An apartment fire happened yesterday in Glendale at 1225 Mariposa St., in unit #7. The fire broke out shortly after 12 p.m. Plumbers working in the apartment were "sweating" a pipe with a blowtorch and that started a fire, according to the Glendale Fire Department. Residents were evacuated and the Fire Department extinguished the fire in about 30 minutes. The fire caused about $70,000 in total damages. In its press release, the Fire Department had this to add about the fire:

The apartment building was equipped with operable smoke detectors which activated and alerted the occupants, allowing them to evacuate safely. This is an example of the importance and effectiveness of working smoke detectors.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Do you hate the feeling that comes with reading a good book but not having anyone to talk about it with? Well, if you live in Glendale you can have a whole city of like-minded readers to share a book with. Well, maybe not a whole city, but at least those who pay attention to Glendale Public Library promotions. The library has a citywide reading event called "One Book One Glendale". Librarians want everyone in the city to read the same book. And if you don't read it, they'll peer over their glasses at you and guilt you into reading it.

The book is "When the Emperor Was Divine," by Julie Otsuka. Younger readers are being asked to read "Weedflower" by Cynthia Kadohata. Readers will have an opportunity to meet the authors in events at the Central Library next month (see the link above for more details). And as part of One Book One Glendale, with its focus on Japanese culture, Saturday, Nov. 3 will be Glendale Day at the Japanese American National Museum in the Little Tokyo section of downtown Los Angeles.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

The fund raising totals are in for the Glendale Relay for Life, and the event raised more than $185,000 for the American Cancer Society, according to organizer Linda Patrick.

The top fund raising teams were Hope Rises 3, which raised more than $20,000, the Hoover Tornadoes 1, which raised more than $10,500 and the West Wing Walkers, who raised more than $9,150. Hope Rises is a women's organization, Hoover is the high school and the West Wing Walkers is a group of City Hall employees.

The Glendale Relay for Life was a 24-hour walk and run relay marathon at the Glendale Sports Complex. Check out my article on the event here. Organizers plan to continue taking donations through the end of the year.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Here's an update from the Glendale Police Department with the names of the two guys arrested in that shooting incident from last month (see yesterday's "Shooting up the minimart"). The names of the two men arrested are Natividad Delossantos, 37, and Armando Martinez Jr., 26.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Glendale police say they have nabbed a suspect who shot up a minimart in an attempt to murder another individual. The shooting happened at a minimart on Lake Street and Western Avenue back on Sept. 21, said Detective Keith Soboleski of the Glendale Police Department. The shooter fired into the store from the doorway, missing his intended target but breaking a few items on the shelves, Soboleski said. He was accompanied by an alleged accomplice. There were a few other people in the minimart, and the police is considering them victims as well.

On Sept. 27, a SWAT team arrested the alleged shooter. Soboleski did not have the alleged shooter's ID, but I'll get that and update it on the blog when I have it. An individual - also unidentified - who was with the shooter turned himself in to gang detectives, Soboleski said. The two have been charged with attempted murder.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 5:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

We have a couple nationwide stories out of Glendale today.
-- First on the list is that Glendale-based IHOP is eliminating trans fats from its fryer by the end of the year. What does that mean for anyone wanting to order a big stack of pancakes? Absolutely nothing, because they don't fry pancakes (unfortunately). But IHOP wants you to know that they're not just about pancakes anymore. They fry food with the best of them, and serve three solid meals a day, plus a pretty solid nighttime snack. The problem is that the hydrogenated vegetable oil they use for frying is just a little too solid, and it clogs up the heart. So they're switching to trans fat free vegetable oils to fry up shrimp, french fries and chicken tenders and whatever else they serve that's hot and crispy. Here's my story from the Daily News. IHOP is not the first restaurant to make the switch, and it comes after the city of New York banned trans fats in restaurants there.

