Profiles
GERRIE SCHIPSKE: LB’S FIRST GAY MAYOR? WE THOUGHT WE’D NEVER ASK
Although Gerrie Schipske became Long Beach's first openly gay elected official in 1992, she has rarely referenced the subject ... until now, when we asked the 5th district's City Council representative about it---two months into her campaign to be the next Mayor of Long Beach.
DAVID WEIDMAN: MR. MIDCENTURY IS AGAIN AN ARTIST FOR OUR TIME
The groundbreaking silkscreen techniques and designs that David Weidman introduced during the Eisenhower presidency are still shaking the earth today. On May 4, the ninetysomething artist will be in Long Beach for a meet-and-greet (and show-and-sell) at In Retrospect on Retro Row.
ONE QUESTION FOR … ASSEMBLY CANDIDATE TONIA REYES URANGA
Nearly three years after Tonia Reyes Uranga last held a public office---or ran for one---the former Long Beach City Council member has filed to run for the 70th district seat in the California Assembly in 2014. We've got one question for her ...
ONE QUESTION FOR…DIANA “SLICE PRINCESS” BOSETTI
A former elite figure skater named Diana Bosetti is now raising two sons, coaching ice skaters part time, about to graduate from law school---and playing jammer for the Cyclone Racers of the Long Beach Derby Gals. GreaterLongBeach.com's Mick Haven has one question for her.
CRAVE LIFE CHURCH USING COLUMBIA SPACE CENTER AS LAUNCHING PAD
Tbe Rev. Moses Barrios says his Crave Life Church in Downey is "not yo mama's church," and the fact that it congregates for Sunday services in the Columbia Memorial Space Center is only the first evidence of that.
RUNNING FOR STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT WAS A JOKE—UNTIL THEY WON
Although Student Body President John Haberstroh and Vice President Jon Bolin have been in office for nearly a year, it still sounds strange. From Cal State Long Beach's DIG magazine.
RETELLING 2012: IS BERTH 55 WALKING SAME PLANK AS PIERPOINT LANDING?
The longtime businesses on Berth 55 are living on a temporary reprieve from the Port of Long Beach, but face the same sad fate as another long-gone Long Beach icon, Pierpoint Landing.
THE HEALING FIELDS OF LONG BEACH’S CAMBODIA TOWN
The next generation of Long Beach's Cambodian-American community steps up to help its elders---and itself---writes Michelle Woo in the current OC Weekly cover story.
MARIO GUERRA’S TOWN HALL MEETING ANOTHER “HE SAID-HE SAID” AFFAIR
Downey Councilmember Mario Guerra's annual town hall packed the Barbara J. Riley Community and Senior Center, and anybody anticipating an evening of loquaciousness and pugnaciousness was not disappointed. Guerra, who loves to talk, did.
WITH SO MUCH DRAMA IN THE LBC, HOW DOES A LOCAL LIFER STAY UPBEAT?
A link is finally available to Uduak Ntuk's recent appearance on Greater Long Beach Radio, wherein he is asked why somebody who grew up in the LBC only to find it in this condition when he reached adulthood, continues to live, currently works for and is engaged to be married in the City of Long Beach.
ONE QUESTION … FOR ALL-AROUND EVERYMAN, GREGGORY MOORE
So now you're a drummer in a bluegrass band, Greggory Moore? All of that other stuff, all of that everything else---and you drum in a bluegrass band, too? What the hell, Greggory Moore? Seriously: What?
ROSE PARK RESIDENTS LEFT HANGING BY VERIZON’S HIGH-WIRE ACT
Rose Park residents have a 25-year resume of restoration and beautification, but have been helpless to stop Verizon from adorning the historic neighborhoods with hanging, dangling and tangled wires and equipment. Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal wants the City Attorney to explore legal options.
