Eight Miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles is the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The Rose Parade is traditionally done every year on New Years Day. The Rose Parade started January 1, 1890. Following the parade is the Rose Bowl football game. The Rose Bowl football game started January 1, 1923. Many of the local television stations will carry the Rose Parade live and uniterrupted of commercials. Than a rebroadcast roughly an hour later. The football game is later in the day at 2:30 PM(PST)

Now, one may wonder if this is in Pasadena, what does this have to do with Los Angeles other than the close proximity. Well this year for the 2008 Rose Bowl the beloved Trojans of USC will be playing against University of Illinois. USC is located in downtown Los Angeles.

So of course I will have to say something other than GO TROJANS!!!!!!!!!!! Right? Ok maybe not so loud. I will try and be a little unbiased and be fair. Ok maybe, NOT. GO TROJANS!!!!!!. Besides my niece goes to the esteem University of Southern California. And my son goes to high school directly across the street from USC and has about two classes on the campus as well. So it can very hard not to a wee bit biased. Sorry. Besides how many times has USC Trojans appeared in the Rose Bowl in the 105 year history. 31 times. Yup. A whopping 31 times including this 2008 year. Out of the 30 appearances. USC has won 22 of the 30 appearances. So Illinois is going to really want the ring pretty bad and work real hard to get it. The action starts at 2:30 PM(PST).

But for those who are strictly Rose Parade fans you can either reserve bleachers at certain locations of the parade route. Or you can be one of thousands who camp out the night before for a spot in the front row(curb side seating of course). The parade starts around 8 am in the morning and roughly lasts two to two and half hours. The Rose Bowl theme this year is “Passport to the World’s Celebrations.” The length of the Rose Parade route is 5 1/2 miles.

Many people are being encouraged to take the Metro system to the game and or parade. One can get there either by bus and or the light rail system(Yellow line from Union Station). The Yellow runs roughly every 8 – 12 minutes. The traffic is crazy so I would highly recommend parking at Union Station for $6 and paying the all day fare for $5. Which is much easier on the wallet and less of a headache of remembering where your car is and paying high priced parking fees. And for those who have missed the Rose Parade, you can view the floats after and on January 2, 2008. You can get a direct service to where the floats are wherehoused. For more information on Metro transportaion for the Rose Parade/Bowl festives.

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I have to say that since I moved to the L.A. area in 2000, Burbank Airport, a.k.a. Bob Hope Airport (BUR), has been my hub of choice. I beg friends to choose that as their arrival point and leave from there whenever I can.

My daughter lives with her dad up in the Bay Area and visits me once a month, so I consider myself a sort of “airport connoisseur” as I am there picking her up or dropping her off 25 or more times a year. Of course, I have never seen this perspective of the field, as I am driving there, but what I love about Burbank Airport is how easy it is to get in and out, especially compared to the nightmare that is LAX.

photo courtesy of PilotAge.com

The cops in front of the terminal are kind of grouchy and they don’t have a lot of patience with the pick-up scene, so my daughter and I have worked out a little system that I will share with you, because it’s been working for us. I probably should keep my mouth shut.

A side note: Here are some photos and the mission statement from the Burbank Airport Police website (!)

Their stated mission is: “…to provide a courageous, professional and courteous law enforcement response…”. OK, I get the professional and courageous part, but the courteous, well, maybe not so much. But then again, I guess standing outside in the heat and cold, telling people to move on is not that much fun.

Back to my smooth sailing technique: Right across the street from the terminal’s South entrance on Empire Ave. is the Amtrak Station. They have a small pull-in parking area there and that’s where I sit in my car and wait for my daughter’s (usually delayed) plane to land. Once her plane touches terra firma, she calls me from her cell and I swing my car into the terminal. On weekends (when she usually flies), there is often a terrible wait to even pull up to the terminal, so even though she’s on a Southwest Air flight, I have her walk beyond that first terminal, where all the crowds hang out, south to the end of the airport and wait for me there. I can usually just glide in, toss her bags in the trunk and screech out before any of the world’s grumpiest police officers can blink an eye!

