GIGA GRANADA HILLS

From my buddy Brian Doherty at Reason Magazine: Los Angeles Destroys Functioning Businesses in a Recession Brian Doherty | May 6, 2010 Los Angeles has lost over 150,000 jobs in the past year, is on the brink of bankruptcy , and experienced an unexpected 16 percent decline in sales tax revenue last year. And it’s located in a state with its own dire fiscal situation that is also facing unexpected gaps in tax revenue . Yet this week the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office made a move that's certain to make things worse for its citizens: forcing over 400 functioning businesses to close shop, under threat of jail time. Don’t worry, though. It’s no big deal. Those businesses are only selling medicine. Medical marijuana, that is. As detailed in my May Reason magazine cover story , Los Angeles struggled for years with regulating medical marijuana storefronts—which thrived in L.A. as in no other city. In January the city finally came down with an ordinance imposing a variety ...

The Daily News reported today that the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office has charged Ralphs Supermarkets with a series of misdemeanors for allegedly overcharging customers for prepackaged and weighed products after conducting tests at 14 Ralphs locations, two of which were in Granada Hills. The Daily News reported that "During an inspection at a Granada Hills store, an inspector purchased four packages of fried chicken that were labeled at 30 ounces, but the actual weight was short by 3.5 percent per package, according to the City Attorney's Office." The Granada Hills Ralphs locations involved with the misdemeanor violations are 16940 Devonshire St. and 18101 Chatsworth St. Thanks to Shaggy Spy for the tip Read more at Daily News.com

I've been wondering what the heck was going on with this, and the blog with the best name ever, Van Nuys' " Come On Feel The Nuys " by Steve Rosenberg tells us why (and he got the answer from LAist): Is Your Tap Water Cloudy? By Steven Rosenberg on March 19, 2010 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | ShareThis The faucets have been a bit bubbly, and the water has been coming out rather cloudy in Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks/whatever-you-call-it. LAist has the answer ( via the good ol' DWP) : The cold water within the DWP's cold underground pipes is holding a lot of undissolved air (cold water tends to hold more air). And water under pressure, like it is in the municipal water system, holds even more air. And that water is colder than normal due to the snow melting in the Eastern Sierras and dumping that extra-cold water into the California Aqueduct. Add to our unusually hot-for-March weather, and the temperature difference make...

In honor of Mother's Day, North Valley Aikikai is offering a free yoga class to all moms today. The class is from 10:30 am - noon, at North Valley Aikikai, 16901 San Fernando Mission Blvd., near Balboa in the Trader Joe's shopping center.

Today at How's Market (11900 Balboa Blvd.) from 12:00pm - 5:00pm, Petaluma Poultry will be doing a promotion of their organic chicken, and you may know Petaluma for their "Rocky" and "Rosie" chickens. Petaluma's company description says: "As a pioneer and leader in the natural and organic food industries, we are dedicated to sustainable farming practices that renew natural resources. Our goal is to produce the finest natural and organic poultry products while reducing waste, preserving our environment, supporting our employees' comfort and efficiency, and contributing to our local communities. " They've even got this picture of a chicken sitting in the grass on their website. Sounds pretty good, eh? I wish there was such a thing as a guilt-free grocery store chicken, but Rocky and Rosie don't let us off the hook, and the pair are specifically examined in Michael Pollan's outstanding book The Omnivore's Dilemma. In the boo...

The shop many had hoped would spark a new trend for the Old Granada Hills business district on Chatsworth Street, Alley Cat Boutique, is closing its doors after just eleven short months in business. Owner Jonalyn Cooper (pictured at left), a thirteen-year Granada Hills resident, had said of Granada Hills in a previous interview: "There's a great vision, and there's people that really stand behind that vision. Unfortunately, we're in a situation where that vision cannot come to be because there are certain elements of the city that stand in the way, but we all have a great aspiration of making this small town Granada Hills feeling, that makes it quaint, charming, and lovely, to match the people that live here." Cooper strove to make a store that also looked like her progressive vision of what Granada Hills could be: in her words, "Quaint charm on the outside, hip and funky inside." When Alley Cat was just five months old, the shop, a vintage and...