GIGA GRANADA HILLS

    Granada Hills Charter High School's normally peaceful Rawley Hall erupted in terrifying violence last night as members of the Granada Hills South Neighborhood Council performed the annual ritual of beating new board members as a test of loyalty.     In the melee, pictured at left, board members were given their gang names and forced to swear  allegiance to the organization for life.    "The only way outta this sh_t is in a muthaf__in' box," said departing President Dave "Boo Boo Bear" Beauvais. "But they also give you a nice plaque." The new Neighborhood Council Officers are: Secretary: Anthony "Shrimp Boy" Matthews Treasurer:  Brandon "Flash Dolla" Schindelheim Parliamentarian:  MC Funkadelic  Vice President: Jerry "Askew"  President: Brad "Miget Killa" Smith Read the complete, and somewhat more factual, list of election results here.

Guest post by Bill Hopkins, GHNNC Emergency Preparedness Chair Ever been curious to see the fire department dismantle a car with the Jaws of Life? Visitors to this Saturday's Disaster Preparedness Fair can also go for a ride in the Shakey-Quakey Schoolhouse earthquake simulator, learn about preparing pets for disasters and emergencies, walk through the LAPD Command Vehicle, learn about free Community Emergency Response Team classes, and get preparedness information from the Red Cross, the Gas Company, LADWP, and other organizations.  "The first 72 to 96 hours after a disaster, emergency services will be overwhelmed handling priority emergencies, requiring residents to be self-sufficient during that time," says LAFD Battalion Fire Chief Gerry Malais. "Having three or more days of food, water, medical, and pet supplies is imperative so that you’re not dependent on overwhelmed city services." Volunteer emergency response organizations like Citizens Emer...

California Living, by Nate Page (select raw footage) from machine project on Vimeo . In a neighborhood not known for having a vibrant street life, or even particularly chatty neighbors, on Thursday night, artist Nate Page brought everyone out onto the sidewalks, feeling friendly, open, and proud. "Felt almost like Halloween!" noted one resident on the lively, street-party-like atmosphere in Balboa Highlands that began at 8pm and ran until 11. Page, in conjunction with art collective Machine Project and as part of Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture In L.A. , created an installation in which he projected video footage of the homes' residents, going about their daily lives, in 15-minute loops onto the houses' exteriors. Through Page's piece intended, in part, to be a commentary on suburban isolation with a tad of peeping Tom voyeurism thrown in, in practice, the feeling was neither of those. By essentially stripping their houses naked an...

  Balloons and streamers heralded the opening of a new Togo's restaurant in Granada Hills in the OSH shopping center last month -- right across the street from the Jersey Mike's opened in 2010. But does new interloper Togo's pose a threat to Jersey Mike's sandwich supremacy? Giga Granada Hills pitted sandwiches from both stores against each other in a salami-to-salami face off to see which sub Granada Hillsians should let into their hearts and mouths. Sadly, it was no edge-of-the-seat contest, as one combatant's the victory was swift and decisive. Seems that the new sub in town just couldn't hold off the Jersey boy. Our panel of six tasters -- which included a new mom eager to shake off the shackles of her pregnancy-proscribed cold cut drought -- quickly came to unanimous consensus that Jersey Mike's Number 13, the "Original Italian" bested Togo's Number 16, simply called "The Italian." Taster comments on Togos:  ...

Medicine, fronted by Granada Hills resident Brad Laner, is described by Anthony Gonzalez of M83 as "one of the most underrated bands from the 90's and  also one of my favorite Shoegaze bands. They represent everything I love in music. Distorted and bendy guitar riffs mixed with beautiful airy vocal melodies."  The band's reunion album,   "To The Happy Few," their first in nearly 20 years, is out today.  The trio of Laner, Beth Thompson and Goodall will be playing two special shows: an August 11th date at  The Echo in Los Angeles and an August 16th show at Music Hall Of Williamsburg in Brooklyn.