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A normally sleepy school board race in northeast Long Beach has gotten an unexpected injection of partisan politics and campaign spending this year. , she has often won re-election without facing a challenger.
This year, though, it’s a three-way race among Craighead, grassroots organizer Sara Pol-Lim and charter school teacher Maureen Flaherty. Flaherty’s presence in particular, and her association with a national conservative group Moms for Liberty, has raised the stakes and spurred powerful players in Long Beach education to try to influence the outcome.
The Teachers Association of Long Beach, the union that represents thousands of certificated employees in the district, has thrown its weight behind Craighead — some members motivated less by Craighead’s platform than by fear of a win for Flaherty.
This year, though, it’s a three-way race among Craighead, grassroots organizer Sara Pol-Lim and charter school teacher Maureen Flaherty. Flaherty’s presence in particular, and her association with a national conservative group Moms for Liberty, has raised the stakes and spurred powerful players in Long Beach education to try to influence the outcome. Flaherty has advocated for vaccine choice rather than mandates, barring trans girls from girls’ sports and curriculum that “educate, not indoctrinate.
” She also wants parents to have more control over the types of books students have access to in school. She has collected endorsements from a litany of conservative politicians, including gubernatorial candidate Chad Bianco, the current sheriff of Riverside County. Her ties with Moms for Liberty, an organization that has advocated for book censorship and against curriculum on critical race theory and LGBTQ rights, have spurred LBUSD teachers to organize against her.
The Teachers Association of Long Beach, the union that represents thousands of certificated employees in the district, has thrown its weight behind Craighead — some members motivated less by Craighead’s platform than by fear of a win for Flaherty. Chris Callopy, executive director of TALB, lived and taught in Orange Unified in the 1990s and 2000s when voters elected andAt a union meeting last month, Callopy warned his membership that a similar school board takeover in Long Beach could threaten their civil rights and protections as teachers — especially for members of the LGBTQ community.
“This is crisis mode,” Callopy said, “Pay attention and get involved. ” In response, TALB has endorsed Craighead and so far used about $45,000 in political action committee funding to support her campaign — including through mailers, opposition research, door-knocking and even an attack ad against Flaherty that claims she is “Too MAGA for school board” and “Wrong for our kids. ”“They’re attacking me without knowing my real positions,” she said, adding, “I’m not one thing. I have multiple beliefs.
” She clarified that she wants all students to thrive and feel they belong in school and that she voted for gay rights in the past. She’s been critical of teachers unions, saying they protect lazy educators. Flaherty said TALB’s campaign against her shows they’re afraid she has a real shot, even with Long Beach’s.
“They’re obviously worried that I have a chance of winning or they wouldn’t be doing that,” she said. Craighead has championed a model of governance that aims to boost student performance and close equity gaps — focusing on the performance of Black students in particular. Though outcomes have lagged, Craighead has vowed to “stay the course” in the hopes that more significant improvements are on the horizon.
She supports, and voted for, the district’s equity policy and inclusion of the district’s immigrant community. Pol-Lim, who arrived in California as a Cambodian refugee in 1983, said she jumped into the race relatively late for pragmatic reasons. She decided she couldn’t “afford to just be a bystander anymore” when she learned about the district’sand declining enrollment. She has advocated for a proactive approach to balancing the district’s budget by seeking alternative funding sources.
And she says promoting student and teacher belonging could be keys to boosting both retention and outcomes, she said. Pol-Lim has raised more than $19,000 for her campaign, primarily small monetary donations from individuals and organizations across the city, she said, as well as a loan to herself and about $3,000 in in-kind donations. Flaherty has raised less than $2,000 in total.
And Craighead’s campaign has amassed more than $50,000, mostly in donations and in-kind support from TALB as well as some direct donations. She’s also accumulated endorsements from Long Beach’s largely liberal political establishment, including Mayor Rex Richardson, Rep. Robert Garcia, State Sen. Lena Gonzalez and Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Wednesday said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be provided, under unspecified procedures, after President Trumpthat the war would end once an agreement was reached with Iran, but he warned that U.S. bombing would resume if not. The Strait of Hormuz — an important passageway for oil, fertilizer and other goods — has been effectively closed since the U.S. and Israel launched their attack on Iran on Feb. 28, disrupting global energy supplies and pushing up fuel prices.
