Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Naples Long Beach Boat Parade

Naples Island Annual Holiday Boat Parade

Naples Island 65th Annual Boat Parade
Theme: "T.V. Land Holidays"

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Saturday, December 17th, 2011 “Parade night” streets close at 5:00 PM


Large Boats Starts at 6:00 PM

All Large Boats will assemble along Lido Lane and off
the sea wall in front of Naples Plaza and follow
the Large Boat Parade map outline.



Small Boat Parade Starts at 6:45 PM

All the Small Boats will assemble in Marine Stadium. The
#1 boat will lead the Parade. No boat will begin until
the #1 boat has started the Parade. Boats will travel the
route outlined on the Small Boat Parade Route map.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Ferns on 2nd St: Belmont Shore shop commits to American-made products


What sets Fern Solomon's Belmont Shore shop apart from many others is what customers read on the labels and price tags: Made in America.

Ninety percent of products sold in Fern's Garden are made in the U.S.

Solomon opened her shop 12 years ago. Her mission, as she calls it, is to sell gifts made by artists based in Southern California and across the country.

Even in the down economy, she says business at her shop at 5308 E. 2nd Street has been good.

"People, they really want to make a difference with their dollar, and once they find that there is a place where they can make a difference, they come and they support us," she said.

"Americans need to buy American," said Donna Penny, a customer.

Fern's Garden sells wind chimes, jewelry, home décor, wall art and more.

Jacob Sokoloff, Solomon's brother, makes wind chimes that are sold at the store. He used to have 50 employees at his studio, but says overseas competition forced him to lay them off.

His big challenge now is working with local manufacturers.

"I'm always struggling working with makers to keep it local," he said.

Fern stresses to her customers that buying American-made products means job creation at home.

We need to bring our product back, our factories back into beautiful working order so we can make Americans have beautiful (manufacturing) jobs again right here in the United States," Solomon said.

Fern's Garden is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Information: (562) 434-6425.

(Copyright ©2011 KABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

http://www.fernsgarden.com

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Spotlight on Business: AMASS Magazine

Article: http://www.everythinglongbeach.com/amass-magazine/

EverythingLongBeach recently spoke with John O’Kane, Publisher/Editor of AMASS Magazine, via email. They talked about inspirations, challenges and what’s it’s like having a business in All of Long Beach.

Tell us about AMASS Magazine. How long has it been in business?

It was founded in 1976 as an academic journal under another name, ENclitic. It has been non-academic since the 1990s.

The magazine is produced quarterly and distributed nationally through bookstores and newsstands, and in Europe and Asia as well. It also has many subscribers, especially libraries, both in the US and in other countries. The magazine is sold at an individual and institutional price outside of the harbor area. It is free in the harbor area and supported by local advertisers. The circulation, paid and free, totals 12,000. Most of this circulation is in Long Beach where we drop at about 200 sites.

We feature nationally known writers on issues of interest to the country at large that are political, economic and cultural. We also print articles on local issues, including restaurant and art reviews. And we also print fiction and an occasional poem. Our focus is libertarian and populist, as opposed to liberal or conservative, democratic or republican. Most of our advertisers are either non-political or conservative. But there’s no question we have a progressive slant. Our art and restaurant reviews tend to be focused around issues of community in Long Beach.

Our last issue, #41, was just released a few weeks ago. The cover and article attached highlight Williams Gym on Pine Ave. The next issue is due out in October. We would describe AMASS as a magazine for Long Beach and the Harbor area, as opposed to being strictly about these areas.

Why did you start AMASS Magazine?

I continued the magazine after being the editor in graduate school while completing my doctorate. My main interest and concern has always been in focussing on the issues of importance in our society.

What makes AMASS Magazine stand out?

It stands out because it prints articles about issues that no other publication does in the area. It is written in an accessible fashion and goes beyond conventional journalism. The articles are longer and more in depth. And it is free in the local area, but sold nationally and internationally.

What is the biggest success AMASS Magazine has had?

An increase in circulation from 1,500 to 12,000.

What is your favorite part of running your business?

Meeting local merchants and learning about their innovative ways to make a go of their businesses. We feel we are part of the Long Beach merchant family.

What are the biggest challenges you face?

The biggest challenge now is deciding how to expand in a climate where the economy is in a holding pattern.

What unique talents do you bring to AMASS Magazine?

I have a doctorate in the Humanities and a masters in the Social Sciences. I teach in the UC system and publish in national venues. Next book out in 6 weeks.

How is AMASS Magazine involved with the community?

Through advertising mostly, but also in tending to the the distribution at various sites and expanding them. Also, we have built a family of writers and visual artists.

Do you have any future plans for AMASS Magazine?

Expand in terms of frequency, and geographical area.

What is the best advice that you received and who did it come from?

