Long Beach port officials head to Sweden

Long Beach port officials head to Sweden Port of Long Beach officials will depart this weekend for a weeklong business trip to Sweden.
   The five-member delegation, including commissioners James Hankla, Mike Walter and Doris Topsy-Elvord, will leaves Sunday to attend the annual International Conference Cities and Ports meeting in Stockholm, June 23-27. Alex Cherin, the commison's executive officer, and Samara Ashley, the port's director of government affairs, will also be members of the delegation.
   Hankla, the president-elect of the Long Beach port commission, will sit on a conference panel Wednesday to discuss the port's $2.4 billion drayage re-regulation plan that seeks to replace or retrofit nearly 17,000 port servicing trucks with newer less-emissive models within five years. Developed in conjunction with the neighboring Port of Los Angeles, the first stage of the truck plan — a ban on all pre-1989 trucks — is set to take affect on Oct. 1.
   The France-based International Association of Cities and Ports, comprising city government and port authority representatives from 35 countries, is putting on the conference. The IACP reports that 350 people have confirmed they will attend.
   Despite the international makeup of the group and more than 60 speakers scheduled, Hankla will be one of only three Americans speaking and the lone speaker representing a U.S. port or city government.