Don’t know if you heard, but California Treasurer Bill Lockyer recently laid into fellow Democrats while testifying about legislative reform. “It’s impossible for this legislature to reform the pension system, and if we don’t, we bankrupt the state. And I don’t think anybody could do it here because of who elected you.” Yeah, I know. [...]

The Daily Forty-Niner, the Cal State Long Beach student newspaper, turns 60 this month, and that is a whole lot of stories about frats being put on probation. I worked on the paper for a couple of years, but had no idea it had been around that long—which figures, since the main reason I majored [...]

At 11 a.m., editor Ellen Griley calls the meeting to order—in attendance: food editor/mail sorter Miles Clements, senior editors Theo Douglas and Dave Wielenga, interns Vy Pham and Whitney Walker, Girl Reporter TM  —and returns to her laptop. Eventually, Steve Lowery blows in, prompting everyone to check their watches—it’s 11:19 a.m. … hmmm, not bad. Griley opens [...]

Last night’s Long Beach City Council meeting probably had more reporters per square inch than any council meeting since the Queen Mary came to town in ‘67 (but feel free to substitute your own significant local event here).
As near as I can tell, Cal State Long Beach’s Daily 49er was actually the first paper to [...]

I’m still amazed at the meeting I went to last night in Belmont Shore. Amazed at how quickly nothing happened–and by nothing, I mean a whole lot. So much, in fact, that by the time Marine Bureau Manager Mark Sandoval said “I think we’re done here,” the meeting broke out into the kind of cheering [...]

Is there such a thing as a good ringtone?

The Press-Telegram’s Paul Eakins reports today on the testimony members of three veterans groups gave Tuesday night to the council, after the veterans groups–Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out and Veterans For Peace–were denied the right to march in last Saturday’s 11th Annual Veterans Parade.And LBPost.com chimes in, with a cheery parade [...]

Angry guy attacks Iraq war critics in, like, 7 comments
Steve Lowery is better at harvesting nuts than this thing. His recent post on the decision to ban Iraq War critics from Saturday’s Long Beach Veterans Parade brought anti-antiwar critic “Raoul Deming” to thedistrictweekly.com. Deming writes, “Thank God Long Beach stood up for our [...]

Be nice to the District’s news reporters
The P-T runs a this Associated Press story on the biggest news in bad cops—the meltdown of the OC Sheriff. You want allegations of Christian sex, cash, yachts, boxing, kickbacks, and scams? Read. And then consider: though the AP story doesn’t mention it, everything in the indictment appeared [...]