🌱 diPiazza’s, El Burrito Grill Burgled + Power Outages Around 4th St

Good morning, friends; today is National Cream-Filled Donut Day! It's Wednesday in Long Beach, and I'm back in your inbox to get you caught up on the most important things happening locally. We’re looking at:

• 🚓 Two restaurants with smashed windows on PCH
• 🎈 A metallic balloon that caused power outages for 3,000 SCE customers
• ⛽ A man pumping gas in the wee hours being robbed at gunpoint

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🌤️ First, today's weather:

Clouds giving way to sun. High: 81 Low: 68.

🌡️ FYI: Long Beach Cooling Centers are open daily from noon to 6 p.m. You find them at the Houghton, McBride, and Admiral Kidd community centers as well as the Senior Center and El Dorado Park West.

📢 I’m looking for business owners and marketers in Long Beach who want to build awareness, connect with customers and increase sales.

I have a limited number of sponsorships available to introduce our Long Beach Daily readers to local businesses they need to know about. If that’s you, then I invite you to learn more and secure your spot now.

⛽ Three Of The Cheapest Gas Stations In Long Beach

• Sam’s Club at 7480 Carson St., $4.78
• Rocket Oil at 1701 W Anaheim St., $4.79
• Arco at 1785 Bellflower Blvd., $4.79

🗳️ November Election Poll!
Beginning October 6, and continuing through October 10, every registered voter is mailed a ‘Vote By Mail’ ballot. How are you planning to vote this November? Please let us know! So far, 20.4% plan to vote in person on election day, 66.3% will be voting by mail, 10.2% intend to vote early in person, and 3.1% plan to sit this one out.

📰 Here are the top stories in Long Beach today:

1) Who smashed the sliding glass door at diPiazza’s at 5205 East PCH on Tuesday morning? The alarm system alerted the owner at 4:22 a.m. of the attempted break-in. Burglars “fled before being able to take anything of value.” There’s a possibility that the same burglars smashed in the window at El Burrito Grill at 5211 East PCH, which is just a few doors down from diPiazza’s. (Long Beach Post)

2) Did you lose power on Monday? Blame a metallic balloon! About 3,000 SCE customers sat in the dark or had their power go on and off repeatedly. Technicians responded by rerouting power, but if you live in the area around East 4th Street to East Appleton Street, there’s a good chance that it took a while before you saw the lights come on and stay on. (Patch)

3) Pumping gas around 4:18 a.m. can be dangerous. The LBPD reports that Tuesday morning, at that time, a man was at a gas station in the 5500 block of Long Beach Boulevard. A man approached him with a gun drawn and “robbed him of personal property.” “The victim and suspect got into a physical fight, during which the suspect fired shots. The suspect then fled the scene in an unknown vehicle. The victim did not sustain any injuries.” (LBPD)

4) Did you notice that the ‘Belmont Shore Welcomes You’ sign at “the west end of the Second Street corridor near Livingston Drive” is gone? While termites had been munching on the wood for years, the final nail in the coffin came when a car hit it. However, we learned on Tuesday that the Belmont Shore Parking and Business Improvement Area Advisory Commission has already been working on the design of a new marker, which will likely come with a $40,000 price tag. (Long Beach Post)

5) Mark your calendars! Jewish Long Beach’s Advocacy Subcommittee has planned an election information evening on September 22 at 6 p.m. There will be “a one-hour meet-and-greet. Then, in a “talk show” format, former First District Councilman Evan Braude will interview candidates and allow them time to state their platforms.” Expected attendees include Rex Richardson, Suzie Price, Robert Garcia, John Briscoe, Janet Nguyen, Kim Carr, Josh Lowenthal and Al Austin. This is a free event hosted by the Alpert JCC at 3801 East Willow Street. (Press-Telegram)

📆 Today in Long Beach:

• Long Beach Indie International Film & Entertainment Festival at Cinemark At the Pike (9 a.m.)
• TurtleTots at the El Dorado Nature Center (10 a.m.)
• Barbara Alpert Singing Circle at the Alpert Jewish Community Center (10:30 a.m.)
• Open House & Ribbon Cutting At LSSSC's Long Beach Office at 1611 Pine Avenue (11 a.m.)
• Trivia Night at the Long Beach Beer Lab (7 p.m.)

📓 From my notebook:

• Senior JJ Loubriel (Men's Water Polo) of Long Beach State Athletics is the Player of the Week! Loubriel scored seven goals at La Verne, tied for the second-most in the 53-year history of the program. (Long Beach State Athletics via Instagram)
• Come join the Long Beach Recycles team to help lead a litter-free initiative. 🚮 (Long Beach City via Facebook)
• A few tickets just opened up for the Long Beach Public Library Foundation's Grape Expectations gala on September 18! If you missed out before, now's your chance! (Long Beach Public Library Foundation via Facebook)
• Our Carson Park neighbor is ISO a local jewelry designer. Can anyone point them to a trusted jeweler? (Nextdoor)
• A Willmore City-North neighbor is wondering if anyone else is smelling a sulfur smell? (Nextdoor)

🛒 More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Turn the Night Blue (September 14)
• 9th Annual Health & Beauty Expo (September 25)
• Add your event

You're officially in the loop for today. I'll see you around!

— Sylvia Cochran

About me: Sylvia Cochran works out of sunny Southern California and has been freelance writing full-time since 2005. She loves dogs, cats, books, plays Best Fiends (don't judge), embraces social justice, and tries to live out Micah 6:8.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Long Beach Daily? Contact me at LongBeach-CA@Patch.com