GIGA GRANADA HILLS

It's not a real net community unless you've got a troll lurking under one of your bridges, and I'm proud to say that GigaGranadaHills is all grown up! I know I'm not supposed to feed them, but gosh darn it, they're so cute that I just can't help myself. Comments will be subject to moderator approval from here on out.

Get a free taco and medium drink at Taco Bell this Wednesday! On August 18, anyone who donates five nonperishable food items at Taco Bell on Woodley and San Fernando Mission gets a free lunch from the food 4 food drive. In a partnership with the Granada Hills North Neighborhood Council, the San Fernando Valley Jaycees will be collecting donations for The Valley Interfaith Council's Food Pantry Coalition. “With the economic downturn, it’s a really tough time right now for many local families. We’re very happy to join the Encino Chamber of Commerce and the Valley Interfaith Council to help these families put nutritious food on the table,” says SFV Jaycees President Vickie Bourdas. In addition, three McDonald’s locations in Encino and Tarzana will be giving away a free smoothie, and Togo’s of Woodland Hills will give a free mini classic sandwich. Donations will also be accepted at the San Fernando Valley Jaycees booth at the Warner Center Concerts in the Park on August 15th, at Port...

I generally tend to be pro-union, but a story in today's Los Angeles Times , a must-read for any parent who has a child attending an LAUSD school, really highlights the potential failings inherent in any organization with an interest in self-preservation, which definitely describes UTLA. UTLA far too frequently stands in knee-jerk opposition to almost all forms of teacher performance evaluation, which as today's article points out, can be far more important than evaluation of a school as a whole. After all, no one shapes your child's day-to-day educational experience than their teacher; the impact of principals, administrators, and school board members are insignificant by comparison. The Times story deals with "value added analysis" of teacher performance data, based on test scores of that teacher's individual students, across seven years of data. The system of analysis provides information even the teachers themselves interviewed for the article felt wa...

The Daily News is reporting that West Nile Virus-carrying mosquitos have been found in the Valley, including Granada Hills. Release the killer fish! West Nile Virus isn't anything to panic over; according to the report, no human cases have been reported in Los Angeles County so far this year. But the disease can be transmitted to humans by mosquito bites. In addition to preventing bites by wearing the appropriate protective gear (a/k/a long sleeves and long pants at dusk and dawn), you can get an arsenal of deadly mosquitofish delivered to your door for free. These remorseless killers subsist on a diet of black, wriggling mosquito larvae; reports that they rip out the helpless larvae's hearts and hold them up for their victims to see just seconds before they die were unconfirmed at press time. Once deployed to backyard ponds, fountains, or neglected swimming pools, these iron-willed troops will go on a murderous rampage, devouring any all of the innocent, tender infa...

Meineke Car Care Center will be sponsoring a Cruise Night on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month -- in August, that's the 12th (tonight!) and 26th. Organizers promise "music and appearance by gearheadlive.com pinup girls!" Meet up at Meineke, 17060 Devonshire, just west of Balboa. For more info, call 818/831-8524.

Why do I have to wake up to four—count 'em, four — messages telling me about everything I'm doing wrong with this blog? So far this morning, because I've chosen not to cover most crime stories in this site, I've been told that I'm: 1) guilty of censorship 2) not fair to the public 3) totally not cool or acceptable 4) ridiculous 5) wishy washy 6) required to rectify this situation You know, I'm a morning person. I usually wake up in a chipper mood. But buddy, this morning, you just opened one big-ass can of bitch . Editor's note: The remainder of this blog post will be divided into two sections: Section I , which is the part where I get really pissed off and yell a lot, and Section II , in which I calmly discuss my philosophy. Readers with a low bitchiness tolerance threshold are hereupon advised to skip to Section II . Section I. So you're gonna talk smack to me because I let people know about food trucks? Because every once in a while I DO dec...