The 818 Now

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.

As the first decade of the 21st century comes to a close, we ask our In Theory writers this week: For you, what has been the most memorable experience of these first 10 years of the 2000s? What advice can you share with our readers to make this new year and decade a prosperous one?

Here is a sample of what they had to say. Catch their complete responses in this week’s editions of the La Canada Valley Sun, Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader.

Rev. Kimberlie Zakarian: “I cannot believe the first decade of the 21st century is coming to a close. My belief is to live our lives, not perfectly, but to contemplate what we can do to be history makers. What legacy can we leave behind?”

Rev. Amy Pringle: “Remember the old ‘Star Trek’ series, and how it always seemed to end with some cheesy Capt. Kirk speech about how the human spirit can’t be defeated, no matter how overwhelming the odds? I thought it was as silly as the idea that you could flip open a little box and talk to someone through it. This decade has proven me wrong, on both points.”

Rev. Skip Lindeman: “For me, the most significant thing that happened was the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. We are still feeling the effects of that attack, whether we’re flying on an airplane or staying at home.”

Rev. Jon Barta: “My most memorable experience in terms of “shock value” was the terror attack of Sept. 11, 2001. But there are many more quiet, personal experiences that affected my life in a more dramatic way.”

Graham Bothwell: “We should not underestimate the role of prayerful spiritual thinking in ensuring a progressive and balanced future for humanity, where social, political, economic, and environmental conditions are peaceful, satisfying, and sound.”

Rabbi Simcha Backman: “Once the final decade of the 20th century had come to a close, we had seen many extraordinary events that provided cause for great optimism … I hate to sound negative, but now that we have lived through this first decade of the 21st century, I must admit the sad truth that I was wrong.”

Rev. Bryan Griem: “… Where darkness lurks and evil plots, flowers continue to bloom and love still makes its sporadic appearance.”

People around the world are thinking of going to church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day according to a survey this week. That’s about four times as many people as on an average Sunday.

Even if many of those who are considering stepping over the threshold eventually decide not to, Christmas is far and away the busiest time of the year for churches up and down the country.

For many in the congregations, Christmas is an important time to reflect on spiritual matters and church-going is a key part of this. But many others will be walking into a building that looks strange, for a service that’s not familiar. So what will happen and what should they watch out for?

Read the full story from BBC News here.

This week, we ask our In Theory writers about the death of South Pasadena High School senior Aydin Salek, whose death has made shock waves from the scene of the incident to La Cañada.

Reports indicate that Salek was attending an unsupervised party where he was offered alcohol. This is not unlike an incident in 1993 where a Crescenta Valley High School senior was murdered at an unsupervised post-prom party. Who do you believe is at fault here? The parents? The students? Or both? What steps would you suggest to parents in order to deter this behavior? What steps would you suggest to students considering going to an unsupervised party tonight about ways to avoid this behavior and maybe save a life — theirs, perhaps?

Here is a sample of what our writers had to say:

Rev. Jeri Linn: “It is our job, as adults, to mentor young people by example, by sharing information about how destructive any substance abuse can be, and by being present and available to them — even if it means supervising a party.”

Pastor Jon Barta: “Finding ‘fault’ seems harsh at the moment when everybody is emotionally devastated, but I suppose it’s prudent to identify a couple of ways similar incidents might be avoided.”

Pastor Skip Lindeman: “There is no way to guarantee that there will be no more premature deaths due to alcohol poisoning, but parent and child can strive to love and respect each other.”

Rev. Amy Pringle: “Look at every single drink that comes your way and ask: What am I choosing here? Is this particular drink worth whatever I’m risking? (Trouble with your parents, puking your guts out, getting in a car accident, losing the favor of the guy/girl who sees you drunk and stupid; and yeah, alcohol poisoning …)

“Is the next drink worth it?

“Seriously?

“Is that sorta-nasty-tasting cup of something sorta-nasty-tasting worth it?”

Levent Akbarut: We are very fortunate to live in cities where we have every opportunity to prevent this kind of tragedy from occurring again to our children. In Islam, we are taught to express love and friendship at all times, but not at the expense of protecting crime or social danger. It takes courage to disrupt social order when the status quo is unacceptable.

Rev. Bryan Griem: “While most everyone that drinks with moderation has at one time or other overdone it, a lot of kids know nothing of this because nobody is telling them anything except ‘don’t.’”

