Weeds

From huffing chemical sprays to smoking poisonous roadside weeds, nothing seems to be out of the question for teens looking to get high, police warned parents this week. Displaying an array of spray cans, including body sprays and dust removers, drug paraphernalia and other chemicals sold over the Internet - Glendale Police Officer Joe Allen told parents at a meeting on Tuesday night that the items were just some of the drugs of choice these days among teens. Allen bought most of the items from a 99 Cents store, taking some parents aback as they looked on during the informational drug meeting at the Crescenta-Cañada Family YMCA.

H omeowners facing legal action for derelict property conditions have a new option for getting their land up to snuff, one that covers any job from removing weeds and overgrown vegetation to hauling away waste and debris. The city's Property Clean Up Pros Program is an expanded version of what's been offered in previous years. The city's Neighborhood Services Division would oversee court-ordered community service workers who cleared vacant parcels and removed graffiti from the public right-of-way.

Several dozen hungry goats grazed through the Verdugo woodlands Wednesday morning, chomping on brush and making short work of the vegetation lining the hills. Their morning snack was part of the Glendale Fire Department's brush-clearing program. "This is one of the tools we use," Fire Capt. Jim Frawley said of the goats. "It's important that we have this vegetation management." With dense plant life covering the hills directly behind hundreds of homes, creating a barrier between dry vegetation and homes in case of a fire is essential, Frawley said.

Half a dozen children crouched in a patch of dirt near the front entrance of Valley View Elementary School on Tuesday afternoon, hacking at an unwanted plant with trowels. The students were trying to dislodge a plant called society garlic — which smells like you might expect — that was growing on both sides of a fence that borders the school. They were clearing a small patch of land of rocks, weeds and the existing plants to make way for prettier, more mild-smelling vegetation.

In an effort to shorten a lengthy waiting list for federal affordable housing vouchers, Glendale is considering running criminal background checks on 4,400 people who currently receive the help to make sure they still comply with the rules. The one-time check could find violators, thus making room for the more than 5,700 qualified people on the wait list. “We've got people on the waiting list who are law-abiding and deserving, and then we have people who choose to break the law,” Mayor Laura Friedman said Tuesday.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department and Glendale Fire Department began May 1 inspecting homes that had earlier been sent a brush clearance/abatement notice. Three days later, the Valley Sun was invited on a ridealong with Captain Rob Salvucci, patrolman/firefighter Dan Koch, firefighter Mat Williams and engineer Arnold Anolin from County Fire Station 82, who selected some homes in La Cañada to inspect for compliance. Firefighters are warning that because of dry conditions, this year's fire season will continue through the summer.

Alex Hausman and his four-year-old son, Theo, were walking across a shallow area of the Los Angeles River on Saturday morning when they spotted a child-sized mattress floating near the edge. When a few nearby volunteers saw the find, they lifted the dirty mattress out of the water and onto the pavement next to the Glendale Narrows Riverwalk. Later, it was hauled into a truck bed on top of a few other objects: a shopping cart, a suitcase and several bags of trash. Hausman was one of more than 100 volunteers who spent Saturday morning cleaning out a portion of the Los Angeles River that runs alongside the newly-completed riverwalk in Glendale.

FYI WHAT: Next City Council meeting WHEN: 6 p.m. Tuesday WHERE: 613 E. Broadway, 2nd floor CONTACT: (818) 548-2090 WEED ABATEMENT The council approved a resolution declaring overgrown weeds on designated property a "public nuisance," authorizing the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner to remove the weeds at the property owner's expense. The resolution is part of a five-year agreement with the county for weed-abatement services. City Councilman Ara Najarian was absent at Tuesday's meeting and did not vote.

Volunteers were allowed back into Deukmejian Wilderness Park on Saturday to help clear out nonnative weeds and to do some light trail maintenance. I wanted to show how much vegetation has grown since last year?s devastating fires and subsequent mudflows that left the area barren, looking like a moonscape. In order to show the grass, I decided on a low angle, which would give me a different and interesting view of a person working on a trail while at the same time show the vegetation?