Local bars serve up group therapy

Where to go to talk about your troubles? In this economy, maybe it's your local pub, which the Daily News reports is becoming a forum for folks to talk about getting by:

It's a quarter to three. There's no one in the place who isn't feeling the effects of the economic crisis. Duck into any watering hole in any of the San Fernando Valley communities hit hard by business failures, worker layoffs and the stock-market dives. The bar conversation these days is likely to be as somber as the inevitable Frank Sinatra tunes on the jukebox. At Pickwick's Pub, in Woodland Hills, construction contractors gather to talk about where there's work. At Monty's Steakhouse, just up Ventura Boulevard from Pickwick's, a largely conservative crowd worries that the new president will raise taxes. At the 94th Aero Squadron restaurant next to Van Nuys Airport -- blocks from Superior Industries, the wheel-maker whose closing was announced in January -- bar regulars wonder where all their drinking buddies went. Everywhere, they've got a little story they think you should know.