LAPD-GOING BEYOND KEEPING THE PEACE!
FREE
FRIDAY • SEPTEMBER 18, 2015
TELLING THE TRUTH FOR OVER 10 YEARS!
VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 19
VHHS Comes Into Annual Big Tujunga Wash “Camp Cleanout” The Digital Age by
David DeMullé
This year’s annual cleanup of the Big Tujunga homeless camps went off without a hitch. Starting last Tuesday, the L.A. Sanitation Watershed Environmental Protection Agency, Clean Harbors Environmental cleanup company and the LAPD the combined resources to spearhead the effort. Before proceeding into the wash, the city employees — fewer than 20 in all — received directions from Officer Wong and safety instructions from LAPD Community Services officer Herrold Egger. All residents of the wash had been given personal and
INSIDE: D-Day for Homeless Veterans on Skid Row ................
4
LAPD’s Velvety Embrace ............
12
DEPARTMENTS What Folks Are Doing........... 2 My Two Cents....................... 2 View from the Rock.............. 3 Letters and Perspectives........ 3 Chef Randy........................... 5 Pets Page............................. 8 S-T Crime Stats................... 10 Take My Card..................... 11
Verdugo Dons are back! A sampling of the trash in the Big-T camps. written notification of the pending cleanup. Most of the 27 camps had been vacated, some with their possessions taken with them and some abandoning all except for their most valuable posses-
sions. The remaining 12 wash residents (campers) had to make a hasty withdrawal as the cleanup crew and bulldozers came down the see Cleanup, page 9
Just in time for back to school, DigitalTown.com announced the launch of verdugohillsdons.com, a new website for the Dons community. Verdugohillsdons.com features latest news and information for Dons fans, including news, scores,
schedules, community directory, photos, videos, livestreams, as well as archival content such as yearbook images. The site also features a team store with latest gear and apparel. Registered members of the site receive a free Verdugohillsdons. see Dons page 11
Barricaded Suspect Safely Disarmed at Golf Course by
David DeMullé
On Sunday afternoon at approximately 5:15 p.m., a report of domestic violence in the parking lot of the Verdugo Hills Golf Course escalated to “man with a gun,” then to “man threatening suicide.” The LAPD arrived and closed off Lowell at La Tuna Canyon Rd and up La Tuna Canyon for a ½ mile to keep people out of the active firing range of the suspect. A LAPD helicopter flew recon overhead as the more than 30 officers staged. This is the first incident that I noticed that most of the officers there had “body-cams”
on them. The armed suspect was in a parked vehicle in the parking lot of the golf course, and was alternating waving the gun around and putting it to his head. A truly dangerous situation for all involved. In talking with the officers, it was determined that there were 3 golfers trapped behind the fence in the parking lot and a ladder was put up to extricate them. The sun was setting and as I related to one Sargent with a shaved head “I was using the shine of your head to focus my camera.” LAFD Station 24 and 74 (with 89 as a back up) and two ambulances were requested in the event someone
Two armored cars with snipers contain the incident while LAPD SWAT personnel surround the suspect’s car. got shot. Three LAPD armored cars arrived as well as 2 snipers and a K-9 handler with his dog. And then the stand-off went into serious mode. After an hour of negotiations, the
LAPD were able to subdue the person while his wife/ girlfriend waited in a nearby police car. There were LAPD senior ranking officers there and all consideration was see Standoff, page 9
All these stories and more can be seen at:
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2 — FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 • THE FOOTHILLS PAPER
www.thefoothillspaper.com • VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 19
Rehearsals Begin for Local Singers Arlene Massimino
Director Sharon Schlarb has selected the music and Diana Tyson is ready at the piano to accompany the Verdugo Hills Women’s Chorus (VHWC) when they begin rehearsals for their 2015-2016 performances. Rehearsals will begin Monday September 14, 2015 at the La Crescenta Presbyterian Church at 9:00 am. The group is not associated with the church but utilizes its chorus room for the weekly rehearsals. VHWC now boasts of 30+ ladies and is always open to new members. Any woman with the desire to meet and sing with some of the friendliest women in town is encouraged to join the rehearsal September 14. There are no auditions and the music is varied, something for everyone. Refreshments will be served at 9:00 am followed by
Crescenta Valley Sierra Club Group photo courtesy of Diana Tyson
by
Pianist Diana Tyson is ready to accompany the VHWC. a short business meeting and then the singing begins. The chorus will begin by studying music for the Christmas Season, some old and some new tunes. Weekly rehearsals will afford the chorus time to learn the music and Sharon Schlarb will fine-tune the singers before the first performance
in November. The group has ten performances schedule for the busy Christmas season. The joy of bringing music to others has been the goal of VHWC for over 60 years. The group performs on request in surrounding communities, Montrose, Pasadena, Glendale, see Scoopers, page 9
The Crescenta Valley Sierra Club Group will present Danielle Eubank’s “Sailing to the High Arctic” on October 6 at 7:30 p.m. at the Los Angeles County Public Library, 2809 Foothill Boulevard in La Crescenta. Enter on La Crescenta Avenue for our meeting room and parking. Eubank is an expedition artist in pursuit of painting all of the major bodies of water in the world. She is beginning by painting all of Earth’s oceans and is currently painting the second to last ocean on her list, the Arctic Ocean. Danielle will speak on her latest expedition to the Arctic. She will bring her sketchbooks and examples of her paintings from these expeditions.
