Presenter Karen Reside, Principal with Resides & Associates, will discuss the elements of a strong grant proposal, and how to find suitable grants and identify potential funders.

Space is limited. To guarantee a seat, RSVP to the Neighborhood Resource Center at 562.570.1010. Spanish and Khmer translation available. Free parking is available behind the building and on the street.

Read the rest of Public Invited To Free Grant Writing Workshop on February 8

Laurie Angel, former North Project Area Chair and community advocate will be the moderator. Opening remarks will consists of a two minute opening and a two minute closing statement discussing candidate views and platforms. Each candidate will have 2 minutes to respond. They will also be able to rebut any question for 90 seconds twice.

Read the rest of North Long Beach Community Action Group Hosts 8th District Candidate Forum

Before we shine a light on special spots to visit in Long Beach, let’s talk about how easy it is to find an RV campsite. From Golden Shores RV Resort, right on the water in downtown Long Beach, to Bolsa Chica State Beach, ten miles away in Huntington Beach, the campsites are both scenic and affordable.

Now that we’ve found a place to camp, let’s talk about how Long Beach RV travelers like to spend their time.

Long Beach Historic Sites

RV visitors to Long Beach will find historic treasures throughout the region. The rich history of the area encompasses Native American inhabitants, Spanish colonization, the years under Mexican rule and California’s entry into the United States.

There are two unique places that span hundreds of years of California’s history within the City of Long Beach. Rancho Los Alamitos, in the gated community of Bixby Hill, includes a nineteenth century adobe ranch house, beautifully landscaped gardens and educational programs that tell the story of the ranch since it was first settled in 1790.

RV camping history buffs will also enjoy a visit to Rancho Los Cerritos, another 19th century ranch that was part of the same enormous Spanish land grant in 1790. The two-story adobe, built in 1844, serves as a museum operated by the City of Long Beach. Both of these historic ranches are well worth spending time getting to know.

One more vintage attraction you’ll not find on any other RV camping journey is the Queen Mary, legendary ocean liner turned luxury hotel. Now in permanent residence at the Port of Long Beach, this magnificent vessel offers guided and self-guided tours as well as numerous special events throughout the year.

Long Beach Outdoors

Year-round pleasant weather combined with nearby beaches, trails and natural wonders provides the perfect environment for enjoying the great outdoors. Here are just a few of the outdoor recreation possibilities around Long Beach.

• Long Beach Bike Paths run throughout the city, each one showcasing interesting scenery along the way. The Shoreline Pedestrian Bike Path starts in Shoreline Village (an exciting entertainment and outdoor recreation area you’ll also want to visit) and runs for three miles to Alamitos Bay. Another favorite trek is the San Gabriel River Bike Trail, a 28-mile journey that parallels the river, passes through El Dorado Regional Park and leads all the way to Alamitos Bay. Bring your bikes or rent two-wheeled transportation at one of the many area outfitters for a street level view of Long Beach.
• The Beaches of Long Beach. Who would come to Southern California and not visit the beach? Swimming, sea kayaking and people watching are three fun ways for RV vacationers to enjoy the shore. Here are a few beaches you should explore while RV camping in Long Beach:
• Bayshore Beachon Long Island Peninsula
• Seal Beach, just south of Alamitos Bay
• Sunset Beach between Long Beach and Huntington Beach
• Bolsa Chica State Beach, fifteen minutes south of Long Beach on Pacific Coast Highway
• Torrance Beach, thirty minutes west of Long Beach in Torrance
• Long Beach Area Cruises offer RV travelers a wide range of outdoor experiences. Take the hour-long cruise to Catalina Island to visit the many attractions on the enchanted isle. Many other charter cruise providers call the harbors of Long Beach home, taking passengers whale watching, deep sea fishing or just sight-seeing along the shore. You can even take a gondola cruise through the canals of Naples Island in Alamitos Bay. Don’t miss your chance to see Long Beach by water!

Here’s a bonus tip for RV campers traveling with kids — the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach will enchant young vacationers while teaching them about marine life around the world. It’s consistently rated a top Southern California attraction for families.

RV camping in Long Beach, California will be an experience you’ll long remember. Discover why parking your RV in Long Beach can be the beginning of a great California vacation.

The June 10, 2012, Grand Opening is a culmination of the historic site’s comprehensive restoration and preservation process —marking a new chapter in experiences at Rancho Los Alamitos.

