In the Meantime

While I'm scrolling through the digital photos of my most recent stroll through the neighborhood, I hope you'll take a look at my other blog, For Better - Or What? It's all about giving and receiving love and forming a closer connection with your spouse. The location is www.forbetterorwhat.com.

Still Alive!

Thanks to everyone who has asked. Yes, I'm still alive and well. And I do plan to resume blogging about local sights.

Radioactive?

Reliable scientists tell us that the small amount of radiation that has reached us from the disaster in Japan is not significant. That is probably true. But what about the large amounts that will reach us when our own nuclear plants are damaged? Does anybody know how to create nuclear power systems that are safe? Can existing plants be retrofitted with improved safety systems that will protect us? If we imagine that the experts are working on these problems, we are probably wrong.



Until I saw Boyd Norton's blog post, I did not realize that there are no programs anywhere in the world to study the safety of nuclear power plants. Norton is a former nuclear physicist who participated in safety studies in the 1960's.

The First Day of Spring

Spiders!

I found this one in the shower this morning. It appears to be an example of the woodlouse spider (Dysdera crocata). They specialize in eating the woodlouse (known locally as pillbug or sowbug). They will bite, but their bites, while possibly a bit painful, are not dangerous. They are sometimes mistaken for the poisonous brown recluse spider, but they don't really look alike.

Potholes

According to a story posted today on KTLA's website, "Operation Pothole" will begin this weekend. Street repair crews will attempt to reach the goal of filling 10,000 potholes in two days. The story blames the proliferation of potholes on the recent storms, but anyone who has driven in the Valley during the past few years is painfully aware that, while storms may make things worse, our streets have been plagued with neglected holes for a very long time.

Residents can report potholes by calling 311 or 800-996-2489.
 

Progress in Fight Against Mobile Ad Trailers

The following is an edited version of a press release issued by Councilman Grieg Smith's office:

In a major victory for the community, the City began towing mobile advertising trailers from L.A. streets after Councilman Smith’s legislation to regulate the blight of unhitched trailer billboards went into effect on Jan. 1, 2011.

“This is a huge success in our efforts to protect the quality of life in our community,” Councilman Smith said. “This ordinance is long overdue, but now with local control over this issue, we can finally rid our streets of these nuisances.”

Smith's motion to have the City Attorney immediately begin drafting an ordinance to strictly regulate the mobile advertising trailers was approved by City Council on Friday, Dec. 17, 2010. On Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB 2756 into law, a bill by Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield that allows Los Angeles to ban or regulate the mobile advertising trailers that have become a plague on San Fernando Valley streets. To see the full ordinance, visit http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2009/09-2140-s1_ord_181495.pdf

The weekend that the enforcement action began, more than a dozen unhitched advertising trailers were impounded and towed and over 30 were cited. Owners of the trailers face misdemeanor fines from $250 to $1,000 and up to six months in jail.

To report a mobile ad trailer, call the DOT Parking Enforcement Communications Division at 818-752-5100 or 213-485-4181. Immediately Press "2" to report a parking violation. Be ready to provide the trailer license plate number and the street block location.

Great Horned Owl

When we lived in Granada Hills, there was a great horned owl that regularly perched in a big pine tree on the property. Once during the daytime I saw a young hawk in the same tree, screaming at the owl in fear or fury. The owl just sat there, apparently unperturbed, while the hawk gradually backed away and eventually flew off. Usually, though, the owl was only seen at night; we'd spot it in silhouette when it landed in the tree. Sometimes we'd hear its calls and the responses from a more distant bird.

But in ten years in West Hills, we've had neither sight nor sound of an owl, until last night. I woke up around 3:30 am to repeated calls. If there were any replies, I couldn't hear them.

This area provides a good living for birds of prey. There are rabbits, rats, mice, lizards, and small birds of all kinds. We see hawks every day, and on a few occasions, kestrels. I'm sure there have been owls here all along, but they have managed to remain unknown until now.

At WhatBird, you can search for "great horned owl" and find out exactly how they sound.

Things I Don't Write

This morning on the way to a fast-food breakfast I saw an apparently homeless man lying by the side of the road, passed out next to the plastic bag that held his extra-large beer can. I could have snapped his picture and then used it to illustrate a blog post about the problems of homelessness, alcoholism, or just the good fortune that last night's temperature in the Valley did not drop below freezing. But I just couldn't bring myself to take that picture. There are plenty of people who become prize-winning photo-journalists based on their willingness to exploit report on other people's misery. My distaste for doing that is doubtless one of the factors that doom me to blog obscurity. Oh well.

 

The Beginning of the End?

A few weeks ago some of these signs appeared along one of the sections of Topanga Canyon Blvd. that has been plagued by those horrible parked billboards for the past few years. This is a step in the right direction. That block can now be cleaned by the street sweepers, residents can park there, drivers have a clear view, and the visual blight is gone. But nearby blocks are still available, so it's not surprising that some sections now have more signs than ever. Perhaps the most annoying for many is the sign for a porn shop that has been parked in front of a church.

In the meantime, Saul Daniels in his Chatsworth Patch blog informs us that new legislation will allow the city of Los Angeles to regulate these monstrosities and perhaps get them off the streets for good, without having to post these silly signs everywhere.

I've never understood why these were allowed at all. Other kinds of advertising signs are regulated. For example, the Bureau of Street Services often lets us know how much they want to eliminate all the garage sale and lost dog signs that are posted in neighborhoods. While those signs may not be pretty, most people aren't greatly bothered by them, and they don't cause the kind of hazards and inconveniences that the billboards on wheels do.

Rats!

We may not see them, but they are there. The Norway Rat (Rattus norvegicus), also known as the sewer rat, brown rat, etc., thrives in and around human habitats. This one was seen foraging among the fallen birdseed under one of our feeders. It looked fat and healthy. But beware: Rats and squirrels are among the many animals linked to plague, rabies and other nasty diseases here in South California.