Woodland Hills Ice Opens Today At Topanga Promenade!

Wow, it’s finally here!! Big writeup in the Daily News:

San Fernando Valley residents can skate, spin and jump their way through the holidays at an outdoor ice rink opening today in Woodland Hills.

The 7,000 square-foot rink will open at 3 p.m. in the parking lot of the Westfield Promenade, Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Erwin Street. It will be open daily through Feb. 21, offering open skating, lessons, demonstrations, theme nights and visits from an ice-skating Santa Claus.

“We’re hoping to become a new holiday destination tradition for everyone in the Valley, said Alex Mohler, operations director for Woodland Hills Ice.

The rink will mark its first day of operation with half-price admission and free lessons from 3-5 p.m. An official grand opening on Dec. 14 will feature a free community skate from 3-5 p.m.

While there are several indoor rinks in the Valley, Woodland Hills Ice is the area’s first outdoor venue. Other seasonal outdoor rinks are located at Pershing Square and Nokia Plaza in Los Angeles; the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica; and The Lakes shopping center in Thousand Oaks.

See the full Daily News article here.

See all Hills of Woodland articles about Woodland Hills Ice.

Popularity: 1%

D.J. Morgan Tears ACL, Requires Surgery – Bummer For Taft/USC

Hopefully the kid will make a full recovery, because by all analysis he’s got a promising college career and possibly beyond ahead of him.

Eric Sonheimer (LA Times) writes:

The high school sports season for football-track standout D.J. Morgan of Woodland Hills Taft might have ended today when an MRI exam diagnosis revealed he has a torn ligament in his knee and a partial tear of the meniscus, according to football Coach Matt Kerstetter. Surgery will be needed.

Morgan was injured Thursday night during Taft’s City Section Division I first-round playoff victory over Garfield. He had an MRI exam Friday night, but it wasn’t until today that he received a definitive answer about the ACL injury. Kerstetter did not know if Morgan would be able to return for track season in the spring.

Morgan is the No. 1 hurdler in the world for his age group at 110 meters. This summer in Italy, he won the 110 hurdles at the World Youth Championships. This spring, he won the state championship in the same event. He also has rushed for nearly 4,800 yards in his four-year football career at Taft.

Morgan has committed to USC, though he has plans to visit Arizona State.

Morgan went down after a 15-yard run at the outset of the third quarter, and that injury will have ramifications for the rest of the sports season, with California possibly losing its most prolific returning track standout.

Please see Sonheimer’s full article for more details.

Daily News adds:

“It hurts. I can’t really bend or straighten my knee,” Morgan said.

On offense, expect Lucky Radley and Shaquille Shelton to have a bigger role. Radley has rushed for 554 yards and scored seven touchdowns in seven games, and Shelton has rushed for 203 yards, caught 17 passes for 304 yards and scored four touchdowns.

The loss of Morgan is not Taft’s only problem tonight. Top wideout Donnel Robinson (16 receptions, 383 yards, four touchdowns) is scheduled to sit out the first quarter for disciplinary reasons, and quarterback Bam Goodall is recovering from a spell of dizziness that kept him sidelined for most of the game last week.

Kerstetter said Goodall wasn’t feeling well because of low blood sugar. Four weeks ago, Goodall injured his back during a game against El Camino Real of Woodland Hills and spent the night in a hospital.

Popularity: 1%

Thanksgiving Afterparty At Friday’s In Woodland Hills

While enjoying some chicken wings at T.G.I. Friday’s this weekend, I noticed an advertisement on the table that I found interesting:

Apparently after 9pm on Turkey Day, Friday’s in Woodland Hills turns into a club of sorts for one glorious night.  I wanted to get a few more details, so I wrote to the e-mail address on the card.  Mark Joaquin, the store’s General Manager, wrote back:

Hi Girard,

The so-called “after party” is something that this Friday’s has done for quite some time now.  Traditionally, Friday’s has been the only restaurant/bar open in the West Valley on Thanksgiving day and it may follow suit that as soon as people are done with their families they look for a bar that’s open!!  For these reasons, Thanksgiving has always been a busy night for us.

We are open @ 3pm and serve full menu, but no Thanksgiving specials.  Around 8 pm is when we do our last seating and we start clearing out furniture.  Except for our VIP section located at the top level, there are no tables or chairs in the entire restaurant.  At 9pm we open to guests that are 21+ and the place gets packed.  We are also having a DJ that night and there’s not a dance floor per se, but people definitely do dance.

