tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74071742939332210592024-03-13T07:04:45.913-07:00Anita Susan BrennerUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger369125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-29790003847725677142016-03-19T13:41:00.001-07:002016-03-19T13:41:28.588-07:00Around Town: Wealth didn't cultivate understanding - LA Times<a href="http://www.latimes.com/tn-vsl-around-town-wealth-didnt-cultivate-understanding-20150219-story.html">Around Town: Wealth didn't cultivate understanding - LA Times</a><br /><br />
<header class="trb_ar_h" style="background-color: white; border-top-style: none; font-size: 10px; margin: 30px 0px 13px; padding: 0px;"><div class="trb_ar_hl" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 20px;"><h1 class="trb_ar_hl_t" itemprop="headline" style="display: inline; font-family: LAHeadline, serif; font-size: 58px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 58px;">Around Town: Wealth didn't cultivate understanding</h1></div></header><div class="trb_ar_main" style="background-color: white; display: inline-block; float: left; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 720px; width: calc(100% - 340px);"><div><div class="trb_ar_by" style="display: table; margin: 15px 0px 25px;"><span class="trb_ar_by_nm_pm" style="display: table-cell; vertical-align: middle;"><span class="trb_ar_by_nm_au" data-byline-withoutby="" style="color: #ff5443; display: inline; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1;">Anita S. Brenner</span></span></div><div class="trb_ar_dateline" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 13px; text-transform: uppercase;"><time class="trb_ar_dateline_time" data-datetime-clock="12:35 PM" data-datetime-day="19" data-datetime-month="February" data-datetime-year="2015" datetime="2015-02-19T12:35:00PST" itemprop="datePublished"></time></div></div><div itemprop="articleBody"><div class="trb_ar_page" data-content-page="1" data-role="pagination_page"><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-top: 13px;">The cherry trees are blossoming at the Descanso Gardens tea house and it's snowing in New York.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">Good weather attracts all sorts of people to the Foothills.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">Several of my adventurous grandparents stayed on the East Coast, after arriving at Ellis Island. At the age of 13, one grandfather was a tailor and also made bathtub gin to earn money to bring his folks over.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">In the early 1900s, our Foothills attracted a wealthier demographic than my people. The Foothills were for the well-heeled, American-born adventurer.</div><aside class="trb_ar_sponsoredmod" data-adloader-networktype="yieldmo" data-load-method="trb.vendor.yieldmo.init" data-load-type="method" data-role="delayload_item" data-screen-size="mobile" data-withinviewport-options="bottomOffset=100&topOffset=1000000" style="clear: both; margin: 5px 0px 25px; padding: 0px;"><div id="ym_1082601812867266781"></div></aside><div style="clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">Take the Congers, for example. Edwin was a Civil War veteran, a lawyer, a former congressman from Iowa and a retired diplomat. Sarah was a Christian Scientist, active in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, which means she had more money than my grandparents and she didn't drink.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">In the 1890s, Edwin was appointed the “U.S. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Brazil,” which means he was the U.S. ambassador to Brazil.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">After Brazil, the Congers went to China, where Edwin was the “Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to China,” specifically, to the Qing Dynasty. Their timing was perfect. The Congers arrived just in time for the Boxer Rebellion.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">Newspapers in 1900 were worse than the Internet. The headlines, all false, stated that the Congers and other Westerners had been murdered. In truth, they all hid out in Beijing, under siege for 55 days, until their rescue by 20,000 international troops who then shamelessly ransacked the city.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">The Qing dynasty had sided with the Boxers, so they fled. The Qing empress dowager went into exile and did not return until 1902.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">The Qing dynasty earned the support of Mark Twain, who criticized the conduct of the Western forces in sacking Beijing. “The Boxer is a patriot,” said Twain. “He loves his country better than he does the countries of other people. I wish him success. The Boxer believes in driving us out of his country.”</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">Twain titled his essay, “I am a Boxer.”</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">Don't fall too much in love with Twain, because he also said this: “Why should not China be free from the foreigners, who are only making trouble on her soil? If they would only all go home, what a pleasant place China would be for the Chinese! We do not allow Chinamen to come here, and I say in all seriousness that it would be a graceful thing to let China decide who shall go there.”</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">Not exactly your mama's multiculturalism.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">As for the Congers, after a brief ambassadorship to Mexico they returned to Pasadena, where Edwin died in 1907 of a disease contracted in China. Sarah Pike Conger remained in Pasadena, working on her memoir, which was published in 1909.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">Sarah's memoir was entitled, “Letters from China, with Particular Reference to the Empress Dowager and the Women of China.” She wrote that her “heart's sympathy” was with China. She was positive about what she viewed as the necessary Westernization of Chinese life, with a focus on education and opportunities for girls, e.g. “Her small feet were unbound, and she rides her pony with ease and freedom both in thought and body.”</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">Sarah's do-goodism is evident on every page, but less interesting than her vivid descriptions of the 55-day siege. Sarah, a nice lady, thought she knew what was best for the unschooled Chinese, particularly the women.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">Who knows? Maybe Sarah was correct. Heck, I wasn't there. She was.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">One cannot overlook, however, the fact that in 1909, black people in parts of the U.S. were segregated, our women couldn't vote and Griffith J. Griffith had finished his two-year sentence in San Quentin for disfiguring his wife, Mary, in a drunken rage. He got a gun and shot her in the eyeball.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">Mary Griffith was a descendant of the Verdugo family, which had been robbed of their inherited land grant by the Anglo power elites, which is why our Griffith Park should really be named Verdugo Park.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">The reality of the West, despite the imprimatur of Sarah Conger, was imperfect.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">Not that I'm bitter or anything. Honest. I am not a Conger. I am not a Verdugo. My grandparents were penniless immigrants and I stand on their shoulders. We, their descendants, have done well in America.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 18px;">Tomorrow, or perhaps 100 years from now, another descendant of my grandparents will have at it with my word. Perhaps they'll accuse me of bias. Sorry, Sarah. That's how it goes.</div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-11640274051201568522015-11-01T18:44:00.002-08:002015-11-01T18:44:42.811-08:00Around Town: Enjoying the real 'Aviation' cocktail<div class="date">
<br /></div>
<div class="clear">
</div>
<br />
<div id="story-body-text">
Another hot Monday night at the Flintridge Proper. The Happy Hour had come and gone. Now was the time for a real cocktail. On the table before me there was a small stemmed glass.<br />
<br />
The 1935 edition of the Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book says, "Americans, as a rule, drink partly for the taste, mostly for the effect."<br />
<br />
This cocktail had both taste and effect. It was blue-violet. It was blue like the sky, with a touch of purple twilight. It was worthy of its name: The Aviation.<br />
<div class="articlerail">
<div class="articleRelates module">
</div>
</div>
I took a sip, sighed and put the glass back down. Then, I reached for my worn and tattered copy of "The Drunken Botanist" by Amy Stewart. I began to read.<br />
<br />
"The Aviation cocktail is Chelsea Flower Show in a glass, combining gin, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice and crème de violette. And until a few years ago, it was impossible to make properly, because crème de violette had disappeared from the shelves."<br />
<br />
The Aviation was the last American cocktail to be created and published before Prohibition. Sure there were speakeasies, but when Prohibition arrived in 1920, the production of crème de violette went right out the window.<br />
<br />
It is impossible to make an authentic Aviation cocktail without crème de violette. Until recently, this essential liqueur, composed of violets, sugar and alcohol, was not available.<br />
<br />
Some tried. There were substitutions. None worked. Extra maraschinos? Fail. Parfait armour? Fail. Crème yvette? Forget it.<br />
<br />
The authentic Aviation requires crème de violette.<br />
<br />
Here in La Cañada, the Flintridge Proper serves the authentic version of this cocktail.<br />
<br />
The owners decided on the "Nick and Nora" glass for the Aviation. Those are the glasses used in the movie version of "The Thin Man."<br />
<br />
Nick and Nora Charles were the intellectual property of the late mystery writer, Dashiell Hammett. <br />
<br />
On the big screen, Myrna Loy played Nora and William Powell played Nick. They were often tipsy, sometimes drunk, back in the day when it was acceptable.<br />
<br />
Nick, seldom boring, was often heroic. Try this dialogue for the morning after.<br />
<em></em><br />
Nick is recuperating. He and Nora are reading the morning papers:<br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Nick: I'm a hero. I was shot twice in the Tribune.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Nora: I read where you were shot five times in the tabloids.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Nick: It's not true. He didn't come anywhere near my tabloids.</em><br />
<br />
The Nick and Nora cocktail glass is smaller than most, and as the Waldorf bar book notes, "the cocktail, taken according to general practice, is not sipped as is wine. If it is not gulped, it is usually finished in three swallows, or at most four."<br />
<br />
It's not a contest. The cocktail glasses used to be smaller.<br />
<br />
As for the Aviation, the Drunken Botanist is not strict about the measurements:<br />
<br />
1 ½ oz. gin<br />
½ oz. maraschino liqueur<br />
½ oz. crème de violette<br />
1 violet blossom<br />
<br />
The recipe concludes, "adjust the proportions to your liking. Garnish with the violet blossoms."<br />
Violet blossoms? Do they sell those at Trader Joe's?<br />
<br />
Must. Have. Garnish.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.latimes.com/tn-vsl-me-around-town-enjoying-the-real-aviation-cocktail-20140716-story.html" target="_blank">L.A. Times archive</a><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/Around%20Town:%20Enjoying%20the%20real%20'Aviation'%20cocktail" target="_blank">Around Town: Enjoying the real 'Aviation' cocktail</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-23874547427408240742015-11-01T18:40:00.001-08:002015-11-01T18:40:04.971-08:00Around Town: genealogy, crypto, conversos, anusim...<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">...we found some new ancestors...Maria de los Angeles Carabajal, a fancy name for a young lady, born in 1811, and her parents, Andrea Rodriguez and Trinidad Carabajal....Don Luis de Carabajal...brought his sister and her family to Mexico. By then, the extended Carabajal family included a priest and a monk, as well as government officials and merchants. The family was mostly Catholic, but when they moved back to Mexico City, they drew the attention of the Mexican Inquisition...It didn't matter if a Carabajal was actually Catholic, the inquisitors rounded bunches of them up.....</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.latimes.com/socal/la-canada-valley-sun/opinion/tn-vsl-around-town-lds-boosts-family-history-access-20151029-story.html" target="_blank">CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.latimes.com/socal/la-canada-valley-sun/opinion/tn-vsl-around-town-lds-boosts-family-history-access-20151029-story.html" target="_blank">Around Town: LDS boosts family-history access</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-2880178859977651182015-03-22T18:54:00.001-07:002015-03-22T18:54:53.951-07:00Around Town: Restaurant is no longer a secret - LA Canada <br /><br />
And now, the Big Secret is out:<a href="http://la.eater.com/maps/36-breakfast-burritos-los-angeles-map-guide-2015"><span style="color: black;"> eater.com has placed Lupe's Place on the Los Angeles “best burrito” list.</span></a><br /><br />
Thanks for nothing, eater.com!<br /><br />
Until now, life was good. Life was good because most La Cañadans knew nothing about eater.com, the trendy food and dining website, run by a well-funded Washington, D.C. media company. Vox, founded in 2011, now has over 150 million users.<br /><br />
Most La Cañadans had ignored Lupe's Place, despite its convenient location next to Magpie's and across from the trail entrance on Foothill Boulevard. Lupe's had been off the radar for most La Cañadans.<br /><br />
On the other hand, you'll see Latinos from all over L.A. trek to Lupe's for an early Sunday breakfast.<br /><br />
Why? Because the food is so darn good.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tn-vsl-around-town-restaurant-is-no-longer-a-secret-20150319,0,1338036.story">Around Town: Restaurant is no longer a secret - LA Canada</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-16520885071917124852014-07-18T13:06:00.000-07:002014-07-18T13:06:29.793-07:00Around Town: It's kosher to get the ingredients elsewhere<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.02px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
Just when I thought that diversity had come to La Cañada Flintridge, the banana leaf conundrum forced me to reconsider.<br />
<br />
When we moved to La Cañada in 1976, it was a white bread town. There was a store on Linda Vista called Jurgensen’s that used to deliver incredible groceries. It was “a pricey grocery chain where Southern California gourmets and celebrities go for fresh truffles and pate de foie gras...” (Groves, Martha, “Posh Jurgensen’s Grocery Chain Agrees to Be Sold,” L.A. Times, May 13, 1986).<br />
<br />
As wonderful as Jurgensen’s was, it was kind of a vanilla place. I once overheard a customer order a corned beef sandwich. “What kind of bread?” asked the sales clerk. “We have white, wheat, rye and sourdough. Do you want mayonnaise?”<br />
<br />
Obviously, no one in their right mind would put mayonnaise on a corned beef sandwich. The requisite bread is corn rye, thin-sliced, with mustard. This is 2014 and everyone knows this. Not so back in 1976.<br />
<br />
Fast forward to multicultural La Cañada Flintridge in 2014.<br />
<br />
Last week, we had a hankering for kosher pollo pibil, a delicious Yucatán chicken dish, marinated in a red achiote-and-citrus sauce. Trader Joe’s sometimes sells cilantro, but it was gone. Ralphs still had kosher tortillas. But neither store stocks banana leaves or achiote. (Achiote is the seed of the fruit of the achiote tree, which grows in jungles and tropical regions.)<br />
<br />
That’s why home-cooked kosher pollo pibil in La Cañada requires the following steps.<br />
<br />
No. 1: purchase kosher chicken at Trader Joe’s.<br />
<br />
No. 2: Go to the Lotte Korean Market for cilantro and jalapeños.<br />
<br />
No. 3: No, no. This isn’t working.<br />
<br />
To make kosher Mexican food, everyone must leave. We must take the back road to Altadena. We must turn right on Oak Grove, continue onto Woodbury, turn left on Lincoln.<br />
<br />
There, only 2 miles away, is the source, Super King Market, 2260 N. Lincoln Ave. Here’s what you will find at Super King: tomatillos, achiote, dried chiles, inexpensive nonorganic vegetables, Middle Eastern food, sunflower seeds, olives, Armenian staples, Ukrainian bread and 100 brands of tequila.<br />
<br />
Of course, Super King sells banana leaves, the very banana leaves essential to pollo pibil. The recipe for Pollo Pibil is too complex to describe in one column. Here is an easy chile verde recipe, with the caveat that chile verde sauce is not used in pollo pibil.<br />
<br />
Sure, you can buy the cans of green enchilada sauce at Ralphs or the little jars of green salsa at Trader Joe’s, but why not “eat clean”?<br />
<br />
This recipe is simple, healthy and less expensive than the store-bought versions. It is my modification of the pork recipe created by Chef Nelson from the Pasadena Cordon Bleu.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: 700;">Ingredients</span><br />
<br />
- Six garlic cloves (Trader Joe’s and Lotte sell them already peeled.)<br />
- Olive oil<br />
- 1.5 pounds tomatillos, washed and peeled<br />
- One jalapeño pepper<br />
- One bunch fresh cilantro, cleaned and trimmed<br />
- Salt to taste<br />
- Optional: chicken breasts and hominy</div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.02px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<br />
1. Wash and peel the tomatillos. The dried skin comes right off, but the fruit needs to be carefully cleaned.<br />
<br />
2. Coat a pot with the olive oil and place on medium heat.<br />
<br />
3. Add the garlic cloves.<br />
<br />
3a. Optional: add chicken breasts, brown on both sides, then go to step 4.<br />
<br />
4. Add the tomatillos, cilantro and jalapeño<br />
<br />
5. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for an hour, or until the tomatillos and pepper begin to collapse.<br />
<br />
(Use a thermometer on the chicken; it should be 165 to 170°)<br />
<br />
6. Remove from heat. (Remove the chicken, if you added it.) Use a blender to blend the sauce. Return all ingredients (including the chicken and hominy) to the pot.<br />
<br />
There it is. Kosher chile verde! As for the Pollo Pibil, there are several choices. Oven? Double boiler? Dig a pit in the yard? Right here in La Cañada, with a side trip to Super King.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.02px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
--</div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 20.02px;">ANITA SUSAN BRENNER</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.02px;"> </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.02px;">is a longtime La Cañada Flintridge resident and an attorney with Law Offices of Torres and Brenner in Pasadena. Email her at <a href="mailto:anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;">anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com</a> and follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/anitabrenner" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="new">@anitabrenner</a>.</em><br />
<em style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.02px;"><br /></em>
<span class="byline" style="background-color: white; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px;">By Anita S. Brenner</span><br />
<div class="date" style="background-color: white; color: #930000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="dateString" style="display: inline;">January 15, 2014</span><span class="dateTimeSeparator" style="border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: -1px; margin-left: 6px;"> | </span><span class="timeString" style="display: inline; text-transform: lowercase;">3:08 p.m.</span></div>
<div class="date" style="background-color: white; color: #930000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="timeString" style="display: inline; text-transform: lowercase;"><a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-its-kosher-to-get-the-ingredients-elsewhere-20140115,0,7642833.story" target="_blank">Valley Sun</a></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-39480185896058149492014-06-29T12:28:00.003-07:002014-06-29T12:28:59.070-07:00Around Town: Getting prepared for Bark for Life<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-getting-prepared-for-bark-for-life-20140319,0,6610704.story">Around Town: Getting prepared for Bark for Life </a><br /><br />
<br /><br />
Noelle Ito, a Flintridge Prep alum, class of ’98, is a Bark for Life Altadena team captain.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
The event raises funds for the American Cancer Society and is part of their successful Relay for Life events, which have spread to more than 20 countries and have raised more than $5 billion for support of cancer patients and research into cures.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
TOPICS<br /><br />
Medical Research<br /><br />
Cancer<br /><br />
American Cancer Society<br /><br />
See more topics »<br /><br />
<br /><br />
But first, journalistic ethics require a disclaimer: Noelle has set this up in honor of the 10th anniversary of the death of our most wonderful son, 2nd Lt. Andrew Torres, USMC.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Andrew graduated from Prep in 1998 and from the Naval Academy in 2002. Our family is profoundly humbled and grateful for the support and love from this town, our friends and his friends.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
There are no easy answers for bereavement, but we've all supported cancer research since Andrew’s death on April 3, 2004. Andrew was 23 years old.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
