The Forest Service has closed the Angeles National Forest because of the wildfires. The closure went into effect today and will last "until the extreme conditions subside," according to the Forest Service.

The Forest Service says that individuals and organizations with special use permits for sanctioned activities within the Angeles National Forest are exempt from the order. The closure affects all recreational facilities, roads and hiking trails.

County roads and state highways, such as the Angeles Crest Highway (Highway 2), will remain open to through traffic. Drivers are urged to be cautious.

As someone who just went hiking Saturday in the Angeles National Forest, taking a 10-hour trek to the Bridge to Nowhere, this is disconcerting news.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 09:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

With each passing day since the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide, the chances that it will be approved by a full House vote seem increasingly unlikely. Today comes a story in the New York Times highlighting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's slow backing away from the proposal. Radio Free Europe reports that Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian begins an official visit to Washington, D.C., today and will meet with Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Apparently the Armenian prime minister will not be meeting with President George W. Bush, who yesterday angered China by meeting with the Dalai Lama. The Times article mentions that the chief House sponsors of the Armenian Genocide resolution point out the inconsistency of risking poorer relations with China but not risking a formal recognition of the genocide.

And on a totally different topic, Ellen DeGeneres is calling for a truce in the dog fiasco that she started by crying on-camera during a taping of her show at NBC Studios in Burbank. The Daily News carried a story today about the death threats that the dog agency's organizer says she is receiving as a result of DeGeneres' on-air plea.

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OK, this is inexcusable on my part, but I missed a vital piece of information in the O.J. Simpson robbery saga. Way back on Sept. 21, uber community columnist Will Rogers wrote an unbelievable story about Alfred Beardsley, one of O.J.'s alleged victims in the Las Vegas robbery. Rogers and Beardsley had a run-in, or a series of uncomfortable encounters culminating in a wild car chase through the streets of Burbank. To find the story, click here and then click on the Sept. 21 column "Council Candidate a Victim in Alleged OJ Rip-Off?" There's also a similar story at The Smoking Gun. Anyway, here is a passage from the Will Rogers piece:

At one point I was racing at high speed in reverse up Hollywood Way, and at another (Beardsley) was driving for blocks at a time in the oncoming lanes of Hollywood Way after I’d avoided him with a “k-turn” just like those I’d seen performed for years on “The Rockford Files.”

Throughout the event I was on the line with a Burbank police dispatcher. The episode came to a close when we were finally descended upon by a phalanx of Burbank police motorcycle officers, patrol cars, unmarked detective vehicles and even the police helicopter.

Will Rogers' account makes the bit of backstory I turned up look pale in comparison, but you can click here to find out about Beardsley's slugging match with the KKK and his involvement with the late Irv Rubin.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

Ellen DeGeneres made a heartfelt plea during the taping of her show in Burbank on Monday. She wants her dog back, or more specifically, she wants the dog that she gave away to her hairdresser to be returned to her. You see it's not the hairdresser who has it; the dog was taken away by a rescue agency called Mutts and Moms. Ellen cried real tears, according to the Associated Press story about her on-air plea. The whole thing involves a written contract between Ellen and the rescue agency, and Ellen says she didn't read the contract carefully enough. What's this? A Hollywood star getting ripped off by not reading a contract? How could it be?

The show airs today.

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Glendale police Officer John Balian is back from Istanbul, Turkey, the land of his birth. The Armenian-American Police Department spokesman spent a breezy three week vacation in Turkey, driving around in a rented Fiat with his dad. Balian grew up speaking Turkish and Armenian, with a couple other languages mixed in there. With animosity against Turkey running high because of its continued denial of the Armenian Genocide, it's sometimes forgotten that Turkey is still home to a sizable Armenian population.

Balian was born in Turkey and spent the first 6 years of his life there, going to an Armenian school affiliated with a church. His early years were spent in a middle class suburb of Istanbul called Green Village, and his father worked as an auto parts wholesaler. He remembers that his grandmother lived in front of the Bosphorous, and he remembers going out in a wooden rowboat to fish.

Armenians in Turkey talk less about the genocide than Armenians living elsewhere, Balian said. Given the Turkish government's hostility to any discussion of the genocide, Armenians in Turkey tend to reserve their discussions about the genocide to conversations with friends. Economically and socially, Armenians have been able to thrive in Turkey. But there is still descrimination, especially in government employment.

"In Turkey, you can't even be a parking checker unless you're a Turk," Balian said.

