Japan

I think it is very important that we as a community push to help other nations in their time of need. As you know, the disaster that Japan has gone through has killed many and in their time of need we should want to help. I think that your newspaper should push us as a community to donate anything we can. Although we may be a small community, we should try to give as much as possible. The newspaper should push for us to give first aid kits, toiletries, money, canned foods, letters, pens, pencils, and so forth.

Jewel Price of the Glendale Sunrise Rotary Club has been selected to lead the club's Group Study Exchange to Japan this fall. Among the seven candidates, officials said, Price has exhibited outstanding leadership, exceptional organizational skills and abundant international experiences. Price is the dean of students at Glendale Community College and has been a Rotarian for the past 13 years, during which time she served as president in 2008-09 and District 5260 Assistant Governor in 2009-11.

The 2012 Major League Baseball season began halfway around the globe in the wee hours of Wednesday morning with a pitch thrown by Glendale's very own Brandon McCarthy. It was a mixed bag for the right-handed pitcher when it came to firsts, as he was responsible for the first hit, run and homer of the young season, but also the first strikeout. McCarthy's Oakland Athletics suffered a 3-1 loss in 11 innings to the Seattle Mariners in baseball's season opener in Tokyo, in which McCarthy put forth a solid effort, but didn't factor in the decision.

Charles Rich In Trevor Bell's eyes, Long Beach appealed more than Santa Barbara. The 15-year-old Bell offered a valid explanation, something that pertained to playing baseball on an international stage. Bell, who had originally been slated to play with his Chatsworth-based Valley Heat travel team in a tournament in Santa Barbara this weekend, will instead compete with the American team in the Goodwill Series Games against Japan. The Crescenta Valley High sophomore, who shared Pacific League co-Most Valuable Player honors in 2002, will make his inaugural international appearance Saturday in a three-game series with the Japan National High School Team.

Tim Willert LA CRESCENTA -- Kimberly Goffredo began her voyage around the world in Vancouver, B.C., in August. By the time her ship docked in Havana, more than three months later, the 20-year-old La Crescenta resident had visited Japan, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, India, Singapore, South Africa and Brazil for the first time. "It was the most amazing learning experience," said Goffredo, who returned home Dec. 10. "I don't think I realized how much I changed while I was gone.

Michael Ramirez , son of Ronald Ramirez and Lola Quan-Ramirez of La Crescenta, and Rina Onoyama from Osaka, Japan, were married in Kobe, Japan, in July. The ceremony, conducted in English and Japanese, took place at Ravimana Resort, in a glass chapel with the ocean and palm trees as a backdrop. The reception and after party was held at the resort. Truly an international affair, the wedding was attended by the groom's family from California and the bride's family from Japan, as well as friends from Canada, Australia and other parts of the United States.

Because of increasing personal and business connections with foreign countries or various cultures in the United States, it is important to gain knowledge about their customs and culture. This knowledge will create a congenial and proper environment in which positive relations and commerce can flourish. Etiquette tips for gift giving in China and Japan follow. ? CHINA: The Chinese often give elaborate welcoming banquets for their guests. There is no business discussion during the event, and one must accept the invitation that later needs to be reciprocal.

Charles Rich With improvements underway to several sports facilities at Glendale Community College, maybe there's a spare acre or two on campus to house the United Nations Headquarters. GCC women's tennis Coach Terry Coblentz wouldn't object to transporting the 39-floor building from New York to Glendale. There's good reason because six members of this year's GCC squad hail from different countries. The Vaqueros will look to capitalize with their international talent when they begin their season at 2 p.m. Feb. 8 with a nonconference home match against San Diego City College.

During my recent visit to Japan, the increase in violent behavior among teenagers was a popular topic of discussion. Everyone from our tour guides to the teachers we met mentioned stories like the one about the teenage boy who beat two roommates to death with a baseball bat after being repeatedly taunted by them, and then killed his own mother with the same weapon. A recent TIME Magazine article, "Natural Born Killers," reports that Japan's reaction to this increase in violent behavior has been to blame a subset of antisocial teenagers called the o7 hikikomorif7 , who isolate themselves in their bedrooms for weeks or months at a time, immersed in their own private world of violent video games, movies and who-knows-what-else.

Jerry Lane Early in 1950, a small fleet of amphibious ships was put together and sent to Japan to train Army occupation troops who had, reportedly, grown fat and lazy. It was to be a six-month cruise designed to train boat crews and Army units in landing procedures. There were fewer than 200 experienced boat crews left over from the huge amphib forces of World War II and the Navy had become a bit rusty, thinking this kind of operation had become obsolete with the birth of the A-bomb.