The first project was for the research of Heinz Josef Lenz, M.D., at USC Norris Cancer Institute. Lenz is an oncologist. He was not specifically researching the rare cancer (HCC) that struck our son, but we wanted to support his research. Right from the beginning, we knew the danger of body-specific limitations.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Rusty Robertson of Stand up to Cancer speaks out against what she calls the “Balkanization” of body parts. It is a fallacy to support one type of solid tumor research over another because it limits research. People say, “my friend had breast cancer, so I support breast cancer research,” or “my uncle died of colon cancer, so I donate to colon cancer research.”<br /><br />
<br /><br />
What if the cure is to be found in less popular, “orphan” disease which is under researched?<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Like Rusty, we believe that the key to prostate cancer may be found in pancreatic cancer research, a cure for lung cancer may come out of liver cancer research, and so forth.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Our family and Andrew’s friends have organized golf tournaments, cocktail hours and parties to support a variety of nonprofits, including Stand up to Cancer (www.standup2cancer.org), HMRI and the American Cancer Society. We have donated to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (“PanCan”), the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and City of Hope.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
The latest, Bark for Life, is a hoot because it involves dogs. Thus, Andrew’s surviving canine companion, that candy-obsessed, garbage tossing rescue dog, Miss Audrey Hepburn, will finally get to participate instead of eating the chocolate bars from the tee bags and dragging us to the emergency vet, mere hours before Torres Golf tee time. It’s about time that Miss Hepburn contributed in a positive way.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Our Bark for Life team is called, “Big Trouble in Little La Cañada.” We have a website at www.tinyurl.com/gonavybeatcancer.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Bark for Life involves walking the dogs on Saturday, April 5, from 10 a.m. to noon at Altadena’s Farnsworth Park.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
There are no Relay for Life (www.relayforlife.com) events scheduled in La Cañada Flintridge, so “Big Trouble in Little La Cañada” at the Altadena Bark for Life is a good choice.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
We live in a generous community, with ample opportunities to give back. Bark for Life is one of many ways to contribute, it is one of a “thousand points of light.”<br /><br />
--<br /><br />
<br /><br />
March 19, 2014<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-58236351140351264352014-06-29T12:28:00.001-07:002014-06-29T12:28:09.616-07:00Around Town: Eateries, mixologists preparing for spring time <a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-eateries-mixologists-preparing-for-spring-time-20140305,0,5328164.story">Around Town: Eateries, mixologists preparing for spring time</a><br /><br />
Winter will soon be behind us and spring will come. All over town, restaurateurs and mixologists are planning for their spring comeback.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
My first choice for a good meal is Café Sole, because the new owners, Salvatore and Alessandra Attanasio are lovely and the new menu is top notch. Salvatore bakes fresh bread several times a day. Sporadic specials include osso buco, Italian meatloaf and wonderful pastas. Great service.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
TOPICS<br /><br />
Manhattan (New York City)<br /><br />
<br /><br />
The Flintridge Proper introduced a daily Happy Hour, launched four new spring cocktails and posted most of the recipes online at www.theproper.com. The magic number is $5. There are $5 cocktails, including the Moscow Mule, $5 wine and $5 appetizers. The new spring drinks are The Secret Garden, Felonious Monk, Jalisco Shandy and the London Bow Tie. Did I mention that the recipes are all online? The Proper is unafraid.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Ruth’s Chris’ weekday (Monday through Friday) Happy Hour is in Pasadena. Selected cocktails and appetizers are $7. The drinks include the Classic Cosmo, Pomegranate Martini, Ruth's Manhattan Blueberry Mojito, and Rocks Rita. The recipes are not posted online, but on a clear day you can grab a stool at a cocktail table, next to a trellis, right on Colorado Boulevard.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
For another type of Happy Hour, Chego on Broadway (www.eatchego.com) sells charred seasonal veggies, with salsa verde, salsa azul, Parmesan, fried shallots, lemon and toasted sesame for $5. The “$12 Salad” with baby spinach, mizuna and goat cheese, cranberries, candied pecans, seasonal pickles, miso and fried shallots sells for $7. There’s parking under the mall and next door. No cocktails. Lots of noodles.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Porto’s Glendale is open Monday through Saturday until 7 p.m. Their Caesar salad costs $4.85. With chicken, it’s only $6.35. They don’t have a liquor license, but so what? All alcohol turns into sugar anyway. Why not speed up the process with a few Cuban desserts?<br /><br />
<br /><br />
And, since all alcohol turns into sugar, it’s always Happy Hour at La Cañada’s Pinkberry. Many of us show up at Pinkberry on a warm night. The spring yogurt lineup includes lychee, peanut butter and peanut butter cup. The latter can be topped with mini peanut butter cups, slivered almonds and chocolate. Another plus: the staff is really nice. Ask them for samples. They don’t mind.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Gelson’s is coming, Gelson’s is coming, Gelson’s is coming. Local anticipation is high. But can they match the samples at Trader Joe’s? The Trader Joe’s staff has free reign to put together the tasting menus of their choice. Pumpkin ravioli, weird cheese, stuff from the freezer — it’s all there. Trader Joe’s will always trump Gelson’s. And if you only want a few sips of coffee, with or without cream, Trader Joe’s is the place to be.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Did I leave anyone out? Dish? Taylors? Sakura? Anthony’s? Gringos Locos? Taco Deli? Sorry, sorry, sorry. Maybe another time.<br /><br />
--<br /><br />
March 5, 2014<br /><br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-53960843793444854922014-06-29T12:27:00.000-07:002014-06-29T12:27:20.870-07:00Around Town: The Bieb takes the stand<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">LOS ANGELES — Retired singer and teen heartthrob </span><a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/entertainment/music/justin-bieber-PECLB000005153.topic" id="PECLB000005153" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px; text-decoration: none;" title="Justin Bieber">Justin Bieber</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;"> testified in court Tuesday that he is actually Canadian and not La Cañadan, when, as he claims in his challenge to the revocation of his O-1 visa, he entered the U.S. from our neighbor from the north.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">An O-1 visa is issued by the U.S. to immigrants with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics. Last December, Bieber said he was retiring.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">Last August, when Rolling Stone asked Bieber if he had plans to become an American citizen, Bieber responded, “You guys are evil. Canada's the best country in the world.” According to Bieber, this remark, not the unfortunate egg incident, precipitated what Bieber contends is blatant selective enforcement of the immigration laws.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">As a result of the deportation order from which he appeals, Bieber is now a La Cañada resident.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">Bieber testified in the first day of his trial living that under La Cañada Flintridge’s strict poultry ordinances (</span><a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-0124-around-town-do-alpacas-toe-the-legal-line,0,3474756.story" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px; text-decoration: none;">Around Town: Do alpacas toe the legal line?” Valley Sun, Jan. 23, 2103</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">) deprives him of artistic freedom, much as a graffiti artist is deprived of the ability to pursue their muse by the California Penal Code and those charged with its enforcement.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">Bieber was extensively cross-examined on the distinction between poultry and livestock. As a La Cañadan, he is presumed to know that La Cañada ordinance section 11.32.080 provides that not more than “two horses, donkeys, mules, cows, steers, other similar animals, sheep or goats which are not for the personal use of the occupant of the parcel may be kept, maintained or otherwise boarded on the parcel…” if for personal use.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">But Bieber’s lawyer, one Horace J. Rumpole, Jr., told the court that the personal use requirement discriminates against individuals who live in collective settings, such as Sister Wives (tm), Engineering Fraternities and once-fashionable boy bands. In a communal setting, everything is shared, therefore nothing, not even the bagels, are for personal use, argued the lawyer.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">Meanwhile the Chief Justice of Ontario, Canada issued a gag order on Wednesday, banning all news coverage of the former pop star. Efforts to obtain comments from the court were unsuccessful. As these new events unfolded, the incident took on international ramifications, prompting the White House to issue the following statement: “The first time the president learned about this was when he read the Valley Sun.”</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">Many have noticed the paucity of print copies of this week's Valley Sun. Sources revealed today that the missing copies were mistakenly sent by the </span><a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/politics/u.s.-postal-service-ORGOV000000151.topic" id="ORGOV000000151" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px; text-decoration: none;" title="U.S. Postal Service">U.S. Postal Service</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;"> to Toronto, Canada, due to a Zip code error. As a result of the influx of newspapers, the Canadian judge issued an order to seize all copies of the Valley Sun which mentioned Justin Bieber.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">“Out of sight. Out of mind, eh?” explained the judge.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">Despite the ban, many Canadians had heard about Bieber. According to a survey conducted by the Electronic Frontier Assn. in Canada, 42% of those polled said they knew about Justin Bieber. Another 22% had heard about La Cañada Flintridge.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">Meanwhile, back in court, holding up his egg-soaked shirt, Bieber called the deportation order “a nightmare, a very scary nightmare that continues today.”</span><br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>.</em></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-the-bieb-takes-the-stand-20140129,0,259764.story" target="_blank">Valley Sun</a> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px;">By Anita S. Brenner</span><br />
<div class="date" style="background-color: white; color: #930000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="dateString" style="display: inline;">January 29, 2014</span><span class="dateTimeSeparator" style="border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: -1px; margin-left: 6px;"> | </span><span class="timeString" style="display: inline; text-transform: lowercase;">3:03 p.m.</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-61725544371819213032014-06-29T12:26:00.001-07:002014-06-29T12:26:10.031-07:00Around Town: Suggested spring break reading <a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-suggested-spring-break-reading-20140326,0,1802595.story">Around Town: Suggested spring break reading </a><br /><br />
Spring break is here, so it’s time for the Around Town annual reading list.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
1. If your kid has escaped to Valley Forge this week, don’t miss the “Memoirs of Joseph Plumb Martin.” Plumb Martin enlisted in the Connecticut militia in 1775, then joined the Continental Army. He was at the battles of Brooklyn, White Plains, Fort Mifflin, Monmouth and the Siege of Yorktown. He also lived through Valley Forge. He published his memoirs in 1830 to draw attention to the plight of Revolutionary War veterans, whose benefits had been cut by the U.S. government. Sounds familiar? You can pick up a Dover or Signet edition for less than $7 because the copyright has expired.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
TOPICS<br /><br />
United States Naval Academy<br /><br />
Battle of Yorktown (1781)<br /><br />
West Point<br /><br />
<br /><br />
2. Another worthy war history is Eugene Sledge’s “With the Old Breed.” Sledge kept notes while fighting with the Marine Corps in the Pacific during World War II. The book is spellbinding. Sledge has a clear, youthful voice.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
3. For those who work at JPL or otherwise love science, theoretical physicist Michio Kaku is back. He’s the author of “Hyperspace.” His latest is “The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind,” which addresses “consciousness from a physicist’s perspective,” telepathy, telekinesis and artificial intelligence. Wow!<br /><br />
<br /><br />
4. Just in time for summer school, the “For Dummies” series provides Common Core Standards For Parents For Dummies “explains this new set of standards, what it means for students, and how parents can get their children prepared for the school year.”<br /><br />
<br /><br />
5. This year’s top regional cookbook is “L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food” by Roy Choi, the founder of the Kogi BBQ food trucks and other places to eat. When Anthony Bourdain came to L.A., he made a beeline for Roy Choi, which is proof positive. Choi’s recipes are great.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
6. If you use an old-school pocket diary, the Moleskine 2014-2015 Weekly Planner hit the shelves this week. Moleskine diaries look professional, but they come with tiny stickers that look like blow dryers to mark your hair appointments.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
7, 8 and 9. In the tradition of in the “Shadow of Greatness” (7) about USNA ’02 and Bill Murphy’s “In a Time of War” (8) about West Point ’02 and LCHS grad 1st Lt. Todd Bryant, Tom Sileo has written “Brothers Forever: The Enduring Bond between a Marine and a Navy SEAL that Transcended Their Ultimate Sacrifice” (9). Two Naval Academy roommates were killed three years apart, but they are buried together at Arlington. They are Travis Manion, a Marine, and Brendan Looney, a Navy SEAL. One was killed in Iraq and the other in Afghanistan. They were best friends and roommates at the Academy. They are now “brothers forever.”<br /><br />
<br /><br />
10. Bob Inman’s “Finding Los Angeles By Foot: Stairstreet, bridge, pathway and lane,” was published last February. Not sure what a “stairstreet” is? Inman describes 175 miles of public stairways, pedestrian walkways and other hidden paths all over the city, including Glendale, Pasadena and the Arroyo Seco, with photos, maps and historical tidbits.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Happy reading! Enjoy your spring break!<br /><br />
<br /><br />
<br /><br />
March 26, 2014<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-4999632478410308392014-06-29T12:25:00.001-07:002014-06-29T12:25:28.425-07:00Around Town: Gelson's opens store in La Cañada <a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/-around-town-gelsons-opens-store-in-la-canada-20140402,0,3082383.story">Around Town: Gelson's opens store in La Cañada </a><br /><br />
<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Last week’s E-ticket was the Gelson’s La Cañada grand opening in Plaza de La Cañada. By 9 a.m. there was a line around the store. The crowds continued throughout the day, with shopper parking as far as one block away.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
You could almost feel the spirit of Bernie Gelson. In an 2005 interview with the Daily News, Jack Brown, then chair of the Stater Brothers groceries, explained that Bernie Gelson was a people person. “Bernie saw the customers as guests in his home. It was his way of life.”<br /><br />
<br /><br />
In that spirit, the La Cañada store was well-staffed for the opening day crowds. A clerk named Sara cheerfully took me on a tour of the store’s kosher products. Gelson’s will be the second store in town to stock kosher poultry. The first, of course, is our beloved Trader Joe’s, which sells kosher poultry and beef.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Corporate management was omnipresent and equally cheerful. Tim Redmond, senior director of Store Operations, drove out from Simi Valley. “Gelson’s is very happy to be in La Cañada,” he told me.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Bernie Gelson would have liked the opening day party. Gelson’s has humble yet idealistic roots. Jake and Lena Gelson were a Jewish couple who escaped Russia to the U.S. in 1907. They settled in Sioux City, Iowa and ran a small grocery. Their three children were born in Sioux City, Dorothy, Bernard and Eugene.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
During the Depression, the family moved to Monterey Park. The kids graduated from Alhambra High School. In the census, Dorothy listed her occupation as saleslady. Everyone else was a grocer. In 1945, after the death of his father, Bernie enlisted in the U.S. Army.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
After the war, the two sons, Bernie and Eugene, opened a small grocery store in Tujunga. They later moved the grocery to North Hollywood. In 1951, the brothers began a new venture. They decided to open an upscale, high-quality market at Victory Boulevard and Hollywood Way in Burbank. They named the market Gelson’s. Eventually, they expanded to three stores and sold the chain to the Arden group. Bernie continued to operate Gelson’s as a wholly-owned subsidiary until 1988.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Everyone has a story to tell, even a grocery store.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.trbimg.com/img-533c82ce/turbine/-around-town-gelsons-opens-store-in-la-canada--001/580/580x417" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-533c82ce/turbine/-around-town-gelsons-opens-store-in-la-canada--001/580/580x417" height="230" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />
<br /><br />
Last week, on opening day, many of the early-evening customers appeared to be refugees from the failed Pasadena Paseo Colorado venture. Gelson’s had been at the Paseo for 13 years until it closed last spring. The store’s closure was a sequella of parking lot issues. The city of Pasadena owns the Paseo parking. The Pasadena Department of Public Works contracted out management of the Paseo parking. The result? Poor staffing, leaky roofs and exit delays, which turns off the customers. Gelson’s Pasadena did not have easy access.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Back in La Cañada, at the grand opening, I finally found a parking spot, around the corner on Rinetti Lane.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
The new store has the potential to be a one-stop shopping experience. Besides the Aaron kosher chicken, the ready-to-eat section sells Waldorf salad, there’s pretty good sushi around the aisle, $50 bottles of Silver Oak (2008), and three kinds of Intelligentsia coffee. Right there, one trip to Gelson’s saved me four other trips, to Trader Joe’s for chicken and mayo, to Intelligentsia in Pasadena for the coffee, the Lotte Market for apples and to Fish King in Glendale for the sushi and Silver Oak Cabernet.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
On the other hand, despite the warm welcome from Gelson’s staff, and despite the inspiring Gelson family history, I am reluctant to skip my regular route. The Trader Joe’s checker tells me stories about the vegetables at Super King. The sushi chef at Fish King knows his craft, and the owners at Lotte Market are pretty cool.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
It’s what they call a dilemma.<br /><br />
--<br /><br />
April 2, 2014<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-25998664081143125892014-06-29T12:23:00.001-07:002014-06-29T12:23:58.246-07:00Around Town: Pasadena City College gets a well-deserved salute<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-pcc-gets-a-welldeserved-salute-20140507,0,7230588.story">Around Town: PCC gets a well-deserved salute </a><br /><br />
<br /><br />
here are a lot of reasons why Military Times ranked Pasadena City College (PCC) as the top community college for veterans in California.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
The annual ranking is based on “student success and academic quality.” Schools are evaluated on “university culture, student support, academic quality, academic policies and financial aid.”<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Every year, PCC makes it to the top 10. This year, PCC ranked second in the nation.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
