Supermarket

Ryan Carter Picketing Vons employees stood in front of the supermarket at the corner of Los Feliz Road and Central Avenue on Thursday, minus the once-boisterous calls to not shop at the store. But when a group of several members of the California School Employees Assn. showed up, smiles appeared on the serious faces. The 20 members of the local chapter of the school employees' group were there to join the picketers. The employees have been picketing outside Vons, Albertsons and Ralphs grocery stores since Oct. 11. The supermarket operators and the United Food and Commercial Workers, which represents the 70,000 striking and locked-out employees, have been at odds over a contract proposal to reduce workers' medical benefits and lower salaries for new hires.

Police continue to work with United Food and Commercial Workers of America to try to curb the number of calls for service at local supermarkets where strikers are picketing. Since a strike was announced late Saturday over a dispute regarding medical benefits, workers with Pavilions, Vons, Albertsons and Ralphs have kept a constant presence in supermarket driveways and entrances. Interactions with supermarket officials and customers crossing picket lines have resulted in police calls alleging harassment, vandalism and blocking delivery trucks, which causes traffic congestion.

Robert Chacon Dozens of striking and locked-out supermarket workers attended a rally Sunday at Vons on Foothill Boulevard, where state Sen. Jack Scott (D-Glendale) and Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Glendale) delivered words of encouragement and support. United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 is in its seventh week of a strike against the three major supermarket chains, which are asking for workers to take cuts in health benefits and salaries. Talks between the union and the supermarket chains resumed over the weekend.

In response to reader John Adams, who deplores the practice of taking grocery carts from supermarkets ("There's no excuse for turning to thievery," Jan. 2). For five years, I fought a losing battle with police officials, supermarket managers and homeowners' representatives in Pasadena, where I own a condominium. In spite of repeated calls, complaints and lugging wayward carts out of the building and onto the street for pickup, neighbors continued to "borrow" shopping carts without permission (when they could have bought one for $30 or less)

PATRICK AZADIAN If I had to name a single food item that I cannot live without, it would have to be Persian cucumbers. These natural snacks make excellent addition to salads, sandwiches, yogurt and are ideal for making crisp pickles. I like them sliced in half, splashed with lime juice and lightly sprinkled with sea salt. My earliest memory of these crunchy, watery, green fruits (yes, they are fruits) is when my maternal grandfather, Amir, walked into our house with a brown paper bag full of secret treats.

Midge Boardman, People GLENDALE -- A walk along Glenoaks Boulevard changed Glendale resident Joyce Allred's life. While she strolled with friends one August evening, a motor home pulled up alongside them. Five young men inside were speaking all at once, but not in English. The women, understanding only "supermarket," pointed. Talk went on; nobody knew what the other was saying. But the women realized the foreigners were on holiday from Italy.

CITY HALL ? A proposed mixed-use development that would replace an Albertsons in northwest Glendale won high praise from a city Design Review Board on Thursday for its style and pedestrian-friendly elements. The proposal ? which would demolish the supermarket at 1855 W. Glenoaks Blvd. in favor of 12,848 square feet of commercial space, 105 residential units and 318 underground parking spaces ? has found friends and foes in the relatively dense northwest Glendale neighborhood. Nearby apartment dwellers have protested the plan by San Francisco-based developer GL Property Development LLC over fears that it would add too much traffic to side streets and remove a convenient supermarket.

Two franchises with great interest in the "home plate," Safeway Inc. and the Washington Nationals, have entered into a comprehensive joint marketing agreement. The partnership between Safeway and the Nationals will link the city's largest supermarket chain with its new Major League Baseball team. As the Official Grocery Store of the Washington Nationals, Safeway will have in-stadium promotions, advertising in team-controlled media and host Safeway Club Card Nights which will offer discounted tickets to select games.

One, two, three. The video camera starts recording and at the snap of a finger each child, by turn, immediately assumes the role of a pirate. "Garrrr!!! I'm a pirate," said Andrew Granier, a Dunsmore Elementary School student. "Now use the sword like a pirate," urged the cameraman. Andrew began to defend himself from an imaginary bad guy in front of him. With a toy sword in hand, his agile body twisted, turned, jumped and stabbed at the air. The cameraman, fascinated, watched the child's every move and encouraged him to do more.

