Marina Harbor with Burton Chace Park, a prime viewing location, on the far side

Good news for many area residents: the annual Marina del Rey New Year’s Eve fireworks show is a go.

After L.A. County canceled this year’s July 4 fireworks show at the Marina due to budget tightening, private interests stepped up to assist with funding to put on the New Year’s Eve display. That’s cause for a double celebration.

The fireworks show gets warmed up at 11:55 p.m., but, given the public parking and traffic challenges during Marina del Rey events, I’d plan to get there quite a bit earlier.

Honey, rescued Chihuahua mix

Besides adopting one of the available dogs, there are many other ways to give. You can sponsor a dog, make a one-time monetary donation, give goods and supplies such as food and blankets, or volunteer your time (as I’ve done in the past). Click here to learn more about donating to Chihuahua Rescue.

(Honey is a Chihuahua mix I rescued from an Orange County group last year).

This post is part of the Blogging.LA Holiday Giving series.

Shalom.

Image from Creative Tools on Flickr, used via Creative Commons license

Metro will offer free fare rates on the Eves of both Christmas and New Years. Here is some information from the press release, as found at Metro’s The Source blog:

The free fare program will be in effect between the hours of 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. on the nights and early mornings hours of December 24-25 and December 31-January 1.

Patrons boarding a Metro Bus, including the Metro Orange Line, or the Metro Red, Purple, Blue, Green or Gold rail lines during the hours designated will receive a free ride to their destination.

Have fun; be safe. Happy Holidays!

Courtesy sjd52878 via the BloggingLA Flickr pool

This is not the first time I’ve written here about supporting your local library, nor will it be the last.  I say this because this post might sound a little repetitive now, and it really will be a grand day when we all can move on to other things because this problem has been solved, its coffers full.  But it’s unsolved and the treasure chest remains empty and looted, so here, again, is just another two cents about why it is you should care about the continued existence of local institutions that make you smarter with or without you knowing it.  Or, at the very least, keep you entertained.

One of the best gifts I ever received for Christmas was a book.  The Missing Piece, specifically.  I first read at the library when I was a kid, the whole thing, in the children’s section, S aisle.  I checked it out, then again, then again again, so many times that my mom eventually just got it for me for Christmas.  That book made my soul smarter, and I likely wouldn’t have read it otherwise.  Certainly not at the bookstore – partly because we didn’t go to bookstores very often, and partly because I was afraid of new books.  Too new.  Too nice.  We had nice things, but not very often new things.  So, the old, used ones in the library were more approachable.  I read those.  Everyone read those.

But everyone has a Kindle or other fancy tablet in which we read the words that used to be exclusively bound between two hard covers, you say?  What good is the library to me now, you say some more?  Answers: It’s true, and lots, respectively.  I give you the LA Public Library’s E-Library, where you can check out books for your Kindle.  That’s right.  Free books in whatever platform you desire.

Beyond these free things are other wonderful events that the library curates: the ALOUD speaker series, for example, is one of a handful of defenses we Angelenos have when New Yorkers accuse us of lacking in cultural arts.  This year, the series has brought everyone from Michael Chabon to the late Christopher Hitchens to Annie Leibovitz to Richard effin’ Feynman to Carrie Fisher and John Waters in conversation with one another to town to talk about the great things they do, and to inspire us in turn.

If giving to the library isn’t on your list this season, I’ll make one more plug for them: the Central Library’s Library Store is a great place for gifts.  You’ll find “Reading is Sexy” bumper stickers, kitschy tote bags, eclectic holiday cards, and other delightfully random things for that delightfully random person in your life.

Convinced?  Hopefully, yes.  The Library Foundation of Los Angeles has all the information you need to donate to support the LPLA; for those outside LA, your local branch surely would point you in the right direction.  Happy holidays, everyone.

This post is part of the Blogging.LA Holiday Giving series.

5 acres logo

Five Acres is a child services organization in Altadena that specializes in helping abused kids.  It started in 1888 as an orphanage for Los Angeles County and today has grown to include full service to families where child abuse and neglect is an issue.  They have been creamed with the loss of government and private grants as the economy has tanked yet the kids needs has not changed.  They are in need of financial assistance now more than ever.

I apologize for the late notice but they are in need of help with their “Holidays and Family Angels” program.  They have a deadline of today to help if you can.  What they need is volunteers to adopt a family of 2-10 members and provide them with Holiday gifts.  If you can spare the extra right now this is a great way to bring a little joy to the season for a family.  More information can be had on this program by contacting Danielle Barr at 626-798-6793 ext 2250 or emailing her at dbarr@5acres.org

For more information visit their web. Other contact information on the group: Five Acres – The Boys’ and Girls’ Aid Society of Los Angeles County,760 W Mountain View St.Altadena,CA 91001, (626) 798-6793

Venice, home of the World's smallest Occupy protest

This Christmas, amid all my gift-giving, I’m thinking of the Occupy protesters, who have been out there for up to three months, fighting for the rights of regular folks like you and me. That’s why I’m highlighting the Occupy movement for this Blogging Los Angeles series on holiday giving.

In the Los Angeles area, we have Occupy Los Angeles, one of the largest Occupy protests in the U.S. (Note: the LAPD evicted the Occupy L.A. protesters from their encampment a couple of weeks ago, but, as their website indicates, the protesters are holding many daytime and evening assemblies). Occupy L.A.’s website has a “Donate” section, where they ask for cash or other supplies.

Two other well-known Occupy protests in California are Occupy Oakland and Occupy Davis (notorious for the police pepper spraying of peacefully seated protesters), which, as the links indicate, are soliciting donations in a manner similar to Occupy L.A.

