GIGA GRANADA HILLS

Darby Elementary School in Northridge won! They won! They're going to get a $500,000 grant from Kohl's!!! Oh wait — no they're not. In a contest called "Kohl's Cares," the Kohl's department store chain -- a name that already evokes bitter memories for many Granada Hills residents -- promised to grant $500,000 to each of twenty schools, for a total of $10 million, who could propel themselves to the top of a vote-getting contest at the Kohl's website. Back in late August, someone posted a note to my Facebook wall imploring readers to vote for Darby Elementary School in the "Kohl's Cares" grant contest. My grouchy reply: "Encapsulated in this post is everything I most dislike about (a) America and (b) Internet contests that are really only tests of who can muster the highest number of votes. Tearing boxtops, snipping soup can labels, visiting the Kohl's website -- why must we constantly go begging to the corporate sector ...

As much as the idea of children stopping to check their smartphones during their Trick-or-Treat rounds gives me pause, I'm generally in favor of anything that increases kids' opportunities for (controlled doses of) freedom and independence, especially in a low-crime neighborhood like Granada Hills. Parents who are ready to give their kids this sort of experience, in a tethered, 2010 sort of way might want to check out the app "TrickorTracker," which is free of charge for Halloween (and can be purchased for $9.99 afterwards). The app installs on both the parent’s phone and the child’s own phone, but if your kid is too young to use a Smartphone, maybe they're not ready to trick-or-treat without an adult escort. The child’s phone has a special “Where Am I?” and “Where’s My Parent?” button, and the parent’s phone has a corresponding “Where’s My Child?” button. Messages can be sent to the child’s phone using a special code that is picked up and responded to via pre...

Reports of the farmer's market's death have been greatly exaggerated. The Granada Hills Farmer's market is in fact still going — well, not strong exactly — but still going. The excitement of a new farmer's market in town has decreased with the temperatures, and the number of vendors at the market, held at the Masonic temple on Rinaldi between Hayvenhurst and Woodley, has dwindled precipitously. The good news is that you can still buy fresh, organic, locally grown produce at the market, it's still right here in Granada Hills, and it's still at better than Whole Foods prices. And with the fair-weather Northridge Farmer's market about to go dark (it's last day will be October 28), and in this time of fall produce, it's nice to have a year-round option. Ric, the market's manager, said that space rental prices for vendors have remained the same since the market's opening, but groused that impatient vendors hadn't given the fledgling market a ...

Tomorrow, October 23, from 9am to 1pm, visit the Community Health And Safety Fair at The Japanese Garden to get a flu shot for free (while supplies last). If you've never been to the garden, this is a good excuse to head over and see one of our area's most easy-to-reach treasures. The Japanese Garden is located at 6100 Woodley Ave, Van Nuys.

Librarian + Hottie = Lottie! The Friends Of The Granada Hills Library are setting up a used book sale, and they need your help at 3pm on Thursday, October 21. Usually, book sales are set up on Saturday mornings, with the assistance of Boy Scouts, but this sale is scheduled on a weekday afternoon, and so most scouts will be in school. This could be a good opportunity for a service effort for a youth group, a student government/leadership class, or simply some volunteers from the community. Lottie Van Emden, GH Library volunteer (pictured at left) says, "We need strong guys who have just a little time to get the job done. Contact me at lottivan@socal.rr.com." P.S. Okay, that's not really a picture of Lottie. It's her older sister.

The following is a guest article written by Joseph M. Berrellez, best friend of Zachary Nathan Champommier. Champommier, an honors student, marching band member, and Granada Hills Charter High School class of 2010 graduate, was shot and killed by police officers last July in an incident that prompted questions about officers' decision to use of deadly force against the teen and left many of Champommier's fellow students' faith in police shaken. Champommier's shooting was covered by The Los Angeles Times , LAist , and other outlets linked below. Joseph Berellez, left, with Zac Champommier. Zachary Nathan Champommier By Joseph M. Berrellez Finally eighteen years old, finally out of high school, finally have a car, finally starting life—until June 24, 2010, when all that was taken from my best friend, Zachary Nathan Champommier. Zac (no “k” at the end because Zachary doesn’t have a “k,” as Zac would say), born January 21 st , 1992, wa...

You could go with a fairly standard Halloween Hits allbum, like this one, entitled Halloween Hits , which of course features the seasonal standards (Ghostbusters, Monster Mash, Addam's Family Theme) because, let's face it, Halloween without "Monster Mash" is like Christmas without "Jingle Bells...." ...but if you want to get a little more serious, I recommend Halloween's Gravest Hits (Expanded Version) which includes a lot of other must-have gems of the season that are too often overlooked in favor of Bobby "Boris" Pickett's de rigeur tune. How about David Bowie's "Scary Monsters," Concrete Blonde's "Bloodletting," Alice Cooper's "Welcome To My Nightmare" and "I Was A Teenage Werewolf" by the Cramps? This album also includes an indispensable version of "Season of the Witch" by -- no, not Donovan -- Lou Rawls. Lou Rawls does some of my favorite Christmas music, but H...