🌱 Pier B Project To Displace 30 Businesses + Poly HS Campus Upgrades

Hey, neighbors! Today, we open our wallets for Giving Tuesday! I'm back in your inbox to get you caught up on all the most important things happening in town. Hope you all have a great day. Today you'll find news about these stories and more...

• 🖊️ A parent petitions the school district to discard pandemic grades.
• 🥇 We’re the 78th best city for singles.
• 🤝 Find out survey results at the Bixby Park Community Meeting.

💗 Please help us grow! Send a friend or neighbor this link, so they can be in the know, like you!

🌤️ But first, today's weather:

Low clouds, then sunshine. High: 67 Low: 49.

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⛽ Three of the Cheapest Gas Stations in Long Beach

• Vons at 1818 Ximeno Ave., $4.34
• ARCO at 1001 Redondo Ave., $4.49
• ARCO at 1785 Bellflower Blvd., $4.49

🎄 The Worst Christmas Songs?
Christmas is around the corner. Songs of the season are everywhere. However, some tunes are better than others. Last year, Rolling Stone compiled a list of the worst Christmas songs of all time. Which song is the one that is the worst in your book? So far, we have:

• NewSong, ‘The Christmas Shoes’ - 37.5%
• The Jackson 5, ‘I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus’ - 31.3%
• Seth MacFarlane and Sara Bareilles, ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ - 18.8%
• Band Aid, ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ - 6.3%
• The Pussycat Dolls, ‘Santa Baby’ - 6.3%

Here are the top stories today in Long Beach:

1) Have you heard about the Pier B rail project? We learned on Saturday that the $1.5 billion construction project requires 49 parcels of land. If the project goes ahead, it could “save about 750 truck trips for every full train, which would both reduce pollution and increase productivity.” On the downside, it would displace 30 businesses and two residents. The companies “provide port-related services including boat repair, trucking, and container service and storage.” If you wish to weigh in, there's a virtual public meeting on December 7. (Long Beach Business Journal)

2) The Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) is teasing significant upgrades coming to Poly High School. In the plan are “seven new academic buildings, three new sports facilities, two new parking structures” and more. Contractors entrusted with the project intend to maintain the historic nature of the campus. One approach is to renovate rather than demolish — wherever possible. However, demolition will happen, and it includes the “school’s indoor natatorium and the Ron Palmer Pavilion basketball gym.” An estimated length for the construction project is right around eight years. (Long Beach Post)

3) We learned earlier this month that a petition is asking the LBUSD to discard students’ grades for the 2020-21 school year. Parents favoring this step suggest that students “become limited on their academic decisions, because of a situation that nobody could’ve prepared them for.” The school district countered that it already incorporated eighth grade GPA scores for the requirements needed for some high school programs. That said, a district spokesperson also noted that only a teacher, not a district, can change a student’s grade. (BeachComber)

4) We’re number 78! Monday’s results of a survey examining the best and worst cities for singles in 2022 found that Long Beach is close to the middle of 182 cities that were examined. If you're single and looking for love, Burlington, VT, has the highest percentage of singles, while Fremont, CA, has the lowest. If you're concerned about a singles gender balance, head to Manchester, NH, but stay out of Greensboro, NC. The overall top-rated city for singles is Seattle, WA. At the bottom is Warwick, RI. If you want to stay in California but prefer bettering your odds, then San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles are among the cities ranked higher than Long Beach. (WalletHub)

5) The Parks and Recreation Department invites you to attend a Bixby Park Community Meeting. Scheduled for December 7 at 5:30 p.m., it addresses the feedback the city received from the community survey. The meeting is at the park’s community center. (Long Beach Parks)

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Today in Long Beach:

• CITE's 62nd Annual Conference at the Long Beach Convention Center (8 AM)
• Courtyard Story Time at the Rancho Los Cerritos (10 AM)
• Farmers Market at Bixby Park (3 PM)
• Three-Hour Whale Watching Tour meets at Rainbow Harbor (3 PM)
• Karaoke at Alex's Bar (9 PM)

From my notebook:

• "Joel Murray of LBSUMBB is our Player of the Week, presented by Port of Long Beach! Murray made the most of LBSU's trip to the Bahamas, leading the Beach to a third-place finish in the tournament and earning All-Tournament Team honors." (Long Beach State Athletics via Instagram)
• Our Carson Park neighbor "just saw a coyote walking down Gondar (from the direction of Heartwell Park towards Harco). - 8pm. Wasn’t scared of me one bit. Keep an eye on your pets." (Nextdoor)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Featured businesses:

• The Pumpkin Factory at Westminster Mall — (Visit website)
• Add your business here

Events:

• Sandpipers Holiday Homes Tour (December 2)
• 25th Annual Palos Verdes Peninsula Parade of Lights (December 3)
• Add your event

Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Tuesday off right. I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow morning with your next update!

— 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