by katie | Apr 30, 2021 | Newspaper
It is a sad story, but it has a happy ending. Paul Gross was born and raised in New York in the 1960’s and 70’s. It’s his story now to tell, but it is actually his father’s story. One of survival, fighting back, keeping others safe, saving the life of a small... Read more 
by katie | Apr 22, 2021 | Newspaper
With Judge Carter’s ruling this week that the nearly 5,000 residents of Skid Row must be relocated from the area by October, tensions are running high among anti-homeless advocates who fear that they will flood their neighborhood, though the skid row clearance should... Read more 
by katie | Apr 16, 2021 | Newspaper
The Valley Cultural Foundation (VCF) will be returning this summer for the 46th concert season at Warner Ranch Park. Nora Ross, CEO, said, “After this last year we are all looking forward to returning to the park to enjoy music, friends, and the return to normalcy,... Read more 
by katie | Mar 25, 2021 | Newspaper
A woman driver in a Prius – last Friday. Two children in a cross walk – 2020. Truck driver killed by 17-year-old – 2019. Fatal crash, Ventura at Del Moreno – 2017. Three dead at Ventura and Desoto – 2016. Those are just the ones we’ve... Read more 
by katie | Mar 18, 2021 | Newspaper
It was Sparky’s nighttime constitutional. My friend Sandra Mariscal carried him out the front door to the walkway, being extra cautious as there had been coyote attacks on her other dog in the last few months. Just 10 feet from the front door of her Vista de Oro... Read more 
by katie | Mar 4, 2021 | Newspaper
Call it rationing. Call it money management. Call it food insecurity. I don’t know who put the fancy label on it, but trust me, when you’re hungry you don’t say you’re “food insecure.” You’re just hungry. How is it that in such a prosperous country, we have... Read more 
by katie | Feb 26, 2021 | Newspaper
The City of Los Angeles has opened its second-largest vaccination center at Pierce College. The center, located in Parking Lot 7 off Victory Boulevard, will actually offer both COVID testing and vaccinations in partnership with the Los Angeles Fire Department and... Read more 
by katie | Feb 18, 2021 | Newspaper
This week, the County of Los Angeles announced that schools that had TK to sixth grades could open back up once they passed a safety plan. It is all well and good that the county has decided it is safe enough for small children to return to school. But the children... Read more 
by katie | Feb 11, 2021 | Newspaper
A car chase that ended in Woodland Hills left the car and driver stuck on a fence just above Ventura Blvd. near Woodlake Bowl. The suspect, wanted for assault with a deadly weapon, took off on the wrong side of Ventura after exiting the freeway. He made a left onto... Read more 
by katie | Feb 4, 2021 | Newspaper
“It’s a tiny solution to a huge problem,” says Ken Craft. He can state that with authority. Craft, CEO of Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission, has made it his life’s work to feed, clothe and house the homeless. He is overseeing the installation of a row of cabins or... Read more 
by katie | Jan 29, 2021 | Newspaper
The State of California and the County of Los Angeles have given approval for restaurants to once again offer limited outdoor dining as of Friday, January 29. Good news? Maybe. Can local restaurants gear up for outdoor dining in just three days, especially with a... Read more 
by katie | Jan 15, 2021 | Newspaper
Congressman Brad Sherman started the day, January 6, as the guest speaker at a West Valley Warner Center Chamber Zoom meeting. He then left his office to check on the electoral vote counting. “It was a big day,” he recounted. “I needed to get to the House floor to see... Read more 
by katie | Jan 8, 2021 | Newspaper
The Los Angeles City Council last week unanimously approved Westfield’s Promenade 2035 Plan. The “mini city” will include a sports arena, two hotels, over 1,400 apartments and a 28-story office building, along with a grocery store and over 10 acres of green space. The... Read more 
by katie | Dec 30, 2020 | Newspaper
Front-line health care workers and essential workers putting their lives on the line to keep the economy and society going are now eligible to step up to the plate for their first vaccine injection. This will be followed by the second vaccine to be administered three... Read more 
by katie | Dec 30, 2020 | Newspaper
The highlight of January is the meteor shower named the “Quadrantids” that occurs on Saturday, January 2. Go out after 6 pm and see how many you can spot in an hour. The meteors will pop out anywhere in the whole night sky. If you get away from the city lights,... Read more 
by katie | Dec 24, 2020 | Newspaper
Joined by LA Family Housing at a small celebration under COVID-19 protocols, Councilmember Bob Blumenfield has announced that the City of Los Angeles has purchased two hotels for unhoused Angelenos in his district. These are the first two hotels in Los Angeles that... Read more 
by katie | Dec 18, 2020 | Newspaper
On Wednesday, Los Angeles marked the deadliest day of the pandemic, yet hope arrived as vaccines were delivered to local valley hospitals. With 22,422 new cases reported, and 138 deaths in just one day, the need for the vaccine was never more apparent. The mechanics... Read more 
