During my culinary training, my classmates and I were making a dessert using graham crackers when one of my classmates, who always had interesting trivia tidbits for every occasion, said, “You know that graham crackers were developed to keep boys from masturbating.” I thought this was hilarious, and vowed to one day put it in an... Read more →

Main Street has a new restaurant that is worth taking a special trip. La Grande Orange located at 1000 Main St. is one of the best places I have been to on this trendy, but quaint street. It’s a lonely section of Main with very few commercial properties except Santa Monica Yoga Works. Therefore there is plenty of street parking and the... Read more →

You might think that a 77-year-old playwright who has written a highly-acclaimed, prize-winning play nearly every year for 53 years might be running out of steam by now. Well, not so with South African/English/American playwright Athol Fugard, who has just written what, in my view, is the best work of his career. And that’s saying a lot... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — A quick Google search of Dr. Samuel Genensky pulls an impressive resume of accomplishments during his 81-year-life, from the time spent as a mathematician at the RAND Corp. where he invented a reading device for the visually impaired, to the Disabilities Commission on which he served as an original member. It’s the... Read more →

SUNSET PARK — Annemarie Kelleghan has literally grown up alongside the very students she tutors. The 17-year-old Sunset Park resident has spent the past five years as a volunteer tutor at the Fairview Branch Library pridefully watching young students progress along the way. “I’ve seen her grow from putting alphabet blocks... Read more →

This is a book for all who live and do business in the city of Santa Monica. Have you ever wondered just what does the city think it is? Frank J. Gruber has collected some of the articles in his column written for the “Lookout News” between the years of 2000-2004. You may not be surprised at all to read the names of the council... Read more →

We celebrate Independence Day to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, which sought to give the American colonies freedom from Great Britain. I love the U.S. and Great Britain, and I love the freedoms we have to live our lives as we see fit. The Declaration of Independence proclaims that we are all endowed by our... Read more →

WILSHIRE BLVD — As a beer connoisseur and amateur brewer (here’s a shout out to my brew club Pacific Gravity), when I got wind of the FIG restaurant’s plan to flip the script on brunch with their new “Kegs & Eggs” menu, there was no way I could resist. And here’s why. For just $37, one can down as many... Read more →

TV was my friend as a child. Then it was just me and my mom and when she had to work, I occupied myself watching “I Love Lucy,” “Abbott & Costello” and “The Smurfs.” I studied it in college and got a degree in TV production. I even made my living for several years as a TV producer. Simply, I love... Read more →

MALIBU — It’s rare to see Daria Kobayashi-Ritch leave her house without her camera and the 17-year-old is known among her friends because of it. “If I don’t have my camera, I have my phone,” she said. “My friends know it too. If we’re going somewhere they never bring cameras because it’s... Read more →