Stars & Gripes

by Barbara Liston

Stars to Charles Selk for picking up over 1300 pounds of garbage in the Laurel area in one month! Charles knows of other good citizens who make this their volunteer work in the community. Stars to LuTillian Hudson of Showing' Out hair salon and the Laurel and Bret Harte Merchants Associations for organizing and holding their second annual sidewalk festival on September 11. Gripes to the Laurel Lucky's for having a stinky dumpster behind their store. Stars to Naomi Kamiya, a volunteer in the Laurel and Maxwell Park, for planting many lovely plants in front of the Brookdale Discovery Center. A year later the plants are in full bloom! Gripes to the former Center Auto Parts and parking area until it gets a sweeping and cleaning up. When will we see the promised laundromat? Stars to Dorothy Okamoto, O.D., for expanding her premises and for the facelift in progress. Stars to the citizen fund raisers for new Laurel School playground equipment. Save October 23 for their benefit jazz concert. Stars to the Friends of Sausal Creek for discovering possible sewer contamination where the creek crosses MacArthur Blvd. Stars to Assemblywoman Audie Bock for her strong stand against trucks on I-580 and to Ellen Corbett for introducing legislation to ban them permanently.