by katie | Dec 10, 2020 | Newspaper
Woodland Hills Candy Cane Lane, located off Winnetka Avenue and Oxnard Street, has been a holiday favorite since 1948! 2020 has brought so many changes, and Candy Cane Lane definitely is part of that. Yes, there are fewer decorated houses than in previous years, but... Read more 
by katie | Dec 3, 2020 | Newspaper
The highlight of December is the “Great Conjunction” of Saturn and Jupiter on Monday, December 21. These two giant planets will be the closest to each other since 1623! Watch in the southwest as these two naked-eye planets move toward each other every night in... Read more 
by katie | Nov 25, 2020 | Newspaper
Both the City and County of Los Angeles have mandated that all restaurants eliminate outdoor dining for three weeks starting the day before Thanksgiving. They can offer delivery, take out and drive-thru pick up, but no in-person consumption of meals on site. This is... Read more 
by katie | Nov 20, 2020 | Newspaper
There is so much bad news in the world: COVID-19 numbers are up, big companies are laying off more people, there are runs again on supplies at the supermarkets. But there is also so much good news too. At least two companies are close to a vaccine, we are all still... Read more 
by katie | Nov 12, 2020 | Newspaper
This week Pfizer announced a vaccine candidate they found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19. Pfizer and Biontech studied 43,538 participants, all of diverse backgrounds, and found no serious safety concerns from adminstration of BNT162b2. They have... Read more 
by katie | Nov 5, 2020 | Newspaper
How do you track a disease when so many of its carriers can be asymptomatic? How do you find out when someone was infected? Where? And by whom? The COVID-19 pandemic created an immediate need for a large number of contract tracers – those who would start with a sick... Read more 
by katie | Oct 29, 2020 | Newspaper
The second annual “Halloween Houses on Display” contest is underway in West Hills, judged by impartial professionals to find the scariest and the most comical Halloween decor in West Hills. This annual event is the brainchild of the Special Events Committee of the... Read more 
by katie | Oct 23, 2020 | Newspaper
Just in time for the start of the holiday shopping season, Westfield Topanga & The Village are hosting a “Shop Your Heart Out” charitable shopping event to be held October 23 through November 1. Participants will have the chance to donate to their favorite... Read more 
by katie | Oct 15, 2020 | Newspaper
A visitor to the San Fernando Valley in the early 20th century would have been treated to the sight of more than a dozen ranches dotting the plain. But there were few herds of cattle throwing up clouds of dust across the Valley floor; not many chuckwagons emitting... Read more 
by katie | Oct 8, 2020 | Newspaper
Vote. It sounds so simple. But not this year. How and when you vote has never been so complicated. In person on November 3rd, in person early at a specified location, mail in ballot sent through the Post Office, or mail in ballot dropped in a ballot box? In... Read more 
by katie | Sep 25, 2020 | Newspaper
Councilman Bob Blumenfield has set the date of November 16 to remove all homeless encampments from the Winnetka and Corbin underpasses of the freeway. LAHSA (Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority) has identified 33 people that live in these underpasses, and... Read more 
by katie | Sep 17, 2020 | Newspaper
Kim Kardashian brought in a private crew during the Woolsey Fire. Insurance companies pay for fire specialists for those homeowners on the Forbes 400 Rich List. The City of Hidden Hills has its own fire engine. But are private firefighters just for the rich? “Not at... Read more 
by katie | Sep 11, 2020 | Newspaper
The recent surge in fires this week has understandably made many residents nervous – and cautious. They also underscore the importance of having adequate insurance and documenting what you are insuring. If you live in a multi-unit building it serves as a... Read more 
by katie | Sep 10, 2020 | Newspaper
On September 8 the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued guidelines for Halloween. No trick or treating (since revised to a recommendation). No trunk or treating. No parties or festivals. No gathering other than immediate family. Basically, they... Read more 
by katie | Aug 28, 2020 | Newspaper
Here we are in a pandemic. We know what the state, county and city have planned for our schools. We know what the public and private schools have planned. But what about the teachers themselves? What do they think about distance teaching? Would they rather be back... Read more 
by katie | Aug 20, 2020 | Newspaper
With COVID-19, more and more people are working from home and not returning to the office environment. Buildings appear half-empty, and many companies have announced they are not bringing back their employees anytime soon. With small firms requiring employees to work... Read more 
by katie | Aug 20, 2020 | Newspaper