Members of Rotary's 2012 District 5280 Group Study Exchange are now visiting Japan to learn about the culture and to compare business practices so they can bring new ideas back to their career fields. The program is funded by a grant from Rotary International. Participants in the four-week exchange program are Eddie Michino, Angela Kim, Jewel Price, Alen Andriassian and Kai Tramiel. Price, dean of Student Services at Glendale Community College, is the leader of the contingent and a member of the Glendale Sunrise Rotary Club.

Jewel Price of the Glendale Sunrise Rotary Club has been selected to lead the club's Group Study Exchange to Japan this fall. Among the seven candidates, officials said, Price has exhibited outstanding leadership, exceptional organizational skills and abundant international experiences. Price is the dean of students at Glendale Community College and has been a Rotarian for the past 13 years, during which time she served as president in 2008-09 and District 5260 Assistant Governor in 2009-11.

A new UCLA economic analysis of Japan'sShinkansen bullet train and its impact on the growth of cities along its route calls into question claims by state officials that California's high-speed rail project will create up to 400,000 permanent jobs. Construction of Japan's vaunted bullet train began in the mid-1960s, and it did not generate higher economic growth or additional jobs, according to the study. Written by Jerry Nickelsburg, senior economist with the UCLA Anderson Forecast, the study said there may be other justifications for bullet train service between Los Angeles and San Francisco, but the $68-billion project as an engine of economic growth "will have only a marginal impact at best.

The 2012 Major League Baseball season began halfway around the globe in the wee hours of Wednesday morning with a pitch thrown by Glendale's very own Brandon McCarthy. It was a mixed bag for the right-handed pitcher when it came to firsts, as he was responsible for the first hit, run and homer of the young season, but also the first strikeout. McCarthy's Oakland Athletics suffered a 3-1 loss in 11 innings to the Seattle Mariners in baseball's season opener in Tokyo, in which McCarthy put forth a solid effort, but didn't factor in the decision.

It was just before 2:30 in the afternoon of Sunday Dec. 7, 1941 when a New York radio station interrupted the broadcast of the New York Giants football game with a shocking news bulletin: The Japanese had staged a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Naval base in Hawaii. Broadcast of the game quickly resumed after the brief report. It was the same across America as NBC, CBS and other radio networks broke into Sammy Kaye's Sunday Serenade, a performance of the “Inspector General,” an intellectual discussion of Canada's role in the war in Europe - and then returned to normal programming.

The tsunami receded in Japan more than a month ago, but local auto dealers are bracing for economic waves in the form of price increases and possible supply shortages. Even as an improving economy and spiraling gas prices spur sales of smaller, more efficient cars, dealers say uncertainty about manufacturing in Japan — where many cars, parts and specialty paints are produced — is worrisome. The impacts are not across the board, said A.J. Mendoza, sales manager at Community Chevrolet in Burbank, adding that he expects the dealership to feel little effect.

Damon’s Steak House officials presented two $3,500 checks to Glendale/La Crescenta Chapter - American Red Cross and the Glendale Kiwanis Club on Tuesday at the Glendale restaurant. The $7,000 was proceeds from lunches and dinners served on April 4 at Damon’s for Japanese earthquake relief. Each organization has pledged to apply the money toward relief efforts in Japan, especially those for children, following the earthquake and tsunami. Those attending Tuesday’s check presentation were Ron Farina of the American Red Cross, Glendale/La Crescenta Chapter; Glendale Kiwanis Club President Bruce Hinckley and members Susan Dell and Irshad UL-Haque.

I think it is very important that we as a community push to help other nations in their time of need. As you know, the disaster that Japan has gone through has killed many and in their time of need we should want to help. I think that your newspaper should push us as a community to donate anything we can. Although we may be a small community, we should try to give as much as possible. The newspaper should push for us to give first aid kits, toiletries, money, canned foods, letters, pens, pencils, and so forth.

While the world watches Japan struggle to overcome the effects of a deadly tsunami, earthquakes and nuclear radiation leaks, Junko Nakayama watches more closely than most. Nakayama, trainer for the La Crescenta Valley High School baseball team, said a cousin is stuck in Tsukuba, 120 miles from the Fukushima nuclear plant where high levels of radiation have forced evacuations. Nakayama’s parents are in her home town of Hachinohe, a northern port city where residents are waiting out food and supply shortages.

The Burbank-based Walt Disney Co. will donate $2.5 million to the American Red Cross for humanitarian aid in earthquake- and tsunami-torn Japan, officials announced Tuesday. “Our hearts go out to the people of Japan,” Disney President and Chief Executive Robert Iger said in a statement. “We send our continued thoughts of support and encouragement as this great nation begins the long road to recovery.” The entertainment giant also announced that it would match dollar-for-dollar donations made by Disney employees to the Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Fund and Save the Children.