By Dianne Anderson Instead of being funneled through the police, a new pilot program is set to deescalate mental health crisis in West Long Beach with calls for nonviolent help being handled by trained nonsworn mental health professionals. As part of the City’s Racial Equity and Reconciliation Initiative, the program focuses on connecting the community ...

By Dianne Anderson Growing up in District 6 in Long Beach, Autrilla “Sheba” Gillis lived next to her grandma and with her mom – both by definition powerhouse sheroes – they always had something good in the works. Likewise, Gillis draws from her community activist roots as the daughter of Sharon McLucas, and granddaughter of ...

By Dianne Anderson Local advocate Duke Givens doesn’t have much time to dig around for what new grants or funding may be coming up, but he just sticks to the mission at hand. He does what he can do to help the homeless. That kind of focus has led to good support and donations for ...

By Dianne Anderson Those that have it to give will dig deep in their closets and pantries this weekend in support of the city’s fifth big donation drive-through to help the homeless, and the nonprofits who serve them. On Saturday, July 29, the drive-through runs from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Main Facilities ...

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 ...