In the 2 years that I have been GM at the store there have been lines to get in, but I guess that’s normal according to the employees who have worked there for years.  For the VIP section, anyone can make a reservation and the two bottles of booze come with mixers and the kitchen is open specifically for those tables.  We just have this available because in the past we have had some celebrities come through – not to mention names because they might be here again this year.

Anyhow – a great time is had by and all and this year we decided to promote it more than just tradition or word of mouth and we have had some great response even from people who have been living in the “Hills” area for years.  We are also excited to celebrate the store’s 30th birthday in January!!  Hopefully we can meet in person and thanks for the support!

Well, anyone looking to escape the family after their feasting is done, should check this out.  For more information, table reservations, or to get on the guest list e-mail afterpartyinthehills09@gmail.com. Pretty amazing that this Friday’s location has been open for 30 years!  Was 1980 that long ago already?

Popularity: 1%

Save Money And The Planet! Black Friday Is Green Friday At All Green Things!

I’ve been in local businesswoman & green living advocate Tanya Peel’s local shop All Green Things a few times now, and I really love the place.  [See the little CurrentTV segment featuring All Green Things]  The way I feel about the store is that it has a bunch of stuff that you already need to live your life, but the greener, sustainable, environmentally friendly versions.

One of the best things about the store too is that Tanya knows the story behind literally every single product.  She has hand selected this stuff, tried it out herself, and stands behind it.  Go there, and ask her a question about a product, and you’ll see what I mean!

She is having a promotion at the store this Friday – Black Friday, or in her case Green Friday – where you can get just about 25% off anything in the store and online.  She blogs:

Black Friday is going GREEN! All Green Things wants to remind you about our 1 Day Event on November 27th, 2009.
Everything in our Store and On-Line is 25% Off!!!!! Spend less on more meaningful, green gifts. Stock is limited so shop early!

On-Line Coupon Code to be entered at checkout: GRNFRI09

Just about everything in the store is on sale, see her blog for a few exceptions.  We all have someone on our shopping list that would love an environmental friendly gift, even ourselves!  Some categories of items Tanya has in her store include reusable bags, bottles, & containers,  baby supplies & gifts (some cool stuff), personal care, pet supplies, home decor and cleaning, and some neat stationary items (including pencils made out of paper that you can feel free to buy for me).  Oh, and don’t forget eco-friendly handbags for the ladies!  There is actually more cool stuff in the store than even online, you just gotta go in and check the place out.

Some of my favorite items:

• Water Powered Clock (a great gift idea!)
• Klean Kanteen Reusable Bottle (environment & human rights friendly)
• Bike Chain Bottle Openers (these things are so cool)
• Scrappy Puppy (this is the coolest looking stuffed doggy, I really want one!)
• And so much more!

Extended Green Friday hours and location info:

Extended In-Store Hours on    Nov. 27th 8AM-8PM
Store Location:
5321 Topanga Canyon Blvd.
Woodland Hills, CA 91364

Man, I really do love that place, so stop in, check it out, and pick up a gift or two, and save some money!! Oh yeah, and the planet.

Popularity: 1%

Chatting With Whitney From Woodland Hills Ice on Friday, November 20th

On Friday afternoon I stopped by the parking lot of Westfield Topanga Promenade to check on the construction progress of Woodland Hills Ice.  I took a few spy photos (which hopefully I will add to this post this afternoon) and I see that the have begun laying the foundation and finished running the electrical service out to the site of the future rink.

After taking some photos I parked my car and was about to head over to Corner Bakery when a young lady approached me.  “Are you Girard from Hills of Woodland,” she asked.  I was busted!  It was Whitney from Woodland Hills Ice, so I took a few minutes to talk with her about the progress of the project and get some background.

Whitney explained to me that she’s never been involved with the ice skating business before, but she does come from a business background.  In about June of 2008 while visiting Woodland Hills, she got the idea that the Topanga Promenade Mall would be a great place to have Winter ice skating.  Crazy, eh?

From then on she has been tenaciously pursuing the dream, including putting together a coalition of skating rink industry companies who have partnered up with her to secure financing and the lease with Westfield.  In fact, Whitney informs me, that the lease has a 4 year term, with Woodland Hills Ice coming back November through February for the next 3 years (that’s through Februrary 2013, folks).

