Thank Dog Bootcamp in Burbank

Dogs and their owners can get a good workout and obedience training at the same time with this innovative approach to getting your exercise while hanging out with your pooch. Click the photo for a gallery of the activities.

Laura Allen and her dog Logan, from Los Angeles, front, participate in the 6 a.m. Thank Dog Bootcamp outdoor fitness program at Johnny Carson Park in Burbank on Tuesday, January 5, 2009. The program combines dog training and fitness training at the same time. (Raul Roa/Leader)

Nestle to buy frozen pizza businesses

DOWNTOWN — Nestle fueled speculation about a shift in the global confectionary market Tuesday after it announced a $3.7-billion deal that would put its Glendale-based USA division in charge of major frozen pizza brands to be acquired from Kraft Foods.

The agreement, which would involve a cash purchase of North American frozen pizza labels DiGiorno, Tombstone, California Pizza Kitchen, Jack’s and Delissio, came as Kraft is preparing to sweeten its third offer to purchase British candy maker Cadbury.

Nestle’s proposed purchase of the pizza businesses, which is pending approval from Canadian and American regulatory authorities, will give Kraft additional cash resources as it bids for Cadbury.

Nestle said Tuesday it would not pursue or participate in a deal to purchase the British confectioner.
The agreement with Kraft comes a day after Nestle announced it would sell its 52% stake in Swiss ophthalmology firm Alcon for about $28 billion.

Combined, the moves will allow Switzerland-based Nestle to refocus on its food and beverage operations, the firm said.

“The acquisition brings leadership in the frozen pizza category, where Nestle only had a minor presence until now, and builds on Nestle’s existing pizza know-how and operations in Europe,” the firm said in a statement.

Barden makes first career catch

Ramses Barden didn’t figure much into the New York Giants’ offensive game plans this season, but the first-year wide receiver out of Flintiridge Prep did get some opportunities today in a season-finale 44-7 blowout loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Drafted 85th overall in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Barden entered Sunday’s contest still looking for his first reception. He registered his first, and only, catch as a professional on a play good for 16 yards.

Glendale PD DUI checkpoint

Glendale PD set up a DUI checkpoint on San Fernando Road at Palmer Avenue in Glendale on Saturday night.

Glendale Police set up a DUI checkpoint on San Fernando Road at Palmer Avenue in Glendale on Saturday night, January 2, 2010. At least two people were arrested and more than 5 vehicles were impounded for various driver violations including driving with a suspended license. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

Pedestrian in serious condition after hit-and-run

MONTROSE — A 49-year-old man was in serious condition Saturday after he was struck by an SUV and thrown 70 feet while crossing a street here on New Year’s day, police said.

The Glendale Police Department is continuing a search for the driver of the SUV, who fled the scene after hitting the man at about 7 p.m., Sgt. Dennis Smith said.

The pedestrian, a Glendale resident, was attempting to cross Montrose Avenue between La Crescenta Avenue and Ramsdell Avenue when a car traveling toward Ramsdell slowed down to allow him to cross, Smith said.

But a second car — the SUV — did not stop and switched into the center turning lane in an attempt to overtake the other vehicle, he said.

The SUV hit the man as he was crossing the road, launching him into the air, Smith said.

Witnesses could not pin down the make and model of the car, he said.

Sharon Shin, 13, was in an apartment on Montrose Avenue when she heard the crash and came outside to see what had happened.

“I went outside and I saw a man lying on the floor and then people were crying,” she said.

The pedestrian, who police did not identify by name, had suffered multiple injuries to his head and body and was in need of blood transfusions Saturday, Smith said.

“The focus at this point is trying to find who this driver is,” he said.

Burbank officials to deliberate “highly inappropriate” comments

The City Council on Tuesday is scheduled to hear a proposal to possibly oust two civil service commissioners for “highly inappropriate” comments made when they twice blocked the temporary promotion of a police lieutenant.

Mayor Gary Bric on Dec. 15 elected to delay discussion on Councilman Dave Golonski’s proposal until the full council could deliberate. Vice Mayor Anja Reinke was absent.

The Civil Service Board twice denied extending the temporary advancement of Lt. Armen Dermenjian to the post of acting captain, arguing that a city employee named in an FBI probe into excessive-force allegations should not be trusted with additional responsibility.

Rose Parade 2010 Photo Gallery

Click the photo for a gallery of today’s festivities.

