I have been seeing a falcon in my backyard for about three weeks, usually on the electric wire or in a tree.

Let’s do the right thing, starting right now. We usually know what to do.

Editor's Note: In honor of the "Year That Changed The World," I've given my space to Deberah Porter this week. Enjoy the memories. —Harry Saltzgaver

“Inside Long Beach State University” is a new adventure for me — an exciting opportunity to engage our Long Beach community in an ongoing conversation about the university and its place in your lives.

Have you ever noticed a gardener with a leaf blower trying to chase three leaves or just to blow dirt in the air, blowing a cloud of dust, dirt and debris into our homes, into our lungs and on our automobiles?

Right Universe

In a fast-paced, achievement-driven western society, children and families are moving further away from developmental experiences that are taken for granted and trivialized.

As a parent, teacher, and chair of the Assembly Education Committee in the California State Assembly, I have made no secret about the fact that I believe the key to California’s future is a strong public education system. It is essential for Sacramento to ensure that school districts across …

I've felt helpless before, but I don't remember ever feeling quite this helpless.

Next Tuesday night, the City Council will consider not one, not two, but three hugely controversial items.

I was driving down Pacific Coast Highway a couple of weeks ago on my way home from a Wilson High School Class of 1978 reunion planning meeting (you can do the math on the number of years) when I had something of a déjà vu experience. I was looking at the Marina Pacifica Shopping Center, the …

Around the hearth stone every night, a storyteller lives forever.

Representatives of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Long Beach/South Bay Chapter met recently with Mayor Robert Garcia and Long Beach Development Services staff to discuss the proposed planning and design for the new development surrounding the historic Queen Mary. The AIA represen…

Most of us have been glued to the television or plugged into news radio since the weekend, watching the epic disaster in south Texas.

Is it possible to have a second midlife crisis?

Where will Long Beach's 2017-18 budget go?

We at CCEJ (California Conference for Equality and Justice) are disturbed and saddened by last weekend's hateful white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., that resulted in violence and death. We condemn these acts of white supremacy, anti-Semitism, homophobia and all forms of bigotry …

Editor's Note: This column originally appeared in the July 20, 2017, print edition of the Grunion. It did not appear online, so we present it now.

I've been accused of being a perfectionist more than a few times during my career.

You're damned if you do, damned if you don't.

One of the days we political geeks look forward to the most is the release of candidates' financial statements.

Will our elected officials do the right thing this time around?

There are moments that I know I will never forget. I've had a lot of complaints about youth sports and there are moments that the parents are overwhelming and coaching is just a tremendous commitment and you look from the sidelines or you look from the field and you wonder if it's all worth it.

Do you believe in Karma?

In talking with parents lately, I’ve noticed that the reference of “summer’s coming” can either bring a calming sensation with the relief from strict school schedules, or overwhelming concern over how to keep their children safe, healthy and active without those strict school bells and routines.

There's been plenty of news recently about JetBlue — the primary airline at Long Beach Municipal Airport — and its proclivity to land airplanes after the airport's 11 p.m. curfew.

Maria fell this week.

Equity — that's a tough concept for rational people to argue against, isn't it?

We had spaghetti squash for dinner last night.

Public safety issues are always at the top of the list when we think about city priorities. But, I am sure many people do not know that the City Council has a Public Safety Committee designed to study trends in public safety, opportunities for improvement, and challenges.

Government incentives long have been a primary tool on every level — city, state and national.

Son Alex was out to visit last weekend.

I would like to offer a rebuttal to John Sangmeister’s Another View commentary about the Long Beach Grand Prix.

Second District Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce's recent interaction with the California Highway Patrol, the Long Beach Police Department and her former chief of staff has prompted plenty of water cooler talk and even more speculation.

How do you define patriotism?

As the city of Long Beach reviews responses from a Request for Proposal for the Grand Prix race operations, let's consider the implications.

Long Beach lays claim to a rarity along the California coast — a dog beach.

Is it September already? A look at the mid-day thermometer in Long Beach, and you'd have reason to think so.

When you think of renewable energy, you probably think of wind turbines and solar panels, clean sources of energy that can make up a small percentage of our electric power supply.

There's a macabre joke going around that the east side of Long Beach experiences a crime wave when bicycles are being stolen, while a crime wave in the north, central or downtown parts of the city means people are being shot.

The​ new "My Cat from Hell" ​TV show ​put out a call on nextdoor.com​ ​for creatures "with behavioral issues​,​ whether that's pooping/peeing outside the litter box, not getting along with other pets or people, eating things they not supposed to​,​ etc."​ (see photo).​

Back in the old days — that's my old days of the 1960s and ’70s, not your old days of 1980s and ’90s — there was a song that I didn't really understand.

Editor's Note: Kurt A. Eichsteadt writes about movies, restaurants, the recently departed and all sorts of other things for the Gazette. But he didn't know what to do with this. We decided it is "Another View."

Fireworks are illegal in Long Beach. Have been at least for the 25 years or so that I've been here.

I've noticed that when guys at coffee shops are asked whether they want whipped cream atop their flavored drinks, they almost always bravely opt to go without.