Iran has attacked commercial ships that want to transit the strait without its approval. The U.S. has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports since mid-April.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Wednesday said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be provided, under unspecified procedures, after President Trump"With the end of the aggressors' threats and in light of new procedures, safe and sustainable transit through the strait will be facilitated," the Revolutionary Guard's navy commandThe Strait of Hormuz — an important passageway for oil, fertilizer and other goods — has been effectively closed since the U.S. and Israel launched their attack on Iran on Feb. 28, disrupting global energy supplies and pushing up fuel prices. Iran has attacked commercial ships that want to transit the strait without its approval.
The U.S. has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports since mid-April.that the war would end once an agreement was reached with Iran, but he warned that U.S. bombing would resume if not.
"Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran," Trump said. "If they don't agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before.
""The American plan and proposal is still being reviewed by Iran, and after summing up its points of view, Iran will convey its views to the Pakistani side," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaeion Wednesday, referring to mediating country Pakistan that has relayed messages and hosted talks between Iran and the U.S. NPR has not confirmed the details of the proposal. Ted Turner — the bullish founder of CNN and a suite of other cable channels, not to mention a bison steakhouse, a non profit designed to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and an international sports competition — died Wednesday at the age of 87.
Turner launched the Cable News Network — the nation's first continuous all-news television station — on June 1, 1980, at. The network broadcast news 24/7 from that point on and indeed built a global array of bureaus. Over time, whenever news was happening, CNN was there. CNN broadcasted live when catastrophe struck the space shuttle Challenger and its crew in 1986.
And in 1991, CNN experienced a defining moment — effectively owning television coverage of the first U.S.-led war against Iraq. It was the only U.S. network able to broadcast live from Baghdad as bright flashes from bombs lit the sky. Sixteen years later, NBC and Fox would launch sibling cable news channels. Each ultimately found success by embracing strong points of view.
Broadcast networks subsequently sought to replicate the original cable ethos with stripped down streaming services. Ted Turner — the bullish founder of CNN and a suite of other cable channels, not to mention a bison steakhouse, a non profit designed to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and an international sports competition — died Wednesday at the age of 87.
He had announced just before his 80th birthday that he had Lewy Body Dementia, a degenerative disease that causes dementia and muscle failure.
"If Alexander the Great could conquer the known world, why couldn't I start CNN? " Turner once told Oprah Winfrey. Former CNN chief news executive Eason Jordan says Turner took inspiration from 24-hour radio stations that relayed news headlines, and endless sports highlights on ESPN. Turner remained baffled why the broadcast giants — ABC, NBC and CBS — hadn't launched cable stations.
"To him it was just the most logical thing in the world and he couldn't understand why nobody else was doing it," Jordan says. "So he was going to do it. " Sixteen years later, NBC and Fox would launch sibling cable news channels. Each ultimately found success by embracing strong points of view.
Broadcast networks subsequently sought to replicate the original cable ethos with stripped down streaming services. Turner, a colorful figure with a Southern drawl and rail-thin mustache, had pronounced views himself, often of a liberal bent. But he wanted his station to reflect the news, not ideology. He thought human understanding across borders would benefit from reporting on stories and people around the world.
"He was a visionary, a trailblazer, a rabble-rouser, a do-gooder — and he thought there would be a market for it," Jordan says. Ted Turner sits in his office in October 1986.
"He was a visionary, a trailblazer, a rabble-rouser, a do-gooder," says former CNN chief news executive Eason Jordan. Turner often carried a mischievous twinkle in his eye. And his values had been incubated in an earlier era. Jordan joined CNN in 1982 while he was still in college, working overnights as a desk assistant during his first few years.
Back then, Turner oftenin his office above the newsroom. He would come down to the newsroom to grab coffee, Jordan recalls, but did not usually interact with the staff. The first time they met, Jordan says, was because Turner had a guest. ," Jordan says.
