Odds & Ends Around the Valley

A Hunt for Blankets

So far this winter, more than 1,000 homeless people in the San Fernando Valley have been given free blankets, thanks in no small measure to the honorary mayor of Sherman Oaks.

For the past seven years, Marsha Hunt has been given that title by the Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce. An actress who has starred in six Broadway plays, 62 motion pictures and countless television shows, Hunt decided from the beginning (back in 1983) to put the title to some kind of use.

She formed the Valley Mayors’ Fund for the Homeless, which was originally composed of honorary mayors from chambers across the Valley. “It’s a private-citizens’ unofficial organization,” she said. “We’re non-governmental, because after all, Tom Bradley is the mayor of Los Angeles. But we have the endorsement of all the mayors--real and honorary.”

The charity raises money to buy blankets and also holds periodic collection drives in which community members are encouraged to donate them.

The fund’s ultimate goal is to open a multipurpose center for the Valley’s homeless.

“It would be a place where they can have a storage locker and an address--which is the difference between having an identity and not having one,” Hunt said. There’d be books and periodicals, a healthful snack bar, a first-aid station, a counselor, someone to help them fill out forms. A place where they can begin to pull themselves back together and get themselves on the road to self-reliance.”

It is estimated by service-providers that there are 10,000 to 15,000 homeless people in the Valley. If you have a spare blanket or money to donate, call (818) 345-8010.

Creepy, Crawly

How would you feel if you found a 20-foot-long boa constrictor sleeping behind the couch in your living room? “I’d feel lucky,” said 21-year-old Neal Moser. “They’re expensive snakes.”

Moser works at Slither City, a reptile store in--of all places--a strip mall in Van Nuys. His reaction reflects the way the world is divided: those who like snakes and those who don’t. People of both persuasions frequent Slither City, a store with the motto, “If it slithers, wriggles, hops or crawls--we’ve got it!”

“A lot of people come in here to get over their fear of snakes,” said owner Wes Pollock. “We give them a hands-on experience if they want it.” Pollock estimates that he has 30 or 40 snakes at home--in fact, the snakes have their own room.

Even if you weren’t afraid of snakes, why would you want one for a pet?

“They’re for the person who doesn’t want to clean up every day, and they’re a good conversation piece,” Moser said.

There is at least one other reason some people go to Slither City.

One young man--dressed all in black, with a pretty blond ponytail--explained, “Do I have a snake? No! I’m just in here for the creep effect!”

Tax-Free Assistance

If you know anyone who is low-income, elderly, handicapped and/or a non-English-speaking resident, you have a chance to do them a favor:

Tell them that they’re eligible for free assistance in preparing their state and federal income tax forms.

Cal State Northridge and Pierce College are participating in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. CSUN has trained 400 students as preparers; Pierce has trained about 100.

“Most of the people who come get refunds,” noted Dana Gann, CSUN’s VITA administrator. To be eligible for the service, couples must have a combined income of $30,000 or less, said Gann, who added, “It’s really important for them to bring all the documents they can think of.”

CSUN will operate 23 VITA centers across the Valley, with varying hours, through April 7. Call (818) 885-4519 for the nearest center.

Pierce College will offer its services from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday evenings and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays in Room 3218 of the Business Education Building. The service begins Wednesday and continues through April 15.

Both schools offer assistance on a first-come, first-served basis, so people are advised to arrive early. Last year, CSUN students prepared more than 15,000 state and federal tax returns.

Borderline Design

“In the last two or three years, there’s been a big trend toward putting hardwood floors down in the kitchen and bathrooms,” said Lloyd Massie of Granada Hills.

Massie has been installing and refinishing hardwood floors since 1977.

The polyurethane finish has made hardwood floors more feasible in those rooms. “When they just had shellac and varnish and wax, it used to be a lot of upkeep,” Massie said.

For those who choose to stick with a vinyl floor covering, there’s good news. You’ve heard of wallpaper borders? Now there are vinyl floor borders. Instead of an endless vista of the same vinyl pattern, you can add a complementary border pattern to the vinyl “field” that covers most of the floor.

“It’s more high-tech in design than a country look,” said Jeff Mansker of Gary’s Floor and Decor in Woodland Hills about the new line of border vinyls. “They’re a commercial-grade floor, but we sell them more to residential. Mainly people use the borders around floors in their kitchens, breakfast rooms, laundry rooms--even some entry halls.”

Overheard

“Even though it’s 1990 now, doesn’t the year 2000 still sound really futuristic instead of only 10 years away?”--Woman writing out a check at a dry-cleaners in Granada Hills.