My Thoughts, Exactly » Jim Chase I don’t shock easily. Years ago, I could stand on the sidewalk in front of Monte Vista elementary school waiting for our kids and my grimaces and eye rolling were barely noticeable as I listened to the bleep-worthy language of some of their irrepressible young school mates. Today, I […]
Re-exploring NEV Don’t give up your SUV or other large vehicles…and still gave gas! How? By reducing their usage. You don’t need to use a large gas guzzling vehicle every time you go to the market, hardware store, post office, library, coffee shop, etc. How about using a NEV – Neighborhood Electric Vehicle. If half […]
Treasures of the Valley » Mike lawler This is the story of a local man I admire very much, Anthony LaCasella. In many ways I consider him among the bravest people I know because he accomplished the unthinkable: he “came out” – publically acknowledged that he was gay – in the emotional killing fields of […]
La Cañada Video – The Oldest Video Store in America? It probably is! It’s hard to believe that here in ever-changing L.A., in our relatively young community we have the honor of having both the oldest children’s book store (Once Upon A Time Bookstore), and the oldest video rental store, but it appears so. This […]
Words vs. Wood I have a couple of good friends who are in the construction trade. As independent contractors, they make their living building things. They spend the majority of their workdays wielding manly power tools to dig, saw, sand, drill, hammer, mix, fasten and grind all sorts of materials and turn them into things […]
Two Hundred Thoughts – Exactly Just ask any of my close friends or immediate family members; I am one painfully, obsessively, ridiculously fanatical guy when it comes to celebrating (or at least recognizing with great fanfare and proclamation) any and all milestones. Be it birthdays (yes, even our dogs’), anniversaries of any kind, new jobs […]
The Development of Oakmont Woods Or perhaps I should title this “History and Painkillers Don’t Mix.” You see, I screwed up big time on an article I wrote last month on the history of Onandarka Ranch. I got several facts wrong on what happened after it was developed into housing, even the name of the […]
“Tonight We are young So let’s set the world on fire We can burn brighter than the sun.” “We are young,” by Fun. The only instrument I played growing up was the radio, and I still play it today. Pick a pre-programmed station: I can sing the songs played on each. When I sing, I […]
Questions Portantino’s Actions Once again, Assemblyman Anthony Portantino trumpets his fiscal conservatism with his oft-introduced measure AB1787 to freeze the salaries of the highest paid employees in California (“Portantino To California Legislators: Eight Is Enough,” Feb. 23). “Freezing the salaries of the highest paid state employees until our economy recovers is a logical place to […]
A Mammoth Loss In the fall of 1994, my parents bought their dream vacation home up in the Northern California resort town of Mammoth Lakes. Because of their investment and generosity, my own family has been blessed beyond measure to enjoy innumerable weeks and extended weekends up there for these past almost 20 years. We […]