A Glimpse of Northridge

The Art of Crime

Graffiti- is it art or vandalism? Some arue that graffiti is art and way of expression, yet most would argue that graffiti is a major problem in neighborhoods today. Graffiti is defined as any type of public markings done without the property owner's consent, that can appear in simple words to elaborate wall paintings. In the community of Northridge the issue over graffiti is growing rapidly, due to the spread of the graffiti from large areas to small scale towns such as Northridge. Usually graffiti is not an isolated

problem and is often related to other crime problems such as: gangs and gang violence- gang graffiti conveys threats and identifies turf boundaries; and shoplifting of materials needed for graffiti, such as spray paint and markers. Operation Clean Sweep is a graffiti hot line through which residents can report graffiti around their community.

So if you see any graffiti around your home, school, or workplace make sure you call 1-800-661- CITY (2489). When calling make sure you note the details of the graffiti including the street, the cross street, the surface, and the color.

Northridge the Beautiful ♥

Northridge has become famous for California State University Northridge, and infamous as the site of the Northridge earthquake. Northridge is located in the north western area of Los Angeles County, and is located more on the northern part of the San Fernando Valley.

What makes Northridge stand out from its neighbors? Its ability to cope and its resiliency. To become the neighborhood it is today, Northridge has survived over 100 years of growing pains. When there was no water, the people of Northridge grew wheat. With the arrival of the new aqueduct, the people grew citrus. When the rows of orange trees turned to rows of houses, they adapted. Through hardships, strife, and natural disasters, Northridge has and will continue not only to adapt, but to flourish.In 1914, water from William Mulholland's aqueduct system was diverted to the San Fernando Valley, where he owned a

ranch between Chatsworth and Northridge- then known as Zelzah Ave. The building of the new aqueduct allowed the valley to switch its main crop from grains such as wheat to citrus and walnuts. On Nov. 1

, 1938 the community of North Los Angeles, once known as Zelzah, changed its name to forever be known as Northridge.

Avert The Animals

ROAD

KILL

Please Avert The Animals

Drive down Roscoe, Devonshire or Nordhoff and you will often have to squint and swerve away to avoid hitting a poor smashed Forest critter that has been sprawled across the road. Not only does this make the beautiful city of Northridge look like something out of a sick video game, it shows disrespect to our towns wild life.

First of all, it can not be at all safe that we so unaware of our driving that running these critters over has become a daily occurrence. Second, when we do have an accident the city just leaves the poor animal there to continuously be run over, s

o much so it almost becomes part of the road. People need to be more careful on the road, but when accidents do occur the citizens of our town need to step up and make a call to a city maintenance team and get the animal off the road. This not only will make our great town of Northridge a cleaner place, but a safer one to drive in, because you wont have to shut your eyes and swerve out of the way to avoid ruining your day with the sight of a dead squirrel.

Let's Make A Change

Unfortunately avoiding all accidents is just not possible, but we can prevent a large majority of them by changing the way we think of the road. When we get in our cars to drive school the last thing running through are mind is the squirrel skipping across the road, but if we can remember that the beautiful town of Northridge is also home to a number of wild animals, we can be more aware of their activities. If we are watching for these forest critters and treat them as if they

were a biker on the side of the road or a small child we can slow down in time for them to move out of the way.

Another thing we can do is if we see a poor animal has been run over, we can slow down enough to swerve around them as to not keep driving over them, this both serves as respect to the animal and the city of Northridge because it keeps the streets cleaner. Also take a moment to remember what streets you are on and once you are at your destination make a quick call to The L.A county Department of Animal Care & Control and let them know of the situation.

There Number is (877) 872-9738.

For those looking to take their activism a little bit further, you can take the time to remove the animal off the street yourself, as long as it is safe. You can also volunteer at shelters and other organizations that work with the Department of Animal Care & Control.

Their Website is: animalcarelacounty.gov

Additional Info (Other websites)

Earth Is Not a Trash Can

http://planettrash.greenpress.com/

Barbara Mathieson started a blog in June 2007 when she was disgusted by the amount of litter she found around her neighborhood. She wanted to get her readers to realize what we do to our home, the Earth. This blog is full of different posts concerning the trash issue in cities and what can be done to help keep our city clean.


Life Less Plastic

http://lifelessplastic.blogspot.com/

This blog is about the use of plastic and how it affects our environment. Different ideas on how to use less plastic are posted here. It educates the readers about plastic, waste and other issues concerning our environment's health.


30 Day No Trash Challenge

http://notrashchallenge.blogspot.com/

Different authors write about their experience in the 30-day challenge to be free of trash in this blog. Along the way, they learn how to be mindful of the trash collected on a daily basis and get rid of old habits and replace them with good ones that could be helpful in the long run.




Roadkill is 93% Amphibian

http://www.newscientist.com/blog/environment/2008/04/roadkill-is-93-amphibian.html

This article talks about the steep decline in amphibians due to a list of problems like deadly fungus and shrinking habitats. Also, studies show that a large percentage of roadkill are amphibian. Statistics and experimental results are shown to support these facts. This article also thoroughly explains the issue in amphibian roadkill and has the public opinions at the bottom of the page.



The Anti-Graffiti FAQ

http://www.dougweb.com/faq.html

This site talk about graffiti issues and how they're bad for the health and safety of the public. With thourough explanations and examples to support them, this site is very informative and easy to understand.

Street Gang Dynamics

http://www.gangwar.com/dynamics.htm

This informational site shows the dynamics of street gangs. It shows famous gangs in California and explains thoroughly all the activities of street gangs.