This is a free event and everyone is welcome. Refreshments will be served. Please contact Wayne Fisher at 818 353-4181 for further information. (Please note the changed date for this time only.) •••
Community Clean-up and Beautification On Saturday, September 19 from 8:30 until 11:30 a.m., there will be a community clean-up and beautification hosted by Commerce Avenue Business Distict, Tujunga. Free water from Haggen’s Market. Free gloves from Champion Building Supply. Meet by the clock at Tujunga Canyon Boulevard. For more information, call (818) 951-7411.
My Two Cents
Did I Make The Right Choice? My husband and I went out for ice cream. As soon as I placed my order I secondguessed my choice. Should I have ordered a different flavor? When I tasted my husband’s ice cream I realized the flavor I should have ordered was his. Luckily, my husband offered to swap. He was just fine with my ice cream. Over the span of our marriage we’ve swapped a lot since I’m what you call a 2nd, 3rd and 4th guesser. I sometimes get buyer’s remorse before I even leave a store; buyer’s remorse is worn like a second skin. Ambiguity is our nature. Never do I second-guess my choices more than at a restaurant. I order the daily special and the server comments, “A fine choice.” My husband orders the fish
and gets an enthusiastic, “An excellent choice.” Her lack of enthusiasm for my choice has me 2nd guessing my choice. How come my husband’s choice is excellent and mine is just fine? What’s wrong with my food that it’s not as good as his? Should I have ordered something else? Will I get food poisoning? When our food comes I take a bite of mine and agree with the server: It’s just fine but certainly not excellent. Then I taste my husband’s fish. It is excellent. I should have ordered the fish. Buyer’s remorse sets in, but it doesn’t last long as my hubby offers to swap. He was just fine with my meal. When my husband orders
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Cindy Argiento is a freelance columnist. To check out her book and laugh along at her other works, go to cindyargiento.com. She may be contacted via cargiento@aol.com.
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THE FOOTHILLS PAPER • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 — 3
VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 19 • www.thefoothillspaper.com
Many years ago, so long that I can’t even begin to remember, I saw this Bill Murray movie called “Meatballs.” A typical movie about class struggle in a camp setting. Murray’s kids were clearly out-classed by the other teams, but they never gave up! And of course they had to have a mantra to shout when things looked like they were going into the Septic-Tank. And that mantra was “IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER!” And that’s the way things are here – sorta. On the one hand we have the city of Los Angeles who lets us elect those people who offer the chosen few the most perks. On the other hand we have those civic minded people who get themselves elected into our local service organizations and neighborhood councils. What a great idea, everybody gets graft from the public coffers. Some in the form of real money (like our city councilman) and some who get certificates of commendation that they can paper their walls with. Each group receives something. And you know, it actually works most of the time. That is until some huckster comes in and sells everybody a phony bill of goods. And then that’s when it goes bad. Look around you
and you’ll see a great little community. What you don’t see is the cancer below the skin eating away all the good that people do. For years I questioned why Commerce Ave. wasn’t developed into a promenade like Baldwin Ave. in Sierra Madre. And over the years it became apparent that the business owners on Commerce thought they knew better than everyone else in how to run the block. Once it was actually viable to think of Commerce as a place to visit and see the fun stores on it. We even had the COBRA group that protected the block, got sidewalks put in, a new town clock (that never ran right) iron benches so our seniors had a place to rest, and an attempt at having planters in front of the buildings. But then it began to decay because no one was strong enough to tell the business owners that THEY HAD TO HELP THE COMMUNITY! And it all went to hell. The Sons of Anarchy production company and crew got fed up with the individual business owners acting like distraught rug merchants and walked (ran) away from the community. And nobody noticed. In other parts of town, we lost the Easter Festival, the Watermelon Festi-
V IE W
R OCK val, Old Timers Day and the credibility of our local service organizations. Yes, boys and girls, we showed the world how independent we were. And our community lost its attraction to the public. Restaurant after restaurant went broke. The Commerce Avenue liquor store continued to look like a ghetto hole-in-the-wall place for drunks to pass out in front of. And nobody noticed. Down the street, we have the newly renovated Commerce Town Center and its fun places to visit with more coming every month. We now have
another chance at making S-T a fun place to be. Most of our council members are termed out and we get a chance to vote in new people with new ideas. And here’s where Bill Murrays mantra comes in. For all the machinations and petty corruption we have here, and all the good intentions that went for naught, IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER! We’re still here trying to do good, and except for the specter of nearly 800 houses being built here as soon as the economy rises, we’re going to survive. And you can say, “It’s the Water!