No other California school, two-year or four-year, made the top 10 list. None of them. Just our own PCC.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Why is PCC such a gem? One reason is Patricia D’Orange Martin, the PCC veterans coordinator and founder of the PCC Veterans Resource Center. Martin has a master’s in counseling and has been an associate professor and counselor at PCC since 1989, but lots of academics and administrators have degrees and titles.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Martin is special because she has a heart for the student veterans. She does her professional best to create programs that allow veterans to succeed.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Last year, state Sen. Carol Liu named Martin as a Woman of the Year, noting that Martin’s “work in student-veteran outreach programs has paved the way for other colleges throughout Southern California.”<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Martin has had the great fortune to create an effective program in a supportive environment. Several of the PCC leaders, most notably former Pasadena mayor Bill Thomson, are veterans. She also has a top notch staff. Carol Calandra, the PCC Veterans Resource Center caseworker, is a can-do, thoughtful improviser who is totally dedicated to assisting veterans with their transition into college life.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
There’s another reason why veterans who attend PCC have the potential to go far and do well. Right here in La Cañada, there’s a cohort of quiet philanthropists at La Cañada Presbyterian Church. These anonymous angels continuously and continually assist our PCC student veterans.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
The LCPC angels are shy. They are humble. They are open-hearted. I won’t name them, but listen up: we know who you are and we salute you.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Their help goes beyond basic needs. As you read this, doors are being opened for PCC student veterans. Many of these young men and women enlisted at the age of 17 or 18. They deserve every educational, social and cultural boost. Let’s let them stand on our shoulders.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
America in 2014 is an era of mixed results. CNN and the Wall Street Journal are now investigating allegations that at least 40 veterans have died waiting for treatment at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System, and that the Phoenix VA covered up the wait with a secret waiting list. Then there’s the Las Vegas VA, which left a 78-year-old female veteran crying in pain in the ER lobby for four hours and 45 minutes.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
It’s not about lack of funding.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Why do some institutions do well for veterans and others do so poorly? Why is PCC the only school in California to make the top 10? It’s not for lack of funding.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Is it an unwillingness to serve others? Is it the vestiges of Vietnam?<br /><br />
<br /><br />
As those debates continue, La Cañada is a point of light. The leaders at our local community college have created a strong program. Martin and Calandra have garnered tremendous community support. The seeds planted by the angels from La Cañada Presbyterian Church are already bearing fruit.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
The program at PCC is a model for others. Kudos to Patricia D’Orange Martin. Double kudos to the La Cañada Presbyterian angels.<br /><br />
May 7, 2014<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-41768668633959154042014-06-29T12:22:00.001-07:002014-06-29T12:22:51.857-07:00Around Town: Hansen signs remind us that it's all about love <a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-hansen-signs-remind-us-that-its-all-about-love-20140219,0,7041216.story">Around Town: Hansen signs remind us that it's all about love </a><br /><br />
La Cañada’s most beloved athlete is Kate Hansen. Her Twitter profile says, “I know all of Beyonce's choreo by heart and I wear spandex for a living.” Her pre-luge dance warm ups have gone viral. Small wonder that our mother ship, the Los Angeles Times, described Kate as “the Olympics' most charming athlete.”<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Last week, while Kate raced in the women’s single luge event in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, back home in La Cañada, her family’s restaurant, Los Gringos Locos, was decorated with bunting and signs that said “Go Kate Go.”<br /><br />
<br /><br />
The signs transformed my morning drive down Foothill Boulevard. Most mornings, I listen to the radio versions of CNN, Fox, or CSPAN. You know how it goes. Scandal. Scandal. Scandal. Fear. Fear. Fear. And then, as I passed the Hansens’ restaurant, my focus would shift to something grander — the love extended to the Hansen family for their Kate.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
A disclaimer. I am not a Mormon. I don’t wear spandex for a living. But the Hansens have been on our radar for many years.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Years ago, before Kate was born, before the restaurant existed, one of the Hansen brothers began to donate a unique set of items for the local Latter-day Saints auction.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
The auction was nothing short of amazing. The goal was to raise money for youth programs, including a couple of Boy Scout troops. Our son, also not a Mormon, was a member of one of those troops. His leader was the late Dr. Charles Broberg, a true role model.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
That’s why our whole family attended the annual LDS auction. Year after year.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
The auction was totally fun. Every two years the same set of drums would reappear, when the current owner or his parents tired of the instrument. The drums didn’t go for much, but the high bidder usually was a 10-year-old boy whose parents may or may not have been aware of the purchase, until it was too late.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
There were baskets of home-grown vegetables and certificates for various services: free haircuts by Dr. Broberg, someone to mow your lawn, plant your vegetable garden or to bake you a pie. There were world class, made-from-scratch baked goods and frozen casseroles.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Some of the auction items were expensive, others were not. Little kids would bring a used toy, price it at 50 cents, and it would be displayed at the auction. Sometimes it was a goldfish or a Barbie. All ages participated. It was a lesson in responsibility.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
The most notable items each year, eagerly awaited by my husband, were the six bottles of limited edition Hansen BBQ sauce. Six separate auction items. Hotly contested.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
The bottles were professionally sealed, with commercial labels, a promise of the riches within. If you’ve never paid $80 for an 8-ounce bottle of BBQ sauce, you simply haven’t lived. The annual bidding war for the Hansen BBQ sauce was the highlight for several of the husbands, including mine.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
One year, Len was high bidder for four of the six bottles. I was embarrassed, but then the other dads started backslapping him and stating their congratulations.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Men. Go figure.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
I thought of the good old days at the LDS auction last week, as I drove down Foothill Boulevard, past the Hansens’ restaurant with the red, white and blue bunting. I saw the signs that proclaimed the Hansens' love for Kate, and I knew that those signs were also a gift to all of us. They remind us that it's not just about winning, it's all about the love.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Kate Hansen, you are awesome. You did us proud. Keep on dancing!<br /><br />
--Feb 19, 2014<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-71737310016192723602014-06-29T12:14:00.001-07:002014-06-29T12:14:35.621-07:00Around Town: A proper place to reflect and dine<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-a-proper-place-to-reflect-and-dine-20140212,0,4235276.story">Around Town: A proper place to reflect and dine</a><br /><br />
<br /><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">The best breakfast view in La Cañada is in the Flintridge Proper bar. Sit against the south wall. Look out the window to the north.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">The majestic San Gabriel Mountains rise directly behind Trader Joe’s and </span><a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/economy-business-finance/starbucks-corp.-ORCRP014398.topic" id="ORCRP014398" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px; text-decoration: none;" title="Starbucks Corp.">Starbucks</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">. Natalie, the pretty server, tells me the mountains are beautiful when there’s snow.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><br /><br />
<div class="articlerail" style="background-color: white; clear: both; float: left; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 234px; z-index: 4;"><div class="articleRelates module" style="border: 1px solid rgb(231, 231, 231); margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 10px 10px 0px;"><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="relatedTitle" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; font-size: 14px; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; position: relative; text-transform: uppercase;"><a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;">TOPICS</a></li>
<li class="useBullet" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a class="" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/lifestyle-leisure/dining-drinking/10003000.topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: bold !important; text-decoration: none; width: auto;" title="Dining and Drinking">Dining and Drinking</a></li>
<li class="useBullet" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a class="" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/lifestyle-leisure/dining-drinking/restaurants/15019009702.topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: bold !important; text-decoration: none; width: auto;" title="Restaurants">Restaurants</a></li>
<li class="useBullet" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a class="" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/crime-law-justice/laws-legislation/02006000.topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: bold !important; text-decoration: none; width: auto;" title="Laws and Legislation">Laws and Legislation</a></li>
<li class="viewMore" style="clear: both; display: block; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; position: relative; text-align: right;"><a class="more" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-a-proper-place-to-reflect-and-dine-20140212,0,4235276.story#" id="topicsMore" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;">See more topics »</a><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></ul></li>
</ul></div><div class="googleAd" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="404" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/hive/common/includes/google-adsense-content.html?adsense_client=ca-pub-8343697767130117&adsense_ad_slot=7049109586&type=wide&page_url=http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-a-proper-place-to-reflect-and-dine-20140212,0,7494681,print.story" width="234"></iframe></div></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">The room is cozy, club-like at 10 a.m. on a weekday, with small-craft bottles of London Dry and other obscure brands lining the room.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">My order was prepared with care by the Chef Kevin NaPier and his staff. There was a side order of two poached eggs and some toast. The eggs come from a special egg farm. They looked and tasted totally unlike anything you can buy in the stores. The menu describes them as “Local Free-Range Eggs.”</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">Who knew that local chickens could be carefree given our town’s archaic poultry ordinances?</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">LCF Ordinance 11.32.030 (“Hogs and roosters prohibited”) provides, in pertinent part: “A person shall not keep or maintain any live pig or hog of any age, or any rooster over two months old, in any residential zone, whether such pig or hog or rooster is kept or maintained for the personal use of the occupant or otherwise.”</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">How can celibate chickens produce such magnificent yolks? Clearly, the free range is not in La Cañada Flintridge.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">As for the hogs, I personally consider them to be cute, highly intelligent and not subject to consumption. The menu, however, includes “artisanal” bacon, “housemade” sausage patty and ham. These obviously are not made from La Cañada pigs, at least not pigs over the age of 2 months. Luckily, we have no ordinances regulating sausage production in La Cañada. Not yet.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">Back to the meal. The toast was perfect, served on a wooden plank with a pile of shredded butter and a bit of delicious housemade jam.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">Patrick, another waiter, came by. “How is it?” he asked.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">“May I move in here? Live at Flintridge Proper?”</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">“Sure,” he pointed to the sofas. “You can sleep over there.”</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">As for the coffee — move over, Starbucks. The outstanding Flintridge Proper coffee comes with a little bent spoon that hangs over the side of the mug.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">Better yet, the owners, Brady and Mary Elizabeth Caverly, who will bring a mixologist to an upcoming Thursday Club meeting, decorated the restaurant with nostalgic memorabilia from our town’s past. Signs. Postcards. Old photos.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">All this is part of the Proper’s mission, which is “to identify what is truly great about a specific community, distill it into something tangible and then give it back to the community in a truly ‘authentic’ way as a new kind of neighborhood restaurant. The goal is to create a place that serves as a hub for the community to gather and enjoy really good food, a properly made cocktail and the company of their friends and neighbors in an atmosphere that embodies the history and singular charms of the town.”</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">Early La Cañadans, such as Will Gould (founding lawyer/rancher), Lemuel Veilex (acquitted of burning down the school in 1893) and Elizabeth Banbury (civil litigant), would be proud.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;">Some mornings, when the winds blow, you can sense their spirits and remember days gone by. Right here in La Cañada. In the Flintridge Proper neighborhood restaurant.</span><br /><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;"><br />Feb 12, 2014</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-70833440697036006912014-03-01T06:12:00.001-08:002014-03-01T06:12:45.852-08:00Around Town: K-Town cuisine won't likely roam LCF<div class="articlebody " id="story-body" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="story-body-text" style="line-height: 1.43; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
At first, I was a little miffed with Anthony Bourdain’s “Los Angeles” episode of his CNN travelogue, “Parts Unknown.” Surely he would cover Descanso Gardens or tea at the Thursday Club?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
Instead, Bourdain went to Koreatown.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
Don’t get me wrong, as a life-long Angeleno, I’d been to what I thought was Koreatown. Sure, I had driven down Wilshire Boulevard from the La Brea tar pits to downtown. I worked downtown for years. I argued cases at the old mid-Wilshire temporary site of the state court of appeal. I even appeared in the Compton court during the week of May 5, 1992. I drove a black Eldorado with tinted windows.</div>
<div class="articlerail" style="clear: both; float: left; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 234px; z-index: 4;">
<div class="articleRelates module" style="border: 1px solid rgb(231, 231, 231); margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 10px 10px 0px;">
<ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="relatedTitle" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; font-size: 14px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; position: relative; text-transform: uppercase;"><a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;">TOPICS</a></li>
<li class="useBullet" style="clear: both; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/crime-law-justice/justice-system/trials-arbitration/02008000.topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: bold !important; text-decoration: none; width: auto;" title="Trials and Arbitration">Trials and Arbitration</a></li>
<li class="useBullet" style="clear: both; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/crime-law-justice/justice-system/judges-legal-professionals/02002005.topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: bold !important; text-decoration: none; width: auto;" title="Judges and Legal Professionals">Judges and Legal Professionals</a></li>
<li class="useBullet" style="clear: both; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/entertainment/gaming/0102100067.topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: bold !important; text-decoration: none; width: auto;" title="Gaming">Gaming</a></li>
<li class="viewMore" style="clear: both; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; position: relative; text-align: right;"><a class="more" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-ktown-cuisine-wont-likely-roam-lcf-20140205,0,3920313.story#" id="topicsMore" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;">See more topics »</a><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="googleAd" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="405" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/hive/common/includes/google-adsense-content.html?adsense_client=ca-pub-8343697767130117&adsense_ad_slot=7049109586&type=wide&page_url=http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-ktown-cuisine-wont-likely-roam-lcf-20140205,0,4087,print.story" width="234"></iframe><br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
But my Angeleno bias has always been East L.A., Fairfax, Little Tokyo. Not Koreatown. It took Bourdain's interview of Roy Choi to wake me up to kimchi fried rice.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
Last week, as if stalking the wild asparagus, I decided to follow the Bourdain breadcrumbs, out of La Cañada, down Western to Olympic, to Jollibee (for the 490-calorie Halo Halo) and then to MyungIn Dumplings at 3109 W. Olympic, in a vertical strip mall near Harvard Boulevard.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
It was worth it. There were two veggie options on the MyungIn menu. One was the vegetarian dumpling for $7. The owner told me not to order anything else, because it would be enough.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
I thought $7 bought one dumpling, but what came out were four fresh-made, softball-size dumplings, served with a chili soy dip and some marinated cucumbers and peppers. There was also a water bottle with a photo of Psy from Gangnam Style.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
I ended up taking three of the dumplings home in a to-go box.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
In the same mall, there’s a clothing store packed with some bargain fashion forward items. I asked the owner if she was the designer. She laughed and said no, that -everything was imported from Korea, but made in China. The look was a cross between <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/entertainment/rachel-zoe-PECLB0000009419.topic" id="PECLB0000009419" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" title="Rachel Zoe">Rachel Zoe</a> and my new favorite K-drama, “Vampire Prosecutor.” (Prosecutors in Korean dramas also investigate crimes, dress well, are honest and honorable and know Kung Fu, whereas mere lawyers are not as competent.)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
As for Jollibee, don’t tell your trainer. The Halo-Halo is a shaved-ice, beans-at-the-bottom, mango-ice-cream-on-the-top confection that should only be sampled once in a lifetime. Bourdain is correct, it’s really good.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
I just wish that Bourdain's sidekick in the series, Roy Choi, could bring his Kogi trucks back to La Cañada. I reckon he won't because LCF requires an annual license and has crazy ordinances like this:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
“The owner/operator of a mobile food facility, mobile support unit, or mobile food preparation unit shall complete a Mobile Food Facility Route Sheet, obtained from the county health officer, listing the complete address, telephone number and arrival/departure times of each location where the retail food business is being conducted. The Mobile Food Facility Route Sheet shall be maintained on file at the Vehicle Inspection Program. The owner/operator of a mobile food facility or mobile support unit shall notify the county health officer of any significant changes to the Mobile Food Facility Route Sheet. Failure to provide an accurate and current Mobile Food Facility Route Sheet may result in suspension or revocation of the public health license or permit.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
Alas, we are over-regulated. Who could have foreseen this when the town incorporated in 1976? Does this apply to lemonade stands? Girl Scout cookies?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
--</div>
