LONG BEACH, CALIF. USA -- Beach-goers check out a dead sea lion on the sand west of the Veterans Memorial Pier in Belmont Shore on May 17, 2012. See more pictures>>
BELTING ONE OUT AT THE BAY SHORE:
LONG BEACH, CALIF. USA -- Singer Shabnam Kalbasi performs with Horizon Music Group during Community Action Team's Mother's Day Concert at Bay Shore Church in Long Beach, Calif. on May 13, 2012. Justin Rudd's nonprofit Community Action Team (CAT) held their 4th-annual free professional Mother's Day Concert at the Belmont Shore area church. The professional musicians are with Horizon Music Group based in Los Angeles and are paid with funds raised at CAT's Long Beach Turkey Trot 5K/10K. The concert included opera, light opera, musical theatre and jazz favorites. see more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CALIF. USA -- Madeline Montanez, 8, shouts slogans as she marches with Occupy protesters in Downtown Long Beach, Calif. on May 1, 2012. See more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CALIF. USA -- Workers place the last steel beam atop the George Deukmejian, Jr., Courthouse in Long Beach, Calif., on May 1, 2012. The building, a replacement for an aging building, is scheduled to open in 2014. See more pictures>>
CERRITOS, CALIF. USA -- Eric Estrada, left, and Asia Estrada take a spin on a ride during the Community Spring Festival in Cerritos, Calif., on April 29, 2012. See more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CALIF. USA -- Vince Mejia struggles as he heads up the Gerald Desmond Bridge during the Tour de Cure bike ride for the American Diabetes Association in Long Beach, Calif. on April 29, 2012. See more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Poly's Myles Mendez (11) yells at Lakewood's Joey Gibson (11) after Gibsobn failed to tag him out as he stole second base during their Moore League game at Blair Field on April 24, 2012. See more pictures/buy prints>>
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Long Beach City's Max Wechsung (7) celebrates a point directed towards Orange Coast College's Victor Schaefer (16) during their win over Orange Coast College in the CCCAA state championship in Long Beach, Calif. on April 21, 2012. LBCC defeated OCC, 3 games to 1. See more pictures>>
PARAMOUNT, CAILF., USA -- Gahr's Albert Perez (14) celebrates as he scores during their game against Paramount in Paramount, Calif. on April 5, 2012. See more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- A young female sea otter pup in quarantine at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Calif., on March 30, 2012. The pup was rescued in Northern California on Valentines Day and will go on display for the public in six months to a year from now. When the pup goes on exibition will depend on various factors that are up to the baby otter, including the rate of growth, learning behaviors to aid in her care, and creating a bond with individual otters behind the scenes before joining all of them in the exhibit. See more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Lakewood's Danny Kaeka (28) celebrates as he scores the winning, and only, run against Wilson in the top of the 6th. inning at Blair Field in Long Beach, Calif. on March 30, 2012. See more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Long Beach, Calif., preservationist Nancy Latimer at the Naval Memorial amillary sphere at Pierpoint Landing onMarch 30, 2012. Latimer tried to save some of the buildings at the Long Beach Naval Station, but it was demolished. However, she got almost $5 million from the Port of Long Beach to preserve historical buildings and other things in the city. One use of the money was to build this sphere.
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- The best part of covering the chocolate festival every year is knowing all the judges - the best part about knowing all the judges is that they slip me pieces of chocolate during the judging. Above, Ashton Martinez gobbles up chocolate during his win in the pie eating contest at the Belmont Shore Chocolate Festival & Spring Sweets in Long Beach, Calif., on March 24, 2012. See more pics>>
REDONDO BEACH, CALIF. USA -- Redondo Union's Kayla Maanum (5) against Mira Costa during their game in Redondo Beach on March 20, 2012.
