🌱 RIP Myrna Wigod + FREE Winter Break Recreational Options For Teens

Good morning, Long Beach! Today, we enjoy National Brownie Day! It's Sylvia, your host of the Long Beach Patch newsletter. Here are all the most important things to know about what's happening in town, including...

• 👮 Drugs were seized on Cherry Avenue
• 🤔 An opportunity to weigh in on a new Belmont Shore sign
• 🥇 SSO Krpan's quick thinking and rescue

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🌤️ But first, today's weather:

Partly sunny. High: 63 Low: 44.

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

• Sam’s Club at 7480 Carson St., $4.08
• Sinclair at 5588 Long Beach Blvd., $4.09
• ARCO at 1785 Bellflower Blvd., $4.19

🍪 Holiday Treats Poll! 🎄
December is the month for holiday treats and goodies. Which is your favorite? So far, 39.2% love See’s Candies, while 13.7% look forward to sugar cookies. Peppermint bark appeals to 7.8%, and eggnog has a loyal following of 35.3%. Poached pears and King Cake are favorites for 2% each.

📰 Here are the top stories in Long Beach today:

1) On Tuesday, just after noon, North Division officers from the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) stopped a car close to the 6200 block of Cherry Avenue for a vehicle code issue. Because the driver was on probation, officers searched the vehicle and found “large quantities of narcotics intended to be sold.” The passenger, a male juvenile, is considered to have been in possession of the drugs and was “arrested and booked for narcotics-related charges.” (LBPD)

2) Myrna Wigod, once referred to as “the Bette Midler of the West Coast,” has died. We learned on Wednesday that the 89-year-old “Queen of Laughter” and tireless community volunteer died in November after losing a 16-year battle with cancer. Some of the organizations she volunteered for were “the Long Beach Cancer League, Steel Magnolias, Long Beach Community Hospital Foundation, Ability First, Long Beach Branch NAACP, CSULB Athletic Foundation, and Musical Theater West.” (Press-Telegram)

3) The Belmont Shore Parking and Business Improvement Area Advisory Commission has difficulty getting the new gateway signage just right. Residents are encouraged to weigh in! Head over to Fire Station 8 at 5365 2nd Street on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., and offer opinions and ideas for replacing the “Belmont Shore Welcomes You” sign. You may remember that the structure, which already had considerable termite damage, was dismantled after a car hit it. (Long Beach Post)

4) The LBPD is giving a well-deserved shoutout to SSO Krpan for rescuing a teenage human trafficking victim. We learned on Tuesday that she “recognized a teenage patron at the Main Library to be a missing human trafficking victim from another city.” SSO Krpan “immediately began to coordinate her rescue, getting her to safety and resources.” (LBPD)

5) The City of Long Beach Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine (PRM) announced on Tuesday that it would provide FREE winter break recreational activities for teens. The teen centers are located at Admiral Kidd, Cesar E. Chavez, Houghton, McBride, and Silverado parks as well as the Freeman Community Center. A separate program takes place for youths ages 5 to 12 at the city’s 22 parks. Please note that Wardlow Park’s activities have been moved to Heartwell Park. (City of Long Beach)

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📆 Today in Long Beach:

• New Location: Tai Chi for Beginners meets at 5608 E. Los Santos Dr. (11:45 AM)
• Kids' Cooking Class at Chef Tech Cooking School (2:30 PM)
• Holiday Open House at the Rancho Los Alamitos (4 PM)
• Holiday Trivia Night (Online) with the Digital Services Librarian (5 PM)
• Aquarium of the Pacific’s Teen Science Café (6 PM)

📓 From my notebook:

• "The holidays are full of traditions that we all look forward to, but one of our favorites is receiving a big batch of delicious apples from Farmers & Merchants Bank 🍎! They have been delivering apples to LBPD every year since 1938." (Long Beach Police Department (CA) via Facebook)
• "Ball aboard! 🏀 We're proud to be the hometown airport of LBSU. The LBSUWBB team is on their way to take on Nevada! ✈️" (Long Beach Airport via Instagram)
• "Last weekend, our LBPD Explorers joined a great team of helpers at St. Mary’s for their annual “Helping Hands” Drive-Thru Event. This charitable event focuses on providing gifts to hundreds of deserving children in our community." (Long Beach Police Department (CA) via Facebook)
• "Your LBFD is so thankful for the annual gift of Christmas apples for our Long Beach Firefighters! Since 1938, our friends from Farmers & Merchants Bank have donated apples to firefighters and police officers that serve our community." (Long Beach Fire Department via Facebook)
• "The City of Long Beach receives settlement in a class action lawsuit with Monsanto Company. Read the full details here. 🔗 https://bit.ly/3HhfFaG" (Long Beach City via Facebook)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Featured businesses:

• Frosty's Winter Wonderland In Corona — (Visit website)
• Add your business here

Events:

• Vistamar School Open House (December 10)
• Torrance Antique Street Faire Holiday Show (December 11)
• Add your event

Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Thursday. I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow morning with another 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 Patch newsletter? Contact me at LongBeach-CA@Patch.com