Social Media

The U.S. Department of Transportationdoesn't want you tweeting on Twitter, poking on Facebook, or giving a "thumbs up" to new music on Pandora when you're behind the wheel -- unless your car is parked. And to that end, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced on Thursday the "first-ever federally proposed guidelines to encourage automobile manufacturers to limit the distraction risk for in-vehicle electronic devices. " Translated, LaHood and the Transportation Department are calling for an end to distractions caused by our in-car infotainment systems, which are increasingly relying on touch screens to operate and bringing navigation, music and even social networking apps into the cabin of our rides.

Before P.J. Gaynard goes to the voting booth, he admits that he typically doesn't know much about local politicians. But the 37-year-old Glendale resident is glued to Twitter and Facebook, and that's where he found Glendale City Council candidate Roland Kedikian. That connection meant one more person watched Kedikian's nearly three-minute campaign video and left this post: “I think it really says something about how you feel about reaching people in 2013!” Elections experts agree social media is an ideal tool for reaching voters.

The association in charge of the Montrose Shopping Park is looking to add another employee to its ranks, making it the city's only business improvement group with such a robust workforce. The Montrose Shopping Park Assn. board of directors, which decides how roughly $360,000 gets spent to promote the quaint shopping district along Honolulu Avenue, is mulling over adding a “Montrose Ambassador” to meet with business owners and bring their comments or complaints back to the board.

The Glendale chapter of the Armenian National Committee saw its holiday food drive donations more than double this year, going from helping 150 families in 2010 to providing help to about 350 families this year, organizers said. They attributed a big part of the success to social media. “Facebook helps,” Executive Director Elen Asatryan said Thursday night as the organization dispersed the donations. The Armenian National Committee has led the food drive campaign the past five years in conjunction with other local organizations.

Dozens of parishioners demonstrated outside St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church in the rain Sunday to express their anger over the transfer of a popular reverend who was forced to leave the country because his visa expired. His supporters said church officials did not work to extend Fr. Rev. Barthev Gulumian's visa because of internal politics, sparking a campaign on social media against the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Gulumian was removed from his Glendale post, where he has worked for the last six years, and transferred to Venezuela.

Like other celebrities, “Meatball” -- the famous Glendale bear that nosed through trash cans and caused ruckus in the foothills earlier this year -- has found value in his brand, or at least his handlers have. Let the merchandising begin. Bummed you never got close enough to the furry, now-500 pound ursine before he was caught - twice - until being carted off to an animal sanctuary near San Diego? How about a “huggable lock of his furry fur”? It also comes with a blue paint paw print and an orange wildlife tag that California officials pierced in his ear. And it can all be yours via a successful bid on EBay.

"I hope to one day be able to extend a hand to others in the same manner you have done to me, to be able to make a difference in one's life by providing others with tools to thrive in their chosen field," said Trichele Bubla, recent graduate of the registered nursing program at Glendale Community College. Bubla was referring to the scholarship she was given by the college's Patrons Club. On Jan. 17 (Thursday) some 60 members of the Patrons Club, now 65 years old, patted themselves on the back for the tens of thousands of dollars donated to students at the college over those years.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Crescenta Valley station on Wednesday launched its own Facebook and Twitter profiles to broadcast area-specific news. The social media profiles add to the public notifications already available via the station's website and Nixle profile, and will allow deputies to “broadcast information directly to the news media and the residents we serve,” according to the announcement. The Twitter handle for the station is http://www.twitter.com/CVLASD while its Facebook profile can be found here . --Jason Wells, Times Community News Follow Jason Wells on Facebook , Google+ and on Twitter: @JasonBretWells.

Glendale News-Press staff interviewed each candidate for Glendale Unified school board, Glendale City Council and clerk. Editors also researched and responded to measures A, B and C. The following are staff endorsements for Glendale's municipal elections on April 2:  Endorsement for Glendale Unified school board: Krikorian, Wagner and Walters Endorsement for Glendale City Council: Friedman, Najarian and Engel ...

Like other celebrities, “Meatball” -- the Glendale bear that nosed through trash cans and caused a ruckus in the foothills earlier this year -- has found value in his brand, or at least his handlers have.  Let the merchandising begin.  Bummed you never got close enough to the furry, now-500 pound bear before he was caught - twice - until being carted off to an animal sanctuary near San Diego? How about a “huggable lock of his furry fur”? It also comes with a blue paint paw print and an orange wildlife tag that California officials pierced in his ear.  It could end up being all be yours via a successful bid on EBay -- that is, if officials at the California Department of Fish and Game allow the sale to go forward.

