The Northridge Earthquake Turns 16

Today is January 17, 2010. Do you remember what happened 16 years ago today? Of course you do (unless you just arrived on the Greyhound within the past 15 years). That's when Angelenos woke up in the middle of the night to some violent shakin'.

The Militant wrote his memories of the 6.7 temblor back in 2008, check it out if you haven't read it.

Today is also five days since the 7.0 temblor in Haiti - a quake of slightly larger magnitude, yet thousands of times more devastating in terms of structural damage and human casualties.

Though we're living in tough economic times, and our state and City are in a budget crisis, our problems are extremely miniscule compared to what the folks in Port-Au-Prince are going through, so consider helping them out in any way possible. Google has set up a site listing various reputable charities and aid organizations already delivering assistance and relief. Locally, one of the most well-known Hatian restaurants in town, TiGeorges' Chicken located in the Historic Filipinotown district, is gathering donations and relief supplies to send over to owner George Laguerre's homeland, so do help out (and do order a lunch or dinner there, it's awesomely good food BTW). However you decided to help, it doesn't matter as long as you do.

Shakin' Up The Memories - Happy Northridge Earthquake Day

Do you remember what you were doing at 4:31 a.m. on Monday, January 17, 1994?

Today is the 14th anniversary of the Northridge Earthquake, our largest quake in the past half-century.

The quake registered a 6.7 on the Richter Scale and caused considerable damage not only in the San Fernando Valley, but in parts of Hollywood, the Westside and even at the Coliseum. Seventy-two people died, over 11,000 were injured and the damages totalled $12.5 billion - the costliest natural disaster in the U.S. before the levees broke in the Crescent City two and a half years ago.

The 5/14 interchange was partially destroyed and the missing chunks of the structure caused LAPD officer Clarence Wayne Dean, riding his motorcycle, to plunge to his death. The interchange was eventually named in honor of the policeman. A section of the 10 freeway near La Cienega was also badly damaged and shut down, though finally repaired and reopened just six weeks later.

One good thing to come out of the quake -- Metrolink, which barely had been operating for a year an a half - hadn't planned any service to the Antelope Valley until 2010 or so, but due to the damaged 5/14 interchange, makeshift stations were built and the former Santa Clarita Line was extended all the way to Lancaster - in just four days.

A younger Militant was among the many rudely awoken in the wee hours of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday by the violent shaking, and the crashing sound of a display case made him realize this was serious business. Especially since he decided to crash that night in the living room and the said display case landed mere feet from where he slept. Yikes.

Any Northridge Earthquake memories? Post them as comments and share them with your fellow Militant readers.

The Militant Goes To The Valley

The Militant paid a visit to the San Fernando Valley for the first time since inaugurating this here blog. Yes, the Militant drove his car this time, because one of the purposes had something to with routine auto maintenance in North Hills (kind of hard to do if you didn't bring your car), and also the transport of unspecified Militant cargo to a destination in the foothills of Encino later that evening. But all was consistent with the Militant's "Car-Lite" rules; the trip was over 10 miles from home, so it warranted auto travel. Besides, the entire trip was still conscious of saving gas and mileage as the Militant, having had the Encino destination on his calendar for over a month, purposely scheduled the North Hills appointment on the same day to avoid taking multiple trips to The Valley, thus accomplishing the goal of saving gas, mileage and money.

Though many have ridiculed or disdained The Valley as some suburban wasteland, the Militant has an admitted sentimental fondness to it, for personal reasons. Though the Militant has never lived in the 818, and has never planned on living there, given a choice between The Valley, the SGV, The IE or the Antelope Valley, The Militant would choose the 818 in a heartbeat. Say what you will about The Valley, it still has way more flavor than the Inland Empire will ever have. The Militant would even rather live in The Valley than in the Westside...(At least The Valley has mass transit...).

On this July Wednesday, the temperature in the 91343 zip code area was a scorching 95 degrees. The Militant, while waiting for his car maintenance, and stuck at a waiting room without a complete newspaper nor a notebook to write on, decided to take a walk outside. So he left the air-conditioned confines of the unspecified auto dealership waiting room and crossed Sepulveda Blvd, walking past the cars stopped at the intersection with their air conditioner systems buzzing and whirring loudly. The Militant wanted to do what the Militant usually does when he takes a walk to an unfamiliar place: mapping. The Militant's stroll through The Community Formerly Known As Sepulveda yielded a taco joint here, a Mexican mariscos restaurant there, an old-school minimall, a new-school minimall, a Panda Express with a drive-thru, another minimall. After barely a block, the Militant decided it was too damn hot to walk any further...and headed back. Crossing Sepulveda again, a large Coca-Cola billboard loomed not too far up the street. Aimed to those who habla español, the billboard read, "¿Tienes Sed?" (Are you thirsty?), and the little voice in the Militant's head (the same one that told him to start this here blog) said, "Si!"

But The Militant realized something during his two-block walk: Compared to the sidewalks on The Other Side Of The Hill, they're wider, cleaner and in much better condition...yet no one walks in The Valley (save for Downtown Burbank, NoHo Arts District, Toluca Lake, Ventura Blvd in ShOaks and that little stretch of Reseda by Cal State Northridge). Perhaps The Valley should just give the sidewalks in the remainder of the area to Hollywood, Silver_Lake, Koreatown, Echo Park or The Real Eastside. I mean, it's not like the rest of the Valley folks really use 'em.

But 'tis true, The Valley is sprawling, where after the car maintenance, The Militant made an attempt to visit one of his operatives who works at a store on Reseda, south of Nordhoff. But the store was hard to locate for some reason (the pressure of traffic made it hard to slow down) and the mission was aborted, so the Militant headed straight to his Encino destination. That whole trek was 14 miles -- roughly the same distance from Downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica Beach! The Valley (345 square miles) can easily fit the entire nation of Singapore (292 square miles) with room to spare.

But The Militant will visit The Valley again before the summer ends - If biking by the beach during the day is his #1 summertime joy, then biking at night in The Valley is #2. The weather is perfect, the streets are nice and wide, there's no traffic. The Valley really feels like a different place when you explore it like that. The Militant also longs for those nights when the Santa Anas make the palm trees of The Valley sway crazily, causing their fronds to bristle against each other hard enough that it makes a soothing sound not unlike that of the surf.

Like, fer sure.