STEADY PROGRESS OF HMONG REFUGEES MAY CARRY XIONG TO CONGRESS
If Blong Xiong is elected this November, the Fresno city council member and Laos-born refugee would become the first Hmong American in Congress. No matter what happens, however, Xiong is energizing the country’s fast-growing Hmong community,
FAMILIES, DETECTIVES STILL SEEK TRUTH IN THREE TEENS’ 1984 STABBING DEATHS
More than a quarter-century after three South Gate teenagers died of wounds they received in a stabbing attack that occurred in the dry San Gabriel River during what was supposed to be a night of fun at Golf 'N' Stuff on the Norwalk-Downey border, the crimes remain unsolved---but the families and law enforcement continue searching for answers.
SPANISH-LANGUAGE MEDIA ON A MISSION TO MOTIVATE VIEWERS TO VOTE
The nation's top two Spanish-language media networks, Univision and Telemundo, have launched separate get-out-the-vote efforts ahead of this fall’s elections so as to capitalize on their broad reach into Hispanic households and to mobilize viewers. They don't influence how viewers vote, just that they should.
GAY-STRAIGHT STUDENT ALLIANCE: NOT JUST OUT AND OPEN, BUT MAINSTREAM
Through friendship and frank discussions traditionally unheard of on high school campuses, Gay-Straight Alliances like this one at Downey High are normalizing once-taboo subjects, shedding light on human complexity and helping people feel welcomed and accepted.
JOHN DIXON’S JOURNALISM: DOING YOUR BEST TO TELL THE TRUTH
The profile of John Dixon by Jim McCormack compies slices of true life that are mostly examples of Dixon's concern about the state of journalism---and Dixon's typical response: to reach into his own integrity for the right thing to do, then to reach into his own courage to put that thing into action.
BLANCHE DEATHEREAUX REDUX: FROM THE GET-GO, SHE WAS ‘BOUT IT
Sarah "Blanche Deathereaux" Scanlon was new to the game but became an instant star when Long Beach Roller Derby showed up 1 1/2 years ago. Yes, it does feel longer than that, perhaps because it feels so right. With the league seeking funds to get out of debt and stay alive, that's a good feeling to think about.
KNOW YOUR HISTORY: THE HALF-DOZEN GREATEST ZOMBIE HUNTERS EVER
You don't have to have brains to be a great zombie hunter. In fact, a certain empty-headed quality seems to help. And so it is that the half-dozen greatest zombie hunters, stalkers and killers in history turn out to be a motley collection. Wherever in the world they come from, they also come from the edges of society, the edges of sanity, the edges of life itself.
‘GREEN GARDENER-ECO-FRIENDLY-LANDSCAPING-ODD JOBS & KNIFE SHARPENING’
Steve Perez runs his gardening business without using power tools---even his mower is personally powered push kind---and travels his entire gardening route on a three-wheeled bicycle hitched to a trailer. He insists he hasn't gone crazy. He's gone green.
KINDE DURKEE: FRUMPY, FRIENDLY … AND SUDDENLY, MASTERMIND OF FRAUD?
Alleged political embezzler Kinde Durkee of Long Beach attracted little attention from her Bixby Knolls neighbors and was well liked by professional colleagues. "She’s a warm, accessible person,” said one. “You would describe her attire as frumpy. Drove a beat-up old car. Lived in a plain home. You don’t look at this person and say, ‘This person doesn’t look right.”
AS JOHNSON FACES RECALL, A LOOK BACK AT HIS CANDIDACY
A version of this article---based on an interview with James Johnson when he was running for the 7th District seat on the Long Beach City Council---first appeared in January 2010. It is re-published to provide context to a citizens' group's attempt to recall Johnson.
THE ROAD TO MISS LONG BEACH PAGEANT HAS BROUGHT THEM A LONG WAY
Sunday's Miss Long Beach Pageant is just the latest moment of truth for its first openly lesbian contestant, Jenelle Hutcherson---and her girlfriend, Masa Zokaei---whose relationship has faced and overcome a lot of them during the historic year-long campaign.