The Foothills Letters & Perspectives
Like A Bum In The Night THE FOOTHILLS PAPER
is published bi-weekly. All contents are copyrighted and may not be reproduced without written consent of the publisher. All submissions to this newspaper become property of THE FOOTHILLS PAPER and may not be republished in whole or in part. The opinions expressed by contributing writers do not necessarily express the views of the publisher nor staff of this newspaper. TFP is available free of charge. No person may, without prior written permission from TFP, take more than one copy of each edition (stated value: $1). Only authorized TFP distributors may distribute THE FOOTHILLS PAPER. THE FOOTHILLS PAPER is a nonprofit newspaper produced by the OSS-Spectrum group.
EXECUTIVE EDITOR/PUBLISHER Dr. David DeMullé
editor@thefoothillspaper.com TECHNICAL EDITOR Randall Fleming ftp@thepaper.ws WITH THANKS TO The ILS Foundation for Their Support
THE FOOTHILLS PAPER TheFoothillsPaper.COM P.O. Box 444, Tujunga CA 91043 818-951-0943
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Dear Editor, Last night, three in the morning, for the second time this week, a homeless person attempted to break into my home. My dog growled, a very fierce growl, if you will, a door slammed shut, feet pounded down the street, and motion sensor lights clicked on down the lane. In my neighborhood, which is below Sunland Park, this is not an unusual occurrence. We have people wandering through the neighborhood at all hours, we have people attempting to break into homes, sheds, mailboxes, and whatever else, and material goods are missing come morning. The culprits are apparently homeless people living in the wash. Police officers I have spoken to claim they know the individuals responsible, but must catch them in the act. A difficult thing, given the sneakiness of the criminals. I am reminded, if I may be permitted, of other ‘fields’ of crime. A ‘John,’ for instance, is arrested when he is caught soliciting ladies of the night. The ladies might be arrested, but since they rely on the John’s for money, and because jail doesn’t frighten them, it is the Johns that end up suffering embarrassment and shame. And, when drugs are involved, customers are perse-
cuted as well as drug sellers. All of which brings this writer to the point: In downtown Los Angeles there are programs which see to the feeding of the homeless, as well as the rehabilitation, job training and so on. So why do the homeless have presence in Sunland? Because life is easy, nobody
kicks them out of the park or the wash, and because … people give them money. Free money. Right at a stoplight. Outside a liquor store. Anywhere a hard working person happens to pass by. The people putting forth the free money feel sorry for the poor, helpless, downtrodden bums. Many of the bums are
young and able to work, but why should they when they get free money from suckers? Many of the bums use the proffered money to get … free beer. So, the point of this letter: People who give money to bums should be arrested for contributing to the desee Letters, page 9
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4 — FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 • THE FOOTHILLS PAPER
www.thefoothillspaper.com • VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 19
D-Day For Homeless Veterans On Skid Row
Attention All Veterans,
Sons, Daughters and Wives of Veterans
Come and Enjoy your local American Legion Post Help support Veterans and Veterans’ Causes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday, Sept 19
Casino Night, 6:30 pm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Suzie’s Sunday Canteen (Sundays Only)
One of our lesser-known treasures in Tujunga is Sunday at the Legion Hall. Run by Suzie and Gino (pictured at right), the bar has $3.25 well drinks and $2.75 beer. Fun folks and great food. Canteen open 2 - 6 p.m. All vets and their friends welcome.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
American Legion Post 377
10039 Pinewood Avenue, Tujunga
(818) 353-9856 Events open to the Public
Canteen Hours - 7 days a week, 2- 10 p.m.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For Hall Rental, call Commander Dan at
(818) 521-1137
Los Angeles has the largest to 4:00 p.m. at Gladys Park homeless population of vetin downtown L.A. (808 E erans and the largest veterans 6th St., Los Angeles, 90021). property in America with LANCC has obtained various more than 200 acres availsponsors to pay for busses able for housing. On July 16, to transport our homeless 2014, Mayor Eric Garcetti veterans to the Veterans pledged to end veterans’ Administration Westwood homelessness by 2015 (www. Campus in order to obtain latimes.com/local/lanow/ I.D. cards. Sponsors will la-me-ln-garcetti-homelessalso be paying for meals and pledge-20140715-story.html). clothing as well as assisting Then on August 30, Mayor in obtaining any of their Garcetti backed away from deserved veterans benefits. that goal and admitted it If you can help please may take until 2017 (www. contact Terrence Gomes, latimes.com/local/lanow/ Chair of LANCC, at: lancc@ la-me-ln-mayor-backs-offempowerla.org. pledge-20150831-story.html). Monetary donations can be The Los Angeles Neighbor- sent to: SoRo Inc., 1836 1/2 hood Council Coalition Robertson Boulevard, Los (LANCC) will no longer wait Angeles, CA 90035. Make for City Hall. On Thursday, checks payable to SoRo Inc. September 24, LANCC will and put Operation Reunite be helping to sponsor a “Din the memo. SoRo Inc. is a Day for homeless veterans on 501(c)3. skid row,” from 12:00 p.m. Jay Handal, co-chair of
L.A. City Budget Advocate, has created a petition asking the Obama Administration to take action, a new petition he created on We the People, a new feature on WhiteHouse. gov, and asks for your support. If this petition gets 99,999 signatures by October 06, 2015, the White House will review it and respond! You can view and sign the petition here: http://wh.gov/iRhWt. Our veterans stood up and defended our country when we needed them, will you stand up and assist them in their time of need? Additional sponsors: Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council (DLANC), West Los Angeles Neighborhood Council (WLANC), Vietnam Veterans of America-Region 9, Justiceville USA, Old Veterans Guard.
