>(May 10, 2021, 4:45 p.m.) -- Sign of the Times I: I'm seated in the Blair Field stands last Friday afternoon taking in the Wilson High-Cabrillo High baseball game with perhaps another 75 or so individuals, and, lo and behold, during an early between inning break, a gentleman strolled slowly around the park sternly warning those brazen enough not to be wearing masks to immediately do so or the consequences would be dire.
"This game will be stopped immediately and not be resumed until everyone is wearing a mask, I'm sorry to say," he said. Well, since it's been pretty well established by an overwhelming majority of Coronavirus experts that wearing masks outside now is a needless, if not irritating encumbrance in light of widespread vaccinations and the dramatic recent decline of Covid-19 in America---much to the disappointment of those politicians so heavily invested in it---the scene was quite sadly comical. I mean, here you have 75 or so people---with about, oh, 65 of them not having coverings on their faces---in a structure that can hold 3,238 being told to go into their Lone Ranger mode, or the activity they were witnessing would be immediately halted. Why? Were we all in danger of getting Coronavirus if we didn't, or at least spreading it? I recently watched a baseball game across the street from Blair Field at Wilson High between the Bruins and the Canyon High, and no one marched in front of the stands demanding the 20 or 30 people present to don masks, even though only a few did. So why the differences in enforcement? Is Skip Rowland Field at Wilson somehow a safer venue than Blair Field? Of course not. The latter is operated by the City of Long Beach, which has its own Health Department led by its Smith College/Duke-educated czar, Kelly Colopy, and which therefore continues to enforce some of the most stringent Coronavirus rules in the country even though most are farcically nonsensical. Well, anyway, we all dutifully dug deep into our pockets last Friday afternoon to retrieve our masks and, blessedly, the game was able to reach its seven-inning conclusion. Sign of the Times II: I actually see human beings in their cars with the windows rolled up wearing masks. Which of course begs the question, do these cautious folk wear their beloved masks when they're at home and also when they go to sleep at night? Sign of the Times III: Starting this week, Long Beach high school students have been given a pick-and-choose option about remaining at home taking virtual on-line instruction, or attending school in person. Wow! That's certainly a nice option to have, especially for those kids with an abhorrence of studying who understandably prefer to take their tests in the comfort of their homes with open textbooks by their sides. [Scroll down for further.] |
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Sign of the Times IV: K-5 students arriving early to schools having to march straight to their classrooms, instead of being allowed to partake in playground activity that has been a sacred rite in this country since time immemorial. Sign of the Times V: I recently went to a Centinela Feed & Pet Supplies outlet in Lakewood to pick up a couple of boxes of cat food for my Lynx, and was halted at the door. "You have to wait until a couple of people come out," a guy said to me. "Did a fire break out inside?" I wondered. "Oh no, we've reached our capacity of 10 people," he said. The rather large place looked empty to me, and I protested in the only way I could. I turned around and departed. Sign of the Times VI: City Hall via its top megaphone, the Honorable Mayor Robert Garcia, and his toadies have been asking the public for donations to support the 800 or so undocumented migrant children now being headquartered at the Long Beach Convention Center. Wonder why I've never heard similar high profile requests across the years to aid, say, Long Beach's very own Boys & Girls Clubs who have for so long helped so many local kids from low income environments. The federal government is stuffing Long Beach coffers with $35 million to subsidize the migrant children---and I'm certain they will be well cared for with such dizzying financial backing. Sign of the Times VII: Nit-picking restaurant customers obsessed about mask-wearing and the 6-foot social distancing tomfoolery are driving local owners and GMs crazy with their constant complaints and subsequent negative Yelp reviews. These Coronavirus zealots should revert to their I'm sure lengthy self-quarantined state in the sanctuary of their private lodgings and keeping their intrusive selves out of the public domain Sign of the Times VIII: If ever a decision graphically reflected the rather laughable, empty leadership of the superintendent of the Long Beach Unified School District, Jill Baker, it would be her continuing idiotic policy of keeping elementary kids from participating in playground activity. This sums up perfectly the lame essence of her brief tenure---not wanting to be responsible for something that never will happen. Viewpoints and op-eds on LBREPORT.com are proudly those of their bylined authors but not necessarily those of LBREPORT.com or our advertisers. We welcome our readers' comments/opinions 24/7 via Facebook and moderate length letters and longer-form op-ed pieces submitted to us at mail@LBReport.com.