<span style="font-weight: 700;">ANITA SUSAN BRENNER</span> <em>is a longtime La Cañada Flintridge resident and an attorney with Law Offices of Torres and Brenner in Pasadena. Email her at <a href="mailto:anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;">anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com</a> and follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/anitabrenner" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="new">@anitabrenner</a>.</em></div>
<div id="story-body-text" style="line-height: 1.43; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div id="story-body-text" style="line-height: 1.43; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">
<span class="byline" style="display: block; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">By Anita S. Brenner</span><br />
<div class="date" style="color: #930000; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; line-height: normal; margin-top: 3px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="dateString" style="display: inline;">February 5, 2014</span><span class="dateTimeSeparator" style="border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: -1px; margin-left: 6px;"> | </span><span class="timeString" style="display: inline; text-transform: lowercase;">3:13 p.m.</span></div>
<div class="date" style="color: #930000; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; line-height: normal; margin-top: 3px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="timeString" style="display: inline; text-transform: lowercase;"><a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-ktown-cuisine-wont-likely-roam-lcf-20140205,0,3920313.story" target="_blank">valley sun </a></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px;"></span><br />
<div class="shareBtm" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div class="nextgen-share-tools" style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 605px;">
<ul class="nextgen-left" style="float: left; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="float: left; height: 22px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a class="nextGenPrint" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-ktown-cuisine-wont-likely-roam-lcf-20140205,0,4087,print.story" rel="nofollow" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;" title="print"></a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div class="clearfix" id="subFooter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline-block; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/normal Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 630px; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-87995854389052862352014-03-01T06:12:00.000-08:002014-03-01T06:12:07.814-08:00Around Town: JFK Anniversary - Americans were more united then<h1 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 28px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">
<div class="articlebody " id="story-body" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
La Cañadans Joani Bartoli-Porto and Sherry Morton will never forget the events of Friday, Nov. 22, 1963. Porto was in her tenth-grade home economics class at the newly opened La Cañada High School</div>
</h1>
<div class="shareTop" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
Morton, a freshman at LCHS, was standing in the patio area under the school's former library during a morning break. That's when the announcement came over the loudspeaker: “The president has been shot.”</div>
<div class="articlebody " id="story-body" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="story-body-text" style="line-height: 1.43; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">
<br />
“Everybody burst into tears,” recalls Morton.<br />
<br />
“One of the sewing machines kept going,” remembers Porto, “We were dazed, speechless, heavy-hearted.”<br />
<br />
The entire student body was summoned to the athletic field to await the news. Times were different — the students were led in a prayer. But then, the bad news was delivered by a school official. “<a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/politics/government/presidents-of-the-united-states/john-f.-kennedy-PEPLT003488.topic" id="PEPLT003488" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" title="John F. Kennedy">President Kennedy</a> has been assassinated. The president is dead.”<br />
<br />
“Go home,” said the principal. “School is dismissed.”<br />
<br />
Everything shut down in La Cañada. Porto, Morton and their families were glued to their TV sets.<br />
<br />
Like everyone else in America, La Cañadans sat in front of their TV sets for full four days. They watched the landing of Air Force One. They saw the coffin, Jackie Kennedy, and Lyndon Baines “LBJ” Johnson taking the oath. They watched the state funeral on Monday, Nov. 25, 1963. It was all televised.<br />
<br />
<a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/crime-law-justice/crime/homicide/jack-ruby-PEHST000001169.topic" id="PEHST000001169" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" title="Jack Ruby">Jack Ruby</a> shot <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/crime-law-justice/crime/homicide/lee-harvey-oswald-PEHST00000168.topic" id="PEHST00000168" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" title="Lee Harvey Oswald">Lee Harvey Oswald</a> and it went out live on national television.<br />
<br />
In 1963, there were no cellphones, no Internet. Serious news was covered by newspapers. There were morning and evening editions by the L.A. Herald-Examiner, the L.A. Times and other papers.<br />
<br />
Like Porto and Morton, most Americans watched TV nonstop during those four days. We watched Walter Cronkite on CBS or Chet Huntley on <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/economy-business-finance/media-industry/television-industry/nbc-%28tv-network%29-ORCRP004494.topic" id="ORCRP004494" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" title="NBC (tv network)">NBC</a>. There were no remotes. The broadcasts were primitive by today's standards, in black and white.<br />
<br />
Former President Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower came on the air in the afternoon to say, “I share the sense of shock and dismay that the entire nation must feel at the despicable act that took the life of the nation's president.”<br />
<br />
Ike, that great Republican father figure, was indignant, but controlled. He spoke extemporaneously, without notes, but was articulate beyond today's standards when he called upon the “citizenry” to support the government.<br />
<br />
“Times were different,” notes Porto. “Today, people are so violent and opinionated. They don't talk to one another. Back then, it didn't matter if you were a Republican or a Democrat. There was a united front. We all felt devastated. It was a crushing event.”<br />
<br />
It's strange now to look back on those events. JFK was only 46 when he died. LBJ was only 55 when he assumed the presidency. Each looked a decade older. Even Eisenhower, then 73, looked like a man in his mid-80s.<br />
<br />
Maybe they looked older because their lives were more difficult. Ike was a veteran of both <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/unrest-conflicts-war/wars-interventions/world-war-i-%281914-1918%29-EVHST00000109.topic" id="EVHST00000109" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" title="World War I (1914-1918)">WWI</a> and WWII. Maybe they looked older because they were truly mature.<br />
<br />
The news coverage, mostly by former war correspondents, had that measured and professional disconnect that was the hallmark of the post-war 1950s.<br />
<br />
Despite that, Americans connected with the slight quiver in Cronkite's voice. We responded to Ike's quiet anger. We believed in the understated (and brief) remarks from LBJ.<br />
<br />
There were no pollsters, no Teleprompters and no vitriol. Our connection to our leaders, both Republicans and Democrats, felt far more real than anything experienced today in our poll- and agenda-driven 24-hour cable news cycle.<br />
<br />
Soon, it would all change, but that's how it was in America, exactly 50 years ago this week. And that's the way it went, right here in La Cañada Flintridge.<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
--<br />
<div class="byline" style="float: left; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 345px;"><span class="byline" style="display: block;">By Anita S. Brenner</span></span><br />
<div class="date" style="color: #930000; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 345px;"><span class="dateString" style="display: inline;">November 20, 2013</span><span class="dateTimeSeparator" style="border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: -1px; margin-left: 6px;"> | </span><span class="timeString" style="display: inline; text-transform: lowercase;">1:51 p.m.</span></span></div>
<div class="date" style="color: #930000; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 345px;"><span class="timeString" style="display: inline; text-transform: lowercase;"><a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-americans-were-more-united-then-20131120,0,5565697.story" target="_blank">Valley Sun Nov 20, 2013</a></span></span></div>
</div>
<br />
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 345px;"><br />
<div class="clear" style="clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
<br /></span><br />
<div id="story-body-text" style="line-height: 1.43; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">
<br />
<br />
</div>
</div>
<span style="font-weight: 700;">ANITA SUSAN BRENNER</span> <em>is a longtime La Cañada Flintridge resident and an attorney with Law Offices of Torres and Brenner in Pasadena. Email her at <a href="mailto:anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;">anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com</a> and follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/anitabrenner" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="new">@anitabrenner</a></em></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-20053622342233225022014-02-09T07:32:00.000-08:002014-02-09T07:36:22.658-08:00Around Town: Save the shopping for Saturday<h1 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 28px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">
Around Town: Save the shopping for Saturday</h1>
<div class="shareTop" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div class="nextgen-share-tools" style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 605px;">
<span style="line-height: 1.43;">For those of us who look forward to </span><a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/arts-culture/thanksgiving-EVFES000169.topic" id="EVFES000169" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; line-height: 1.43; text-decoration: none;" title="Thanksgiving">Thanksgiving</a><span style="line-height: 1.43;">, it's hard to imagine the appeal of a $99 big-screen TV or an extreme discount on socks and underwear, but </span><a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/economy-business-finance/consumer-goods-industries/black-friday-%28shopping%29-EVHST0000115.topic" id="EVHST0000115" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; line-height: 1.43; text-decoration: none;" title="Black Friday (shopping)">Black Friday</a><span style="line-height: 1.43;"> has now moved to Thanksgiving Day and shoppers are already camped out at box stores, waiting for Thanksgiving sales.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="articlebody " id="story-body" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/n71Cqjglw9I?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div id="story-body-text" style="line-height: 1.43; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">
Shame on the chief executives of these chains: Best Buy, <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/economy-business-finance/consumer-goods-industries/toy-industry/toys-%22r%22-us-inc.-ORCRP0017613.topic" id="ORCRP0017613" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" title="Toys "R" Us, Inc.">Toys R Us</a>, Macy's, Target, Walmart, Kmart, Old Navy, Staples, Sears, JCPenney, Michael's and Kohl's. Shame on you for competing with our nation's holiday by starting your Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving Day.<br />
<br />
<div class="articlerail" style="clear: both; float: left; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 234px; z-index: 4;">
<div class="articleRelates module" style="border: 1px solid rgb(231, 231, 231); margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 10px 10px 0px;">
<ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="relatedTitle" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; font-size: 14px; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; position: relative; text-transform: uppercase;"><a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;">TOPICS</a></li>
<li class="useBullet" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a class="" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/economy-business-finance/business/04018000.topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: bold !important; text-decoration: none; width: auto;" title="Business">Business</a></li>
<li class="useBullet" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a class="" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/economy-business-finance/media-industry/04010000.topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: bold !important; text-decoration: none; width: auto;" title="Media Industry">Media Industry</a></li>
<li class="useBullet" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a class="" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/economy-business-finance/business/small-businesses/T04018002.topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: bold !important; text-decoration: none; width: auto;" title="Small Businesses">Small Businesses</a></li>
<li class="viewMore" style="clear: both; display: block; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; position: relative; text-align: right;"><a class="more" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-save-the-shopping-for-saturday-20131127,0,743690.story#" id="topicsMore" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;">See more topics »</a><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="googleAd" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="405" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/hive/common/includes/google-adsense-content.html?adsense_client=ca-pub-8343697767130117&adsense_ad_slot=7049109586&type=wide&page_url=http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-save-the-shopping-for-saturday-20131127,0,7935360,print.story" width="234"></iframe></div>
</div>
Black Friday was bad enough, but now the irony-impaired marketing teams at Best Buy will sell you a nice TV so you can watch “Modern Family.” At Macy's, there's deep-discounted kitchenware, essential to creating a festive family atmosphere on Dec. 25, unless you are camped out that day waiting for the next sale, while my erstwhile favorite store, Target, will sell you a copy of “The Romney Family Table: Sharing Home-Cooked Recipes & Favorite Traditions.”<br />
<br />
That's why I was happy to see one of our son's <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/education/colleges-universities/united-states-naval-academy-OREDU0000149.topic" id="OREDU0000149" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" title="United States Naval Academy">U.S. Naval Academy</a> classmates featured on an <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/economy-business-finance/american-express-company-ORCRP000768.topic" id="ORCRP000768" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" title="American Express Company">American Express</a> ad and on the Today show. Cass is a Navy vet. His business, located in Baltimore, is the Royal Razor barbershop. Royal Razor is a “barbershop-lounge hybrid... a modern grooming institution with expertise in the time-honored art of barbering including: haircuts, traditional straight razor shaves, trims, and more.” In honor of <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/economy-business-finance/consumer-goods-industries/small-business-saturday-EVBAE00005.topic" id="EVBAE00005" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" title="Small Business Saturday">Small Business Saturday</a>, Royal Razor is throwing a party this Saturday.<br />
<br />
Cass says, “A haircut can transform a guy who looks all right to a guy who's turning heads. The power of the haircut, is what I like to call it.”<br />
<br />
If Maryland is too far away, it's possible to celebrate Small Business Saturday, right here in La Cañada.<br />
<br />
Small Business Saturday is the brainchild of American Express. In 2010, American Express created Small Business Saturday to encourage patronage at America's small businesses and independent merchants on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year, the project has a Facebook page with more than 3.3 million likes.<br />
<br />
If you walk down Foothill Boulevard in La Cañada you'll see lots of small businesses. According to Forbes, small businesses, defined as having less than 500 employees, provide over 50% of the jobs in our nation. There are more than 28 million small businesses in the U.S, and 75% of them are owner-operated with no employees.<br />
<br />
As we all know, small businesses are the glue that holds our communities together.<br />
<br />
The idea is to opt out of the chain stores next Saturday, and to instead shop at our local small business merchants.<br />
<br />
Who are they? For starters, try Goldstein's Bagel Bakery, Eiji's Florist, Posh, La Cañada Books & Toys, Flintridge Bookstore, Cowgirl Princess and the Apple Cart. Get your wine at Le Petite Vendome or Anthony's. Check out the stationery at Angel's Nest. If shopping is not your thing, get a haircut at Paco's or Johnnie's, or sign up for a cooking class at Chez Cherie.<br />
<br />
American Express will give a $10 credit on your statement if you pre-register and spend $10 or more at one of their participating Small Business merchants. See the American Express website for a complete list, but as I write this, the restaurants include Sakura, Taylor's and Min's and the gift shops include Apple Cart and Cowgirl Princess.<br />
<br />
It's good to see that entrepreneurship is alive and well in the veterans' community and also right here, in La Cañada Flintridge. Shop small this Saturday!<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
--</div>
<span style="font-weight: 700;">ANITA SUSAN BRENNER</span> <em>is a longtime La Cañada Flintridge resident and an attorney with Law Offices of Torres and Brenner in Pasadena. Email her at <a href="mailto:anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;">anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com</a> and follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/anitabrenner" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="new">@anitabrenner</a>.</em><br />
<em><br /></em>
<div style="font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 345px;"><span class="byline" style="display: block;">By Anita S. Brenner</span></span></div>
<div class="date" style="color: #930000; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; line-height: normal; margin-top: 3px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 345px;"><span class="dateString" style="display: inline;">November 27, 2013</span><span class="dateTimeSeparator" style="border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: -1px; margin-left: 6px;"> | </span><span class="timeString" style="display: inline; text-transform: lowercase;">12:44 p.m. </span></span></div>
<div class="date" style="color: #930000; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; line-height: normal; margin-top: 3px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 345px;"><span class="timeString" style="display: inline; text-transform: lowercase;"><a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-save-the-shopping-for-saturday-20131127,0,743690.story" target="_blank">valley sun november 27, 2013</a></span></span><br />
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 345px;"></span><br />
<div class="articlebody " id="story-body" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="shareTop" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div class="nextgen-share-tools" style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 605px;">
<ul class="nextgen-left" style="float: left; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="float: left; height: 22px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a class="nextGenPrint" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-save-the-shopping-for-saturday-20131127,0,7935360,print.story" rel="nofollow" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;" title="print"><img alt="print" class="icon" src="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/hive/images/icons/printicon_boxed.png" style="border: 0px; cursor: move; display: block; float: left; height: auto; margin-right: 5px; width: auto;" /></a></li>
</ul>
<ul class="nextgen-right" style="float: left; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">
<li id="componentDiv_top_gig_containerParent" style="float: left; height: 22px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div gigid="showShareBarUI" id="componentDiv_top" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; visibility: visible;">
<div class="gig-bar-container gig-share-bar-container" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; color: #4d4d4d; float: none; font-family: arial; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><tbody style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<tr style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><td style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: auto; zoom: 1;"><div class="gig-button-container gig-button-container-count-none gig-button-container-email gig-button-container-email-count-none gig-share-button-container gig-button-container-horizontal" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px; width: auto;">
