Editorial: Our hope for Long Beach - Long Beach Post Voices lbpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lbpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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If you have driven through Bixby Knolls or Wrigley recently, you might have seen this sign:
Build The River Park. The Riverpark Coalition has been advocating to stop development of a storage facility and RV parking lot off Pacific Place, the abandoned golf driving range off the 405 and 710 interchange by the LA River. Instead, Riverpark Coalition, along with many members of the local community, are championing a plan to transform the precious land into an open green space for all.
A common misperception about the LA River is that it is not actually a river but is merely a concrete water channel or a storm drain. But if you ask any local environmental advocate or native Angeleno about the river they will happily tell you about the unique bird watching, kayaking, biking, or even fishing. (Though none of us would dare eat the fish.) Many years before the Army Corps of Engineers paved the river in the 1930s, it provided food and water to the indigenous Tongva people
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Thanks to the American Rescue Act signed last week by President Biden, Long Beach is expected to receive $153 million to address the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We have a historic opportunity to invest in our children, at-risk youth, senior citizens, and those disadvantaged communities most devastated by the pandemic. But only if our elected leaders make the right choices.
The impact of COVID-19 varies greatly depending on who you are and where you live.
Rate of cases per 100K population by zip code in Long Beach. Courtesy of city’s COVID-19 dashboard.
Members of our Latinx, Black, Cambodian, and Pacific Islander communities have been hardest hit by the pandemic.
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The White insurrectionists who rioted at the nation’s capitol on January 6th were Americans.
The wildly unprepared Capitol Police, at least one of whom was available to stand back, stand by, and take selfies with protesters during the rioting were also Americans.
The individuals who died, including the Capitol Police officer, and over 50 others who were injured were Americans.
The president of the United States of America incited said violence. And yet, the resounding mainstream media and politicians’ refrain was, “This isn’t America.”
Americans across the nation: It’s time we face who we are. We are residents of a country founded on violence and white supremacy. Our past is our present.