On June 10, 2012, Rancho Los Alamitos, Povuu’ngna—a sacred site that represents the past, present and future of California—will open to the public its new Rancho Center and restored historic Barns Area. As the centerpiece of Rancho Los Alamitos’ long-term transformation, the Rancho Center project will present engaging new ways of connecting with the diverse voices and stories that shaped this uniquely California site and reflect the ongoing blend of regional culture and environment, including the Native American, Spanish, and Mexican periods, the ranching and farming era, and the imprint of early 20th century development upon the landscape.

The Grand Opening Year will invite visitors to experience the reinvigorated site in a new light through the Rancho Center’s permanent exhibition and learning spaces.

Read the rest of Rancho Los Alamitos Celebrates Restoration With a Year of Special Programs

More than two million California homeowners owed more on their homes than they were worth last year according to Santa Ana-based research firm, Core Logic. According to CreditSesame.com, over 30% of California homes are underwater. A quick foreclosure search on Foreclosure.com will yield almost 2000 foreclosures in Long Beach alone.

Occupy Long Beach believes it “is time for us to stand together as a community and proclaim ‘Enough is enough,’ much in the way that was done during the Great Depression.” 

Read the rest of Occupy Activists Organize Home Defense Empowerment Workshop

Here Come The Cows opens February 10.

GO-FAME Youth Theatre Company announces its 3^rd annual melodrama production, Here Come the Cows (or Never Say “Moo” in Mesa),written by Tim Kelly and directed by Dale Jones. The show features local youth ages 8-18 and includes an old-fashioned olio revue of song, dance and comedy!

In the grand tradition of western melodrama, Here Come The Cows has heroes to cheer, villains to boo with the added bonus of a “genuine” cattle stampede live on stage! What could be more fun? Audience participation is encouraged, making for an interactive theater experience. So come meet the townspeople of Mesa, AZ where it is so hot the cows are producing evaporated milk and the chickens are laying hard-boiled eggs. 

Read the rest of Here Come The Cows: Western Melodrama Takes the Stage at the GO-FAME Studio

Finding a romantic restaurant for Valentine’s Day isn’t difficult in Long Beach. But with all the stress and pressure of this once-a-year love-fest, wouldn’t it be nice to have more than just dinner? How about a relaxing atmosphere where everything is taken care of? Prix Fixe dining is a wonderful indulgence. Let the Chef plan the menu and you and your sweetheart will be free to focus on more important things… like the bubbles in the Champagne.

Read the rest of Prix Fixe Romance: 8 Long Beach Restaurants for Valentine’s Day

Photo by Ferne Millen

His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be delivering a public talk on ‘Peace of Mind in Troubled Times’ on April 21st, at 1:30PM, at the SMG managed Long Beach Arena. This event is hosted by Gaden Shartse Thubten Dhargye Ling (GSTDL), a Tibetan Buddhist center in Long Beach.

Read the rest of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Speak in Long Beach April 21st

Read the rest of Cal Rep Questions Authority With ‘Quills’ a Sadistic Fable

Dr. Terrence J. Roberts

Long Beach Rotary will host its fourth meeting this year on Wednesday, February 1st, and will feature Dr. Terrence J. Roberts, member of the Little Rock Nine Foundation that was established in the wake of fierce opposition to the desegregation of schools by nine young African American students.

Read the rest of Long Beach Rotary Welcomes Dr. Terrence J. Roberts, Member of the Little Rock Nine

Read the rest of Hotel Maya Set For a Sweetheart Sunday Brunch and Valentine’s Day Dinner at the Water’s Edge

Kim Kabar

What leads you to the refrigerator?

Hunger? Habit? Cravings? Emotions?

Hungry for Less in Long Beach isn’t your mama’s weight loss program. Founded by a former yo-yo dieter, Hungry for Less provides transformational tools that allow women to lose weight without deprivation, without product dependency and without calorie counting, diet pills or pre-packaged meals.

Read the rest of Hungry for Less Offers Free Class to Women Ready to Lose Weight Permanently

Read the rest of St. Luke’s to Host 2nd Annual Zydeco Mass & Mardi Gras Dinner Dance February 18th

Raising a family is a challenge for every parent – We’re seeking a family who is at the end of their rope with the kids’ behavior:

Read the rest of Studio Lambert Seeking to Cast Local Families for New TV Show

Donna Marykwas

Despite pockets of community gardens, the promise of urban agriculture in Long Beach hasn’t moved much beyond the talking stage. Cities like San Francisco and Seattle encourage urban gardens and even allow the raising of chickens and goats.

