Margaret Ruiz is my sister. She and her husband live in the Forest Hills section of Queens, New York. The borough of Queens is an epicenter for COVID-19. As of May 10, the number of infections in Queens was 55,380 out of a total citywide of 178,766. The death count in Queens is 4,455. Confirmed…
Vivian Malauulu is the President of the Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees and also represent Area 2 in the city. The journey to the Board of Trustees and her leadership of it has been shaped by strong life experiences. Born Vivian Ramirez impoverished in a barrio in Honduras, the then seven-year-old child…
Dave Williams hesitantly throws out words when you ask him to describe himself in a word or sentence. “Wow…cantankerous…you know I wouldn’t want to be that hostile sounding.” Prodded, the jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and writer tries again. “I can’t. I think I need a paragraph. Driven…maybe I have a bit of chip that I’m…
Shy But Flyy has a quick response when asked at what age she decided performing is what she wanted to do with her life. “If my mom tells the story, it was right when I was born.” All kidding aside, Shy But Flyy shares that she just knew that music was going to be a…
Census 2020 is April 1, 2020. Ensuring that all people residing in Long Beach are counted is job one for Julian Cernuda, the City of Long Beach’s 2020 Census Project Manager. He is one of the persons charged with coordinating the Long Beach response to the United States Census Bureau’s data collection effort. Every ten-years,…
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk is one of three candidates, including the incumbent Al Austin, seeking to represent Long Beach City Council District 8. Thrash-Ntuk’s day job is as the Executive Director of Los Angeles Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LA LISC). Their focus, according to their website, is on Affordable Housing, Economic Development, Health, Financial Stability, and Leadership…
Suely Saro is unabashedly straightforward explaining her reasons for running against the incumbent, Dee Andrews, for his City Council seat. “I’m running for City Council District 6 because I think this district has been neglected for far too long.” Saro joins four other candidates competing against the incumbent. Suely Saro points to her background of…
Robert Fox describes himself as a community advocate who is running on a platform slogan of “Restoring the Voice of the People.” Fox attributes his decision to run for the City Council District 2 seat to what he sees as a lack of open communications by the city government. Fox used, as an example, the…
Ana Arce has a special connection to Long Beach City Council District 6. She was born and raised in the community. Arce knows what it’s like to be a child here; a teenager growing up in this neighborhood; a mother; a working-class resident. “…to struggle in our community. As a child, I saw many families…
Vice Mayor Dee Andrews is seeking his third term to continue to represent Long Beach City Council District 6. Andrews faces five opponents in the March 3rd election. The Vice Mayor speaks proudly about his tenure in office and his long experience of over sixty years in Long Beach. His determination to run again, according…