Signal Tribune
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Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and Signal Hill
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VOL. XLIII NO. 7
COMMUNITY
VALENTINE’S DAY
February 12, 2021
LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS
Karla M. Enriquez | Signal Tribune
Nellie De La Cruz and Capone Magallanes hand out goodie bags to cars in an effort to spread awareness for rheumatoid arthritis.
Cancer Fighters spread awareness for rheumatoid arthritis Karla M. Enriquez
Kristen Farrah Naeem | Signal Tribune
Alan Katz stands at the terrace of the Cute Little Wedding Chapel in Bixby Knolls, where he officiates socially distanced weddings.
Digital Editor
O
n a particularly warm Saturday in January, Long Beach resident Velina Velasquez, 42, made her way out of her home and into the loving cheers of her family in Eastside Long Beach, who were bringing awareness to rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic inflammatory disorder that affects the joints of Velasquez and approximately 1.5 million other people in the United States. Velasquez smiled through her protective face covering as she saw Cancer Fighters, a community organization started by her niece Nellie De La Cruz at the age of 10 in 2020. With support from her family and friends, De La Cruz and the rest of the Cancer Fighters team bring awareness to diseases and health conditions after their own family was personally affected. They also do random acts of kindness, such as donating meals to frontline workers at St. Mary’s Hospital and distributing gifts to children during the holidays. At its Rheumatoid Arthritis Awareness event on Jan. 6, Cancer Fighters honored Velasquez, who was diagnosed with RA two years ago. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, RA is an autoimmune and inflammatory disease where a person’s immune system attacks healthy cells in the body by mistake and causes swelling see CANCER FIGHTERS page 4
Cute Little Wedding Chapel offering walk-in ceremonies for Valentine’s Day Kristen Farrah Naeem
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Staff Writer
he wedding industry is one the many fields the pandemic has wreaked havoc on in the past year, as people continue to cancel, postpone or reconfigure what they expected to be one of the happiest days of their life. “It was a mixture, it was cancellations, it was postponements, or it was moving to micro or elopement weddings. Right at the beginning there was so much uncertainty of what was happening that everybody was confused. All they knew was ‘my wedding is no longer happening. WTF?’” Alan Katz, officiant of the Cute Little Wedding Chapel in
Bixby Knolls, said. When the pandemic first arrived, Katz helped many of the couples he was working with to reschedule their weddings for a later date. Now as COVID-19 continues to spread almost a year later, he now has to help those same fiancés reschedule for a second time. For any couples who don’t want to wait anymore, the Cute Little Wedding Chapel in the Bixby Knolls neighborhood of Long Beach is providing safe outdoor weddings every half– hour on Valentine’s Day. For a total of $409, the holiday package includes a marriage license, a socially-distanced ceremony with up to four see CUTE LITTLE CHAPEL page 7
Signal Hill City Council approves View Park construction Nearly 2-acre park, on Cherry Avenue one block south of Mother’s Market, scheduled to open in spring 2022. Anita W. Harris Senior Writer
D
uring its Feb. 9 meeting, the Signal Hill City Council approved a contract to build a new park set to open in late spring 2022. View Park will run along Cherry Avenue from Burnett Street to N. Legion Drive, intersecting the cul-desac of E. Creston Avenue. The narrow but elevated 1.8-acre park will feature landscaping, a lighted walking trail and views of Long Beach and the ocean.
Since the site has a downward slope, the park will also feature a stormwater-infiltration system to help prevent water runoff. The council approved the $2-million construction contract with the Conservation Corps of Long Beach, a nonprofit that assists at-risk youth. Public Works Director Kelli Tunnicliff said the project’s total cost is $3.3 million – including design, landscaping and construction – mostly funded by a $2.4-million grant from the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains
Conservancy. Created by the State of California in 1999, the conservancy’s mission is to preserve open space for low-impact recreation and educational uses, wildlife-habitat restoration and protection, and watershed improvements. The council also reviewed a related parking-impact study that determined there are enough parking spots on surrounding streets to accommodate the new park’s users. The study, completed in January, shows a total of 52 parking spaces available on Gardena Avenue, E. Creston Avenue and N. Legion Drive. see VIEW PARK page 7
see SUGARCANE JUICE page 3
City of Signal Hill
Rendering of planned View Park in Signal Hill, along Cherry Avenue south of Burnett Street.