Internet

Janine Marnien LA CRESCENTA -- Sondra Morrill went from teaching herself about the Internet and computers to teaching others at the La Crescenta Library. Morrill used to stay an hour after work to use a computer with Internet access while working in the ad support department of the Los Angeles Times. "I think it's a wonderful adventure," she said. "Especially for people my age." Her love for computers continued to grow even after she retired from the Los Angeles Times two years ago. A casual conversation with Librarian Vickie Guagliardo turned into her volunteer service at the library, which earned her the Adult Volunteer of the Year Award this year.

Tips for confidence in using the Internet and e-mails: Spell Check: Use this aspect for spelling and correct grammar. Confidential Information: Avoid confidential and sensitive subjects. The Internet is not private. Do not, under any circumstances, put your credit card on the Internet unless it is a secure site. Some companies monitor e-mails to make sure that employees are not writing personal information on business time. Avoid sending anything by e-mail that you would not want to have for public consumption.

Teacher pleads not guilty again A Crescenta Valley High School ceramics teacher accused of secretly filming female students and posting the photos on the Internet pleaded not guilty Friday and will stand trial, authorities said. Rogelio Gallardo, 34, was arraigned in a Pasadena Superior Court after a judge ruled during a preliminary hearing earlier this month to continue the case, according to a court clerk. His next hearing will be a pretrial conference Feb. 10 at the Pasadena courthouse.

An orthodox Jewish community in Lakewood, N.J., has banned the Internet for families that have school-age children, citing concern over access to sexual images. Under the ban, students with home access to the Web face expulsion from the area's Jewish private schools. What do you think of this policy, and the Web's effect on morality? We should all be concerned about the potential damage of Internet pornography on our youth. The effect it can have is a real, dominant and constant threat to the positive moral and social attitudes we try to instill in our children.

A recent article on CNN.com reported that the number of young Muslims using the Internet to connect and learn more about their religion is increasing. One young Muslim woman even started a website ?as a place for young people in the region to ?show a different side of our religion and discuss topics big and small, taboo and not,?? the article says. How important do you believe technology is in giving young adults the ability to learn more about, and even challenge, the basic tenets of their religion?

Jody Kussin The California state curriculum has little variation in certain areas. For instance, when I was in the fourth grade, in the era before computers and Internet searches, I had to make a mission out of sugar cubes. My kids, during the era of computers and Internet searches, also had to make missions out of sugar cubes. Similarly, the fifth-grade curriculum goes unchanged, requiring students to make a family tree, year in and year out. When I was 10, the project was fairly simple.

CENTRAL GLENDALE — The past week has been a whirlwind for 22-year-old Glendale resident Elyse Porterfield, who became an Internet sensation after starring in an online hoax about "Jenny," a disgruntled assistant who quit her job via a dry erase board. Since Porterfield was revealed as the actress behind the famous photos , she's been spoofed by comedian Jimmy Kimmel, given dozens of interviews to media outlets and received hundreds of marriage proposals from love-struck men across the nation.

Robert Shaffer GLENDALE -- Leslie Francis once bought a CD online, but she isn't doing any of her Christmas shopping on the Internet this year. The advantages provided in shopping from home cannot make up for the intangibles, she said. "I don't like the parking and the lines, but the decorations and Christmas spirit are what makes it," she said at the Galleria on Monday. While experts and businesses themselves are reporting an increased use of shopping by computer this holiday season, all agree the Internet will not put malls out of business any time soon.

Gretchen Hoffman Computer-and Internet-based crimes are on the rise, but police say they can track anyone who uses e-mail to commit a crime, as long as they get the information soon enough. E-mail accounts, many of which are free on the Internet, lull users with a sense of anonymity, police said. "They get to vent out their frustrations that way," Police Officer Bob Zahreddine said. "They think you'll never find out who it is." For example, police are investigating a string of threatening e-mails sent to LornaLuftOnline.

Glendale police are warning anyone who makes purchases over the Internet to do so with reputable companies. An arrest last week found a suspect that had sold thousands of dollars worth of stolen items on the Internet. According to Glendale Detective Miguel Porras, detectives from Orem, Utah contacted his department concerning a suspect, Christopher Adam Gallegos, 22, whom they had traced to Glendale. Porras said the Utah detectives had received information from someone in North Carolina who had purchased an iPod on eBay from the suspect.