<div alt="" class="gig-button gig-share-button gig-button-up gig-button-count-none" id="componentDiv_top-reaction0" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; cursor: pointer; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;" title="">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; color: #4d4d4d; float: none; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><tbody style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<tr style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><td id="componentDiv_top-reaction0-left" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><div id="componentDiv_top-reaction0-left_img" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/GetSprite.ashx?path=%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2Fbutton%5Bleft%2Cright%5DImg%5Bup%2Cover%5D.png%7C2%2C20%5E%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2FrightCountImg.png%7C38%2C20%5E%2Fsharebar%2Ficons%2F%5Bemail%2Cshare%2Ctwitter-tweet%2Cfacebook-like%5D.png%7C16%2C16); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; width: 2px;">
</div>
</td><td id="componentDiv_top-reaction0-icon" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/i/shareBar/button/buttonCenterImgUp.png); background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; zoom: 1;"><div id="componentDiv_top-reaction0-email_img" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/GetSprite.ashx?path=%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2Fbutton%5Bleft%2Cright%5DImg%5Bup%2Cover%5D.png%7C2%2C20%5E%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2FrightCountImg.png%7C38%2C20%5E%2Fsharebar%2Ficons%2F%5Bemail%2Cshare%2Ctwitter-tweet%2Cfacebook-like%5D.png%7C16%2C16); background-position: -46px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; height: 16px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; width: 16px;">
</div>
</td><td id="componentDiv_top-reaction0-text" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/i/shareBar/button/buttonCenterImgUp.png); background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;"><div class="gig-button-text gig-share-button-text" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 3px; white-space: nowrap; width: auto;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
Email</div>
</div>
</td><td id="componentDiv_top-reaction0-right" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><div id="componentDiv_top-reaction0-right_img" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/GetSprite.ashx?path=%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2Fbutton%5Bleft%2Cright%5DImg%5Bup%2Cover%5D.png%7C2%2C20%5E%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2FrightCountImg.png%7C38%2C20%5E%2Fsharebar%2Ficons%2F%5Bemail%2Cshare%2Ctwitter-tweet%2Cfacebook-like%5D.png%7C16%2C16); background-position: -4px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; width: 2px;">
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
</td><td style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: auto; zoom: 1;"><div class="gig-button-container gig-button-container-count-right gig-button-container-share gig-button-container-share-count-right gig-share-button-container gig-button-container-horizontal" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px; width: auto;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; color: #4d4d4d; float: none; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><tbody style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<tr style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><td class="gig-button-td" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;"><div alt="" class="gig-button gig-share-button gig-button-up gig-button-count-right" id="componentDiv_top-reaction1" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; cursor: pointer; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;" title="">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; color: #4d4d4d; float: none; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><tbody style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<tr style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><td id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-left" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><div id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-left_img" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/GetSprite.ashx?path=%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2Fbutton%5Bleft%2Cright%5DImg%5Bup%2Cover%5D.png%7C2%2C20%5E%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2FrightCountImg.png%7C38%2C20%5E%2Fsharebar%2Ficons%2F%5Bemail%2Cshare%2Ctwitter-tweet%2Cfacebook-like%5D.png%7C16%2C16); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; width: 2px;">
</div>
</td><td id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-icon" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/i/shareBar/button/buttonCenterImgUp.png); background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; zoom: 1;"><div id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-share_img" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/GetSprite.ashx?path=%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2Fbutton%5Bleft%2Cright%5DImg%5Bup%2Cover%5D.png%7C2%2C20%5E%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2FrightCountImg.png%7C38%2C20%5E%2Fsharebar%2Ficons%2F%5Bemail%2Cshare%2Ctwitter-tweet%2Cfacebook-like%5D.png%7C16%2C16); background-position: -62px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; height: 16px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; width: 16px;">
</div>
</td><td id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-text" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/i/shareBar/button/buttonCenterImgUp.png); background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;"><div class="gig-button-text gig-share-button-text" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 3px; white-space: nowrap; width: auto;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
Share</div>
</div>
</td><td id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-right" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><div id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-right_img" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/GetSprite.ashx?path=%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2Fbutton%5Bleft%2Cright%5DImg%5Bup%2Cover%5D.png%7C2%2C20%5E%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2FrightCountImg.png%7C38%2C20%5E%2Fsharebar%2Ficons%2F%5Bemail%2Cshare%2Ctwitter-tweet%2Cfacebook-like%5D.png%7C16%2C16); background-position: -4px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; width: 2px;">
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</td><td style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><div class="gig-counter gig-share-counter gig-counter-$rid gig-counter-right" id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-count" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/GetSprite.ashx?path=%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2Fbutton%5Bleft%2Cright%5DImg%5Bup%2Cover%5D.png%7C2%2C20%5E%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2FrightCountImg.png%7C38%2C20%5E%2Fsharebar%2Ficons%2F%5Bemail%2Cshare%2Ctwitter-tweet%2Cfacebook-like%5D.png%7C16%2C16); background-position: -8px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px auto 0px 1px; padding: 0px; position: static; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 38px; zoom: 1;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span class="gig-counter-text gig-share-counter-text gig-counter-text-right gig-share-counter-text-right" id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-count-value" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; left: 1px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: auto; zoom: 1;">28</span></div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</td><td style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: auto; zoom: 1;"><div class="gig-button-container gig-button-container-count-right gig-button-container-twitter-tweet gig-button-container-twitter-tweet-count-right gig-share-button-container gig-button-container-horizontal" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px; width: auto;">
<div id="componentDiv_top-reaction2_tweet1387035067993" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<iframe allowtransparency="true" class="twitter-share-button twitter-tweet-button twitter-count-horizontal" data-twttr-rendered="true" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.1386967771.html#_=1387035069381&count=horizontal&id=twitter-widget-0&lang=en&original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lacanadaonline.com%2Fopinion%2Ftsn-vsl-around-town-save-the-shopping-for-saturday-20131127%2C0%2C743690.story&size=m&text=Around%20Town%3A%20Save%20the%20shopping%20for%20Saturday&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lacanadaonline.com%2Fopinion%2Ftsn-vsl-around-town-save-the-shopping-for-saturday-20131127%2C0%2C743690.story" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-style: none; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; display: block; float: none; height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 110px;" title="Twitter Tweet Button"></iframe></div>
</div>
</div>
</td><td style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: auto; zoom: 1;"><div class="gig-button-container gig-button-container-count-right gig-button-container-facebook-like gig-button-container-facebook-like-count-right gig-share-button-container gig-button-container-horizontal" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px; width: auto;">
<div id="componentDiv_top-reaction3" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<div class="fb-like fb_edge_widget_with_comment fb_iframe_widget" data-action="like" data-colorscheme="" data-font="" data-gig-btnid="componentDiv_top-reaction31387035067993" data-href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-save-the-shopping-for-saturday-20131127,0,743690.story" data-layout="button_count" data-ref="s=showShareBarUI:p=facebook-like" data-send="false" data-show-faces="false" data-width="55" fb-xfbml-state="rendered" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; display: inline-block; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: auto; zoom: 1;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; display: inline-block; height: 20px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: justify; width: 78px;"><iframe class="fb_ltr" id="f206e18498" name="fca0e2cd4" scrolling="no" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?action=like&api_key=&channel_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.ak.facebook.com%2Fconnect%2Fxd_arbiter.php%3Fversion%3D28%23cb%3Df3de8da71c%26domain%3Dwww.lacanadaonline.com%26origin%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.lacanadaonline.com%252Ff3b297e694%26relation%3Dparent.parent&colorscheme=light&extended_social_context=false&href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lacanadaonline.com%2Fopinion%2Ftsn-vsl-around-town-save-the-shopping-for-saturday-20131127%2C0%2C743690.story&layout=button_count&locale=en_US&node_type=link&ref=s%3DshowShareBarUI%3Ap%3Dfacebook-like&sdk=joey&send=false&show_faces=false&width=90" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-style: none; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; float: none; height: 20px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 78px; z-index: 10000;" title="Like this content on Facebook."></iframe></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
</li>
<li style="float: left; height: 22px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div id="___plusone_0" style="background-color: transparent; border-style: none; display: inline-block; float: none; font-size: 1px; height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 90px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<iframe data-gapiattached="true" frameborder="0" hspace="0" id="I0_1387035067837" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" name="I0_1387035067837" scrolling="no" src="https://apis.google.com/u/0/_/+1/fastbutton?usegapi=1&bsv=o&size=medium&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lacanadaonline.com&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lacanadaonline.com%2Fopinion%2Ftsn-vsl-around-town-save-the-shopping-for-saturday-20131127%2C0%2C743690.story&gsrc=3p&jsh=m%3B%2F_%2Fscs%2Fapps-static%2F_%2Fjs%2Fk%3Doz.gapi.en.bOZ09nzM5VM.O%2Fm%3D__features__%2Fam%3DYQ%2Frt%3Dj%2Fd%3D1%2Frs%3DAItRSTNe7amNGiyEWQ6X6FZtmiVtCHjN8Q#_methods=onPlusOne%2C_ready%2C_close%2C_open%2C_resizeMe%2C_renderstart%2Concircled%2Cdrefresh%2Cerefresh&id=I0_1387035067837&parent=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lacanadaonline.com&pfname=&rpctoken=26442371" style="border-style: none; height: 20px; left: 0px; margin: 0px; position: static; top: 0px; visibility: visible; width: 90px;" tabindex="0" title="+1" vspace="0" width="100%"></iframe></div>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="clear" style="clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 345px;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-75398976233190002952014-02-09T07:31:00.000-08:002014-02-09T07:39:20.735-08:00Around Town: A proud member of the family <h1 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 28px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">
<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.43;">Last week, the city of Pasadena adopted me. The city of Pasadena doesn't exactly know that it adopted me, but it did.</span></h1>
<div class="articlebody " id="story-body" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 345px;">
</span>
<div class="clear" style="clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 345px;">
</span><br />
<div id="story-body-text" style="line-height: 1.43; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">
<br />
Bill Paparian, a former Pasadena mayor, pointed out that we've practiced law on the parade route for nearly 30 years and have been active in Crown City organizations, therefore — Ich bin ein Pasadenoid!<br />
<br />
<div class="articlerail" style="clear: both; float: left; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 234px; z-index: 4;">
<div class="articleRelates module" style="border: 1px solid rgb(231, 231, 231); margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 10px 10px 0px;">
<ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="relatedTitle" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; font-size: 14px; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; position: relative; text-transform: uppercase;"><a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;">TOPICS</a></li>
<li class="useBullet" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a class="" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/crime-law-justice/laws-legislation/02006000.topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: bold !important; text-decoration: none; width: auto;" title="Laws and Legislation">Laws and Legislation</a></li>
<li class="useBullet" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a class="" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/education/colleges-universities/05007000.topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: bold !important; text-decoration: none; width: auto;" title="Colleges and Universities">Colleges and Universities</a></li>
<li class="useBullet" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a class="" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/economy-business-finance/companies-corporations/layoffs-downsizing/04016025.topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: bold !important; text-decoration: none; width: auto;" title="Layoffs and Downsizing">Layoffs and Downsizing</a></li>
<li class="viewMore" style="clear: both; display: block; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; position: relative; text-align: right;"><a class="more" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-a-proud-member-of-the-family-20131205,0,6395845.story#" id="topicsMore" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;">See more topics »</a><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="googleAd" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="405" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/hive/common/includes/google-adsense-content.html?adsense_client=ca-pub-8343697767130117&adsense_ad_slot=7049109586&type=wide&page_url=http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-a-proud-member-of-the-family-20131205,0,2436071,print.story" width="234"></iframe></div>
</div>
Two weeks ago, Len and I were appointed to a Pasadena city advisory committee. There are six of us on the committee. The members include Paparian; Bill Thomson, another former Pasadena mayor and current PCC trustee; Ann Erdman, Pasadena's former public information; Harry Kurdoghlian, a Pasadena firefighter; plus me and my husband, Leonard Torres.<br />
<br />
Our goal was to implement another adoption. We wanted to ask the city of Pasadena to adopt the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, a reserve unit with headquarters on Paloma Street in Pasadena. The unit, known as “2/23,” has more than 1,000 reserve Marines and sailors, with locations in California, Utah and Nevada.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
With the current downsizing of the Marine Corps, many expect that reserve units such as 2/23 will be reactivated to pick up the slack created by the downsizing. This happened to the unit once before. Right after Sept. 11, 2001, the unit was activated for one year. The “one-year” activation was then extended into two years, and intermittently thereafter. Reservists from 2/23 have deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. As our military downsizes, we will again see a return to the “citizen soldier” — civilian reservists who are called up to serve.<br />
<br />
Our committee swiftly asked the city of Pasadena to formally join the “Adopt-a-Unit” program, which pairs cities with military units in order to “bond local communities with brave servicemen and women who protect and serve our country."<br />
<br />
The city of Pasadena immediately responded. On Nov. 25, the City Council heard our request. Todd Moore, Esq., of Hahn & Hahn, pointed out that 50 years ago, the city had adopted the Pasadena Navy League. Today, the USS Pasadena, a Los Angeles Class nuclear submarine, has ties to the city.<br />
<br />
To everyone's delight (and gratitude), the Pasadena City Council voted unanimously to “adopt” the Marines of 2/23. In doing so, they also adopted me, a mere La Cañada civilian.<br />
<br />
What does my dual allegiance mean for La Cañada? There are no military units based in our town. Our high schools have no ROTC units. La Cañada doesn't even have a nuclear submarine.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, members of La Cañada Presbyterian Church have quietly given major support to student veterans at our local community college, Pasadena City College. Our own Tournament of Roses association consistently enters award-winning floats in Pasadena's Rose Parade.<br />
<br />
More importantly, La Cañada has a rooster ordinance and the Nov. 25 Pasadena City Council agenda included a proposed chicken ordinance. Both cities share views of the glorious foothills. Both cities are blessed with wonderful residents. Both cities police the Gallus gallus species.<br />
<br />
How can La Cañada help support the adoption of our region's closest military unit? Right now, the Marines are finishing up their annual <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/social-issues/marine-toys-for-tots-foundation-ORNPR000183.topic" id="ORNPR000183" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" title="Marine Toys for Tots Foundation">Toys for Tots</a> collection. Maybe La Cañada could begin collecting a few toys next <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/arts-culture/holidays/memorial-day-EVFES00000166.topic" id="EVFES00000166" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" title="Memorial Day">Memorial Day</a> in our Memorial Park, or we could invite members of 2/23 to our community events — get to know them, maybe? Right here in La Cañada Flintridge.<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
--</div>
<span style="font-weight: 700;">ANITA SUSAN BRENNER</span> <em>is a longtime La Cañada Flintridge resident and an attorney with Law Offices of Torres and Brenner in Pasadena. Email her at <a href="mailto:anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;">anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com</a> and follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/anitabrenner" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="new">@anitabrenner</a>.</em><br />
<div style="font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 345px;"><span class="byline" style="display: block;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="date" style="color: #930000; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; line-height: normal; margin-top: 3px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 345px;"><span class="dateString" style="display: inline;">December 5, 2013</span><span class="dateTimeSeparator" style="border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: -1px; margin-left: 6px;"> | </span><span class="timeString" style="display: inline; text-transform: lowercase;">8:25 a.m.</span></span></div>
<div class="date" style="color: #930000; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; line-height: normal; margin-top: 3px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 345px;"><span class="timeString" style="display: inline; text-transform: lowercase;"><a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-a-proud-member-of-the-family-20131205,0,6395845.story" target="_blank">valley sun dec 5, 2013</a></span></span></div>
<em><br /></em></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-25317878360517552362014-02-09T07:30:00.001-08:002014-02-09T07:45:26.585-08:00 Around Town: City involved in affordable housing debate<div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
