Queen Mary Ship

Long Beach voters will be asked whether they want to allow gambling in or around the Queen Mary ship, which is in danger of being mothballed. The City Council, in a 5-4 vote Tuesday, agreed to send the issue to the voters in November. The council majority agreed with a consultant's report that the ocean liner can only be profitable if the city allows a card casino. Opponents of the plan said a card casino would tarnish the city's reputation.

Queen Mary, meet Queen Victoria . That's pretty much how the introduction would go if these two Cunard ships -- one docked in Long Beach, one on its way to the Panama Canal -- could speak. Instead, the ships  will exchange a whistle salute amid fireworks when they "meet"  Thursday in Long Beach Harbor. Admission to the Queen Mary, usually $24.95 plus tax for adults, will be free to mark what Cunard calls a "royal rendezvous. " Queen Victoria is expected to sail into Long Beach Harbor between 5:30 and 6:15 p.m. and rendezvous with its sister ship between 6:15 and 6:45 p.m. The ship opens to visitors for free at 10 a.m.; guided tours and dining, however, are not free.

The historic Queen Mary cruise ship in Long Beach received a symbolic boost Tuesday when the City Council recommended the attraction remain open until another operator can be found for the seaside attraction. But the fate of the ship and its nearly 1,000 employees remains in the hands of the Board of Harbor Commissioners, which will vote next Monday on the future of the liner. The Walt Disney Co.

A group of investors won the right to run the Queen Mary and develop its surrounding Long Beach waterfront property at a federal bankruptcy auction Tuesday. With a bid of $43 million, the group, called Save the Queen, picked up the 66-year lease to oversee the operations of the historic ocean liner. The only other bidder, real estate developer O&S Holdings in Santa Monica, did not submit a counteroffer, Long Beach city officials said.

Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said he came to Los Angeles for a reunion with an old flame, and he kept his commitment Thursday in Long Beach. Obuchi's first stop after landing at Los Angeles International airport was the Queen Mary, the ship that first brought him to the United States more than 35 years ago. He said the ship was his "love in Los Angeles." "When he saw that room his eyes lit up and he went to sit on the bed.

Opening a new chapter in the storied history of the Queen Mary, the ship's operator is negotiating with Japanese interests to move Long Beach's best-known icon to Tokyo Bay for at least three years. The negotiations are being conducted by Joseph F. Prevratil, who operates the Queen Mary under a lease from the city, and are being closely followed by municipal leaders, a number of whom are expressing skepticism.

The majority of Long Beach's harbor commissioners said Wednesday they will not agree to pay $6.2 million to immediately dry-dock the Queen Mary and repair its rusty hull, as recommended by experts earlier this week. The harbor commissioners had agreed to pay $6.5 million for repairs that were already planned. But three of the five commissioners said in interviews that they would rather sell the ship to a Hong Kong firm for $20 million than put more money into the Long Beach landmark.

A preliminary review of the Queen Mary by U.S. Navy inspectors indicated that the ship does not need to be immediately dry-docked at a cost of $6 million. The hull "gave no indications of imminent risk of flooding" because of rusting, Capt. B. Janov, commander of the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, recently advised city officials. Nevertheless, Janov recommended a thorough study of the ship's hull. Assistant City Manager John Shirey said Tuesday the city would seek such a study.

Long Beach and Walt Disney Co. officials were advised in 1990 that the Queen Mary ocean liner is so rusted in some areas that its hull could spring a leak, flooding the lower portions of the vessel and possibly trapping employees and tourists, according to city documents. No action has been taken to correct the problem because of the cost and disagreements over who is responsible for the work, according to officials and city documents.

Queen's Anniversary: The Queen Mary in Long Beach has celebrated its second anniversary under the current management. The historic ocean liner, operated by a group headed by Orange County resident Joseph F. Prevratil, offered big band dancing, balloons and birthday cake for the celebration Saturday.

A developer and a group of investors are expected to vie today to run the Queen Mary attraction and its surrounding Long Beach waterfront property, city officials said. The officials said the bidders -- real estate developer O&S Holdings in Santa Monica and a group called Save the Queen -- would appear in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles. The city, which owns the Queen Mary, has been trying to find a new partner for the ship after its leaseholder, Queen's Seaport Development Inc.

A leading candidate to run Long Beach's Queen Mary attraction and develop its surrounding grounds has pulled out of negotiations with the city, officials said Friday. But other developers interested in leasing the 55-acre site are scheduled to bid at an auction later this summer. The city of Long Beach owns the Art Deco-era ocean liner that has been docked across Queensway Bay from the city's downtown for nearly 40 years.

A Santa Monica shopping center developer has bid $41 million to purchase the lease for the Queen Mary and surrounding grounds in Long Beach, with plans to refurbish the ship and develop the landing as a retail-entertainment complex. O&S Holdings' is the first bid received for taking over the property operated by Queen's Seaport Development Inc., which filed for bankruptcy in March 2005.

Long Beach has reached an agreement potentially worth $9 million that would settle a rent dispute between the city and the operator of the Queen Mary harbor tourist attraction. The pact between the city and Queen's Seaport Development Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2005, must still be approved by a bankruptcy court judge. The agreement, however, is expected to clear the way for a court-appointed trustee, Howard M.

A Los Angeles law firm has filed what it hopes will become a class-action lawsuit against the organizers of the Queen Mary's Marilyn Monroe memorabilia exhibit, claiming that it contains mostly items never touched by the iconic sex symbol. The exhibit, part of a resurgence of interest in Monroe memorabilia, has been seen by thousands of people. They have paid $22.

When two mighty ships named Queen Mary saluted each other Thursday in Long Beach harbor, the buzz was all about big numbers: two of the largest ocean liners ever built, more than 6,000 fans watching eagerly from shore, 800 sailboats and yachts hovering nearby, 14 media helicopters and even three blimps.

After months of indecision and haggling, the Long Beach City Council finally decided to take over the Queen Mary and keep the landmark in town--but not before the ship's hotel closed and about 900 people lost their jobs. The months-long debate over the fate of the ship also cost the city two conventions, which would have brought thousands of people into the city's hotels and restaurants and produced an estimated $4 million in revenue.

When the Long Beach Symphony was in debt and foundering, supporters called Joseph F. Prevratil to save it. When the city's Chamber of Commerce was nearly a quarter of a million in the red, officials called Prevratil to balance the books. When Long Beach's largest developer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company asked Prevratil to help shepherd it back to solvency.

Betty Gray still has the old steamer trunk with its faded "Cunard" sticker that she took on board the Queen Mary in 1956. Somewhere, she still has the $315 bill for that six-day, one-way trip from Southampton to New York. She says she can remember as if it were last night dancing the fox trot with her husband to big band music in the ship salon.

Two of the world's most famous ocean liners will meet for the first time Thursday in the Port of Long Beach in an event expected to draw hundreds of former passengers, ship buffs and other curious onlookers. The Queen Mary 2, the world's largest passenger ship, is scheduled to pull near its namesake, the retired 1936-vintage Queen Mary, now a hotel and museum at the port.