By Dianne Anderson Straight from city plot to plate – nothing beats local organics. Local kids and families are working the land, now in full bloom without pesticides. Ms. Sheila G. said that her nonprofit Adventures to Dreams Enrichment gave away bags of produce earlier this month filled with carrots, tomatoes, lots of different varieties ...

By Dianne Anderson Behind the mask, whether The Mandalorian, Deadpool or Spiderman, AKA Yuri Williams, was a lot like the community he serves. Long-term depression following his mother’s death in 2009 was debilitating. On his first day back to work  a bereavement leave – as was his everyday custom – he called his mom at ...

 100 Youth Gathered To Share Voices and Ideas During a Youth Town Hall and Policy Hackathon Mayor Rex Richardson convened the first Youth Advocacy Day on Saturday, June 24, with more than 100 Long Beach youth ages 13-26. Youth came together to share their perspectives and solutions for issues affecting their communities. Saturday’s event was ...

By Dianne Anderson Long Beach parks will be brimming this weekend as friends and family converge for neighborhood reunions, bringing the old cultural landmark into the here and now. All the fun, good food and entertainment will also no doubt spark some deeper historical conversations on the real meaning of Juneteenth. For small business owner, ...

By Dianne Anderson Black past and present are at the crossroads of something better for the future of the Long Beach African American Cultural Center, which now stands small, but tall, and packs a lot of knowledge. Darick Simpson, the center’s president, said they hope to grow bigger in their mission and in location to ...

By Dianne Anderson Dozens mobilized outside Long Beach City Hall last week rallying the cry for action, more community meetings with city leaders and more support from city General Funds to address the violence in the wake of the killing of 12-year-old Eric Gregory Brown III. At the last city council meeting, education advocate Paula ...

By Dianne Anderson Homelessness is up 4.6% from last year in Long Beach, at 3,447 last count, but the good news is that it represents the smallest increase since 2019. Mayor Rex Richardson drilled down the 2023 Homeless Point in Time Count results at the last city update, showing homelessness increased by 7% from 2019 ...

By Dianne Anderson Mom and pop micro and small businesses along with many nonprofits often miss out on good money while trying to single handedly juggle community outreach and the minutia of operations. But if they get their applications in on time, they can soon tap a great lineup of new funding, support services and ...

Medical, Cultural By Dianne Anderson Doctors and medical practitioners of every category could learn a thing or two beyond their textbooks, starting with how to listen to their Black patients. Somehow, their pain gets lost in translation. Alicia Coulter sees part of the problem of why Black patients die disproportionately more in nearly top health ...

By Dianne Anderson Another round of $200,000 in funding hopes to prevent some Long Beach renters from becoming homeless — or, as research indicates, from what happens when people are forced to choose between paying rent and their health. Following the end of Los Angeles County’s pandemic eviction moratorium last month, the city is preparing ...