Let me know (in the comment area) if you have any better tricks!

Just as an FYI, here are the airlines that currently are flying out of BUR: Alaska, American, America West, Delta, Jet Blue, Southwest and United.

If you are going out of town for a while, the long-term parking is pretty reasonable. The cheapest parking lot is across the street on Thornton and the bus ride is about three minutes. Don’t you just love it! Here is a handy parking rates chart.

burbank-parking-rates.pdf

ok, gotta run,

see you on the freeway!

jessica

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In the last few days news has broken out about the Westland group which is located in Chino. California providing some bad beef to the Los Angeles Unified School District(LAUSD). About 37 million pounds of beef have been recalled that had gone to the school lunch programs. There are 150 school districts across the nation that have stopped using the ground beef from the processing plant Hallmark Meat Co. which is associated with Westland distrubters.

The issue at large about the beef that the processing company Hallmark Meat Co. and their distrubuter Westland had provided was that many of the cows were downed cattle. The downed cattle pose health risks or pose a higher risk of contamination of E. Coli, Salmonella or mad cow disease. The downed cows wallow in feces and their immune systems are low and or weak, hence picking up such diseases.

The USDA is investigating into the issue along with Senator Diane Feinstein of California. The USDA has suspended the operations of Westland and Hallmark until the federals have completed a full investigation. Jack In The Box, the fast food chain is also affected by the downed cows and has stopped taking orders from the companies.

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Today, Tuesday, February 12, 2008, California Govenor, Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the Los Angeles City College Campus located at Vermont and Melrose. Govenor Schwarzeneggar unvieled the grant proposal Veteransworks which is under the statewide program Hollywood Work Source and the California Employment Development Department(EDD) The “Veternsworks” program will assist more than 300 veterans in job training activities.

Govenor Schwarsneggar unvieled the program at 9:45 AM. Where only a select few attendees(less than 30 people) met with the California Govenor. And at 12:00 PM there was a News Conference held to discuss and introduce more of the program to the public.

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So I am off to see the real “Queen of Soul”, Aretha Franklin in concert tonight at the newly built Nokia Center. Which is located across the street from the Staples center where the LA Lakers, Sparks and Kings play their home games at. The Nokia Center now sits on the lot where the Summer X-Games use to be played at.

I am so psyched and ready for this concert. Especially to hear from Aretha and her thoughts on the faux pa that Beyonce did at the Grammys. Beyonce and Tina Turner did a duet and Beyonce referred to Tina Turner as “The Queen”. Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. It now has sounds of some kittens hissing and lionesses roaring in this little tit for tat.

Can I say wow and wow again. OK, ok. So there are many diva’s that are in their own right. But there are only a handfull that actually hold such honorable titles and never to be passed off to other divas. Can I say that Aretha is truely the “Queen of Soul”.

Now if you are wondering if I am dissing Tina. I am soooooooo not. Her sounds are original, classy, soothing and classic. But would see Tina’s music more on the lines of classic rock than soul. So two seperate music genre’s and two different diva’s that hold their own. And never ever can be compared. EVER. Tina the “Diva”(BTW – your still hot looking in your 60′s) and Aretha the true “Queen”.

But the only reason I can go is that I found a place where I am pretty much paying for 2 tickets for 1. The tickets are going for $55 – $85. I was able to get the 2 tickets for about $65 through a program that I am with called Gold Star Events. Which provides discounted tickets to local concerts, plays, events, operas, ballets, comedy shows, sporting events. Even Vegas shows. You can find tix for such events in major cities such as Seattle, New York City, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Fransico, Boston, D.C and Las Vegas. I have used them for a few things already and love it. Many of the tickets I get are anywhere between 10% to 50% off regular ticketed price.

