Eagle Rock

Tucked on a corner in Eagle Rock, across a side street from a pink diner with its own towering billboard, the brown bungalow doesn't look like much. Its roof is beginning to tatter, there's nearly no parking, and the few tables outside are made from old doors painted and put on their sides in one last stop before the scrap yard. (Actually a nice, colorful touch.) Larkin's, which bills itself as “a contemporary soul food joint,” is like visiting Grandma's house, with its scuffed wood floors and cozy rooms and big windows, and its smells of cornbread and frying chicken.

A painting transforming the limestone karst towers that jut out of Vietnam's Halong Bay into a red and yellow fever dream hangs on the wall of an Eagle Rock restaurant named for the bay. A fountain in the center of the dining room tries to evoke the sound of water slapping on the massive spires, but mainly serves to lure toddlers who really, really want to splash their hands through the falling streams. Bathing toddler notwithstanding, Halong Bay is a quiet eatery with clean lines and a beckoning menu of French and Vietnamese cuisines.

A 44-year-old man pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he sexually abused his ex-girlfriend's daughter for years in their Glendale home, police said. Jose Ricardo Yanez of Eagle Rock was charged with four felony counts of lewd acts on a child, aggravated sexual assault of a child, attempted sodomy by force and oral copulation on a child, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. The U.S. Marshal's Task Force conducted surveillance on Yanez, who was arrested Tuesday in the 2600 block of Saxon Drive in connection with the charges, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

Mirjam Swanson GLENDALE -- o7 Odds and ends from the local high school baseball scene:f7 No go: When St. Francis signed up for this season's 36-team San Fernando Valley tournament, the Golden Knights (2-2) figured they would get their money's worth. They made it clear to event organizers that they couldn't host a game -- St. Francis, after all, doesn't have a field -- before the two-plus week affair began, Golden Knight Coach Mike Solar said.

Sang Lee HOOVER HIGH -- After losing nine seniors from last year's squad, Glendale High boys' basketball Coach Steve Snodgress had many questions going into the summer season. He might have found some answers after his team's 48-28 victory over a short-handed Eagle Rock squad in a Hoover High Summer League contest on Tuesday at Hoover High. "I'm happy with the summer. I honestly think we have seven players that can go in and play tough. Everyone has to step up for us to compete in the Pacific League," Snodgress said.

Buck Wargo CITY HALL -- To the victors go the spoils - and the right to hoist their colors. Such is the case at Glendale's eastern gateway, where theVentura (134) Freeway intersects with the Glendale (2) Freeway. The backdrop is the San Rafael Hills for those headed east and the Glendale skyline for those traveling west. That scenic view will have another feature now -- three steel poles, 85 to 95 feet tall, and the lighted flags of the United States, California and Eagle Rock.

Wendelin F. G. Jung died Saturday, March 9, 2013 in a tragic car accident. She was 49 years old and was born in Los Angeles, California. She lived in Eagle Rock, California and worked at Good Land Realty and UPS. She is survived by her siblings, Roderic Jung, Regan Jung, Bridget Springer, Valerie Pawlik, her best friend and “sister” and Auntie Ida (Wong). She has two nieces, Bridget Hahnlein and Cristina Hahnlein and a cat named Spider. Services will be held at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, 2411 Montrose Avenue,Montrose,CA 91020 on Saturday, April 6, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers and gifts, please donate in memory of Wendy Jung to the Pasadena Humane Society at www.phsspca.org and link to support.

Joyce Rudolph EAGLE ROCK -- Church Women United of Glendale will celebrate World Community Day, a nationwide event, beginning at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Dominic's Church in Eagle Rock. The speaker will be from the Women's Detention Ministry. Lunch will follow the program. For reservations, call Jean Parks at 248-1594 or Sally Bettar at (323) 254-5402. The Glendale organization supports the Glendale Salvation Army Meals on Wheels program and the Shoe Box project of Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son, which provides personal items and small toys for children all over the world at Christmas.

RICHARD H. LUDERS Richard H. Luders, 89, a longtime Montrose and Burbank resident, died Feb. 28, 2003, in Eagle Rock. Mr. Luders was born July 20, 1913, in Chicago. Prior to retiring, he was as an industrial engineer at Lockheed Aircraft. He was an active member of the Burbank and East Valley Congregational Church and the Lockheed Stardusters. He is survived by his daughters, Priscilla Garcia of Montrose and Cynthia Clay of Alabama; granddaughters, Amy Martinez and Heidi Garcia; and three great-grandchildren.

Jacquelyn K. Chong (Treu) 73, formerly of Wausau, died peacefully Thursday, September 16 th , at Solheim Lutheran Home in Eagle Rock, California, after enduring many years of painful rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. She was born at Memorial Hospital in Wausau on August 12 th 1937 to Clarence and Irene (Grade) Treu. She was survived by her son Mitchell; Sisters Virginia Jonas, Charlotte Nordstrum and Brothers Clarence and Richard Treu. There will be a memorial service to celebrate Jackie’s life September 28 th at 3:30 p.m. at Solheim Lutheran Home, Eagle Rock.