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ROASMOND, CAILF., USA -- Celebrity racers, Kate del Castillo, left, Jillian Barberie Reynold, Eddie Cibrian, and Hill Harper, right, after a practice run on the wet track at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, Calif. on March 17, 2012. Drivers in the Pro/Celebrity race of the Long Beach Grand Prix spend for days at the High Desert race track learning how to drive a race car. See more pictures>>
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH -- Cal State Long Beach students Brittany Childress, left, and Karli Shutt watch the 49ers lose to New Mexico on March 15, 2012. The girls joined about 300 other NCAA fans as they watched the game at the Nugget on campus in Long Beach, Calif. See more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA --Poly's Joshua Munzon (3) goes up for a shot against Capistrano Valley's Spencer Fabian (1) during their CIF Southern Regional playoff game in Long Beach, Calif. on March 7, 2012. Poly defeated Carson, 65-59 in overtime. Munzon's shot tied gave the Jackrabbits the lead in the third quarter before Capo tied the game. See more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Carson's Alizé Niko (32) falls on Poly's Airica Carmon (12) during their CIF Southern Regional playoff game in Long Beach, Calif. on March 7, 2012. Poly defeated Carson, 81-18. See more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Lynn Brown posses for a picture in front of a giant frame by the LACMA Rock in the 3600 block of Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, Calif. on March 7, 2012. The Bixby Knolls neighborhood threw a rock party for the massive boulder. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art's 340-ton boulder is on an 11-day trip from the Inland Empire to the mid-Wilshire museum - traveling only at night and only eight miles per hour. See more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Long Beach City College's Jaime Valle (18) slides past Cerritos' Sergio Barboza (7) during their game in Long Beach, Calif. on March 6, 2012. See more pictures>>
ANAHEIM, CAILF., USA -- Poly's Roschon Prince (1) joins the rest of his team as they watch Mater Dei accept the placer for wining their CIF-SS Division 1AA championship game in Anaheim, Calif. on March 3, 2012. The Monarchs defeated the Jackrabbits, 63 to 59. See more pictures/Buy reprints>>
ANAHEIM, CAILF., USA -- Mayfair's Brian Wright (1) tries to take a shot as Righetti's Cameron Walker (11) blocks him during their CIF-SS Division 2A championship game in Anaheim, Calif. on March 3, 2012. The Monsoons defeated the Warriors, 60 to 45. See more pictures/Buy reprints>>
BELLFLOWER, CAILF., USA -- Mayfair basketball players and brothers Brian Wright, left, and Dion Wright on March 1, 2012, in Bellflower, Calif. Dion is a senior, Brian a junior. They will be leading the Monsoons in the Division II-A championship game against Righetti on Saturday at Anaheim Arena. Buy Print>>
BELLFLOWER, CAILF., USA -- St. John Bosco's Daniel Hamilton (5) looks towards the scoreboard during the final scones of their loss to Oak Park in Bellflower, Calif. on February 24, 2012. St. John Bosco lost 67 to 66. See more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Poly's Kirstyn Nold (16), left, consuls teammate Sam Shier (10), center, after their playoff loss to Great Oaks in Long Beach, Calif. on February 24, 2012. The game was tied 0-0 after two overtimes but Poly lost the penalty kicks 3-1. See more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Barry B, with scissors, a resident at The Palace, cuts a ribbon with dignitaries including; Patrick Brown, Chair of the Long Beach Housing Development Company, left, Long Beach Councilman Patrick O'Donnell, Mayor Bob Foster, Polly Williams, president of United Friends of the Children, Ricardo, alumni of Pathway Transitional Living, Hunter Johnson, second from right, president and CEO of LINC Housing, and City Manager Pat West, right, in Long Beach, Calif., on February 22, 2012. The Palace is transitional housing for young adults leaving the foster care system. The building was converted from an 1920s era hotel with a notorious past. See more pictures>>
