This past weekend, for the first time in months, the nation’s attention shifted away from the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussions about face masks, testing, and reopening businesses quickly shifted to a fervent, open dialogue about race and police brutality in America following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Long Beach was very much a part […]
Long Beach Poly
PODCAST: Talking Long Beach Education & Mental Health Month
This week on the podcast is “Education Week” as we talk to Jordan High School teacher Shar Higa about what it’s been like adjusting to teaching online and delivering senior signs for graduation celebrations. We also catch up with Talese Fernbach for another “Mental Note” segment in recognition of May being Mental Health Month. […]
NFHS Offers Guidelines for Return of High School Sports
As the current school year comes to a close, attention has already begun to shift towards the fall, and whether high school sports can safely return across the country. On May 15, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) released the “Guidance for Opening Up High School Athletics and Activities” in an effort […]
LBUSD Officials Outline Beginnings of Fall 2020 Plan
In an interview last week, current Long Beach Unified School District superintendent Chris Steinhauser and incoming LBUSD superintendent Jill Baker outlined the first stages of the LBUSD’s plan to return to school when the 2020-21 school year begins on September 1. “It’s closer to what has been known as school,” said Baker, who will take […]
Writing The Story of 2020’s Missing League, CIF Championships
With this week’s scheduled CIF Southern Section championships canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will officially be a blank line across the record books. Before we close the book on 2019-20, we wanted to take a look at a few of the league and CIF-SS/State championships we expected to be covering this May–just because […]
Local Schools Bracing For Major Budget Cuts
Last week, California governor Gavin Newsom released his May Revision to the proposed budget for for the 2020-21 fiscal year. Because of a $54 billion deficit associated with revenue loss due to COVID-19 shutdowns, there are significant cuts to education, a harsh blow for the city of Long Beach, where the Long Beach Unified School […]
Feature: Peyton Watson, Long Beach Poly’s Star Hooper Stuck At Home
A five-star basketball recruit is usually a kid with the world on a string. But for Long Beach Poly junior Peyton Watson, life looks pretty much the same as it does for the other students at his high school and in the city of Long Beach. Were school still open, he’d be turning heads on […]
LBUSD Closed For Summer, Evaluating 2020-21 Sports Plans
The Long Beach Unified School District announced last week that in-person graduation ceremonies are officially off for the class of 2020, and that summer school and other programs will not take place on physical campuses this summer, with a few limited exceptions. There had been some hope of a delayed in-person graduation ceremony, but with […]
Feature: Drew Buggs Carries Mom’s Memory, Love
Drew Buggs had been dreaming about this season of basketball for years. He was going to be a redshirt junior at Hawaii, where he was going to improve on his record-setting career with his best-ever effort. His family was going to come out to the islands to see a game, his first time playing in […]
PODCAST: Interview With Long Beach Poly’s Peyton Watson
This week on the podcast we’re updating you on the latest COVID-19 news for Long Beach sports and schools (change is coming!) before interviewing Long Beach Poly boys’ basketball star Peyton Watson. The junior talks about learning from the documentary Last Dance and being recruited as one of the best players in his class. 15:30 […]