State of the city, as presented by Mayor Rex Richardson
From Kristen Le Falle Sampson
13 January 2026
I attended Long Beach's State of the City. Mayor Rex Richardson delivered an inspirational address on January 13, 2026, under the theme “A Future Built by All of Us.” While the speech was interrupted multiple times, as you might imagine, with neighbors exercising their First Amendment right to emotionally oppose the lodging of ICE is Downtown Long Beach and "lawless enforcement" in our surrounding communities, here are some takeaways for those who could not attend "Future Built By All of Us" last night:
Jobs Growth
Goal to create 4,000 new jobs by 2028, updates on the 2028 Olympic preparations, and the reveal of the city's new professional sports identity. The Mayor also vowed to prioritize applications and placements as outlined in the Local Hiring Preference Initiative.
Home Ownership & Housing
Mayor Richardson highlighted significant progress in expanding the housing supply and supporting long-term residency. The city celebrated 5,000 new housing entitlements over the last three years, which include market-rate and affordable units, as well as a record number of ADU approvals during 2025. Richardson touted the expansion of First-Time Homebuyer Grant Assistance that provide down payment and closing cost, as well as additional programs (like the return of the Mills Act) helping residents with local property taxes.
Elderly & Senior Services
Supporting the city’s aging population was a key part of the "Future Built by All of Us" messaging. The city's Senior Shallow Subsidy: Program, which offers monthly rental assistance to low-income seniors facing economic disruption and homelessness. This includes the construction of 300 Alamitos Ave (81 apartments) and the Armory Arts Collective (63 apartments), both specifically designed for older adults with lower income sources.
LA28
The ticket draw for Olympic events in Long Beach and across the southland is NOW OPEN!
Long Beach will play hose to Olympic Team Houses in Long Beach which include Team Denmark House, Team Greece House and, announced last evening the Team IRELAND House.
The Long Beach Amphitheatre
The Mayor highlighted significant progress with not only to building but booking of the Long Beach Amphitheatre inaugural season. The Long Beach Symphony will open the venue which seats 11, 000 guests on June 6th. Summer season will include Vans Warped Tour, Toto, Mötley Crüe, and more.
Marathon Burger
Samiel "Blacc Sam" and the Broadus Family (sans Snoop) joined the Mayor discuss the Marathon venture, a purposeful extension of the entrepreneurial vision held by Sam's brother Nipsey Hussle as well as other initiatives that will support the small businesses all over the city as we get LA28 ready.
We voted, and the Long Beach minor league baseball team name is...
the Coast, most of the time...
All in attendance received an official ball cap.
The team also will feature a secondary identity and be referred to as the Regulators in some campaigns. This is a nod to the city's hip-hop roots. There will likely be Regulators merch, kind of like the NBA "city jerseys" that players will wear for special match-ups
That's pretty much where we zoned out as the Mayor's town hall was excrutiatingly long but the video of the entire State of the City is here for your leisurely viewing pleasure: https://longbeach.gov/stateofthecity
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