Pumping It Up – And Up Alright, this is getting ridiculous. On Sunday morning two weeks ago I filled the tank in my truck before driving down to visit our son in San Diego. I was more than a bit peeved that the lowest price I could find along Foothill was $3.79 a gallon. Silly […]
We Are All Connected It was around 12:45 p.m. last Friday when I returned to my office from a physical therapy session on my bum knee. The familiar ping from my phone alerted me that a new text message was waiting. It was from my son at college down near San Diego asking me if […]
We have several small tucked-away communities in the lush canyons of the Verdugo Mountains, such as Mountain Oaks and Whiting Woods, and each of them seems to have its own unique and fascinating history. Glenwood Oaks, across the street from La Crescenta Nursery at La Crescenta and Shirleyjean is another such place. When I talk […]
Reaching Out To the grieving community: I remember how we came together after Berlyn Cosman’s death and created Prom Plus. We came together after the Valley View murders to talk at a meeting at Descanso Gardens and to make this community even stronger through tragedy. As I reflect on how students treat each other, I […]
On Dec. 29, 2011, the California Supreme Court upheld the Legislature’s dissolution of all redevelopment agencies across California. The impact of this legislation on the City of Glendale cannot be overstated. Quite simply, millions of dollars of local tax revenue, which would have been invested in our community, must now be redirected to Sacramento. There […]
Remnants of Bootlegging in CV I have a wonderful photograph from the late ’20s of a bunch of the local constabulary, plus the local Justice of the Peace Judge Dyer, standing around grinning and smoking in front of the old Montrose Sheriff Station on Ocean View just above Honolulu. In front of them are stacks […]
Sews Your Mother! This past weekend my wife dragged me – um, I mean I willingly accompanied her – to a local fabric store while she shopped for material to sew a birthday gift. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that spending precious hours of the weekend meandering through row upon row of fabrics and notions (what […]
Differing Opinions Needed It’s ironic that Julie Hill comes to Jim Chase’s defense by essentially stating that his detractors should be the very ones “welcoming a diversity of writers and opinions.” That indeed is the heart of the matter. If the CV Weekly ran a column next to his that expressed a point of view […]
Bowled Over By Commercials I’m glad it’s finally February. For one thing, I can’t remember a January before this last one that I had to turn on the ceiling fan just to be able to sleep comfortably at night. With any luck, this month will at last bring some more seasonally cold temps and rainfall. […]
Jewish Life in Old CV The early settlers of CV were mostly wealthy Midwesterners, along with immigrants from Germany, Italy and other European countries. All white, and predominantly Protestant or Catholic. Those of differing color, ethnic background or faith had problems being accepted, and early people of the Jewish faith faced just that problem in […]