WHAT HAPPENED? ‘DEATH IN CUSTODY REPORTING ACT’ DEMANDS ANSWER
The Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2011 would mandate that details of every death in the custody of law enforcement must be reported to the attorney general. The bill would apply to people in the process of being arrested, inmates, and immigrants held in detention centers.
‘IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU WEAR, JUST AS LONG AS YOU ARE THERE’
As the summer heat descended on my garage sale, I met a man wearing a dress who promised to teach me to dance, right there on the driveway. Predictably, I got dizzy, so I focused on the heart locket he wore around his neck, and noticed the hairs from his chest on which it lay.
SETH TANNER MILLER OF BELLFLOWER APPOINTED TO AIR FORCE ACADEMY
Bellflower resident Seth Tanner Miller has been appointed to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and expects to begin the four-year program this summer. Miller graduated from Valley Christian High School in Cerritos in 2010. He was accepted to the Air Force Academy Prep School, where he just completed his first year while [...]
ON FATHER’S DAY, A TRIBUTE TO MY DRIVING FORCE
My dad and I have often spoken to each other loudly and self righteously, although not always very effectively. But when it comes to driving, our perspectives seem to merge---and merging is the maneuver that tests the skills and attitudes my dad holds dearest, in driving and in life. He knows we all share the same road. He believes we can share it peacefully. Me, too.
MARY THOITS AMONG 27 SENIORS HONORED FOR LIVES OF VOLUNTEERISM
Mary Thoits of the Long Beach City College Senior Studies Center is among 27 seniors honored by Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe on the 46th annual Older Americans Recognition Day for the contributions they make to the quality of life by volunteering.
BEST 75TH ANNIVERSARY PRESENT FOR THE QUEEN MARY? SAVE HER!
On the 75th anniversary of the Queen Mary’s maiden voyage, expert and advocate Bill Cwiklo speaks to Greater Long Beach Radio---and blogs---about missteps since her 1967 arrival in Long Beach … and suggests how she can yet be transformed into a world-class tourist attraction.
ON THE DAY AFTER THE END OF THE WORLD, THE PEOPLE PARADED WITH PRIDE
On the day after the end of the world, the people held a parade. A big crowd showed up, and it seemed to include just about every kind of somebody. They found happiness in the silliest of things---even stuff that was just plain stupid---and they just couldn’t seem to get enough.
WANDA SYKES: WE ALWAYS FIGURED HER LIFE WOULD TURN OUT FUNNY
I’m one seat from the First Lady looking at my notes. She asks me a question, and I look at her like, "Woman, don’t you SEE I’m busy?" It wasn’t until after the performance and I sat back down that I thought, “Oh my God, I told the First Lady to pipe down!"
AND THEN THERE’S REALITY AS NOT SEEN ON TV: A MOTHER’S DAY MEMORY
These days channel surfing leads us to “reality shows” of all varieties, especially the reality of people with big problems. Can these people change? Maybe on TV. But reality seems too overwhelming in real life. And then, there is the story of my mother...
ARMORY PARK: ALL THESE YEARS LATER, HAS ITS TIME FINALLY ARRIVED?
Four years after it seemed to reach a stalemate, Armory Park is back---although to what extent we won't know until a press conference Monday. While you wait, here's a slightly updated version of a 2007 story that explains just how things were left at the time.
WATCH DALAI LAMA AT CARPENTER CENTER LIVE ON LBREPORT.COM AT 9:45 AM
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is scheduled to be at Long Beach State this morning to receive a special human rights award from Amnesty International, and the event will be streamed live on LBReport.com beginning at 9:45 a.m.
AS MARIO CORDERO DEPARTS, HIS LEGACY MAY BE THIS SMALL ACT OF HEROISM
Mario Cordero's confirmation by the Senate last week to the Federal Maritime Commission brought back memories of the moment that epitomized his tenure on the Long Beach Harbor Commission---his commitment to personal integrity when he refused to rubber-stamp a back-room deal he didn't believe in.