-- The other story with national implications, although mainly to the Armenian-American business community, is that the Glendale-based Armenian American Chamber of Commerce is considering the formation of new chapters for Greater Los Angeles, Little Armenia (Hollywood), Las Vegas and Washington D.C. The organization's Central Committee will govern all the current and future chapters of the AACC. Check out the AACC's Web site here.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Glendale City Councilman Bob Yousefian got down from the horseshoe at Tuesday's City Council meeting and addressed the council as a private citizen, speaking from the public speaker's stand about a setback ordinance that could affect his home, before climbing back up to his seat. That bit of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" populism was interesting enough, but the real fireworks happened after the meeting was over, when Yousefian and City Manager Jim Starbird got into a public argument. The tragedy of all this is that, while it was caught on video, there's no sound for the exchange between Yousefian and Starbird, just a lot of arm waving on the part of Yousefian and an attempt by Starbird to take Yousefian aside by grabbing his arm. The Glendale News Press judges the spat an "altercation." Anyway, let's just say that although the (silent) exchange was on cable access channel, it involved words that are more often seen on the other kind of cable TV. The video shows a police officer walking over to the counci horse shoe after the fight erupted. But needless to say, no arrests were made.

This has been brewing for years. I don't know how Starbird and Yousefian got along before this happened, but the members of this all boys club City Council have a history of taking some pretty juvenile snipes at each other. If you watch them long enough, it starts to remind you of watching high school kids in a cafeteria. There's the eye rolling, the dumb jokes and the clumsy attempts at self promotion.

Anyway, now Yousefian is saying that he's had enough. He told me he's going to next week's council meeting, and then he plans to take a couple weeks off for vacation. There was some talk of a Mexican getaway. For someone who is so married to the job that he actually - three years ago - asked his then-girlfriend to marry him in the middle of a City Council meeting, some time off may be just the solution.

What caused this rumble in the Jewel City? There was a proposal floating around that was spearheaded by Councilman Dave Weaver and would require setbacks ranging from 15 to 35 feet for the homes along part of East Glenoaks Boulevard, where Yousefian lives. It gets very technical very fast, but Yousefian was upset about a lot of things with the proposed ordinance. And he says he didn't get a notification letter from the city at his home address telling him what officials were planning to do on the setback issue. Anyone who wants more detail on this one is going to have to watch the video. Go to about 3:36:00 to watch the start of the council meltdown, when Yousefian steps down to the speaker's podium and demands to speak. If that's not exciting enough for you blood hungry council fans out there, skip ahead to 3:54:30, when the meeting ends and Yousefian and Starbird start acting like keystone cops in a silent movie.

Yousefian also said that speaking from the speaker's podium about house and home has convinced him that the council does not listen. "I can understand what it's like for the average citizen who goes to City Hall and tries to convince them that it's a problem," he said in a phone interview. "It's like talking to a wall."

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 4:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) |

The 4th annual Glendale Relay for Life will start on Sat. Sept. 29 at 10 a.m. It's actually a 24-hour event, and the proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society. More than 38 teams and 600 people have signed up for this year's event. The reason it's called a relay is that each team is supposed to have one person on the track at all times, including during those wee hours of the morning. People say the whole event is like one big party. Opening ceremonies will include a “Survivors' Lap.”

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 6:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

In conjunction with the Getty's exhibition "Edward Weston: Enduring Vision," the Friends of the Glendale Public Library is hosting an event about the photographer. The tie to Glendale is that Weston opened his first photography studio on Brand Boulevard, although at the time that particular corner of the world was called Tropico (later annexed to Glendale.)

The Getty describes Weston as one of America's most revered photographers. He chose as his subjects everything from nudes to artichokes, along with coastlines and clouds. He even went through a phase of photographing peppers and other vegetables. The Getty event runs through Nov. 25, and the Glendale Public Library event is on Sept. 27 at 7 p.m.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

The victim has become the criminal in Las Vegas, as Alfred Beardsley has been arrested for a parole violation in Las Vegas, just days after he emerged as one of the victims of O.J. Simpson's alleged robbery. Beardsley is a sports memorabilia collector who is either from Burbank or Glendale, depending on what news agency you look at. Our story today says he's from Glendale. Beardsley was arrested today by deputies with the U.S. Marshals Service. We're looking into reports that Beardsley used to be tight with Irv Rubin, the late leader of the Jewish Defense League. We'll keep you posted as Beardsley goes through the revolving door of Las Vegas justice and ends up back in California to face a parole violation case.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Today at 2 p.m., the Glendale Fire Department will be throwing a party for outgoing Fire Chief Christopher R. Gray. He is retiring, following a 30-year career of firefighting. The retirement party will be at Glendale Fire Station #21, at 421 Oak St. in Glendale. Gray, 50, says he is retiring for family reasons. City Manager Jim Starbird has praised Gray, saying his departure will be a loss.

