Inaugural Community of Faith prayer breakfast brings faiths together to spiritually support today’s youth.

By Brandon HENSLEY

There’s a big breakfast coming up next week, one in which community organizers have high hopes for.

The first Crescenta Valley Prayer Breakfast will be held on Tuesday at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, with many guests scheduled to appear and speak. Doors will open at 6:30 a.m., and the program will be from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.

The special keynote speaker will be Dr. Chap Clark, a pastor and Fuller Seminary professor. He is author of the books “Hurt” and “Hurt 2.0,” which take a look at problems facing young people. Clark taught at CV High School a decade ago and based his research off of that experience. He will also be speaking Tuesday night at CVHS MacDonald auditorium at 7 p.m. to discuss his research. That engagement is sponsored by the CV Town Council and the CV Youth Council will be in attendance.    Paige Eaves, pastor at CV United Methodist Church, said she talks about some of the conclusions Clark has come to about youth.

“Sometimes when I talk to young people, they say, ‘Oh yeah, that’s right on.’ So I’m interested in how the youth council responds to his conclusions.”

The breakfast is an interfaith community event that is dedicated to the youth, as well as an opportunity to bring the community together. Members from churches, synagogues and mosques will gather to spiritually support young people.

“It came to be because of our desire to unify the community, and to bring us all together – Koreans, Asians, Armenians and all the churches,” said CV Town Council member Danette Erickson, who co-chairs the event with councilmember Harry Leon. “One thing we have in common is we all love our kids.”

Crescenta Valley High School Charismatics will perform and student volunteers will support the early morning breakfast. Tickets cost $10, and money raised will go toward planning next year’s breakfast or to CV Town Council scholarships for students, said Erickson.

The event evolved with the help of 23 local organizations and churches. Armenian community leader Arick Gevorkian will emcee and Holy Redeemer Fr. Ed Dover will give the invocation. The breakfast will be a buffet with food donated by local eateries.

“Our church was considering the appropriate short-term and long-term pastoral care response to the community,” said Eaves, who will give the benediction. “It’s been a real joy to work with this group of people. Their only agenda has been, ‘How can we pull our community together, and how can we support our young people better?’”

Erickson said one of the reasons for putting on a community breakfast was because of the success she saw with the ones held in Glendale and La Cañada.

“Harry [Leon] and I have been going to the Glendale and La Cañada breakfasts. Harry keeps saying, ‘Why can’t we do this?’ And I say, ‘Yeah, we can.’ We just never got around to it.”

Well, now they’re getting around to it. Erickson said in order for the prayer breakfast to become a yearly event they will have to pull in dynamic speakers like Clark. But she wants to see it continue.

“After this is over we’re going to have a wrap-up meeting and see if we want to do it again,” she said. “My vote is yes.”

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will close the northbound Golden State Freeway (I-5) off-ramp to Western Avenue in Glendale for 57 hours beginning Friday, May 18, at 9 p.m. through Monday, May 21, at 6 a.m.

The closure is necessary to complete ramp paving and striping. The construction schedule is subject to change. Detours will be signed.

For the safety of the construction crew and motorists, please be attentive to closures, slow for the cone zone, and move over one lane where possible.

Lane closure information for this and other freeway projects is available on the Caltrans website: http://www.lcswebreports.dot.ca.gov/lcswebreports/

About the Project

This project involves the realignment of the northbound I-5/Western Avenue interchange in Glendale. The realigned ramps will begin and end at a signalized intersection with Flower Street. The project will provide congestion relief for current and future local and regional traffic.

Work began in November 2010 and will be completed this month. Caltrans thanks motorists for their patience and understanding during construction.

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Imposters Claim President Obama is paying utility bills

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) is alerting customers to be aware of a scam that has impacted other utility customers in several states across the country.

The scam claims that President Barack Obama is providing credits or applying payments to utility bills. In some cases, scammers have asked for social security numbers in order to allow for credits or to apply payments to customers’ utility bills, presenting an identity-theft risk. According to reports, scammers have visited customers in person, posted fliers and used social media and texting to send messages claiming that President Obama will provide a credit or directly pay utility bills.

