SPLASH CENTRAL: The Valley is the nation’s...
SPLASH CENTRAL: The Valley is the nation’s unofficial swimming pool capital, with at least 120,000 private pools. City and county pools also provide relief from the summer heat. Fear of crime and modest fees keep some residents away from these public pools--but not Helene Feingold, a Granada Hills resident who does her lap swimming at the city-owned Hubert Humphrey Pool in Pacoima. Said Feingold: “For people who love to swim, this is really a good deal.” (B1)
NOT SO FAST: A plan to replace dilapidated bus benches in Los Angeles and raise public funds through bench advertising has run into a snag. City officials have discovered that local development plans, including one for Ventura Boulevard, prohibit new bench ads or require prior approval by citizen advisory panels. (B1)
SYLMAR REDUX: Taken to task for calling Sylmar “seedy,” Stephen Green, editor of the California Political Almanac, allowed that he prefers Sylmar to his hometown of Indianapolis, which Green described as “a hole.” Now Naptown residents are up in arms. If Green keeps talking to columnist Scott Harris, he won’t be welcome anywhere. (B1)
WHAT PRICE SAFETY?: Elderly residents of a high-rise condominium are battling the city of Glendale over an order to install fire sprinklers. Residents say the cost would be at least $20,000 per unit and that the project would force them to evacuate their 11-story building for up to six months. (B8)
TEEN MOM: At the age of 15, Emma Rodriguez left her crowded San Fernando Valley home and joined another crowd: the burgeoning ranks of teen-age Latina mothers. While birthrates for Asian, white and African American teens have dropped slightly, birthrates for Latina teens have risen sharply. Said Rodriguez, now living in a maternity home: “Sometimes I wish I would have waited.” (E1)
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In the Swim
The number of residential swimming pools varies throughout the Valley. Pools in selected communities. San Fernando: 337 Pacoima/Arleta: 1,303 Sylmar: 1,861 Winnetka: 2,263 Reseda: 2,358 Note: Figures based on Zip codes.
Source: DataQuick Information Services