Bits 'n' Pieces

National Push to Cut Plastic Pollution

Twenty-two top aquariums across the United States – including the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California – have already eliminated 5 million straws in their coordinated campaign to reduce sources of plastic pollution. Now they’re upping their game by encouraging individuals, businesses and cities around the country to cut back on single-use plastic – starting with plastic straws – by Earth Day 2019.

Banding together in a joint #FirstStep to plastic-free waters, the aquariums seek commitments from 500 more businesses, pledges from individuals, and policy action by municipalities, all to reduce a growing source of single-use plastic waste that harms ocean and freshwater wildlife around the world.

The campaign will kick off during #NoStrawNovember, a nationwide movement asking people who don’t need them to refuse plastic straws for 30 days.

“Cutting back on plastic straws doesn’t solve the problem but it’s an important first step,” said Jerry Schubel, president and CEO of  Aquarium of the Pacific. “We have to stop plastic trash at its sources and find ways to capture trash before it enters our waterways.”

The #FirstStep campaign includes:

• Recruiting 500 new businesses to partner with aquariums across the country by committing to offer straws only on request, for a total of 1,000 businesses committed by Earth Day 2019
• An online pledge site (pledge.ourhands.org/) where individuals can commit to make the last straw their first step to plastic-free waters
• Initiatives by partner aquariums to inspire cities in their regions to pass straws-on-request ordinances and other local measures to reduce single-use plastic
• An opportunity for individuals to get tips via text message on ways to cut back on single-use plastic in their daily lives, by texting REDUCE to 49767.

Since the 2017 launch of the Aquarium Conservation Partnership (ACP), 22 partner aquariums in 17 states – located on the coasts and in the heartland – have eliminated more than 5 million straws a year, stopped using plastic shopping bags and have committed to significantly reduce or eliminate plastic beverage bottles by 2020. Nearly 500 businesses – including United Airlines, the Chicago White Sox, Dignity Health hospitals and Farmer Brothers Coffee – have made plastic-reduction commitments in collaboration with ACP aquariums.

For more information about the #FirstStep campaign or to take the pledge, please visit pledge.ourhands.org/.

RISE Program for Post-Conviction Relief

Mayor Robert Garcia and City Prosecutor Doug Haubert announced a first-of-its-kind program in Long Beach. Restoration Initiative for Safety and Employment (RISE) will provide free assistance to those who are eligible to seal their low-level misdemeanor or felony records, clear a minor warrant, enroll in court diversion programs and convert court fines to community service.

RISE will also include marijuana expungements, and assist with finding employment, educational opportunities and providing other benefits.

On Sept. 4, the City Council authorized $200,000 to assist with misdemeanor expungements to help people reenter the workforce. Clearing of criminal records is a key part of improving employment outcomes for persons with prior convictions.

A cornerstone of RISE will be four workshops held in the City of Long Beach starting in January 2019 where individuals can receive in-person assistance from attorneys. Year-round assistance will also be available for those with cases handled by the city prosecutor’s office, which has jurisdiction over all adult misdemeanor cases arising in the city, including theft, vandalism, drug possession, public intoxication, driving on a suspended license and violation of city codes.

All assistance will be provided free of charge for qualified participants. In some cases, assistance will be limited to those with cases in Los Angeles County or within the jurisdiction of the Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Office, which handles adult misdemeanors. Persons with specific questions about their cases may still need to consult their own attorneys.

For many years, California law has permitted the expungement (sealing) of certain felony and misdemeanor level criminal convictions. The recent passage of Proposition 64 (the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act) made many prior convictions for marijuana-related crimes eligible for dismissal or charge reduction.

Many people, however, are not aware of the laws allowing them to clear their criminal convictions. Since specific documents must be filed in court, some people without access to legal assistance have had difficulty filing the necessary paperwork to expunge their criminal convictions or complete the legal process. Those interested in learning more about the program can email RISE@longbeach.gov, or visit http://cityprosecutordoughaubert.com/community-programs/.

Veterans Day Parade Honors Terry Geiling

The 22nd Annual Long Beach Veterans Day Parade is a premiere Southern California event, drawing upwards of 25,000 parade attendees, and an estimated 140-plus entrants. Former Vice Mayor and Parade Chair Val Lerch stated that “The Parade Committee is proud to honor Terry Geiling as this year’s Grand Marshal.”