Gray will be replaced by Don Biggs, who last week was appointed interim fire chief by the Glendale City Council. Biggs has been a firefighter for nearly 35 years. Most recently, he was the director of emergency services at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank. Biggs is only expected to lead the Fire Department temporarily, until a permanent replacement is found. Then he will go back to working at the studios.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

A Glendale woman who was stabbed by a homeless man became the city's first homicide victim Monday, said Officer John Balian, a spokesman for the Glendale Police Department. The alleged assailant is Hector Marroquin, 23. Here's the story from the Daily News:

GLENDALE - A 32-year-old woman suffered fatal wounds from a stabbing on the patio of an alcoholics anonymous meeting and her alleged killer, a 23-year-old homeless man, was in custody in connection with the case. The drama began about 5:45 p.m. Monday at the Glendale Windsor Club, at 123 W. Windsor Road. The woman, whose name was being withheld until officials could notify her relatives, was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center where she died, said Cheryl MacWillie, a watch commander at the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office. Police arrived and found three witnesses holding the alleged assailant, identified by police as Hector Marroquin, who was being held at the Glendale Jail.

Police said that before the attack the suspect hit the victim's car with possibly a helium tank before allegedly stabbing the woman. But police didn't know what prompted the attack and it was unknown whether Marroquin knew the woman.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 9:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Lisa Burks of valleynews.com has another report from the Grand View psychodrama. The Glendale City Council has voted to pursue a nuisance abatement action against the cemetery. The council voted to do this instead of spending $400,000 to clean up the tinder-dry cemetery. Burks quotes a couple angry councilmen in her dispatch.

"This cemetery is a nuisance and a fire hazard," said council member Bob Yousefian, who warned that the costs for fire suppression, should a wild fire break out on the property, would amount to three times or more what the council was being asked to currently consider spending to avoid such a disaster.

"I'm prepared to expend this money, however I'm also prepared to change direction and go with an adversarial position," said council member Frank Quintero. "For me, personally, I've had enough. I'm not going to continue to spend tax payer money and somehow have to tip-toe around the owners of this cemetery," he added.

Read the rest of Burks' story here.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

The Alex Theatre is going to be having its 8th annual Vaudeville Extravaganza! on Saturday, Sept. 15, which the theater is proclaiming in a press release as the "most anticipated family event held annually at the grand theatre." That's right folks, the artform that brought us the terms big time and alley-oop is coming to the Alex.

The Alex Theatre opened as a Vaudeville and movie house in 1925. Shortly after that, movies got sound and thousands of movie house musicians hit the street looking for work, along with squeeky-voiced actors. Then television was invented and everyone realized they'd rather get their entertainment for free, sentencing us all to years of interviews with George Burns telling us about the "good old days."

The Alex Theatre's show will feature "The Night Blooming Jazzmen" playing nostalgic music, then Reid & Faversham in a tribute to Stan and Ollie (wait that's Laurel and Hardy, who also have a movie in the program), then Farrah Siegel, America's Yo-Yo Champion, then a couple other acts who I'm not sure what they do. The evening will conclude with a cartoon, a vintage newsreel, the Laurel and Hardy movie "The Music Box" and the Three Stooges movie "An Ache in Every Stake."

Suddenly I feel like I should be typing on an Underwood Five typewriter and going out to Ebbets Field to watch the Dodgers play. Actually I'll stick with the computer and Chavez Ravine. But for all you Vaudeville buffs, the show is Saturday, Sept. 15 at 8 p.m., and the cost is $25, and $17.50 for seniors and children. The event is put on by the Alex Film Society, and AFS members get in for only $12.50, unlike the rest of you bananas.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) |

Barry Allen, self-appointed public watchdog number one, is still going after Glendale City Councilman Dave Weaver over Miss Asia USA. This month, Allen filed a complaint with the city attorney, accusing Weaver of "improper use of the official position" of city councilman for his involvement with the Miss Asia USA Pageant. Weaver has been a member of the pageant's executive board. In his complaint, Allen accuses Weaver of making improper use of Glendale police officers for the event, commandeering a city library auditorium so the girls could rehearse, making Glendale Water and Power send cases of bottled water and a host of other allegations.

Weaver and City Attorney Scott Howard, whom the complaint was addressed to, declined to comment.
One of the most interesting allegations has to do with payments made by Benvani Inc. to the Alex Theatre for the use of the facility for the beauty pageant. Allen says Benvani Inc. paid $12,500 to the Alex Theatre for Miss Asia after getting $6 million from the city for some open space.

