Bird

As tails glistened a sunny hue with hundreds of spectators holding their breath at the finish line, 2,500 rubber ducks prepared to race. They were the chosen ones, plucked out of 30,000 plastic, bobbing competitors, each assigned to a person who shelled out cash to back them in the 2007 Kiwanis Incredible Duck Splash. Every year these smirking, sunglass-wearing ducks duke it out in one of the city’s most lucrative fundraisers for children’s services. This year, the race raised more than $87,000, said Victor Legerton, secretary of the Glendale Kiwanis Club.

A 'Spontaneous' experience   “Spontaneous Fantasia,” a show that combines several art forms including the improvisation of extravagant visual images through special effects, will be performed at 6:30 and 8 p.m. at the Glendale Community College Planetarium, 1500 N. Verdugo Road, Glendale. The cost is $10 for adults and teens and $6 for children 12 and under. There will be shows on Friday, Saturday, Oct. 12, 13, 26, 27 and Nov. 9 and 10. The show is performed at 8 p.m. on Fridays and 6:30 and 8 p.m. on Saturdays.

When it comes to bird flu, Ebola fever, "mad cow" disease, SARS or any number of emerging health threats, it?s easy to get caught up in the furor and fear. But at the end of the day, a group of special scientists say, what?s really needed is common sense. So is the threat real? "Whether the bird flu virus becomes a pandemic in humans is unpredictable at this time," says Corrie Brown, diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP) and a University of Georgia professor of veterinary medicine.

I could care less about apricots. That's because of the apricot tree in my back yard. Contrary to popular belief, owning a fruit tree does not mean owning its fruit. No, at my house the apricots belong to the squirrels. For several weeks every year, my backyard is littered with rotting apricots or, I should say, rotting half-apricots. Apparently, the darling little rodents hold them in their front paws, eat half, and then chuck half of them on the ground rather than figure out how to eat around the pit. No worries.

The Crescenta Valley Sierra Club presents Arthur Langton's "Birds of the Sierras" at the next club meeting which is held at the community room of CitiBank at 2350 Honolulu Ave. in Montrose. The meeting takes place on Tuesday night, June 12 at 7:30 p.m. Langton's slide presentation features his own bird photos and those of others that have been collected throughout his travels in the Sierras. He is the past president of the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society and an avid backpacker and Explorer Scout leader.

Falcons, hawks and owls soared into the cafeteria at Rosemont Middle School this week as an assembly on falconry taught the students not only about the birds but what we can learn from them. At the Bird of Prey assembly, Tallon Knight, master falconer, shared his knowledge and sense of humor with the students on the art of hunting with birds. Knight still practices the ancient art which can trace its heritage to China 4000 years ago. He let students know that it is not just about letting the bird go and hoping he will return.

Trip back to the summer of 1959 with Grease , The School Version. With book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, this beloved high school musical will be performed March 10 at 7 p.m. by Assistance League Fine Arts Drama under the direction of Koni McCurdy with choreography by Heather McNamara. A lively and talented cast brings the singing and dancing of Greased Lightnin' and Rydell High School to life on the stage at Lanterman Auditorium. This is a perfect evening of live family entertainment for everyone in the community.

GLENDALE — Glendale city officials rolled out a red-carpet welcome for Yervand Zakharyan, mayor of Yerevan, Armenia, as he paid a visit to the city Wednesday to see what life is like in one of the nation's largest Armenian communities. Zakharyan is working with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to make Yerevan a sister city with Los Angeles. One of Zakharyan's interests while in Glendale was to see how the city conducts public services such as waste pickup and police and fire, said Glendale Councilman Rafi Manoukian, who was with the mayor for the day. "I'm really honored to have him here to share some of his concerns and hear some of our concerns," Manoukian said.

Outage affects more than 13,000 residents A bird flew into a transformer on Saturday, causing 13,500 customers to lose power in La Crescenta and Montrose from 8:27 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., Saturday, city officials said. Workers cleaned and repaired the area at the Montrose substation within 45 minutes, said Ramon Abueg, Glendale Water and Power's electrical services administrator. A bird that looked like a crow or a raven flew into a small gap on the transformer, which generates 34,000 volts of energy.