"They were both in bathrobes. And Ted was so proud of himself for having such good company that he introduced himself and Raquel Welch to everyone in the newsroom at 4 o'clock in the morning.
"CNN has been a mainstay of television journalism for so long it's hard to remember that it was often underestimated in its infancy. In the 1980s, many people didn't understand what the fuss was about, longtime broadcast journalist Joie Chen recalls.
"Many people didn't even have cable yet. I didn't have cable growing up," says Chen, who joined CNN as an international anchor in 1991.
"In those early years, you know, CNN was just considered 'Chicken Noodle News' and Ted Turner was at first just considered a dilettante. " CNN became a training ground for journalists who would be hired by better paying outlets. Chen left CNN in 2001, later working at CBS and Al Jazeera.
"Look, we were young and at times very shoddy, but we were the only game in town and we did some extraordinary things," Jordan says. Over time, whenever news was happening, CNN was there. CNN broadcasted live when catastrophe struck the space shuttle Challenger and its crew in 1986. And in 1991, CNN experienced a defining moment — effectively owning television coverage of the first U.S.-led war against Iraq.
It was the only U.S. network able to broadcast live from Baghdad as bright flashes from bombs lit the sky. Anchor Bernard Shaw and Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Peter Arnett were among those CNN journalists who projected calm under fire. Chen recalls Turner never intended for his journalists to become famous and, she contends, he underpaid his staff.
"We were always told Ted's mantra was, 'You are not the star; the news is the star," she says. She left CNN at the end of 2001. Even as he struck an exuberant tone, Turner's mood could swing to depression. He also battled again and again with rival media tycoon Rupert Murdoch – and even threatened to do so with his fists in Las Vegas, as in turn questioned Turner's sanity.
Meanwhile, Turner maintained a friendly rapport with the late Cuban autocrat Fidel Castro. In later years, as CNN competed not just with other cable channels but digital news outlets and social media, it lagged behind its TV peers in ratings. Executives turned over prime time to higher-rated opinion panel discussions featuring ideological clashes. But it retained its journalistic DNA to a significant extent, rising to the moment as its reporting teams covered political developments, natural disasters and armed conflicts.
That was part of Turner's legacy too. Turner married and divorced three times; his third marriage was to Hollywood and fitness star Jane Fonda in 1991. He also took on lots of debt – and investors – to make ambitious deals at a time when his main rivals, including Murdoch, were launching all-news cable stations. Eventually, it became too much.
In 1996, Turner sold CNN and the rest of his company, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., to Time Warner for about $7.34 billion – a move he deeply regretted. A few years later – in 2000 – Time Warner sold itself to AOL, against Turner's wishes. The AOL deal is considered one of the worst mergers in U.S. corporate history. In 2001, his marriage to Fonda — a source of strength – ended.
And shortly after that, he was completely out at AOL, separating from the company he'd spent a half-century building. He added, earning laughter from Morgan,"I lost my fortune, most of it, got a billion or two left. You can get by on that if you economize,"Turner had been finding other things to do for years. He was relentlessly competitive and an accomplished yachtsman — he won the America's Cup sailing competition in 1977.
In the 1970s, Turner bought a television station and made it into the national"superchannel" now known as TBS; He also bought the Atlanta Braves to ensure content for it. The Braves became one of the nation's most popular baseball teams during the generation he owned or ran it; the team appeared repeatedly in the World Series in the 1990s and early aughts.
In 1986, Turner launched the Goodwill Games, an international competition meant to bypass the Cold War fights that had broken out over the Olympics. It lasted until 2001. In 1997, as Turner was being honored by the United Nations, he pledged to donate a billion dollars to it. With that money, he created what's known as The UN Foundation that has helped the international institution endure.
As the years progressed, Turner created the Nuclear Threat Initiative to secure loose nuclear weapons in the former Soviet republics and elsewhere. He also gave widely to conservation and anti-global warming efforts. His philanthropy helped inspire the"Giving Pledge" of Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and other billionaires – and he was one of the first signatories to it. He also founded Ted's Montana Grill with hopes of making bison a popular alternative to beef.