Rabbi Simcha Backman: Although, statistically, our local neighborhoods rank relatively low in regard to underage drug and alcohol use, the fact is that any amount of adolescent substance abuse is dangerous. Every single child is precious, and it is incumbent upon society to do everything possible to protect its young people from harm.”

Fred L. Carpenter: “Too often parents are in denial when their children are participating in drinking parties, drugs or other like events. Parents have to be smart and understand what their children are doing.”

Rev. Richard Albarano: If we receive the love, nurture, security and guidance we need, we will grow — as the scriptures say about the boy Jesus — in age and wisdom and grace. That is not to say that we will not have temptations and have to overcome obstacles, but we will have the character development to overcome these.

A fraudulent — known as smishing — text message from “California Credit Union.”

This morning I received a fraudulent — known as smishing — text message from “California Credit Union.” 

The real California Credit Union, which has a branch at 701 N. Brand Blvd. in Glendale, warned of smishing attempts by scammers on its website: “CCU is not sending text messages to members or non-members,” the website said. “CCU will never send a text message, e-mail or call you directly asking for any account or personal information.” 

The text contained a warning about my credit union service and instructed that I call the 248-number sent with the text. 

A robotic-sounding voice answered instructing me to enter my credit card number — I dialed a fake number.

The voice proceeded to tell me that the call would be monitored or recorded for “quality assurance.” Twice more, the recording asked for my credit card information, and I again entered a fake number. 

I’ve since called the number again, and was greeted with, “This mailbox is full, and cannot accept new messages at this time.”

Several postings on 800notes.com, a Web forum dedicated to people’s complaints about annoying calls from mystery phone numbers, said that in the time it took to write this post, five people had received the same text.

Like me, three people claim to be Glendale residents and use Sprint as their cell phone service provider.

Brittany Murphy is photographed by The Times in 2001, the year she appeared in the Michael Douglas thriller "Don't Say a Word." (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Brittany Murphy, who died Sunday at the age of 32, moved to Burbank from Atlanta with her mother when she was 13, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times where, according to IMDB, she landed her first television role on the show 1990s television series “Blossom,” starring opposite Joey Lawrence and Melissa Manchester.

The actress died in the home she shared with her husband, British screenwriter Simon Monjack.

The actress also attended John Burroughs High School, where she briefly attended but did not graduate, according to IMBD, and San Fernando Valley Professional School, according to the school’s alumni page.

The cause of death is under investigation, The Times reported Sunday, and an autopsy is planned for Tuesday, a coroner’s official said. Funeral arrangements are pending.

The Green was family among more than 100 volunteers who gathered Saturday to prepare commemorative florographs of organ donors for the Donate Life float, which will be entered into the Jan. 1 Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena.

The year 2010 marks 15 years since the Green’s oldest child, Nicholas, was shot while he slept in the back seat of his family’s rental car in Italy while on vacation, the victim of highway robbers.

VIDEO BY MICHAEL J. ARVIZU

Saint Bede the Venerable Catholic Church’s Filipino American community presents its annual Simbang Gabi celebration at 7 p.m. Dec. 16 in the church.

The celebration highlights the rich spiritual and cultural experience of the Filipino people as they prepare for the coming of the Lord on Christmas Day.
Simbang Gabi is a series of nine dawn Masses that culminate on Christmas Eve.

During Simbang Gabi, Catholic churches will open their doors before the break of dawn (usually by 4 in the morning) to welcome the faithful to the Simbang Gabi Mass.

St. Bede’s is at 215 Foothill Blvd. in La Canada.

Under the coordination of La Cañada High School 7/8 eighth grader and School 4 Vice President Jacob Brown and family, pillows, blankets, socks and gloves were delivered to the homeless living on the streets in Pasadena on Saturday morning. The group also served the homeless breakfast. Originally scheduled to take place at Central Park in Pasadena, the distribution was moved to Memorial Park in Pasadena due to the heavy rain.

The Saturday distribution is an extension of the weekly distribution that the students hold on Wednesday afternoons from 4 to 5:30 at Memorial Park, said Brown. Started by his father, Fritz Brown, the Wednesday distributions — which have been held for the last two years — give the homeless food and provide them with Bible study, Jacob Brown said, all within the park.