As an exhibit attached to his complaint, Allen included a letter from Weaver to Police Chief Randy Adams asking for some cops to hang out at the pageant for security.

Posted by Alex Dobuzinskis at 6:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

A few things to wrap-up the week:

• It's The New York Times' turn to quiz IHOP CEO Julia Stwart about her Glendale-based company's impending takeover of Applebee's. Who knew her nickname among the franchisees is "Velvet Hammer?"

• Burbank city leaders are anxiously monitoring the effort to rescue the Utah coal miners trapped after a mine collapse. The city -- along with Glendale, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Pasadena and Riverside -- owns a stake at a Utah coal powerplant that gets 5 percent of its fuel from said mine. Leader

• Two new executives at Burbank Unified School District -- Lori Ordway-Peck was appointed to the position of Assistant Superintendent, Business Services, and Kathy Granger was appointed to the position of Director, Human Resources Services. Ordway-Peck comes to the District from the Palmdale Unified School District where she has served as Deputy Superintendent. Granger comes to Burbank from the West Covina Unified School District, where she served most recently as middle school principal. via BUSD release.

• Santa Clarita realtor and blogger Linda Slocum left a review of a Garlic Jim's pizza pie from the chain's Valencia outlet in our comments box. The Washington-based chain is opening an outlet in Burbank.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 1:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

At noon Thursday, Unite Here Local 11, the union trying to organize the Glendale Hilton, will stage a picket to welcome the hotel's new owners.

via Unite Here

On Wednesday August 8, 2007 Eagle Hospitality Trust shareholders voted to sell the Glendale Hilton to AP AIMCAP, a joint venture of Apollo Real Estate Investment Fund V LP, Aimbridge Hospitality LP and JF Capital Advisors LLC.

Workers at the Glendale Hilton hotel cite poverty wages, a lack of affordable health insurance, and dangerous working conditions as some of the problems they have endured. In September 2005, Glendale Hilton employees requested a fair process to decide whether to form a union. The employees' request was met with fierce resistance from the hotel.

In April of 2006 Glendale Hilton workers called for a boycott of their own hotel. 70% of the workers at the Glendale Hilton signed a petition calling on customers to boycott the hotel. Since then, the boycott of the Glendale Hilton along with a boycott of other hotels owned by the same company has cost the outgoing owner of the hotel, Eagle Hospitality more than $1 million in lost business.

Hotel workers hope that the Glendale Hilton's change in ownership will mean an end to this long-running dispute and allow them to end the boycott. "We hope that the hotel's new owners will allow us to decide whether or not to join the union without any interference or harassment from management. I hope they know that we are prepared to stay in this fight as long as it takes, and we are not giving up," said Angela Reid a bartender at the Glendale Hilton hotel.

Earlier:
What Frequent Stay Points Get You at the Glendale Hilton
State of Protest

Posted by Eugene Tong at 4:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Jennifer Mann's story on IHOP CEO Julia Stewart in The Kansas City Star looks into pher past as president of Applebee's International, which is the Glendale pancake house chain is looking to pick up for $2.1 billion.

In 2001, Julia Stewart left Applebee’s International after three years as president when it became clear she was being passed over as the eventual chief executive officer.

Stewart moved on and in 2002 became the CEO at IHOP Corp., then a tired and flat pancake chain. She and management, in her words, reinvigorated the business by selling most of the company-owned stores to franchisees and updating the restaurants, menu, uniforms and marketing.

Now, with IHOP’s pending $2.1 billion acquisition of Applebee’s, she appears poised to assume the role she initially missed at Applebee’s — running the company. She believes applying a similar recipe to Applebee’s can return the company to growth.

“A strong point of difference — that’s what Applebee’s desperately needs because we all fall into the ‘look like everybody else, act like everybody else,’ ” Stewart said. “I don’t think anybody in casual dining is setting the world on fire, and it was the same situation when I came to IHOP … but we distinguished ourselves in the (family dining) category, and I don’t view the challenge any differently at Applebee’s.”

The fix may be a bit more complicated. IHOP’s revenue is a third the size of Applebee’s, which is the country’s largest casual dining chain. Stewart intends to finance the $25.50-a-share acquisition and turnaround by selling Applebee’s 508 company-owned restaurants and using a sophisticated debt transaction paid off by future franchise revenues for the two operations.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 5:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Speaking of Dave Weaver, what was up with his lashing out at the Glendale city employee unions at the council meeting last week?

