This holiday season, travel-savvy LA area residents and visitors are booking their flights in and out of Long Beach. Sure, Long Beach Airport (LGB) may be a mere speck on the aviation landscape relative to its sprawling cousin LAX. But what it lacks in size, LGB makes up for in service, offering weary travelers an efficient and friendly place to begin–or end–that holiday trip.

LGB ushers in almost three million commercial airline passengers annually. That number isn’t so surprising, given that those who’ve used LGB once tend to swear by it. Just ask a few of the smiling faces in the terminal and you’ll understand why: Continuously moving security lines and 10-minute check-ins, two unbelievably strong selling points, are pretty hard to come by at LAX.

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Fairy Tea Cottage, located on the corner of Main and Electric in Seal Beach, is now open Tuesday through Sunday, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. Beginning November 7, 2007, and running through December 18, 2007, the Cottage will also be until 9:00 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings for tea, hot chocolate, lemonade, scones, crumpets, soup and desserts.

The Belmont Shore Business Association has announced the postponement of the fourth annual chili cook-off. The event was originally scheduled for Sunday, October 21, 2007, but will be postponed until March of 2008, with the specific date to be announced. For more information, please contact the Belmont Shore Business Association.

Peet’s Coffee & Tea is celebrating the grand opening of its Seal Beach location on Saturday, September 29, 2007, at 10:00 am. The specialty coffee retailer is located at 12203 Seal Beach Boulevard in Seal Beach, within The Shops at Rossmoor. Please see www.peets.com for further information.

California Pizza Kitchen will be holding a grand opening/ribbon cutting ceremony for its new Seal Beach location on Monday, September 17, 2007 at 10:00 am. The restaurant is located at 12171 Seal Beach Boulevard in Seal Beach, within The Shops at Rossmoor. Please see www.cpk.com for further information.

September 4 marked the first day of classes for CSULB’s fall semester. Campus will be closed November 12 for Veteran’s Day and November 22-23 for Thanksgiving. The last day of classes will be December 14, with finals scheduled for December 17-21. Winter recess runs from December 22 to January 25.

Discovery Map of Greater Long Beach has recently launched its 2nd edition map and guide, along with a newly updated website. Explore the highlights of Long Beach and Seal Beach at www.longbeachcamap.com.