Students and Wednesday lunch participants gather at Central Park in Pasadena Wednesday afternoon prior to Bible study, which is facilitated by Fritz Brown, father of Jacob Brown. (Michael J. Arvizu/Valley Sun)

Inventor Scott Comstock demonstrates the Yu Cycle.

It all started with an impromptu unicycle ride. La Cañada resident Scott Comstock and his son, Carter, were hanging out at Memorial Park when they spotted a man cruising on a single wheel. The two Comstocks asked to take a turn.

VIDEO BY MEGAN O’NEIL

A teacher in North Carolina was recently fired for introducing a fundraising program at school that involved selling grades to students for $10 each. For $10, one extra grade would be added to a test. If you gave $20, you would get two extra points on two tests throughout the year. This allowed students to go from a C to a B, or a B to an A. However, the state’s Department of Public Instruction disagrees, saying that “exchanging grades for money teaches students the wrong lessons.”

We asked our writers what they think about this. Is selling grades a bona fide way of raising funds for a school, or are we teaching kids that money can buy you anything in life — even grades?

Here is a sample of what they had to say:

Rev. Richard Albarano: “Money and earning money is a most important part of living life in our age. It is not a bad thing; it is a good thing. However, it is earned always through hard work, whether intellectual or servile. It is a means to an end: a reasonably comfortable life.”

Bishop Fred L. Carpenter: “Schools should teach children correct principals. Selling grades does not do this, even if the fundraising is for a good cause. In fact, if the principal’s rationale for approving the program is correct, then the children were being motivated by a false premise — that the donations would have a positive effect on their final grades.”

Rev. Jeri Linn: “A good grade needs to be earned by study, doing well on the tests, good attendance and participation in class. Perhaps, other fund raising projects, other than selling candy, can be done by the school to raise funds.”

Rabbi Simcha Backman: “Offering points for money — even if its disguised as a ‘fundraiser’ — sends a poor message to students and will only serve to further exacerbate the sad state of our educational system.”

Rev. Bryan Griem: “This is much ado about nothing, and I do not see it as a moral/spiritual issue. In fact, if my kid told me he could up his grade by participating in such a school fundraiser, I’d say, ‘Great. Wash the car, mow the lawn and clean the garage, and the $20 will be on the table at breakfast.’”

Pastor Jon Barta: “Schools exist to educate children, not to get money. Students attend to get an education, not to get grades. Yes, schools need money to stay open that they might educate children. But awarding grades for donated money creates a never-ending cycle of futility. ‘Give us money to get a grade’ means that the school hasn’t educated and the students haven’t learned.”

Pastor Paige Eaves: “Though the cash-for-grades scheme was terrible, Principal Shepherd’s motives were good. So let’s step back from her blunder and look at the bigger picture. Sharing is not just kindergarten good manners, it’s good public policy, and it’s what God has asked us to do.”

Rev. Kimberlie Zakarian: “Instant gratification and taking matters into our own hands are not teaching the moral standards we need to learn — whether we are Christian or not. A middle school in North Carolina failing to make their quota in chocolate sales, and then deciding to add 10 points to the student’s grades if they donate $20, does not teach a work ethic, is unfair to the students who do study hard, and is unethical — period.”

Rev. Skip Lindeman: “A middle school in North Carolina is not a Las Vegas show; you can’t pay your way to the front of the class. I can’t believe what a no-brainer this is.”

Rev. Beverly Craig: “Providing students with an escape route for what must be earned is unethical and a travesty.  Principal Shepherd obviously didn’t think through the future ramifications of her decision. This is definitely not a bona fide method of fund raising. Bringing students’ grades into the arena of fund raising is like mixing oil with water.”

St. Finbar Catholic Church in Burbank this weekend announced its plans to buy office property at 2600 W. Olive Ave. in Burbank. The announcement was made by the Rev. Albert Bahhuth, pastor of St. Finbar’s Church, in a letter to parishioners on the church website.

The purchase is part of the parish’s development plan called “Building on the Keystone,” the largest construction project at the church since 1950 when the original church was built.

According to the church’s website, “This plan is designed to provide the resource space and facilities needed to meet our mission and accommodate our community’s continuing growth”

“I’ve had numerous prayerful and practical consultations with our Pastoral, Finance and Ministry Leaders Councils, in order to explore the concept of purchasing this property,” said Bahhuth. “I believe this decision has resulted in a very smart financial move for our long-term facility operation and parish plan.”

