firstfridays FIRST FRIDAY IN BIXBY KNOLLS: BOY SCOUTS BURN WITH LOVE FOR THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE

It may be the first Friday of the month everywhere, but definitely not like it’s First Friday in Bixby Knolls. The uptown enclave is becoming so identified with this day of every month that other parts of Long Beach probably ought to begin thinking of something else to call it. But “something else” is also what the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association keeps coming up with to keep people coming to the Atlantic Avenue corridor for its special evening. Tonight it’s a formal Flag Retirement Ceremony, conducted by Boy Scout Troop 29. Anyone with an old, torn or discolored United States flag can drop it off with the Boy Scouts in the parking lot of Nino’s Italian Restaurant (3853 Atlantic) beginning at 6 p.m. Everyone is invited to observe the solemn flag-burning ceremony at 8 p.m. When you go back to all the eating, drinking, music, arts and camaraderie of First Friday, that little break may help you appreciate it even more.

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA TURTLE TREK: A WONDERFUL WANDER TO THE SEA TURTLES OF THE LOS CERRITOS WETLANDS

These days, as the long-term effects of all kinds of pollution seem to be aggregating into a pivotal era for the world’s environment, new meaning has been given to “the wonders of nature.” For example, what’s the proper response when a beautiful, sunny and warm morning breaks in the middle of winter—a prayer of thanks for an unexpected gift or a plea to be spared from an inevitable punishment? We wonder. A similar dilemma awaits during Saturday morning’s Turtle Trek Tour of the Los Cerritos Wetlands—specifically when the route nears the AES and Haynes power plants, which control their temperature with cool water from the San Gabriel River, but send unnaturally warm water back into the river. Whatever damage the warm water may case, it is also attracting sea turtles to the area. Is this tradeoff good for Mother Nature? We wonder. Fortunately, the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust has local biologists and environmental educators, Taylor Parker and Eric Zahn guiding the tour.
TURTLE TREK TOUR OF THE LOS CERRITOS WETLANDS • MEET ON THE CORNER OF 1ST STREET AND PACFIC COAST HWY ON THE BORDER BETWEEN LONG BEACH AND SEAL BEACH (LOOK FOR NATURE WALK SIGNS) • SATURDAY, 8 AM • TOUR IS A FEW MILES ON A SOMETIMES-UNEVEN SURFACE • WEAR CLOSED-TOED SHOES • CHILDREN UNDER 16 MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT • FREE, BUT PLEASE RSVP, EITHER BY E-MAIL (EJLAMBE@VERIZON.NET) OR TELEPHONE (714.357.8576).

http://www.lcwlandtrust.org/