ET TU, BONZO: A CENTURY’S WORTH OF RONALD REAGAN IN HIS OWN WORDS
Doctrinaire Republican office-holders are fascinating—government officials who distrust government, and they explain this distrust by venerating Reagan, a government official who raised taxes as California governor and never eliminated a government program or department as U.S. President.
DOWNEY MINISTER DOES THE MATH AND RESCHEDULES THE APOCALYPSE
"I'm 110 percent sure of this," says the Rev. Audie Derryberry, whose 65th birthday---retirement age---would nearly coincide with the end of the world on May 21. "This is not a scare tactic. Do the math---there's a lot of math in the Bible and it's there for a reason.”
PHOTO ESSAY: SUNRISE BIKE RIDE BEGINS MEMORIAL FOR MARK BIXBY
A large contingent of cyclists pedaled out of a glorious sunrise at Alamitos Bay Friday morning on a memorial bike ride for the late Mark Bixby, who died March 16 in a private plane crash at the Long Beach Airport.
FIFTY YEARS LATER, A BIRTH—AND A LEGACY—AT 14TH & CHESTNUT
The site of Long Beach's first great hospital has become its newest park, and many people born at Seaside Hospital came to the dedication of Seaside Park---some bearing their birth certificates---as witnesses and well-wishers to the repurposing of their sorta-sacred spot.
BIXBY PARK: THOSE WERE—AND THESE ARE—THE GOOD OLD DAYS
For more than a century, Bixby Park has been Long Beach’s mirror, the place the city could look to really see itself. The park's current bedraggled condition says something about us. But so does Thursday's grass-roots fundraiser to help restore the site of the good, old days---and those ahead.
SHASHIN DESAI: THOUGHTS ON A LIFE IN—AND NOW OUT OF—THE THEATER
“Whatever that passion is, whatever you call it, wherever you find it---whether there are five people in the cast or five people in the audience---it is OK, it is perfect. Nothing else is an issue. The issue is how sincere people are.” ---SHASHIN DESAI
DON’T HATE THEIR HOUSE—OR THEM—BECAUSE THEY’RE BEAUTIFUL
As if there weren’t enough reasons to admire/envy the life/style that the McMillans---artist Jeff/pregnant Liv---got going on in their 1,600-square-feet of tricked out vintage house, the Apartment Therapy website recently gave the couple its stamp of approval … that is, a featured spread.
OROPEZA’S STAFF TENDING TO HER CONSTITUENTS—AND LOOKING FOR WORK
Monday would have been the day Jenny Oropeza began her second term in the California Senate.
Instead, for her staff, it was simply the first day back from the holiday break, a return to tending to the needs of constituents and a resumption of the countdown to their last day on the job.
GREATEST OF THE GREATER: MOST-READ STORIES FROM OUR FIRST 6 MONTHS
It's been barely six months since Greater Long Beach was launched---June 24, 2010---but in that small time we've taken some big strides toward preserving and continuing the kind of independent and insightful journalism that Long Beach and surrounding communities not only need, but deserve. Here are the 10 stories that were most-popular with readers.
ONE QUESTION … FOR RESTAURATEUR KAMRAN ASSADI: ARE THESE HOLIDAYS MAKING MERCHANTS HAPPY?
The question: From where you stand—on the downtown corner of First Street and Linden Avenue, where you and Amir Zee have co-owned Utopia Restaurant for 11 years—do these look like Happy Holidays for East Village businesses? Kamran Assadi’s answer: Compared to last year, it’s much, much better. It’s been a very good holiday season for [...]
MODERN CONDO IN THE LONG BEACH SKY TOURED ON APARTMENT THERAPY
Kara and Ken Pearson---and their two kitties, Jack and Bean---took a great leap of faith in this new condo, when they decided to downsize from a three-bedroom house to an 850-square-foot condo. With an incredible view of Long Beach, this condo sits on the fifth floor of a classy multi-unit residence.
