A Politically Incorrect Blog About Living in Woodland Hills, California

Is a Zoning Battle Brewing Over Pawn Shop Variance At Ventura & Don Pio?

My spider sense tingled today when I received this e-mail message:

Important Woodland Hills NC Board Meeting Wednesday Feb. 10, 2010

Please pardon this intrusion.

As citizens of Woodland Hills a matter regarding zoning of a pawnshop on Ventura Boulevard will be of interest to you. Come and be heard and/or email me at  jockbaird@aol.com.

As candidates for and members of The Woodland Hills Warner Center Neighborhood Council Board

I’m asking you to attend Wednesday’s Neighborhood Council meeting at Woodland Hills Academy (formerly Parkman Junior High School) across De Soto from Kaiser Hospital, 20800 Burbank Boulevard from 6:30 – 9:00.

This is an extremely important meeting for you and the NC. A zoning variation regarding a pawn shop’s proposed move on Ventura Boulevard will be discussed. This is an item of great importance to the citizens of Woodland Hills.

Thank you!
Jim Anderson
Area 2 Co-ordinator
Woodland Hills Warner Center Neighborhood Council

Then, later in the afternoon I drove by the former location of “Anzhlika Bridal” at 21840 Ventura Blvd and observed a few public notices in the window.  Upon examing the notices, I realized that this was the undoubtedly “pawn shop” location in question.

To anyone who is observant, it is readily evident that this now abandoned storefront’s entryway often serves as a lounging spot for various vagrants and degenerates.  I have personally witnessed drunken and/or crystal meth fueled arguments between these folks at this very spot.

I’ll have to hear what the Neighborhood Council’s general position is on the pawn shop situation, but I personally don’t think have the place there would be all minuses.  Having it empty isn’t great either.  I’m amazed that with the advent of eBay that pawn shops still exist.  But, perhaps drug addicts looking for a quick fix aren’t Power Sellers and/or have difficulty getting PayPal accounts.

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Hills of Woodland Gets Quoted On Front Page Of LA.Curbed.com – Thanks!

Wow, first LA.Eater.com picked up my story about The Stand introducing breakfast, and now LA.Curbed.com featured by story about nefarious LAPD putting out the word about door-to-door salesmen.  Sweet!  Thanks Curbed!

Here’s a permalink to the Curbed post.

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LAPD Ramming Home Their Warnings About Door To Door Salesmen

Not even a month has gone by since the last strong warning about these door to door salesmen and LAPD has already issued another stern warning to area residents.  Note that in the notification they refer to “West Hills south of Ventura Blvd” – however, since no such place exists, I’m assuming they really mean Woodland Hills.

They write via Nixle:

Monday February 8, 2010 19:13 PM PST

Recent increase in burglaries in West Hills and south of Ventura Boulevard may be related to door to door salesmen.

LAPD Topanga Area has recently seen an increase in residential burglaries south of Ventura Blvd.  At the same time, we have had numerous community complaints of aggressive door-to-door salespeople.

A common modus operandi for residential burglars is that they knock on the door of a house.  If someone is home, they move on.  If there is no one home, they go into the back yard, break into the house through a back door or window, enter, and steal at their leisure.  The burglars are often seen by neighbors, often as they are removing property.  The neighbors often think that there is something strange going on, but do not report it to the police.  Later, when the police canvass the neighborhood for witnesses, a neighbor is located who can give a good description of the suspects.

Last month, a Winnetka woman was viciously attacked inside her own home by a door-to-door salesman when she opened her door to him.  Even though he was located and arrested by LAPD Topanga officers later that same day, both the police and the community were shocked by the crime.  The assailant was discovered to be associated with a magazine sales “crew,” consisting of mostly out-of-state “salespeople” put up at a local motel and sent out every day to various neighborhoods to sell subscriptions.  The assailant had an extensive criminal history and officers learned that there is little or no screening process for these people.

What can YOU do to protect yourself and your family?

If someone comes to your door and you don’t know them, DO NOT ANSWER THE DOOR.  You should yell through the door and tell them to leave.  That way they know someone is at home and will probably just leave.  If they don’t leave, call the police, they may be dangerous.  If you can see the person through a window, write down a description of him/her and a description of any vehicle associated with the person(s) and put it in a safe place, just in case later the police come to your door and ask about persons knocking on your door.  If the person(s) appears suspicious (looking around, entering a neighbor’s back yard, etc.), immediately call your local police station and report the incident, preferably while the suspect(s) is still in the neighborhood.

What are your local police doing to protect you?

We have sent officers out to the motels where these sales groups typically stay to identify the salespeople.  We are stepping up patrols in the affected neighborhoods and overall, we are getting the word out about how people can protect themselves.  Please pass this information on to your neighbors, family and friends.

Be safe.

You should also read this excerpt from Topanga Station’s February newsletter:

The next time you see SLO Cunningham, make sure you give him extra kudos for a recent outstanding arrest that perhaps you may have read about in the L.A. Times. For those of you who are not aware, on December 17, 2009, Officer Cunningham arrested a door to door salesman who had robbed and attempted to rape a woman.

In the past, there had been several burglaries which Cunningham being in-tune with his area SLO that he is, knew of. While patrolling his area, Officer Cunningham conducted a pedestrian stop on two males who identified themselves as “Door-to-Door Magazine Solicitors.” The next day (12/17/09) he responded to a “Hot Prowl, Attempt Attack, and Robbery Home Invasion.” Based on his prior contact with the salesmen he conducted a follow-up investigation. Thanks to Cunningham’s great investigative skills, a male suspect was taken into custody. With two witness field show ups and a victim’s field show-up, all were positive the suspect was the one who carried out the attack.

