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Kindness 2025: Aquarium of the Pacific scholarship program works to make sciences more diverse

The Aquarium of the Pacific has plenty of educational programs aimed at bringing the community into the wonderful world of science — but during this year’s Long Beach Gives campaign, the institution is hoping to raise money for one specific scholarship program.
Dubbed the CELP (Community, Equity, Learning and Persistence) Scholar Program, the initiative provides $10,000 scholarships to local college students from minority groups in an effort to increase diversity in science.
The CELP program (wh...
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Kindness 2025: This organization has been spotlighting women writers — since 1982

Literary Women, a nonprofit with decades of experience spotlighting and supporting female writers in Long Beach, is a beloved local group for just that reason.
It was established in 1982 by Harriet Williams and Virginia Laddey, who, after realizing that local high school reading lists had a massive dearth of works by women writers, decided to do something about it.
“They founded this organization that was just so grassroots to feature women writers, and our very first festival was in 1983,” Moni...
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Kindness 2025: LB Community Compost is working to make the city’s soil healthier

Long Beach Community Compost, a primarily volunteer-run organization with a mission to transform waste into soil, is hoping to raise some money to support its community work and programming.
Since it was established in 2020, the organization has, among other sustainability initiatives, collected and processed more than 80 tons — or about 161,686 pounds — of food scraps from all around Long Beach, which they’ve processed and turned back into soil that’s distributed to local gardeners, school and...
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LBUSD to implement new restrictions on phone use during school in 2026

Students at the Long Beach Unified School District will no longer be allowed to use their phones during school starting next year, when new limitations on device usage are scheduled to go into effect.
The policy, dubbed “Reclaiming Attention: Limiting Distractions, Supporting Wellness,” received unanimous approval from LBUSD’s Board of Education last week and is expected to take effect on Jan. 26 — with some pilot schools scheduled to implement the policy this month, according to a district news...
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City of Long Beach disagrees with audit that found $22 million in lost revenue over stagnant development fees

Long Beach has lost out on about $22 million in potential revenue because it hasn’t adjusted its development impact fees to keep up with inflation and other rising costs, according to a recent audit — though city management has disputed some of the report’s findings.
City Auditor Laura Doud’s office released the audit analyzing the city’s development impact fees — which are one-time charges collected from developers that are constructing new buildings to fund a variety of public improvements, su...
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Rapper Cardi B is coming to Long Beach’s Fingerprints Music for a meet-and-greet

Grammy Award-winning rapper Cardi B will visit a beloved Long Beach music store later this month to promote her latest album, “Am I The Drama?” — which will come out next week.
Cardi B, known for hits like “Up” and “I Like It,” will visit Fingerprints Music on Thursday, Sept. 25, according to an announcement from the store, for a meet-and-greet and photo opportunity with fans.
Her first studio album, “Invasion of Privacy,”  was released in 2018 was met with critical acclaim from fans and the ind...
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Reagan Foundation cancels Ben Shapiro speaking event, after fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley has canceled an event with conservative political commentator and activist Ben Shapiro — which was scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 10 — after learning that fellow conservative activist Charlie Kirk had been fatally shot earlier in the day.
Shapiro was set to appear at the library to discuss his new book, “Lions and Scavengers: The True Story of America (and Her Critics),” on Wednesday night.
The Reagan Presidential Foundation an...
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Long Beach Gives, online fundraiser for local nonprofits, returns for 7th year

Long Beach Gives, an annual online fundraising campaign that helps nonprofits raise money for their programs and services, will soon return for its seventh year — with early giving getting underway on Thursday, Sept. 11.
The official day of giving will happen a week later on Thursday, Sept. 18.
Over the past six years, Long Beach Gives has raised about $10.8 million for hundreds of local organizations supporting numerous causes, from homeless services to environmental advocacy and just about eve...
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Help support Special Olympics SoCal athletes with Long Beach Plane Pull

If you want to find out how strong you really are — while supporting athletes competing in the Special Olympics Southern California — get ready to help pull an entire aircraft on Saturday, Sept. 13.
The annual Plane Pull challenge pits teams of 25 against each other to see which one can tug a 124,000-pound UPS jet 12 feet the fastest. This year’s Plane Pull will take place at Jet Zero at the Long Beach Airport, 4150 E. Donald Douglas Drive.
“All funds raised through the Plane Pull will help empo...
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Salvation Army’s ‘Night of Hope’ fundraiser returns Sept. 13

