Supporting L.A.’s Bid for the 2024 Olympics The last time the Olympics were in Southern California in 1984 it was a different world. Russians and the Soviet bloc countries were boycotting the Games and after Tehran withdrew from consideration, Los Angeles was the only bid for the Olympics that year. The Soviet countries even […]
Referendum – The Utility Users Tax The only reason that Measure N is on the ballot is because this [Glendale City Council] and previous councils have approved and given outrageous salaries and outrageous retirement pension benefits year after year after year to CALPERS union city employees. The repeal of the Utility Users Tax is a […]
Alligator Lizards Growing up in La Crescenta provided me and the local kids ample opportunities to hunt down swift, scampering lizards on a daily basis. We’d comb through the rock piles that were in the many vacant lots in our neighborhood, and capture lizards in our dirt-stained little hands. We’d always let them go after […]
The Hundred-Year History of Whiting Woods – Part 2 Last week I covered the first portion of the hundred-year history of Whiting Woods. This was the period when Perry Whiting, a successful L.A. building supply seller, cobbled together piece-by-piece the land that we know today as Whiting Woods. I also talked about his third marriage […]
Wants to Know ‘What’s the Plan?’ History can be used as a sword and a shield. As a sword, it is utilized by people to slash through any dissent to their views. The American South’s wretched history on racial matters is used by many to squash even the most moderate disagreement on matters like voter […]
If You Can Sign Up Online, You Should Be Able To Cancel Online You’ve seen the ads from companies that advertise the ease of signing up for their cable or Internet service over the web. However, if you decide to cancel those same services, you’re often forced to suffer through infuriating, time-consuming telephone calls, often […]
Less Ordinary, More Drama Regarding the proposed Foothill Boulevard medians, Bron [Ruf] works with me and if the people directing this project would listen to him La Crescenta would have a blue ribbon project. Unfortunately the folks in charge are caught up in what an everyday designer will plant. What Bron wants to create is […]
Get Out the Vote! The Presidential race has been on everyone’s mind, but local elections are just as important. June primaries are just around the corner. The Crescenta Valley Town Council has been hosting the supervisor candidates for the last several months. Kathryn Barger will be speaking at the next Town Council meeting on May […]
The Hundred-Year History of Whiting Woods – Part 1 Yes it’s true, Whiting Woods is a century old this year. In 1916, Perry Whiting purchased his first parcel of land in Henderson Canyon, one of the larger canyons of the Verdugo Mountains facing the Crescenta Valley. Perry Whiting was a turn-of-the-century self-made millionaire who as […]
The Elusive History of the Montrose Motel A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Steve Russell, owner of Interscape Construction at 2047 Montrose Ave. His office is part of a complex of cute cottage offices and residences. He wanted to know what I could tell him about his building’s previous life as the Montrose […]