bobfoster Mayor Bob Foster will deliver his fifth State of the City address—and the fourth in a row since Foster broke previous Mayor Beverly O’Neill’s dubious tradition of using the City Charter-mandated speech as a Chamber of Commerce fundraiser—on January 11 at 7 p.m.at The Center Theater in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center.

All Long Beach residents are invited to attend for free, but tickets must be reserved for admission. Two tickets may be reserved per address. Tickets can be acquired by phoning (562) 570-5089 or through www.MayorBobFoster.com — although anyone concerned with privacy should consider that the website belongs to Foster, not the city, and there is no assurance that personal information such as e-mail addresses will not be used for other purposes.

 “I’m delighted to invite the Long Beach community to the 2011 State of the City at the Center Theater,” Foster said in a press release.  “The State of the City has been an opportunity for our City’s residents and community leaders to join together to reflect on the past and look forward to the future of Long Beach.”

The Center Theater’s capacity is smaller than the last year’s venue, Terrace Theater. The State of the City was moved to Center Theater due to construction at Terrace.