If everything goes according to plan, the city of Long Beach will begin accepting applications next week to operate medical marijuana dispensaries.

Call him a change agent. Call him a visionary. Call him an ambitious politician.

A case can be made that the phrase of 2016 was “fake news.”

Well, that was quite the year, wasn’t it?

City leaders love to brag when Long Beach gets mentioned in one of those lists — top 10 in innovation, top five in best bicycle-friendly cities, third business-friendly city in Los Angeles County, etc.

When is it time to say enough to appeals of projects? More specifically, when are we going to structure rules so there is some consequence when an appeal is specifically to delay a project?

Let’s take a breath here.

’Tis the season.

It’s Mom and Pop’s answer to Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Those of us lucky enough to have a turkey to baste in the oven this Thanksgiving, and family to surround us, and presents to pile under the tree — we all need to pause, be grateful for what we have, and also think of those less fortunate.

Long Beach has been changing gears for nearly a decade now, working to epitomize its own self-proclaimed title, Most Bicycle Friendly City in America.

Long Beach’s schools are vital to this community, and a vital job needs, requires, adequate facilities.

Long Beach’s schools are vital to this community, and a vital job needs, requires, adequate facilities.

It is time that our laws regarding marijuana reflect reality.

International flights would not change the environmental impact of the airport on surrounding neighborhoods.

It’s begun — the race part of the election season.

High-end quality. That’s both what this weekend’s Longines Masters is all about, and why the elite show-jumping event came to Long Beach in the first place.

The state of the arts in 2016 Long Beach is pretty darned good.

When art is at its best, it furthers discussion of controversial subjects.

Sunday is Sept. 11. It is the 15th anniversary of the most deadly attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor.

Long Beach’s City Council will get down to serious budget talks this week, with most of the attention likely being paid to that new pot of money slated to start coming in when the sales tax goes up a penny at the start of the new year.

Next Thursday, Sept. 1, proponents of the Belmont Beach and Aquatic Center will go before the Long Beach Planning Commission for final approval of the project’s Environmental Impact Report.

It ain’t easy being number one.

There was a time, around the turn of the century, when officers per 1,000 population was the only real criteria for judging whether funding for police departments was adequate.

Long Beach has had a special connection with the Olympics for more than 80 years.

Most of the headlines, including ours, read, “Sewage Spill Closes Beaches In Long Beach.”

Don’t look now, but there are a bunch of skateboarders congregating near the Long Beach Arena.

The drought is dead. Long live the drought.

Next Tuesday, the Long Beach City Council will pause its meeting to acknowledge and celebrate one of their own.

Come Monday, America will be 240 years old.

High school sports — does it matter anymore?

Long Beach voters spoke loudly last week, approving a temporary sales tax increase by a three-to-two margin.

High school graduation is at hand. Next week, more than 5,500 17- and 18-year-olds in Long Beach will march across the stage, grab that diploma and head off into adult life.

Every election is important, and every vote matters.

It’s summer in our city.

Community colleges, including Long Beach City College, are playing an increasingly important role in our country’s education.

It’s time to invest in our city’s bones.

Newspaper publishers from all over California gathered last week to discuss the state of the industry.

Let’s build a swimming pool.

The weather forecast for this Sunday in Long Beach — a high of 78 degrees, sunny skies, no chance of rain.

A showcase for what’s supposed to be the next big thing in the automobile history came to Long Beach last week.

We’ve been fans of the Aquarium of the Pacific since it was a glimmer in then-City Manager Jim Hankla’s and then-Mayor Beverly O’Neill’s collective eye.

Some Long Beach residents will have the privilege of voting in three elections this year — technically four, since there will be two elections on the same day in June.

Better Beach, Better World.

Long Beach has a well-deserved — and hard-earned — reputation for having one of the best urban school districts in the country.

There’s something in the air in downtown Long Beach.

Don’t look now, but Long Beach has become a bit of a Mecca for foodies.

Lead in the water in Flint, Mich.

It’s tax season.

“This is really important,” Mayor Robert Garcia opined. “We need to pay attention to this.”