So off I go to get ready. Cause I soooo R – E – S – P – E – C – T ‘ya Aretha. All praises to thee

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One can go to Farmers Market in West Los Angeles and find many great restaurants to eat at. I recently ate at The French Crepe Co. They have two locations, but I prefer to eat at the Farmers market for nostalgia, historic value and for a possible celebrity sighting. One may get a chance to see such celebrities as Garret Morris, Vince Vaughn, Chris Rock, Frankie Munoz, Sean Hayes, Neil Patrick Harris, Nicole Sullivan, Heath Ledger and Matthew Perry as well as others. Farmers Market is also right behind CBS Studios where they film the game show, “The Price is Right” and the soap opera show, “The Young and the Restless” as well as other shows. But anyways back to the food…..

The French Crepe Company has a website where one can view the menu and the price range. Be sure to click the Farmers Market location. There are many crepes to try. But I like to order the Beef Stroganoff Crepe. I love the tender beef pieces and mushrooms in the cream sauce. To the side of the crepe is an arugla salad with a dijon salad dressing(they have other dressing as well to choose from). Each plate will run one between $8.00 and $10.00. The other plate I like to order is the L’Opera crepes. L’Opera consists of two scrambled eggs with swiss cheese, avocado, onions and tomatoes. L’Opera crepe also comes with a side order of the arugala salad. For the cold and breezy Los Angeles days, I recommend their Soupe A’l'oignon Gratinee. French Onion Soup – a toasted baguette slice is placed in the bottom of a clay pot. Than beef broth and caramelized onions is poured over the bread. Placed on top is a heaping mound of Swiss Gruyere is than placed under a broiler to melt. The soup is roughly about $6.00. I also like to order their sparkling french lemonade to go with most of my crepe orders.

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Ok. It is now 8:00 AM (PST). Indeed it is Super Tuesday. That’s right. C’mon Angelenos come on out and vote and let your voice be heard. There are plenty of state propositions to vote on as well as voting to narrow down which Presidential candidate you want on your parties ticket in the November General elections. The voting booths will remain open until 8:00 PM tonight.

So how are you going to vote? Who are going to vote for? Do you know about any of the current presidential candidates and what they stand for? Do you know about any of the propositions and measures? So get out and research. Than go to your designated polling place and vote.

You may also find out which Presidential Candidates were certified to be on the current 2008 California Primaries at the California Gov page for elections.

You may find a list of the current propositons at California’s Voter Guide. There are 7 Propositions which are 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96 and 97.

Proposition 91: Transportation Funds

Proposition 92: Funding, Governance, Fees For Community Colleges

Proposition 93: Term Limits For Legislators In Office

Proposition 94 – Proposition 97: Amendment To Indian Gaming Compact
Proposition S (Los Angeles)

If you need to find out where your polling place is to vote in Los Angeles, you may visit LA Vote.
Or call the following phone numbers to find out. (800) 815-2666 (Local Callers Only) or (562) 466-1310

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Any fans of ’24′ at 20th Century Fox? Show you support by sending a holiday card to Kiefer Sutherland.

Photo by: Courtesy Glendale Police Department

Kiefer Sutherland who potrays federal counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer on “24,”is serving 48 days at the Glendale City Jail in Glendale, Calif., a Los Angeles suburb. Kiefer began his sentence on December 5, 2007 for DUI and a probation violation and has celebrated his 41st birthday as well as Christmas in custody. There are no plans for early release. “Sutherland will be serving the 48 days in the Glendale City Jail, with no early release and no good time/work time credit, so we expect that he will serve the entire 48 days in jail,” according to a released statement.

You can send Kiefer a Christmas card while he’s serving time at Glendale City Jail. Glendale City Jail is located at:

131 North Isabel St,
Glendale, CA 91206

You can also send a card through his DUI lawyer, at:

c/o Blair Berk
9119 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90069

The 24 actor, who is housed alone in a cell, has also been assigned to serve meals to other inmates. Sutherland spent his first full day at Glendale City Jail folding jail laundry.