In Long Beach zoning rules and red tape make urban agriculture a challenge few residents can meet. That’s where Long Beach Grows comes in. The organization promotes green, healthy, sustainable urban agriculture and has the goal of building a network of urban farm co-operatives in the heart of the city.

Read the rest of Urban Farming Proponent Donna Marykwas To Detail Plans For Local Gardens

Chris grew up in a deaf family and was the only hearing child. When his twin sons were born, one of them was born deaf. He and his wife decided to have a cochlear implant and his entire family disowned him. They asked him “wasn’t it good enough to grow up in a deaf family?” The young son is a leader in his class and fully integrated into the mainstream. The family has since forgiven Chris.

Read the rest of The Long Beach/Lakewood Chapter of Hearing Loss Assoc. to Show “Chris Artinian: A Cochlear Implant for his Son”

Photo by litlnemo

On Thursday, January 26, 2012, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., the Long Beach Police Department’s South Patrol Division will be hosting a leadership forum, which will be held in the Long Beach Police Department’s Community Room, located at 400 West Broadway, Long Beach.

South Division Commander John Benedetti and his staff will be on hand to promote discussion and exchange information with community leaders and concerned residents about what is taking place in their neighborhoods. Recent crime trends and how they are being addressed will also be discussed.

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Read the rest of League of Women Voters of Long Beach Examines the Initiative and Referendum Process

Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal

Residents and business are invited to attend the grand opening of Long Beach’s first parklet at Lola’s Mexican Cuisine, today, Friday, January 20th at Noon.  Long Beach is the first city in Southern California to approve the parklet concept.  Three restaurants have been permitted to construct a parklet in a parking space in front of their business. Each parklet will add approximately 20 additional seats to the respective restaurant and contribute to an active streetscape.  

Read the rest of Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal and Others Host Grand Opening of First Parklet in Southern California

Shrum, Financial Advisor and Second Vice President with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Long Beach Marina branch, has a 29 year career as a Financial Advisor.

Read the rest of Lynn M. Shrum to Speak on “Women and Investing” at The AAUW Long Beach Branch February Meeting

Gabriel Iglesias

Get ready for a barrel of laughs when Comedy Central Live presents the “Gabriel Iglesias Stand-Up Revolution Tour.”The comedian brings his unbelievably witty stand-up show to SMG-Managed Terrace Theater in Long Beach on Thursday, May 3rd at 7:00 PM. This is an Icon Entertainment production.

Read the rest of The “Gabriel Iglesias Stand-Up Revolution Tour” Headed to Long Beach May 3rd

Don Piper

We Care of Los Alamitos and Rising TIDE of Long Beach are pleased to announce best selling author and speaker, Don Piper, as their special guest on Friday, January 27 and Saturday, January 28 at 7:30 pm.

On his way home from a church conference in 1989, Don Piper’s Ford Escort was struck head-on by an 18-wheeler. He was killed instantly — pronounced dead by four sets of paramedics. But a miracle happened, and sent Don back to a life. To date, 34 surgical procedures have taken place. He walks only as a result of miraculous and in some cases medically unexplainable circumstances. During the time he was dead, Piper was granted the extreme privilege of glimpsing Heaven itself.

Read the rest of Local Non-Profits Host New York Times Bestselling Author Don Piper

Councilmember James Johnson

On Tuesday, January 31st, join Councilmember James Johnson as he hosts the 7th District Aquarium Night.

The Councilmember invites all 7th District residents to join him for a fun and educational evening at the Aquarium of the Pacific. This popular event attracted over 1,800 residents last year, and a greater attendance is expected this year. The Aquarium of the Pacific will validate parking tickets for a reduced cost of $8 for the evening. Bring the whole family for a fun, free, enriching evening at one of Long Beach’s most exciting attractions.

Read the rest of Councilmember James Johnson Hosts the 7th District Aquarium Night

Councilmember Steven Neal

Councilmember Steven Neal, invites North Long Beach families to the third North Long Beach Community Assembly, Saturday, January 21, 2012 at the North Long Beach Community Center. This assembly is a platform for neighbors to meet each other, receive neighborhood updates, and discuss the progress of the North Long Beach community.

Read the rest of Councilmember Steven Neal Hosts third North Long Beach Community Assembly, Saturday

Photo by Jaysin Trevino

The community is invited to a free “Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention” workshop at the MacArthur Park/Whittier School Neighborhood monthly meeting today, Tuesday, January 17, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Mark Twain Neighborhood Library Community Room at 1401 E. Anaheim St. Free parking is available at the library parking lot. Translation will be provided in Khmer and Spanish.

Read the rest of Community Invited to the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Workshop, Tonight