Local News in Brief : LOCAL LAWS of 1987 : Long Beach

Among the strongest images of the year in Los Angeles County were those of furious smokers temporarily banned from Beverly Hills restaurants and a would-be gunman holding what turned out to be a toy gun on consumer reporter David Horowitz during a live broadcast. Both incidents spawned action by local authorities. Here’s a sampling of what local legislative boards decided during 1987.

PHONES--The Long Beach City Council, in an effort to prevent drug dealers and loiterers from using public phones as makeshift street offices, voted in April to order several street phones removed. General Telephone Co. officials agreed to rid several street corners, including 20th Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard, of the phones residents said attracted “winos, drunks, drug dealers and pushers.”

ALCOHOL--The Long Beach City Council in April agreed that every restaurant, bar, store and establishment selling alcoholic beverages must post a sign warning pregnant women of possible dangers.

INNS--The Long Beach City Council in April adopted an ordinance allowing small bed-and-breakfast inns in several high-density residential areas and commercial zones.

DISCRIMINATION--In July, the Long Beach City Council outlawed employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. The measure was strongly supported by representatives of the city’s estimated 40,000 homosexuals.

DWI--To help discourage drunk driving, the Long Beach City Council voted in September to begin billing motorists arrested for driving while intoxicated for any services rendered during an alcohol-related accident.

Compiling these laws were Times staff writers Greg Braxton, Gary Gorman, Scott Harris, Roxanna Kopetman, Julio Moran, Victor Merina, Mike Ward, and researcher Cecilia Rasmussen.