Turner had been raising bison on his many ranches, and saw the restaurant chain as a way to reach customers while saving the species from extinction..
"I said then I was going to work hard, see if I can make some money, and then I'm going to buy some land and raise bison and see if I can get the herd back away from the door of extinction. " In his final years, the flamboyant showman retreated from the public eye. Ever direct, he publicly acknowledged his affliction with Lewy Body Dementia, or LBD, in 2018.
He spent much of his later life out of the public eye, whether in Atlanta or riding horses and fishing at his vast properties in Montana. If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less. LAist reporter Julia Barajas interviews Maria Monares, a longtime resident of East Los Angeles, about odor issues in the area.
Whether you’re looking to connect with a reporter or have an interview coming up, here’s a cheat sheet to help you talk with journalists, including our staff from LAist. Reporters come to you for a reason. They may be intimidating because they have a mic or a camera, but you have a perspective they need. Media outlets also want to expand their audiences, and that includes you.
LAist reports on local issues for — and with — communities across Southern California, but chances are most readers have never spoken with a journalist before. Your stories and experiences power our reporting, so it’s important that people know what to expect when they speak with a reporter. Below are some tips from our newsroom on what to keep in mind when talking to a journalist. Be honest.
Truthfulness and facts are central to journalistic ethics. Also know your worth. Reporters come to you for a reason. They may be intimidating because they have a mic or a camera, but you have a perspective they need.
Media outlets also want to expand their audiences, and that includes you.. If you meet a reporter, get their business card. It will usually have a direct phone number to talk with them. Probably not.
Journalists are often working with a limited word count or air time. They will likely use one short sound bite or quote from you. It’s also possible they will not use your interview at all. Reporters and their editors decide what will get published.
Probably not. It is against journalistic ethics to have sources review a story before it’s published. Imagine if a journalist were to do a piece about government corruption. You wouldn’t want the government agency to review the story and edit it.
Editors review stories for accuracy. It depends on the type of story. Some stories are short and may air on the radio or be published online the same day you talk to the reporter. Other times a reporter might work on a story for several weeks or months.
It’s OK to follow up with the reporter who talked to you and ask when the story might be done and ask them to let you know where you can read or hear it. You are welcome to ask reporters about their fact-checking process or how they make sure a story is accurate. Not all outlets have fact-checkers. If the story is an investigative story or a long-form or magazine format, designated fact-checkers are more common.
At LAist, reporters and editors are responsible for verifying information. Your story is your own and during an interview you have full control over what you say to a reporter. Answer questions in any way that makes you feel most comfortable, and you can always decline to answer a question. You don't have to disclose your immigration status to a reporter.
If it's directly relevant to the story, a trustworthy reporter will explain that and also tell you how they'd handle the information. You can decline to answer. It's a great question and relates directly to media literacy — meaning how well you can spot misinformation, disinformation and bias. The reality is that we all have points of view.
Here are some tools to check on where a publication falls across the political spectrum:You should be able to find information on who funds the work on the site .tracking media outlets across the political spectrum . Ad Fontes Media, which describes itself as a"public benefit corporation" which they said means they are"a for-profit business with a stated public mission," has been publishing its analysis since 2018.
This means that everything you say in your conversation with the journalist can be quoted, published and attributed back to you. By default, you should assume any exchange you have with a journalist is on the record unless you mutually agree otherwise. This means that you are sharing information with a journalist that can be referenced in a story, but is not directly attributed to you. This means that you are sharing information that is not for publication.
People may share experiences or tips off the record if they want the journalist to be aware of the information but don’t want it mentioned in a story. Remember that “off the record” only counts if both you and the journalist agree to it. It's worth noting that different newsrooms may use these terms slightly differently. You should confirm with the reporter that you have as shared understanding of the meaning.
No and no. You will not pay or get paid to be in a news story because this is against journalistic ethics. Anyone who receives payment for a story could be swayed to bend the truth. If you feel that the reporter misrepresented your story, you can ask for a correction or an update to clarify a point. Reporters want to get the story right and they don't want to incorrect or misleading information to go unchecked.
