Yogurt in February

Winter really agrees with the Valley. It's easy to forget that in mere months we'll be sweltering and damning the cruel fate that keeps us in the humid muck.

This week, however, is nearly perfect - a little crisp at times; at times a little warm. This is a desert, y'know - we should be having cold nights and temperate days this time of year. Funny how different the weather is just moments away, though. When I'm cycling up to the end of Reseda Blvd. at 7.30AM, it's a whole different climate, though it can go either way: sometimes it's ten degrees warmer, sometimes cooler. Then I go over the hill, as I am today. Sitting in my tiny Beverly Hills office, I'm looking at the blowing trees; it's been windy all day here, though it was calm in Encino when I left. I go out to move my car - no garage, no free parking, no fucking way at these prices - or grab a coffee and I need a jacket. The mobs in front of Pinkberry are in T shirts and skirts. Wherever they come from, it's gotta be colder, so this is a treat for them. Yogurt in February.

The bad news...

From Jennie, an Encino Park neighbor who blogs at valleygirly.blogspot.com (the posting from which this is excerpted is NSFW or kids; most of the rest is family/boss friendly, and a really cool blog you should be reading)


Hello there -- my fiance and I live in Encino Park. This past Friday while we were at work, our home was burglarized and many valuables stolen. We had received the recent community alert warning us of the thefts in the area and had been taking extra precautions with locks on windows and doors, and we have two dogs, one of whom is very protective, large and mean. But to no avail -- they forced a lock on one of our bathroom windows and the dogs were in the backyard and could do nothing. In speaking with neighbors, I have learned that the burglaries are occurring at an alarming rate in the past two months or so, and wanted to let you know so you could perhaps post something about it on your blog and e-mail people who live in the area since our area is apparently being targeted, and there is no sign of it slowing down. The only clue we have to go on is that one of our neighbors noticed what she thought to be a gardeners truck parked right in front of our house that day. We don't have a gardener, and our neighbor's gardener was not due until Tuesday. It was suspicious, and a perfect cover for a robbery when you think about it.

Yeah, it is a great cover. Gardeners, various repair persons, pool servicers, etc, are transparent and anonymous. They must belong here, or they wouldn't be here, or so we think - but we need to be a little more vigilant. The encinoblogger's neighbor's truck was broken into on Sunday night - next time, guys, try the door; it was unlocked and you could have at least spared him the glass repair bill - and an irreplaceable photo album was stolen. There is too much of this going on. Good news is that Jennie and probably others had kept serial numbers for their stolen valuables. If these guys go to a pawn shop, they'll get caught.

Meanwhile,lock everything; use your house alarm; get a doggie door so that your dog can actually protect you (Jennie's dogs were in the yard as the crime took place; she's since gotten a doggie door). Keep as little as possible in your car when it's parked on your driveway, and don't confront a burglar if you interrupt him/her in the act; get away quick.

The parking deal

I'm really starting to think that the city may have lost the paperwork. I've heard nothing in a long time from the Parking Office. Luckily, I made copies of the petitions, so we're not looking at starting over.

I'll be checking into this, so more soon...

From the City Council Office...

Passing this along, from John Bwarie...



The San Fernando Valley Jaycees

present

Involvement 2007

Join us at our annual community involvement expo to
learn how to get involved with and meet the various nonprofit
and community groups that serve the Valley.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007
6:00pm to 8:00pm

Braude Constituent Center
6262 Van Nuys Bl. * Van Nuys


Passing this along, via John Bwarie:


As we start the new year in the San Fernando Valley, there is an event coming up that I think everyone should know about and attend...

The San Fernando Valley Jaycees is hosting their annual community engagement expo, "Involvement 2007." This is an event where all the community serving non-profits in the Valley are invited to come and show what they do and the general public (you) is invited to come find out ways you can get involved at helping other and the community. With over 150 Non-Profits in the Valley, there is something for everyone: youth services, education, animal welfare, environmental activities, poverty assistance, senior services - and everything in between!

Special presentation at 7pm by
Councilmember Tony Cardenas
and Wendy Saunders, Executive Director, Mid Valley Family YMCA
“How to get involved”

RSVP to involvement@SFVJaycees.org
For more information, call 818-384-1622

Refreshments will be provided.
Free Parking beneath the Braude Center (if you enter off of Sylvan Street)

Sponsored by
Telesis Community Credit Union

Thanks...

