March 2009 Archives

A fund-raising event is scheduled for Tuesday, March 24 at Smooth's Sports Grille to help pay for a trip to Washington D.C. and West Virginia for Wilson High School teacher Devon Day, local author Oni Vitandham and students from Day's Long Beach Writer's Group.

The trip is the culmination of a long-running educational and cultural exchange program in which the local high school wirters have been engaged.

The Long Beach Writers, whose goals are to teach cultural tolerance and the consequences of violence, are putting the final touches on a planned April 12 trip to Washington D.C., where they hope to talk to legislators, and maybe even Michelle Obama, about the need for more school resources that address their concerns. The D.C. trip will be followed by a trip to rural West Virginia where the Wilson contingent will meet a class of students with whom they have been corresponding.

Vitandham is a survivor of the Cambodian Killing Fields and homelessness on the streets of Long Beach. Her memoir, "On the Wings of a White Horse" is one of the source books in Day's class.

The benefit begins at 6 p.m. Tickets are $40 and include appetizers and live music. Tax deductible donations can be made to the Long Beach Education Foundation, Attn. Long Beach Writers, 1515 Hughes Way, Long Beach, Ca., 90812.

The UCC Plaza, 2338 E. Anaheim St.,  will play host to a free photography exhibition and dance presentation Saturday, March 14 at 1 p.m.

 More than 1,000 photos from Cambodia will be displayed and a slide show will be presented. Also performers from the Khmer Arts Cultural Center will perform.

Residents are invited to bring their own photos of Cambodia to share.

It's not too late to get in on participating and listening in on the update to the city's 2030 General Plan. The last three meetings in the series, which was launched in January will be staged over the next week.

They are:

Wednesday, March 4, 6:30 p.m. at the Petroleum Club, 3636 Linden Avenue.

Monday, March 9, 2009, 6:30 p.m. at Stanford Junior High, 5871 East Los Arcos St.

Thursday, March 12, 6:30 p.m. at McBride Park Community Room, 1550 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave.

According to a release from the Planning Department, "The General Plan is the development and planning blueprint for the City overall, and provides policy direction for other key aspects that make cities livable. Portions of the current General Plan are more than 20 years old and do not provide sufficient guidance to shape our collective future. The update reflects public input gathered during public meetings over the last few years, and integrates all key aspects of planning, such as access to open space, urban design, healthy communities, and sustainability."

 The meetings include an overview on the General Plan update with breakout sessions and the opportunity to provide comments and input.