GIGA GRANADA HILLS

A message from Councilman Greig Smith's Office: Our 5th Annual Citrus Sunday is coming up on Sunday, June 13. You can be part of this annual fresh fruit drive that brings tens of thousands of pounds of citrus fruit to needy families. You don't have to sign up as a volunteer - just pick oranges, grapefruits or other citrus from trees in your yard, rinse them off with water, put them in plastic bags. Drop off the bags of fruit at Fire Station 87 at 10124 Balboa Blvd. in Granada Hills on Sunday, June 13. Our partner in Citrus Sunday, Valley Interfaith Council, collects the fruit and distributes it to struggling families served at their food banks in the San Fernando Valley. To offer your home as a picking location please call (818) 756-8501.

If you were thinking of overlooking the fact that today is election day, don't. The Los Angeles Times offers a succinct and pointed explanation as to why today's election is so important: The June 8 primary does more than any in recent memory to illustrate the degree to which money, wielded by business interests and political parties, has usurped voter power by co-opting Progressive-era reforms. Californians should be wary of having their buttons pushed by corporations trying to amend the state Constitution to safeguard their profits, and by political parties that demonstrate less interest in the good of the state than in the good of the interests that keep them in power. So vote, dammit.

The blog Luke Is Back is reporting that AIM Healthcare in Granada Hills has closed its doors. The small clinic on shady White Oak Avenue served not only adult film actors but was also a valuable resource to the local community, providing quick and low-cost testing for STDs in a warm, respectful, and confidential setting to anyone who asked. AIM Healthcare Foundation's Sherman Oaks office will continue to operate. Here's the link to this site's original story on AIM Healthcare: "Even XXX Stars Need TLC," GigaGranada Hills, July 24, 2009

On June 5, 2010 at 4:00pm, Magician Tony Daniels will do a show for the kids to kick off the library's summer reading program. If only he could conjure the funds to bring regular library hours back...

Avatar Summer Camp: Master the Elements FOR CHILDREN 6-12! June 21-August 27, 2010 Avatar Summer Camp will take place during July-August 2010! The kids will have two Aikido classes a day, and will learn about the Japanese culture through fun games and activities such as Origami, watercolor painting, sushi preparation, calligraphy, meditation, a trip to the Japanese Garden, basic Japanese language lessons, and much more... Please contact us to register and save your spot! Space is limited. Price: $180-240/a week, depending on number of weeks attending [1-2 weeks: $240, 3-4 weeks: $220, 5-6 weeks: $200, 7-10 weeks: $180] Daily rate: $60 Half day: $40 Additional sibling: 10% off Lunch: $3 Extended care (8-9 am & 3-5 pm): $5/half an hour

From plan... To reality . Veterans' Triangle is completed and ready for its dedication on Memorial Day, May 31, at 5:00pm, and the spruced-up final product is really very nice—and really very Granada Hills. Kudos to Dr. Carl Melnik, Jake Parunyan, and all of the others who saw the potential in this underused yet centrally located green space. Granada Hills' own Guernica Eew. Can't we have this removed? Maybe I'm a font snob, but when honoring the proud and distinguished service of our veterans, is Comic Sans really the first typeface that comes to mind? The lovely, shady pergola For more information on Granada Hills' Memorial Day ceremonies, click here For more information on Comic Sans, click here , here , here , here , and here