THE FOOTHILLS PAPER • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 — 5
VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 19 • www.thefoothillspaper.com
Avocado Dip With Indian Spices Here’s a twist on traditional guacamole. Toasted mustard seeds, cumin, turmeric, and coriander infuse this Mexican classic with the flavors of India. The nutty flavor of the cumin seed is a nice complement to the nuttiness of the avocado. I call this Indian Guacamole. Perfect for an end of the summer picnic. Serve with tortilla chips or get adventurous and spread it on triangles of fresh Indian naan. Ingredients: 2 large ripe avocados (halved and pitted) 1/2 teaspoon serrano chili (chopped fine) 1 tablespoon white onion (chopped fine) 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon coconut oil 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
Artfully
SPEAKING
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Motivation
¾ teaspoon cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (chopped fine) Directions: Scoop avocados into a bowl. Add serrano chili, onion, salt, garlic and lemon juice. Coarsely mash with a fork. Cover and refrigerate. Place oil, mustard seeds and
An artist’s motivation is a problem. For some, the task of finding something worthwhile to paint encourages motivation. Being motivated to finish is another dilemma. There are many outside influences that hinder our motivacumin in a small pan and heat tion; children, spouses, daily over medium heat until musresponsibilities which are tard seeds begin to pop (about constantly tugging at our con2 minutes – no more or cumin science. Demands are being may get too roasted). Remove made on our energy and refrom heat and stir in balance sources. Motivation is sparked of spices (coriander, turmeric). by many things. As an examLet stand for 3 minutes and ple shame, love, pain, hunger, then stir in cilantro. success, attention, a need to Add spice mixture to avbelong, power or jealousy. ocado mixture and stir to Still many more remain unblend. Cover and refrigerate motivated to do much of anyuntil ready to serve. thing. What motivates an artist to sit at an easel and create a work of art day after day? After all, there are many other conceivably more important tasks to fill our mind. You can be sure the motivation is to Two loving create; a genuine desire to kids who make something with our died before minds and hands. Motivation has been clinically studied; their time still the experts find it hard to on the mean pin down specific reasons why artists are motivated to do the streets. things they do. There are monetary reasons for doing mundane things like working at a normal job. Unquestionably, few are truly motivated to go to work every day yet they do. For artists, there is something very satisfying working for yourself; to create art with your hands. Artist’s, like everyone else, need motivation to create but the difference as I see it is, artists can’t help but create with little or no motivation needed. True, there are
See Chef Randy’s food blog for more recipes at
http://valley-vegetarian.com
t
e
times when we hit an impasse and get stuck on a work or an idea, unable to quite figure out how to resolve a problem of color or design and our motivation slackens somewhat. Art is a process. It doesn’t go from A to Z in a straight line. A great work of art develops circuitously; slowly over time. Lack of motivation becomes a problem at these times but it doesn’t last long. Letting go and standing back allows one to see things anew and we become re-motivated to continue working. Ultimately the work gets done. One thing I’m sure we can find consensus with is that motivation is different in everyone; not only in our doing a specific task, so also with the passion or lack thereof with which we do it. I believe it is human nature to strive for something more, different, better. Humans are a restless species. Underneath all the psychobabble, the reason we get motivated is simply because we have a brain that can reason and calculate along with the ability to alter our environment. When we discovered we could control our destiny--motivation or more exactly necessity became the catalyst. From their emotions like love, passion, drive, survival, fear, poverty kick in and become prime motivators. Artists feel if they are exposed to the world, there will be an innate motivation to explore it or discover it and express it in painting for others to appreciate. I can’t see our species sitting in a corner waiting benignly for death. We are hardwired to be motivated.