Read the Rev. Albert Bahhuth’s letter to parishioners >>>

A recent CNN.com article reported that a growing number of Christians worldwide are migrating from worshiping in the chapel to worshiping on the computer.

But can worshiping via a computer offer true spiritual fulfillment?

Here is a sample of what our In Theory writers had to say:

Pastor Skip Lindeman: While “convenience” is a good reason to worship via computer, and while helping the infirm to connect with their church and church family is a good reason to worship via computer, I believe the community has to come together literally to be the church.

Rabbi Simcha Backman: The Internet gives us an exciting tool for positive advancement in ways never before possible. But despite its great value, this technology cannot take the place of human interaction, and therefore should only serve as a bridge on the road to traditional religious practice.

Pastor Jon Barta: Online technology can enhance, but never replace, the in-person, physical nature of gathering together with other believers to worship the Lord. It’s better than nothing, but never as good as the real thing. Compare belonging to a church with marriage: Would online contact be enough? Probably not. Being in someone’s physical presence is better than just being with them in spirit.

Rev. Bryan Griem: It’s wonderful that the immobile can avail themselves of sermons and psalms even when they can’t actually attend services, but how sad to imagine them living devoid of human contact, having only an isolated life of the mind, coldly viewing digital media rather than warmly participating.

Bishop Fred L. Carpenter: To me, the Internet does not replace churches or congregations. Rather, it assists churches and congregations in reaching out to individuals and touching their lives. Congregations provide religious experiences that may be difficult to duplicate on an individual basis. The task of each congregation is to be truly Christian, both in name in action.

The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday afternoon that “Wells Fargo & Co. would close 122 California bank branches as a result of its takeover of Wachovia Corp. last year, including the branch on Foothill Boulevard in La Cañada.

The closures are scheduled to occur in April, the paper reported. 

Wells Fargo, The Times reported, currently has 187 Wachovia offices in California. Of those, 101 will be closed, said bank spokeswoman Jennifer Langan. The company is also shutting 21 Wells Fargo locations. Employees affected by the closures would be given offers at other Wells Fargo branches if they wanted them, The Times reported.

Full story from the times >>>

Students from Flintridge Preparatory School in La Cañada were busy preparing meals for the school’s annual Turkey Drive on Thursday morning. The drive, done in collaboration with Harvest Time Church in Pasadena, seeks to provide Thanksgiving dinners to those less fortunate. Enough food was made to feed 50 families, said Flintridge Prep senior Janice Park. 

Flintridge Prep senior Elizabeth Kim mashes potatoes during the school's annual Turkey Drive. According to the senior, it took about 10 sticks of butter and seven boxes of potatoes to make the amount she's churning. She has been at work since 7:30 a.m. (Michael J. Arvizu/Valley Sun)

Included are Thanksgiving worship schedules as provided by local houses of worship.

St. Bede the Venerable Church
9 a.m. | A once-a-year liturgy. In an effort to return to the beautiful tradition of having children involved in this Mass, St. Bede’s invite all parish children to participate. The church is looking for costumed pilgrims — any simple costume will do.

All participants will lead the procession into church, and some will be gift bearers, lectors and assist with the offertory collection.  Sign ups will be taken in the Education Center outside the Religious Education office.

Families are also asked to bring a food item or beverage to Mass that will be part of their Thanksgiving table later that evening for a blessing.

For more information, call the church at (818) 949-4300.

St. Bede the Venerable Church is at 215 Foothill Blvd. in La Cañada.

Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada
10 a.m. | The community is invited to share Thanksgiving worship in the sanctuary.

The service of prayer and praise includes hymns of joy and thankfulness, a readong of the Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation, a Bible lesson, which includes scripture and citations from the Christian Science textbook, and an opportunity for those present to stand and express their thanks to God for blessings and healing.

Child care will be available for those too young to participate.

For more information, call the church at (818) 790-3493.

Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada, is at 600 Foothill Blvd. in La Cañada.

St. James the Less Catholic Church & Holy Redeemer Catholic Church
9 a.m. | The community is invited to share Thanksgiving with the St. James the Less and Holy Redeemer parish community at St. James the Less Church.

