I’m not a person of faith, yet I have had to summon a lot of that just that to continue to support John Drayman. The attacks on him have been unrelenting. Some have said, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” I maintain that in some cases, and this is one of them, “Where there’s smoke, there’s […]
Chase’s Column is “Ride” On I enjoyed Jim Chase’s “Riders on the Storm” piece in the May 26 edition, extolling the virtues and rewards of bicycling. Yes! What a terrific activity – for all ages! I was wondering if folks in the Crescenta Valley, particularly high school students, are aware that among the many team […]
Our world is a place of many wonders – a baby’s birth, a bird in flight, the grandeur of snow-covered mountains, Donald Trump’s hair. Here are some of my personal wonders of late: I wonder … why pants with two legs are called a “pair” and eyeglasses with two lenses are a “pair,” but a […]
I joined the throngs of sightseers last weekend in taking advantage of the long-delayed opening of the Angeles Crest Highway. I’m always impressed with the nearly vertical rock faces the roadway cuts through and I often think about what a colossal task it must have been to build the road in the ’30s, ’40s and […]
Too Little, Too Late During the 2011 election, I strongly suggested the city go back to the unions and tell them to re-negotiate their previous lucrative salaries and pensions or the city should start out-sourcing jobs. Sure, last year a couple of unions did not take any pay increases or they accepted contributing larger amounts […]
This week I must begin with a disclaimer or mea culpa, I’m not sure which is more appropriate. I’ve spent the last twenty-five-plus years writing advertising copy for clients as large and well-known as Nissan, the LA Dodgers, Blue Cross, Carnation Foods, Lockheed Martin, Baskin-Robbins and well, I’ll just say that I can be blamed […]
Dramatic stories of the New Years Flood of ’34 are seemingly never ending, but here’s one with a twist. This somewhat ironic story was told at the flood survivor’s presentation at the Library a few weeks ago, and comes to us from life-long Crescenta Valley resident Bob Lorenz. In 1933, the Lorenz family had a […]
Looking back two Sunday mornings ago, I’m not sure I rode my bike the entire 26-plus mile length of the 2011 Pasadena Marathon Bike Tour. It felt more like swimming than riding. When I registered for the annual event it was an unseasonably warm March day. When I picked up our swag bags and numbered […]
A unique feature of our community is the two opposing mountain ranges that embrace our valley. The San Gabriels to the north, imposing and rugged, with rock faces rising nearly straight up, are starkly beautiful. Terrible and majestic, like an Old Testament God, they burn and rain rocks down on us, but provide a gateway […]
Retired Rosemont Middle School history teacher Lynn McGinnis told me recently that he was walking in the Montrose area, and came on a family gathered around a streetlight, one of them crouched down examining the base of the lamppost. Lynn said he knew what was up immediately, as it’s an issue that gets ugly in […]