The Lost Community of Oakdale Many of the neighborhoods in the Crescenta Valley have retained the names given them by developers when streets were laid out and lots divided. Some of the names became permanent and others faded into obscurity. La Crescenta was the name of a subdivision laid out by Benjamin Briggs in […]
Questions Friedman and Portantino In spite of a budget surplus, Governor Gavin Newsom stated for the record, “Proposition 13 is on the table” (read: chopping block). Emboldened by their super-majority, Democratic lawmakers produced a laundry list of assembly and senate constitutional amendments that would, all or in part, lower the threshold for parcel taxes from […]
Update from the State Capitol For many of us, this holiday season will be filled with fun and quality time with our friends, family and neighbors. Against the backdrop of festive decorations and fattening food, many of us will have a break from the hustle and bustle of the year to enjoy and reflect on […]
Victorian Morality in Old Crescenta Valley The hard moral strictures that came from the eastern U.S. dominated the Crescenta Valley before the turn of the century. CV had attracted some of the “upper crust” of society and drinking, card playing and dancing were seen by some as social evils. Strict adherence to parental rule was […]
How To Keep Water Running in SoCal The effort to conserve water in Southern California has been a challenge for many years. However, our representatives have encouraged and approved developers to build major housing and commercial structures at a tremendous rate in our cities and suburbs. It is obvious that there is little to no […]
Drivers, Pedestrians: Caution Needed To the luckiest woman in La Crescenta: You get to drive home instead of being carried to the hospital in a meat wagon! You pulled into the parking lane southbound on Rosemont, slowed to an almost stop, then immediately pulled a U-turn immediately in front of me heading south on Rosemont. […]
You Can’t Take It With You I have many friends and relatives who live a minimalist lifestyle. Their houses are immaculate and there is no clutter in any of the rooms. Everything has its place, which is out of view, most of the time. Yeah, that’s not me. The truth is, I like my […]
Fire and Flood in 1889 A confounding aspect of our natural ecology in the Crescenta Valley is the overlap of fire season and flood season that happens at this time of year. Our fire season extends from late summer well into December (and sometimes beyond) while our flood season begins in November with our first […]
Climate Change Observations: Part 2 In the spring of 1970, P. Gunter, a professor at N. Texas State, predicted that by 1975 famines would begin in India, Pakistan, China and Near East Africa. By 2000 or sooner, Central and South America would be in famine conditions. He went on to predict that, by 2000, with […]
The House Will Never Again be Silent on the Armenian Genocide Ever since I was first elected in 2000 to represent our community in Congress, I’ve had the privilege of representing one of the largest Armenian diaspora communities anywhere in the world. And in my many years of working closely with Armenian-Americans, I have been […]