3 Common Dog Rescue Mistakes (and 3 Solutions)

Dog rescues in our neighborhood highlight common mistakes made by recent owners.

Three of my neighbors have adopted dogs recently, and I've noticed they could use some guidance on how to handle their new pets. First, rescuing is an important act of social heroism! The world is better, and pain is lessened when you offer a pet your home and family. If you adopt or rescue an animal—a bunny, cat, or dog—you have done a great thing, provided you have thought through pet ownership and looked at this as a process with a long-term goal. On the other hand, after a few weeks or months, it may be time to find out how to stop making some of these common mistakes. A close friend invited me to join her dog walk. (She asked to remain anonymous —as did my other examples.) On our way out of her house, the dog led the way. 1. Don't let…

• Photos (2)

When I Met 'America's Oldest Teenager'

It wouldn't have been a Sock Hop without Dick Clark.

It was the early 1980s. It might have been the gym at the Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, or some other sort of dark all-purpose school room with a stage, curtain and lights. But it was shadowy and seemingly vast and the mood was electric with expectation as Dick Clark swept in. There he was, "America's Oldest Teenager," looking the part, with beautiful wife Kari on his arm. Hair in a Pompadour, teeth like Chiclets -- yes a cliché, but apropos. Already decades an entertainment mogul, worth millions, but this evening he was standing off to the side, buzzing with old showbiz friends, new friends, admirers, gawkers. They danced in and out, buffing his ego, extending a hand, expressing thanks. For without him, this evening would never have …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (6)

Marshall Berman, Accountant, Volunteer, Teacher, Dies at 76

Services held for longtime Chatsworth resident, sports fan, poet and husband of civic leader Bea Berman.

Almost 200 people attended a service for Marshall Howard Berman, husband of Chatsworth's Bea Berman, Friday in Mission Hills. Berman passed away Tuesday at age 76 after a 25-year battle with Parkinson’s disease. Born in Chicago on March 23, 1935, he brought his family to Chatsworth after a particularly bitter Chicago winter. His son reminisced about the special drive with his father across historic Route 66 when the family moved west in 1969. Berman was a certified public accountant in Chatsworth for 17 years. He taught accounting at California State University, Northridge, for 10 years and at Pierce College for 22 years. His wife, Bea Berman, has been a longtime community leader and member of the Chatsworth Historical Society, the …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Irving Belfer, Who Shared His Private Holocaust Museum, Dies at 97 [VIDEO]

Belfer's private museum will still be displayed some time in the future.

Irving Belfer—who for decades showed people his private Holocaust collection at his house in Burbank—died Friday at the age of 97. Belfer was moved last year to the Los Angeles Jewish Nursing Home, and looked forward to his 400 items of miniature buildings, handmade memorabilia and personal artifacts to be housed in a building that is being constructed at the Jewish Educational Trade School (JETS) in Granada Hills. The building is not yet complete, but the items are stored safely until it opens. Belfer was a longtime member of Adat Ari El in Valley Village, and executive director Joanne Klein announced his death for the family. He is survived by his daughter, Terry (Jeff) Ellis and two grandchildren, Rabbi Ari (Hope) Ellis and Shana (Adam…

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)
• Videos (2)

Dolores Hope, Widow of Bob Hope, Dies at 102

The wife of the legendary comedian lived in Toluca Lake for more than 70 years.

Dolores Hope, widow of legendary actor/comedian Bob Hope, died Monday of natural causes at age 102 in her Toluca Lake home, according to family spokesman Harlan Boll. She had owned the home for more than 70 years, and continued to live there after her husband's death in 2003 at the age of 100. At 4 p.m. Monday, about four hours after her death, flowers were laid at her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Born Dolores DeFina in New York City, she began singing professionally in the 1930s, and met her future husband after appearing at a Manhattan nightclub. The couple were married Feb. 19, 1934, and they stayed together for 69 years, until Bob Hope's death. Her husband was an avid golfer and they were known to frequent the nearby Lakeside …

•  48 Comments
• Photos (2)
• Videos (1)

WATCH: Flowers Laid at Dolores Hope's Walk of Fame Star

The widow of legendary actor/comedian Bob Hope died today of natural causes at age 102 in her Toluca Lake home.

