Beach Weekly S11E4: Graduates to finally walk the stage in spring commencements, a national spike in COVID cases & more

Listen to season 11, episode 4 of Beach Weekly as the host, Lei Madrigal, talks about students regaining graduation privileges, an uptick in nationwide COVID cases and more. Having written an article about the temporary closure of the Child and Family Center on campus for renovations, Sam Farfán, the Daily Forty-Niner’s community engagement editor, joined the show for an interview about the topic. The CFC is closed until January 2025, and this closure displaced parents, children and employees. Once it reopens, the center will feature a doubled enrollment capacity, new classrooms and more. The Daily Forty-Niner’s editor-in-chief, Christal Gaines-Emory, also joined Beach Weekly for a conversation about new graduation procedures for Long Beach State. Beginning in spring 2024, graduates will walk the stage and have their names read at their commencement events at Angel Stadium after years of student protests and petitions. COVID cases are on the rise as there were over 17,000 COVID-related hospitalizations nationwide during the week ending on Aug. 26. Compared to the week prior, this is a nearly 16% increase. The World Health Organization has been monitoring a new variant called Pirola since mid-August. Lab research by the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Mass. shows that Pirola will likely not cause a significant COVID surge in the country. A new and reworked booster vaccine is expected to be FDA-approved by the beginning of this week to combat recent COVID cases. Mexico’s Supreme Court completely decriminalized abortions Wednesday, Sept. 6, ruling that limiting abortions is an unconstitutional violation of women's rights. Now, all federal health services in Mexico must offer abortion to anyone who requests it. A 38-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman in northern China have been detained for allegedly destroying part of the Great Wall of China with an excavator. According to the Youyu County Public Security Bureau, the two were trying to create a shortcut for their nearby construction site by widening an existing gap to be large enough to drive equipment through. They have been charged with the destruction of a cultural relic. Hurricane Idalia displaced flamingos after winding through the southeast United States. They are reported to have been seen as far north as southern Pennsylvania. Flamingos that live on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico got caught up in Hurricane Idalia’s winds to find themselves relocated to the U.S. Host: Lei Madrigal Editor: Julia Goldman Producers: El Nicklin, Aidan Swanepoel Like, comment, and follow us on your favorite platform for more content! Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/daily-49er-podcasts/id1488484518?uo=4 Google Podcastshttps://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9kMzEwMjEwL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/4HJaqJep02kHeIQy8op1n1 ⁠Overcasthttps://overcast.fm/itunes1488484518/daily-49er-podcasts