Carl Gambino knows luxury real estate. Having set the record for the highest sale in Encino history at $14 million, he further went on to shatter his own record by selling another Encino home at $20 million. While licensed in the hottest real estate markets in the... Read more 
by katie | Aug 6, 2020 | Newspaper
Spectrum Networks has partnered with Valley News Group in the launch of its Spectrum News App, introduced this week. The app combines reporting from existing newsrooms and weather teams, original content from dedicated digital journalists and curated content from... Read more 
by katie | Jul 30, 2020 | Newspaper
Heat. Winds. Dry hillsides. All of which make Southern California a hot spot for wildfires. The 2018 Woolsey Fire was a lesson to residents in brush clearance, evacuation and emergency preparedness. As of this week, there’s a new firefighting tool to combat the raging... Read more 
by katie | Jul 24, 2020 | Newspaper
Pandemic, protests, murder hornets. 2020 has hardly been tame. And now snake season has started with the hot weather, and “Rattlesnake Wrangler” Bo Slyapich is warning west valley residents he’s seeing a lot of rattlers already. “We’ve got more people home so there... Read more 
by katie | Jul 16, 2020 | Newspaper
They’re rolling out smart in Woodland Hills! The new Amazon grocery store will introduce their new “Dash Cart” technology when the store opens at 6245 Topanga Canyon Blvd., on the site of the old Toys R Us. Dash Carts use computer vision and sensors to add up a... Read more 
by katie | Jul 10, 2020 | Newspaper
Congratulations, you received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan! If you are like most businesses, you applied for the loan because it can be forgivable. But approval and funding are only half the story, until you apply for loan forgiveness, you owe this money... Read more 
by katie | Jul 2, 2020 | Newspaper
With fireworks shows in the valley canceled this fourth, the planes of the Condor Air Squadron will bring a patriotic flyover to Encino Saturday night. According to Chris Rushing, squadron president, four vintage WWII aircraft will fly over the west valley at... Read more 
by katie | Jun 26, 2020 | Newspaper
Valley Cultural Foundation has found a way, even during a pandemic, to make it “a beautiful day in the neighborhood.” VCF, the leading art organization in the San Fernando Valley, has found a way to save a little bit of summer with “Drive-Up Movies” beginning... Read more 
by katie | Jun 4, 2020 | Newspaper
In the midst of fighting a pandemic, the valley – and the nation as a whole – quickly found itself inundated with the aftermath of the senseless death of George Flloyd. “Black Lives Matter” protests in the west valley were held in various locations, and contrary... Read more 
by katie | Jun 4, 2020 | Newspaper
It’s kitten season and mountain lions are no exception! P-54, who lives in the Santa Monica Mountains, just gave birth to a litter of three kittens. While adorable, biologists are thrilled that this litter may be bringing much needed genetic diversity thanks to the... Read more 
by katie | May 29, 2020 | Newspaper
UPDATE: While initially scheduled to reopen on June 3, Westfield Fashion Square and Westfield Topanga & The Village have suspended opening their doors in an abundance of caution given the recent looting taking place in the San Fernando Valley. While no new date... Read more 
by katie | May 19, 2020 | Newspaper
On Monday, May 18, 2020, Dr. Lysik tendered his resignation as Calabasas’ City Manager to the Council effective May 17, 2020 for personal reasons. Lysik expressed his appreciation for the support of the community, staff, and various City Councilmembers he’s worked... Read more 
by katie | May 14, 2020 | Newspaper
California Governor Gavin Newsom led off his daily briefing Wednesday by saying, “We have to walk and chew gum at the same time.” Obviously the current focus is on fighting COVID-19 but now also on mitigating and fighting fires as we move into wildfire season. ... Read more 
by katie | May 7, 2020 | Newspaper
They’re nostalgic, they’re fun, and these days, they’re the way we’re going to watch movies on a big screen. Drive-in movies are making a comeback all over the nation, and we can look forward to seeing them soon in the West Valley. Valley Cultural Foundation will be... Read more by katie | Apr 30, 2020 | Newspaper
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Wednesday that any L.A. County resident can get tested for COVID-19, whether or not they have symptoms of the disease. Garcetti said the city has the testing capacity for anyone who wants one – a key to lifting... Read more 
by katie | Apr 30, 2020 | Newspaper
The hearing on Westfield Promenade, originally scheduled for March 25, was cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis. Westfield has been working with the City of Los Angeles Planning Department on a new date, and May 28 is the targeted date for a hearing, which will... Read more 
by katie | Apr 23, 2020 | Newspaper
We are wearing masks. Practicing self-quarantine. Isolating at home. But what if you don’t have a home? The issue of the homeless during a pandemic has only intensified concerns about the transient population of the west valley in general. Drive under many freeway... Read more 