Joy Whaling, loving wife, Mother of three, Grandmother of seven and Great-Grandmother of four passed away peacefully of natural causes on March 15, 2013, in Eagle Rock, CA. Joy was born April 24, 1919 in Los Angeles, CA, youngest of three children. A homemaker for her family who resided in southern CA communities such as Carlsbad, Altadena, Exeter, Glendale and Seal Beach. Private services will be held at Solheim Lutheran Home in Eagle Rock, CA. Assisting the family with funeral arrangements is Crippen Mortuary, La Crescenta, CA.

Wendelin F. G. Jung died Saturday, March 9, 2013 in a tragic car accident. She was 49 years old and was born in Los Angeles, California. She lived in Eagle Rock, California and worked at Good Land Realty and UPS. She is survived by her siblings, Roderic Jung, Regan Jung, Bridget Springer, Valerie Pawlik, her best friend and “sister” and Auntie Ida (Wong). She has two nieces, Bridget Hahnlein and Cristina Hahnlein and a cat named Spider. Services will be held at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, 2411 Montrose Avenue,Montrose,CA 91020 on Saturday, April 6, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers and gifts, please donate in memory of Wendy Jung to the Pasadena Humane Society at www.phsspca.org and link to support.

A 44-year-old man pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he sexually abused his ex-girlfriend's daughter for years in their Glendale home, police said. Jose Ricardo Yanez of Eagle Rock was charged with four felony counts of lewd acts on a child, aggravated sexual assault of a child, attempted sodomy by force and oral copulation on a child, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. The U.S. Marshal's Task Force conducted surveillance on Yanez, who was arrested Tuesday in the 2600 block of Saxon Drive in connection with the charges, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

EAGLE ROCK - The Holy Family girls' basketball team didn't want to talk about its 32-point loss in its season-opening game. But it had plenty to talk about after its second game of the season. The Gaels recovered from their loss with a dominating performance against an eight-member St. Monica Academy squad that consists of five freshmen and three juniors. Holy Family forced 38 turnovers, tallied 21 steals and received a game-high 22 points from Charise Talaro in a 61-16 nonleague victory Thursday at the Eagle Rock Recreational Center.

The following are previews of the area's upcoming high school football games this week. Through the years, the spotlight on the second week of the season focused on the Crescenta Valley High and St. Francis football teams getting together to participate in the "Battle for Foothill Boulevard. " It led to Friedman Field and Moyse Field being jammed with thousands of spectators and a chance for the schools to also play for bragging rights. Things have changed for the time being, as the Falcons and Golden Knights will not meet this season.

A painting transforming the limestone karst towers that jut out of Vietnam's Halong Bay into a red and yellow fever dream hangs on the wall of an Eagle Rock restaurant named for the bay. A fountain in the center of the dining room tries to evoke the sound of water slapping on the massive spires, but mainly serves to lure toddlers who really, really want to splash their hands through the falling streams. Bathing toddler notwithstanding, Halong Bay is a quiet eatery with clean lines and a beckoning menu of French and Vietnamese cuisines.

LA CRESCENTA — While it was hosted by the Crescenta Valley High Falcons and featured more than half the other teams from the Pacific League, the championship round of the 2012 Crescenta Valley Passing Tournament was dominated by the Foothill League. By the semifinals of the two-day tournament that concluded Saturday afternoon, the final four consisted of Foothill mainstays Hart, Valencia and Saugus and Arcadia, which shared the Pacific League title last season. Hart bested Valencia, 30-24, in the championship round.

Tucked on a corner in Eagle Rock, across a side street from a pink diner with its own towering billboard, the brown bungalow doesn't look like much. Its roof is beginning to tatter, there's nearly no parking, and the few tables outside are made from old doors painted and put on their sides in one last stop before the scrap yard. (Actually a nice, colorful touch.) Larkin's, which bills itself as “a contemporary soul food joint,” is like visiting Grandma's house, with its scuffed wood floors and cozy rooms and big windows, and its smells of cornbread and frying chicken.

Time flies faster the older you get, so it seems like only yesterday - not a year ago - that I was offered the opportunity to write a Sunday column for the News-Press & Leader and other community newspapers in the Times Community News group. It has been an eye-opening experience. The contrast between life in the suburbs and in the big city next door is stark in every way. I meet a lot of people who live on the Valley floor, in Eagle Rock, and in other middle-class communities across Los Angeles who share a deep discontent over the state of their city, and who fear the long-term trend toward things getting worse is only accelerating.

The story of the woman driving mistakenly into the Verdugo Wash pretends to be funny but is really wrong-headed (“Woman who drove Mercedes up Verdugo Wash won't face charges,” Jan. 27). It makes the driver into a dope. The driver was actually a victim of someone's gross neglect. She drove into the wash because the gate wasn't closed and secured by someone who should have done so. The southeast corner of Kenilworth and Glenoaks is tight and confusing from Kenilworth by the church and the bridge.