NORWALK, CAILF., USA -- Cadet Second Class Kevin Flores, left, and Cadet First Class, Cesar Muro, center, grill Cadet Hugo Rico during their morning drill at Southeast Academy High School in Norwalk, Calif. on February 17, 2012. The academy is a public school in the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District but it's run very much like a military academy designed to prepare students for careers in law enforcement, military and related fields. Students wear military fatigues each day and participate in a rigorous academic curriculum that includes daily homework checks, drills and a point system where students can advance to become mentors. See more pictures>>
TOP: View of Ocean Blvd. and Pine Ave. looking southeast on August 13, 1986. The Jergin's Trust Building is on the right, in the center is the Crocker Bank Building (now the Salvation Army Building), and on the left is Breakers. The Jergin's Trust Building was named for the Jergin's Trust oil company, which built a four storey addition in the early 1920s. The Lowe's State Theater occupied the lower part of the building. In a 1986 Los Angeles Times Article, Tom Welch, who represented the developer at the time said, The project already has cost $125,000 and demolition of the 10-story building will cost another $550,000. "We wouldn't want to spend that kind of money if we intended to leave bare soil," he added, in reference to a battle by some to save the building. Photo by Tom Shaw/Press-Telegram
BOTTOM: View of Ocean Blvd. and Pine Ave. looking southeast on February 14, 2012. The Long Beach Convention Center is the low building on the right, in the center is the Salvation Army Building, and on the left is Breakers. Photo by Jeff Gritchen/Long Beach Press-Telegram
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Vanessa Franco with her French Bulldog Holly during the 8th Annual Bulldog Beauty Contest & Haute Dog Pageants in Long Beach, Calif. on February 11, 2012. See more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk checks out the McBride Skatepark in Long Beach, Calif. on February 11, 2012. The skatepark, which was given a sizable grant from the 2010 Stand Up for Skateparks Tony Hawk Foundation event, is on Martin Luther King, Jr., Ave. south of Pacific Coast Highway.
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LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- David Arana, right, hugs his son, Justin Arana, as they watch firefighters battle a blaze at their family home in the 3000 block of Arlotte Ave. in Long Beach, Calif. on February 10, 2012. Firefighters from Long Beach, Los Angeles County and Orange County responded to the fire that destroyed the garage and upstairs bedroom shortly after 7 p.m.. No one was home when the fire started.
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LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Jeff Andrews of the Cal State Long Beach snowboard team rides the center rail in front of the Walter Pyramid on February 9, 2012. Fifteen tons of snow was sprayed on to the steps and surrounding area for the Long Beach State Pyramid Rail Jam, a rail-riding competition sponsored by the club. Forty riders competed in half-hour heats in front of three volunteer judges. See more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Wilson's Samantha Moreno (1) dives for the ball against Poly during their Moore League game in Long Beach, Calif. on February 2, 2012. The Jackrabbits defeated the Bruins, 2-0. See more pictures>>
BELLFLOWER, CAILF., USA -- St. John Bosco football player Bryce Treggs hugs his grandmother, Kathy Treggs, after the schools National Signing Day ceremony in Bellflower, Calif. on February 1, 2012. Treggs did not commit to a school, telling the crowd gathered in the gym that he'll announce where he is going at 4:30 on Fox Sports West. He then added, "So tune in!" See pics>> St. John Bosco | Poly
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Blues guitarist Bernie Pearl at hie Long Beach, Calif., home on January 26, 2012. Pearl played with all the greats, including BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Etta James.