Dolores Hope, widow of legendary actor/comedian Bob Hope, died today of natural causes at age 102 in her Toluca Lake home, according to family spokesman Harlan Boll. AT 4 p.m., about four hours after her passing, flowers were laid by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce at her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.  Her star is next to her husband, who was named the chamber's "Citizen of the Century." Here is video of Ana Martinez of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, who produced both Bob and Dolores' Walk of Fame induction ceremonies, talking about the Hopes and their contribution to Hollywood and Toluca Lake.

•  2 Comments
• Videos (1)

Craig Clough

9:41 am on Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Thanks, Ellen, you are overlooked no more.   more ›

Life of Catherine Mulholland Celebrated

Family and friends remember the historian’s love of the San Fernando Valley.

Catherine Mulholland, a granddaughter of William Mulholland and a vocal protector of his legacy, was memorialized Thursday morning prior to a private family interment at Oakwood Memorial Park in Chatsworth. Mulholland died in Camarillo on July 6, aged 88. In 2000, Mulholland published William Mulholland and the Rise of Los Angeles, in which she painted a softer image of the engineer who rose to become chief of the Department of Water and Power and in the 1910s oversaw the construction of the 230-mile aqueduct that carries water from the Owens Valley to Los Angeles. The elder Mulholland was viewed by some as having expropriated water from farmers in order to feed a burgeoning metropolis. He left the DWP in disgrace in 1928 after another of …

• Photos (14)

Obituary: Catherine Mulholland, of Legendary L.A. Family

Granddaughter of Willam Mulholland, the controversial figure who brought water from the Owens Valley to Los Angeles, dies at 88.

Catherine Mulholland, granddaughter of William Mulholland, the controversial figure who brought Owens Valley water to Los Angeles, died at the age of 88 in her Camarillo home on Wednesday. She was best known for her work William Mulholland and the Rise of Los Angeles, a biography of her grandfather. The noted author is also known to local historians for her works Calabasas Lives and Calabasas Girls: An Intimate History, a memoir of her early life in the area. Click here to watch CTV host John Loesing interview Mulholland. "She was a dear friend, a joy to communicate and correspond with over the years," said Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge in a press release.  "It’s a great honor to serve the people of Los Angeles, but it’s a thrill…

•  1 Comment
• Photos (3)
• Videos (1)

Great Escape

Great Escape: LA Film Festival and Hollywood Fringe Festival Open This Week

It's art and culture's take on Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles. Both festivals open Thursday.

Who said there's no culture in Los Angeles? Hollywood and downtown L.A. are the sites for two very special events starting this week—the  Hollywood Fringe Festival and the LA Film Festival. Both festivals run from Thursday through June 26. The LA Film Festival returns to downtown for its 17th year, with the central location being LA Live. It will screen a diverse slate of over 200 feature films, shorts and music videos, representing more than 30 countries. The festival combines emerging talent with industry professionals and gives the moviegoing public a chance to interact with the talent though networking receptions and intimate Q&A's. Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Erykah Badu and composer Daniele Luppi are serving as Artists in …

• Photos (2)

Terrance McGarry Dies at 72; Former Editor for L.A. Times Valley Edition

The former Times reporter and assistant city editor is remembered for his coverage of JFK's assassination for United Press International.

Terrance McGarry, who was best known for covering President John Kennedy’s assassination for United Press International, died at his home in Encino Tuesday of a rare brain disease. He was 72, the Los Angeles Times reported. McGarry was with police in Dallas when they found Lee Harvey Oswald's sniper's nest, and a few feet away when Oswald was shot in the jail, the newspaper said. He later was an editor of The Times' Valley edition and wrote the "Around the Valley" column. At the Times, he was part of the newspaper's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of a 1998 botched North Hollywood bank robbery and the police shootout that followed. He retired from the Times the following year. Born May 13, 1938, in Milwaukee, McGarry received a bachelor's …

• Photos (2)