Smell

John Francis At the News-Press, we like to think we have a nose for news. But since we moved downtown, our noses have been on overload. Not because of the news -- no serious scandals -- but because of an alley beside our building. Walking from the news Orange Street Garage to our front door can be tough of those weak of stomach. It just stinks. Is it the worst smell confronting the public in Glendale? Let's find out. Readers, we are putting out the call for some tips.

Amber Willard ADAMS HILL -- Glendale Fire Department officials were working Thursday afternoon to determine what caused a chemical smell among trash in a city trash truck. City workers were collecting trash in the residential area around Adams Street and Dartmouth Drive Thursday morning when they noticed the smell, possibly caused by a mixture of household cleaners containing ammonia or chlorine, Glendale Fire Marshal Steve Howard said. The truck was taken to the city's landfill in Scholl Canyon, where hazardous materials crews would sort through the trash.

Amber Willard CITY HALL -- On what was normally a slow day -- the daybefore a holiday -- City Hall workers got some excitement when a report of a possible gas leak in the building came in. Three fire engines, two fire trucks and one ambulance were called to the building at 615 E. Broadway shortly after 9 a.m. Friday when an employee reported smelling gas. "It was a false alarm," said Vicki Means, the city's assistant...

The smell of Elmer’s Glue takes me back to Mrs. Stark’s third-grade class at Glenoaks Elementary. The scent of pine needles takes me to June Lake and boyhood fishing trips with my father. A whiff of Jack Daniel’s transports me to a regretful morning after a bachelor party in 1993. And riding my bike past Burroughs High School in Burbank one recent morning, the smell of grass clippings in the moist air sent me to preseason football practice at Glendale High School 300 years ago. I’ve always been one of the bigger kids in class.

Whenever friends see me at the gym, their questions are the same: “Did you just join?” My answer is consistent. I was probably a member long before they were, but my attendance is sporadic. There are many objective and subjective reasons for this. Sometimes the sights, sounds and the smells of the gym are not necessarily inviting. I do enjoy playing sports more than being at the gym. Even if the exercise does not involve a game, I’d much rather be running, for example, where there is natural scenery and plush grass.

Fire officials say they may never know who illegally dumped gasoline in a storm drain on Justin Avenue, prompting five homes to be evacuated during Thanksgiving dinner. If ignited, the gasoline could have sparked massive destruction similar to the San Bruno incident in Northern California, which occurred after a gas pipeline exploded and killed eight people. No one was injured in Thursday's three-hour incident, fire officials said. Firefighters who responded on Thanksgiving “saw fumes coming up through the plumbing inside of the homes,” said Battalion Chief Greg Godfrey.

Memory is an interesting phenomenon. And how memory is ignited can be intriguing. Memory and senses often work in parallel. Take the sense of smell, for example. It has a strong influence on what kind of memory is stirred up in the brain. And sometimes, that same memory can even have physical consequences. As we breathe in odors, the air enters through our nostrils. After passing through the nasal cavity, the air passes through a thick layer of mucous to the olfactory bulb.

For most of my life, I've lived in apartments. So moving into a house 2 1/2 years ago represents a change that has taken some getting used to. The differences between the two lifestyles have been well-documented by every comedian who thinks it's funny to hear an upstairs neighbor flushing a toilet in the middle of the night or to see a 90-year-old Hungarian woman's housecoat blow open as she's fetching the newspaper. But while the visual and auditory differences in lifestyle are well known, there's another sensory difference that seems to get a lot lower billing: the difference in smells.

Jackson Bell Caila, Burbank Police Department's drug-sniffing dog, can stand outside a car and detect the faintest traces of methamphetamine on a pipe stashed inside the trunk, officials said. A Supreme Court ruled last week that a police dog can legally sniff a car's exterior even when the officer has no probable cause for searching the car. This will allow Caila to sniff for such scents during traffic stops. In 1998 an Illinois state trooper pulled a man over for speeding, according to court papers.

If you were to be strapped down on a surgical table while four guys exhaled smoke directly into your mouth and nostrils for 30 years, you might get lung cancer 40 years after they stopped, but it’s not likely. It really, truly gets me. There’s discarded nuclear waste off the East Coast, there is a huge spinning pile of plastic floating off the West Coast, factories unload chemicals into rivers, cancer-causing agents are added to our food, we eat contaminated meat and produce on a daily basis, cars pump out carbon dioxide, factories belch pollutants into the air every day — all day — and you are seriously worried about second-hand smoke and “educating” smokers (“Smoking laws get air time,” May 8)

Fire officials say they may never know who illegally dumped gasoline in a storm drain on Justin Avenue, prompting five homes to be evacuated during Thanksgiving dinner. If ignited, the gasoline could have sparked massive destruction similar to the San Bruno incident in Northern California, which occurred after a gas pipeline exploded and killed eight people. No one was injured in Thursday's three-hour incident, fire officials said. Firefighters who responded on Thanksgiving “saw fumes coming up through the plumbing inside of the homes,” said Battalion Chief Greg Godfrey.

