Information on Door-to-Door Solicitors

There has been an increase in door-to-door solicitations in the area. The Glendale Police Department urges all of us to be aware that some of these solicitors may not be legitimate and has issued an Information Release about these Door-to-Door Solicitors. The memo can be found here: Glendale Police Information Release

Information on Door-to-Door Solicitors

Date Posted: 23 November 2010

There has been an increase in door-to-door solicitations in the city.  While this is legal, a permit must be obtained for any type of door-to-door advertising or soliciting in Glendale.

The larger concern is solicitors fraudulently seeking money for a charity or product they do not represent or will not deliver.  Some solicitors may identify themselves as living in the neighborhood when they may be not.  People can also pose as solicitors to avail themselves to unattended vehicles and homes.

Legitimate solicitors operate in Glendale, but they require a permit issued by the clerk’s office.  Advertisers who leave material at your home also require a permit.  Religious and non-profit organizations are allowed to distribute materials in the city without a permit as long as they are not seeking donations or selling a product.

If you are contacted by a solicitor, ask for their organization ID (or letter of introduction) and their city-issued permit.  If they cannot provide either, close your door.  Never let a stranger into your home.  You can contact the City Clerk’s office during normal business hours to verify a permit at (818) 548-2090.  You can alert the police to suspicious soliciting at (818) 548-4840. If the solicitor is aggressive or you feel endangered in any way, please call 911.

Below is a sample of a city issued permit.  The name and address of the permit holder will appear on the actual permit, and the words “File Copy” will not.

To learn more of the police department's Area Command strategy, please follow this link:

http://www.ci.glendale.ca.us/police/area_command.asp

or copy and paste it into your browser's  URL window.

GOCHA Board Establishes Fire Prevention Committee - Needs Your Help

Irresponsible activity, including drinking and smoking, has continued in the Glenoaks Canyon hills at night.  Determined to prevent a recurrence of the kind of wildfire that struck our hills one year ago, the GOCHA Board has established a Fire Prevention Committee to study this problem and to consider various options with the assistance of officers from the Glendale Police and Fire Departments.  The Committee has concluded that the most direct and possibly most effective option is to make the hills off-limits to nighttime visitors. Believing that virtually all visitors entering the hills after 10:00 p.m. do so for purposes inconsistent with recreational uses envisioned by the City, the Committee proposes closure of the hills from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. (or 5:00 a.m).  Appropriate signs would then be posted at the entrances of dirt fire roads and trails in the Canyon.

We understand that the City would like buy-in by affected residents before approving any proposal of this kind.  Consequently we are continuing to canvass Glenoaks Canyon residents about this matter.  If you have not had the opportunity to respond to a questionnaire distributed to certain residents earlier in the year, you may wish to complete the questionnaire provided below:

Hill Closure Survey

Please mail your responses to:

GOCHA P.O. Box 91226 Glendale, CA  91226

Safe and Healthy Community Meeting Wednesday October 21

Attention all Glenoaks Canyon cyclists and pedestrians. The next meeting of the LA County Bike Coalition focusing on Glendale is happening this Wednesday, October 21st from 7pm - 8:30pm at the Brand Library Recital Hall. Come and share your thoughts about what is good or bad about walking and biking in Glendale.

To find out more, visit www.la-bike.org/glendale. This is one in a series of meetings regarding pedestrian and biking issues in Glendale.

Click here for the flier.

Glenoaks Canyon Fire 2009 in Pictures

[singlepic id=20 w=320 h=240 float=left] Thanks to several of our canyon residents for providing some stunning photos of the fire and the efforts of our local firemen and women. I hope this helps archive and document the fire that threatened the homes in our canyon on August 4, 2009. Glenoaks Canyon resident and GOCHA board member, Paul Chamberlain also wrote a nice piece that was published in the Glendale News/Press. You can read it here.

In addition to the photos here, there are some interesting videos that have been posted on Youtube. Be sure to click "more" to see the full post.

You can see here what appears to be a video shot by a driver on the 134 freeway as the fire broke out.

This video has some interesting footage shot from Eagle Rock.

Thank you to Glenoaks Canyon photographers Ted Kenney, Wendy Moore, Mitchell Rubinstein, Teresa Woo-Murray and Eileen Young for contributing their photos.

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Scary day in Glenoaks Canyon

August 4th, 2009 was certainly a scary day for all of us in Glenoaks Canyon. After getting a call at work from my wife that our canyon was on fire and having to hike up to our house from Harvey, I thought the worst. Thanks to all the brave firefighters and helicopter pilots that fought the blaze, all our homes are safe. I will post more photos and add more to this post later. I saw a lot of canyon residents with cameras. If you have any photos from yesterday, please email them to me (mitchellr3@gmail.com) so that we can create a visual archive of this event.

Again, on behalf of GOCHA, we are so thankful that everyone is safe and that no homes were destroyed in the fire.

Mountain Lion Sighting

This week, a mountain lion was spotted in our canyon. A canyon resident reported seeing a mountain lion on the ridge above Hollister Terrace near Elvina on Monday. If you have also seen the lion, please add your sighting to the comments of this post. As a reminder, here is some information regarding mountain lions pulled from the Glendale Police department.

Mountain lions are generally described as tawny colored with black-tipped ears and tail. Adult males may be 8 feet long from nose to end of tail and generally weigh between 130 and 150 pounds. Adult females can be 7 feet long and weigh between 65 and 90 pounds.

If You Encounter a Mountain Lion: •    Do not hike or bike alone (go in groups, with adults supervising children) •    Keep children close (keep children within your sight at all times) •    Do not approach a lion, they want to avoid a confrontation •    Do not run from a lion (make eye contact, pick up children without bending down) •    Do not crouch down or bend over •    Do all you can to appear larger (raise your arms, open your jacket, wave arms slowly, talk loudly) •    Fight back if attacked (throw rocks, use sticks, remain standing)

For additional information, please contact the Glendale Park Rangers at (818) 334-9042. Also, keep your pets indoors at night if possible. Please keep me posted on any close encounters.