On a national level, the Crooks and Liars website solicits donations to feed and supply the Occupy protesters, where possible. Likewise, the Firedoglake website has an Occupy Store where you can buy Occupy-badged cold-weather gear for yourself, with the proceeds going to the protesters for their supplies, or you can purchase items for them directly.

I’m sure some of you may view the Occupy protests as a partisan effort. Certainly, some in the media have tried to push that narrative. But consider the following:

1. From the very beginning, the Occupy protesters have identified themselves as, and said they were demonstrating for, “the 99%”.

2. The Occupy protesters have also said, from the beginning, that big corporations have undue influence over our political process, and that they use this influence to make large contributions to politicians, which pay off in much larger tax subsidies and other goodies paid for by us, yet we’re left out of the process.

3. The Occupy protesters routinely blame both Republicans and Democrats for being corrupted by the current political process.

4. The Occupy protesters have focused on saving homeowners from the big banks’ foreclosure practices, which have affected many Americans without regard to their political persuasion.

As the Occupy protesters say, “corporations got bailed out, we got sold out.” That’s why I think the Occupy movement in L.A. and elsewhere deserves to be helped out a little bit this Christmas.

(This post is part of the Blogging.LA Holiday Giving series)

This post is part of our Blogging.LA Holiday Giving series.

The holidays, for many, can be a time to excuse a bit more indulgence than usual. A few extra drinks at the office Christmas party, perhaps. But then, most offices have that guy or that gal—you know the one—who takes it to another level. Slurring, stumbling, making inappropriate comments and feeling like a total asshole upon waking up coming to the next morning. Or maybe it’s the one who spends an inordinate amount of time in the restroom, talking like Charlie Sheen when they finally emerge. Winning!

For some people holiday libations can be a wonderful social lubricant to help people get over the humbug and try to feel warm and caring towards—gasp!—coworkers and family members. For others, the holidays might simply serve as a socially acceptable license to seek out what we really desire any time we pick up a drink (or other drug)—total oblivion.

For people with that self-destructive impulse, whatever its source (genetics, personality type, we got sweaters for Christmas instead of Transformers), the holidays can be the most dangerous time of year. There are places that are there to help, however, and Cri-Help in North Hollywood is one of them. Here’s some info from their website:

CRI-HELP assures accessibility to all our services by individuals and families in need, and reserves at least 51% of its treatment opportunities for persons who are uninsured and unable to pay for the services they receive. Every year we treat more than 1,500 persons who are working to rebuild their lives.

Looking To Our Future

Our continuing goal is to help each individual who seeks us out develop the tools that allow him or her to integrate back into the community as a drug-free, self-sufficient, law-abiding and productive member of society.

How Can You Help?

Support Cri-Help With Your Financial Gift

A little bit goes a long way, and your contributions will support Cri-Help so they can be there for that Charlie Sheen in your office, or for the uncle who always ends up passed out in the La-Z- Boy. Do it for the kids.

They have a nifty page on what they need right now to get ready for Christmas.  They need food items.  They need gifts for kids.  They need to have volunteers to help with the distribution.  That is 3 ways to help them out, not including the constant need for cash donations.

If you have someone on your list that has everything, consider making a gift to the Foothill Unity Center in their name this Holiday Season.

For more complete information on the Foothill Unity Center visit their web site.

Monrovia Center: 415 W. Chestnut Ave., Monrovia 91016 Phone: (626) 358-3486 / Fax: (626) 358-8224 Hours: 9:00am – 5:00pm Monday through Friday.

Pasadena Center: 191 N. Oak Ave., Pasadena 91107 Phone: (626) 584-7420 / Fax: (626) 584-7422 Hours: 9:00am – 5:00pm Monday through Friday.

I didn’t like cats. My family always had dogs. Dogs were congenial, enthusiastic, stoked. Cats were diffident, seemed to not form attachments, and were generally a pain in the ass with zero ROI.

Then I moved into the Little House In Canoga Park.

Ok, so this little house had a bunch of feral cats living around it. Scads of ‘em. Everywhere! The place was filthy with cats! They were all terrified of me. The house was surrounded by trees and undergrowth, and the cats ran and hid under bushes, amidst vines, and in the crawl space under the Little House. I was determined to not become attached to them.

That endeavor did not succeed.

I began feeding the cats.  They warmed up to me. They curled around my feet and purred. They licked my arm when I petted them. My heart melted. I started to see how many little ones would show up, be cute, then…disappear. I tried not to think about what became of those kittens.

I had to try to get these cats all spayed and neutered, but how? Vets charge a lot for that. My search led me to FixNation, a nonprofit that offers free spay and neuter services for homeless cats. Slowly, over the course of about two years, I got all the cats trapped, taken to FixNation where they were sterilized and vaccinated, and then released them again. They mellowed out. They became cool cats. They chilled, lounged and rolled around adorably. Distinct personalities could be detected. They snuggled up to one another–I’d always thought cats were loners! Not these guys. They were friends. They were a pack. Team Meow.

It’s great that these guys are all doing so well, with me looking after them, but if they’d kept reproducing, the resultant kittens would NOT be doing well. And they’re NOT doing well all over the city. It’s awful. But FixNation is leading the charge to prevent the uncontrolled breeding.  Their mission is to reduce the population of homeless cats and kittens in Los Angeles by sterilizing as many as possible. To date, FixNation has spayed and neutered over 65,000 cats.

I know that there’s great suffering all over, in our communities. Homelessness and poverty are becoming ever more evident. And we all could stand to help out our fellow man. But it’s in the way we treat those who are small, who are relatively powerless, that grace is found. All creatures great and small, we should be responsible stewards of them all.

One donation of $40 neuters one male cat. You improve the quality of his life, and prevent the needless suffering of untold others. Thank you to FixNation for doing this work.