Want to know what the Mayor has planned for Long Beach, CA in 2010?

Come on out next Tuesday, January 12, 2010 to the State of the City Address and meet Mayor Bob Foster.

If you are new to the City of Long Beach, or just want to find out what LB has planned for next year, it’s a great event to get the information you’re looking for and maybe even meet some new neighbors.

As Mayor Bob Foster said in last year’s address, “So, we have difficult times to deal with. We may be uncertain of our resolve and question our path. We may despair that our future is not as bright as our past. Will we act out of fear? Will we retreat in the face of that challenge? Will we think more about ‘me’ than about ‘us’? … We have challenges and obstacles to our improvement, but we have a great spirit. We have achieved much in the past year to make us a better city,” and I’m really interested in finding out how far we’ve come in the last 12 months.

WHEN:

7:00 p.m. – Tuesday, January 12, 2010

WHERE:

Terrace Theater, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center
300 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach

Free Parking will be available at the Terrace Theater parking lot, located just south of Ocean (between Ocean and Seaside Way). The entrance is located on Collins Way.

RSVP:

The ticket are free, but you have to call ahead to reserve your seats. Just visit www.StateofLB.com or the RSVP line at (562) 570-5089.

Only 4 tickets are available per household, so don’t wait. Last year’s event sold out.

If you want more information, just visit: http://www.longbeach.gov/mayor/stateoflb/faqs.asp

Sincerely,

Mark Shandrow
REO Broker-Associate
Shandrow Group
shandrowgroup.com

P.S. Don’t forget to sign-up for my VIP Listing Newsletter to get all my updates and listings delivered right to your inbox.

(Excerpt taken from the State of the City Address 2009: http://www.longbeach.gov/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=21330)

Shandrow Group - Long Beach Real Estate | LA & Orange County Homes For Sale

Blair Cohn, of the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association, is asking for your help.

Why?

Over the last few months, an experienced kosher deli/bakery operator from Los Angeles has been scouting Bixby Knolls for their new location. And to find out whether you think this is a good thing for neighborhood, a local rabbi and the business operator have come together to develop a short online survey.

One of my favorite things about Bixby Knolls is the variety of restaurants, diners and cafes. And I’m not talking about the fast food joints and franchises. I’m talking about real – prepared from scratch – dishes and desserts that change you from being just a consumer to a real food connoisseur.

If you have any thoughts about getting a kosher deli in Bixby Knolls, all you have to do is follow this link and let them know how you feel about it:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KM6MB8B

It won’t take a minute, and once you’ve completed the survey, please feel free to forward the link to your family, friends, and colleagues, post it on your Facebook,  Twitter and other social media accounts.

You’ll be doing the community of Bixby Knolls a great service if you spread the word and help them gather as much feedback as possible.

Sincerely,

Mark Shandrow
REO Broker-Associate
Shandrow Group
shandrowgroup.com

Shandrow Group - Long Beach Real Estate | LA & Orange County Homes For Sale

4245 Atlantic Ave.
Long Beach, CA 90807
(562) 981-0028
http://www.itsagrind.com

If you’re looking for a great comfortable coffee shop to sit down and take a break, It’s a Grind Coffee House on Atlantic Ave. is the perfect place. Sure, there are Starbucks on every corner of LA County, but if you want to avoid the large franchises – like I do – the community atmosphere and customer service at It’s a Grind is worth checking out.

They serve a wide variety of items including:

• specialty coffees
• traditional espresso
• iced coffee drinks
• tea and tea based drinks
• hot toasted bagels
• muffins
• scones
• and other delicious baked goods

I go there when I need to get a coffee and unwind a little.  And with their free on-site wireless internet, I can get some work done when the office is just to hectic to focus. I like hanging out there when I want to immerse myself in the energy of the community.

It’s a Grind on Atlantic also hosts the Bixby Knolls Strollers, a local walking group that encourages neighbors to get outside and meet others while they explore the streets of Bixby Knolls – every Saturday morning at 7:15am.

The owners Marty & Louise Montgomery, a husband and wife entrepreneur team, opened their first It’s A Grind in Long Beach, CA back in 1994. They wanted to create a neighborhood coffee house that featured a blues and jazz motif, large comfortable seating and an eclectic blend of music that would bring people back to the shop for more.

