L.A. Councilman Jack Weiss will be the guest speaker at the next meeting of the Sherman Oaks Homeowers Association at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, at Notre Dame High School, located at 13645 Riverside Drive in Sherman Oaks.

He will talk about his goals and objectives during his last months on the City Council, inlcuding crime/public safety and developments in Sherman Oaks.

For more information, visit www.sohainfo.com.

The Chatsworth Neighborhood Council will hold its elections from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at the Chatsworth Train Depot, 10038 Old Depot Plaza Road.

No advance registration is required.

Who can vote? If you have live, work, own property, board a horse in Chatsworth and you are at least 18 years old, you can vote in this local election.

There are 10 seats open on the council's board of directors. The candidates are Kamesh Aysola, Judith Daniels, Vernalie Deirmenjian, Diana Dixon-Davis, Janice Eddy-Languen, Mary Kaufman, Hember Maldonado, Joseph A. Martin, Richard Nadel, Art Schlefstein, Robert Searcy, Andre van der Valk, Linda van der Valk and Lucie Volotsky.

To learn more about the candidates, visit www.chatsworthcouncil.org. Under "CNC Board Elections 2008," click on "Candidates and Statements."

L.A. Councilman Tom LaBonge recently spoke at a Valley VOTE meeting and affirmed his opposition to a massive office building project on Lankershim Boulevard at the site of the Metro Red Line station, across the street from the main entrance to Universal Studios.

He explained to Valley VOTE that his position is based on two issues, according to the organization's latest meeting report.

First, he opposes it because of the density caused by the proposed construction of two high-rise office buildings and a 10-story parking structure on an unusually small, "banana-shaped" lot.

Second, his opposition is based on the lack of infrastructure in the area to handle the vehicle traffic.

He noted that the thousands of jobs promised don't really reflect new jobs, as they are merely being transferred a few miles westward from the current NBC operations in Burbank.

However, new construction jobs would be needed to build the project. He also noted that the Lankershim site presents a particular traffic bottleneck because, unlike much of the Valley which provides alternative routes via a grid-based street network there, is no possibility of developing an alternative, the report states.

LaBonge distributed to the Valley VOTE attendees a copy of his Oct. 15 letter to Mayor Villaraigosa, in his capacity as chairman of the MTA, expressing his opposition to the project, which is a joint undertaking of the MTA and NBC/Universal.

LaBonge repeatedly insisted that we must "do it right!" He said that improving infrastructure must precede the project, as too often in the past (he cited the Hollywood/Highland Project) developers' promises to upgrade the infrastructure remain unfulfilled, according to the meeting report.

In LaBonge's mind, such improvements for this project should include additional lanes on both the 170 and 134 freeways to eliminate "choke points" and to widen several dozen surface street intersections in the area.

An interesting suggestion made by LaBonge was to extend the Red Line subway from its present terminus at Lankershim and Chandler northward to the Valley Plaza shopping mall at Victory Boulevard and then shift over to an above-ground light rail line down the center of the nearby 170 freeway, then north into the I-5 freeway, all the way to Santa Clarita.

So, it's after Halloween and your child has a costume he or she will probably never wear again. Why not let other children enjoy the costume next Halloween.

The Northridge West Neighborhood Council and the North Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce will hold the inaugural "Halloween Hand-Over" event from noon-3 p.m. at George W. Hall Field, 18755 Devonshire St., Northridge.

You can turn in gently-used Halloween costumes, which will be donated to needy children in the community next Halloween.

At the the event, there will be music, hot dogs, beverages, popcorn and other treats.

First responders to the wildfire that threatened Porter Ranch, Chatsworth and Granada Hills will talk about emergency response during a town hall meeting about the Sesnon Wildfire from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Wednesday at Shepherd of the Hills Church, 19700 Rinaldi St., Porter Ranch, according to the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council's latest newsletter.

Personnel from LAPD, LAFD, Crisis Response Team, California Emergency Mobile Patrol, American Red Cross, Department of Transportation, Office of Public Safety, L.A. Unified School Police and the California Highway Patrol are expected to attend and speak.

For more information, call the Devonshire Police Station at 818-832-0692.

On the Lake Balboa Neighborhood Council's Web site is a link where residents can let Mayor Villaraigosa know their thoughts about the city's budget for the next fiscal year.

Villaraigosa must present his budget plan by April 20 to the L.A. City Council.

Visit www.lakebalboanc.org, click on the link and let the mayor know your budget priorities and your thoughts about the city's revenues and expenditures.

"This year, L.A. will be challenged by many issues, including the uncertain impact of the turbulent national economy, likely revenue shortfalls and increased service demands," Villaraigosa states on the first page of the survey.

Let him know how you think the city should face those challenges.

The Valley Glen Neighborhood Association will hold its annual community picnic from noon-4 p.m. Sunday in Valley Glen Community Park, located south of Erwin Street at Ethel Avenue.

This fundraiser supports the association and its upcoming charitable project called Adopt-A-Family, where the association brings Christmas and the holidays to disadvantaged families with kids attending public schools in Valley Glen.