Glendale News-Press staff interviewed each candidate for Glendale Unified school board, Glendale City Council and clerk. Editors also researched and responded to measures A, B and C. The following are staff endorsements for Glendale's municipal elections on April 2:  Endorsement for Glendale Unified school board: Krikorian, Wagner and Walters Endorsement for Glendale City Council: Friedman, Najarian and Engel ...

Before P.J. Gaynard goes to the voting booth, he admits that he typically doesn't know much about local politicians. But the 37-year-old Glendale resident is glued to Twitter and Facebook, and that's where he found Glendale City Council candidate Roland Kedikian. That connection meant one more person watched Kedikian's nearly three-minute campaign video and left this post: “I think it really says something about how you feel about reaching people in 2013!” Elections experts agree social media is an ideal tool for reaching voters.

"I hope to one day be able to extend a hand to others in the same manner you have done to me, to be able to make a difference in one's life by providing others with tools to thrive in their chosen field," said Trichele Bubla, recent graduate of the registered nursing program at Glendale Community College. Bubla was referring to the scholarship she was given by the college's Patrons Club. On Jan. 17 (Thursday) some 60 members of the Patrons Club, now 65 years old, patted themselves on the back for the tens of thousands of dollars donated to students at the college over those years.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Crescenta Valley station on Wednesday launched its own Facebook and Twitter profiles to broadcast area-specific news. The social media profiles add to the public notifications already available via the station's website and Nixle profile, and will allow deputies to “broadcast information directly to the news media and the residents we serve,” according to the announcement. The Twitter handle for the station is http://www.twitter.com/CVLASD while its Facebook profile can be found here . --Jason Wells, Times Community News Follow Jason Wells on Facebook , Google+ and on Twitter: @JasonBretWells.

Like other celebrities, “Meatball” -- the famous Glendale bear that nosed through trash cans and caused ruckus in the foothills earlier this year -- has found value in his brand, or at least his handlers have. Let the merchandising begin. Bummed you never got close enough to the furry, now-500 pound ursine before he was caught - twice - until being carted off to an animal sanctuary near San Diego? How about a “huggable lock of his furry fur”? It also comes with a blue paint paw print and an orange wildlife tag that California officials pierced in his ear. And it can all be yours via a successful bid on EBay.

Like other celebrities, “Meatball” -- the Glendale bear that nosed through trash cans and caused a ruckus in the foothills earlier this year -- has found value in his brand, or at least his handlers have.  Let the merchandising begin.  Bummed you never got close enough to the furry, now-500 pound bear before he was caught - twice - until being carted off to an animal sanctuary near San Diego? How about a “huggable lock of his furry fur”? It also comes with a blue paint paw print and an orange wildlife tag that California officials pierced in his ear.  It could end up being all be yours via a successful bid on EBay -- that is, if officials at the California Department of Fish and Game allow the sale to go forward.

The Glendale bear known as “Meatball” was captured Wednesday in La Cañada Flintridge after a game warden lured the popular ursine with bacon and honey -- adding a sense of urgency to a campaign set up by his fans to raise money for his transport to a permanent home at a wildlife sanctuary in Colorado. The bear, also known on Twitter as “Glen Bearian,” was “resting comfortably” after being captured Wednesday morning, according to the California Department of Fish and Game.

After snoozing nearly five hours in a Glendale tree, the bear known to his social media fans as “Glen Bearian” and “Meatball” has been tranquilized by California Department of Fish and Game officers, officials said. Shortly before 11:45 a.m. Sunday, a DFG team started moving the unconscious bear into a safe area of the Angeles National Forest.   “He's in a pickup truck on his way to a suitable habitat,” said California Department of Fish and Game spokesman Andrew Hughan, noting that a warden will drive him far away from inhabited areas.

The association in charge of the Montrose Shopping Park is looking to add another employee to its ranks, making it the city's only business improvement group with such a robust workforce. The Montrose Shopping Park Assn. board of directors, which decides how roughly $360,000 gets spent to promote the quaint shopping district along Honolulu Avenue, is mulling over adding a “Montrose Ambassador” to meet with business owners and bring their comments or complaints back to the board.

Dozens of parishioners demonstrated outside St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church in the rain Sunday to express their anger over the transfer of a popular reverend who was forced to leave the country because his visa expired. His supporters said church officials did not work to extend Fr. Rev. Barthev Gulumian's visa because of internal politics, sparking a campaign on social media against the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Gulumian was removed from his Glendale post, where he has worked for the last six years, and transferred to Venezuela.