LBReport.com

Doug Krikorian / Viewpoint

Krikorian Notes: From New LA County DA George Gascon Moving To Naples To LBUSD Superintendent Jill Baker Continuing To Stunt Growth Of 70,000 Students To Distress Of Locked Down LB Entrepreneurs Jeff Cozart, Mike Neufeld, John Sangmeister To LB’s Very Own Kato Kaelin, Steve Folger, Squiring Kelly Clarkson In Nashville

Mr. Krikorian, an award winning journalist and author of two books, earned multiple awards in his 22 years of writing for the Long Beach Press-Telegram and 22 years for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. He is happily retired.



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(Dec. 16 2020, 6:50 p.m.) -- The least surprising development of this fear-inducing, tragedy-causing, lockdown-infringing, politics-polarizing 2020 Year of the Pandemic was the announcement earlier in the week by the Long Beach Unified School District's $345,000-a-year superintendent, Jill Baker, that she would extend her stay-at-home edict to the 70,000 students under her domain at least until March 1.

This was about as predictable as, well, the LB mayor, Robert Garcia, marching in lockstep with the decrees of the California governor Gavin Newsom and the LA mayor, Gil Garcetti, the past nine months as well as the infamous LB Health Department czar, Kelly Colopy, doing the same.

Good grief, aren't we blessed to have such independent thinking office-holders in LB!

Ms. Baker, of course, points to the recent Coronavirus upsurge in this area, even though there's no overwhelming data that shows the disease is rampant among the young -- two people under 18 have died from it in California -- and there's overwhelming data that shows the disastrously harmful effects that are ensuing from the virtual on-line education being forced on these high school, middle school and elementary school kids.

The most surprising development for me this week is the discovery that the new district attorney of Los Angeles County, Mr. George Gascon, soon will be a neighbor of mine in Naples. His home is now undergoing renovation, and he and his wife are expected to move in sometime after the first of the year.

Mr. Gascon is a controversial figure who has been an assistant police chief of the LAPD, has been a police chief in Mesa, Ariz., and San Francisco, and was a DA for seven years at the latter city before relocating to Southern California last year and unseating Jackie Lacey in the recent election.

I don't know for sure how aligned the political leanings of George Gascon and Jill Baker are -- I doubt they'd disagree on most issues -- but I do know for sure in one area they do have a common thread.

Both are graduates of Long Beach State.

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  • Jill Baker should be quite proud of herself. She's already done more to harm the LBUSD in her brief tenure than any superintendent in its history.

    She's not only stunted the academic and social development of thousands of kids, but also caused widespread familial distress with her stay-at-home orders that has caused an untold amount -- many, many thousands -- to not even participate in this on-line setup.

    Good job, Jill.

    What a glowing legacy you will have one day upon retirement and upon close inspection of your body of work for the LBUSD. . .

  • Well, if nothing else, Jill Baker certainly has a lot of advocates among video store owners in this city. It seems as though every time I drive by GamePlay at Los Coyotes and Spring there is a lengthy queue of teenage boys waiting to purchase the latest cinematic pyrotechnic adventures...

  • A LB teacher friend of mine estimates at least 70 percent of the 70,000 LB students are catching up on their skateboarding, surfing, biking, Facebook postings and video-game watching rather than taking this virtual on-line teaching seriously. What a fabulous educational system we now have in LB!

  • Lockdown Owner No. 1: "We're running on fumes," says Jeff Cozart, whose Belmont Athletic Club has been shut down for eight of the past nine months. "It's just been awful. We did everything right. They let us open one month early in the summer, and no one got sick. No one ever got Covid-19, and yet we were closed down again for no reason. Who knows when they'll allow us to reopen.
  • Jeff Cozart

    "Hopefully, the government will come to our rescue again with some PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) money for our business. What am I doing these days? Well, I go down daily to establishment and work to keep the place clean including our upstairs bar, Murphy's. We've also been doing some merchandising of our apparel products."

    Mr. Cozart will be in front of his establishment at 4918 2nd Street Thursday between 1 and 4 pm and Friday and Saturday between 11 and 2 pm, peddling his goodies, including the more than 200 St. Patrick's Day tee-shirts that went unsold because Murphy's was closed down on March 16, a mere day before the annual Irish celebration...

  • Lockdown Owner No. 2: "I'm trying in vain to enjoy another beautiful Long Beach sunny day," says Mike Neufeld, whose popular Gaslamp nightclub on PCH has also has been shuttered for a good portion of the year. ``They've absolutely destroyed the restaurant business in California with these constant lockdowns, even though their logic is based on a theory that can't be proven. I wait with great anxiety. I think of all the people hurting for money during this Holiday Season. Don't understand it, never will..."

