No one can magically give the Class of 2020 a hug from their parents after walking across the graduation stage. No one can give those parents the pictures from before prom. No one can turn everything around from strange to normal. However, the Long Beach Unified School District high schools will try to at least […]
LBUSD Picks New Superintendent, Weighs Graduation Options
The Long Beach Unified School District held a special Board of Education meeting last week to announce it had selected the district’s 13th superintendent: the historic choice of Dr. Jill Baker. Baker will become just the third superintendent of the LBUSD since 1992, and will replace Chris Steinhauser, who is retiring at the end of […]
Trespassing “A Big Concern” For Long Beach Golf Courses
Rumors of Long Beach golfers illegally playing on the local courses have not been greatly exaggerated. Long Beach Parks & Recreation golf courses at Recreation Park, El Dorado Park, Skylinks and Heartwell have all been closed for almost a month, which is the longest such closure in city history. However, the COVID-19 closure of nonessential […]
FEATURE: KJ Feagin’s Dream Season Suffers Abrupt Ending at San Diego State
Photos courtesy San Diego State Athletics/Derrick Tuskan Every story needs an ending. It’s not always the desired ending, or even the predicable one, but closure is essential. One chapter ends so the next can begin. As KJ Feagin approached the final chapter of his college basketball career last month, it appeared a storybook ending might […]
Small Long Beach Soccer Shop Trying To Survive
Isaac Zambrano knew that unexpected bad news at his primary job last month would mean more problems for his small business in the near future. “As soon as the schools closed I knew we would suffer,” Zambrano said. “Everyone was very eager for the spring season at the parks. Now we need to change it […]
COLUMN: Pettway Family Getting By With Positivity
“Oh, what could’ve been,” has been repeating in my head. The flow of constant uplifting stories from Long Beach sports is cut off like a faucet spun tight, and it’s left me wondering. Two months ago, one of the stories on my radar revolved around the Pettway family and what could’ve been a sensational start […]
FEATURE: Kendall Cooper’s Basketball Season Ends Before it Begins in Australia
As far back as Kendall Cooper can remember, this is the longest she’s ever gone without touching a basketball. For the better part of a month, the former McDonald’s All-American has been kept off the court where she’s made her name. Her talent and on the hardwood helped her become one of the best players […]
TEACHING FROM HOME: An Unexpected Expected Change In Life
Years from now, when I am telling the story of the COVID-19 shutdown to my future students, I will struggle to capture the way in which the news was both incremental and sudden, both inevitable and completely unexpected. My students — 10th, 11th, and 12th graders at Jordan High in North Long Beach — had […]
PODCAST: Catching Up With Wilson Alum Chase De Jong
Are you missing sports like we are? We’ve decided to go back and re-record some of our favorite Long Beach highlight videos we’ve produced over the last 12 years. This week we’re starting with the 2012 Moore League baseball showdown between Lakewood’s Shane Watson and Wilson’s Chase De Jong, and we’re talking to De Jong […]
FEATURE: Sherridan Atkinson Flees Turkey Amid Global Pandemic
As professional sports leagues across the world came to a halt due to the global outbreak of COVID-19, one of the last countries to shut down its athletic activities was Turkey. Nearly three weeks after the NBA postponed its season here in North America, the Turkish professional leagues were still playing competitive games. That includes […]