Food tickets are $10 per person, $4 per child under 12. For a $25 sponsorship, you get an adult food ticket and a raffle ticket.

For more information, visit www.valleyglen.org.

The crime and safety committee of the Studio City Neighborhood Council is a co-sponsor of a free crime and safety expo to be held from 10 a.m.-2 pm. Sunday at CBS Studios, 4024 Radford Ave., Studio City.

Several topics will be covered including how to prevent identify theft and how to start a Neighborhood Watch group.

There will also be a demonstration to see how fast a car burglary can occur.

A drive-through car-seat inspection will be held from noon-2 p.m.

Free Halloween safety lights will be available while supplies last.

For more information, call the Studio City Neighborhood Council's office at 818-655-5400.

L.A. Councilman Tom LaBonge will be a guest speaker at the next Valley VOTE meeting, to be held from 6:45-8:30 p.m. in the second-floor meeting room at Galpin Ford, 15505 Roscoe Blvd., North Hills.

LaBonge, former chief of field operations for Mayor Richard Riordon, was elected to his first four-year term on the L.A. City Council in 2003 and his second four-year term in 2007.

Jacque McMillan, a principal government and regional affairs representative for the Metropolitan Water District, will also speak at the Valley VOTE meeting.

For more information, visit www.valleyvote.org.

Valley VOTE (Voters Organized Toward Empowerment) is the organization that led a petition drive to place a measure before voters in 2002 seeking to secede the San Fernando Valley from the city of Los Angeles. The measure did not pass.

Today, Valley VOTE's mission is to explore and foster the implementation of programs that empower the people of the Valley and city of Los Angeles in order to improve local governance, education and public participation on policy matters.

The Woodland HIlls Warner Center Neighborhood Council's community forum on Saturday, Oct. 18, will feature a "Panel of Visionaries" offering different perspectives and strategies for addressing current transportation issues in the west San Fernando Valley.

The forum will be held from 8:30 a.m.-noon at the AMC Promenade Theater, 21801 Oxnard St., Woodland Hills. It will include a complimentary breakfast.

The panel will include L.A. Councilmember Wendy Greuel, Assemblymember Mike Feuer, Allison Yoh of the Rand Corp and Donald Shoup of UCLA.

Greuel is a champion of the city's strategic transportation plan, a comprehensive citywide vision that requires an investment in long-term planning.

Feuer is leading the charge with Measure R, a proposed 0.5 percent sale tax for transportation funding, which would generate $40 billion for transportation improvements throughout L.A. County.

Yoh is a former board member of the Metro and a member of the Rand Corp. team responsible for the recently released report "Moving Los Angeles," which offers Angelenos short-term transportation solutions that can be implemented during the next five years.

Shoup is a professor of urban planning at UCLA and author of "The High Cost of Free Parking," which establishes parking as a key link between transportation and land use, with important consequences for the community, economy and environment.

The Winnetka Neighborhood Council gave $2,500 to buy dictionaries, encyclopedias and books for the Multicultural Learning Center, located at 7510 DeSoto in Winnetka.

The center is a public charter school within the L.A. Unified School District that serves approximately 250 children in grades kindergarten through eighth grade.

A main component of its program is that is holds classes in both English and Spanish.

For more more information about the Winnetka Neighborhood Council, visit www.winnetkanc.com.

At the Sept. 25 Sylmar Neighborhood Council meeting, LAPD Senior Lead Officers Charles Chacon and John Lonergen provided an update on crime since the beginning of the San Fernando Valley gang injunction, started this summer.

Five people have been arrested as a result of the injunction, they said.

There has been a noticeable decrease in crime, they added. On average, there have been 13 arrests monthly attributed to gangs. Since the injunction, that number has dropped to five arrests a month.

For more information, visit www.sylmarneighborhoodcouncil.org.

The Valley Glen Neighborhood Association's annual picnic and fundraiser, called the Valley Glen Family Fest, will be held from noon-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19, at Valley Glen Community Park, located at Ethel Avenue and Delano Street.

There will be lots of family fun for all ages.

For more information, visit www.valleyglen.org.

The Chatsworth Neighborhood Council will hold a candidates' forum so local stakeholders can meet the people running to fill 10 seats on the council.

The forum will be held at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, at Lawrence Middle School, 10100 Variel Ave. It will follow the council's regular meeting at 7 p.m.

Candidates will speak at the beginning of the forum, followed by a question-and-answer session.

The election will be held from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Chatsworth Train Depot, 10038 Old Depot Plaza Road.

The council will accept write-in candidate applications until Oct. 25.

For more information, visit info@chatsworthcouncil.org or call 818-464-3511.

The Granada Hills South Neighborhood Council will have a booth at the eighth annual Granada Hills Street Faire on Saturday, Oct. 4, on Chatsworth Street, between Zelzah and Encino avenues.

Council representatives will be there to answer any questions and let residents know how they can get involved in their community.

More than 200 local businesses and nonprofit gouprs are expected to participate.

Parking and admission are free.

Also, the Granada Hills South Neighborhood Council's new phone number is 818-668-5969.