Outs

The envelopes have been opened and the Oscars awarded, but most of us are still catching up on the "must see" movies. Before or after a screening in La Cañada Flintridge, Café Sole is a great place to catch a bite. Nestled between a big-name coffee place and a cellphone store, expectations for this place might not be high, but the family-run restaurant offers value and variety in pleasant surroundings. They've been here 10 years, so they must be doing something right! The patio is inviting on warm days or evenings, and heaters provide warmth when the sun will not. The interior boasts about a dozen tables, in view of the kitchen's bustle and flame.

What a difference a day makes ? or in this case, a few weeks. Maurizio's Italian Kitchen has been a cornerstone in the Glendale Exchange for years, serving up pre- or post-movie pizzas and Italian fare. Popular for holiday brunches and family celebrations, the mostly Italian menu offered predictably good value and flavor. Since my recent visit last month, a dramatic revamp has taken place, transforming the Old World calm into a rollicking, rowdy sports bar atmosphere. The décor has changed from hand-stenciled garlands to televisions mounted in the corners, and the crowd is decidedly younger and hipper ?

There's no shortage of Mexican food in these foothills. From fast food franchises to madre y padre establishments, taco stands are ubiquitous. Most offer quite Americanized versions of Mexican recipes. Nothing wrong with that, but if you are craving a bit more authenticity in your enchiladas, check out La Cabanita in Montrose. From mole to rajas, this family-friendly restaurant has been pleasing the locals for decades. The interior is bright and noisy ? alive with vibrant, lively conversation.

Sometimes you can't be too literal when it comes to restaurant names. Case in point ? Bake It Again, Sam!, the bagel shop on Riverside Drive in Burbank. The name has nothing to do with twice-baked bagels, which don't actually exist. Instead it's a play on the line famously not spoken by Humphrey Bogart in my favorite movie of all time, Casablanca, "Play it again, Sam." In the movie, it's all about a song. Here, it's all about the bagel. Making the perfect bagel is more art than science.

Glendale Unified officials Tuesday bestowed several major end-of-the-year awards on students, staff members and local community organizations. The Michael Escalante Award, named in honor of the former superintendent, was given to one high-achieving senior from each of the district’s five high schools. The recipients were Lyova Zalyan of Clark High School, Hannah Park of Crescenta Valley High School, Valerie Hooper-Bedico of Daily High School, Ji Su Yoo of Glendale High School and Efren Pinon of Hoover High School.

Local incumbents shy away from open debate and discussion of their record. Instead, they rely on slick four-color mailers, their party's advantage in registered voters, and a low turnout on Election Day. "We the People" govern this nation through our elected representatives and then we fail to hold them accountable. For example, Rep. Adam Schiff voted for the $800 billion stimulus bill that has failed to stimulate our economy or employment. He voted for a health-care bill that will likely lead to higher taxes or health-care premiums.

Do you, or someone you know, have a substance abuse or dependence issue? Does it affect professional, personal or emotional lives? Substance abuse is the self-medicating of other issues. I do not believe people become addicts by chance. Drugs and alcohol are often the first line of defense to medicate psychological disorders and emotional pain. If someone does not correlate his use with the fact that he has anxiety, depression, moments of feeling too high or too low, he may just be drinking or using because it makes him feel better.

If the American taxpayers had any doubt that many elected politicians work only to keep their jobs and spend the taxpayers' money, causing huge deficits, they need only look at the scandals in Bell and Vernon and the payments for state legislative office staffs. Then there is the recent decision of the Glendale City Council declaring that a library and fire station need upgrading, so they declared the bathrooms blighted to spend more than $300,000 in redevelopment money on upgrades - an example of why the governor wants to abolish local redevelopment agencies (“Stretching blight's definition in Glendale,” Aug. 12)

BAKERSFIELD — From just about dusk until far past dawn, the Glendale Community College baseball team battled to stave off elimination and continue its captivating run toward state glory. But as night fell upon Bakersfield College on Saturday, so too did the final curtain on the greatest season in the history of the Glendale college baseball program. Plagued once more by defensive miscues and a familiar adversary, the Vaqueros were eliminated from the California Community College Athletic Assn.

Perhaps it was inevitable that smart meter naysayers would be unhappy with whatever “opt-out” process Glendale officials set up, but considering that as of a few months ago opting out wasn't even an option, it's hard to see what more controversy could possibly be left. Yes, those who don't want their utility smart meters to transmit data will have to pay for the cost incurred by Glendale Water & Power to send a worker out to manually log the information. But it's still a compromise with utility officials, who have pressed hard against any exceptions to the smart grid.