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Brothers Brandan Soltes, left, Ryan Soltes, right, and Robert Soltes, center, listen to stories about their father, Charles Robert Soltes, Jr., during a ceremony marking the dedication of Project 402 at the VA Long Beach on January 25, 2012. Project 402 is a 30-month, seven-building project that includes a blind rehabilitation center named for Maj. Charles Robert Soltes, Jr. Soltes was an Army optometrist, who was killed in Iraq in 2004. See more pictures>>
CERRITOS, CAILF., USA -- Water Superintendent Charles Emig heads towards solar membranes atop one of the two six-million gallon water tanks at the Cerritos, Calif. corporate yard on January 10, 2012. Cerritos has installed two solar panel systems on top of the water reservoirs over the past two years. The systems generate more than 150,000 kws per year. See more pictures>>
WILMINGTON, CALIF. USA -- Firefighters work to put out a blaze in the administration building of the ConocoPhillips refinery in Wilmington, Calif. on January 16, 2012. See more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Long Beach councilman Robert Garcia gives fellow councilperson Suja Lowenthal a ride before a a ceremony for new banners along the length of Broadway and Third Street from the Long Beach (710) Freeway to Alamitos Avenue in Long Beach, Calif. on January 12, 2012. The banners celebrate the dedicated bike lanes along Broadway and Third Street. See more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Millikan's Steven Barrera (1) fails to stop a shot from Cabrillo's Jose Vaca (10) during their Moore League game in Long Beach, Calif. on January 11, 2012. Millikan and Cabrillo tied, 2-2. See more pictures>>
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- Charlie Josephbeck, front, and Christian Johnson walk through a maze of dried Mustard plant during a class about bugs and fungus at the El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach, Calif. on January 5, 2011. The nature center offers classes for children in Kindergarten through 4th grader throughout Winter and Spring break. See more pictures>>
NORWALK, CAILF., USA -- The northwest corner of Front Street and Clarkdale Ave. in Norwalk, Calif. on in 1948. Norwalk was founded in the late 19th century but not incorporated as a city unitll 1957.
By 1873, railroads were being built in the area and the Sprouls deeded 23 acres (93,000 m²) stipulating a "passenger stop" clause in the deed. Three days after the Anaheim Branch Railroad crossed the "North-walk" for the first time, Gilbert Sproul surveyed a town site. In 1874, the name was recorded officially as Norwalk. While a majority of the Norwalk countryside remained undeveloped during the 1880s, the Norwalk Station allowed potential residents the opportunity to visit the "country" from across the nation.
At the turn of the 19th century, Norwalk had become established as a dairy center. Of the 50 local families reported in the 1900 census, most were associated with farming or with the dairy industry. Norwalk was also the home of some of the largest sugar beet farms in all of Southern California during this era. Many of the dairy farmers who settled in Norwalk during the early part of the 20th century were Dutch. See more Then and Nows>>
LONG BEACH, CAILF., USA -- A worker welds steel at the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse in Long Beach, Calif. on January 5, 2011. Construction on the $490 million, 31-courtroom courthouse in Downtown began this spring and to be finished by 2013.
The courthouse is being built in the city's West Gateway area on six acres bounded by West Broadway, Maine Avenue, West Third Street and Magnolia Avenue. It will replace the more than 50-year-old building at 415 W. Ocean Blvd., which the state has identified as one of the worst courthouses in California in terms of security, overcrowding and physical condition. See more pictures>>
LENNOX, CALIF. USA -- Lennox Little League President Roberto Aguirre hangs his head as he listens to Jerry Flory, administrator for Little League District 37, talk about new fees imposed by the Lennox School District for use of their fields during a coaches meeting in Lennox, an unincorporated area of Los angeles County, on January 7, 2011. The school district is double the fees for the league's use of three fields and charging them for security and storage. See more pictures>>
IRVINE, CAILF., USA -- Long Beach State's Michael Caffey (5) controls the ball against UC Irvine's Derick Flowers (0) during their Big West game in Irvine, Calif. on January 2, 2012. See more pictures>>
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About
Gritchen has been documenting the diverse city of Long Beach since 1998. He covers everything from the Cambodian community to prep sports to gang ridden neighborhoods to the annual running of the Long Beach Grand Prix. He covered destruction Hurricane Katrina brought to Long Beach, Mississippi and traveled to Southeast Asia to document a rural Cambodian girl's as she traveled to the U.S. for life-altering heart surgery. He has won numerous state and national awards, including an international NPPA Best of Photojournalism award in 2003 and Best News Photo from the Los Angeles Press Club in 2010. In 2011, the photo staffs of the Long Beach Press-Telegram and Torrance Daily Breeze merged. Now he covers all of Southern Los Angeles County. He can be contacted at
jeff.gritchen@presstelegram.com

