🌱 Protest At School District Office + Pawlentine’s Day Adoption Event

Hello all! Today, we channel our inner Minnie Mouse on National Polka Dot Day. It's Sylvia, your host of the Daily. Follow along to find out everything you need to know that's happening in town. In today's issue, you'll find news about...

• 👮 The arrest of another murder suspect
• 🤝 What it takes to get landlords to accept housing vouchers.
• 🌊 King tides

💗 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:

Sunshine and patchy clouds. High: 62 Low: 41.

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⛽ Three of the Cheapest Gas Stations in the City of Long Beach

• Sinclair at 5588 Long Beach Blvd., $3.89
• ARCO at 3401 Long Beach Blvd., $3.97
• Vons at 1818 Ximeno Ave., $3.99

💐 Valentine’s Day Poll! 🥂
Pink hearts, boxes of chocolates, and greeting cards – reminders that Valentine’s Day is coming are everywhere. But responses to the holiday are mixed. What are your feelings about the occasion? Do you celebrate? So far, 46.3% take a bah-humbug approach, while 45% plan on a Valentine’s Day with all the trimmings. 2.5% plan on celebrating Galentine’s Day, and 6.3% focus on Singles Awareness Day.

📰 Here are the top stories in Long Beach today:

1. Back in August of last year, the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) responded to the murder of a 48-year-old man in the 6700 block of Harbor Avenue. Fast-forward to November 8, and the LBPD announced the arrest of two suspects: One was located near the 500 block of East 64th Street and the other in the 200 block of East Bort Street. On Friday, the PD announced a third arrest near the 2000 block of Cedar Avenue. “Detectives are still actively working to determine the motive for this incident, and the investigation remains ongoing.” (LBPD)
2. A handful of protesters went to the Long Beach Unified School District headquarters at 1515 Hughes Way on Wednesday. The bone of contention was the new wellbeing center at Jordan High School. “The wellbeing center at Jordan High School will provide education and services for sexual and mental health, as well as substance abuse prevention.” A group called Lexit spread information “incorrectly calling the wellness centers ‘abortion referral centers.’” Protesters equipped with this information picketed. Counter-protesters met them there. Despite threatening postures, things remained civil. (Signal Tribune)
3. Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson identified housing vouchers as “one of our most important tools in meeting the city’s homeless need.” However, getting landlords to accept them is a challenge. Currently, 225 emergency voucher recipients (out of 582 issued) are still homeless. What makes landlords hesitant to accept these vouchers is that their holders “might not have perfect credit (and) they might have prior evictions.” To counteract these issues, the city’s “Housing Authority is now offering landlords direct payments to cover leasing bonuses, security deposits, utility deposits, application fees, and damage mitigation or repairs if they accept tenants with housing vouchers.” (The Real Deal)
4. Don’t toss out the sandbags just yet. According to the National Weather Service, we’re in for king tides through Monday morning. “The morning high tides could result in minor tidal overflow, bringing some ponding of seawater to vulnerable areas, including parking lots at low-lying beach areas,” the alert said. Look for the highest tide Sunday morning around 8:50 a.m. On the bright side, “extreme low tides will see the ocean recede to negative levels in the afternoon hours, leaving more sand space and a great opportunity to explore tide pools.” (Press-Telegram/paywall)
5. Bring a special fur ball home this Valentine’s Day! A Pawlentine’s Day Adoption Event will be at Long Beach Animal Care Services on February 11. This special event runs from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., and you are sure to find that "furever" friend. (Don’t forget to check out the senior dogs and cats, too!) (The HiLo)

📆 Today in Long Beach:

• Bridecon Wedding Expo at the Long Beach Convention Center (11 AM)
• Family Fun Artisan Market at 2nd & PCH (11 AM)
• Sunday Brunch with "Pippi The Monkey" at the Hotel Maya (12 PM)
• Black Restaurant Week begins at participating restaurants (12 PM)
• The Simon & Garfunkel Story plays at the Terrace Theater (6:30 PM)
  

🖊️ From my notebook:

• "Night games 🔜🥎 Softball is under the lights for the first time! Thank you to everyone who made this possible, and we can’t wait to be playing night games this season! T-minus 26 days until we are here at home!" (Long Beach State Athletics via Instagram)
• "Happy news -- the Mark Twain Neighborhood Library is now fully open to the public again! Twain will be operating under its normal hours: https://longbeach.gov/library/locations/twain/" (Long Beach Public Library via Facebook)
• "Youth Leadership Long Beach Government Day! Thank you to everyone who made time out of their busy days to speak with our Youth Program! We learned so much about our amazing city workers and all they do." (Leadership Long Beach via Facebook)
• "The City of Long Beach, through its nonprofit affiliate The Long Beach Community Investment Company, has awarded $6.1 Million in funding to two developers, Holos Communities and Jamboree Housing Corporation, for new affordable rental housing." (Long Beach City via Facebook)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Torrance Antique Street Faire (January 22)
• Breast Ultrasound Screening Coming Direct to You! (January 24)
• Taxes in Retirement Seminar at Angelo M. Iacoboni Library (January 25)
• Lemur Mom (January 27)
• Add your event

You're all caught up 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