to name a few. The more people benefitting in an area under the flight path, the better. Projects that work to gather people together to encourage neighborliness are prioritized.

Past grantees can be found here. The Foundation only list grant recipients up to 2021 and we are looking forward to seeing their page updated.

We are just about ready to submit our application. Wish us luck!

In Airport related news, Long Beach Airport celebrated the reopening of its historic terminal building (read more here). Next time you are at LGB, give it a look!

Attorney Update 7/11/24

Hello Members!

We have retained an attorney and now need to raise funds on a monthly basis to sustain our efforts. The required amount to continue our case is $5000 per month, though this amount will likely change in the upcoming months. If each of us can set up a recurring payment of $20-$100 on our PayPal site, we should be able to meet this goal. Those who can contribute more will greatly support our cause and help those who are unable to contribute as much. To date, we have raised a significant amount, which will be used for retainer and attorney fees. Please reach out to us personally if you would like more details.

If we want change, this is our only path forward at this point. While there are no guarantees, having one of the most qualified and highly recognized attorneys, with a vast amount of experience, gives us confidence in a positive outcome for the impacted communities.

We are a strong, tight-knit community that has united us in this fight, and we have confidence we can do this! Let’s all come together and start making the needed contributions today. We are extremely grateful for each of you and will continue to keep you updated on our progress.

A monthly contribution in whatever amount you can afford is gratefully accepted.

FAA/LGB Airport Webinar Recap and Review

July 1, 2024

FAA/LGB WEBINAR

Many of us attended the FAA/LGB Airport webinar, and as we suspected, it was very disappointing. There were many repetitive questions with no solutions or clear answers, and many responses were defensive. Most of the questions submitted by SANER members were not chosen to be answered. Over 200 people participated. You can watch the recorded session at the link provided here. As was mentioned on the FB page, there were no panel participants from the community.
The Long Beach Watchdog published this article after the webinar.

Many of us shared our submitted questions with each other during and after the webinar and for the most part, the important questions we wanted to have answered were not selected. The public was not allowed to see the questions submitted. For weeks leading up to the webinar, the city had gone overboard, sending the same copy and paste emails to anyone who had any questions or comments regarding the airport directing us to attend the webinar to have our questions answered there.

Raquel Girvin of the FAA and panel host, directed us to email any unanswered questions to her directly so we urge you to take her up on her offer at this email. Let SANER know by copying us on your email.

FUNDRAISER WAS A SUCCESS!

Our fundraiser was a success! A huge thank you to everyone who braved the extreme heat to attend and to all the members who helped set up, donated, and contributed in various ways. We are incredibly grateful for all of your support. We enjoyed delicious food, desserts, and music, and it was wonderful to finally meet many of you from our Facebook community in person. We raised approximately $4,000.💥💥💥

ATTORNEY UPDATE

We have finally selected a phenomenal and highly qualified attorney. We are currently awaiting a conflict of interest clearance and a cost sheet to move forward. Out of all the attorneys we consulted, this one stood out due to his strategic approach and extensive knowledge of Long Beach Airport, having worked with the FAA in his career. We cannot provide more details until we file the lawsuit. However, we need to start collecting donations, seeking grants, and increasing our fundraising efforts. To sustain the lawsuit, we will need to raise money on a monthly basis. We have also set up a recurring PayPal page for those who prefer not to receive weekly reminders. You can sign up for recurring payments here.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Volunteers Needed for Flyer Distribution!
We’re looking for volunteers to help distribute flyers in various different Long Beach neighborhoods. If you’re interested, please email us at lbsanergroup@gmail.com to sign up. If you are associated or a member of a Long Beach neighborhood group whose members are concerned about aviation noise and pollution and would like to have a speaker from SANER address your group, please contact us. It takes a village to create change, and your efforts will help raise awareness for our group, increasing our influence on elected officials. Join us in making a difference!