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Long Beach commissions consider ranked-choice voting proposal

Long Beach residents may be able to decide on whether to implement a new way of voting as soon as the November general election, after two city commissions recently heard a proposal about ranked-choice voting.
A local advocacy group, dubbed RCV in the LBC, has spearheaded the effort to bring ranked-choice voting to Long Beach’s local elections — making the argument before the Commission for Women & Girls in December, and more recently, to the Equity and Human Relations Commission on Jan. 7.
As i...
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Jim Michaelian to step down as CEO, president of Grand Prix of Long Beach

Jim Michaelian, the longtime leader of the Grand Prix of Long Beach for the past quarter-century, will step down from that role after this year’s race, the association in charge of the annual three-day event announced on Thursday morning, Jan. 15.
Michaelian’s last day as president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach will be June 30. He will be succeeded by Jim Liaw, the former general manager of  Performance Racing Industry, which hosts the largest annual motorsports trade show...
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LBUSD’s first female superintendent, Jill Baker, to retire at the end of the school year

Jill Baker, the Long Beach Unified School District’s first woman superintendent, will retire from her leadership role at the close of the 2025-26 academic year.
The district announced Baker’s retirement on Thursday, Jan. 15. Baker, who has worked within LBUSD for more than 34 years, has served as the district’s leader since August 2020.
“Dr. Baker has led Long Beach Unified with integrity, vision and deep humanity,” LBUSD Board of Education President Diana Craighead said in the news release. “He...
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20th annual Animé LA Convention returns to Long Beach

Hundreds of fans descended upon the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center for the 20th anniversary of Animé Los Angeles, a weekend-long event aimed at celebrating the Japanese artform.
Anime, a style of animation originally from Japan  influenced by the drawing style from Japanese comics, or manga, is known for its devoted fan base.
This year’s theme was “Isekai” — the anime trope of being transported to another universe.
Fans were out in full force at the Convention Center for Animé Los...
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Long Beach health department cuts another program after federal funding loss

Another Long Beach health department program has ended after additional federal funding cuts, the city recently announced.
Funding for the program, dubbed Healthy Active Long Beach, was historically supported by the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (otherwise known as SNAP-Ed) — which was recently eliminated after Congress approved the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Healthy Active Long Beach operated for more than two decades, the city said, offering...
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Here are some big stories to keep an eye on in Long Beach in 2026

Happy New Year, readers.
With the difficult year that was 2025 nearly behind us, it’s officially time to look ahead at the major stories expected to fill Long Beach’s calendar over the next year.
Things aren’t likely to slow down in 2026, with ongoing concerns about federal immigration action in the city, continuing budgetary challenges, and other difficulties on the road ahead.
But it’s not all bad — this year could also bring changes to local government leadership with elections on the horizon...
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Here’s how to give your input on Long Beach’s next city budget

Long Beach residents will have several opportunities to get involved in the city’s process for building its 2027 fiscal year budget starting in late January.
The community meetings will offer residents a chance to share their service priorities and other feedback about how Long Beach’s funds should be allocated as the city works to put together the next budget book.
Long Beach approved its budget for the 2026 fiscal year in September. While the city is facing several long-term financial challeng...
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Long Beach offers sand bags, other resources as strong storm begins

Long Beach is offering sand bags and other resources to residents as a powerful atmospheric river makes its way through Southern California during Christmas week.
The storm, which swept into the region on Tuesday evening, Dec. 23, is expected to bring significant rain and strong winds to Long Beach through Saturday night, Dec. 27 — alongside elevated surf along the coast.
The National Weather Service has issued several weather warnings for the Los Angeles/Long Beach area, including a flood watch...
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Council votes to move 2026 Armed Forces Day Parade back to Torrance Boulevard after public outcry

The Torrance Armed Forces Day Parade & Celebration will once again take place at its traditional location on Torrance Boulevard in 2026 — after the City Council voted to reverse its decision to move the event’s location during a special meeting on Friday, Dec. 19.
The City Council narrowly approved a relocation of the annual celebration to the Torrance Municipal Airport on Tuesday, Dec. 2, citing concerns about declining attendance rates and rising costs to host the parade and accompanying celeb...
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Long Beach open swimming areas temporarily closed after 18,000 gallon sewage spill

All of Long Beach’s open coastal swimming areas are temporarily closed after 18,000 gallons of sewage spilled into the San Gabriel River.
Long Beach’s Department of Health and Human Services ordered the temporary closure of coastal swimming areas on Wednesday, Dec. 17. The sewage spill took place the day prior.
“State law requires temporary closure and posting at beaches in these situations, out of an abundance of caution, until the water quality meets state requirements,” the health department...
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LBCC to offer first bachelor’s degree starting in 2027

Long Beach City College will soon offer a bachelor’s degree — the first program of its kind for the local institution.
The college recently got approval for the new degree offering from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, according a Tuesday, Dec. 16, news release. The effort too more than a year of research and academic planning, and a 16-part application to the Chancellor’s Office.
The program will offer LBCC students the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Science in library...
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Long Beach to build new translation booths in City Hall’s Civic Chambers

Long Beach will soon start construction on new translation booths in the Civic Chambers — to help improve access to public meetings for non-English speakers.
As it stands, Long Beach provides various services aimed at improving language access, including interpretation services for City Council meetings, which are provided remotely from various locations within City Hall, according to a Thursday, Dec. 11, city memo.
“Interpreters are not stationed inside the chambers because of space constraints...
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Hanukkah will light up the South Bay, Long Beach areas