One of our advertisers said to keep the magazine the way it is. Maintain the quality and substance and don’t go for the quick buck. The numbers will catch up eventually!

Tell us one last thing:

We are planning to start do public events after the next issue.

How to contact AMASS Magazine:

Address: 1243 W. 13th Street San Pedro, CA
Phone: 310-908-9898
Website: amassmagazine.com

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Blue Meets Red: Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Pasadena will Occupy the Metro


LONG BEACH, Nov. 11th// In solidarity with Occupy Wall Street, Occupiers from Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Pasadena will be Occupying the Blue and Red lines of the Metro on Saturday. They will be meeting at the 7th St. Metro station at 11:00 am. The group will march from the 7th St. & Figueroa Metro station to Pershing Square for a rally, teach-ins, entertainment and joint meetings from 11:30 am to 5:30 pm. If it is raining, the group will Occupy the Pershing Metro station. This event is both an opportunity to learn about why we need to get the influence of money out of politics and an opportunity for the Occupations to plan a larger coordinated event in one month to involve even more Occupations.

The day's planned speakers and events will include: James Devine of Loyola Marymount at 11:30 am, entertainment at 12 pm, Mary Beth of Move To Amend at 1 pm, Trina Ray from CA Clean Money Campaign at1:30 pm, a Theatre of the Oppressed workshop at 2:00 pm, joint committee meetings at 3:00 pm, and a combined General Assembly meeting at 4:30pm.

Occupy Los Angeles, Occupy Long Beach, and Occupy Pasadena are inviting the public to join in the Blue Meets Red event. It will be a chance to experience democracy and the Occupy movement first hand.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

What`s New at La Strada

Note From the Owner, Lisa: Please come celebrate my birthday, this coming Monday November 14th!! Everyone is invited!! Food and drinks are on the house, but I will be asking you to make a donation to Memorial Hospital's Dancing for our Stars benefit, in which I am one of the dancers.

Come say hi and have dinner and stay for the dance party! Here is the link if you cannot attend but would like to donate:

Support Lisa at the Dancing for our Stars event!

See you soon at my 2nd home,

La Strada !!!

xoxoxoxox Lisa

4716 E. 2nd St.
Long Beach, CA 90803
(562) 433-8100


I did it. I actually did it! I rappelled 16 stories off of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Downtown Long Beach, dressed as Marilyn Monroe! Would I do it again? Hell no!! But I did raise over $1200 for Special Olympics!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Support Occupy Long Beach: Attend Tuesday's City Council Meeting

LONG BEACH, Nov. 8th// The peaceful volunteers at Occupy Long Beach are asking for community support. With violent police interactions happening across the country, including cities such as Oakland and San Diego, the local movement is looking toward other models.

Occupy Orange County has been able to gain unanimous support from the city council in Irvine, CA. After spending 11 nights marching continuously between 10pm-6am, the occupiers at Irvine's City Hall are going to be able to set up camp. Their tents have been established as an expression of speech, and are protected under the First Amendment. In solidarity with the national movement, Occupy Orange County will be allowed to create public spaces that encourage political conversations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Referring to the police interactions with non-violent volunteers, Irvine Councilman Larry Argran said “They don't always get it 100 percent right. And we don't always get it 100 percent right. This is a new kind of demonstration.”

Today, Occupy Long Beach is asking the City Council to allow permanent overnight use of Lincoln Park and to allow the use of tents and temporary structures within the park. The group is asking everyone to attend the City Council meeting on Tuesday, November 8th at 4:30pm. Anyone interested is invited to assemble before the meeting on the lawn of Lincoln park, which is located at City Hall, on Pacific Ave. between 1st and Broadway.

Find Occupy Long Beach at: occupylongbeach.webs.com

,facebook.com/OccupyLongBeach,

twitter.com/occupylongbeach

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Occupy LBC Sound Cloud updated

The Occupy LB Sound Cloud (http://soundcloud.com/occupylb) has been updated as well as the interview with Ryan and Jonathan from Occupy LB is up in the interviews archive section at DanoradiO (www.danoradiofam.com)
and once again the official Occupy Long Beach Ustream (http://www.ustream.tv/user/OccupyLBC) and Livestream (http://www.livestream.com/occupylbc?t=229869) were created.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Occupy Long Beach Has Begun

As political ideas often begin east and travel west, the great Occupy Wall Street peaceful protests taking place around the country has hit our city and Occupy Long Beach has landed, reaching City Hall today.

In case you haven’t watched any news besides mainstream media, Occupy Wall Street began September 17, 2011 on Wall Street, inspired by massive public and peaceful protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and Madri’d Puerta del Sol Square. Since that date, protestors have been chanting, camping out, marching and getting arrested in NYC. On Saturday as hundreds marched the Brooklyn Bridge in unison, more than 700 were reportedly arrested and some minor violence from NYPD has been recorded.

