Long Beach Aquarium Of The Pacific

Visitors to the Aquarium of the Pacific have probably met Miller. He's a blubbery sea lion whose best years are behind him -- alas, his eyesight is failing and he can no longer perform handstands -- but he's a lovable old salt and children adore him. Visitors may also have seen Hugh Ryono, a volunteer trainer who, like Miller, has been a fixture at the Long Beach facility since it opened in 1998. Ryono and Miller are tight.

HEAD to Seal Beach in the summer and it's easy to have an up-close encounter with a round ray -- albeit a painful one. Upward of 16,000 rays, each armed with a 1 1/2 -inch venom-coated, serrated barb, cruise the area. And they are responsible for one-quarter to one-third of the estimated 1,500 stingray injuries that occur in the U.S. annually, according to research by Cal State Long Beach professor Chris Lowe. But just a few miles away, you can still get close without fear of injury.

An animal rights group wants the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach to gut its cafeteria menu of fish and seafood, arguing that "serving fish at an aquarium is like serving poodle burgers at a dog show." Like Lilo in the animated "Lilo and Stitch," who refused to make a tuna sandwich for her friend, Pudge, a fish, because it would be "an abomination," the head of the Fish Empathy Project for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said serving fish at an aquarium just isn't right.

As security guards lock the doors to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific one Friday evening, a group of Girl Scouts and a pack of families--armed with sleeping bags and overnight gear--clamor to get in. Make no mistake, these folks aren't trying to beat the morning crowd, nor are they misplaced campers. They are taking part in a sleepover designed to give families a closer view of the underwater tribes of the Pacific Ocean. And you thought the fish went to sleep when the aquarium closed.

The city is buying two water taxis to ferry tourists between the soon-to-open Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific and two other local tourist attractions on the water: the Queen Mary and Shoreline Village. The Long Beach transit board voted 7 to 0 Monday to spend $600,000 for the taxis that would transport tourists around Queensway Bay every 20 minutes. The boats will be leased to Catalina Express, which has a permit to operate water taxis in Long Beach.

The halibut huddle in one dark corner known as the Halibut Hotel. The leopard sharks hug the bottom, searching for specks of food. The calico bass drift toward the top and beg. These inhabitants of the predator exhibit at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific, scheduled to open June 20, are like any new roommates. They're learning to adapt to their new surroundings and get along. But the most popular of the tank's inhabitants is the bat ray, a cute fish with a puppy-like face.

The Runabout free shuttle line that carries passengers around the downtown area will be painted bright red, get a new name and add more buses in time for the opening of the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific on June 20. The Long Beach Public Transportation Co. board voted Monday to spend $56,000 for new graphics designed by Wash Creative of San Diego to advertise the soon-to-be announced new name. The Runabout fleet has 24 shuttle buses.

Long Beach will cut back on the amount of hardwood from Brazilian rain forests used in its Queensway Bay waterfront project, but environmentalists said Friday that the action is coming too late to offset the damage already done. City Manager James C. Hankla, in making what he called a good faith effort to environmental groups, said the city will reject 23% of the wood being used to build piers and boardwalks for the project and take steps to avoid a repetition of the problem.

Whenever the executive in charge of hiring at the nascent Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific has doubts about a job candidate's ability to fit in, she trots him or her into the office of President and Chief Executive Warren Iliff. If the prospective employee gets a chuckle out of the decor--including the duck feet crossing the ceiling, the antique brass diving helmet and the two stuffed dinosaur-like critters in an ornate glass-topped box--chances are the relationship will be a success.

The plastic duck's feet glued to the ceiling of Warren Iliff's office give an inkling that the president and CEO of the soon-to-open Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific is no ordinary executive. But if the feet are not convincing, there are the stuffed penguins tottering on the windowsill, the rice paper fish perched on a pedestal and the ancient diving suit crumpled on the floor.