Behavior

If you?ve been following the scandalous actions taken by certain health insurers lately you will enjoy this story. There has been a reprehensible approach taken by several major health insurers to try to find a way out of paying the medical bills of their insured when the person insured needs it most. This is the story of Patty Bates, who was deserted by Health Net Insurance Company when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. Bates was receiving chemotherapy when she was informed that Health Net was dropping its coverage of her and was not going to pay any more of her bills.

Teen?s death proves problem with system As I?m writing this letter, the family of 17-year-old Nataline Sarkisyan is making plans to bury their child (?Leukemia patient dies,? Saturday). Four leading physicians, including the surgical director of the Pediatric Liver Transplant Program at UCLA, wrote to Cigna in an attempt to convince the company to reverse its denial of coverage. In their letter they also made it clear that Nataline met the criteria to be listed as Status 1A for a liver transplant.

Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian attempted to reassure constituents this week about the continued functioning of the City Council. “The reports in the newspapers about the council collapsing, imploding or cannibalizing itself are not true,” he said, though he conceded last week’s meeting was one of the most unusual in his experience. The day of meetings on Sept. 25 began with controversial council member Bob Yousefian stating that the city’s power plant was on the verge of collapse, and ended with Yousefian shouting at City Manager Jim Starbird before being hustled into the back room for a private meeting.

An absolute moral standard ? there just has to be one. Two weeks ago, I wrote about how we choose to allow others to treat us. It grieves my heart that humans justify their actions when they harm another. I am addressing family dynamics at this time. Using foul language, physically or psychologically abusing a spouse or child, and then justifying it, is wrong in the eyes of God. If there are patterns in yours or another's life, using excuses like "stress" or "they provoked me" do not dissolve the sin in the eyes of God. As children, we develop patterns of attachment with our caregivers.

A few times a week, my daughters and I like to walk our dog through the neighborhood, and occasionally we end up at Two Strike Park. For the past year, I have been noticing an increase in the number of dog owners that congregate at the far end of the lower field of the park by the unfenced Henrietta Avenue entrance where there is a sign clearly posted that states all dogs must be on a leash; that is the law. Dog owners are allowing their...

Crescenta Valley Sheriff deputies arrested a naked La Crescenta man in his 30s walking up Briggs Avenue Monday afternoon. The man is known by station personnel due to previous calls concerning his behavior, according to Sgt. Gloria Ramierz. He suffers from a mental condition that has caused him to display unusual behavior. In the past the station has been called about him lying in the middle of the road and screaming. This is the first time he has been seen naked in public, she said.

Pumpkins were dolled up in black capes, feather boas and body paint at John Muir Elementary School on Monday. Student council members moved about the colorful scene, carefully judging the more than 200 entries in the school's pumpkin-decorating contest. The festive competition is part of an incentive program the school uses to encourage positive interactions and activities in their students, John Muir Elementary Principal Amaly Avakian said. Whenever a student does something good they are rewarded with "Muir money" — vouchers they can use to buy items in the student store and participate in special programs at the end of each month, like the pumpkin decorating, she said.

Don't be lured into seeing this "You, Me and Dupree" unless you are a film-lover with infinite patience for flaws. The film has been billed as a delightful romance, a date movie, something to make you laugh. It isn't. I don't know why Hollywood thinks they must make movies about couples so depressing. Even if romance is on the rocks these days, we still might like an escape from bickering and passive-aggressive behavior on the screen. This is a story about Dupree, played by Owen Wilson.