If you haven’t experienced Yakitori, Japanese open-fire cooking, there’s a great experience to be had at The Back House, the recently opened add-on to Burbank’s Asian Fusion restaurant Wokcano. Prices start at $1.95 (two shitake mushrooms on a skewer). However, don’t think you’re going to get the experience for a song. My guest and I left the place with our wallets $73 dollars lighter, but it was well worth the bank account drain. To say the ambience is minimal would be a huge understatement.

The smell of Elmer’s Glue takes me back to Mrs. Stark’s third-grade class at Glenoaks Elementary. The scent of pine needles takes me to June Lake and boyhood fishing trips with my father. A whiff of Jack Daniel’s transports me to a regretful morning after a bachelor party in 1993. And riding my bike past Burroughs High School in Burbank one recent morning, the smell of grass clippings in the moist air sent me to preseason football practice at Glendale High School 300 years ago. I’ve always been one of the bigger kids in class.

If you were to be strapped down on a surgical table while four guys exhaled smoke directly into your mouth and nostrils for 30 years, you might get lung cancer 40 years after they stopped, but it’s not likely. It really, truly gets me. There’s discarded nuclear waste off the East Coast, there is a huge spinning pile of plastic floating off the West Coast, factories unload chemicals into rivers, cancer-causing agents are added to our food, we eat contaminated meat and produce on a daily basis, cars pump out carbon dioxide, factories belch pollutants into the air every day — all day — and you are seriously worried about second-hand smoke and “educating” smokers (“Smoking laws get air time,” May 8)

Treating severely premature babies has been a lot easier at Glendale Memorial Hospital since fundraisers delivered state-of-the-art incubators last year. Now, officials are hoping those same fundraisers will add to last year’s $120,000 gift with the 21st annual Wine and Roses celebration. The charity event has raised more than $2 million for the Glendale Memorial Health Foundation to date, and organizers plan to use this year’s funds to help pay for the development of a new Education Center facility.

Whenever friends see me at the gym, their questions are the same: “Did you just join?” My answer is consistent. I was probably a member long before they were, but my attendance is sporadic. There are many objective and subjective reasons for this. Sometimes the sights, sounds and the smells of the gym are not necessarily inviting. I do enjoy playing sports more than being at the gym. Even if the exercise does not involve a game, I’d much rather be running, for example, where there is natural scenery and plush grass.

First-time pet owners are sometimes surprised by pet odors and how stinky pets can be. This is a major cause of pet abandonment. Puppies and kittens are little and cute at first, but as they grow and the realization sets in that you have a large (or small) critter who occupies your house, depositing hair, dragging in dirt, debris and sometimes dead birds or rodents from outside, and sometimes other unwanted problems, like a pup not being fully potty trained, or the necessity of cleaning the litter box frequently, pets are abandoned.

Memory is an interesting phenomenon. And how memory is ignited can be intriguing. Memory and senses often work in parallel. Take the sense of smell, for example. It has a strong influence on what kind of memory is stirred up in the brain. And sometimes, that same memory can even have physical consequences. As we breathe in odors, the air enters through our nostrils. After passing through the nasal cavity, the air passes through a thick layer of mucous to the olfactory bulb.

The smell of pine and freshly cut wood permeated the air around 17-year-old Luigi Valle Wednesday as a string of bare lightbulbs blinked to life at the YMCA Christmas tree lot on the corner of Brand Boulevard and Colorado Street. Luigi took a break with his fellow workers and volunteers to chat as the sun retreated and night fell over the evergreens. "I get to see a lot of my friends come in," Luigi said. "A lot of families. And it's nice to see all the little kids running around."

For most of my life, I've lived in apartments. So moving into a house 2 1/2 years ago represents a change that has taken some getting used to. The differences between the two lifestyles have been well-documented by every comedian who thinks it's funny to hear an upstairs neighbor flushing a toilet in the middle of the night or to see a 90-year-old Hungarian woman's housecoat blow open as she's fetching the newspaper. But while the visual and auditory differences in lifestyle are well known, there's another sensory difference that seems to get a lot lower billing: the difference in smells.