Hump Day Happening This Week?

VALLEYBRINK ROAD is a tow-away zone 6:00am to 6:00pm, Thursday and Friday. Signs on every pole. Does this mean the arrival of those long-heralded speed humps?

Beneath the LA River's Sunnynook Bridge

Beneath the Sunnynook Bridge - LA River, originally uploaded by . Jory.

Weekend Beheaded Goat Report from LA River

THIS MIGHT be a good time to ask kids (pun intended) to step away from the screen. From a reader: "Yesterday, Sunday morning, while walking my dog at the river near the corner of Dover and Legion, I discovered a headless white goat near the walking path. "I initially thought it was a dog ... and reported it as such to the police. They told me they'd investigate. "This morning it was gone, and another neighbor who'd also seen it told me it was a goat. I'm for freedom of religion and all, but jeez, it's 2009, people."

Amelia Fitzwater Closes, Final Clearance Starts July 7

SAD NEWS from Amelia Fitzwater (3129 1/2 Glendale Blvd.), our favorite gift shop along Atwater Village's central drag, closing its doors 2 years after moving here from Santa Monica. The owner's email: "After four amazing years of running Amelia Fiztwater, it is with a heavy heart that I announce the closing of the store. "The decision was not an easy one to make, however, with the slow economy, loss of a partnership, low sales and now with the much anticipated arrival of my first child, it seems like the time for a change is now!" Final storewide sale of merchandise, fixtures, tables, shelves, 25% to 50% off, starts July 7. The store will be missed!

Saturday Garage Sale Benefits Glenfeliz Elementary

FRIENDS OF Glenfeliz Elementary hosts its second annual garage sale tomorrow, June 27, 8:00am to noon, 3717 Valleybrink Road in Atwater Village. Proceeds help launch an enrichment program this fall.

Palooka Pipes Didn't Get the Memo

IT PROBABLY seemed like a good idea at the time. But now that LA City Council has initiated the closure of 5 medical marijuana facilities here in Atwater Village, North Hollywood's Palooka Pipes may soon regret opening its second location at 3409 Glendale Blvd. A reader reports: "Down in 'dispensary row' on Glendale across from the Post Office someone just opened a pot accessories store called Palooka Pipes. In the store's sign the 'i' is the outline of a bong." Better late than clever?

Newspaper Sales Scam Returns, This Time with Kids

HERE'S A VARIATION on the door-to-door newspaper sales scam mentioned here in March, reported by a neighbor who just moved from Silver Lake to Atwater Village:

"...The last two nights I've had young kids coming to the door trying to sell newspaper subscriptions to the LA Times ...

"The first night a tweakish girl who said it was through some afterschool program and - well I don't even know what she was saying the money was going towards.

"Tonight two young boys came saying they were from some school in Long Beach and the subscriptions were to help them get into USC.

"It obviously smelled like a scam and a quick Internet search revealed a similar one (if not the same one) in Rancho Cucamonga.

"Not sure if anybody else has come across this..."

If anybody else has met these kids, I recommend phoning it in. Your joint could be being cased. Call LAPD Northeast Division at (213) 485-2563, with a good description. They've been known to send officers for this very thing.

Tomorrow: Neighborhood Watch Meeting

THE NEXT Atwater Village Neighborhood Watch meeting is Thursday, June 25, 7:00pm, Church of Christ, 3852 Edenhurst Ave.

Honey, You Had Me at Maker's Mark Reduction

NEXT TUESDAY, June 30, neighborhood bistro Canele, 3219 Glendale Blvd., will be buzzing with a 3-course prix fixe "Friends Cook in LA" dinner featuring Amy Seidenwurm of the Backwards Beekeepers. It's a honey of a $30 menu: Mixed green salad with roasted beets, gorgonzola, honey-roasted walnuts with a honey-champagne vinaigrette. Honey-glazed pork tenderloin with Maker's Mark reduction, corn cakes, buttered carrots Goat cheese and nectarine tart with raw honey drizzle, honey ice cream Don't get stung! Canele doesn't take reservations; so bee early.

What Members of Castledoor Ordered at Viet Noodle Bar

MEMBERS OF ONE of my favorite Los Angeles rock bands, Castledoor, stopped by Viet Noodle Bar (3133 Glendale Blvd.) in Atwater Village recently. Here's what they had: Nate - lead vocals: Fish noodles, Vietnamese iced coffee Gabe - guitars, keys: Soup, Vietnamese iced coffee Joel - drums: Soup, Vietnamese iced coffee Brando - bass: No idea Liska- keys, vocals: Tofu sandwich, side of yellow rice, Vietnamese iced coffee Coury - vocals, synth: Fish noodles, Vietnamese iced coffee Turns out Gabe and Joel were hungry later, but as Coury so diplomatically points out, "Well, all you ate for dinner was broth! I told you to get more!"

Dear LAPD: Sunnynook Footbridge is Not in Glendale

THIS EVENING for a good 30 minutes a young man in a gray hoodie has stood restlessly at one end of the Sunnynook Footbridge. His hands deep in pockets, he seems to be nervously hovering on the west bank of the Los Angeles River. What's he waiting for? Why loiter on a bicycle path? So I call Northeast station, Los Angeles Police Department, to report possible drug-dealing. I hate to be uptight, but there are plenty of legal opportunities to get high in this town, and this guy's sending bad signals. Maybe they could get him for bike menacing or something. Me, describing the location: "Along the LA River between Los Feliz Blvd. and Glendale Blvd." LAPD Dispatch: "OK, I'll connect you to the Glendale Police Department and they'll be able to help you." Me, incredulous: "I swear to God Sunnynook Footbridge is not in Glendale. They won't help. They'll send me back to you." After a bit more clicking and checking, and a new location description (Riverside Drive and Los Feliz Blvd.), suddenly the LA River is back in LAPD jurisdiction. But why did I not hang up confident that anything would be done about that hoodied dude at the end of the bridge?