Books

A long-time Glendale Community College English professor will be among the hundreds of writers appearing at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books this weekend. Bart Edelman's sixth book of poetry, "The Geographer's Wife," was recently published by Ren Hen Press. Edelman will be at booth #920 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the festival on the USC campus. Edelman will also make appearances at the Glendale Public Library on April 29 and at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena May 5. Edelman is the founder of Eclipse, an annual literary journal that publishes the work of Glendale Community College students and professional writers side-by-side.

The bullet train boondoggle is looking more like a bullet bull's-eye. But one big question lingers: Where are the bucks? And even if the state can find the bucks, should it spend them on building a high-speed rail line, a cool choo-choo? Especially when higher education in California is such a train wreck? Education - kindergarten through college - should be our No. 1 priority, for both moral and economic reasons. Producing an educated, skilled workforce for the increasingly competitive global economy is even more important than creating temporary track-laying jobs.

I don't usually comment on online articles or websites. Partly, it's because of the company that would put me in. Not that I think every online commenter is crazy. On the contrary, I'm sure there are several who could pass a mental competency test. But I don't like the idea of having my knee-jerk reactions recorded for posterity. Who knows? There may be a day when I decide that I was wrong all along about Donald Trump's hair or the artistic merits of “Two and a Half Men.” So when I'm tempted to add my voice to a chorus of online comments, I usually just keep my virtual trap shut.

Two Glendale men were arrested Monday night after one of them ran from police during a traffic stop and led them to a church on Lowell Avenue, where he and another man barricaded themselves inside for more than two hours, officials said. Police urged Thomas Smith, 54, and Leslie Jenei, 60, several times over a loudspeaker to exit the Spirit of Foothill Los Angeles Christian Church on the 4400 block of Lowell Avenue, according to Glendale police reports. When they didn't respond, police entered the building to search for Smith, who they reportedly found hiding in the mass area of the two-story church.

It's been long rumored that print is dead - the Internet its murderer. But after a trip to the California International Antiquarian Book Fair at the Pasadena Convention Center last weekend, I'm happy to report the rumors aren't true. The future of the printed word isn't dead, it's undead - resigned to a vampiric, sun-free existence in a prenaturally lit crypt. Allow me to explain. The Antiquarian Book Fair, if you missed it, is among the largest gatherings of rare book vendors and collectors in the world.

Wearing a chef's hat and apron, children's book author Mary Ann Fraser stood at the front of a first-grade classroom at Lincoln Elementary School on Thursday and told the students that it was time to cook up a story. Within minutes, they had concocted a tale about a piano-playing mad scientist put on the run by a lava-spewing volcano. “You guys did such a fabulous job, I have a feeling that one day I am going to go to a library or a bookstore and pick up a book by one of you,” said Fraser, whose work includes “Pet Shop Follies” and “If Animals Kissed Goodnight.” It was one of a dozen presentations that took place at the La Crescenta school as part of Authors and Illustrators Day, sponsored by the Assistance League of Glendale.

Six people arrested in North Glendale last week for allegedly violating the city's regulations against door-to-door sales were held overnight in jail on $300 bail each. The group was arrested after residents reported them to police, and officers discovered that they didn't have city-issued permits to sell magazine subscriptions in Glendale, Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. “We take it seriously,” Lorenz said, adding that some solicitations are scams. Residents who called police on Thursday said the group - which included Terrey Conway, 19, Shelby Hartley, 19, Shyane Paulins,19, Derek Nelson, 20, Brandon Mears, 24, and Dustin Mansfield, 25 - was “very demanding” when asking for donations and offering magazine subscriptions in the neighborhood of Santa Carlotta Street and Glencove Avenue, according to Glendale police reports.

Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for. Bank theft -- A Central California bank employee has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to stealing nearly $100,000 from the accounts of two customers. Brenda Hurtado, 26, pleaded guilty in August to committing theft by a bank employee. A former employee of U.S. Bank in Arroyo Grande, she admitted changing the contact information for two customers in their 80s, closing their accounts and issuing herself cashier's checks for the closing balances.

Now that TV talk-show host Regis Philbin has retired from his morning “Live with Regis and Kelly” on ABC, he's making the rounds of the bookstores to sign and sell his new book, “How I Got This Way.” On Saturday (Nov. 26), Barnes & Noble in the Americana was host to some 300 Regis fans who came to learn the real scoop on the TV star's life. A bonus was the appearance of Regis' wife and sometimes TV partner, Joy Philbin. Originally, Regis wanted to be the next Bing Crosby. In fact, Glendale resident Gladys Wymore mentioned his idol when Regis signed her book.