HOW A MATH-AND-MARCHING-BAND NERD BECAME A HALFTIME-SHOW STAR
Jaime Holly is about as successful as they come in the word of drill design---which, be honest, you didn’t even really know was a world. He uses complicated mathematical formulas to choreograph routines and performances for high school marching bands. Nerd alert!
APPRECIATING RICH ARCHBOLD WHERE IT COUNTS MOST—AS A HUMAN BEING
I was his Girl Friday. I zipped him into a Sam the Eagle costume for the 1984 Olympic party, scooped ice cream at his side for a staff treat, helped with his Halloween costumes, made dozens of paper antlers for the traditional newsroom Christmas party. I answered to his nickname, “Wheezie.” Still do.
ALL AROUND THE TOP O’ THE TOWN ON A FAREWELL TOUR WITH VAL LERCH
Lerch steers his car onto a side street off Artesia Blvd. and hits the steering wheel for emphasis. “Now you look and you tell me this isn’t as good a neighborhood—pride of ownership, all of that—as anything you’ll see in Belmont Heights, in East Long Beach.”
CHRIS KENDZIERSKI’S DIY STUDIO CHARMER: WOODWORKS FOR ME!
Apartment Therapy just featured Chris Kendzierski's Long Beach studio---all of 450 square feet of it---which he has transformed into an apparently airy and definitely enviable home with a lot of inspiration from architect/furniture-maker George Nakashima and his own talents as a woodworker. Me? I'm proud if I can keep the dishes washed.
BLANCHE DEATHEREAUX: QUARTERBACK PRINCESS OF LONG BEACH ROLLER DERBY
“Some people just can't go up to someone they don't know and hit them or flip on top of them,” says Sarah ‘Blanche Deathereaux’ Scanlon, the team captain and jammer for the Retro Rollers of the Long Beach Roller Derby. “That's what got me excited once we actually started looking like roller derby players.”
WHY IS ONE LITTLE SHOP OWNER BEING MOURNED SO DEEPLY? ONE WOMAN EXPLAINS WHAT SHE LOST WHEN PETE TOULIOS DIED
[Pete Toulios, owner of Lil' Devils boutique on 4th Street, passed away May 17 of still-undetermined causes. A reader of Redistricted! shares the light she lost when Pete passed away. For more remembrances, click here.] BY ELIZABETH BRIGNONI I met Pete Toulios at UC-Riverside, where we worked on a project for the “Healthy Families” study. [...]
IN REMEMBRANCE OF PETE TOULIOS, OWNER OF LIL’ DEVILS CHILDRENS BOUTIQUE, WHO MADE 4TH STREET MORE THAN SHOPPING
PETE TOULIOS (ON THE RIGHT), 1977-2010 [EDITOR’S NOTE: Pete Toulios, 33-year-old owner of Lil’ Devils Children’s Boutique on 4th Street’s Retro Row, passed away Monday. Cause of death is unknown, but Pete had been posting reports of feeling poorly on his Facebook account. His last update: "My primary care doctor is sending me back off [...]
MEETING MOSES SONKO: FINDING A WORLD WIDE WEB IN MY OWN TOWN
When I requested an upgrade in my Internet and telephone service, all I thought I wanted was a faster connection to the Worldwide Web. Instead, when Verizon technician Moses Sonko showed up to install my new FiOS system, I made a personal, local connection that renewed my faith in the world. No, this is not [...]
ARTHUR J. PAUL DIED OF A WHOLE BUNCH OF STUFF, BUT THE LIST DID NOT INCLUDE REGRET
My wonderful old friend, Arthur J. Paul, died early this morning—of bone cancer, congestive heart failure, double pneumonia, some kind of enzymes thing in his kidneys or was it his liver and I think at least one other thing, and as I recite this list I can almost hear Arthur cutting me off with the [...]