In November, <a href="http://articles.lacanadaonline.com/2013-11-27/news/tsn-vsl-la-canadas-affordable-housing-options-in-question-20131127_1_affordable-housing-options-senior-housing-facility-homeless-shelter" style="border: 0px; color: #2262cc; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">more than 50 residents attended the Planning Commission hearing “to oppose locations identified by the city for affordable housing, group homes and homeless shelters</a>,” according to coverage of the meeting by Valley Sun reporter Tiffany Kelly.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
The immediate neighbors had the greatest concern. With one bang of a gavel, their real property value could decrease. If they were just outside of the changed zone, there would be no need for a developer to purchase their parcel.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
The debate evolved into two ad horrendum arguments. On one side, it was halfway houses next to elementary schools. On the other, it was “Sacramento makes us do this!” </div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tn-vsl-me-oped-olhasso-la-canada-zoning-changes-are-built-upon-state-law-20131211,0,4895381.story" style="border: 0px; color: #2262cc; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">Mayor Laura Olhasso’s Dec. 12 guest column argued that the city is required by state law to zone for “our state-required allocation of low- and moderate-income regional housing</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">” but since “private developers typically look to make a profit” and since “land costs are very high in LCF...developers would have an extremely difficult time making a profit on low- and moderate-income housing...”</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
I believe there are two new issues. Does California law really require La Cañada to approve this exact measure? More importantly, do Olhasso’s public comments, specifically that the zoning plan is unlikely to motivate developers, expose the city to liability?</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
These questions may be decided by the California Supreme Court in the case of Building Industry Association v. City of San Jose, a lawsuit that resulted from San Jose’s bungled implementation of the state affordable housing mandate.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
The lawsuit was filed after the San Jose City Council passed an ordinance, which required developments of 20 or more units to either set aside 15% for purchase at below market rate for lower income buyers, or in the alternative to pay an “in lieu of” fee.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
The builders association argued that San Jose “had failed to demonstrate a nexus between the challenged ordinance and the ‘deleterious public impacts of new residential development.’” In other words, unless new residential developments at market rate worsened the lack of affordable housing, there was no basis for the new ordinance. The ordinance would not affect the housing crisis. The city of San Jose responded that no nexus is required to support an ordinance.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
The case should be decided by the California Supreme Court next year.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="area" id="area-center-bt-w-left" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: both; float: right; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 0px -252px; padding: 0px; width: 728px;">
<div class="mod-lacanadaonlinearticletextwithadcpc mod-schurzarticletextwithadcpcimpl mod-schurzarticletextimpl mod-articletext" id="mod-a-body-after-first-para" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
I believe </div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-city-involved-in-affordable-housing-debate-20131218,0,1103043.story" target="_blank">Valley Sun</a> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">By Anita S. Brenner</span><br />
<div class="date" style="background-color: white; color: #930000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="dateString" style="display: inline;">December 18, 2013</span><span class="dateTimeSeparator" style="border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: -1px; margin-left: 6px;"> | </span><span class="timeString" style="display: inline; text-transform: lowercase;">3:09 p.m.</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-64286216187312870752014-02-09T07:14:00.000-08:002014-02-09T07:14:23.425-08:00Around Town: The Real dirt on the Devil's Gate cleanup<h1 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 28px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">
Around Town: The real dirt on the Devil's Gate cleanup</h1>
<div class="shareTop" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div class="nextgen-share-tools" style="margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 605px;">
<ul class="nextgen-left" style="float: left; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="float: left; height: 22px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a class="nextGenPrint" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-the-real-dirt-on-the-devils-gate-cleanup-20131211,0,890175,print.story" rel="nofollow" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;" title="print"><img alt="print" class="icon" src="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/hive/images/icons/printicon_boxed.png" style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; height: auto; margin-right: 5px; width: auto;" /></a></li>
</ul>
<ul class="nextgen-right" style="float: left; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">
<li id="componentDiv_top_gig_containerParent" style="float: left; height: 22px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div gigid="showShareBarUI" id="componentDiv_top" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; visibility: visible;">
<div class="gig-bar-container gig-share-bar-container" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; color: #4d4d4d; float: none; font-family: arial; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><tbody style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<tr style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><td style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: auto; zoom: 1;"><div class="gig-button-container gig-button-container-count-none gig-button-container-email gig-button-container-email-count-none gig-share-button-container gig-button-container-horizontal" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px; width: auto;">
<div alt="" class="gig-button gig-share-button gig-button-up gig-button-count-none" id="componentDiv_top-reaction0" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; cursor: pointer; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;" title="">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; color: #4d4d4d; float: none; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><tbody style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<tr style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><td id="componentDiv_top-reaction0-left" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><div id="componentDiv_top-reaction0-left_img" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/GetSprite.ashx?path=%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2Fbutton%5Bleft%2Cright%5DImg%5Bup%2Cover%5D.png%7C2%2C20%5E%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2FrightCountImg.png%7C38%2C20%5E%2Fsharebar%2Ficons%2F%5Bemail%2Cshare%2Ctwitter-tweet%2Cfacebook-like%5D.png%7C16%2C16); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; width: 2px;">
</div>
</td><td id="componentDiv_top-reaction0-icon" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/i/shareBar/button/buttonCenterImgUp.png); background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; zoom: 1;"><div id="componentDiv_top-reaction0-email_img" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/GetSprite.ashx?path=%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2Fbutton%5Bleft%2Cright%5DImg%5Bup%2Cover%5D.png%7C2%2C20%5E%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2FrightCountImg.png%7C38%2C20%5E%2Fsharebar%2Ficons%2F%5Bemail%2Cshare%2Ctwitter-tweet%2Cfacebook-like%5D.png%7C16%2C16); background-position: -46px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; height: 16px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; width: 16px;">
</div>
</td><td id="componentDiv_top-reaction0-text" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/i/shareBar/button/buttonCenterImgUp.png); background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;"><div class="gig-button-text gig-share-button-text" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 3px; white-space: nowrap; width: auto;">
Email</div>
</td><td id="componentDiv_top-reaction0-right" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><div id="componentDiv_top-reaction0-right_img" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/GetSprite.ashx?path=%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2Fbutton%5Bleft%2Cright%5DImg%5Bup%2Cover%5D.png%7C2%2C20%5E%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2FrightCountImg.png%7C38%2C20%5E%2Fsharebar%2Ficons%2F%5Bemail%2Cshare%2Ctwitter-tweet%2Cfacebook-like%5D.png%7C16%2C16); background-position: -4px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; width: 2px;">
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
</td><td style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: auto; zoom: 1;"><div class="gig-button-container gig-button-container-count-right gig-button-container-share gig-button-container-share-count-right gig-share-button-container gig-button-container-horizontal" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px; width: auto;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; color: #4d4d4d; float: none; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><tbody style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<tr style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><td class="gig-button-td" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;"><div alt="" class="gig-button gig-share-button gig-button-up gig-button-count-right" id="componentDiv_top-reaction1" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; cursor: pointer; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;" title="">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; color: #4d4d4d; float: none; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><tbody style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<tr style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><td id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-left" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><div id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-left_img" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/GetSprite.ashx?path=%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2Fbutton%5Bleft%2Cright%5DImg%5Bup%2Cover%5D.png%7C2%2C20%5E%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2FrightCountImg.png%7C38%2C20%5E%2Fsharebar%2Ficons%2F%5Bemail%2Cshare%2Ctwitter-tweet%2Cfacebook-like%5D.png%7C16%2C16); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; width: 2px;">
</div>
</td><td id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-icon" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/i/shareBar/button/buttonCenterImgUp.png); background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; zoom: 1;"><div id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-share_img" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/GetSprite.ashx?path=%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2Fbutton%5Bleft%2Cright%5DImg%5Bup%2Cover%5D.png%7C2%2C20%5E%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2FrightCountImg.png%7C38%2C20%5E%2Fsharebar%2Ficons%2F%5Bemail%2Cshare%2Ctwitter-tweet%2Cfacebook-like%5D.png%7C16%2C16); background-position: -62px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; height: 16px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; width: 16px;">
</div>
</td><td id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-text" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/i/shareBar/button/buttonCenterImgUp.png); background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;"><div class="gig-button-text gig-share-button-text" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 3px; white-space: nowrap; width: auto;">
Share</div>
</td><td id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-right" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><div id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-right_img" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/GetSprite.ashx?path=%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2Fbutton%5Bleft%2Cright%5DImg%5Bup%2Cover%5D.png%7C2%2C20%5E%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2FrightCountImg.png%7C38%2C20%5E%2Fsharebar%2Ficons%2F%5Bemail%2Cshare%2Ctwitter-tweet%2Cfacebook-like%5D.png%7C16%2C16); background-position: -4px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; width: 2px;">
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</td><td style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;"><div class="gig-counter gig-share-counter gig-counter-$rid gig-counter-right" id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-count" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.gigya.com/gs/GetSprite.ashx?path=%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2Fbutton%5Bleft%2Cright%5DImg%5Bup%2Cover%5D.png%7C2%2C20%5E%2FshareBar%2Fbutton%2FrightCountImg.png%7C38%2C20%5E%2Fsharebar%2Ficons%2F%5Bemail%2Cshare%2Ctwitter-tweet%2Cfacebook-like%5D.png%7C16%2C16); background-position: -8px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px auto 0px 1px; padding: 0px; position: static; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 38px; zoom: 1;">
<span class="gig-counter-text gig-share-counter-text gig-counter-text-right gig-share-counter-text-right" id="componentDiv_top-reaction1-count-value" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; left: 1px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: auto; zoom: 1;">40</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</td><td style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: auto; zoom: 1;"><div class="gig-button-container gig-button-container-count-right gig-button-container-twitter-tweet gig-button-container-twitter-tweet-count-right gig-share-button-container gig-button-container-horizontal" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px; width: auto;">
<div id="componentDiv_top-reaction2_tweet1387034696300" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<iframe allowtransparency="true" class="twitter-share-button twitter-tweet-button twitter-count-horizontal" data-twttr-rendered="true" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.1386967771.html#_=1387034697205&count=horizontal&id=twitter-widget-0&lang=en&original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lacanadaonline.com%2Fopinion%2Ftsn-vsl-around-town-the-real-dirt-on-the-devils-gate-cleanup-20131211%2C0%2C694915.story&size=m&text=Around%20Town%3A%20The%20real%20dirt%20on%20the%20Devil's%20Gate%20cleanup&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lacanadaonline.com%2Fopinion%2Ftsn-vsl-around-town-the-real-dirt-on-the-devils-gate-cleanup-20131211%2C0%2C694915.story" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-style: none; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; display: block; float: none; height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 110px;" title="Twitter Tweet Button"></iframe></div>
</div>
</td><td style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: auto; zoom: 1;"><div class="gig-button-container gig-button-container-count-right gig-button-container-facebook-like gig-button-container-facebook-like-count-right gig-share-button-container gig-button-container-horizontal" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px; width: auto;">
<div id="componentDiv_top-reaction3" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<div class="fb-like fb_edge_widget_with_comment fb_iframe_widget" data-action="like" data-colorscheme="" data-font="" data-gig-btnid="componentDiv_top-reaction31387034696300" data-href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-the-real-dirt-on-the-devils-gate-cleanup-20131211,0,694915.story" data-layout="button_count" data-ref="s=showShareBarUI:p=facebook-like" data-send="false" data-show-faces="false" data-width="55" fb-xfbml-state="rendered" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; display: inline-block; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: auto; zoom: 1;">
<span style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: none; display: inline-block; height: 20px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: justify; width: 78px;"><iframe class="fb_ltr" id="f2739d302c" name="f202c2c384" scrolling="no" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?action=like&api_key=&channel_url=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.ak.facebook.com%2Fconnect%2Fxd_arbiter.php%3Fversion%3D28%23cb%3Df25832761c%26domain%3Dwww.lacanadaonline.com%26origin%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.lacanadaonline.com%252Ff2ca54b3e4%26relation%3Dparent.parent&colorscheme=light&extended_social_context=false&href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lacanadaonline.com%2Fopinion%2Ftsn-vsl-around-town-the-real-dirt-on-the-devils-gate-cleanup-20131211%2C0%2C694915.story&layout=button_count&locale=en_US&node_type=link&ref=s%3DshowShareBarUI%3Ap%3Dfacebook-like&sdk=joey&send=false&show_faces=false&width=90" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-style: none; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; float: none; height: 20px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 78px; z-index: 10000;" title="Like this content on Facebook."></iframe></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
</li>
<li style="float: left; height: 22px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div id="___plusone_0" style="background-color: transparent; border-style: none; display: inline-block; float: none; font-size: 1px; height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 90px;">
<iframe data-gapiattached="true" frameborder="0" hspace="0" id="I0_1387034696050" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" name="I0_1387034696050" scrolling="no" src="https://apis.google.com/u/0/_/+1/fastbutton?usegapi=1&bsv=o&size=medium&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lacanadaonline.com&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lacanadaonline.com%2Fopinion%2Ftsn-vsl-around-town-the-real-dirt-on-the-devils-gate-cleanup-20131211%2C0%2C694915.story&gsrc=3p&jsh=m%3B%2F_%2Fscs%2Fapps-static%2F_%2Fjs%2Fk%3Doz.gapi.en.bOZ09nzM5VM.O%2Fm%3D__features__%2Fam%3DYQ%2Frt%3Dj%2Fd%3D1%2Frs%3DAItRSTNe7amNGiyEWQ6X6FZtmiVtCHjN8Q#_methods=onPlusOne%2C_ready%2C_close%2C_open%2C_resizeMe%2C_renderstart%2Concircled%2Cdrefresh%2Cerefresh&id=I0_1387034696050&parent=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lacanadaonline.com&pfname=&rpctoken=29932373" style="border-style: none; height: 20px; left: 0px; margin: 0px; position: static; top: 0px; visibility: visible; width: 90px;" tabindex="0" title="+1" vspace="0" width="100%"></iframe></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="clear" style="clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="articlebody largeImage" id="story-body" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div class="thumbnail" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; float: left; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 13px 8px 8px; text-align: center; width: 600px;">
<div class="holder" style="display: inline-block; margin: 0px auto 5px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<table cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px auto; width: 1px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Devil's Gate Dam" border="0" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-529fb034/turbine/tsn-vsl-devils-gate-dam-sediment-project-isnt--001" height="396" style="border: 0px; display: block; margin: 0px auto;" title="Devil's Gate Dam" width="580" /><br />
<div class="small" style="font-size: 11px; margin-top: 6px; padding: 0px;">
Crews removed about 5,000 cubic yards of dirt from the base of Devil's Gate Dam at Hahamongna Watershed Park in Pasadena on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works released a draft environmental impact report in October 2013 that outlined five possible options for removing large amounts of sediment that built up in the basin after the 2009 Station fire and the storms that followed. <span class="credit">(<span class="photographer">Raul Roa / Staff Photographer</span> / <span class="dateMonth">September </span><span class="dateDay">18</span><span class="dateYear">, 2013</span>)</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
<div class="articlerail" style="clear: both; float: left; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 234px; z-index: 4;">
<div class="articleRelates module" style="border: 1px solid rgb(231, 231, 231); margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 10px 10px 0px;">
<ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="relatedTitle" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; font-size: 14px; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; position: relative; text-transform: uppercase;"><a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;">TOPICS</a></li>
<li class="useBullet" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a class="" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/science-technology/technology/jet-propulsion-laboratory-ORGOV000282.topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: bold !important; text-decoration: none; width: auto;" title="Jet Propulsion Laboratory">Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a></li>
<li class="useBullet" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a class="" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/environmental-issues/water/06010000.topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: bold !important; text-decoration: none; width: auto;" title="Water">Water</a></li>