...to those who responded to the last couple of posts, and for the offers of help. The thing is, I don't run Encino; just this blog. This blog is my voice, at least for now, but the idea is that we all work on this stuff together. There don't need to be Indians and chiefs; we can all be either or both at any time.

So - who has an idea?

My Christmas present to you...

I've deleted the link to Eddie Bernard's site. The site was open only by registration; there was no useful content that was publicly accessible, so it kinda looks, to me anyway, like a vehicle for harvesting email addresses for pitching.

The thing is, I like Eddie and he definitely has the best houses in the village in his inventory. I'd have no problem working with him on either side of a transaction, and he seems to have a good rep. I just don't like boilerplate sites that add to the advertising jungle.

And it's my blog so I can do what I want to do.

Well, that was then - a half-hour ago. This is now, and the link table was pretty much swallowed by the new template design. About that - I was mucking around with the HTML of the site this morning. I'm a big fan of web-designer and author Dan Cederholm and I noticed that Blogger has some templates he designed in their new collection, and so - the new look of Electric Encino. I'll have to rebuild the links table, so if anyone has any links they think should be included, let me know. Keep in mind that I'm looking for community-based sites, not ads. If you want to build your own site or blog to promote your biz (and you should), go for it.

Any thoughts on the re-design are welcome also.

You should be reading LA Observed.com

Thanks to those who thanked me for the "It's A Wonderful Life" post, but you really should thank Kevin Roderick by making LA Observed.com part of you daily reading, especially if you're into doings at the rapidly downsizing and deteriorating LA Times. Roderick always has the inside scoop.

Every time a bell rings...

The film's mythical Bedford Falls covered four acres of the ranch north of Burbank Boulevard between Balboa and Louise. The trees lining the streets? Encino oaks, transplanted for the film. For the autumn scenes the leaves were knocked off, and for the winter scenes where Stewart stumbles through the snowy town, the trees were coated with white plaster...

What film? Why, none other than "It's A Wonderful Life," Frank Capra's postwar postcard and wakeup call to America. Turns out the Village was once the RKO backlot. We're treading where James Stewart, Donna Reed and Ward Bond once worked. This info from Kevin Roderick's essential LA Observed blog, which is the encinoblogger's first read each morning and frequent diversion during the day. You'll learn more about what's really going on in the city from this site and the sites it links to than anywhere else I've found. Also lots of valley-specific history and info at Valley Observed. Roderick's a local boy and collects a lot of valleyana there. I'm not, but I've learned a lot from this site and Roderick's SF Valley book. Check them out.

The blog is alive; it's Encino that's dead...

A few people have asked me lately what's going on with this space and the various efforts to spiff up the neighborhood. This space is alive, though I've been busy with work and various other things for a few months; it's the will to move on with things in the neighborhood that's (apparently) dead. The intention here was to have a means of communication; there's been little of note about the Village to communicate.

The main thing for me is that there has been very little response to either this blog or the various flyers that the encinodogger and I put on doors last summer, and it gets tiring, all this crying out in the wilderness. Most of the email addresses I got at the meeting last February are garbage. They're either not valid, or so spam-blocked that my emails won't go through, so it's hard to know who's actually reading this. A place to begin: email to me your (valid and not-spam-blocked please) email address. Also, as you can see, there aren't a lot of comments on the blog, let alone people interested in posting here. BTW, commenting is easy; you don't have to be a geek to do it, so give it a try. You can also email me here.

I never saw any action or offers that were acted on about landscaping the Louise strip, or any of the other beautification efforts, so I'm assuming there's no enthusiasm for any of that. These changes can't happen without expertise, money and stuff - trees, dirt, tools, planning. Got any of that? If so, let's do it. By this, I mean actually get it done. I know that there are people who'd love to get involved with projects. I think we're just having trouble getting the ball rolling.

There was a Neighborhood Watch meeting last night (Tuesday 12/5), which I could not attend. Barbara at encinowatch.com is still doing a great job of keeping that channel open, and our SLO, officer Trulick remains helpful and responsive.

One positive: The petition to limit parking on Louise is with the city. How long that may take to turn around is anyone's guess.

Meanwhile, enjoy this time of the year. Kiss your children and hold them close; call your old friends and wish them well. Sing the songs and eat the foods that go with whatever holiday you may celebrate.

