If you didn’t know any better, the Dominguez Gap Wetlands might strike you as some of Mother Nature’s handiwork–a narrow valley swathed in colorful native wildflowers, alive with birds and bees and gently swirling currents of water. And if it weren’t for the press release that was handed out when the Dominguez Gap Wetlands were dedicated Thursday morning, I [...]

Calling Michael Shane Ellis a good-for-nothing, drinking-and-driving, hitting-and-running, all-around no account member of the Long Beach school board is simply not right. Not anymore. Not the good-for-nothing part, anyway.
A month after the re-election of two school board incumbents supported by the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, the organization’s CEO and president acknowledges that Ellis’s [...]

An all-star roots-rock cast sings the late musician Chris Gaffney to his rest

PHOTO by DANIEL DE BOOM
It should go without saying that yesterday’s roots-rock legend-laden Chris Gaffney memorial service at The Cellar was a tough show. The 57-year-old roots musician died of liver cancer April 17, mere months after being stricken.
But really, when is the [...]

You can kill the Assemblyman’s rail yards bill, but his heart will go on … talking air quality

It was 10 a.m. Tuesday morning and eighteen hours earlier, Assembly Bill 2332–fledgling 55th District Assemblyman Warren Furutani’s (D-Long Beach) try at banning construction of new or expanded railyards within a quarter-mile of schools–had rather quietly burned to [...]

Mitchell Stewart, who revitalized downtown Long Beach nightlife four years ago by converting an abandoned Pine Avenue bank into the state-of-the-art concert venue The Vault 350, died early Sunday morning of a heart attack, the District has learned. He was 49. No other details could be confirmed. 
“Mitchell Stewart has passed away,” said Andy Dubin, an associate of Stewart’s. “That’s all I [...]

With 100 percent of the votes still not cast–and more to the point, not going to be–the results are official: Michael Shane Ellis, the so-called “worst school board member in Long Beach history,” has defeated Randy Gordon, the so-called “self-appointed mayor of Long Beach.”
The troubled Ellis will not face the recall election sought by the [...]

There will be other important demolitions in Long Beach.
But yesterday’s dismantling of the crime-ridden Avalon Motel came with a free Southern lunch, served after Vice Mayor Bonnie Lowenthal clambered into the cab of a towering Caterpillar front-loader for a de-construction worker’s perspective, as the city struck down the blighted building.

The Smith family’s sale of its soon-to-be 75-year-old bookstore Acres of Books to the city was accomplished a few weeks ago. Yesterday’s Redevelopment Agency meeting merely made it official, putting an exact price and terms on the deal: $2,854,000–which includes closing costs, relocation costs and cost costs.
We kid; there are no cost costs. But

In a strongly-worded memo to the mayor and city council members, City Manager Pat West said that the city has ended discussions with Orange-based ad company Media Management Service about erecting six electronic billboards in Long Beach.

When I was hired as an officer by Long Beach Animal Control on May 16, 2005, I was very excited about the opportunities I thought would be presented to me by working for the City of Long Beach.  I am an Eagle Scout, have a Bachelor’s degree in biology–option in zoology–and worked at Long Beach Animal [...]