While vacationing in Turkey, Balian was able to meet family members he had never seen before. He said his Turkish relatives are prospering, with one cousin having been featured in magazines for her work as an interior designer. And Turkey is becoming more modern and continuing to orient itself toward Europe, Balian said. On one street in a tony part of town, Balian counted eight Starbucks in a quarter mile stretch. People wear the latest styles, and the streets are not totally empty when the sun sets during Ramaddan. Balian would like to see Turkey be more open to the neighbor on its eastern border: Armenia.

"My (hope) is one day to see the borders of Armenia and Turkey open up, so both countries can prosper," he said.

Still, there are twice weekly flights between Yerevan, Armenia, and Istanbul, Turkey, and on a personal level citizens from the two countries are interacting, even if the two nations stand politically opposed.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 06:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

Little known fact, but Providence Saint Joseph chief flak (and former Daily News staffer) Dan Boyle is an author who has just finished his second novel, "Housecleaning." The book was published by The Haworth Press and it concerns a gay scientist who is busily trying to unravel the secrets of the universe while caring for his dementia-suffering mother.

I haven't read the book, but that summary Dan provided me bears a striking resemblance to "Proof," the Pullitzer Prize winning play by David Auburn. In "Proof" the reclusive daughter of a brilliant but insane mathematician struggles to prove his theorum after his death, and after spending the best years of her life caring for him.

Still, it sounds like there are some big differences from "Proof." First of all, the dementia-suffering mother takes the reader back in time, and Boyle uses the device to write about the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, the 1936 Berlin Olympics and the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington. Boyle, who grew up in Washington State, also weaves in descriptions of the Pacific Northwest and the Los Angeles area.

Reportedly, the nurses and orderlies at Providence responded to Boyle's book announcement by lining the hallways and shouting "Author! Author!" OK I made that up.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 01:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

John Stewart and "Senior Armeniologist" Aasif Mandvi gave a "Daily Show" treatment to the Armenian Genocide last night. The report titled "This Armenian Strife" started with John Stewart mocking Connie Rice's statement that the Armenian Genocide resolution would be "problematic for everything that we're trying to do in the Middle East." Asked Stewart: "Question: What are we trying to do in the Middle East?" According to Mandvi's report, America has different standards for allies like Turkey than for its enemies. Mandvi suggests that Germany could have renamed the Holocaust the Halfacaust if only Germany had not gone to war with the United States.

Anyway, the report went on for 5 minutes. Funny stuff.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, has released a statement on the House Foreign Affairs Committee's approval yesterday of the resolution he authored that would recognize the Armenian Genocide. In a press release, his office also outlined the strong chances for the bill's passage:

The bipartisan measure currently has 226 cosponsors – more than a majority in the House and the most support an Armenian Genocide resolution has ever received. Both Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer have voiced support for the resolution.

The committee vote "clears a major hurdle in moving this resolution forward, and I hope it will move swiftly to the House floor for a vote. America must speak candidly about the past not only to help heal the wounds of the survivors and the families of the victims, but to give the United States the moral authority it needs to take action against other genocides like that taking place today in Darfur," Schiff said.

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Well, there's been a lot going on in the past 24 hours, almost too much to keep up with. First off, NBC announced it is moving the "Tonight Show" and a grip of other shows out of its Burbank facility and across the border to Universal City. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is anticipating that the move will pump $3 billion into Los Angeles' economic veins. Burbank officials are glum about the move, and a few of them told me that NBC didn't bother to inform them about it before yesterday's announcement, although the move has long been talked about and the announcement came as no big surprise. Our own David Kronke and Gregory J. Wilcox did a great job of covering the announcement.

And there's more big news, as the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday voted 27-21 to recognize the Armenian Genocide. When the same proposal was approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee in 2005, the Republican House leadership blocked it from getting to a full House vote. Now it looks like a bill that would recognize the Armenian Genocide is not only heading for a full House vote, it looks like it will pass. Check out our article on the vote here.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

An apartment fire happened yesterday in Glendale at 1225 Mariposa St., in unit #7. The fire broke out shortly after 12 p.m. Plumbers working in the apartment were "sweating" a pipe with a blowtorch and that started a fire, according to the Glendale Fire Department. Residents were evacuated and the Fire Department extinguished the fire in about 30 minutes. The fire caused about $70,000 in total damages. In its press release, the Fire Department had this to add about the fire:

The apartment building was equipped with operable smoke detectors which activated and alerted the occupants, allowing them to evacuate safely. This is an example of the importance and effectiveness of working smoke detectors.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

Do you hate the feeling that comes with reading a good book but not having anyone to talk about it with? Well, if you live in Glendale you can have a whole city of like-minded readers to share a book with. Well, maybe not a whole city, but at least those who pay attention to Glendale Public Library promotions. The library has a citywide reading event called "One Book One Glendale". Librarians want everyone in the city to read the same book. And if you don't read it, they'll peer over their glasses at you and guilt you into reading it.