The Salvation Army will soon host its second annual “Night of Hope” — honoring graduates from its Long Beach Adult Rehabilitation Center program — on Saturday, Sept. 13.
The rehabilitation center, also called LB ARC, is capable of housing up to 100 men and is home to various residential recovery programs for people experiencing substance abuse issues, according to the Salvation Army.
This year’s Night of Hope event will feature the story of Leonard James Russell — a Long Beach native and Poly Hi...
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Photos: Culture, food, and more on display at 76th annual Long Beach Greek Festival

Hundreds of food, music, and Greek culture lovers gathered at the grounds of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church on Sunday, Aug. 31 to celebrate the second day of this year’s Long Beach Greek Festival.
The event kicked off in earnest on Saturday, Aug. 30. The festival grounds open at noon each day, welcoming in visitors eager to delight in classic Greek cuisine, dance, music, and more.
And Sunday was no exception — with revelers delighting in Greek such classics as gy...
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Long Beach Greek Fest returns for 76th year starting Aug. 30

The Long Beach Greek Festival, a longstanding celebration of the country’s culture, cuisine, and music, will return for its 76th iteration from Saturday, Aug. 30 to Monday, Sept. 1.
The beloved local event will get underway at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church, 5761 E. Colorado Street, with the festival grounds opening at noon each day. It’ll cost $5 to get in.
A huge draw of the festival is, of course, the food — with dozens of traditional Greek cuisine offerings avail...
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Care about the future of city trees? Long Beach wants your input

If you’re passionate about how Long Beach manages the thousands of trees under its care — at parks, in neighborhoods, and along city streets — you can share your opinion in a new community survey.
The survey will help inform how Long Beach develops its new Urban Forest Plan. That plan will essentially serve a governing document guiding how the city will grow, maintain, and protect its trees in an effort to make the city more climate-resistant, sustainable, and generally livable.
“Trees in Long B...
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Applications for Long Beach’s ‘Love Your Block’ grant program open

If you’re a West Long Beach resident looking to solve a problem in your neighborhood, the city has officially opened applications for a mini-grant program that could help bring your solution to life.
The program, dubbed Love Your Block, offers grants of up to $2,500 for individuals with project ideas aimed at creating positive change in their neighborhoods. Long Beach signed on to a nationwide network of cities also participating in the program in partnership with the Bloomberg Center for Public...
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Catalina Island Conservancy launches new fire danger program — with an island fox mascot

The Catalina Island Conservancy has officially launched a new program aimed at educating the island’s residents and visitors alike about wildfire danger and prevention — with help from a new mascot based on Catalina’s native fox subspecies.
Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of Long Beach, is home to about 4,000 year-round residents, thousands of acres of wildland, and more than 60 native plant and animal species found nowhere else on earth, according to the conservancy.
Its unique ecosystem,...
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Long Beach ‘Bring Your Own’ campaign returns this October

Come October, Long Beach will urge its resident to take on more sustainable practices in an effort to reduce single-use plastics.
The “Bring Your Own” campaign, returning for its third year in October, is a collaboration between the Department of Public Works, the Long Beach Reuses Coalition, and a smattering of local businesses and community groups.
The campaign encourages people to bring their own reusable containers, bags, cups and utensils to participating local businesses and certain specia...
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Long Beach’s longstanding Olympics history to be on display at new Historical Society exhibit

If you’ve ever been curious about how the Olympic Games have shaped Long Beach — from its infrastructure and economy to cultural relevance on the global stage — the Historical Society of Long Beach has something in store to scratch that intellectual itch.
The Historical Society, 4260 Atlantic Ave., will celebrate the launch of its newest exhibit, “Olympics on the Golden Shore,” on Thursday, Aug. 21. The exhibit features hundreds of artifacts, photos, Olympic ephemera and more, all of which docum...
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DOJ wants non-citizen voter registration requests, including sensitive data, from Los Angeles County

The U.S. Department of Justice has requested information about the removal of non-citizens from voter registration lists from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder — including sensitive data, such as Social Security and driver’s license numbers and birth dates.
The ask, sent to the county registrar last month, follows a slew of similar Justice Department requests to election officials in at least 19 other states, seeking information about voter fraud and non-citizen voting.

President Donald...
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Long Beach Public Works Director Eric Lopez to leave the city in September

Long Beach’s Department of Public Works director, Eric Lopez, will soon exit his position, which he’s held since 2020, according to a recent city news release.
Lopez’s last day at the department’s helm will be around Friday, Sept. 19, the city’s Wednesday, July 30, news release said. He will take up the position of senior vice president with Pasadena firm Pacific Services Inc.
“We are deeply grateful for Eric’s many years of dedicated service and outstanding leadership. His commitment to innovat...
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