GIGA GRANADA HILLS

The following post was written by guest blogger Gabby Hyman, former Granada Hills resident and author of the short story collection Knives and Forks . Read more at his page, Dr. Bob's Nightmare . The Hearts of Soul “If you ain’t got no money, ain’t nobody calls you honey,” - Bo Diddley. Granada Hills High School still stands at the north end of Zelzah Avenue, the same street where the first oil well in the San Fernando Valley was drilled in 1916. Granada Hills had been home to the Sunshine Ranch, where farmers tended well-manicured orange groves and grew apricots, walnuts and beans. In 1959, the same year my family moved to California, that Soviet shoe-thumping demon Nikita Khrushchev visited Granada Hills. He had wanted to go to Disneyland, but U.S. security forces were concerned for his welfare, so they chauffeured him instead to witness suburban splendor on Sophia Drive. You'd hardly find a whiter place to live. Driving up and down our block on Gaviota Avenue, you'd...

I loves me the Eichlers. The only question I have is, why is this feature on a Granada Hills house being featured in a Florida newspaper? Is because we're famous nationwide? For more pictures, click: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/la-hm-0110-epping-pg,0,3421364.photogallery

Look at all of the candy! Sure, there's fruits and vegetables and all of the good-for-you stuff at Victory Produce, but I'm most impressed by the selection of exotic candies at this Armenian neighborhood grocery store. The confections have enchanting names names like "Kara Kum," "Xarba," "Luxury Cream Fudge," "Squirrel," and my personal favorite, "Clumsy Bear." Many don't have labels in English, but are in mock English, a/k/a Russian. The candy called "Caeq Memeopuma" is lovely, a close second only to "Mnwka Kocoranbin" and the enticing "Mazupobauuaw." Definitely try the other bear-themed offering, "Jypacubui Ohmyopb," and don't miss the crunchy, chocolate wafer called "Cnabrhka." Once I pried myself away from the candy bins I squeezed and elbowed my way over to the deli counter, where I found an exciting array of cheeses (not that there's ever been an array of c...

The following post was written by guest blogger Kate Gale, founder of Red Hen Press. Red Hen is a non-profit literary publishing company based in Granada Hills. Their web site is http://www.redhen.org . Kate's blog is at http://kategale.wordpress.com . I wake up early, often when the morning is just lightening the sky. I run past El Oro Way School, past Van Gogh School, rebuilt after the earthquake, and I get to O'melveny Park. I turn at the park and run along Sesnon until I get to Balboa. The light is filtering in through the burnt-out tree trunks and sometimes on a weekend there's someone riding a horse. A horse against the burnt-out tree trunk that is now bursting green is like the beginning of the world. I run 60 miles a week beside O'Melveny and up into the park often. I hear the wind coming down the canyon and I'm glad I live somewhere so close to the sky. It's one of the best things about Granada Hills. It's a great break from editing and w...

According to a losangelescannabisclubs.com user review dated July 3, 2009, Golden State Collective was raided by police. "Unfortunately I am writing this review post-raid that took place earlier this evening. I would be asleep right about now but was not able to get the medicine needed for my insomnia. (The only thing that ever helped me fall asleep at a decent hour.) " Golden State Collective is the place that I bought marijuana-laced Rice Krispie treats for my stepfather, who had cancer of the liver. The treats were nicely packaged and labeled, which decreased his reluctance to give them a try. They gave him some periods of relief from the months and months of continuous nausea he suffered toward the end of his life, which happened just eight months ago. I have not been able to verify the rumors that GSC was raided; GSC's phone has a "mailbox is full" message, and LAPD has not yet responded to a request for information. A sign in the window says that the...

8:00 a.m. this morning The L.A. Times would call me hard-hearted, but I don't like giving over my recyclables to pilferers. After July 4th, my recycling bin was stuffed with a wealth of beer bottles and soda cans. So instead of putting it out the night before for collection, I delayed and put it on the street only when I started hearing collection trucks rumbling by. Minutes later, I heard the clink of bottles and the rattle of a shopping cart as the items were being plucked from my bin by the enterprising fellow pictured above. Is he hard-working? Certainly. Deserving? Probably. Indigent scum? Not at all. He's clearly just a guy who's doing a dirty job while trying to make ends meet. So why deny him my refuse? My argument against pilferers has Utilitarian roots. Simply put, municipal curbside recycling programs perform a greater good for a greater number of people, and I feel it's important to keep them financially viable. Scavengers undermine municipal ...

The following entry was written by guest blogger Lee Lavi Ramirez, chief instructor at the newly relocated Aikido center North Valley Aikikai , located on San Fernando Mission Boulevard, two doors down from the Tender Glow. I had no idea that homelessness was so close to home. I've lived in Granada Hills for almost seven years now, and drove almost daily through the busy shopping center on the Northeast corner of Balboa and San Fernando Mission Boulevards. Right near Jack in the Box, behind the Trader Joe's store there is an island, full of bushes. The bushes were full and quite tall, and used to be the home of some people. The first time I noticed this was when I opened my Aikido school, on San Fernando Mission, and started walking to my bank across the street. As I was passing by, I heard people talking, and then saw a few chairs in between the bushes, with people on them, talking and drinking. The next time, one early morning, I noticed the sleeping bags, and even a mattre...