Nationally spawned in New York by a group called Adbusters, a formula has been created to put an end to corporate control and corporate greed running our Washington representatives and damaging our country. It begins with a big swarm of people talking to each other at various physical gatherings and virtual mediums, focusing in one a centralized demand and then going out to “seize a square of singular symbolic significance and put our asses on the line to make it happen,” the Adbusters website said.

So far, the demand has been labeled on the Adbusters website as “we demand that President Barack Obama ordain a Presidential Commission tasked with ending the influence money has over our representatives in Washington. It’s time for DEMOCRACY ot CORPORATOCRACY, we’re doomed without it.”

In Long Beach, a website is in the works, but meetings have been and will continue to take place this week at Bluff Park at 6 pm (Junipero and Ocean, on the bluff leading to the beach) and will be scheduled as the days proceed.

Currently, Occupy Long Beach has been growing as the days go by, with more and more ideas and questions arising at these meetings. To my understanding, today participants planned to address City Hall with efforts to receive an order to peacefully protest in our city and get the council members to understand that they too are part of the 99% of the people dictated by the greedy and corrupted 1% population.

A great source to learn more about the protests taking place around the country, tune into Democracy Now, the group that started it all Adbusters, the unofficial hub for the movement Occupy Together, and check out some YouTube videos that show its extent.

Locally, you can “Like” the FaceBook page created at Occupy Long Beach and attend the scheduled meetings Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at Bluff Park at 6 PM. After all, “Our nation, our species and our world are in a crisis. The U.S. has an imprtant role to play in the solution, but we can no longer afford to let corporate greed and corrupt politics set the policies of our nation,” OccupyWallStreet.org states.

Will you participate? Will you become involved? Please share your thoughts and understanding of these national and local protests.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Friday, July 22, 2011

Mick our UK Postman


Mick is a UK postman. Around 14years ago, he took his Holiday (what they call our Vacation) in the USA. For no reason, he came to Long Beach California, maybe The Queen Mary that is docked here might have something to do with it. From his hotel, he took a cab, he ask the cab driver to take him somewhere fun where he could get a cold beer. That cab driver took him on the Famous 2nd Street in Belmont Shore and dropped him off at a Murphy`s Irish Pub. Mick thanked the cab driver and walked upstairs to Murphy`s for a cold pint of beer. That night he met Graham (our England Import) and The LBC Wack Pack. True friendships were born that night. Mick had a grand time.
Ever since Mick`s 1st visit to the Shore on his Holiday, he has returned at the Same time during Summer for the past 14years and counting. He gets a hotel just outside the Shore. He gets up fairly early, puts on his shorts & his walking shoes and starts his long all day walk. He walks to the towards the shore, down 2nd street, through Belmont Shore, to the Peninsula, then along the Ocean, stops at The Pier at the Belmont Brewing Company for a pint, then he walks to the Queen Mary and ends his journey at Murphy`s. Unless it is a Friday night, on a Friday, after Mick`s walk, he will stop at his Hotel room to get dressed up in slacks, button down shirt and dress shoes. I have learned through my English friends that is what Proper 'Bloaks' do on a Friday Night. Friday Night guys get dressed up, that is the Rule.
Mick is true to his routine, he never strays. It was Only 4 years ago he added something to his weekly schedule. He Now comes to our weekly Monday Summer Night Grilling Dinners on the Roof. He shows up after his walk with a bag of Bud Light, his favorite Beer. He laughs, eats and stares at the View. He says it is Paradise and it is good to be home. After a few beers Mick will get down on one knee and propose to a Girl in hopes to get his green card and move here. Mick is joking, but yet, I think he maybe a bit more serious then everyone thinks.
It is always sad when it is time to say goodbye to Mick. It is a grim reminder that Summer is coming to a Close and that it will be another Year before seeing our dear Friend Mick. So Ladies, take a gander at his photo, if you happen to see Mick walk by, say hello and if he gets on one knee, for god sakes, Please say YES, We want Mick Back Home where he belongs!!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Tim Grobaty: Chatting with ... Fred Khammar, beach boss

Fred Khammar is an event organizer and owner of Alfredo's Beach Clubs from downtown Long Beach to Alamitos Bay. He's always at the beach, busy with something. ( Stephen Carr/ Staff Photographer)

Fred Khammar is the Lord of the Beach, unless you've got a better guy for the title. He's either totally in charge of or plays a key role in virtually everything fun that happens on our local strand, from movies on the beach to pirate invasions. You can throw a Frisbee from one of his Alfredo's Beach Clubs to the next, from downtown to Belmont Shore.

Q: When was the last time you wore shoes?

A: No shoes. I've got flip-flops on all the time. I think I have some black Vans around someplace for special occasions.