Previously by Mr. Krikorian: The Beloved Sandra Headley, AKA Coachie, Climaxes Her Memorable 39-Year Tenure At Naples Elementary School With A Most Unusual Task Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia Takes A Victory Lap For His City Hosting The Undocumented Migrants, But The Estimated $35 Million Cost To Taxpayers Has His Critics In An Uproar, Including One, The Famed Bodyguard Mike (The Hammer) DiMarzo, Who Calls Mr. Garcia The Teflon Don Of LB Tommy O'Toole's Magical 12-Hour Day That Might Well Land Him In The Guinness Book Of World Records And, Who Knows, The Zany LBUSD Superintendent Jill Baker Might Be Destined To Wind Up In It, Too Why Don't Mayor Robert Garcia And His Marionette, City Manager Tom Modica, Come Out And Tell The Truth About How Long Beach Became A Lodging Sanctuary For More Than 1,000 Undocumented Kids? Why Have ALL The Long Beach Leaders Been So Silent On The Feds Placing A Contingent Of Undocumented Kids In Downtown LB? A Talk With Jerry West And An Emotional Remembrance For Me Of Still Another Friend, Elgin Baylor, Who Is Gone Frankly, I'm Surprised Long Beach Chief Of Police Robert Luna Didn't Think A Contingent Of Extraterrestrials From Another Galaxy Was Responsible For The LB Crime Wave The Creator Of Two Iconic Long Beach Dining Establishments, Schooner Or Later and Tantalum, LB Bachelor Denny Lund Also Has Been A Creator Of Glad Times Krikorian Notes: From Cal Gov Gavin Newsom Keeping Long Beach Restaurant Diners Outdoors For No Plausible Reason To His Equally Despised Michigan Counterpart, Gretchen Whitmer, Actually Allowing Indoor Dining In Her State To Cock Of The Walk John Morris Speechless (!) To Dickie (Too Fast, Too Furious) Babian Turning Crow's Over To His Son To My New 7-1, 354 Bodyguard Aaron Gray Taking Over From The Undersized 6-0, 225 Mike (The Hammer) DiMarzo Krikorian Notes: From Gavin Newsom Praising Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia As Though He's Destined For Mt. Rushmore To Newsom Hoping The Rest Of California Follows The Jill Baker LBUSD Path (???) To The Tiger Woods Car Accident To Bad Stu Ledsam's Son Kyle's Big Award To Vons Pavilion GM Steve Carr Performing Cashiering Duty To My Watching the Amazing Emerzian Twins Next Week In Michigan Krikorian Notes: From A Most Surreal Development That Has Me In A State Of Giddiness---Our Beloved Long Beach Actually Now Serious About Building A New Swimming Pool After Coastal Commission Approval And Strong Endorsements From Such Local Leaders As Mayor Robert Garcia and City Manager Tom Modica and Their Political Accomplices To Mike O'Toole Doing a Solo, He-Man Rowing Act On A 32-Foot Gondola Carolina Filled With 14 People Around Naples Canals To Jill Baker’s Typical Back-to-School Delaying Tactics To My Receiving My Periodic SAG-AFTRA Residuals From My Once Flourishing Acting Career That, Sadly, Went The Way Of My Once Flourishing Radio Career Long-Time Belmont Shore Resident Dorcas Baldwin, 85, Endures Frightening Experience Of Homeless Man Breaking Into Her Bay Shore Avenue Home And Taking A Shower Before Long Beach Cops Come To The Rescue CIF Southern Section Commissioner Rob Wigod Hoping Gavin Newsom And His Health Department Toadies Come To Their Senses For Projected High School Sports Restart On March 19 Terry Antonelli Orchestrating Rise Of L’Opera After Its Tragic Fall In The Great Long Beach Memorial Day Pillage & Plunder Festival Krikorian Notes: From Mayor Garcia's Spineless Speech To Jill Baker's Passing The Buck Alliance With Gavin Newsom To A Positive Long Beach Vaccination Experience To Welcoming New Neighbor George Gascon To Mike The Hammer Bludgeoning Me About Boxing To The Amazing Tom Brady The Memorable Life Of Tommy Lasorda: From World Series Titles To Slim-Fast Diets To Obscenity-Laced Jim Healy Tapes To Pitching To Jack Clark To A Sacred Legacy Of Laughter And Success On The Ball Yards Of America "A Lady Shrieking "Wear A Mask!" On Bay Shore Ave. Results In A Mask-Wearing Epiphany For Our Columnist A Christmas Tale Of Reflections And Remembrances A Christmas Tale Of Reflections And Remembrances" 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 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 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
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