Goal Attempt

[caption id="attachment_699" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="Flintridge Prep's Jack Purvis tries to block a shot by Chadwick's Ivan Gabriel on Wednesday, October 7, 2009. (Roger Wilson/News-Press)"][/caption]

Silent Protest

[caption id="attachment_697" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="Stop The Protocols supporters chained themselves together and placed tape on their mouths during hunger strike across the street from the Armenian Consulate on Glenoaks Blvd. at Central Ave. in Glendale on Wednesday, October 7, 2009. The group of about 32 protestors began their vigil Monday night and will be there until Friday night. (Raul Roa/News-Press)"][/caption]

Car phishing up in La Cañada

Crime stats from the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station revealed car phishing--criminals going car to car testing door handles to find which ones are unlocked--is up in the area. "Car phishing is up," said Dep. Eric Matejka of the CV Sheriff's Station.  "It's going up around the city." In the month of August, there were nine thefts by way of car phishing.  Dep. Matejka said the best way to prevent the crime is to leave all doors locked and store away any "high dollar items." "A lot of times," Dep. Matejka said, "they're checking door handles first and then looking around inside the car.  Last month, a woman left her doors unlocked and had jewelry in the glove compartment.  Other times, the criminals are seeing things in plain view in cars."

Lexus of Glendale steppin' up

Johnny Harrison, vice president at Lexus of Glendale on Brand Boulevard, has donated more than $4,700 to supply Glendale Unified School District with hand sanitizer. "Not going to allow a child to die on our watch," Harrison said. "Hand sanitizer is the least we can do." You might remember my story on this, but the district bought kegs worth of sanitizer to help prevent the spread of H1N1 influenza virus, which has already been detected at several Glendale Unified campuses. "Supporting schools is the easy part," Harrison said at Tuesday's Board of Education meeting. "You’ve got the difficult task to make kids into adults." He also informed the Board of Education of a nationwide Lexus challenge that would reward the school that presents a program to Lexus on eco-friendly land and water use. Lexus will reward the school with $10,000, and Harrison said he'd match that if a Glendale campus wins. There's more information about the competition here. “Nothing our principals like more than a challenge,” school board President Mary Boger said.

Man suspected in four robberies arrested

Police this week arrested a 27-year-old Van Nuys man later determined to be connected to a string of robberies in the city, authorities said. Brian Trevino is being charged with four felony counts of robbery and held on $225,000 bail, Burbank Police Sgt. Robert Quesada said. Officers at 2:15 p.m. Monday arrested Trevino while investigating a suspicious vehicle  in the 3600 block of W. Victory Blvd, Quesada said. There they met a man who matched the description from a previous street robbery. Detectives conducted follow-up investigations and connected Trevino to at least three previous robberies, including two at liquor stores and a gas station.

Loretta, Castro make Dodgers roster

Announced Wednesday, Los Angeles Dodgers Mark Loretta and Juan Castro were both selected for the team's 25-man postseason roster. Loretta is a St. Francis graduate and Castro is a Glendale resident. Both are utility infielders for the club. [caption id="attachment_342" align="aligncenter" width="198" caption="St. Francis High graduate and Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Mark Loretta."][/caption] The Dodgers, the National League West Division champions, open up their National League Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals tonight at 6:37 p.m. at Dodger Stadium.

Faeita closing in on third straight GT3 Cup title

For the third year in a row, Glendale High alumnus Bob Faieta, a Tujunga resident, enters the final weekend of the Patron GT3 Challenge by Yokohama with a strong shot at winning. Faieta, the two-time defending champion, has his biggest lead of the season entering the final two rounds on Saturday and Sunday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey. With 228 points, Faieta can finish no lower than second place, but still must hold off Martin Snow (206 points) to retain his title. With 40 points up for grabs in Rounds 13 and 14, it's a wide open race between the two men, who have battled each other for the lead all season. But Faieta has a strong track record on his side, having won three out of the last four rounds at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in securing the 2007 and 2008 championships. "We’re in good shape," Faieta said in a press release. "If we’re 22 points ahead we could clinch it in the first race, which would be my ideal scenario and then run for the win in the last race in front of my home crowd. I’m excited!" Round 13 will take place Saturday, Oct. 10 at 10:25 a.m.; the final round will be a 75-minute race Sunday, Octo. 11 at 10:50 a.m. The GT3 Challenge uses Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars with sealed motors and transmissions.

The truth behind the Times

[caption id="attachment_1615" align="alignright" width="210" caption="Credit: Creative Commons"][/caption] PBS recently aired "Inventing LA: The Chandlers & their Times," which chronicles the rise and fall of one of the most powerful families in Los Angeles history. For four generations, the Chandlers wielded unique influence through their newspaper, the Los Angeles Times. Click here to watch the story behind the L.A. Times.

Wow. Now, if only we could get comments like THAT

[caption id="attachment_434" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Creative Commons"][/caption] Steve Lopez is livid. Fed up with Manny Ramirez. Fed up with his lumbering, unapologetic ways and mediocre play. So irked is the Los Angeles Times columnist that he plans on giving away his Word Series tickets to the (anti) fan who writes the best 50-word (anti) pean to the Dodger's left fielder. In his words:

So here I am with World Series tickets in my hand and a wave of hysteria sweeping the city. I'm sorry for being the cockroach in the punch bowl, but I can't bring myself to join the party. The only thing that could get me to the ballpark in the post-season would be if Manager Joe Torre were to staple Manny's dreadlocks to the dugout wall and play Juan Pierre in his place. I'd rather lose with a scrappy singles hitter like Pierre than win with a loafing slugger like Ramirez.

Maybe I'll be in a more forgiving mood next year and return to the ballpark -- I just don't know. But I'm giving my World Series tickets this year to the person who writes my favorite 50-word sermon to Ramirez.

So far, there have been a number of pretty good responses. Here's a few samples:

The hearts of Mannywood have been broken Because you took Human Chorionic Gonadotropin With your hitting last summer few rivals could beat us Thanks to a drug that helps make a fetus Once caught you couldn’t look fans in the face Now all you do is leave men on base

- AND -

Just Manny being Manny Is what the fans do say Critique is reserved only For starlets in LA

Win or lose, no matter It is all about the scene Even though he struck out At least Casey played it clean

- AND EVEN -

L ucky you made it this far. O thers would give anything to be in your shoes. S o baseball is to high pressure? Challenging? Come Sub in my class! E veryone makes mistakes but you’re making the same stupid mistakes cheater. R eturn the Dodger uniform until you decide to play like a professional!

What do we need to do to get comments like that? Man. I'd love that.

Preparing for winter storms

[caption id="attachment_739" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Creative Commons"][/caption] Christopher Stone of the Los Angeles County Public Works gave tips to residents about how to prepare for winter rainstorms at Tuesday night's Station fire aftermath meeting. Officials said debris flows are likely during wet winters. Here's what to do:

• Implement mudflow deflectors ASAP
• Pay attention to weather forecasts
• Post-burn debris can last three to five years
• Be tolerant of increasing truck traffic when basin clean outs  are necessary