It was an oddity that aligned the councilman with his nemesis -- City Hall gadfly Barry Allen -- who blames unions for what he believes is an overstuffed city payroll.

The clip starts at 3:43, when Weaver, who got no love from the Glendale Management Associaiton, and the police and fire unions (the GMA gave $11,000 to incumbent Rafi Manoukian, who lost) wanted to strip their right to contribute to council candidates.

Weaver: One thing I like to see ... I would like to see every association in this city, GMA, fire, police, not be allowed to give a single penny to any council candidate.

To this day, GMA has not congratulated me. the police have not congratulated or spoke to me, fire has been kind enough just to say congratulations. Now there's no dialogue, all because the association sat out there and forced-handicapped who's going to win. We wanted to be on the winning side. I was supposed to lose -- well gee I didn't ... and now we ahve a problem. I love to see that removed off the books.

Uh...not so fast Dave. Isn't there a First Amendment issue here? City Attorney Scott Howard was around to remind our honorable councilman: "With regard to a ban on union contributions, I'm somewhat reticent about recommending that you can do that pursuint to Supreme Court deicions."

In fact, while the city can prevent city employees from donating to City Council candidates due to conflicts of interest (it's in the city charter), it can't prevent individual employees from participating in the political process -- a First Amendment right -- through their unions. Still, the city could set contribution limits.

Weaver wouldn't have any of it -- "I say ban it! Let them defend themselves in court."
Howard: "Actually if we impose our ban as a government, we would be defending ourselves in court."

I wonder which Constitutional right Weaver will try to curtail next...just because some person or group didn't congratulate him on his council win.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 5:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

If you're into following the money, the latest round of Form 460 campaign disclosure statments covering March 18 - June 30 have hit the Web, at least in Glendale.

(In case you're wondering, the Burbank forms were not too exciting...check this space -- the City Clerk may have it up soon.)

According to latest campaign finance disclosures due last week, Rafi Manoukian, the incumbent councilman who lost despite spending nearly $222,000, was the top fundraiser in the April council election with $150,382 from the first half of 2007.

First-place finisher John Drayman collected $73,740, while reelected Councilman Dave Weaver received $68,771.

In comparison, Gray Bric, who won a seat on the Burbank City Council in earlier this year and was the race’s top fundraiser, received just over $21,000 in contributions in the same period. Burbank has a $250 per donor contribution limit, unlike Glendale, where the sky's the limit.

But Bric and candidate-turn-Councilwoman Anja Reinke, who raised nearly $13,000, both enjoyed support from an independent political committee. Working Californians, spent more than $18,000 campaigning for Bric and about $5,000 for Reinke.

Among the biggest donors in the Glendale race — Weaver received a total $17,500 from developer Rick Caruso’s Americana at Brand LLC, the company behind its namesake downtown retail and residential project.

The Glendale Management Association — a City Hall union — gave Manoukian $11,000.

CREPAC/BORPAC, the political arm of the California Association of Realtors, gave $4,000 to both Weaver and Drayman. Local contractor Alen Builders Inc. also gave Drayman $5,000.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 3:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

To the disappointment of the Glendale and Burbank police departments, pregnant celebutant Nicole Richie will doing her four-day DUI jail sentence at a Casa de Baca -- or Lynwood jail, the same county slammer where Simple Life co-star Paris Hilton served most of her sentence.

Richie was sentenced to four days in jail, three years probation and 21 days in a drug rehab program for her Dec. 11 DUI arrest in Burbank -- she was driving her black Mercedes SUV the wrong way on the Ventura Freeway. The reality-TV star and Hilton BFF (still? I've lost track..) failed a field-sobriety test and told police she had taken a pain killer and smoked marijuana.

Last Friday she entered a guilty plea -- her second DUI conviction (the first was in June 2003) and she could have been jailed for up to a year.

She was allowed to choose between a county and city jail. Although a city jail is considered less arduous, she would not be eligible for early release and would have to serve her full sentence there.

Earlier this week, Richie told the sheriff’s department she will serve her time in a county lockup, said sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore. Lynwood is the only county jail for female inmates, which is where Paris Hilton served most of her 23 days behind bars for driving on a suspended license while on probation for HER DUI arrest.

Richie has until Sept. 28 to serve her time. Because county jails are overcrowded, some are guessing nonviolent inmates like her could score an early release.