<li class="useBullet" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a class="" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/science-technology/space-programs/nasa-ORGOV000098.topic" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; font-weight: bold !important; text-decoration: none; width: auto;" title="NASA">NASA</a></li>
<li class="viewMore" style="clear: both; display: block; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; position: relative; text-align: right;"><a class="more" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-the-real-dirt-on-the-devils-gate-cleanup-20131211,0,694915.story#" id="topicsMore" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;">See more topics »</a><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="googleAd" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="405" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/hive/common/includes/google-adsense-content.html?adsense_client=ca-pub-8343697767130117&adsense_ad_slot=7049109586&type=wide&page_url=http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-the-real-dirt-on-the-devils-gate-cleanup-20131211,0,890175,print.story" width="234"></iframe></div>
</div>
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 335px;"></span><br />
<div class="byline" style="float: left; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 335px;"><span class="byline" style="display: block;">By Anita S. Brenner</span></span><br />
<div class="date" style="color: #930000; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 335px;"><span class="dateString" style="display: inline;">December 11, 2013</span><span class="dateTimeSeparator" style="border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: -1px; margin-left: 6px;"> | </span><span class="timeString" style="display: inline; text-transform: lowercase;">4:27 p.m.</span></span></div>
</div>
<span class="toolSet" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 335px;">
<div class="clear" style="clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</span><br />
<div id="story-body-text" style="line-height: 1.43; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">
Last week, Tiffany Kelly reported on <a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/news/tsn-vsl-devils-gate-dam-sediment-project-isnt-settling-well-for-residents-20131204,0,1639549.story" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;">community concerns about a proposed five-year-long project to remove debris and mud above Devil’s Gate Dam</a>.<br />
<br />
Kelly reported that neighbors have said that the project “could be environmentally destructive and affect the health of a neighborhood that includes several schools.”<br />
<br />
The real concern is not the traffic, not the dirt and not some imaginary worry about “the environment.” The elephant in the room is cancer.<br />
<br />
As a La Cañadan, I adore <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/science-technology/technology/jet-propulsion-laboratory-ORGOV000282.topic" id="ORGOV000282" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" title="Jet Propulsion Laboratory">JPL</a>. I’m in favor of space exploration. I love technology. I am in favor of the future. But we must remember that in 1997, JPL was sued by neighbors who alleged that “the lab's past chemical disposal practices caused cancer in dozens of local residents.” (Riccardi, “<a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1997/sep/23/local/me-35190" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;">JPL's Toxic Waste Caused Cancer, Suit Says</a>” Los Angeles Times, Sept. 23, 1997.) Many of the plaintiffs (or their deceased relatives) had been students at St. Bede School. Others lived in neighborhoods served by a specific water company.<br />
<br />
JPL has been a Superfund cleanup site since 1992 as result of “former site activities, chemicals, primarily volatile organic compounds (VOC) and perchlorate (a component of solid rocket fuel), used at JPL [that] have been released to soil and groundwater.” (Report, “<a href="http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/PHA.asp?docid=29&pg=0" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;">Public Health Assessment Jet Propulsion Laboratory (<span class="runtimeTopic">NASA</span>) Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California</a>.”)<br />
<br />
In defending the St. Bede case, JPL argued that there was no proof of causation. The issue of causation, both in law and in science, is subject to presumptions. How do you prove that one case of cancer is caused by the groundwater contamination when JPL is lower in elevation? How do you prove that the contaminants flowed upward?<br />
<br />
The plaintiffs responded that when it rained, the water level rose and the groundwater above JPL was polluted by cancer-causing contaminants. La Cañadans drank that tap water. They bathed in it. What else could explain unusual clusters of rare cancers on the same street?<br />
<br />
The St. Bede case quietly settled. It settled with a confidentiality agreement.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, over in Altadena, the Lincoln Avenue Water Company and some of their customers made the same claim, that there were cancer clusters in their neighborhoods. Once again, the argument was about causation: whether the VOCs stayed down in the arroyo near JPL or, when it rained, flowed up to a higher elevation and out to the neighborhoods.<br />
<br />
A lot of La Cañadans dismissed the Altadena claims. Altadena, after all, is not La Cañada.<br />
<br />
In 1999, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry concluded that "because the past levels of human exposure to perchlorate are unknown...the site should be assigned to the Indeterminate Public Health Hazard category for potential past human exposures to perchlorate in drinking water." The agency also found that there was no apparent public health hazard for "past, present, and potential future human exposure to VOC-contaminated groundwater processed for drinking water and surface soils or soil gases." (Report, “<a href="http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/PHA.asp?docid=29&pg=0" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;">Public Health Assessment Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA) Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California</a>.”) The report did not address a five-year excavation of Devil's Gate.<br />
<br />
The point here is not to bash JPL, but to note the legitimate concerns about the proposed five-year cleanup project. Common sense tells us that the soil that is removed is likely to be dangerous. The agency study agreed that children are more susceptible, but failed to record the presence of summer day camps.<br />
<br />
Our concern in 2013 is not causation of damages in the past, but prevention of possible harm in the future. This is not about inconvenience of excavation trucks on our roads between 2014 and 2019, but about the risk to the children. Once the project begins, will the arroyo be off-limits to kids? What will be the safeguards? Have additional studies been completed?<br />
<br />
Let’s address these issues openly. We have a legitimate interest in preserving the good lives that we have, right here in La Cañada.<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
--<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tsn-vsl-around-town-the-real-dirt-on-the-devils-gate-cleanup-20131211,0,694915.story" target="_blank">Valley Sun Dec 14, 2013</a></div>
<span style="font-weight: 700;">ANITA SUSAN BRENNER</span> <em>is a longtime La Cañada Flintridge resident and an attorney with Law Offices of Torres and Brenner in Pasadena. Email her at <a href="mailto:anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;">anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com</a> and follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/anitabrenner" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="new">@anitabrenner</a>.</em></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-20718735332996946022014-01-11T05:50:00.001-08:002014-01-11T05:51:16.247-08:00Ari Sharon "What Warriors Do" (Jan 12, 2006)<div align="CENTER">
January 12, 2006 -- La Canada Valley Sun</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<hr style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" width="75%" />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">"WHAT WARRIORS DO"</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><i>By Anita Susan Brenner</i></b></div>
<div class="story-detail" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
The pain is unending, impossible to heal. These were the words of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Sharon was commenting on the death, 34 years earlier, of his 11-year-old son.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
The loss of his firstborn, in 1967, was one of several tragedies in Sharon's life; it was preceded by the death of the boy's mother, Margalit, in an automobile accident.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
With each bereavement, Ariel Sharon, the warrior, was faced with a choice. It was the same choice faced by every grief-stricken individual. Would he go on with life? Or would he give up?</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
It is the same choice for all of us. In Tel Aviv or in La Cañada. After the Twin Towers. At a mine disaster.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
Last month, I met a 95-year-old man. When I learned that he was a Holocaust survivor, I asked him, "How do you manage to live in the world?" The gentleman tapped his finger on the table, I think he did it for emphasis, and shouted, "Faith!"</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
Everyone finds their own answers, but when a public figure, like Ariel Sharon, faces bereavement, I always want to know, "Where does he get his strength?"</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
Ariel Sharon made the choice to live fully. He remarried. He fathered children. He became the doting grandfather.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
He was known to be tough. Tough on the enemy. A strong opponent at home. "Even the sheep are afraid of me," he once said.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
He was also a charismatic leader. For years, Sharon opposed the formation of a Palestinian state and supported the expansion of Jewish settlements in the former Palestinian territories.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
Not everyone agreed with him.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
In 1999, the third tragedy struck. Sharon's second wife, Lily, came down with cancer. Through the short months of her treatment, she encouraged her husband to continue with his work. When her condition worsened, he stayed with her in the hospital. Just like folks in cancer wards all over the country. All over the world.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
At night, he slept a chair by her bed. In the morning, he would go to work, like she wanted. No different than other patients' wives or husbands, at Norris, at City of Hope, at UCLA.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
One night, while they were at the hospital, Lily and Ariel's house burned down.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
When Lily Sharon died on March 25, 2000, Ariel Sharon was again faced with the impossible pain of bereavement.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
The bereaved live differently in the world. There are more choices. The choice to live or not to live. Choices about how to live. It is not surprising that Ariel Sharon began to envision another solution.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
In 2001, a year after Lily's death, Sharon was elected prime minister of Israel. He was 73 years old. The warrior was reborn as a statesman.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
And then, the magic happened.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
This warrior came up with a plan for peace. He wanted to keep all of Israel's children, including his grandchildren, safe.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
Sharon reversed his opposition to the Palestinian state. He reversed his insistence on maintaining the settlements. The new plan for peace provided for the formation of a Palestinian state, withdrawal of settlers from the Gaza and the construction of a security perimeter between Israel and the Palestinian territories.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
Not everyone agreed with him. Last summer, after nearly four decades in the Gaza, amid riots and violence, the settlers were withdrawn from their settlements by Sharon's government.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
Not everyone agreed with Sharon, but many of us had hope. If anyone could pull off a compromise, it would be Ariel Sharon. The warrior-turned-statesman, the warrior-turned-peacemaker.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
Israeli journalist, Allison Kaplan Sommers, explained, "Left-wing or right-wing, even if you felt like Ariel Sharon [was] wonderful, or if you felt that [he was] completely wrong, you never doubted for a minute that [his] absolute top priority was the security and well-being of the State of Israel and its citizens."</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
To effect his plan for peace, Sharon left his political party, the Likud, and formed a new coalition party, Kadima.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
And now, despite a strong will to live, Sharon is gravely ill. A new generation of young Israelis is at a crossroads.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
May we see peace in the Middle East, in our lifetimes, and may Ariel ben Vera, the warrior-turned-peacemaker, be restored to full health and vigor.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Times,Times New Roman;"></span><br />
<a href="http://articles.lacanadaonline.com/2006-01-12/news/lco-brenner0112_1_ariel-sharon-palestinian-state-bereavement" target="_blank">Valley Sun Jan 12, 2006</a><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-85716640663845372632013-12-14T07:27:00.001-08:002013-12-14T07:27:15.594-08:00Around Town: Student veterans and the futureBecause La Cañada doesn't have a <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/unrest-conflicts-war/wars-interventions/veterans-day-EVFES000170.topic" id="EVFES000170" title="Veterans Day"><span style="color: black;">Veterans Day</span></a> celebration on Nov. 11, my husband, Len, and I have joined the four-city Pasadena Veterans Day 2013 Committee.<br />
<br />
It's a four-city committee because its members come from Pasadena, La Cañada, South Pasadena and San Marino, what our son, Andrew, used to call “the bubble.<br />
<div class="articlerail">
<div class="googleAd">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="18" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/hive/common/includes/google-adsense-content.html?adsense_client=ca-pub-8343697767130117&adsense_ad_slot=7049109586&type=wide&page_url=http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tn-vsl-around-town-student-veterans-and-the-future-20131030,0,6339483,print.story" width="234"></iframe> </div>
</div>
The bubble is a magic place where kids grow up as part of an interlocking circle of schools, public and private; the parents know each other from Indian Guides, Gollatz Cotillion or AYSO, and the police occasionally stop a kid asking to take a look at the original engine in a vintage Cougar. Most kids learn to ride a bike, roller skate or drive a car in between the baby strollers at the Rose Bowl. <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/arts-culture/halloween-EVFES000167.topic" id="EVFES000167" title="Halloween"><span style="color: black;">Halloween</span></a> is still a community-wide event, and there are lots of parades.<br />
<br />
The Veterans Day Committee is awesome because it includes members of the Navy League, USS Pasadena Foundation, John Watkins, two former Pasadena mayors, a couple of PCC professors and lots of veterans and lawyers. Everyone pitches in.<br />
<br />
If you don't know Watkins, come meet him on Nov. 11 at 9:30 a.m. in front of Pasadena City Hall. There'll be free parking. Watkins is an 88-year-old dynamo who keeps me on my toes. He'll be the emcee for this year's event, which honors our local community college, PCC.<br />
<br />
PCC deserves kudos because it has consistently ranked No. 1 in the state (and seventh in the nation) as veteran-friendly campus. Credit goes to veterans coordinator Patricia D'Orange-Martin and her caseworker, Carol Calandra, who are selflessly committed to creating a successful and supportive environment for PCC's student veterans.<br />
<br />
D'Orange-Martin and Calandra do important work. It is estimated that by the end of 2014, there will be two million young civilian veterans of these long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. By 2015, one million of these veterans will be enrolled in college.<br />
<br />
It's not an easy road. V.A. benefits and work-study programs are complex and unpredictable, so there's a small but predictable number of homeless student veterans. The transition to civilian life requires patience, and hitting the books can be tough. D'Orange-Martin and Calandra have collaborated with numerous private organizations to provide resources for these young vets.<br />
<br />
So it was no surprise to run into D'Orange-Martin, Calandra and others at last Saturday's <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/politics/defense/veterans-affairs/american-legion-ORCIG000001.topic" id="ORCIG000001" title="American Legion"><span style="color: black;">American Legion</span></a> Halloween party in honor of the Cal State student veterans. Some V.A. counselors came, as well as faculty from Cal State and PCC.<br />
<br />
The costumes were amazing. Lots of vampires, genies and ghouls. One couple dressed as reporters, complete with hats, vintage cameras and press passes. There was a D.J., candy and pizza, but the best part was the camaraderie between Vietnam veterans and the student veterans.<br />
<br />
As we go to press today, Oct. 31, it is the 10th anniversary of the death of LCHS grad 1st Lt. Todd Bryant, <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/unrest-conflicts-war/defense/u.s.-army-ORGOV0000126141142.topic" id="ORGOV0000126141142" title="U.S. Army"><span style="color: black;">U.S. Army</span></a>, killed in Iraq. I keep a photo of Todd, in his <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/us/virginia/king-william-county/west-point-PLGEO100101166020000.topic" id="PLGEO100101166020000" title="West Point"><span style="color: black;">West Point</span></a> uniform, on my desk at work. In spring of 1998, when Todd left for West Point and our Andrew left for <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/us/maryland/anne-arundel-county/annapolis-PLGEO100100602010000.topic" id="PLGEO100100602010000" title="Annapolis"><span style="color: black;">Annapolis</span></a>, our nation was at peace. We never dreamed that Todd and Andrew would die within a few months of one another, one from war and one from cancer.<br />
<br />
It's for Todd and Andrew that Len and I volunteer for our vets. Both Todd and Andrew cared about their soldiers and Marines. Time rolls on. It always will, but these young student veterans are our nation's future.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tn-vsl-around-town-student-veterans-and-the-future-20131030,0,1769253.story" target="_blank">Valley Sun </a><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-26081512167151422322013-12-14T07:27:00.000-08:002013-12-14T07:27:00.402-08:00Around Town: Staying close to your kidsIn 1970, a classmate left the <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/education/colleges-universities/university-of-california-los-angeles-OREDU0000192268.topic" id="OREDU0000192268" title="University of California, Los Angeles"><span style="color: black;">UCLA</span></a> law school after dark. She was kidnapped at gunpoint, raped repeatedly, and released at 3 a.m. She called the police. The male officers took her to the ER where she was seen by a male resident. She cried during the exam.<br />
<br />
For the next week, one male member of the LAPD night shift repeatedly called the victim between 1 and 4 a.m. to request more details. Did the assailant climax? Did you? What color were your panties? Were you a virgin?<br />
<br />
She was ashamed. She grew increasingly distraught. After several nights without sleep, she finally confided in another student. The student told a professor. The professor called the watch commander and the behavior stopped. The victim wanted to remain anonymous but she confided in a few more of us. She began attending counseling. The professor asked the watch commander about the evidence. A detective called back. He said that the evidence from the ER was never logged in.<br />
<br />
Times have changed. There are more women in law enforcement, law and medicine. Our local sheriffs are well trained. ER personnel are trained to be more sensitive. There are protocols for the handling of evidence.<br />
<br />
Attitudes have also changed. Take the case of Daisy Coleman. Daisy is a teenager who used to live in Marysville, Mo. Last month, Daisy’s mother gave an interview to the Kansas City Star stating that on Jan. 8, 2012, Daisy, then 14, had been given alcohol, then raped by the 17-year-old son of a politically prominent Missouri family. Daisy was dumped on her front lawn later that snowy night, unconscious. Daisy’s mom took her to the ER and called the police.<br />
<br />
Daisy’s mom said that a video of the assault passed among the students, that the Coleman family was harassed and forced to leave town, and their house burned down under suspicious circumstances.<br />
<br />
Within days, the Star interview went viral. Hackers from <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/crime-law-justice/crime/cyber-crime/anonymous-%28internet-groups%29-ORCIG000069.topic" id="ORCIG000069" title="Anonymous (internet groups)"><span style="color: black;">Anonymous</span></a>, the loose-knit Internet community, took on Daisy’s case, with a special focus on the alleged perpetrator. Anonymous noted that he was a football player.<br />