The suspect was arrested for home invasion robbery and attempt rape. His bail was set at $5.6 million dollar bail for burglary, home invasion robbery, attempt rape and kidnapping, to name a few. Officer Cunningham, thank you for taking this BAD person off our streets!!

Download the entire newsletter from LAPD’s site by following this link.

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It Was A BB Gun! Expect Higher Parking Meter Rates, Fines, And Various Tax Increases To Cover This One!

Wow, so all that hoopla this morning was because of some idiot kids shooting and/or brandishing a bb gun off of their balcony.  Genius!

MyFoxLA writes:

Los Angeles police are questioning three people after a report of shots being fired led officers to hold two men at gunpoint for nearly an hour on an apartment balcony.

A woman and two men were arrested around 8 a.m. Tuesday at the apartment building in Woodland Hills. Police say they found a BB gun and no sign of any shooting victims.

Officer Bruce Borihanh says a report of shots fired sent officers there at around 6:25 a.m. Sgt. Greg Houser says officers found two men on the apartment balcony.

Three officers on the roof of an adjoining building trained guns on the men, who had their hands up for about 45 minutes.

The men and a woman found in the apartment complex were arrested.

ABC7 adds this quote from one of the morons:

“I was shooting a BB gun inside my own property, in my own apartment, inside my apartment. I wasn’t doing anything at all,” said one suspect to cameras as he was being detained.

Sadly, I’m sure his eviction is already being processed.  He will have to find a new apartment in which to fire his BB gun.

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Get In On Jamba Juice’s $1 Oatmeal Wednesdays While You Still Can

You can get yourself a piping-hot order of oatmeal at Jamba Juice for just $1 every Wednesday!  This offer was originally only good in January, but it has been extended through the end of this month!  February 24th is the last Wednesday of the month and last day for the offer.

The usual price for Jamba Juice’s oatmeal is $2.95.  Apparently, it’s made from scratch and using steel-cut oats. Cutting your oats with anything other than steel is apparently unacceptable in the culinary world.  Along with regular oatmeal with brown sugar, other options include berry cherry pecan and fresh banana.   You don’t need a coupon, just bring a dollar!  And maybe a dime for tax, I always forget how that works.

There are two Jamba Juice locations in Woodland Hills.  21915 Ventura Blvd, opens at 6am.  6441 Canoga Ave opens at 6:30am.  Enjoy.

I noticed the sign for the oatmeal special over the weekend when I popped in to get an Orange Appeal.  It’s not on the menu any more, but thankfully you can still get it.

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KTLA Video From This Morning’s Avalon Woodland Hills Arrests

They note in the text that a gun was recovered at the scene.

KTLA writes:

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — Police have taken three people into custody, including two men that officers held at gunpoint for an hour on an apartment balcony in Woodland Hills.

Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Topanga division were called to the Avalon Woodland Hills Apartments on Ventura Blvd. around 6:10 a.m. Tuesday on reports of shots fired, according to Sgt. Greg Houser.

At one point, officers were seen looking at a car inside the parking structure. Soon after, they had cornered two men on a balcony.

At least three officers with guns drawn stood guard on an adjacent rooftop as the men held their hands in the air for about an hour.

Just before 8:00 a.m., both were taken into custody along with a woman who was apparently inside the apartment.

Police say they recovered a gun at the scene.

It was not immediately known what involvement the suspects had in the incident.

The building was not evacuated and no shooting victims were found.

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Never A Good Idea To Fire Guns In Your Apartment, 2 Idiots (At Least) Under Arrest

MyFoxLA writes:

Police today went to a condominium complex in Woodland Hills on a “shots fired” call, searched the building and, from a vantage point across the street, detained two men at gunpoint on a second-floor balcony.

Officers were sent to Ventura Boulevard east of DeSoto Avenue about 6:30 a.m., according to reports, which broadcast live helicopter shots showing the standoff.

LAPD spokesman Richard French said no injuries were reported, and officers were searching for possible suspects or victims.

The street was closed in the area, French said.

Helicopter shots broadcast on Fox11 showed three officers on a rooftop across the street from the balcony pointing firearms at the two men, who stood with their arms up facing the balcony’s sliding door. Shortly before 8 a.m., officers brought the men inside the unit for questioning.

Daily News writes:

Police officers sent to the 20000 block of Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills on a “shots fired” call are holding two men at gunpoint on the balcony of a second-floor condo, according to Fox11.

The street has been closed, and the officers are on a rooftop across the street, rifles pointed at the men, who are standing with their hands up.

From CBS2:

Los Angeles police have detained three people, including two men that officers held at gunpoint for nearly an hour on a Woodland Hills apartment balcony.

Officers went to the complex on Ventura Boulevard at about 6:20 a.m. Tuesday after someone reported hearing shots.

Sgt. Greg Houser says officers found two suspects on the apartment balcony.

Three police officers on the roof of an adjoining building trained guns on the men, who had their hands up for about 45 minutes.

Officers entered the apartment and arrested them shortly before 8 a.m. A woman was detained a few minutes later.

Other details remained sketchy.

Police did not evacuate the building and no shooting victims were found.

Update: It was a bb gun.  All I can say is, “wow.”

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