Behavior

Auditions held for ‘Dog Whisperer’ A producer for National Geographic Channel show “The Dog Whisperer” will hold one of four auditions in Burbank for dogs and owners to be in its fifth season. The program features dog behavior specialist Cesar Millan, who helps owners solve behavioral problems with their dogs. Producer Kay Summer will be looking for dog owners whose pets are experiencing a range of problems, including unusual phobias, obsessions or fearful behavior.

Over and over again in drug seminars and interviews concerning teen drug use, parents refer back to their own teenage years and compare those times to what their children are dealing with now. These parents have either used drugs in the past and therefore adopt the attitude that if they made it through, so can their child or, for those parents who didn?t use, they think that drugs were available to them and they didn?t try them, so neither will their child. No matter the opinion, there is an overall view that teenagers of the past faced the same issues, pressures and temptations of those in the present.

CITY HALL — A new set of regulations restricting the ability of elected officials to solicit funds, even on behalf of nonprofits, will go into effect before the new year after the City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt them. The coming laws apply only to the seven elected officials at City Hall, and will limit their ability to solicit funds from people who have more than $25,000 worth of pending or existing business with the city as the council attempts to clamp down on perceptions of “pay to play” tactics.

The loss of a single, young mind to drugs is tragic. The loss of many young minds is a crisis that calls for community collaboration and action. The greatest threat to our youth today is the availability, sale and use of drugs and alcohol. Recently, there have been several significant drug busts and arrests made by law enforcement officers. They included a person being arrested for possession and sale of marijuana to minors. The arrest was made across the street from Glendale High School.

What should have been a meaningful, memorable celebration of our son’s graduation from Crescenta Valley High last Thursday night was more of an exercise in frustration, an example of how selfish and uncaring some of our fellow humans can be, and a test of my own patience and restraint. I’ll explain. The nearly 700 CV graduates could each invite at least six guests, so the limited grandstand seats at Stengel Field were quickly filled to capacity in the oppressive, 105- degree heat.

LOS ANGELES — An emotional Cynthia Alvarez told jurors Thursday of her brother’s erratic behavior beset by swift mood swings and violent proclivities as she testified at his murder trial. Juan Manuel Alvarez is charged with 11 counts of murder with special circumstances and one count each of train wrecking and arson for causing the Jan. 26, 2005, Metrolink train wreck that killed 11 people and left nearly 200 others injured. Juan Manuel Alvarez’s unpredictable behavior, which may have been aided by an addiction to methamphetamine, resulted in violent outbursts toward his family and hallucinations that his wife, Carmen, was cheating on him, his sister said.

During lunchtime Friday at Glendale High School, amid the usual hubbub of snacking and socializing, about 50 students and teachers sat in a circle in a silent protest of harassment and discrimination in any form. They were local participants in a national initiative known as the Day of Silence, a campaign in which students don’t speak for a day to call attention to how gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth are “silenced” because of harassment and bullying in schools.

GLENDALE — A group of more than 20 parents showed up Wednesday at the Glendale Unified School District board meeting to oppose the district permitting students to participate in any activities related to the Day of Silence, a national campaign designed to call attention to the harassment and bullying of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth in schools. During the Day of Silence, which will take place today across the country, students take a temporary vow of silence to raise awareness about the “silencing” of homosexual students and their friends through harassment.