Negotiations have been going on for nine months between Long Beach City Hall and the company that wants to build a controversial liquefied natural gas facility. But "negotiations" is an overstatement. Nothing has happened in the three months since the company, Sound Energy Solutions, made a specific proposal. SES offered $16.3 million up front and $12.6 in annual fees and taxes, plus $3 million in pipeline revenue in exchange for building the facility at the Port of Long Beach. The city offered no counterproposal, then last week abruptly threatened to end the talks for lack of progress, just four weeks...