Terry Geiling received a commission in the US Navy after graduating  from the University of Illinois.  While serving on the USS Cape, a minesweeper in Long Beach, he was selected to attend the Submarine Officer’s School in Groton, CT. Upon graduation from sub school, Terry was assigned to submarines in Pearl Harbor. During the Vietnam era he made several deployments in the Western Pacific to support Naval activities in the South China Sea and Tonkin Gulf.

After leaving active duty, Terry Geiling remained active in the US Naval Reserve and served as commanding officer of Naval Reserve units in Hawaii. He obtained the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

Terry Geiling is currently president and CEO of the American Gold Star Manor in Long Beach.

Terry is a founding Board member of the Fisher House Foundation and helped raise the funds needed to bring a Fisher House to the Long Beach VA Hospital.

The 22nd Annual Long Beach Veterans Parade, will be held on Nov. 10th with a 10 a.m. start, it runs down Atlantic Ave. from Market Street to Harding Street, and typically takes about two hours.

Filmmakers Take Top Honors at Arts Festival

Long Beach State University filmmakers who produced the documentary “For Vivian” won multiple prizes at the California State University Media Arts Festival last month.

The highly-personal work, which chronicles director Samantha Hernandez’s relationship with her aunt Vivian and other family members, was named “Best in Show” for this year’s festival.

“She’s such a sweet and lovely soul and I wanted to share that with the audience,” Hernandez, who graduated this May, said.

“For Vivian” also won the festival’s “Audience Choice” award and took first place in the Documentary category.

“We were deeply moved by the response to the film. We just feel incredibly grateful for all the love and support we received,” Hernandez said.

“For Vivian” is the product of work that took place over much of the 2017-18 school year. Students who worked on that documentary and other projects spent the spring term on production and post-production, and members of different project crews shared feedback with each other as each production approached completion.

 “For Vivian” and other projects from Long Beach State filmmakers earned six of the eight first place awards handed out at this year’s festival, which took place Oct. 16 at Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

Additional Long Beach State honorees:

• First Place in Animation – Casey White for “The Undergrounders”
• First Place in Experimental – Gabriela Menegus for “Some Things We Do”
• First Place in Television format – Quynh Ong for “Spotlight: Emotional Support Animals”

Anne D’Zmura, interim chair of the Department of Film & Electronic Arts, thanked faculty and staff members working for the department, as well as the animation program within the School of Art, for preparing students for success.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which co-produces the Golden Globes, has provided more than $760,000 worth of support to Film & Electronic Arts since the 2005-06 school year. Those dollars have supported scholarships for student projects like “For Vivian” and “The Sound of Love,” an earlier student project from Long Beach State that won “Best in Show” and other prizes at the 2017 California State University Media Arts Festival.

Foundation Funds Employment Initiative

The Citi Foundation recently announced that Goodwill Serving the People of Southern Los Angeles County (Goodwill SOLAC) has been awarded a $250,000 grant from their 2018 Youth Workforce Fund, a national initiative that is supporting community organizations in key cities across the United States to help them expand their programming and connect low-income youth to a range of employment opportunities.

The Youth Workforce Fund is part of the Citi Foundation’s three-year $100M global Pathways to Progress initiative, which focuses on career readiness initiatives that provide youth job seekers the full range of services needed for long-term employment and economic success.

Through the Youth Workforce Fund, Goodwill SOLAC has received a grant of $250,000 to provide youth in southern LA County with hands on occupational skills training, employment placement, retention and career advancement support in the healthcare, loss prevention and security professions. Goodwill SOLAC will also have access to technical assistance and opportunities to share best practices with other community organizations that are a part of this initiative.

Goodwill SOLAC’s President & CEO, Janet McCarthy stated, “We are thrilled to enter into this partnership with Citi Foundation. Citi Foundation’s magnificent support will dramatically enable at least 150 low-income, underrepresented youth ages 18-25, to acquire soft employability skills, as well as learning occupational skills that will qualify them to achieve State of California credentials as Certified Nurse Assistants, and to receive Campus Security Training and hold a California State Guard Card.”