That said, corrections deal with information that is factually incorrect, so you should be ready to explain what was wrong and why. Under California law, you have 20 days to demand a correction and the publisher has to respond within a set period of time. Think about the main points you want to get across in your interview. What are the most critical things for the reporter to know?
Some people like to organize their thoughts into three major points. If you are not used to telling your story, you may want to have a friend ask you some questions to practice. Depending on the story, a reporter may also ask if you have any pictures to share that they can use to help tell the story. You can reach out to LAist reporters through the contact information listed on their bios.
All our editorial staff, including the teams reporting, editing and producing news, areAside from contacting journalists directly, you can share your story with LAist through short surveys and meeting us in person. This guide was originally written by former LAist early childhood producer Stefanie Ritoper, with contributions from Mariana Dale. Cato Hernández and David Rodriguez also contributed to this guide.
Paradise Dynasty and Burritos La Palma have teamed up on a limited-edition Birria XLB — birria de res folded into a soup dumpling skin. Two of the defining food obsessions of the past decade in Southern California — birria and XLB — are meeting in one bite, and the collab feels less like a gimmick and more like a natural expression of how L.A.
's Asian and Latino food cultures have always cross-pollinated. — the SoCal burrito institution whose birria de res recipe traces back over 45 years — to create a limited-edition birria soup dumpling. The Birria XLB will be available starting Monday for a limited time at Paradise Dynasty locations. Paradise Dynasty has been on a steady ascent as a major player in L.A.
's dumpling scene, with locations at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa and The Americana at Brand in Glendale. Meanwhile, Burritos La Palma — known for its simple, savory burritos and finely crafted flour tortillas — has been capturing hearts and stomachs since Alberto Bañuelos opened the first eatery in L.A. in 2012.
It’s since grown to several spots across L.A. and Orange County, earning a Michelin Bib Gourmand award in 2024 for its high-quality, Zacatecan-style handmade flour tortilla burritos at an affordable price. So what exactly is a birria soup dumpling? A delicate wrapper, lightly packed with tender birria de res — slow-braised beef stewed in chilies and spices — juicy, savory and gone in one bite.
It all began with a call from Paradise Dynasty, when Jason Kuo, district manager for Paradise Dynasty USA, reached out to Bañuelos, calling it, simply, a perfect match between the two dishes.
"When we started asking guests and people around us what flavor they would want to see in a soup dumpling, birria kept coming up again and again — it was very clear. If we're going to do birria, it has to be done right. Burritos La Palma was the first name that came to mind.
""We come from a small town in Mexico, and to be able to elevate to the level of Paradise Dynasty and that culinary perfection, I can't even really put it into words," he said. It took months of R&D to get the right consistency.
Bañuelos said the process required dialing down the moisture and upping the spice potency and landed on serving a fresh red salsa with thin slivers of serrano peppers alongside — a riff on the black vinegar and pickled ginger traditionally served with soup dumplings. The Birria XLB's juicy interior is part of what makes it work — the dish is served with a fresh, tomato-based salsa and slivers of serrano pepper in place of the traditional black vinegar and pickled ginger.
I got a chance to try the dumplings ahead of the public launch and was struck by how well the combination worked. The juicy nature of birria is almost turbocharged in dumpling form, its savory, herbaceous flavors fully encapsulated in the thin skin, creating an exceptional texture in every bite. The dish hits even harder when dipped in the light tomato-based salsa — a rush of freshness that cuts through the richness, with a spike of heat from fresh serrano.
But what's most impressive is how organic it all feels. This isn't fusion for fusion's sake — it's a natural meeting of two dishes that are deeply embedded in the Southern California diet, each playing to the other's strengths. It feels like a logical meeting of the minds — birria and soup dumplings have both been part of L.A.
's culinary zeitgeist for the better part of a decade, and it makes sense that these worlds should collide. When asked whether a collaboration like this could happen anywhere else, Bañuelos was quick:"It has to start in L.A. You just can't compete. "
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