The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 26

PAGE A8FEBRUARY 17, 2006 VALLEY SUN ERVICEAND EPAIR 818.957.1763 3627 OOTHILL LVD A RESCENTA Reasonable Prices All Your Mercedes Needs RADY ERCEDES Specializing in the Foothill Communities Curtis Hayden 818-489-8624 Developers Dream Developers Dream Four existing units on a 10,900 sq.ft. lot in Tujunga zoned RD2-1 Capable of building 5 condos or 10 units. last long. Offered at $749,000 J.EdgarAnderson Furniture FamilyOwnedandOperated Since1924 OffRetailPrice 150MajorBrands FreeDelivery (818)242-1177 212N.GlendaleAve.,Glendale The YMCA joins with the Glendale Public Montrose Branch to present books constructed by students in La Crescenta. This exhibit showcases the talents of five young students Jordon Adajar, Arami Mateuosyan, Katherine Bilgarian and Elizabeth Jung of Rosemont Middle School, and Sandra Avila, a fourth grader at St.

James the Less. The students were taught by YMCA artist in residence Libby Ellis. books look like most volumes found in a library. They are art objects in the form of books and much of the in the book is visual. An idea may be illustrated in the shape or binding, in the materials used or in the choice of images.

Words may be used to reinforce a message, but are not always essential to the meaning. Instead of paper, an artist may use clay, metal or other Ellis said. The books on dis- play explore and expand on repetition of shape to create a pattern with interplay of color. Under the leadership of Ellis, each student created a collage to create his or her own book. Known as the Creative Cowgirl for her signature hat, Ellis graduated from Mills College, completing graduate studies in book arts.

She is now a local artist whose bold and bright designs are fash- ioned by using a cut-paper collage technique. She is also the author and illustrator of many books including Bath and Dias which was named top ten books for babies in 2005. Her work is frequently featured in Noodle and Nick Jr. magazines. The exhibition is on display until March 1 during regular library hours.

She will begin new drawing and art classes for fledgling Book Artists this month at Rosemont. Other exhibits are planned for April and June. As she said, about Book Arts, create your own Book; discover the difference between a library book and an Book, tell your story using drawings and collage, explore bookbinding Student Books on Display at Library CREATIVE COWGIRL Libby Ellis works with students at Rosemont Middle School on their book art. The work is currently on display at the Montrose Public Library. ARY EEFE JPL has been awarded the Jack Swigert Award for Space Exploration by the Space Foundation.

The award is in memory of Apollo 13 astronaut Swigert and will be presented April 3 in Colorado Springs, Colorado during the Opening Ceremony of the 22nd National Space Symposium. we look for is an organization individual that has done the most significant activity in exploration of the solar said Elliot Pulham, president and CEO of The Space Foundation. The foundation did not choose one particular mission but decided to honor JPL for all of their missions this year. Deep Impact to Mars Exploration and Stardust, any one of those mission would be Pulham said. the port- folio is absolutely is what I am delighted about; the fact that they were having a hard time picking one mission and decided to give it to the collective work that we do at this Charles Elachi, director of JPL, in a telephone interview Wednesday.

The Space Foundation was founded in 1983, in part to honor the memory and accomplishments of Swigert. The award in his name was established in 2004 in tribute to his enduring legacy of space exploration. The NASA Mars Exploration Team from JPL was the first recipient of the award, President George W. Bush was recipient. Many people participate in the JPL mission but get recognized, Elachi said.

receiving this award for our entire JPL community, all are Elachi said he is still amazed with every mission and every accomplishment. month we do a bold Elachi said. is the golden age of space JPL Honored for Space Exploration month we do a bold says JPL Director Charles Elachi. ARY EEFE As the sun sets and the winds begin to howl around the San Gabriel Mountains listen closely and you will hear the cry between the gusts is call her the little lady with the big dry said Jet Propulsion Laboratory climatologist Bill Patzert. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the official return of La earlier this month.

La is the cooling of ocean waters in the east-central equatorial Pacific. It is characterized by lower than normal pressure over Indonesia and northern Australia and higher than normal pressure over the eastern tropical Pacific. a high pressure system drives the Patzert said. winds come off the mountain passes, the air heats up and becomes very dry and can be very Patzert calls the Santa Ana wind conditions, devil He adds that these condition, with La can last up to six months. We are also looking at drought conditions for California, Patzert said.

In the foothills we expect 15 to 18 inches for the months of January, February and March. As of January 16 the area went 45 days without rain, before receiving two inches of of the wet stuff. As of Day, February had seen zero inches of rain. With the exception of last record rainfall (from January to December 2005 was 42.6 inches according to Descanso Gardens), the Southland is in a prolonged dry spell that could last for a decade, Patzert said. Whenever there are unusual weather patterns, especially if they accompany dry, hot days, the talk always turns to global warming.

This is a condition where the atmosphere near the surface warms due to a condition without clear cause. Many scientists agree the condition known as the greenhouse effect, or greenhouse warming, is causing the temperature to rise due to unnatural or man made conditions. Greenhouse warming is due to increased greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. Sunlight passes through the gases to heat up the Earth and gets trapped. because you had a warm week, blame it on global Patzert said.

actual fact we had a very cool spring, summer and However, he cautions residents not to think that this natural occurrence means global warming is not a concern. warming is the real deal and will definitely make a difference in the Patzert warns. you look back at the past 100 years, temperatures have increased 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit. In the new millennium this will have an He adds that during this past January the temperature was almost four degrees higher in North America, yet in Russia it is four degrees cooler and Russians are looking at a very severe winter. we look out into our future, global warming will have a longer impact, which makes it somewhat Patzert said.

Global warming may not be the blame for our recent winds and hot temperatures but that mean it affect our weather in the future. For now the Crescenta Valley and its residents will deal with a few more months of dry, hot winds, a long dry summer and a few more years of drought conditions, according to Patzert. Get Used to Devil Winds, Says Climatologist Firefighters from Glendale Fire Department Station 25 extinguished flaming bamboo outside a Glendale Water and Power transformer early Wednesday morning. was a small power outage in the area and residents heard popping and then smelled said GFD Capt. Steve Parrish.

He said firefighters from engine 25 arrived at a little after 2:30 a.m. to find bamboo on fire outside the transformer at 2508 Cascadia Drive. They extinguished the fire withing 20 minutes and called GWP to restore power. Power Interruption Causes Bamboo Fire.