SoCalGas wants to assure customers that SoCalGas employees carry proper identification when called out to any job. The company also does not randomly call or text customers asking for social security or other information. Customers should verify the employee’s proper uniform and identification before letting anyone in the home or on their property. Customer safety is a top priority for SoCalGas and employees will always be happy to wait while the customer confirms their identity.

Here are some tips to help customers identify SoCalGas employees:

• Be vigilant and question anyone who presents themselves as a representative of the utility.

• SoCalGas workers who perform in-home appliance services, work on gas meters or work on gas pipelines wear uniforms. However, some other employees do not. Always ask for identification before allowing anyone inside the home or on the property.

• The majority of authorized SoCalGas employees will be in uniform with company logo and carry an official employee badge. Most field employees also drive a company vehicle.

• Most of the time a SoCalGas employee visits a home or business in response to a service request. If no one scheduled an appointment, call SoCalGas before allowing anyone inside the home or property

• Never leave the house unlocked and unattended. SoCalGas does not ask customers to leave their homes unattended.

• To verify the authenticity of anyone claiming to be a representative of SoCalGas, customers are encouraged to ask for proper identification or call the utility at 1-800-427-2200 (or 1-800-342-4545 in Spanish). SoCalGas customer service representatives are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

• Visit socalgas.com/safety for more information on staying safe.

vHere is the paper for Thursday, May 10, 2012. Check back every Friday to get your copy on your computer, Smartphone, eReader or tablet to take with you on-the-go! If it works or doesn’t work on your device, let us know and we can make a note of it to improve the experience, or if you have any new ideas to make it better. Always plussing!!! Just email our Techno Wizard at wizard@cvweekly.com. Click the link below to download!

CV_05_10_FINALS

Here is the paper for Thursday, May 03, 2012. Check back every Friday to get your copy on your computer, Smartphone, eReader or tablet to take with you on-the-go! If it works or doesn’t work on your device, let us know and we can make a note of it to improve the experience, or if you have any new ideas to make it better. Always plussing!!! Just email our Techno Wizard at wizard@cvweekly.com. Click the link below to download!

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Here is the paper for Thursday, April 26, 2012. Check back every Friday to get your copy on your computer, Smartphone, eReader or tablet to take with you on-the-go! If it works or doesn’t work on your device, let us know and we can make a note of it to improve the experience, or if you have any new ideas to make it better. Always plussing!!! Just email our Techno Wizard at wizard@cvweekly.com. Click the link below to download!

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Here is the paper for Thursday, April 19, 2012. Check back every Friday to get your copy on your computer, Smartphone, eReader or tablet to take with you on-the-go! If it works or doesn’t work on your device, let us know and we can make a note of it to improve the experience, or if you have any new ideas to make it better. Always plussing!!! Just email our Techno Wizard at wizard@cvweekly.com. Click the link below to download!

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The Glendale Police Department and Los Angeles Police Department, Robbery-Homicide Divisions are asking for the public’s help in providing information that would lead to the identity and arrest of a robbery suspect who is responsible for over a dozen crimes within the Los Angeles Area including robbery and carjacking.

On April 15, a female victim was loading her belongings into the trunk of her vehicle on Glendale Avenue.The suspect approached from the rear and opened her passenger side door, reached inside and removed her purse. The victim yelled for the suspect to stop but he yelled back, walked to his Mercedes SUV and drove off. This Mercedes was a reported stolen vehicle and was later recovered.

Hours prior, the same suspect grabbed a female victim who was next to her vehicle on Colorado Boulevard. He held a gun to her chest and demanded her belongings. He took her necklace, watch and purse from inside her vehicle. The suspect then fled on foot.

The other crimes committed by the suspect include street robberies, burglary/theft from motor vehicles, and vandalisms. The same suspect is believed to be responsible for several additional crimes in the cities of Pasadena, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills.

The suspect is described as a male Black with black hair, brown eyes. He stands 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighs 180-250 lbs, and is 25-35 years with a bald head.

Anyone with information about these crimes or has knowledge on the suspect identity is urged to the Glendale Police Department Robbery-Homicide Division at (818) 548-3987 or the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division at (213) 486-6840. Tips can also be made anonymously at Glendale Crime Stoppers (800) 222-8477.

Video of an April 15, 2012 confrontation at a gas station in Los Angeles between the suspect and a victim is available on the

 LAPD TV website