Breathing

Roughly a week after Business Life magazine publisher John Krikorian collapsed at an awards ceremony of an apparent heart attack, he is now breathing on his own, his son and Glendale school board member Greg Krikorian said. Midway through accepting an award at the annual Fire Department awards ceremony, John Krikorian lost consciousness and collapsed as Glendale firefighter-paramedics rushed in to catch him. They performed emergency CPR as he was rushed to Glendale Adventist Medical Center.

Students in Glendale Unified School District have been on a restricted outdoor schedule since Tuesday due to the smoke filled skies from the recent fires. On Tuesday the Santa Ana winds shifted and blew the smoke over the Crescenta Valley, turning the sky an odd yellowish color. The South Coast Air Quality Management Department advised everyone, but especially those with pulmonary and heart disease, senior citizens and children, to stay indoors. Schools used their rainy day plans for students during physical education classes.

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve heard a lot of fighting over health care in the U.S. While all that was taking place, I was in a battle for my own health. Since coming down with the H1N1 flu on Halloween, I’ve had an almost continuous bout of chest congestion and difficulty breathing. Initially I went to a nurse practitioner, who prescribed an antibiotic that didn’t take care of the problem, so she gave me a more powerful one. I felt better for a couple of weeks, but then it all came back stronger than ever, and by Christmas I was again very sick.

Marie liked her middle name best so that is what she always went by. She was born in Los Angeles, California and graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School at the age of 18 and went to Pasadena City College for two years. After that she went to work for a thermostat/controls company and stayed there for approximately a year or two and then she started working for a wonderful couple in a law office. She had definitely found her niche there as she remained in law offices for the rest of her working career (over 50 years)

SOUTH GLENDALE — Keith Lee tapped his partner’s shoulder, said “Are your OK? Call 911,” and for 10 seconds, he listened for breathing. Lee didn’t hear breathing, so he pretended to give two breaths and carefully rolled his partner over to one side to ensure he did not choke on vomit or saliva and die. Lee, a Pasadena resident, was one of 150 people during a morning session in which he and others conducted the adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation technique as part of the American Red Cross Glendale and Crescenta Valley Chapter’s annual Super CPR Saturday.

Glendale resident Laura Michael helped deliver a baby on the side of Brand Boulevard.NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- Of all the things Laura Michael thought she would do in her life, helping deliver a baby in the middle of the street was not one of them. "I would have never thought of being in a situation like that," the 21-year-old Glendale resident said. And yet Michael found herself doing just that a couple weeks ago. She was driving home from her boyfriend's Arcadia home at about 11 p.m. on Dec. 4. she exited the freeway at Brand Boulevard, as she usually did, but this time her drive was interrupted.

Alice Shinmoto knows the benefits of exercise. Every week, she does tai chi, and she's not alone when it comes to the ancient Chinese martial art. The Glendale resident teaches tai chi to seniors at the Glendale Adult Recreation Center twice a week. Her class meets outdoors underneath the shade of the trees. Shinmoto, 63, encourages seniors to do tai chi so they can maintain their health and meet new people at the same time, she said. She starts her class with a warm-up and spends about one hour emphasizing breathing techniques and low-impact movements, both of which are at the core of tai chi, she added.

Slow, relaxed movements of tai-chi will be taught at Descanso Gardens during a 10-session winter class that will meet 8:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Tuesdays, Jan. 16, through March 20. The program includes deep breathing techniques to regulate and balance the body, mind and breath to circulate and strengthen one's chi (energy). Instructor Laura Gloucester says that, for the practitioner, the program helps bring health to the body's internal systems, organs, muscles and joints, and also helps release stress and create a state of well being.

BURBANK — A 16-year-old gave birth to twin boys Monday afternoon on the freeway, with the help of Burbank and Glendale firefighters. The mother was traveling north on the Golden State (5) Freeway near Walnut Avenue when she went into labor, Burbank Fire Capt. Ron Bell said. Though she reportedly went into labor at 11 a.m., the mother did not call 911 until her water broke at 1:23 p.m., Burbank paramedic Scott Owens said. When firefighters arrived, they found the mother — whose name, city of residence and destination were not released — lying in the passenger seat of her car, the first baby resting on her stomach, bundled in a sweatshirt with the umbilical chord still attached.

Jeffrey Briar may prove the old maxim that laughter is the best medicine. Briar has started the Laguna Laughter Club, a group that gathers several mornings a week at the Heisler Park gazebo to practice intentional laughter, a yoga exercise to relieve stress. Fourteen people ranging from ages 17 to 80-plus gathered at the gazebo at 7 a.m. last week to work out their laughter muscles. Briar, a Laguna local, has studied and taught yoga since he was 18. He recently became interested in the art of laughter yoga, and wanted to introduce it to Laguna Beach.