The Glendale jail is a minimum security facility with 48 cells, each of them measuring 10 feet by 8 feet. They come equipped with two beds, a toilet, washbasin and water fountain, but Sutherland won’t be sharing his cell with anyone. Inmates receive one cold meal per day and two hot meals. A variety of meals are served that range from corn flake cereal to meatloaf, turkey sandwiches, macaroni & cheese dinner or a Chicken ala King meal.

“Pay-to-Stay Weekender Program”

The Glendale City Jail offers a Pay-to-Stay Program for qualified men and women who have been sentenced to serve time in jail, offering an alternative to serving time in the Los Angeles County Jail.

The Glendale County Jail is located at 131 North Isabel Street Glendale, CA 91206. Custody Bureau 24 hour Prisoner Info 818.548.3124

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Jennifer Love Hewitt joined the Los Angeles Mission at the annual Christmas event to help spread holiday cheer to skid row. Hewitt and nearly 400 volunteers distributed Christmas toys and dinner to thousands of homeless men, women and children at at the Los Angeles Mission at 303 E 5th Street from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“I have made it a point to come to the Los Angeles Mission at Christmas,” said Hewitt, who stars in the TV show “Ghost Whisperer.”

“There are so many hurting people on the streets of our city, but when I’m here I get to see the smiles of the children and the great food for everyone. I think they are getting real help from the staff and volunteers. I come to give something back, but invariably I get more blessing than I give,” she said.

The menu included rotisserie chicken, glazed ham, three-cheese macaroni, mixed vegetables, dinner rolls, cranberry relish and chocolate cake for dessert. Santa was on hand to greet the children and pass out gifts donated by area businesses and individuals. The mission expected to serve about 3,000 meals and give out more than 1,000 gifts to 600 children.

The Los Angeles Mission mission serves the homeless living on the streets of downtown’s Skid Row by providing shelter, food, clothing and professional medical and dental care. In addition, the Los Angeles Mission also offers long-term residential rehabilitation programs through its Urban Training Institute, including education, job training, transitional housing and counseling.

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If you are into Mexican food and want to sit down at a nice restaurant, I would recommend El Cholo Restaurant. It’s located south of Koreatown in the Country Club Park of Los Angeles. The cross streets are 11th and Western Avenue. The atmosphere, pricing and food are the best.El Cholo Restaurant is also proud of the USC and Cal State Los Angeles sports team. They sponser dinners with pro sports figures and than donate the money to these local university sports teams. They also have nights dedicated to US soldiers and or local heros such as the fireman(LAFD), police(LAPD).

El Cholo restaurant has been a fixture in the Los Angeles area since 1926. And the restaurant has been ran by the descendants of Alejandro Borquez and George Salisbury. The hours are generally around 11 AM – 10 PM. They do have vallet parking. And the busiest times of the year are in May around Cinco De Mayo(May 5th) and in September around the independence of Mexico from Spain(September 16th). El Cholo is widely known and famous for their margarita’s. Plan to spend between $10.00 – $20.00 per person,

I have been going to El Cholo restaurant for the last 12 years. Everytime has been a wonderful experience. I would recommend being seated in the patio area. My favorite dishes are the “Taste Of History”($12.25). It includes 1 taco, 1 enchilada, 1 tamale, 1 chile relleno with rice, beans and a salad. I usually order the Taste Of History when I really can’t decide on what I want. I never can finish the plate, so I take the remaining food home. The other plate I love to have is the Chile Colorado. Its chunks of beef in a spicy sauce, with the sides of rice, beans and cup of their fresh guacomole sauce and their homemade tortillas($10.75). You will also recieve free, fresh corn chips and salsa. And at the end of your mill will get sweet, savory prelaine candies.

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