  • Lockdown Owner No. 3: When I heard they were filming a movie last week near Gladstone's and those many people who worked on it were seen dining together during breaks, I wondered what John Sangmeister thought about it..

  • I've been closed for 250 days with 150 employees out of work because I'm viewed as having a non-essential business," said Mr. Sangmeister, a sailor extraordinaire who's owned Gladstone's for 20 years. "And yet the city of Long Beach approved the filming of a movie here and the eating setup for the crew and actors. Who knows what these people are thinking? I have my own thoughts on the matter, and would rather keep them to myself. I worked with Gavin Newsom in 2012 on the America' Cup, and didn't have a good experience with him. Let's just say I'm not surprised by many of his decisions..."

  • Long Beach's most acclaimed house guest this side of Kato Kaelin, the incomparable Steve Folger -- he's resided across the decades in the mansions of such local iconic figures as Rick Bryson and Jamie Davis -- is soon relocating to Nashville.

    The one-time Aspen ski instructor and LB Trophy Shop owner denied he's moving there to make a matrimonal move on the recently divorced singer Kelly Clarkson...

  • Steve Folger

  • My memories revert to my childhood these days when I enter the huge outdoor, circus-like tent 24-Hour Fitness has erected at its Bellowflower Blvd. outlet.

    I think I'm back under the Big Top of the legendary Clyde Beatty Circus my parents took me to when it would make its annual appearance in Fresno a long time ago...


  • Circus-like tent at 24-Hour Fitness on Bellflower Blvd.

  • Had a splendid dinner last Friday night at Mastro's in Costa Mesa with my far better half and those two Long Beach refugees from Prescott, Ariz., Mr. and Mrs. Bob Ludlam.

    It's nice to know there still is a county in California that doesn't have a health department employing tyrannical tactics. . .


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    Previously by Mr. Krikorian:

    Krikorian Notes: From Joe Jost Owner Ken Buck Sounding Off On The Lockdowns To Big Ben Goldberg's Boat Parade Party In Huntington Harbor To Bob Ludlam Departing LB For Prescott -- The Leisure World of Arizona -- To LB State President Jane Close Conoley Not Faintly Resembling Her Esteemed Predecessors To Mike (The Hammer) DiMarzo Invading Miami For Nightclub Frolic To LB State Women's Soccer Coach Mauricio Ingrassia Suddenly Looking Like A Matinee Idol