Any ideas on how to get things happening are welcome. Email me at encinoblogger@gmail.com.

It's a busy time...

...for the encinoblogger just now. It's time to get the encinodaughter off to college, there's some paying work to be done, and tomatoes in the garden that need picking. While there is blogging to be blogged, it's going to have to wait for a week or ten days more; then I'll be back up to speed.

Just a note, though: The encinoblogger would like to stay that - simply "the encinoblogger" - in this space. If you know my name, leave it off this space or any other 'net places where you may hang out. I want to avoid any flame wars or other conflicts. Inevitably, someone will disagree with something here, and I'd like to keep that out of my personal life if possible. You're free to disgree in print as much as you like; I welcome debate, I just want to leave the debate in cyberspace.

Thanks for understanding...

Meanwhile, there's a swell new blog up regarding the village's history and efforts to promote and preserve same. You can find it here (http://encinovillageheritageassociation.blogspot.com/).

I'd like to see someone posting or commenting (btw, thanks to John Bwarie)about the efforts to plant behind the wall. Does no one have a thought about this?

As promised...

...news of the new "Encino Community Improvement Organization." We met last night, the agenda being limited to projects that would update the physical appearence of the nabe. Such as:

• Spiffing up the (former) Oak Tree island at Louise and Ventura
• Extending the planted divider on Ventura near Plaza de Oro to "Chli's" restaurant
• Removing the moribund newsstand next to Auto Steigler
• Landscaping and cleaning-up the east side of Louise between Burbank and Oxnard

It turns out that there may be grant money available for some of this; it may also be possible to get contributions from private sources and from the council members' discretionary funds (who knew?).

To Babbitt Ave. residents, and others who back up to Louise Ave.:

If we are able to secure plants (we're thinking oleanders, but open to suggestions) for the parkway between the wall and the street, they will need to be watered and somewhat tended until they are established. How will we keep them watered? This will require community action of some kind...

• Are you willing to install a drip sprinkler for the new plants at your expense?
  
• Can you hang your hose over the wall twice a week to water the plants
  
• Should we just go #$%$&^% ourselves; this isn't worth the trouble
  

Several of my neighbors have remarked that they always direct visitors to enter through Aldea. If we do this, the result will be a much more pleasant drive on Louise, and a better face for our community. We can take a little pride in how we present to the world. The beginning of this project will require some effort. It's going to be worky to plant whatever stock we're able to get. That dirt is bound to be hard, so we may need equipment besides hand labor. Does anyone know of a landscape architect who could help with design, preferably on a pro bono basis? Does anyone own, work at, or know of a nursery and/or equipment rental facility that might donate stock and machinery or at least give us a break?

Please email encinoville@gmail.com or comment below.

News from Neighnorhood Watch

Some of you will find a flyer with Neighborhood Watch news on your doorstep tonight (Sunday). The encinodogger and I took it around and dropped it at selected houses, especially those of residents who have expressed a wish to be involved in the nabe. Though this is the first issue that I remember seeing, at least for quite some time, I think the organizers of this now know that we in the "south of Hatteras" sector are interested and involved with Encino Village life.

The bad news is that our SLO has not set up a future meeting for the neighborhood, though the other areas covered in the brochure seem to have a regular schedule. There could be a lot of reasons for this, but if you're concerned, or just want to get more involved, give him - officer Rob Trulik - a call at 818 374.7637, or drop an email to 32326@lapd.lacity.org. In my experience, he's shown himself to be a good guy and responsive to our needs and requests. Notice that the large commercial trucks have, for the most part, disappeared from Louise Ave., due largely to Ofc. Trulik's citing efforts. And you haven't seen anyone messing with the trash on Thursday mornings either, thanks again to him.

In other news, there's an effort afoot to organize a new group to deal largely with neighborhood beautification efforts. They're meeting Tuesday, so more news after that.

We've done it...

Well, at least we've started to do it. Thanks to Josh and Richard, we walked the petition around the neighborhood and garnered quite a few signatures. Since we only need two-thirds of the affected properties to sign on, it should be pretty easy to qualify this. How long it will take the city to actually put up the signs is another story altogether, I'm sure.

A couple of the old-timers in the neighborhood recalled to me how many times this has been tried before; apparently we're not breaking any new ground here, but we're actually doing something.