TheCity of Glendale Float at the 121st. Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena on Friday, January 1, 2010. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

Burbank gets float award, Glendale comes up short

Burbank won the Animation Trophy today for their float “Barnyard Aces” at this year’s Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena. 

The float featured a scale Stearman PT-17, which reached heights of more than 30 feet and performed barrel rolls. 

 

The City of Burbank Float won the Animation Award for Best Anination and Motion at the 121st. Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena on Friday, January 1, 2010. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

Glendale’s float “America’s Pride,” which displayed a soaring bald eagle, didn’t win an award. 

But as the parade’s last float, it got a military flyover and a standing ovation from the audience. 

The City of Glendale Float at the 121st. Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena on Friday, January 1, 2010. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

 

Blue Moon to end 2009

There is a Blue moon tonight, Dec. 31, 2009.  This full moon is called a blue moon because it is the second full moon this month.

December 31, 2009, brought a Blue Moon to Southern California. Link for story is from the L.A. Times.com website. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

LCF Rose Parade float spreads its wings

The La Canada Flintridge float entry in the 2010 Rose Parade readies for its trip to Pasadena Thursday evening. (Courtesy Laurie Welch)

The monstruous 35 feet tall green origami dragon stretched its wings in the mid-afternoon sunlight, finally free from hiding underneath the Interstate 210 highway on Hampton Road in La Cañada.

The 2010 La Cañada Flintridge Rose Parade float made its first public appearance since its completion at 2 p.m. on Thursday as the crews and workers moved it from out underneath its construction spot, in the Flintridge Prep parking lot, in preparation for the march to Pasadena. A crowd gathered to take pictures and video record the event while the workers put on the finishing touches and tinkered with the motion mechanisms.

“It’s a lot of fun to see it built and then the finished product,” said float construction worker Mike O’Connor, as he raced to screw in a row of three feet tall flowers onto the side of the float. “We’ve been working at this site all week.  It’ll be fun to see it [in the parade].”

O’Connor has worked on floats for 20 years and on the La Cañada float for the past 11.  He first started working on the float in the spring.

The float will leave La Cañada at 8 p.m. to get to its spot in the back of the Rose Parade on Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena.  Worker and former La Cañada Flintridge Rose Parade Association President Sharlyn French said it’ll get there shortly before midnight, traveling at speeds up to 5 miles per hour.  A small convoy of 25-40 people, featuring designated float workers and Sheriff’s Dept. deputies, will escort the float.

Titled “Scissored Wizard,” the float features a purple-robed wizard waving his wand and bringing to life a green origami dragon.

Pappas eclipses 1,500 points in career

Crescenta Valley High girls’ basketball player Cassie Pappas has done plenty throughout  her first three-plus seasons.

The senior guard has earned her share of All-Area, All-Pacific League and All-CIF accolades.

She accomplished one more significant feat Thursday afternoon in helping Crescenta Valley beat St. Paul, 58-32, in the 11th-place game of the Beverly Hills/Harvard-Westlake Tournament at Beverly Hills High.

In the contest, Pappas eclipsed the 1,500-point barrier for her career by scoring 26 points.

Pappas scored 128 points in five tournament games, or 25.6 per game, and earned a spot on the all-tournament squad.

She has 1,501 career points entering next Tuesday’s Pacific League opener against host Burroughs.

Live tweeting from the Rose Parade

The La Cañada Valley Sun will be tweeting live, for the first time, from the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena.

Log on anytime after 5:30 a.m. for the live feed of the events going on as they happen on the parade route.

Log on to the Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/valleysun to follow us.

McCarthy one of several in Rangers’ mix

Former Glendale resident Brandon McCarthy is one of several options to be slotted into the back end of the Texas Rangers’ starting pitching rotation for 2010, according to a report on Yahoo! Sports on Thursday.

With the top of the rotation fairly set with new acquisition Rich Harden and returners Scott Feldman and Tommy Hunter, McCarthy, who went 7-4 with a 4.62 earned-run average in 17 starts last season for Texas, is reported to be under consideration for one of the remaining two spots along with Neftali Feliz, Erik Hurley, Derek Holland and C.J. Wilson.

A recent report in the Boston Globe also linked the Rangers to free-agent starting pitcher Jon Garland.

Area teams getting set for Pacific League competition

With a grueling month’s worth of basketball tournaments now complete, six area high school basketball teams are gearing up for the beginning of Pacific League action.