<br />
Both Daisy and a second victim, Paige, went public. Fresh on the heels of the Steubenville rape case, where Anonymous used a Russian Web server to post hacked personal information about dozens of prominent Steubenville citizens, the Kansas State Attorney General quickly reopened the Coleman case and called for a special prosecutor. Local law enforcement and the boy’s family dispute the charges. Some of their supporters blame the girl for drinking alcohol that night, at the age of 14.<br />
<br />
The difference between 1970 and 2013 is significant. Today, there is a removal of shame. This allows the victims and their families to go public and to publicize and politicize their cases.<br />
<br />
But not all football players are rapists. Remember Brian Banks, a high school football player who was exonerated of rape after serving a five-year sentence, when the “victim” approached Banks on Facebook? She later talked with him. Banks wore a wire and recorded her admission that the charges were false.<br />
<br />
These would all be easy cases when there's an incriminating video. A 14-year-old, drunk or sober, cannot consent. An unconscious girl cannot consent.<br />
<br />
But what if there’s no video? And what if there was no rape? What if the parents are gone, there’s a party and all the kids are drunk? What if there are no witnesses? Is a football player presumed guilty? What about the presumption of innocence?<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, here in La Cañada, the Community Prevention Council “continues to combat the illegal use of drug and alcohol … in our community.” It urges parents to monitor their kids, to monitor the parties and to stay involved.<br />
<br />
It’s also important to tell our girls to be strong, to stay away from those parties, and if something happens, to never ever be ashamed.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tn-vsl-around-town-the-importance-of-staying-close-to-your-kids-20131024,0,5035151.story" target="_blank">Valley Sun</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-45768928815290862392013-12-14T07:26:00.001-08:002013-12-14T07:26:29.858-08:00Around Town: There are ways to model good behavior<br />
After Dr. Melissa Johnson gave a program on girls and cliques for the La Cañada Unified School District last year, I invited her to speak to the La Cañada Thursday Club.<br />
<br />
Even though I am a past president of the Thursday Club, doing a swan song as the club's current vice president, bringing in a psychologist to discuss relationships is slightly out of character. I've practiced law for nearly 40 years, with a focus on trial work. My law school class was less than 7% female. Cliques? Hand-wringing? <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/entertainment/television/oprah-winfrey-PECLB004206.topic" id="PECLB004206" title="Oprah Winfrey"><span style="color: black;">Oprah</span></a>? Not my cup of tea.<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="18" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/hive/common/includes/google-adsense-content.html?adsense_client=ca-pub-8343697767130117&adsense_ad_slot=7049109586&type=wide&page_url=http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tn-vsl-around-town-there-are-ways-to-model-good-behavior-20131018,0,4421357,print.story" width="234"></iframe><br />
Teamwork. Collaboration. Getting the job done. Whiskers on kittens. These are a few of my favorite things.<br />
<br />
Readers who crave “yin” are better served by my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Joe Puglia, who, like many Marine Corps combat veterans, is mostly from Venus. His column does relationships and philosophy. My column does dogs and murder.<br />
<br />
Actually, I'm exaggerating. Dr. Joe is tough. Mea culpa, but back to Johnson. She is a licensed psychologist with bachelor's and master's degrees in education, and a doctorate in <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/health/medical-specialization/psychology-13003003.topic" id="13003003" title="Psychology"><span style="color: black;">psychology</span></a> from USC. She runs the Institute for Girls Development in Pasadena (www.instituteforgirlsdevelopment.com).<br />
<br />
Johnson told us that back in the day, studies concluded that little boys were aggressive and little girls were not. The current literature recognizes that girls are equally aggressive but use social interaction, not physical fighting, to make their case. She said that effective assertiveness should be viewed as a way of teaching others how you want to be treated and of modeling good behavior for our daughters.<br />
<br />
Johnson's approach is good medicine not only for the Thursday Club, but for what ails us as a nation. There have always been rough times, but it feels as if we live in a dominant national culture of rude behavior. The phrase “you're welcome” has been replaced by “no problem.” Elected officials engage in name calling. When grown men and women call one another “communists” and “terrorists,” it's time for a reality check. It got so bad that even Anthony Weiner thought he could run for mayor.<br />
<br />
Snap! Weiner put-downs are a snide form of social aggression. My bad.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the La Cañada Thursday Club, founded in 1912 by a collaborative group of women, kicked off the 2013-2014 club year. It's not your mama's Thursday Club. Some club programs, like last Sunday's earthquake forum, are open to the community, but the luncheons and teas are limited to members and their guests. Not to worry — there is a process for local women who wish to join. Interested? Call me.<br />
<br />
This week's Thursday luncheon speaker is screenwriter/girl wonder Chelsea Steiner, a New Orleans native and a Stanford grad. Steiner is a member of a local roller derby team. Next month, Zucky Zeidner and Caltech's director of bands, Bill Bing, will bring their troupe to perform.<br />
<br />
La Cañada is home to dozens of worthwhile clubs and nonprofits. If the Thursday Club is not your cup of tea, you have lots of choices. From Trails Council to Tournament of Roses, from Kiwanis to Rotary, joining one of these groups is a great way to contribute to our local community. We can all model some good behavior.<br />
<br />
Plus, it's a lot more fun than CNN.<br />
<br />
<strong>ANITA SUSAN BRENNER</strong> <em>can be reached at <a href="mailto:anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com"><span style="color: black;">anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com</span></a> and follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/anitabrenner"><span style="color: black;">@anitabrenner</span></a>.</em> <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tn-vsl-around-town-there-are-ways-to-model-good-behavior-20131018,0,1581547.story" target="_blank">Valley Sun</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-61483464716361489862013-11-04T05:46:00.000-08:002013-11-04T05:46:05.668-08:00Around Town: deadheads, the Internet and brain chemistry<br />
<span class="toolSet" style="width: 345px;"> <br />
<div class="clear">
</div>
</span><div class="clear">
</div>
<div class="articlebody " id="story-body">
</div>
After a photographer caught him playing <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/services-shopping/electronic-devices/apple-iphone-PRDCES00000002.topic" id="PRDCES00000002" title="Apple iPhone"><span style="color: black;">iPhone</span></a> poker during a Senate committee hearing on Syria, Sen John McCain (R-Arizona) tried to pass the incident off as a joke.<br />
<div class="articlebody " id="story-body">
<br />
“Scandal! Caught playing iPhone game at 3+ hour Senate hearing — Worst of all I lost!” tweeted McCain.<br />
<br />
<div class="articlerail">
<div class="articleRelates module">
<ul>
<li id="extraTopics" style="display: none;">
<li class="relatedTitle">X</li>
<li class="viewMore"><ul>
<div class="relatedExtraItem">
<div class="clearfix">
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/entertainment/music/01011000.topic" title="Music"><span style="color: #004276;"><strong> Music </strong></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="relatedExtraItem">
<div class="clearfix">
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/science-technology/science/chemistry/13001002.topic" title="Chemistry"><span style="color: #004276;"><strong> Chemistry </strong></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="relatedExtraItem">
<div class="clearfix">
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/health/behavioral-conditions/07000002.topic" title="Behavioral Conditions"><span style="color: #004276;"><strong> Behavioral Conditions </strong></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="relatedExtraItem">
<div class="clearfix">
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/services-shopping/electronic-devices/apple-iphone-PRDCES00000002.topic" title="Apple iPhone"><span style="color: #004276;"><strong> Apple iPhone </strong></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="relatedExtraItem">
<div class="clearfix">
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/arts-culture/culture/social-sciences/13003001.topic" title="Social Sciences"><span style="color: #004276;"><strong> Social Sciences </strong></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="relatedExtraItem">
<div class="clearfix">
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/entertainment/gaming/0102100067.topic" title="Gaming"><span style="color: #004276;"><strong> Gaming </strong></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="relatedExtraItem">
<div class="clearfix">
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/health/behavioral-conditions/adhd-HEBEC00001.topic" title="ADHD"><span style="color: #004276;"><strong> ADHD </strong></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="relatedExtraItem">
<div class="clearfix">
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/arts-culture/culture/01022000.topic" title="Culture"><span style="color: #004276;"><strong> Culture </strong></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="relatedExtraItem">
<div class="clearfix">
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/health/physical-conditions/insomnia-HEBEC000078.topic" title="Insomnia"><span style="color: #004276;"><strong> Insomnia </strong></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="relatedExtraItem">
<div class="clearfix">
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/services-shopping/electronic-devices/apple-ipad-PRDCES000000029.topic" title="Apple iPad"><span style="color: #004276;"><strong> Apple iPad </strong></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="relatedExtraItem">
<div class="clearfix">
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/entertainment/music/spider-%28music-group%29-PECLB00000014530.topic" title="Spider (music group)"><span style="color: #004276;"><strong> Spider (music group) </strong></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="relatedExtraItem">
<div class="clearfix">
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/health/behavioral-conditions/schizophrenia-HEBEC00007.topic" title="Schizophrenia"><span style="color: #004276;"><strong> Schizophrenia </strong></span></a></div>
</div>
<div class="relatedExtraItem">
<div class="clearfix">
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/health/diseases-illnesses/parkinsons-disease-HEDAI0000032.topic" title="Parkinson's Disease"><strong><span style="color: #004276;"> Parkinson's Disease </span></strong></a></div>
</div>
</ul>
</li>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
The good news is that McCain played the game in the daytime. Here in the 91011, we can relate because far too many of us have disrupted our sleep patterns with a quick game of <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/entertainment/music/spider-%28music-group%29-PECLB00000014530.topic" id="PECLB00000014530" title="Spider (music group)"><span style="color: black;">Spider</span></a> Solitaire at night.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, he is a senator. But it was not boredom that drove McCain to risk scandal to play iPoker. He did it because of dopamine.<br />
<br />
Here's a quick history of the Internet. Back in the day, you could surf the entire World Wide Web in 40 minutes. There wasn't much on the Web. You could see it all in a few minutes.<br />
<br />
We knew nothing about dopamine.<br />
<br />
In the 1990s, before the Web took off, <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/entertainment/music/grateful-dead-%28music-group%29-PECLB0017764617.topic" id="PECLB0017764617" title="Grateful Dead (music group)"><span style="color: black;">Deadheads</span></a> discovered the Internet. For the uninitiated, Deadheads are fans of the greatest musical group of all time, the Grateful Dead. The goal of the Deadheads was not just to listen to the band's music, but to experience a higher level of consciousness.<br />
<br />
The Internet experience was text-based. There were no graphics on the page. The bandwidth was narrower. Do you remember the dial-up modem?<br />
<br />
Some Deadheads saw the potential for transcendence in the Internet. They came to a startling conclusion. The Internet, they said, is a drug. Some of us laughed, but 25 years later, it turns out that they were right.<br />
<br />
Today we know about brain chemistry. We know that video games, iPhone poker, even checking Facebook and email, can activate the brain's pleasure circuits and cause an increase in the brain's production of dopamine.<br />
<br />
This can cause problems for young people. Children, and even teenagers, do not have fully matured brains. If their dopamine levels are artificially increased, what happens to the brain's ability to produce its own dopamine naturally?<br />
<br />
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter. It sends signals to other nerve cells. Jacking up your dopamine levels makes you feel good. Addictive drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamines also increase the effects of dopamine. Diseases as varied as <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/health/diseases-illnesses/parkinsons-disease-HEDAI0000032.topic" id="HEDAI0000032" title="Parkinson's Disease"><span style="color: black;">Parkinson's</span></a>, <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/health/behavioral-conditions/adhd-HEBEC00001.topic" id="HEBEC00001" title="ADHD"><span style="color: black;">ADHD</span></a> and <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/health/behavioral-conditions/schizophrenia-HEBEC00007.topic" id="HEBEC00007" title="Schizophrenia"><span style="color: black;">schizophrenia</span></a> are thought to be linked to reduced dopamine levels.<br />
<br />
What does this mean for our children? If your child spends hours on the smartphone or computer, his or her dopamine levels are artificially surging. This can contribute to Twitter depression, Facebook <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/health/physical-conditions/insomnia-HEBEC000078.topic" id="HEBEC000078" title="Insomnia"><span style="color: black;">insomnia</span></a> and video game ADHD. Cybersex, compulsive searching, the “ping” when you've got mail, and the inability to stop are all hallmarks of the addiction.<br />
<br />
Here in La Cañada, we have meetings about alcohol, awareness about drugs, and tutors for the SAT tests. The computer, the <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/services-shopping/electronic-devices/apple-ipad-PRDCES000000029.topic" id="PRDCES000000029" title="Apple iPad"><span style="color: black;">iPad</span></a> and the smartphone are educational tools.<br />
<br />
And then there's the brain chemistry issue. There are a number of pending clinical trials and studies. People are affected in different ways. As for the kids, parents can wait for the pubmed.gov results or listen to the Deadheads.<br />
<br />
Is the Internet a drug?<br />
<br />
The choice for your children is yours.<br />
<br />
<span class="toolSet" style="width: 345px;"><div class="articlebody " id="story-body">
<div class="byline">
<div class="date">
<span class="dateString">September 12, 2013</span><span class="dateTimeSeparator"> | </span><span class="timeString">1:06 p.m.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</span></div>
<div class="articlebody ">
</div>
<div class="articlebody ">
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tn-vsl-deadheads-the-internet-and-brain-chemistry-20130912,0,1873907.story" target="_blank">Valley Sun</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407174293933221059.post-74037879575085255732013-11-04T05:42:00.001-08:002013-11-04T05:42:08.248-08:00Around Town: Break the fast, head to the gym<div class="date">
<span class="dateString">September 18, 2013</span><span class="dateTimeSeparator"> | </span><span class="timeString">4:12 p.m.</span></div>
<div class="clear">
</div>
<br />
<div id="story-body-text">
Ever since <a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/entertainment/tsn-vsl-cafe-sole-new-owners-for-an-old-favorite-20130903,0,7574213.story"><span style="color: black;">Lisa Dupuy reviewed the “new” Café Solé </span></a>we've been eager to check it out. The new owners are Salvatore and Alessandra Attanasio. <br /><br />We stopped by the La Cañada restaurant last Saturday evening. Café Solé was the perfect place after a 25-hour, hot-weather <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/religion-belief/religious-festivals/yom-kippur-12014005.topic" id="12014005" title="Yom Kippur"><span style="color: black;">Yom Kippur</span></a> fast.<br /><br /><div class="articlerail">
<div class="articleRelates module">
<ul>
<li class="relatedTitle"><a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic"><strong><span style="color: #004276;">Topics</span></strong></a></li>
<li class="useBullet"><!-- test 5 /--> <a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/lifestyle-leisure/cooking/10000032.topic" title="Cooking"><strong><span style="color: #004276;"> Cooking </span></strong></a> </li>
<li class="useBullet"><!-- test 5 /--> <a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/religion-belief/judaism/12011000.topic" title="Judaism"><strong><span style="color: #004276;"> Judaism </span></strong></a> </li>
<li class="useBullet"><!-- test 5 /--> <a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/religion-belief/religious-festivals/yom-kippur-12014005.topic" title="Yom Kippur"><strong><span style="color: #004276;"> Yom Kippur </span></strong></a> </li>
<li class="viewMore"><a class="more" href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tn-vsl-around-town-break-the-fast-head-to-the-gym-20130918,0,3174176.story#" id="topicsMore"><strong><span style="color: #004276;">See more topics »</span></strong></a><ul>
<li id="extraTopics" style="display: none;"><div class="closeBox">
X</div>
<div class="relatedExtraItem">
<div class="clearfix">
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/topic/international/israel-PLGEO0000010.topic" title="Israel"><strong><span style="color: #004276;"> Israel </span></strong></a></div>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="googleAd">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="18" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/hive/common/includes/google-adsense-content.html?adsense_client=ca-pub-8343697767130117&adsense_ad_slot=7049109586&type=wide&page_url=http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tn-vsl-around-town-break-the-fast-head-to-the-gym-20130918,0,1700169,print.story" width="234"></iframe> </div>
</div>
As Rashi, the great medieval rabbi and commentator, once said, “the flavor of a fish which comes out of the sea at Acre is not similar to the flavor of a fish which comes out of the sea in Spain.”<br /><br />The new owners of Café Solé have made two important changes. All the pasta is fresh-made by Alessandra. Salvatore arrives at 6:30 each morning to bake bread.<br /><br />Everything good about the old Café Solé is still there. The patio. The wine. The friendly staff. With a few tweaks, the Attanasios have morphed Café Solé into sheer perfection.<br /><br />We started with lots of water. Then we shared a glass of wine and dug into the bread. The bread is awesome. It comes with a complimentary side of chopped basil, fresh tomato and, I think, garlic. Voilà! Instant bruschetta. <br /><br />Munching on the bread, we discussed the day's events. That afternoon, in between services, David Siegel, the Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles, had come to Adat Ari El to address the congregation. The questions were wide-ranging. Syria. Turkey. UC Irvine. Technology.<br /><br />Among other things, the Israeli Consul's website reports that an Israeli company called Wi-Charge can power up mobile devices, such as cellphones, laptops and wireless speakers “through the air” without power cords or mats. Wi-Charge “can follow you around the room, like WiFi,” it is claimed.<br /><br />Later that night, at Café Solé, there was lots to discuss.<br /><br />We decided to share a simple Caesar salad. The greens were crisp, unblemished, tossed with just the right amount of an anchovy-based traditional dressing.<br /><br />Salvatore checked. He wanted to make sure that we enjoyed our salad.<br /><br />It was perfect.<br /><br />We split an appetizer special, made from what tasted like a homegrown tomato, thin-sliced with layers of buffalo mozzarella and a touch of basil. For our main course, Len had the filet mignon ravioli. I chose the salmon, served with a side of spaghetti puttanesca.<br /><br />What can I say? We were hungry. It was a feast. A great way to start the year.<br /><br />The next morning, I went to the gym.<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.lacanadaonline.com/opinion/tn-vsl-around-town-break-the-fast-head-to-the-gym-20130918,0,3174176.story" target="_blank">Valley Sun</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.anitabrenner.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0