Thing is - it's a beginning. If you're new to the blog, or even if you're not, please comment or email me. If you want to post, or even start your own damn blog, I'll help you do that too.

Get involved; be part of the solution.

And to all that helped, signed, and leant their experience: thanks.

Somebody help me...

...Anybody. Please?

Chcchchchanges...

Greetings from beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I'm again closing in on a living. It's hot and rainy here. The rain cools off things nicely, though, as does the beer. But, I digress...

Obviously, there was no petitioning last week. In fact, Maritza pulled out of the whole thing on Saturday, due to personal pressures. Yes, that was kinda last minute, and this is the first chance I've had to plan a new path. So - we begin again. I now have all the petitions, and I'd like to walk the neighborhood on Monday. With the holiday there should be a lot of people at home. and they may be drunk enough to actually open the door for us.

This is a call for volunteers: if you can do this Monday in the early eve, please enter a comment below, or email me. The thing is - if we're to do this, we need to do this, y'know? If Monday isn't good, let's plan another night, but soon.

A Reminder...

I'm in the bay Area today, making a much-needed living, but I wanted to remind all that it's time to get those parking petitions out. We're still looking at Monday and/or Tuesday (26,27th), so reply here or contact Maritza to volunteer.

What about the landscaping? Any ideas? I've got the beer on ice, so let's get it done.

News!!! (finally)

Maritza Beaudine has the parking petitions in hand, though she will need help to circulate them. She has next Monday and Tuesday in the early evening (June 26 and/or 27) in mind. Mrs. Encinoblogger had originally planned to help out with this, but she has a foot injury that may preclude this amount of walking. She may indeed be healed by then, but, in any case, we could use volunteers. We will need to cover all the houses that back up to Louise. This is a moderately big job, but it's something that can be easily done with a few people.

Please email the encinoblogger or reply in the comment space here to sign up. And please tell your neighbors to open their doors for us when we come around. Let's get this done.

Also, is anyone interested in a planting program for the parkway on the east side of Louise? Ideas and connections for getting cheap - uh, free - plants are needed. A few of us can do the labor (I'll bring the beer), but it would be great to get the stock donated. There may be help from the city available; in fact I'm hoping the councilman's office is reading this space and will step up on this. Email or comments below.

New Comment policy: Anyone's welcome!

I've decided to throw open the Comments section to anyone from now on. You no longer have to register with Blogger to post a comment, although you might want to register anyway, just so you can start your own blog. I know that some people were uncomfortable with the whole registration routine, so now you can comment to your heart's content.

Mi blog es su blog.

Disaster Preparedness meeting : The Summary

There was a fair turnout for tonight's meeting, probably around 150 people. The main points: you need lots of practical food, lots of water, lots of supplies. Flashlights, batteries, fie extinguishers, radios, blankets, pet food, kitty litter, plastic bags for the kitty litter (hint: it's not just for kitties anymore...). Aside from the Mr. Rogers-like approach ("Who can tell me how many policemen are in Los Angeles?") the main message delivered by experts from the city's Disaster Preparedness board, the LAFD and a particularly dour FBI agent was - you're on your own if it comes down. You need to be able to take care of yourself for at least a week.

We all saw after Katrina that you can't count on government help any time soon, so you'd better be able to survive until things settle down. We all know this, of course, but we act like it's not so. We nod sagely and vow to get to it, but do we? I don't know about you, but I've had kits in my house, cars and office for a long time, and I'm going to see this weekend that everything is fresh and functioning. When was the last tme you checked the batteries in your radio (you do have a battery-powered radio, don't you?) and rotated out the old Cliff bars for some fresh stock? Now's the time.

Disaster Preparedness meeting on Thursday night...

There will be a Disaster Preparedness Community Meeting on Thursday, June 1st at
Encino Community Center, 4935 Balboa from 7:00 - 9:00 pm. Free emergency preparedness starter kit per family plus QuakeHold Museum Putty. This is part of a citywide effort to prepare every community for any disaster. Speakers from the FBI, L.A. Fire and Police Departments will offer survival techniques to help you and your family prepare for earthquakes, fires, and terrorist attacks. We need to be prepared to survive on our own, as outside help might not be available. Please plan to attend and please tell your neighbors.

Thank you for your help.