Q: Every time we turn around -- and we're always turning around -- you've made some new acquisition. How much stuff do you own now?

A: We've got the pedal boats in the Rainbow Lagoon at the Hyatt downtown. Then, at 1 st Place we have volleyball courts and bikes. Alfredo's Beach Club at Alamitos Beach down by Marina Green we have movies on the beach on Thursday, and we rent 3 G bikes made in Long Beach. We rent, sell and repair skates with Moxi on Fourth Street. . . Then at Cherry Beach at Alfredo's Beach Club we do a lot of Mexican food. We do our Mondo Monday movies series there. We sell water toys, umbrellas, do a lot of private parties. Then, we have the Pier, which has really blossomed. Long Beach Transportation's AquaLink stops there now. We have two charter boats you can rent for sunset cruises, dinner cruises, whatever. We have a bait and tackle shop, a restaurant -- Buoy's on the Pier, we've got boats to take you out to the mooring balls.


Q: This is supposed to be a Q&A, not just an A.

A: I can talk all day. We've got the Alfredo's Beach Club at Granada Beach, where you can rent kayaks and stand-up paddle boards and JetSkis. And at Horny Corner we have the Kayak Cafe, where we have your daughter Hannah's french fries, plus rent kayaks and stand-up paddle boards.

Q: What do you do for a vacation?

A: I've been on vacation the last 35 years. I'm busy all the time, but I don't feel like I've worked a day in my life.

Q: You've got places all over the world, it seems like. especially Hawaii.

A: Not as much in Hawaii anymore. We have vacation packages for a place in Kaui, and another on the Colorado River in Bullhead City, and a place in Vancouver, Canada that are all available for rent.

Q: So you just go around to cool places buying stuff up?

A: I see opportunities everywhere I go. That's why it's better if I just stay here in town.

Q: It's just strange to be working so hard and relaxing at the same time. How do I get a personality like that?

A: I got my MBA in business at the dinner table. My dad owned a bunch of nightclubs and every night at dinner he'd talk about two things: World War II and business.

Q: Well, it's a good thing you didn't become a G.I. They have to wear shoes.

A: I worked as an engineer first. I spent two years with pens in my pocket working under fluorescent lights, then I went to work for Major League Baseball, running the stadium for Bud Selig and his Milwaukee Brewers, then going to the Cincinnati Reds and running their stadium. I got a 1975 World Series ring.

Q: How'd you finally get to Long Beach?

A: I went into the beach business, starting a concession stand in Malibu in 1976, then I bought another one and then another one and then another one. Ten years ago I had 22 beach locations from Ventura to Newport Beach.

Q: Then you sold them all?

A: I began divesting. Now I concentrate on Long Beach pretty much year round.

Q: Same here. But, of course, in summer you're really swamped.

A: Man, we've got what we're calling the Ultimate Beach Party at Marina Green July 16 and 17; the Civil War re-enactment at El Dorado July 30 and 31. Got the Kids' Fishing Rodeo on Aug. 5; the Sand Sculpture Contest on Aug. 13 and 14, then we roll into the Tiki Fest on Aug. 20. On Sept. 16 and 17 we're adding a Pirates Invasion of Rainbow Lagoon. On Sept. 18 I take a nap.

Q: I gotta take a nap now, too. You're working so hard it's making me sleepy.

A: I know it sounds hard, but I enjoy it so much it looks easy. I feel guilty sometimes because people think I'm working so hard. But it's a blast for me.

Q: You handle it well. The guilt. When are you going to retire?

A: I've been retired. All this time.

Tim Grobaty can be reached at tgrobaty@yahoo.com or 562-499-1256.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Big Mike Breaks the Deficit Down


Do you have a conservative uncle, or someone in your family that you've gone 'round and 'round with over the budget fight that nearly shut down our federal government?
Or did you find the whole thing totally impenetrable as the story seemed to change daily?
Well, here's a video that breaks it down. It's a quick, funny, and honest explanation of what actually went down last week in D.C. Check it out, and then share it with anyone you think could benefit from a little straight talk

Horny Corner of Long Beach, Belmont Shore California USA

Horny Corner of Long Beach, Belmont Shore California USA
Click Group Photo for Calendar of Events

It`s Shore Life YouTube Video Channel

New & Old School Horny Corner Photos

Belmont Shore Avon Lady

Belmont Shore Avon Lady
Order Online - Delivered Right to your Door

Roy & Kat`s Wedding: as Seen on E! The Girls Next Door - Season 5

Roy & Kat`s Wedding: as Seen on E! The Girls Next Door - Season 5
Click Photo for Info

Roy`s Ebay Store

Signature Laurel

Signature Laurel
LBC Local Artist

The Kayak Kafe

The Kayak Kafe
aka: Alfredo`s