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6 — FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 • THE FOOTHILLS PAPER
www.thefoothillspaper.com • VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 19
THE FOOTHILLS PAPER • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 — 7
VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 19 • www.thefoothillspaper.com
Foothills Pet Page Keep Pets Comfortable With An Experienced Pet Sitter Jennifer Mielziner, proprietor of Fer’s Furry Friends, bas been working in the animal care industry for more than twelve years. Her specialty is pet sitting for her clientele when their owners are out of town. “Your animal companions are already upset that you are gone. To remove them from their home and familiar surroundings can be traumatic for both the pet and their owners. My clients are much more at ease while away on vacation or business when they know that their home is being looked after, plants are being watered, the mail is being taken inside, the trash is taken out, and their pet is being loved and cared for by an experienced and trained caretaker, in their own home with his/her toys and being administered any medications they may be taking.” Mielziner was inspired to start her own business while working as a veterinary technician and paramedic, and in doggy day care centers. “I love animals,” Mielziner explains. “I have worked with animals out of love, all of my life. So during an extended hiatus from the entertainment industry, I started walking and sitting dogs for friends. After a while, I decided, “Hey! Why not make some thing that I love to do into a
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When the family leaves, pets get lonely too. profession!”’ In addition to the trauma of being away from home, Mielziner adds, ‘’when placed in a kennel, your dog may feel as if he or she is being punished. When you return from your trip, they may act out or be very depressed and refuse to eat. That can lead to serious health problems.” Mielziner is an associate member of the National Association of Pet Dog Trainers, a member of the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters and has completed a course taught by the Red Cross in first aid and CPR for pets. Despite her vast knowledge of animals, Mielziner
continues to train and study her field. “Working with animals is a never ending educational process,” she explains. “It involves lots of reading, studying, watching training videos, and attending seminars.” Mielziner is a teacher in training, working for more than a year with the renowned Paul Owens, the real dog whisperer of “Raise with Praise,” a reward based, non-violent dog training program. To schedule an appointment for pet sitting services, pet walking, or to request references, call Jennifer at (818) 571-8018. Jennifer Mielziner, owner of Fer’s Furry Friends, is certified, bonded and insured.
8 — FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 • THE FOOTHILLS PAPER
www.thefoothillspaper.com • VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 19
No Happy Ending by Jim
Laris
says, “Can I help you?” And I whisper that I’d like a pedi This is a public service colcure. And she says, “What?” umn. It is my semi-educated And I whisper just a little guess that most of you men louder, “I’d like a pedicure.” out there have never had And she yells out in her little a pedicure. Am I right? Of Filipino-Thai-Korean-Hong course I’m right. (I voted for Kongian voice, “A pedicure!” Bush. Twice.) Four women and the four And until I was 68, I had salon employees doing beauty never had a pedicure either. stuff to them, and two other But, because of a couple of currently unattractive people knee operations, bad back and waiting to be beautified look a problem with uncontrolled over at me. And then down lankiness, I have had a hard at my feet. Let me tell you, it time cutting my toenails lately. is embarrassing when ugly So now I have had three people look down at your toes. pedicures — one at a private So I get in the chair and I’m nail salon, one from my sitting there and the toenail podiatrist and one by my wife. woman comes over and looks And I would like to share my at me, and says, “Well?” I experiences so you other men say, “What?” She says, “It can reap the benefits of my would be easier if you took sacrifice for my fellow man. your shoes off.” I always My first toenail experience thought Asian women weren’t occurred in a little nail salon supposed to be funny. on Colorado Boulevard. I Then I put my feet into tried to find one that I was this little pan of water she pretty sure none of my friends had. And then she took off would use or see me enter. So my socks and got started. I walk in, without an appoint- (Us American men can ment, and I’m standing in really be funny, too.) She front — hoping to be ignored starts washing my feet in so I can leave — and then water that looked like it had this cute little Filipino-Thaibeen recycled from Roman Korean-Hong Kong woman Polanski’s hot tub. Then she
towels my toes off and picks one of seven toenail clipper/ scissor things and then starts cutting my toenails. And with each toe she would take another cutter and cut like a professional, baby. I was impressed. Then she filed them down and buffed them with an electric buffer. Then she put plain polish on them. Geez, my damn toenails looked better than my face. And then I looked at her and she looked at me. And I was getting the vibe that I was finished, and that I should leave. But I knew that couldn’t be true, because I hadn’t even asked her yet about the happy ending. “That’ll be $12,” she said. And I said, “And how much for the pedicure?” She threw back her head and laughed that throaty Asian-woman laugh that only Asian women who are humorous can laugh. Then, about eight weeks later, I went to my podiatrist to give him a shot at the toenails. He had told me that because I had diabetes, I should take good care of my feet, so to punish him, I made him do the dirty work.