The book is "When the Emperor Was Divine," by Julie Otsuka. Younger readers are being asked to read "Weedflower" by Cynthia Kadohata. Readers will have an opportunity to meet the authors in events at the Central Library next month (see the link above for more details). And as part of One Book One Glendale, with its focus on Japanese culture, Saturday, Nov. 3 will be Glendale Day at the Japanese American National Museum in the Little Tokyo section of downtown Los Angeles.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

The fund raising totals are in for the Glendale Relay for Life, and the event raised more than $185,000 for the American Cancer Society, according to organizer Linda Patrick.

The top fund raising teams were Hope Rises 3, which raised more than $20,000, the Hoover Tornadoes 1, which raised more than $10,500 and the West Wing Walkers, who raised more than $9,150. Hope Rises is a women's organization, Hoover is the high school and the West Wing Walkers is a group of City Hall employees.

The Glendale Relay for Life was a 24-hour walk and run relay marathon at the Glendale Sports Complex. Check out my article on the event here. Organizers plan to continue taking donations through the end of the year.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

Here's an update from the Glendale Police Department with the names of the two guys arrested in that shooting incident from last month (see yesterday's "Shooting up the minimart"). The names of the two men arrested are Natividad Delossantos, 37, and Armando Martinez Jr., 26.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 02:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

Michael Antonovich and the rest of the county supervisors are adding their voices to those calling for a stamp for the Japanese-American soldiers who fought in World War II. Antonovich, who brought the motion before the Board of Supervisors and represents "East of the 5" country on the five-member panel, says that the U.S. Postal Service recently announced they will consider issuing a stamp for Japanese-American fighters when their Stamp Committee convenes this fall.

Antonovich mentions that Japanese-Americans fought for the United States despite the fact family members and friends were being put in internment camps during World War II. And he mentions the many Japanese-Americans who fought in the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team and Military Intelligence Services, one of the most decorated units in American history.

Check out this article from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin about the Japanese-Americans pushing for a stamp for the 442nd.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 06:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

Glendale police say they have nabbed a suspect who shot up a minimart in an attempt to murder another individual. The shooting happened at a minimart on Lake Street and Western Avenue back on Sept. 21, said Detective Keith Soboleski of the Glendale Police Department. The shooter fired into the store from the doorway, missing his intended target but breaking a few items on the shelves, Soboleski said. He was accompanied by an alleged accomplice. There were a few other people in the minimart, and the police is considering them victims as well.

On Sept. 27, a SWAT team arrested the alleged shooter. Soboleski did not have the alleged shooter's ID, but I'll get that and update it on the blog when I have it. An individual - also unidentified - who was with the shooter turned himself in to gang detectives, Soboleski said. The two have been charged with attempted murder.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 05:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

We have a couple nationwide stories out of Glendale today.
-- First on the list is that Glendale-based IHOP is eliminating trans fats from its fryer by the end of the year. What does that mean for anyone wanting to order a big stack of pancakes? Absolutely nothing, because they don't fry pancakes (unfortunately). But IHOP wants you to know that they're not just about pancakes anymore. They fry food with the best of them, and serve three solid meals a day, plus a pretty solid nighttime snack. The problem is that the hydrogenated vegetable oil they use for frying is just a little too solid, and it clogs up the heart. So they're switching to trans fat free vegetable oils to fry up shrimp, french fries and chicken tenders and whatever else they serve that's hot and crispy. Here's my story from the Daily News. IHOP is not the first restaurant to make the switch, and it comes after the city of New York banned trans fats in restaurants there.

-- The other story with national implications, although mainly to the Armenian-American business community, is that the Glendale-based Armenian American Chamber of Commerce is considering the formation of new chapters for Greater Los Angeles, Little Armenia (Hollywood), Las Vegas and Washington D.C. The organization's Central Committee will govern all the current and future chapters of the AACC. Check out the AACC's Web site here.

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