Despite plans by Gov. Jerry Brown to spend roughly $1.6 billion more on education, local school officials this week remained only cautiously optimistic about their financial prospects. The additional funding included in Brown's budget revision unveiled earlier in the week was the result of state revenues that came in $4.5 billion higher than projected for the first six months of the year. But local school district officials say it will take some time to decipher exactly what that will mean for their own beleaguered budgets.

Marie liked her middle name best so that is what she always went by. She was born in Los Angeles, California and graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School at the age of 18 and went to Pasadena City College for two years. After that she went to work for a thermostat/controls company and stayed there for approximately a year or two and then she started working for a wonderful couple in a law office. She had definitely found her niche there as she remained in law offices for the rest of her working career (over 50 years)

Local Catholics this week hailed the selection of Pope Francis - the first pontiff from the Americas who is known for his devotion to the poor and mission outreach - and expressed hope that it would reinvigorate a church rocked by scandal and grappling with disenfranchisement. Before taking his papal name Wednesday to succeed Benedict XVI as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, Pope Francis was known as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, where he built a reputation as a Jesuit, ascribing to the religious order's focus on poverty and social justice issues.

Even though the Hoover High football team cut its spring practices short by a week, the two and a half weeks the Tornadoes did spend going through their paces sans helmets and pads on the practice field were still a considerable step up from last offseason. Hired late last May, second-year Hoover Coach Andrew Policky didn't even get his staff assembled until the summer, much less stage a spring session last season. Now the Tornadoes are looking to get an early start on turning the corner from last year's 0-10 campaign.

The architect of the Crescenta Valley High softball program and, arguably, the area's most successful softball coach, Dan Berry, is breathing on his own after being taken off a ventilator, but battling for his life, Athletic Director Peter Kim confirmed Tuesday afternoon. Berry, 66, was taken to Verdugo Hills Hospital on Oct. 11 after suffering two seizures inside the Crescenta Valley coaches' office. After paramedics arrived, confirmed Kim, Berry went into cardiac arrest and was treated at the scene before being taken to the hospital.

Roughly a week after Business Life magazine publisher John Krikorian collapsed at an awards ceremony of an apparent heart attack, he is now breathing on his own, his son and Glendale school board member Greg Krikorian said. Midway through accepting an award at the annual Fire Department awards ceremony, John Krikorian lost consciousness and collapsed as Glendale firefighter-paramedics rushed in to catch him. They performed emergency CPR as he was rushed to Glendale Adventist Medical Center.

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve heard a lot of fighting over health care in the U.S. While all that was taking place, I was in a battle for my own health. Since coming down with the H1N1 flu on Halloween, I’ve had an almost continuous bout of chest congestion and difficulty breathing. Initially I went to a nurse practitioner, who prescribed an antibiotic that didn’t take care of the problem, so she gave me a more powerful one. I felt better for a couple of weeks, but then it all came back stronger than ever, and by Christmas I was again very sick.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — Heavy rain, thunder and hail Saturday pounded the foothills of La Cañada and La Crescenta, but no major damage was reported. While lightning was seen at the top of Ocean View Boulevard, no injuries or large debris flows were reported, officials said. Los Angeles County officials lifted mandatory evacuation orders at 6:30 p.m. Saturday for 224 La Cañada and La Crescenta homes after the threat of debris flows subsided. “The entire system performed as it was supposed to perform,” said Bob Spencer, Los Angeles County Department Public Works spokesman.

LA CRESCENTA — For a three-inning stretch of Thursday’s Pacific League game against Arcadia High, the run factory otherwise known as the Crescenta Valley softball team’s lineup hit an uncharacteristic lull in production. Starting pitcher Heather Bacon kept a one-run lead intact all the while until the assembly line began moving again with a three-run home run by center fielder Stephanie Ziemann in the fifth inning that led to a 4-0 Falcons victory at Crescenta Valley.

SOUTH GLENDALE — Keith Lee tapped his partner’s shoulder, said “Are your OK? Call 911,” and for 10 seconds, he listened for breathing. Lee didn’t hear breathing, so he pretended to give two breaths and carefully rolled his partner over to one side to ensure he did not choke on vomit or saliva and die. Lee, a Pasadena resident, was one of 150 people during a morning session in which he and others conducted the adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation technique as part of the American Red Cross Glendale and Crescenta Valley Chapter’s annual Super CPR Saturday.