I took off my shoes and he stepped back and said, “Whew. Those are some real sockrippers there, boy.” And he put on his rubber gloves and said, “Eight years of medical school for this.” He then sprayed my feet with Raid and took one big-ass nail-cutter surgical instrument out of his bag and cut my toenails faster than UCLA can lose a football game. I couldn’t believe it was over so quick — I thought I was having sex. Then I asked him, “What about the filing and buffing and polishing?” And I don’t think his response would have been approved by the American Medical Association, but he threw the surgical instrument at me while I was running down his hallway. Just as I got to the front door I looked back, and he reminded me of Jack Nicholson in “The Shining.” That sweating, glistening, fiendish face of my podiatrist will live with me forever. OK, another eight weeks go by and more of my socks are getting ripped, so I have to find someone to cut my toenails before they run wild
Jim Laris is Jim Laris. in the streets, like urchins in Rio. So I think to myself: Self, whom do I know that I can now turn to after burning my toenail bridges with nonhappy-ending salon women and killer podiatrists? And I answer myself. Self, you can turn to your loving wife, who, although she wouldn’t agree to “obey” you at the altar, did agree to take you in good health and in a long-toenailed state of health. So I walked up to my beloved, my little Margie Pargie Wargie, and I licked her left ear and breathed heavily on her neck with savagely hot breath, and asked her if she would like to cut my teeny-weeny toenails just this once because of her deep and see Ending, page 9
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THE FOOTHILLS PAPER • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 — 9
VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 19 • www.thefoothillspaper.com
Scooper, from pg. 4 La Crescenta and La Canada. By joining the VHWC, you also become a part of the California Women’s Chorus, Inc. (CWC). CWC has approximately 300 members throughout California, most of
whom attend a yearly convention and sing in the annual scholarship concert in the spring. For more information, please contact Sharon Schlarb at (626) 376-5383 schlarbs@ aol.com or Arlene Massimino at (818) 624-1111 ajm3@att. net..
On the second day of the cleanup, all the “official” pathways and into the camps. dignitaries went down to the Unlike the previous year’s wash for their dog-and-pony cleanups, this year brought in “photo-op” of how they had new technology. One envisuccessfully cleaned up the ronmental protection worker wash. What was missing, was had detailed aerial photos of the providing of information where the individual camps of where the campers could were located and they went move to safely. By Thursday, to each one camp turn. Using the campers were seen a GPS device, each camp moving back into their newly was noted on the maps before cleaned up camp grounds. they were dismantled. Within each team, there was one designated person who sifted through the accumulated trash and personal possessions, putting anything that looked valuable into plastic bags that were identified by the location. That way, the owner could reclaim them at a later date. Of all the Big-T cleanups that I have documented in the past, this one was by far the best coordinated and easiest one executed. Previously, residents had been complaining to anyone who would listen; vigilante groups were formed; and the campers have been threatened. In a couple of incidents, Off-Road motor officer Sgt. Alberca makes friends some were even verbally with a campers pet. assaulted.
Cleanup, from pg. 1
Letters, from pg. 3 linquency of the homeless. They should be cited, and made to serve in a soup kitchen downtown, where they can understand that free money does not help a person save himself or herself. They should, furthermore, be required to write upon the blackboard one thousand times:
Choice, from pg. 2 dessert the server exclaims, “That cake’s to die for. You’ll love it.” When I order dessert, all I get is, “You want it hot or cold?” What? No excellent choice? Why won’t I love it? I’m guessing I should have
Ending, from pg. 6 semi-abiding love for me, her diabetical Muffin Mate with very few socks left. And she said, “If I won’t obey you, why the hell would I cut those suckers?” “Because you love me and you love hot savage
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” The sooner we stop with the free money; the sooner we aim the homeless towards meaningful existence, the sooner they will stop trying to break into my home. Al C. Sunland ordered something else. When I taste my husband’s to die for cake I’m filled with buyer’s remorse. We swap. My husband was just fine with my hot dessert. Meal swapping happens a lot when a second guesser is married to a person content with just fine. breath, that’s why,” I humbly replied. So, incredibly, she really did cut my toenails, and all was going pretty well. Right up until I asked her if there would be a happy ending. Jim can be contacted at jimlaris@mac.com
Legislature Backs Resolution Urging Bank Accounts for Medical Cannabis Industry by
George Runner
A resolution sponsored by Board of Equalization Members George Runner and Fiona Ma passed the Senate today on a 36-3 vote. AJR 25 (Lackey) calls on the President and Congress to support policies allowing banks and credit unions to serve those in the medical cannabis industry. “Our current cash-based system isn’t safe for anyone,” said Runner. “In fact, law enforcement officials have
identified this as a key reason for marijuana-related crime and corruption.” Since the federal government does not recognize state laws legalizing medical marijuana, it’s nearly impossible for those in the cannabis industry to have bank accounts. Conflicting federal and state laws have left financial institutions that wish to serve cannabis-related business on uncertain legal ground. “Regardless of your opinion on cannabis, the clear lack of
financial services for medical cannabis-based businesses does not serve Californians well,” said author Assemblyman Lackey, a former CHP officer. “The bipartisan support for solving this problem sends a strong message to Congress that the current system is not working.” AJR 25 is co-authored by Assembly Members Bonta, Cooley, Jones-Sawyer, Wilk, and Wood. The resolution will now be transmitted to Congress.
