Odds & Ends Around the Valley

Art: Up on the Roof

About 60 years ago, some Southern California homes were treated to an unusual roof design: an “ocean-wave” roof, where the cedar shingles were hammered down in an undulating pattern instead of the uniformly straight lines you see on most homes.

Steve Fuller, of Mountain View Roofing in Tujunga, is one of Los Angeles’ more experienced ocean-wave craftsmen. He noticed about seven years ago that there were a lot of these old roofs around town, yet there were few roofers who knew what to do with them. So he learned how to execute the style.

But Fuller adds his own art to the craft. “I just make it up as I go along,” he said. “In the last seven years I’ve done 14 of them and each one is completely different.”

Encino homeowner Rob Sobel, whose 60-year-old ocean-wave roof is now being replaced by Fuller, said: “At first all I had wanted was ocean wave, but Steve asked me if he could have some artistic leeway. None of this is drawn on paper, so I didn’t know what I’d be getting, but it’s turning out much better than I anticipated.”

Sobel’s roof will take nine weeks to complete. Bigger jobs have required as many as 11 months. “Each shingle is hand cut,” Fuller said. “And the ones that need to be rounded in shape have to be boiled first to soften the wood.”

Even though Sobel is paying about $28,000 for his new roof, he thinks it’s a fair price. “This roof will last 60 years because it’s so many more layers thick,” he said. “Besides, it’s a lost art.”

Sale on, Shoppers

For those of you who hate to pay retail, pay attention. This weekend there will be a parking lot sale in Van Nuys for Koala Blue, a women’s fashions store that has, as a claim to fame, singer/smiler Olivia Newton-John as its president.

“We’ll have the sale every other weekend, and there’ll be savings of 40% to 60% off of retail,” said Elizabeth Hansen, director of corporate communications. But, of course, every good discount deserves a disclaimer: It’s general, past-season clothes that are marked down.

The sale will be held in the parking lot of the firm’s warehouse on 6826 Valjean Ave. (between Sherman Way and Vanowen Street) in Van Nuys.

Heeeeere’s Burbank!

After hearing Johnny talk, some viewers of Johnny Carson’s “The Tonight Show” think Burbank is Showbiz Central.

“We get about 10 calls a day from out-of-towners with a ‘beautiful downtown Burbank’ question,” said Elissa Horne, information specialist at the Burbank Chamber of Commerce. “They think it’s the most happening place.”

Some people don’t consider that Johnny Carson’s reference to the town where his show is taped might be, oh, sarcastic?

“The Johnny Carson joke is lost on them because he’s been making fun of us for years,” said Dana Morris, the chamber’s communications director. “They don’t understand that this is the working part of Hollywood, not the star part of it. But things are really changing now in Burbank.”

A bright spot on the city’s horizon will be the completion of Burbank Gateway Center, a new shopping mall with Bullock’s, Sears, Mervyn’s and Ikea (a furniture store) as anchor tenants.

“When people call asking about big shopping malls, we’ve had to send them to Glendale, and that makes us look a little bad,” Horne said.

Nonetheless, the chamber’s staff frequently ends up feeding the hand that bites them. “Everybody calls and wants to know how to get tickets to Johnny Carson. We’ve even gotten calls for Johnny,” Horne said.

Homeward Bound

“The bottom line for many of these people is that they can’t afford the housing,” said Harriott Quin-Resendez, executive director of Women’s Care Cottage, a center in Van Nuys for homeless women and children. She is speaking of the 10 to 12 women who arrive daily on a drop-in basis.

“These women are struggling with their own personal problems, but they’re also dealing with larger issues,” Quin-Resendez said. “We could do everything in the world to help them, but still, people are facing the reality that they can’t afford the housing.”

Jerri Barr, the cottage’s vocational counselor, added: “It’s very difficult for them to get better than a minimum-wage job. We’ve known women who have worked and saved--living in their car for months--in order to save for first and last month’s rent, plus the security deposit.”

The cottage’s mostly volunteer staff helps the women navigate bureaucratic red tape and also provides a hot meal, use of bathroom and laundry facilities, a bag of groceries and clothing--all at no cost.

“They only take a few items of clothing because they don’t have a closet. Most homeless women go to great extremes not to look homeless, because of the stigma that goes with it,” said volunteer Laureen Morick.

Typically, a woman comes to the cottage a few times a week for a couple of months--until, as one staffer puts it, she gets “stabilized.”

“It takes a while for them to trust us, but we become a fixed point for them,” said volunteer Donna Shaar.

The cottage, at 14242 Sylvan St. (between Van Nuys Boulevard and Hazeltine Avenue), is always looking for donations, particularly of food, paper goods, baby formula, and personal hygiene items.

Overheard

“I’m the only one of my family and friends who’s learning this, and with my luck, I’ll be the one who needs CPR. It’ll be like playing charades trying to show them how to save me.”

--Woman in Community CPR class at American Red Cross in Burbank.