Earlier:
Getting elbowed in the head on the Nicole Richie beat

Posted by Eugene Tong at 7:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Via City of Glendale:

The City of Glendale is conducting an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) self-evaluation and transition plan. Areas to be evaluated include facility and program accessibility, accommodations for individuals with disabilities, and administrative policies and procedures.

Individuals who would like to provide input are invited to complete a survey. Surveys are available for organizations that represent individuals with disabilities, community members, employees, and other interested individuals who wish to participate in the evaluation.

Your comments and opinions are important to us and will provide valuable information regarding how the City of Glendale can better serve individuals with disabilities. Surveys can be mailed to you or are available at:

City of Glendale – City Hall
Parks, Recreation & Community Services Department
613 E. Broadway, Room 120
Glendale, CA 91206
(818) 548-2000

Surveys are also available online at: www.ci.glendale.ca.us

Please contact Barbara Thorpe, Disability Access Consultants, Inc at (800) 743-7067 if you have questions or comments. You may also request the survey in an alternate format.

The City of Glendale complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Public Law 101-336, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 7:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

A few bits of news of nominal interest:

• Two Vineland Boys members pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and murdering a witness and accepted terms of life in prison without parole. Jose "Peps" Ledesma, 24, and Javier "Coco" Covarrubius, 23, faced multiple charges stemming from the 2003 murder of 16-year-old Martha Puebla, who was going to testify against one of the gang members, and for dealing methamphetamine. Both men, who are from Sun Valley, pleaded guilty as jury selection for their trial got under way. They would have faced the death penalty if convicted. Daily News

  But it's not over yet -- besides David Garcia, who is facing state murder charges for the 2003 slaying of Burbank Police officer Matthew Pavelka, word this morning from Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Young (whose team got a commendation for the Vineland Boys prosecution) is Horicio Yepiz may yet see his day in court. He was in an institution after he was ruled incompetent to stand trial, but that could change with a compentency hearing Monday.

• Beeline service cutbacks for Glenoaks Canyon. News Press

Posted by Eugene Tong at 1:09 PM | Permalink |

GLENDALE — A 61-year-old man has been jailed without bail after he allegedly shot and stabbed four of his relatives during an argument, and was later subdued when his victims fought back, police said Wednesday.

Police found Valodia Balabekyan of Tujunga pinned by three men and a woman Tuesday morning when they arrived at an apartment on the 500 block of S. Belmont Street, Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday at Glendale Superior Court.

The victims — either uncles or siblings to Balabekyan and resided at the apartment — were shot with a small-caliber handgun. Some also suffered stab wounds and were covered in blood when police arrived. They were treated at area hospitals and were in stable condition.

"Four people get shot, which could've been a horrible situation," Lorenz said. "Amazingly they're alive."

Posted by Eugene Tong at 7:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Policy wonking and mad-cap violence:

• Amid concerns about a soft real estate market, the Glendale City Council on Tuesday finalized the details of a proposed fee on local development projects to finance parks and libraries. The draft Development Impact Fee ordinance -- considered a watered-down version by at least one councilman -- could return for approval later this month. Daily News

• As for bizzare crime -- a 61-year-old Tujunga man has been arrested for allegedly shooting three men and a women in a south Glendale apartment after an argument. Police arrested Valodia Balabekyan on suspicion of attempted murder at the South Belmont Street unit 7:45 a.m Tuesday. The victims were all related and were in staple condition. News Press

• Burbank City Council, where free speech is valued at the expense of time and meetings usually run well past 11 p.m, is once again talking about ways to streamline their meetings. One proposal would require a majority vote for a meeting go run past 11 p.m. What did they decide? We don't know since that meeting ran long and past the Leader's deadline.

• A milestone at Bob Hope Airport -- passenger traffic of 2.86 million for the first half of the year is 23 percent higher compared to the same period in 2001, before the air travel industry tanked after 9/11. Leader

Posted by Eugene Tong at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Looks like another flap between six Southern California cities (including LA, Glendale, Burbank and Pasadena) and Utah area cities over the Intermountain Power Project.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports the California cities, which take 75 percent its power, are blocking the construction of a third coal-fired generator to the 1,800 megawatt plant. They cite California state laws aimed at rolling back greenhouse gases, but the 23 Utah cities operating the power plant say they could use the extra juice.

