Carpenter
Center hosts transportation and trade
forum
By Katie Plourd
Online Forty-Niner
Managing Editor
The Carpenter Performing Arts Center hosted an out of the ordinary crowd Wednesday
at the eighth Annual Center for International Trade and Transportation (CITT)
State of the Trade and Transportation Industry Town Hall Meeting.
Nearly a thousand members of the International Longshore Warehouse Union (ILWU)
joined California Secretary of State Bruce McPherson, state senators, representatives
from mayoral and congressional offices, representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard
and executive directors for the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to address
issues in the trade and transportation industry.
The CITT hosts an educational forum every year to address pressing issues in
the industry. The topic addressed this year was“ Evolving
Goods Movement Solutions: Balancing the Economy and the Environment.”
According to Marianne Venieris, executive director of CITT, the forum presents
a way for the industry and local business community to connect with union workers
and other industry members in an open forum.
“
The main purpose is to present and discuss the state of trade and transportation
industry in the forum of education,” Venieris said.
Cal State Long Beach President F. King Alexander welcomed the group to the Center.
He thanked the ILWU for the work it does in the industry and promised the university
will work with industry groups to combat the problems they face.
“
Your issues and challenges are issues and challenges that we should address
as a university and are the issues we should address as faculty and students
in our ongoing effort to build this region and to build the job capacity
of this great state of California,” Alexander said.
The meeting featured a panel of industry leaders and experts who discussed the
challenge of balancing the industry’s economic needs with environmental
concerns. The panel included California State senator Alan Lowenthal; Richard
Steinke, executive director of the Port of Long Beach; Dr. Barry Wallerstein,
executive officer of South Coast Air Quality Management District; local ILWU
member Joe Gasperov; Stephanie Williams, senior vice president of the California
Trucking Association; John Ficker president of the National Industrial Transportation
League; and Richard Powers, executive director of Gateways Cities Council of
Governments.
Speaker Genevieve Giuliano, director of the Transmart Transportation Center and
USC School of Policy, Planning and Development, said managing the growth of international
trade while maintaining environmental standards is a vital topic which needs
to be maintained continuously.
“
We must manage the congestion, air pollution and other problems that come
along with that growth,” Giuliano said. “It’s not possible
to exaggerate the importance of what we’re doing here tonight. The
economic health of this region depends critically on stopping this challenge.”
The event included free admission and parking for all who attended and was sponsored
by CITT, CSULB’s University Colleges and Extension Services and Metrans
Transportation Center.
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