By Kathleen Mest Photo by California Task Force 5 Wade and Dallas I have the privilege of being friends with the Haller family and discovered that Long Beach Fire Department’s Live Victim Search dog is their pet, Dallas. What?! I guess I thought “fire-dogs” lived at the fire station?? So I met up with Wade Haller (Dallas’ handler) to find out more. LB908: How long have you worked with the Fire Department? Wade: I’ve worked for LBFD for 25 years as Firefighter, Firefighter/Par

By Brittany Hart Scholten Captain Christopher Duffy Last January, the Long Beach Fire Department deployed two “strike teams” to assist with the Palisades and Eaton Fires. A strike team consists of five fire engines, each staffed with four firefighters, along with a strike team leader and additional support personnel. In total, Long Beach sent approximately 50 fire personnel to assist in battling the two major fires. For Captain Duffy, responding beyond city limits is part of

By Brittany Hart Scholten Information provided by Images of America, Long Beach Fire Dept. Paul and Jim Meiers | Courtesy of Thomas Cordova & The Long Beach Post The Meiers Family Paul grew up immersed in the fire department. Backyard BBQs, station Christmas potlucks, camping trips, and helping fellow firefighters with home projects were part of life. “I’ve known I wanted to be a firefighter since I was seven, when my dad became a Long Beach firefighter,” he said. His father,

By Kathryn Wells If you walk into Elyse Gordon’s home, the first thing you notice are the photos—dozens of children from every background lining the walls. In one hallway, each picture is labeled with a first name and dates, a record that represents about half of the 143 children she fostered from 1983 through her retirement. As a former foster child, I know how much it means to see proof that someone chose to show up. That’s why I wanted to tell Elyse’s story.  She chose fos

Photo of Jim Trout by Monique Kuhlman Parade photos submitted by the Daisy Lane Parade By Brittany Hart Scholten If you’ve driven down Daisy Avenue around the holidays, you’ve surely seen adorable Christmas scenes lit up on the grassy center divider. Daisy Avenue Christmas Tree Lane and Parade is put on by a group of committed community volunteers each year and has been a community effort for over 70 years.  Jim Trout, Community Hero Jim Trout is one of those volunteers who h

By Gina Valencia For Eloisa Nuñez, Christmas doesn’t begin with gift lists and shopping. It begins with laughter, the sound of family singing villancicos navideños (traditional festive Mexican Christmas carols), and the sweet aromas of cinnamon, fruit, chocolate, and holiday dishes simmering slowly on the stove.  For many Mexican families like Eloisa’s, Christmas isn’t a single day but a season that begins on December 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (the patroness of M

By Kathleen Mest With distant memories of large Christmas Eve parties and midnight mass, I wanted to reacquaint myself with some of the Filipino holiday traditions that I grew up with. What I found were traditions based on food (lots of it), the parol and a reawakening of cultural identity. The Feast The big celebration including food, games, singing, and extended family occurs on Noche Buena  (Christmas Eve), prior to midnight mass. This is the last mass of Simbang Gabi , th

Tony Gagliardi's generosity helps Long Beach Non-Profits through creative fundraising and extravagent parties

Photo by La Petite Photo, Margot Robert “SMOOTH SAILING” Lorna and Mark met at Leeway Sailing Center in Long Beach where Mark taught one...

Photo by Ja Tecson “DANCING THROUGH CSULB” If you love proposals and dancing, do yourself a favor and look up “flash mob proposal at...

Photo by Michael Farmer, f/8 Studios “TEACHING LESSONS” In 2015, Christina Crissman (a teacher at Poly High School) was sent to observe...

Photo by Cruzio Studios “LOVE & BEACH” Stephanie and Kenneth met in the fall of 2010, at a club in Long Beach called Khoury’s, now...