Like many projects of this magnitude, Woodland Hills Ice has been on-again and off-again several times, and only got the full go ahead last month.  Whitney was particularly thankful to Dennis Zine and says that without his support, the project wouldn’t have happened.

She revealed a lot of numbers to me, and lets just say this is a huge investment for Woodland Hills.  She says so far community support has been extremely positive.  We all know that in the west valley there can be extremely limited entertainment options for kids and adults alike, so it’s nice to have something new to do.

While there is still a lot of work to day, as of Friday Whitney remained cautiously optimistic that they’d reach their target opening date of November 25th (Wednesday).

Prices include skate rental and will be $11 for children under 12 years of age, $13 for students and seniors, and $15 for adults.

Opening day and Black Friday specials include:

Join Us On Opening Day: Wednesday November 25!
3-5PM half price skating with free introductory skating lessons

Early Birds: Join Us On Black Friday November 27!
8-10AM Skate for $8 and a free introductory class at 9AM

Also, Whitney says that on warm Winter days where the temperature is above 80 degrees you can come skate in your bathing suit for a discount.  I’ll keep you guys posted on whether or not construction finishes in time for opening day.

Good luck, Whitney!

Popularity: 1%

LAPD Confirms 3 Suspects In Custody In October 5th Alatar Drive Shooting Case

Back on October 5th, a marijuana robbery gone wrong resulted in a Woodland Hills man (who was probably running a pot farm or other drug dealing establishment in his house) being shot in the chest several times.  LAPD is still tight lipped on exactly what was going on at the house, but to refresh your memory (from LAPD Blog):

Los Angeles: A man was shot inside of his home by two suspects inside of his residence in Woodland Hills.

On October 5, 2009 at around 12:30 a.m., the victim confronted two suspects inside of his home in the 4900 block of Alatar Drive and started arguing with them.  During the argument, one of the suspects pulled out a gun and shot the victim in the upper torso.  The suspects then ran away from the scene.  The victim was transported to a nearby hospital where he is expected to fully recover from his wounds.

Detectives are looking for two suspects described only as males in a white vehicle.

On Friday I spoke to homicide detective Dave Peteque about another matter, and asked him if he knew anything about this case.  I was happy to hear that LAPD had made three arrests in the case, the most recent of which was about two weeks ago.

Today I received a call from Detective Speer, who gave me a little more information.  He informed me that one of the suspects had fled to Washington state, where he was apprehended, waived extradition and has since been returned to California.  All three suspects have very high bails and are all currently in jail awaiting trial.

Speer went further to commend Detective Jeff Briscoe for his work on the case.  A few more degenerates of the streets, good work guys.

Popularity: 1%

Stefanie’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory

Last week, a friend sent me a text message:

if you have the means i highly recommend the new red velvet cheesecake at cheesecake factory

Naturally, my ears perk up at the mention of new discoveries and advancements in cheesecake technology.  The new dessert delight is officially known as Stefanie’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake and was unveiled by the company on July 30th (National Cheesecake Day, how’d I miss this one?).

I had actually forgotten about this recommendation, but on a recent visit to The Cheesecake Factory (in Woodland Hills, of course) to indulge in one of my favorite entree items (the Chicken Piccata) my waitress recommended that I try out this tempting new addition to TCF’s repertoire.

Before getting into how great this slice of cheesecake was, I’d like to point out that The Cheesecake Factory has been doing quite a bit in recent years with regards to feeding the hungry, the homeless, and low income families and individuals.  This includes food drives, charitable contributions, providing Thanksgiving day meals at shelters across the country.  This trend continues with this particular menu item:

And for every slice of Stefanie’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake™ sold over the next 12 months, we’ll donate $.25 to Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief charity.

And now, to the cheesecake!  Stefanie’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake brings together “Moist layers of Red Velvet Cake and our Original Cheesecake covered with our special Cheesecake Factory cream cheese frosting.”  First, I’d like to say you should probably bring a friend or three when you head out to try this new item.  It’s a serious piece of cheesecake, best tackled by a team of confectionery devotees.  It is so sweet, and rich that it will blow your mind.  I was extremely impressed with with how moist the red velvet cake layers were.  This is always a major make-or-break feature for any piece of cake, and here TCF definitely hits the mark.

The frosting is probably one of the sweetest that I’ve ever had.  Man, this is definitely on indulgent slice of Heaven!  That Stephanie must be an amazing woman.  I wonder if she’s single?

Popularity: 11%

« Previous Page — Next Page »