Standoff, from pg. 1 given to the victim as well as her assailant. Once again, the LAPD Foothill Division showed an incredible amount of restraint in containing this situation. Locally, there have been three barricaded suspect incidents in the last three months. As neighbors and passersby as well as displaced golfers looked on, the suspect was removed from his parked car and transported to a local hospital for evaluation.
Golfers flee from a suspected gunman.
10 — FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 • THE FOOTHILLS PAPER
Crime Stats Theft 08/16/15 06:00 PM 10100 BLOCK OF FERNGLEN AV
Theft 09/05/15 12:00 PM 00 BLOCK OF SABLE AND FENWICK
Theft 08/16/15 05:00 PM 7200 BLOCK OF LONZO ST
Theft 09/05/15 06:50 AM 8100 BLOCK OF FOOTHILL BL
Theft 08/16/15 03:30 PM 10500 BLOCK OF MOUNT GLEASON AV
Burglary 09/05/15 06:00 PM 10400 BLOCK OF SUNLAND BL
Theft 08/16/15 05:30 AM 10100 BLOCK OF MATHER AV
Theft 09/06/15 11:15 PM 10200 BLOCK OF TUJUNGA CANYON BL
Theft 08/29/15 06:00 PM 00 BLOCK OF FENWICK ST AND LANGMUIR AV
Theft 09/06/15 11:00 PM 2400 BLOCK OF MONTROSE AVE
Theft 08/30/15 10:00 PM 10900 BLOCK OF CHRISTINE WY
Burglary 09/08/15 11:00 AM 9400 BLOCK OF CHARRICK DR Details
Assault 09/01/15 01:45 AM 10600 BLOCK OF FLORALITA AV
Theft 09/08/15 12:10 PM 7900 BLOCK OF LE BERTHON ST
Theft 09/01/15 10:00 AM 10700 BLOCK OF MOUNT GLEASON AV
Theft 09/09/15 08:00 PM 9000 BLOCK OF MULBERRY DR
Robbery 09/02/15 05:30 PM 8600 BLOCK OF HILLROSE ST
Theft 09/10/15 10:00 PM 10100 BLOCK OF SAMOA AV
Burglary 09/02/15 05:00 AM 7200 BLOCK OF FOOTHILL BL
Burglary 09/10/15 10:00 PM 10100 BLOCK OF SAMOA AV
Theft 09/02/15 07:30 PM 00 BLOCK OF VALMONT AND FERNGLEN Robbery 09/03/15 01:30 PM 00 BLOCK OF BIG TUJUNGA CANYON AND MOUNT GLEASON Robbery 09/03/15 01:30 PM 00 BLOCK OF BIG TUJUNGA AND MOUNT GLEASON
Dons, from pg. 1 com email address as well as a DonBucks account that allows members to send and receive funds commissionfree. A mobile application will also be released shortly. Verdugohillsdons.com also announced openings on the editorial team including writers, photographers, videographers and advertising sales. Jack Londgren, community manager for Verdugohillsdons.com commented about the new website: “From our ongoing communication with members of the community, we know that there is tremen-
Theft 09/10/15 12:01 AM 7500 BLOCK OF SUMMITROSE ST Assault 09/12/15 05:12 PM 00 BLOCK OF FERNGLEN AV AND APPERSON ST Burglary 09/12/15 10:00 AM 9800 BLOCK OF CRAIG MITCHELL LN Theft 09/13/15 06:00 PM 11300 BLOCK OF FOOTHILL BLVD dous interest in the idea of a community site for Dons fans. The Verdugohillsdons. com site offers exciting ways for community members to stay informed and interact. Last but not least, it is an ideal tool for fundraising, particularly for smaller teams and clubs that do not have the benefit of dedicated booster clubs.“ Visitors can explore the new website and register free of charge, by visiting Verdugohillsdons. com. Business owners seeking local visibility can also advertise on the site.