    When Is LBUSD Superintendent Jill Baker Going To End Her Calamitous Lockdown That Has Caused So Much Chaos And Heartache And Disruption Among 70,000 Students?
    Krikorian Notes: From Councilman Rex Richardson Displaying Courage To Show Up At A Long Beach Restaurant Association Meeting To The Countless Millions Lost On Unoccupied LB Buses To LB Health Czar Kelly Colopy’s Latest Mean-Spirited Edict To the Irritating Silence Of LB City Manager Tom Modica To LB Mayor Robert Garcia Ignoring His Constituents For Political Reasons To Bob The Black Labrador Parading Down The Peninsula Boardwalk Holding A Large Palm Limb In His Mouth
    How Many Long Beach Restaurants Will Be Forced to Close After Latest Lockdown Lunacy?
    Where's Krikorian? Temporarily On "Injured Reserve List" Recovering From Shoulder Replacement Surgery
    Krikorian Notes: From Nico's George Mlouk Praising LB Mayor Robert Garcia For Working To Help LB Restaurateurs To A Plea To LB Health Czar Kelly Colopy To Restrain Her Overzealous Sleuths To Lakers Deserving NBA Title To LeBron James Turning Anthony Davis Into Passionate Competitor To Vital Contributions Of Lakers Coach Frank Vogel And GM Rob Pelinka To Sadness Of Passing Of The Great Joe Morgan And Its Impact On Maury Wills' Hall Of Fame Chances
    Famous Long Beach Restaurateur Phil Trani Days Of Joyful Memories And Pandemic Miseries
    Krikorian Notes: From The Irritating Silence Of The Long Beach Politicians In Not Supporting Their Citizens To The Whereabouts Of LB Mayor Robert Garcia To The Whistles Favoring The Lakers Against The Nuggets To The Greatness of Patrick Mahomes To The End Of A European Vacation Streak That Started In 1989
    LBUSD Superintendent Jill Baker’s 70,000 Student Online Virtual Teaching Miscalculation A Disaster!
    Krikorian Notes: From The 9 Unworthies Of The LB City Council To The LB Upstick In Shootings And Speeding To Restauranteur John Morris Horseback Riding On A Wyoming Mountaintop To The Walking Adventures Of Earth Man
    Jeff Cozart's Time Of Torment: Will His Belmont Athletic Club Survive Gavin Newsom’s Latest Lockdown?
    Krikorian Notes: A Labor Day Elegy For Those In The Long Beach Business Community Who Were Violated In The Memorial Day Looting Frenzy To The Palm Tree Limbs Littering 2nd Street To The Scooters Littering The Belmont Shore Bridge To The Virtual On-Line Spectacle At Big Mike O'Toole's Household
    Krikorian Notes: From Long Beach Mayor's Ascent To Dem Stardom Because Of Lockstep Embrace Of The Party's Policies To The Enchanting Parklet Dining On 2nd Street To Tearing Down The Hoops in Belmont Shore To Greg Silver's LB Departure To Huntington Beach To Bob Rice Protecting Me From Isiah Robertson
    Don Kramer Was A Character Like No Other With His Zaniness, Goofiness, Joyfulness, Kindliness Who Left All Who Knew Him With Lasting Memories Of Slapstick Antics And Mirthful Anecdotes
    Krikorian Notes: From Majority Of LB Teachers Skipping Classrooms For The Comforts Of Home To Dr. Jill Baker Becoming Another Maria Montessori To Terry Antonelli Discussing Resurrection of L'Opera To Mayor Robert Garcia Touted By MSNBC's Brian Williams As A Future U.S. Senator To Kershaw's Magical Transformation
    Long Beach's Renaissance Man, Chuckie Miller, Reflects On His Entrepreneurial Life And On Racial Inequity
    Krikorian Notes: From LB's Elected Leadership's Reimagining Delusions To the Gaslamp's Outdoor Wall Video Band Show To The Ghastly USC Coach, Clay Helton
    FDR's Grandson, Delano Roosevelt, Talks Democratic Party, JetBlue, Long Beach And His Life
    LBPD Chief Robert Luna: Stand Up For Your Fifty Ousted Cops!
    What Next From Long Beach Health Boss Kelly Colopy, Hazmat Suits For Our Restaurant Servers?
    Sadly, Our National Pastime No Longer A Pastime For Me
    Parklets! Three Cheers For Long Beach Politicians!
    Memo To LBUSD Sup Jill Baker: Return The Kids To the Classroom!
    A 2 1/2-Hour Commute To Work A Joy To This 86-Year Old Gentleman
    Long Beach Politicians Once Again Fail Long Beach
    Is Long Beach Destined to Become the City That Never Sleeps?
    I Never Thought I'd Live To See These...
    Ben Goldberg Exits Long Beach, Now Nearby Refugee In OC
    Long Time Long Beach Resident Dave Lopez Climaxes Storied 48-Year TV Career
    From Krikorian's Notebook: When Will LB Police Chief Luna Come Clean About May 31 Downtown Long Beach Looting Frenzy?
    From Krikorian's Notebook: (1) LBUSD Mgm't Mulls Keeping K-5 Kids Indoors Without Normal Access To Playground, Cafeteria, Auditorium Activities; (2) And More...
    Will LB's New School Sup't Allocate Untimely Pay Raise To Serve Students?
    Awaiting Governor's Dictate To Decide Fate Of This Year's (July 3) "Big Bang On the Bay"
    Mayor/Council Sounds Of Silence After LB Cops Let Some Pillage Our Village
    Excuses By Long Beach Police & Politicians Dishearten Damaged LB Businesses
    Hallelujah! LB Mayor Pleads For Sac'to Permission To Lift Closures That Needn't Have Occurred
    Speak Up, Mr. Mayor, On Governor's Unwise Edicts. You Can Do That And You Should
    My Beloved Long Beach: A Victim Of Irrational Government Overreach Beyond Reasoned Response To Virus
    Support really independent news in Long Beach. No one in LBREPORT.com's ownership, reporting or editorial decision-making has ties to development interests, advocacy groups or other special interests; or is seeking or receiving benefits of City development-related decisions; or holds a City Hall appointive position; or has contributed sums to political campaigns for Long Beach incumbents or challengers. LBREPORT.com isn't part of an out of town corporate cluster and no one its ownership, editorial or publishing decisionmaking has been part of the governing board of any City government body or other entity on whose policies we report. LBREPORT.com is reader and advertiser supported. You can help keep really independent news in LB similar to the way people support NPR and PBS stations. We're not non-profit so it's not tax deductible but $49.95 (less than an annual dollar a week) helps keep us online.



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