Free wireless internet, good coffee, community events and live music.

Honestly, what more can you ask of a top-notch neighborhood coffee house?

Sincerely,

Mark Shandrow
REO Broker-Associate
Shandrow Group
shandrowgroup.com

Shandrow Group - Long Beach Real Estate | LA & Orange County Homes For Sale

It’s another beautiful day in Bixby Knolls, so I thought I’d jump on the new Charming and show you around the neighborhood.

Come and ride along with me as I point out all the best spots in Bixby Knolls, such as E.J. Malloy’s, It’s a Grind Coffeehouse, Baba Ghanouj and the best restaurant in town: Bake & Broil. You even get a glimpse of Shandrow Group headquarters.

Though the Charming tops out at 30 miles and hour, it’s still good ride. It just goes to show you have easy-going the people of Bixby Knolls really are. Despite the traffic jam I was causing, not one person honked or tried to cut me off. It really is a great place to live.

I really wanted to give you a real-time view of the commercial district of Bixby Knolls. Lots of restaurants, retail stores and business offices right on Atlantic Avenue. And most of these are within walking distance of my house and office.

So even though we have the new “Shandrow Assault Vehicle” to play with, we really don’t need to waste the gas. (Even if it’s only $3 worth.)

I hope you enjoyed the ride.

Sincerely,

Mark Shandrow
REO Broker-Associate
Shandrow Group
shandrowgroup.com

Shandrow Group - Long Beach Real Estate | LA & Orange County Homes For Sale

3680 Atlantic Ave.
Long Beach, CA 90807
(562) 570-1042

If you’re really interested in finding out what’s going on in our community, the Dana Branch Library in Long Beach is the best place to start.

It’s the hub of the community. It houses the history and the spirit of everything love about Bixby Knolls. It’s a nice quiet spot where the whole family can go to get the latest books, join a club, or just settle in for some much needed family time. My wife loves going there. They have so many resources for school, work and leisure.

Whether you’re looking for popular fiction titles music CDs, movies, audio books, Spanish language materials, graphic novels, classics, magazines or area newspapers, the Dana Branch Library features a large selection of all of your favorites.

What does the Dana Branch Library offer?

• the Dana Neighborhood Library Book Club: The Dana Library Book Club meets the second Saturday of the month in the Dana Library Auditorium
  
• Story times and summer reading programs for the kids
• The Family Learning Center provides homework assistance to students from Kindergarten to Grade 8. The center is staffed with homework helpers to provide help with homework assignments and computer assistance, as well as English-As-A-Second-Language (ESL) software available for public use
• Computers with free internet access, a full library catalog, access to Microsoft Word and Excel, and various online reference resources for anyone who wants to brush up on their computer skills
• Overdrive Audio Books for Download are available free to LBPL card holders. You can check out the Overdrive downloadable audio books for work, school, or even on the road
• MyLibrary DV Digital Video for download is also available free to all LBPL card holder
• You can also rent the community meeting room which holds 90 people

Check out their calendar of events right here: http://www.lbpl.org/events/full_calendar.asp

The History of the Dana Branch Library

Having started out as the California Heights Station in 1928 at 913 Wardlow Road, the Dana Branch Library moved to 3924 Atlantic in 1941 and made it’s final move just down the street to it’s current location at 3680 Atlantic Avenue on May 30, 1958. The Library was named after Richard Henry Dana, Jr. who sailed on the ship Pilgrim from Boston in 1834 to the collect and process animal pelts along California coast. He wrote the classic memoir Two Years Before the Mast based on his experiences during those years.

If you look around as you enter the library, you’ll see a tile mosaic representation of his ship Pilgrim right in the entrance hall.

I highly recommend checking out the library.

You never know what you’ll find.

Sincerely,

Mark Shandrow
Real Estate Broker,
Owner Shandrow Group
562.364.9505
markshandrow.com

Shandrow Group - Long Beach Real Estate | LA & Orange County Homes For Sale

Do you have an weekend adventure?  Promote it to the 3,500 readers at Shandrowgroup.com by leaving it in the comments, or emailing mark@shandrowgroup.com and we’ll be happy to promote it for you.

