Jeri fired up her sewing machine and made Sutton a book bag in blue fabric, Sutton’s favorite color. “Sutton had one and then her little best friend wanted one,” Whitney explains.

Her first release under the new deal, “Heaven Is a Honky Tonk,” is due out Friday, May 9 on Valory in partnership with Red Van Records/ Jonas Group Entertainment via Big Machine Label Group.

SewVac Ltd., a specialty sewing machine and vacuum store that has been serving Long Beach for nearly five decades, will soon shut down. Owner Scott Noble — who will celebrate his 75th birthday ...