Sundown on Sunday, Dec. 14, marks the first night of Hanukkah.
And the South Bay and Long Beach areas will celebrate the Jewish holiday — which is also known as the festival of lights, and lasts eight days and nights — throughout the next week with menorah lightings, latkes, gelt and even the building of a giant Lego menorah.
The Jewish Community Center in the South Bay, in particular, will trek from Hermosa Beach to Torrance — lighting up menorahs.
Here is a roundup of Hanukkah celebrations hap...
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Long Beach Transit suspends pilot program after ICE recruitment ad ran on 7 buses

Long Beach Transit has suspended a pilot program featuring digital advertisements on their buses after U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement recruitment ads ran on several of their vehicles over the weekend.
A photo of an ICE recruitment ad, which showed a federal agent and the slogan, “Defend the homeland, join ICE today,” was posted to social media on Saturday, Dec. 6, and quickly gained traction online.
Long Beach Transit, the same day, posted a statement on its Instagram apologizing and p...
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Long Beach exploring new emergency alert system after Alert LB taken offline due to cyberattack

Alert Long Beach, the city’s emergency alert system used to let residents know about severe weather and other emergency incidents, will remain offline indefinitely as officials explore a new platform after a recent cyberattack.
Until November, Alert Long Beach was operated on a platform via a third-party notification service called OnSolve CodeRED, according to a Tuesday, Dec. 9, city news release. OnSolve CodeRed was recently acquired by risk management company Crisis24, and rebranded as just C...
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Gift Card Drive: Time is running out to help domestic violence survivors this holiday season

The deadline to donate to the Grunion Gazette’s 2025 Gift Card Drive — an annual campaign that helps people who have survived domestic violence enjoy the holidays and rebuild their lives — is nearly here.
This year’s donation drive, the 22nd year running, launched on Nov. 20 and is scheduled to end on Sunday, Dec. 21. Since its establishment by former Grunion Gazette Executive Editor (and current columnist) Harry Saltzgaver in 2004, the campaign has raised more than $350,000 for WomenShelter of...
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Long Beach Transit apologizes, promises to change policy after ICE recruitment ad seen on bus

Long Beach Transit has issued an apology — and promised to revamp its policies — after community members discovered recruitment advertisements for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on their buses.
The city’s transportation agency, which serves more than 18 million people in both Southeast Los Angeles County and northwest Orange County each year, according to its website, posted a statement addressing the situation to its Instagram page on Saturday, Dec. 6, after a photo of an ICE recruitm...
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Long Beach commission asks City Council to consider human, civil rights when investing its money

A proposed policy that would implement stricter rules around how Long Beach invests its money has been approved by a city commission — in an effort to ensure the town doesn’t support companies that violate human, labor, environmental and other rights — though it remains to be seen whether the council will take up the item for further consideration.
The policy, dubbed the Civil and Human Rights Investment Screening, was originally brought to the city’s Equity and Human Relations Commission in Sep...
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Long Beach winter, bad weather shelters open for the season

Two shelters designed to provide refuge for people who are homeless during Long Beach’s colder months have been activated for the season.
Long Beach’s winter shelter, 702 W. Anaheim St., normally operates as the city’s emergency shelter, offering 85 beds to people in need every night. But as of Nov. 17, according to a recent news release, the facility has transitioned to winter shelter operations — offering 125 beds each night.
The winter shelter will also have 24/7 services, including thee dail...
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Interested in Long Beach crime stats? New LBPD dashboard can help

The Long Beach Police Department has launched a new interactive crime dashboard to help community members interested in learning more about public safety in the city access statistics.
The dashboard, according to a Friday, Dec. 5, LBPD news release, includes information about crime statistics and reporting citywide and will replace the department’s current method of sharing crime data through PDFs published each month on its website.
“In support of our ongoing commitment to transparency, account...
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Long Beach selects new department directors for parks, public works

Two Long Beach city departments will soon have new leaders at their helms.
The city announced the new directos for the Public Works, and Parks, Recreation and Marine departments this week. Joshua Hickman, a city employee since 2017, will helm the Public Works Department,  while Stephen Scott, who has been with the city since 1999, will take over the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department.
The appointments come a little more than four months after Long Beach announced in late July that the previ...
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Here’s how to recycle your Christmas tree in Long Beach

With Christmas around the corner, Long Beach is once again offering a free way to recycle your holiday tree.
Long Beach launches its Holiday Treecycling program in late December through early January each year to help residents dispose of their trees properly and safely — while benefiting the environment.
Each year, according to a Tuesday, Dec. 2, news release, Long Beach recycles around 155 tons of trees into mulch for city landscaping. Besides helping the environment, the Treecycling program a...
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ICE detains at least 9 people in Long Beach; ramps up activity in Harbor Area

Several community members, local watchdog groups, and government representatives reported an uptick in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in both Long Beach and San Pedro on Thursday, Nov. 20.
In Long Beach, Órale — a nonprofit dedicated to advocating for immigrants’ rights and justice, which has served as a rapid response organization for those impacted by ICE raids since they began in June — confirmed that ICE conducted operations at at least six different locations around the c...
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Grunion Gazette Gift Card drive, supporting victims of domestic violence, returns for 22nd year

As the holiday season quickly approaches, the Grunion Gazette and Long Beach Press-Telegram are once again teaming up with WomenShelter of Long Beach to help make the season bright for victims of domestic violence and their families.
This year marks the 22nd iteration of the Grunion Gazette Gift Card Drive, which was launched by the Grunion’s longtime former editor — and current “Pinch of Salt” columnist, Harry Saltzgaver. Since its establishment in 2004, Saltzgaver has carried on the community...
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