GIGA GRANADA HILLS

Sure, you could get all Martha-Stewarty about your Christmas decorations, go the tasteful and elegant route, but to me, Christmas is something you buy at the drugstore. Besides, the less you spend on decorations, the more you have for what's really important: gifts. Here are a few of the choicest selections from Granada Hills drugstores, all less than five bucks a piece. You can't beat tinsel garland on bang for the buck -- 18 feet for $2.99! CVS on Balboa and Devonshire has garland that's die-cut and shiny! Deck the halls, and deck yourself -- Walgreens "Jingle Bell Jewelry" bracelets are two for three bucks: keep one, give one. Nothing says elegance like a glitter-covered mini-chandelier for your tree. $3.99 at CVS. The 99 Cent Store has sequins on their balls... and how many people can say that? This place has got walls of balls.... But Walgreens has the biggest balls of them all. Sorry Santa, but it's true.

Dec. 15, 2009

Recent complaints about an increase in "odor events" (translation: stink-o-rama) around Sunshine Canyon Landfill have led South Coast Air Quality Management District to file a petition for an "Order of Abatement" (translation:quit it!) with the AQMD Hearing Board against Allied Waste in an attempt to make them bring their dump into compliance with California Health and Safety Code. The AQMD Hearing Board will meet to discuss the matter on the evening of Thursday, December 17, 2009, at 6:00 p.m. at the Van Gogh Elementary School. Van Gogh Elementary is located at 17160 Van Gogh Street in Granada Hills.

On a chilly night last week, just outside of L.A. Pizza, I ran into two guys on bikes, selling their self-produced hip-hop CDs out of a tote bag. Can you tell me your name? My name's Andrew, a/k/a Makdro , and that's my right hand man Zaybo. You gotta put Boogie Man too, because Boogie Man's been helping me since day one. And what's the name of your project? It's My Destiny To Make It. Do you live in Granada Hills? Do you always sell your stuff here? We I live in Sylmar, and I go where the wind takes me. I've been doing it for about maybe 6 years, I have maybe 80 songs floating around, and this is my fifth volume. What do you mean floating around? On the Internet? We've sold actually seven volumes of this type of music; we do two different types of music. We do kind of a Christian hip-hop, and hip-hop for the kids. So what inspires the music? I just wanna do something that nobody could have done. And what really inspires my music is me losing my mom b...

For the remainder of this weekend, the former Mann Granada Hills 9 theater is having a "Grand Re-Opening" as part of the Regency chain, and will be offering free popcorn, $1.00 soda, and $1.00 hot dog, and trust me, movie theater soda for a dollar isn't going to happen again any time soon. Today's movies and showtimes: 2012 (PG-13) 11:50 | 3:20 | 6:50 | 10:10 Armored (PG-13) 11:00 | 1:20 | 3:30 | 5:40 | 7:40 | 9:50 The Blind Side (PG-13) *12/16 at 1:10pm and 12/17 at 6:45pm Showings will be Captioned* 10:30 | 1:10 | 3:55 | 6:45 | 9:30 Brothers (R) 11:40 | 2:10 | 5:00 | 7:50 | 10:20 ...

This Sunday, Dec. 13 at Valley Life Improvement Center, see a blues concert featuring performers Michael Richard and Peach. The ominously-named Valley Life Improvement Center is a Scientology counseling center (boo!) that believes in bringing the arts to our community (yay!), so I'm a bit torn. Maybe I just need a dose of blues guitar to put my head back on straight. Valley Life Improvement Center is located at 10667 White Oak Avenue. Tickets are $10 advance, $15 at the door.

Local martial arts and yoga studio North Valley Aikikai is organizing a blanket drive this weekend and is asking for donations of any extra blankets for donation to the homeless. Giga Granada Hills readers may recall our past story about one of our town's homeless encampments, hiding in plain sight between Trader Joe's and Two Guys From Italy. Lee Lavi Ramirez, head of North Valley Aikikai, became aware of the encampment shortly after her martial arts studio moved into the same shopping center. The studio offers free yoga, exercise, and martial arts classes to first-time students ( click here for coupon ), so drop by for a class and drop off an old blanket. Here is Lee's letter: As temperatures are going below freezing, we will be collecting blankets to be distributed to the homeless. If you have an extra blanket that you would like to donate, please bring it by this weekend. The hours we will be there are: Thursday and Friday: 8:30 am - 12 noon, and 5-6 pm Saturday: 9 ...