🌱 Heat Wave Tops 100 Degrees + A Rainbow-Shaped Belmont Pier?

Rise and shine, Long Beach; today is National Unicorn Day! Let's get this Saturday started off right. These are the most important things going on in town today.

It’s been 100 degrees in the City. Also, a Belmont pier replacement before the Olympics? Finally, the Health Department and restaurant owners are butting heads.

First, today's weather:

Cooler with clouds and sun. High: 75 Low: 59.

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Here are the top five stories today in Long Beach:

1. Was it hot enough for you on Thursday? The official high in LB was 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This beat the last record in 1989 when it was ‘only’ 93 degrees. The City has kept records since 1958. (NWS Los Angeles)
2. Would you like the Belmont Veteran’s Memorial Pier to be replaced with a “new rainbow-shaped structure” at a possible cost of $102 million? We learned Thursday that the City wants “to revitalize the pier before the 2028 Olympics.” It would reach from 39th Place to Termino Avenue, create a swimming harbor, and include a “lower-level fishing deck at the crest of the pier.” (LB Post)
3. “A business is not a building, it’s people,” said the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Executive Director on Thursday. The points of contention are “health inspections, which can result in brief or extended closures of a food business.” By comparison, there were seven closures “in the first three months of 2020.” In the last three months, the inspectors closed 19 locales. “Their job should be to reprimand, make recommendations, not close a business down and put people out of work again,” a restaurant owner said about health inspectors. (LB Post)
4. On Thursday, the LBPD spent some time talking “with small business owners and community members alike, as part of the East Village Neighborhood Walks.” It provided officers an opportunity to get to know residents and businesses. It also signaled an increased patrol schedule. (@LBPD)
5. The Aquarium of the Pacific took some time on Friday to show off its giant bell jelly. It has the distinction of being “the largest member of its family.” Head on over to the Aquarium to see this jelly and its 250 tentacles (more or less). (NBC)

Today in Long Beach:

• 11th Annual LUNAFEST at the Art Theatre (12 PM)
• Art Walk through the East Village Arts District (12 PM)
• The Culver Steps host Blooms on the Steps (12 PM)
• The Art of Flamenco Dinner Show at Café Sevilla (6:30 PM)
• Old Radio Play: Thin Man & X Minus One at the Long Beach Shakespeare Company (8:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Enter the Long Beach Antique Market's Free Pass Giveaway! There will be 10 Winners on Sunday, April 17. (Instagram)
• LBFD Fire Chief Xavier Espino and Fire Station 7 personnel visited Birney Elementary School for Career Day! Career Days are important. The minds of our students are opened to the opportunities that life will present them. (Facebook)
• The City of Long Beach, with support from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, has issued a $25,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension and/or conviction of Octavio Montano Islas. (Facebook)
• The City wants you to prepare yourself for this heat! 🚰Stay hydrated 🎽Wear loose-fitting, light clothing 🧴Apply sunscreen (at least SPF 15) 👶🏽 Never leave a child or 🐶 pet in a parked car or asleep in the direct sunlight. (Facebook)
• Join neighbors to make it a “Day On, not a Day Off,” on Saturday, April 23rd as part of the MLK National Day of Service in Long Beach. Help clean up the MLK Peace Garden located at King Park. There are other service opportunities, too. (Facebook)

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Alrighty, you're all good for today! I'll see you soon.

— 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.