McCarthy also stated, “These initial steps encourages the progression to higher education for advanced skills training and achievement within the career fields of Allied Health, Security and Loss Prevention. Additionally, each of our graduates will have access to follow-along supportive services for up to five years, helping them move up their chosen career ladder and the achievement of economic self-sufficiency.”

Access to apprenticeships, internships and vocational training is essential to empowering youth and preparing them to compete in today’s economy. According to the Citi Foundation’s Global Youth Survey: Economic Prospects & Expectations, 78 percent of young people surveyed believe that internships and apprenticeships are critical for career success, however, 60 percent say there aren’t enough of these opportunities in their cities.

‘Christmas Secrets’ Revealed in New Book

George R. Kuper’s new juvenile fiction, Christmas Secrets, is the first in a series of Christmas books that reveal the secrets of Santa Claus.

Many of the children’s questions about Santa Claus and the Christmas season are answered in this series, and the stories are interactive – with prompts and questions to encourage children to think, analyze and become involved in the adventure.

At 32 pages, Christmas Secrets is sold through Amazon and Barnes and Noble, for under $20 in paperback or case bound.

George R. Kuper, aka Uncle Pappy, is a native of Easton, PA, a graduate of Wilson High School and Catawba College, and is a retired executive in the consumer-packaged goods industry.

Grant Given in Honor of Seal Beach Boy

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants, announced the Shohet Family Fund for Ewing Sarcoma Research, a  St. Baldrick’s Hero Fund created in honor of Noah Shohet, from Seal Beach, will support lifesaving childhood cancer research at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The recipient of the “Shohet Family Fund for Ewing Sarcoma Research St. Baldrick’s Grant,” Dr. Joseph Ludwig at MD Anderson Cancer Center, was awarded $100,000 to support his research focused on Ewing sarcoma.

Dr. Ludwig and his multi-disciplinary team have pioneered the use of innovative 3-dimensional tissue-engineered models that encourage Ewing sarcoma cells, cultured in the laboratory, to retain many of the same features present in the human body. Within this setting, Dr. Ludwig’s laboratory has shed new light on Ewing sarcoma biology and promises to improve the ability to co-target the fusion protein and other proteins that, collectively, maintain the aggressive, poorly differentiated state of Ewing sarcoma. Ultimately, this research approach will improve the reliability of preclinical drug testing and aid in the discovery of less-toxic biologically-targeted therapies that eradicate cancer cells and suppress their supporting tumor microenvironment.

The Shohet family created a St. Baldrick’s Hero Fund to fund innovative research, like that of Dr. Ludwig, so that kids with cancer will have better outcomes. Their son, Noah, was away enjoying his freshman year at the University of Michigan when he began having intermittent right knee pain. After experiencing extreme pain that concerned his parents, an X-ray revealed an aggressive bone cancer. In July 2015, a biopsy confirmed that Noah had Ewing sarcoma. He endured limb salvage surgery and many months of chemotherapy. But two years after completing chemotherapy, in April 2018 during a routine scan it revealed that Noah had relapsed.

“Having cancer once is about the worst thing that could happen to a teenager and their family but having it reoccur is beyond devastating,” said Felice Adler, Noah’s mom. “We need to defeat this beast once and for all, and the best way to do this is through aggressive research. There is nothing more important to us right now than finding a cure for Ewing sarcoma.”

Noah is an incredibly positive person who fully understands that being positive and having an amazing and winning attitude is as important to his well-being as chemotherapy and radiation. His diagnosis has opened his eyes to the world of medicine and confirmed his wishes to become a physician. The Shohet Family Fund for Ewing Sarcoma Research was created with the hope that the research funded through St. Baldrick’s will lead to a cure for Noah and all adolescents and young adults affected by childhood cancer.

Since 2015, the Shohet Family Fund for Ewing Sarcoma Research Hero Fund has raised more than $70,000 to support the most promising childhood cancer research. St. Baldrick’s Hero Funds are an ongoing way for friends, family members and groups to donate or raise funds to honor a loved one. To learn more about the program visit the St. Baldrick’s Hero Fund page.