Reeves said in the June 5 Long Beach Press Telegram that his office and JetBlue chose the library because it was a place that everyone could support. “What’s the most vanilla project you can think of?” he said. “How about buying books for kids?”
However, some city council members were upset that they had not been consulted in the decision. “It sickens me,” Val Lerch said, that Reeves had generated positive public relations for a company charged with criminal misdemeanors. What’s next, he asked, “championing drug dealers?”
But Reeves insisted that criminal-court settlements are not subject to council approval. Like other city departments, the library is attempting to survive a projected $90-million city budget shortfall.
Posted June 9, 2003.