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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Buck Wargo CITY HALL -- Glendale is renewing its fight against putting in cellular towers along its border with Eagle Rock. The city's Planning Department has drafted a letter opposing the latest changes to a plan to install three towers by AirTouch Cellular. The communications company had proposed building a lighted 105-foot-tall tower in a Spanish mission style, but that has been changed to building three towers, one at 95 feet and two at 85 feet.

Los Angeles police are investigating reports Wednesday of a man with a gun near Occidental College in Eagle Rock. Officials said the department is setting up a perimeter at Google+Maps" target="_self"> Avenue 43 and Alumni Drive and will begin searching the area soon. L.A. NOW

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.

Police arrested a 25-year-old man who was on parole for sex trafficking after he saw the officers and ran the other way. The man, Von Correia, is on parole for a 2010 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon and was talking on a cell phone about 12:35 a.m. on the 1600 block of East Colorado Street when he saw a patrol car, turned around and began running, according to Glendale police reports. Meanwhile, several witnesses reported seeing Correia run through various parking lots, including “sneaking” around a motel on Colorado, according to reports.

Glendale resident Mike Baldwin, an active member of the American Legion, is now commander of the legion's 20th District. In his new role, Baldwin represents posts in La Crescenta, Glendale, Burbank, Tujunga, Eagle Rock and Highland Park, in addition to 11 San Fernando Valley posts and three Antelope Valley posts. Baldwin will visit posts to communicate goals as well as participate in the legion's Los Angeles county council. “This position provides an opportunity for me to learn from each post as to how they participate in each of the American Legion's four pillars, Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation, National Security, Americanism and Children and Youth,” Baldwin said.

During a recent meeting between Glendale Unified officials and Glendale Teachers Assn. President Tami Carlson, it became apparent there are only a few obstacles preventing unpaid teacher furlough days from being rescinded (“Teachers demand furlough day cancellation,” Nov. 2). First, neither side can depend on California for funds promised the school district. Two, there is a “trust” issue between school district and union leadership teams. We were told by the superintendent that the district has more than $70 million in reserves, but is holding on to that money for problems that might or might not happen three years from now. The Glendale Teachers Assn.

Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have doubled fines for illegal cellphone use while driving, Laist.com reported. The bill would have also held bicyclists accountable to the same laws as drivers. The governor said he supports discouraging the use of cellphone in the car, but didn't want ratchet up the penalties for such infractions. The bill's author, Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), said Brown's veto is “a lost opportunity to save more lives," according to the news site.

Los Angeles police are investigating reports Wednesday of a man with a gun near Occidental College in Eagle Rock. Officials said the department is setting up a perimeter at Google+Maps" target="_self"> Avenue 43 and Alumni Drive and will begin searching the area soon. L.A. NOW

January 7, 1918 – January 13, 2011 Joseph Ross Blouin died peacefully on January 13, 2011, at the age of 93 surrounded by family.  He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather.  Ross is survived by his children: Ann Blouin Jones (Stanton), and son, Ross Bogart Blouin (Jill), grandchildren:  Patrick Jones, Melissa Harper (Dan), Mathew Blouin, and Craig Blouin.  He was predeceased by his wife, Virginia Bogart Blouin, and daughter, Melissa Blouin Russell. Ross was born in Oxnard, CA, the son of Hazel and Francis Ross Blouin.