Paula Abdul Not Returning to American Idol

Our favorite “Straight Up” crazy American Idol judge, Paula Abdul, announced via Twitter Tuesday night that she will not be returning to American Idol this season. After a public battle with Fox over her contract she announced, “With sadness in my heart, I’ve decided not to return to #IDOL. I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent,but most of all being a part of a show that I helped from day1become an international phenomenon. What I want to say most, is how much I appreciate the undying support and enormous love that you have showered upon me. It truly has been breathtaking, especially over the past month. I do without any doubt have the BEST fans in the entire world and I love you all.”

TMZ reported that their ’sources at “American Idol” say the show made Paula Abdul two offers … and then she just went and quit by tweet. TMZ was told Paula was pulling in somewhere between $2 and $3 million a year and she wanted more. “A.I.” made her an offer that she didn’t like at all. Paula countered but producers didn’t want to pay that much, so they countered with another offer. Rather than responding to the second offer, Paula shocked everyone by tweeting her goodbye. The weirdest thing … “A.I.” took the tweet seriously and responded with an official sayonara’.

Whatever the reasons are for Paula’s departure we’re sad to see her go. We just can’t imagine American Idol will be the same without the crazy antics of Paula Abdul….

8 Year Old Ciana Wows America

Maybe it’s because of the lack of great shows on my Tivo this summer, but I decided a couple of weeks ago to check out America’s Got Talent. I’d managed to avoid this show until this year and unfortunately now I think I’m hooked on yet another reality show. This week the judges and America were both in awe of this 8 year old girl with an amazing voice. Check out her performance below:

Tours Available of High Tech US Navy Ship

This weekend, August 1-2, at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons station, free tours will be available of the guided missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65). 

The tours at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station are free. No reservations are required. The vessel does not have handicapped access.

Saturday tours will be from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and Sunday tours will be from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Displays of other Navy, Marine Corps and Army equipment also will be available.

Public entry will be via the Liberty Gate, on Seal Beach Boulevard, south of the Pacific Coast Highway. Call (562) 626-7215 for more information.

Free Burrito or Arby’s Sandwich Today (Wednesday Only)

Baja Fresh is giving out free burritos until 9 p.m. today to customers who buy a drink.

The fast food franchise is promoting the freebie with a coupon on its Facebook page. But several Southern California locations, including those in Seal Beach and near LAX and USC, are not participating.  So head over to Long Beach and see if you can cash in there!

Not in the mood for Mexican? Arby’s is offering a free sandwich with a soft drink purchase today as part of its weekly Wednesday giveaway through the end of August. 

This week, it’s the Roastburger — a roast beef sandwich designed like a traditional burger — that’s up for grabs. Some locations may require customers to join the Arby’s Extra club and print out a coupon.

Battle of the Tribute Bands in Long Beach This Weekend

Who doesn’t love a good cover band?  The Battle of the Tribute Bands is the latest of the SAM Summer and Music series sponsored by the Downtown Long Beach Business Associates and other local sponsors.   The all day festival starts at 1 pm on Saturday July 25th at Rainbow Harbor (Pine & Shoreline Drive).   

Featured tribute bands include: Vitology (Pearl Jam), Satisfaction (Rolling Stones), No Duh (No Doubt), Stepping Feet (Dave Matthews), The Rising (Bruce Springsteen), Hollywood U2 (U2), The Cured (the Cure).

For more information visit the SAM website.

City Council Considers Making Sunset Beach part of Seal Beach

Could Sunset Beach become part of Seal Beach?  According to a recent article featured in the OC Register the City Council is currently exploring what financial impact annexing the unicorporated beach town would have on the city of Seal Beach.   According to a survey of residents, although most want Sunset Beach to remain Sunset Beach (which is not an option any longer), when given a choice 90% would prefer to become Seal Beach residents as opposed to Huntington Beach.   

To read the full article click here.

Annual Women’s Conference Tickets on Sale Monday

Each year thousands of women journey to Long Beach for the Women’s Conference which is the nation’s premier forum for women and is hosted by California First Lady Maria Shriver and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.  A full list of speakers and participants will be announced on Monday, however the Press Telegram reported this morning that Katie Couric, Richard Branson, Caroline Kennedy, Kelly Preston, Annie Leibovitz, Danica Patrick and Meghan McCain have all been confirmed as guests.    The two day event to be held October 26th and 27th. 

The Women’s Conference is the largest and most dynamic gathering of women in the nation. The annual Conference unites more than 80 internationally-acclaimed leaders, visionaries  and authors with 14,000 women in one arena, plus thousands more online, to share enriching stories of transformation and success, self-empowerment and life lessons. To extend the power and reach of The Women’s Conference, a new website, californiawomen.org, was launched in July 2009.  The Women’s Conference is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization.

When is The Women’s Conference?

This year, The Women’s Conference 2009 will be held on Tuesday, October 27.  And, for the first time, the Conference has been expanded to two full days — with our new A Day of Transformation sessions and Night at The Village on Monday, October 26. 

Who will be speaking this year?

A full list of speakers will be announced on July 13th.

Where is The Women’s Conference?

Since 2004, the Conference has been held at the Long Beach Convention Center, 300 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802.

How do you purchase tickets for The Women’s Conference?

Online ticket registration begins Monday, July 13, 2009, at 9 AM PDT.

4th of July Weekend Events

It’s hard to believe that June is already over and 4th of July weekend is upon us.  If you’re not hitting the road over the holiday weekend and are looking for local events or Fireworks shows we’ve complied a quick guide to some of the 4th of July around Seal Beach and Southern California.

Long Beach, Queen Mary 4th of July Weekend Spectacular – The weekend’s activities start on Friday at 7pm with a dance party aboard the Queen Mary sponsored by STAR 98.7.     Saturday brings more parties, street performers and a fireworks show at 9:00 pm sharp.   To find out more about the events click here.

Huntington Beach, HB 4th of July Celebration –  Starting with the 3 Day Pier Festival on Friday at 10pm, Huntington Beach will feature a parade, a 5k run/walk, street vendors and a Fireworks show on Saturday at 9:00 pm.  For more information click here.

Los Alamitos Fireworks Spectacular – Held at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos this July 4th event will feature a food court, a vendor fair, a Kids Fun zone and a WWII reenactment.    No alcohol but Dogs, RVs and Fireworks are permitted.    For more information click here.

Anaheim Disneyland 4th of July Concert in the Sky – The Disneyland Resort, in Anaheim, California, has scheduled not one, not two, but four performances of its Disney’s Celebrate America: A 4th of July Concert in the Sky fireworks spectacular for 2009. The showings will take the place of Disneyland’s nightly Magical fireworks show, which has an exclusive summer run, for those nights.   The special 4th of July fireworks will be performed on July 2, 3, 4, and 5. Each of the shows will start at approximately 9:25pm.

Pasadena Rose Bowl Americafest – 83rd Annual 4th of July Celebration at the Rose Bowl — Americafest presented by XBOX 360 on Saturday, July 4, 2009.   Five of the nation’s best Drum Corps units performing their field shows and music. Fireworks show producers, famously known as the fireworks ambassadors to the world, Pyro Spectaculars by Souza will be taking care of the night’s spectacular show.  For tickets visit Ticketmaster.com.

Hollywood Bowl July 4th Spectacular  –  Featuring John Fogerty (of Creedence) and the LA Philharmonic the Hollywood Bowl presents their annual fireworks and music showcase.   For ticket information visit the HollywoodBowl.com.

Spring in the air at Eisenhower Park

Bird on Sand

Taken by a local photographer in Seal Beach.

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