Amy Baker wheeled a cart loaded with 40 white bags through the lobby of Long Beach Memorial Hospital. She usually takes the elevator up to the sixth floor, where she’s worked as a medical social worker for over 30 years, but on this particular Monday afternoon, she was making a detour to the fourth floor. […]
Long Beach Athletes Entangled In Uncertain NCAA Football Season
For the past few weeks, one of the most discussed and debated topics in the sports world has centered around how to proceed–if at all–with the 2020-21 college football season. Though it’s been nearly three decades since NCAA football had a home in Long Beach, there are several local athletes who will be greatly impacted […]
Oral History: Covering Long Beach At 2012 London Olympics
It was a true team effort when The Grunion covered the 2012 London Summer Olympics and all 32 athletes and coaches who had ties to Long Beach. Long Beach State’s Misty May-Treanor and Long Beach Poly’s Bryshon Nellum were two of the headliners, and the small but significant stories that Mike Guardabascio and JJ Fiddler […]
PODCAST: Long Beach Teachers Strike Avoided, CSULB Mascot Change, Olympic Oral History & Much More!
On this episode we’re talking about the Long Beach Unified School District avoiding a teachers strike, the new Cal State Long Beach mascot, the trip we took to the 2012 London Olympics, the Los Angeles Lakers playoff opener and much more. 01:30 Interview With Jordan High Teacher Shar Higa 17:00 Cal State Long Beach Sharks? […]
Feature: Millikan Football Alum Nik Lombardi Working To Be Firefighter
Millikan football fans will remember Nik Lombardi from the magical 2017-18 seasons when the Rams won a pair of playoff games. Despite being one of smallest starters in the Moore League, the 5’8″ 180-pound Lombardi made more than 200 tackles from his middle linebacker position in those two seasons. Lombardi, 19, didn’t leave his mark […]
COLUMN: What We Get Wrong When We Talk COVID-19 Shutdowns
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Semaj Miller. Two weeks ago, I attended a candlelight vigil for Miller, a 14 year-old Compton native who was shot to death in broad daylight. Miller’s youth basketball coach, Derrick Cooper, said that at the time he was shot and killed, Miller would have been at a […]
Feature: Long Beach YMCAs Adapting, Serving Community In New Ways
The YMCA of Greater Long Beach has locations in East Long Beach, North Long Beach, Lakewood, and Bellflower along with a camp in Big Bear, an Early Childhood Education Center, and a Community Development Center downtown. The YMCA serves more than 50,000 people annually and, as it’s involved in both fitness and education, it’s difficult […]
Obituary: Bruce Flanders, Longtime Grand Prix Voice
Bruce Flanders, the longtime voice of the Grand Prix of Long Beach, passed away last Friday at the age of 75. Flanders had been the official race announcer for the race since 1978, with an energetic and enthusiastic voice that became synonymous with the sunshine and excitement of Long Beach’s signature event. “The ‘Voice of […]
FEATURE: Glenn Walker Takes Own Path as Major League Scout
Baseball has taken Glenn Walker all over the world, and it eventually brought him home. The former Poly Jackrabbit followed his love of the game to Hawai’i, Japan, Sioux Falls, and everywhere in-between, but he’s finally made roots in his hometown. Walker currently holds a coveted position as a SoCal area scout for the New […]
FEATURE: Bluff Yoga Offers Sense of Peace, Normalcy
On a cloudless summer day at Bluff Park, more than 100 Long Beach residents moved in unison, strewn across a lush patch of grass along Ocean Boulevard. It’s a familiar scene in Long Beach, with brightly colored yoga mats scattered across the bluff. It’s not until the participants in the popular Yogalution on the Bluff […]