Grocery union officials and negotiators for Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons have reached a tentative deal on a labor contract, a move that averts a strike that would have had more than 54,000 workers across Southern California walking off the job. The negotiations between United Food and Commercial Workers officials and the three grocery chains, which stretched throughout the night and well into the morning, had grown urgent after a deadline for a...

CITY HALL ? A proposed mixed-use development that would replace an Albertsons in northwest Glendale won high praise from a city Design Review Board on Thursday for its style and pedestrian-friendly elements. The proposal ? which would demolish the supermarket at 1855 W. Glenoaks Blvd. in favor of 12,848 square feet of commercial space, 105 residential units and 318 underground parking spaces ? has found friends and foes in the relatively dense northwest Glendale neighborhood. Nearby apartment dwellers have protested the plan by San Francisco-based developer GL Property Development LLC over fears that it would add too much traffic to side streets and remove a convenient supermarket.

Glendale Adventist Medical Center will be hosting an event with Vons Market on Sunday, Aug. 12, called Lights, Camera, Fight Cancer. Lisa Hernandez, reporter with KABC 7, will be the emcee for the event. The event is a fundraiser that will include a fashion show, boutique and lunch. Proceeds will benefit the hospital's Cancer Center. The goal is to raise more than $20,000 for the center. Showcasing the event will be models who are hospital patients (cancer survivors), physicians, hospital staff and Vons employees.

One, two, three. The video camera starts recording and at the snap of a finger each child, by turn, immediately assumes the role of a pirate. "Garrrr!!! I'm a pirate," said Andrew Granier, a Dunsmore Elementary School student. "Now use the sword like a pirate," urged the cameraman. Andrew began to defend himself from an imaginary bad guy in front of him. With a toy sword in hand, his agile body twisted, turned, jumped and stabbed at the air. The cameraman, fascinated, watched the child's every move and encouraged him to do more.

Two franchises with great interest in the "home plate," Safeway Inc. and the Washington Nationals, have entered into a comprehensive joint marketing agreement. The partnership between Safeway and the Nationals will link the city's largest supermarket chain with its new Major League Baseball team. As the Official Grocery Store of the Washington Nationals, Safeway will have in-stadium promotions, advertising in team-controlled media and host Safeway Club Card Nights which will offer discounted tickets to select games.

GLENDALE -- Longtime Glendale resident James Johnson, a familiar face at foothill Ralphs grocery stores for more than 20 years, died Wednesday morning at Verdugo Hills Hospital. He was 84. Johnson, known to most as "Johnny" Johnson, spent much of his life working for Ralphs -- when the company was still family-owned -- and dedicated his career to serving two Foothill locations. Johnson became a store manager for the former La Cañada Flintridge Ralphs -- now Ross Dress for Less -- in 1973, longtime friend and co-worker Charles Beatty said.

Cart thieves are getting away with it What am I missing? I just moved to Glendale from Erie, Penn., in September. In Erie, if someone was noticed by police removing a shopping cart from a supermarket parking lot, they would be detained. If someone sticks a $2.99 canned ham in their purse at the store and store security notices it, do the police get called? I imagine they do. But it seems that residents can walk off with carts that cost several hundred dollars and nobody blinks an eye. About two weeks ago, I saw two 40-something women and a teenage girl leaving the Ralphs at Verdugo Road and Colorado Street with a cart.

Ann Doneen and Ken Swope In Friday's paper, "Parents want musical stopped" reported that La Canada High School parent Karen Matheson wants the school district to halt production on this year's all-school musical, "Bat Boy." Please know that there are a number of parents who applaud the district, drama teacher Gale Caswell and the school administration for bringing some fresh material to our stage, and for having the depth, wisdom and insight to be able to see that it would be appropriate for us to stage this production here in La Canada Flintridge.

PATRICK AZADIAN If I had to name a single food item that I cannot live without, it would have to be Persian cucumbers. These natural snacks make excellent addition to salads, sandwiches, yogurt and are ideal for making crisp pickles. I like them sliced in half, splashed with lime juice and lightly sprinkled with sea salt. My earliest memory of these crunchy, watery, green fruits (yes, they are fruits) is when my maternal grandfather, Amir, walked into our house with a brown paper bag full of secret treats.