League play will tip off at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

In boys’ competition, Crescenta Valley will host Burroughs, Hoover will be at Arcadia and Glendale will take on visiting Pasadena.

In girls’ competition, Crescenta Valley will travel to Burroughs, while Hoover will be home for Arcadia and Glendale will be at Pasadena.

Road closures for Rose Parade

The California Department of Transportation will close several roads for the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade, which is tomorrow morning.

The following streets will be closed  from Thursday to Friday.

Glendale (134) Freeway

• 8 p.m. to 11 a.m. – East Orange Grove Boulevard offramp.
• 2 a.m. to 12 p.m.  – West Orange Grove Boulevard onramp.

Pasadena Avenue

• 8 p.m. to 10 a.m. – All lanes on Pasadena Avenue from Columbia Street to Del Mar Boulevard.

Foothill (210) Freeway

• 8 p.m. to 4 p.m. – East- and west Sierra Madre Boulevard off-ramps.
• East and west Sierra Madre Boulevard offramps will be closed from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 2 to Jan. 3. 

New questions raised in Station fire aftermath

From The Los Angeles Times:

Four months after L.A. County Fire Capt. Tedmund Hall and Spc. Arnaldo Quinones died during the massive Station Fire, new details of the tragedy have emerged, along with unsettling questions of how and why the crews were allowed to stay in harm’s way, and whether commanders failed to grasp in time the danger the camp faced.

A Times investigation of the incident found:

–A U.S. Forest Service e-mail written shortly after the deaths addresses the hazards of the fire and refers to the loss of “two people who stayed too long.” The e-mail was obtained by The Times along with other records that show that the camp crews were not formally assigned to the Station operation and thus might have been excluded from the commanders’ broader strategy of defending critical structures in the forest while ensuring the safety of firefighters. The battle against the fire was managed jointly by the county and the U.S. Forest Service.

–The unusual disconnect between the camp and those leading the attack on the biggest fire in county history is evident in dispatch logs that reveal scant contact between the Mt. Gleason crews and the command center. Experts say that violates long-established firefighting protocols that require all agencies to work together on major blazes in the forest, maintaining good communications with each other and sharing information about fire behavior, weather conditions and escape routes.

–The Station fire logs contain no calls to evacuate the camp or any effort to send help as the flames raced toward it. And daily government summaries of the firefight do not list the camp, a cluster of converted military buildings, among the many properties that commanders considered imperiled.

Read Paul Pringle’s full story here.

Area Republicans get low environmental scores

The California League of Conservation Voters gave all area Republicans low ratings on its annual environmental score card released in December.

The score card accounted for lawmakers’ votes for or against 22 bills singled out by the organization as “high priority.”

Among those bills monitored by the group was a package of proposals to create a state mandate that 33% of energy comes from renewable energy sources by 2020, a plan that was eventually vetoed. 

Parade, bowl games to bring big money

DOWNTOWN — Amid a local economy sacked by underperforming tax revenues, slumping home values and high unemployment, the biggest winners in the Rose Bowl and BCS National Championship Game in Pasadena won’t be taking the field.

The 121st Rose Parade and two post-season college football games are expected to produce an economic impact of $350 million to $400 million for greater Southern California, according to the Pasadena Tournament of Roses and past economic studies.

“This has to be an economic pleasure for the Southern California region,” said Bill Flinn, chief operating officer for the Tournament of Roses. “This year there’s no doubt about the fact. You have two games, four out-of-state teams and a parade that drives hundreds of thousands of people to the area.”

A new rotating collegiate bowl system for the first time brings to Pasadena two major bowl games within a week of each other.

A further economic boon to the area comes in the fact that neither USC nor UCLA are competing in the games, said Bruce Ackerman, president and chief executive of the Valley Economic Alliance.

He noted that not only are the competing colleges from outside Southern California, but the closest school is more than 800 miles away in Eugene, Ore.

Read on.

Ohio State University Marching Band at GCC

Click on the photo to see a gallery of all the action.

The Ohio State University Marching Band practices at Glendale City College in Glendale on Thursday, December 31, 2009. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

2010 Burbank Holiday Calendar

Friday: New Year’s Day

Jan. 18: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Feb. 15: Presidents’ Day

May 31: Memorial Day

July 5: Independence Day (observed)

Sept 6: Labor Day

Nov. 11: Veterans Day

Nov. 25: Thanksgiving Day

Nov. 26: Day after Thanksgiving

Dec. 24, 2010  Christmas Day (observed)