St. James the Less Catholic Church is at 4625 Dunsmore Ave. in La Crescenta.

Holy Family Catholic Church
9 a.m. | The community is invited to attend Thanksgiving services at Holy Family Catholic Church. Please bring non-perishable food items for the poor. Food items will be brought up to be collected and blessed after communion.

Holy Family Church is at 209 E. Lomita Ave. in Glendale.

OUTREACH
Salvation Army Glendale Corps
Noon to 2 p.m. | The Salvation Army Glendale Corps Community Center, at 320 W. Windsor Road in Glendale, will serve a hot Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings to 250 homeless individuals and low-income families, and will deliver 50 meals to shut-ins through the meals-on-wheels program.  Dinners will be held both on Thanksgiving Eve and Thanksgiving Day at various Salvation Army locations throughout the southern California.

For more information, call Rick White at (818) 246-5586.

Los Angeles is ripped apart in a scene from Columbia Pictures' "2012." (Columbia Pictures)

This week’s edition of In Theory poses a “very serious” question that you can take with a grain of salt or completely be freaked out about: THE END OF THE WORLD.

For those who believe the end of the world is hither, now is the time to prepare by building bomb shelters and repenting for your sins. I mean, the end of the world is a little more than 1,100 days away.

However, here is a sample of what our In Theory panel has to say about this, before you begin building that underground shelter:

Kimberlie Zakarian: “Believers and non-believers alike may have certain opinions about the end of the world — and how it will present itself. We have many illustrations in the Holy Bible that give pictures of what that may look like. But as far as the Mayan calendar and other types of prophecies, they have come and gone in history. I prefer to go straight to God’s word when contemplating such events.”

Amy Pringle: I think that our timeless fascination with the end of time is really just our fear of death, and awareness of the transitory fragility of life, writ large. The terrifying truth is that the end of life could come any time, for any one of us.

Jeri Linn: “Think of the Mayan calendar representing a cycle of growth or understanding, in consciousness. Instead of a literal “end of time,” it means that the human race will evolve in a much higher vibration, ready to begin a new cycle of life expression.”

Bryan Griem: “Whether the final event is the sudden Parousia (Second Coming), or comes with preliminary prophetic plights, the Bible doesn’t pinpoint dates. It only says there will be an end, and we must be faithful until then. God’s people then inherit heaven, and the atheists and evil-doers are banished to a hellish, godless eternity (whatever that’s like).”

For more responses, read this weekend’s editions of the La Cañada Valley Sun, Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader.

The shootings at Fort Hood, Tex., continue to make headlines. This week, we ask of our In Theory panel whether too much is being made about the religion of alleged shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan.

Here is a sample of what our panel had to say:

Graham Bothwell: “… The presence in our own society of many good citizens of the Muslim faith is ample evidence that the action of one Muslim person should not color our judgment about that entire community. The same would have to be said regarding similar behavior by individuals from other religious groupings.”

Jon Barta: “It is valid to raise the issue of religion in this case. It has been valid in incidents like this since the day radical Muslims began murdering Americans in the name of Allah. We are naïve to ignore it and to refrain from exploring the backgrounds of those who wish to join the military if there is a “risk factor” of previous connection with hostile parties of any nature.”

Paige Eaves: “… We cannot make ‘too much’” of religion, for indeed, it is this central, holy call to peace and justice that will ultimately save us all. When together we study our sacred texts, we find a God of compassion and mercy who does not countenance violence, but who calls us to examine ourselves and our motives, and take the road less traveled toward peace and reconciliation.”

Levent Akbarut: ”It is an understandable emotional reaction based on the false perception that somehow Islam is the driving force behind such a tragedy. In times like these, American Muslims feel deep anguish, first for the victims, their families and our country, and on another level, for their faith, having to explain yet again that true and authentic Islam has nothing to do with hatred and violence.”

First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada as it looked in 1949. After 60 years in the same location, the congregation has decided to move to a new location to better meet the needs of the congregation and community.

“After much prayer over a lengthy period of time,” the congregation at First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada has voted to sell their present property, it was announced by the church on Monday afternoon.

The church is in the process of looking for a new property in La Cañada that will better suit the needs of their church in its efforts to better serve the community, said Rahla Lindsey, assistant committee on publication to First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Canada.

See Thursday’s edition of the La Canada Valley Sun for more.