www.thefoothillspaper.com • VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 19
Report on S-T LAPD Neighborhood Watch August Meeting Jon von Gunten STNC Representative to LAPD Neighborhood Watch by
Approximately 35 to 40 residents crowded the S-T Neighborhood Watch meeting in room #104 of North Valley City Hall the evening of August 25th. The date was a week later than the usual schedule and room #104 avoided a conflict with a regular meeting in the auditorium. CRIME STATS and ANTICRIME MEASURES LAPD Senior Lead Officer (SLO) Cesar Contreras opened the meeting by citing a slight recent uptick in Foothill Div crime stats. These continually fluctuate, so small month-to-month rises and falls aren’t telling. Instead, look for trends up or down over consecutive months. Rises usually track gang activity. Although crime is up in LA broadly, our “0 to 10%” rise in crime is among the safest divisions, with violent crime being very infrequent. In S-T, nearly all crimes are stolen property, often from unlocked residences or vehicles. Pacoima and Lakeview Terrace currently show a rise in gang activity. San Fernando Valley is #1 in California in identity theft, which usually follows mail theft. LAPD’s ID theft case load is two years behind due to understaffing. Preventive measures include lockable mailboxes and shredding bills and personal paperwork. Tujunga welcomes Officer Marr as its new temporary SLO! Local police presence will further increase with uniformed detectives serving warrants and a motorcycle officer enforcing traffic laws. Even so, faster response time is barriered by LAPD management repeatedly reassigning Foothill officers to Metropolitan Division, a citywide force dispatched to LA’s crime hot spots. Be suspicious of parking garages. Criminals see them as excellent hunting and hiding places. If garages aren’t well secured, landlords need
to put up more fencing, razor-wire, etc. The more you call LAPD to accurately report issues, the more LAPD will routinely drive by your area. Fingerprint techs and officers respond to break-ins. LAPD’s computer system is universal throughout LA and nearly instant. Once you have an incident number for your report, it’s searchable by address, persons, and several other criteria. TOO FEW OFFICERS: Insufficient staffing is a large barrier to rapid and ongoing enforcement. Per COMPSTAT, LAPD has less than 9000 officers. One officer per 433 residents is “one of the lowest ratios of police officers to residents of any major city in the country.” Problems include: - LAPD will soon lose more officers to mandatory retirement - Reassigning Foothill Division officers to Metro Division - Some new officers graduate LAPD’s superior training, then soon resign for higher pay in the suburbs HOMELESS: Other parts of LA have much worse homeless problems. Their encampments are often much larger and more public. Here, some places of worship provide food, but that practice can divert homeless from more farreaching programs that require drug diversion or counseling. It’s not LAPD’s role to jail homeless or harass them for being unsightly. LAPD’s job is to prevent crime among all populations. Yet our officers routinely roust homeless from readily visible camping, as they have recently done around Panda, the old KFC and the burnt-out structure on Foothill and Newhome Av. The tougher problem is keeping homeless from returning to an attractive area. In the Wash, some have hooked up solar panels and have long-term living arrangements.
Additional challenges to LAPD’s policing the Wash are its rugged terrain, need for special equipment, and enough staff. Horses and quads are ideal transportation for that terrain, but officers are required to have special training to use them. Councilman Fuentes’ office is very vocal in “fighting for our piece of the pie” in funding and resources. Per an agreement with our Council Office, an LA Family Housing satellite office is scheduled to move into NVCH room #104 within 2-3 weeks. This location should give our homeless more City attention. Its staff will be accessible for our suggestions and complaints about housing and monitoring those now in City housing. LA Family Housing reminds us it cannot control what their residents do when they leave the residence to shop or wander S-T. Many homeless don’t want housing. One chronically homeless man now wants housing 8 years after it was offered. Many are local who grew up here, have nearby friends and are comfortable in this area. Thirty-six new staff are coming to LAPD’s “SMART” Teams. These two-person groups, composed of one clinician and one officer, handle mental health issues. A mental-health arrest takes 4-5 hours for paperwork. LA County’s homeless outreach line for the mentally ill is 800-854-7771 or 213-4803480. Court Dept. 95 deals with legal matters and disputes regarding the mentally ill. Wow Jam was a permitted event in Sunland Park, which caused no problems and cleaned up adequately. Fifteen churches participated in handing out free food and services. It was not an LAPD-sponsored event. The public is cordially invited to attend S-T Neighborhood Watch meetings held the second Tuesday of every month at 6:00 PM in the auditorium of NVCH. Entrance is through the rear parking lot at 7747 Foothill Blvd., just east of the public library.
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THE FOOTHILLS PAPER • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 — 11
VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 19 • www.thefoothillspaper.com
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12 — FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 • THE FOOTHILLS PAPER
www.thefoothillspaper.com • VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 19
A Velvet Glove Over An Iron Fist
by
David DeMullé
Some time ago I was talking to the Foothill Div. Station Commander and I remarked “The LAPDs popularity problem comes from you not riding around in bright shiny trucks saving kittens and assorted civilians!” But the reality is that
a lot of the “civilians” they are out to save might be shooting at them. In the past year, the LAPD Foothill Div. has gone out of their way to make things safe, even for the bad guys. Compassion, and understanding is what I’ve been seeing here. And no, they aren’t thinking of driving bright red police cars!
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