Shandrow Group - Long Beach Real Estate | LA & Orange County Homes For Sale

With access to best of both metropolitan culture and laid-back California beach atmosphere, residents of Bixby Knolls, CA enjoy mostly upscale neighborhoods where they can live, work, and raise their families in the lap of affordable luxury. The area has a rich historical background, with first settlements from the Tongva (People of the Earth), dating as far back as 500 A.D., and eventual takeover by the influx of Spanish settlers in the 1700s and 1800s, followed by development of the land for ranching and residential occupancy by the Jotham Bixby Co.

Bixby Knolls, a 120-acre residential area that lies east of Atlantic Avenue and between Bixby Road and San Antonio Drive, is one of Long Beach’s best kept secrets. In 1929, the then-undeveloped region was humbly known as “The Bean Ranch,” a lima bean farm originally owned by founder Jotham Bixby. Heirs of the town’s founder vowed to transform the area into “the most attractive and upscale section of Long Beach” -  to be “what the Wilshire section is to LA”. Today’s Bixby Knolls boasts magnificent old homes which have been pristinely kept and retain much of their original character.

California Heights came of age in the 1930s, during the Provincial Tudor and Spanish Colonial Revival. In 1784, the land that we now know as California Heights became part of a 300,000 acre land gift given by the King of Spain to a Spanish mission soldier and cattle rancher. After changing hands several more times, in 1921 oil was discovered and the Jotham Bixby Co sold 183 lots, along with oil rights, to assorted business venturists. Today’s California Heights affords its residents breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, LA and San Gabriel River Basins. It is a fantastic place to live, work, play, and raise families in safe, clean, affluent neighborhoods.

Los Cerritos/Virginia Country Club: Would you believe that prestigious Los Cerritos was once a modest farming community? Named for the Rancho Los Cerritos or “Rancho of the Little Hills,” this picturesque region of Bixby Knolls is home to the stately mansions of the 1920s oil boom, all built in the Colonial, Spanish Revival and Provincial designs. It is also the location for the Virginia Country Club, originally developed by Colonel Drake for the guests of the Virginia Hotel.

La Linda Drive is a private, gated community with documented historical significance. It is the location of Bixby Heights founder Jotham Bixby’s “Old Adobe Ranch House” dating back to 1885, and the majestic estate at 11 La Linda Drive, which was inhabited by George H. Bixby, son of Jotham Bixby, and later John Menko. 1910 through 1913 brought the development of the La Linda community and subsequent building of the area’s first schools. Today, La Linda is one of the “neighborliest” of neighborhoods, combining the charm and sophistication of old-world homes, affluence preserved from eras past, and a truly fantastic, thriving modern community.

Interested in real estate opportunities in Bixby Knolls, Long Beach CA? Contact Mark Shandrow at 562 364 9505 today.

Shandrow Group - Long Beach Real Estate | LA & Orange County Homes For Sale

Residents of Bixby Knolls, Long Beach CA can rest easy knowing that they live among intelligent, action-oriented citizens who take pride in their community and are proactive about safety and the environment. You’ll find many valuable resources throughout the area that educate about important current events and issues.

Long Beach neighborhoods such as those within Bixby Knolls employ sophisticated weather technology to help you make informed decisions about when and how much to irrigate your lawns and landscapes, as well as reduce water consumption in other ways. Save money on water bills and learn how to conserve our most precious resource while compensating for the periodic dry periods that affect us.

Long Beach Water Saving Information: http://www.lbwater.org/conservation/programs.html

Long Beach “Free Paint” Program

Long Beach keeps its neighborhoods clean, green and pristine thanks to programs like the “Free Paint Program” which rewards homeowners who opt to remove graffiti on their own. They also feature a Graffiti Removal Program where a professional paint contractor is consulted with to ensure that the exact paint match is obtained before attempting to remove the graffiti. There is also a Graffiti Prevention Landscape Program which foster the use of strategically placed vines and shrubs along walls and fences as a means of deterring graffiti artists. You can also call the 24-hour Graffiti Hotline at (562) 570-2773 to report graffiti incidents or request paint.

Learn more about the Long beach “Free Paint and Graffiti Removal Program” here: http://longbeach.gov/cd/neighborhood_services/free_graffiti_removal.asp

Shandrow Group - Long Beach Real Estate | LA & Orange County Homes For Sale