Community News

University Women

Tech Trek camper, Rachel Thomson and other Trekkers, will share their week-long summer camp experience on a university campus to members and guests of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) meeting Saturday, Jan. 4, at the Golden Sails Inn, 6285 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach, California 90803 starting at 9:30 a.m. RSVP $25 for the buffet luncheon to PayPal account aauwlongbeach@gmail.com.

This one-week summer camp is backed by AAUW’s research and designed to make the fields of science, technology, education and mathematics (STEM) exciting and accessible to girls in middle school – the age when girls’ participation in these fields statistically drops. For many girls, the weeklong camp sparks their curiosity and places them on a path towards success.

Through hands-on problem solving and encounters with women role models in STEM, the AAUW Tech Trek camp helps girls see their futures while having nonstop fun.

Opening Soon

Agatha Christie’s “The Unexpected Guest” is presented by the Long Beach Playhouse Jan. 11 to Feb. 8 and is directed by Jeff Brown

Lost in the fog, a stranger seeks refuge in a nearby house, only to find a man shot dead and his wife standing over him with a smoking gun. But the woman’s dazed confession is anything but convincing, and the unexpected guest decides to help. Remarkably, the police suspect a man who died two years previously; a tangled web of lies reveals family secrets and chilling motives, where the real murderer turns out to be the greatest mystery of all.  Agatha Christie knocks it out of the park again with a murder mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Info: www.lbplayhouse.org or call (562) 494-1014, Ext. 1.

Marketing Your Book

The California Writers Club of Long Beach is holding its free monthly meeting on Saturday, Jan. 11, at the Ruth Bach Neighborhood Library, 4055 Bellflower Blvd. The meeting is 3-5 p.m.; networking starts at 2:30.

The club’s January topic is “Branding and Marketing Your Book” with a panel moderated by bestselling author Jonathan Yanez. Panel members include Jennifer Hendricks, Kevin Cruz and Jynafer Yanez, who share best practices to generate followers and sales when launching your book. The discussion includes social media tips that leverage Amazon’s marketing engine.

California Writer’s Club is a non-profit 501(C)(3) educational organization. For more information, please see www.calwriterslongbeach.org, info@calwriterslongbeach.org.

Hearing Loss: What’s New

Dr. David DeKriek, audiologist, will discuss new legislation about hearing aids and the increasing aging population that are spurring more competition to add or improve features, interactivity, sound quality and price at the Thursday, Jan. 9  meeting of the Long Beach/Lakewood Chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) at 6:30 p.m. at the Weingart Center, 5220 Oliva Ave., Lakewood.

Hearing aids are advancing rapidly, and lots can change in just a year.   DeKriek will speak about the latest developments in hearing aid technology.

This talk is part of a series of monthly presentations offered by the Long Beach/Lakewood Chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America, the nation’s largest non-profit group dedicated to helping people with hearing loss.

For more information, call (562) 438-0597 or www.hlaa-lb-lakewood.org. Hearing Loss Association of America, Long Beach/Lakewood Chapter is a volunteer, support group offering education on coping skills and resources to people with hearing loss to help survive in a hearing world.

Tale of a Tailor

 Meet Mark Thompson, author of his debut novel, “Sinatra’s Tailor” and greet title character, Umberto Autore, for a talk and book-signing event on Saturday, Jan. 11, 12:30 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, in the Towne Center.

“Sinatra’s Tailor” is the story of Umberto Autore, orphaned as a young boy in Italy during WWII and raised by “nuns and Nazis.” He eventually immigrated to America where he became the tailor to Frank Sinatra and many other Hollywood luminaries. Umberto International Clothiers has been an iconic menswear store, serving Southern California residents since 1960.

Long Beach native Mark A. Thompson met Umberto Autore as a 17-year old kid working after school as a salesclerk in the men’s wear department at the Broadway department store in the Los Altos Shopping Center. Now, 50 years later, he’s written Umberto’s fascinating coming-of-age story.

Sinatra’s Tailor – An Italian Immigrant’s Story, is available for purchase at bookstores, directly from the publisher, Aakenbaaken & Kent and online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Fate of Offshore Oil Rigs

On January 12 to 14, the Aquarium of the Pacific will host a forum to examine the afterlives of decommissioned oil rigs off the coast of California. At the aquarium’s forum, experts will gather to discuss sustainable options for decommissioned oil rigs in Southern California.

Forum participants will include representatives from federal and state agencies responsible for the decommissioning process, industry experts and academic scientists. The forum will be open to the public, allowing local residents to learn about those platforms, what the decommissioning options are and how the decisions will be made.

The public can RSVP by visiting aquariumofpacific.org/events or calling (562) 590-3100.

The Story of Food Waste

Dine LBC presents a one-day screening of “Wasted!: The Story of Food Waste” at The Art Theatre on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 11 a.m.

It is documentary executive-produced by the late Anthony Bourdain and aims to change the way people buy, cook, recycle and eat food. Through the eyes of chef-heroes like Bourdain, Dan Barber, Massimo Bottura, and Danny Bowien, audiences will see how the world’s most influential chefs make the most of every kind of food, transforming what most people consider scraps into incredible dishes that create a more secure food system. Wasted! exposes the criminality of food waste and how it’s directly contributing to climate change and shows us how each of us can make small changes – all of them delicious – to solve one of the greatest problems of the 21st Century. The film is a must see for chefs, restaurant owners, home cooks and anyone interested in protecting the environment.

Adult admission is $11, seniors and children $9. The Art Theatre is located at 2025 E. 4th St.