It was founded in 2007, and published weekly issues between April 2007 and March 2010, going out of business shortly before its third anniversary.
The District primarily covered Long Beach, but also surrounding cities; and for a time featured a separate, ill-fated Orange County edition that was eventually discontinued.
Additionally, the newspaper was beset by several advertising boycotts by local merchants, frustrated by the bright light of its coverage—too illuminating for a big "small town" like Long Beach.
Having run through funds provided by its initial investors, District editors contemplated staff reductions in December 2010—the holidays being the traditional time for layoffs in the newspaper industry—and after a brief, tortuous winter, the newspaper was shuttered in mid-March 2010.
In November 2010, the California Labor Commission found that six former District employees were owed more than $70,000 for unpaid vacation pay.