Six California cities, concerned about global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, are refusing to allow a third coal-fired generating unit to be built at the Intermountain Power Project near Delta.

Their action promises to pit California's tough new environmental laws and the state's commitment to rolling back greenhouse emissions against the interests of thousands of Utah consumers who eventually may need the electricity that a third generating unit could provide.

The six California cities take 75 percent of the electricity generated at the IPP. As a result, their votes far outweigh those of the 23 Utah municipal members, which are represented by the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, or UAMPS, and Rocky Mountain Power.

The whole matter could wind up in court, with the Utah municipalities and Rocky Mountain Power vowing to do whatever is necessary to clear the way for the new unit.

"We have no problem if they don't want to participate in building that unit," said spokesman Dave Eskelsen of Rocky Mountain Power, which takes 4 percent of the power produced by IPP and is interested in getting more to meet its customers' demands.

Rocky Mountain Power, however, considers it improper for those California cities - Los Angeles, Pasadena, Anaheim, Burbank, Glendale and Riverside - to block needed generating capacity in Utah to satisfy California's environmental laws.

You may recall last fall when Intermountain asked the six cities to renew their energy contracts until 2044 (the current contract expires 2027), but the Sierra Club pressure them to sit it out. All did except for Burbank, which unknowingly signed the renewal, and later managed to wiggle out of it after Intermountain agreed to extend the deadline until 2023.

Still, the Six Cities won't be cutting ties to the plant any time soon-- they lent $3.2 billion to construct the project and it has paid them back in cheap power at the cost of roughly 15 million tons in carbon-dioxide emissions per year.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 7:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

via the
News Press

A choir director at Incarnation Catholic Church was arrested Friday in Pasadena after he allegedly gave a 17-year-old parish boy alcohol and suggested "inappropriate sexual activity," according to Pasadena Police.

Russell Jackson, 46, of Pasadena, faces three misdemeanor charges stemming from the alleged July 1 incident. Those charges include child annoying, exhibiting harmful material to a minor and providing alcohol to a minor, said Janet Pope, spokeswoman for the Pasadena Police Department.

Jackson, who was also a music teacher for the Incarnation Catholic School, was fired from both jobs the day the incident was reported on July 6, said Tod Tamberg, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Archdiocese.

Jackson turned himself in Friday on advice from his attroney, and was cited and release. Arraignment is Aug. 16.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Glendale Unified School District has agreed on a raise for members of its teachers union, wrapping up salary talks that lasted nearly a year, a union official said today.

The district and the Glendale Teachers Association, which represents 1,400 instructors, nurses and psychologists, reached a tentative agreement after a 20-hour negotiation session that went from Thursday to Friday morning, said Steven Field, the union’s bargaining chair.

Both sides have declined to discuss the terms of the multi-year contract until it is announced to the union’s membership, which has to approve the deal. It will be retroactive to the 2006-07 school year.

The teachers union has sought a 12.6 percent raise for the 2006-07 while the district has held firm at 5.1 percent. The district declared an impasse in March, which led to intervention by a state mediator.

In May, the district offered a two-year proposal -- 6.1 percent for the 2006-07 school year, then another 2.6 percent for 2007-08.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 3:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Grand View watcher Lisa Burks spotted this sign making the rounds outside the cemetery last weekend.

From what I could see, the grass continues to turn brown, with patches of weeds here and there. Many of the trees are turning brown, and one that I could see appeared to be completely dead.

The majority of the color inside Grand View these days comes from artificial flowers that have been left at previous city-sponsored limited visitations. Although, oddly enough, there are some brilliantly flowering vines growing near the front gates, indicating that there is still some life left in the old girl.

More photos at her flickr page.

Meanwhile, still no word from City Hall on when the twice-a-month visitations will resume, though a staffer I spoke with last week said it's looking like mid-August (at least September, according to the city's Web page today)-- officials have to decide whether to clear the hazardous dry growth themselves or hire a crew.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Rabbi Meyers became the first female rabbi to lead a congregation in the area when she took over Temple Sinai in Glendale in 1986. She died of bone cancer Thursday at her Los Angeles home, 10 weeks after she was diagnosed, according to the Times.

Here's a June 2001 Jewish Journal story about Meyers' departure from Temple Sinai to raise her two sons.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 9:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Let me say that early reports of a light crowd at the Galleria Target were GROSSLY exaggerated.

On the way to the overpriced churrascaria stand in the Galleria food court (and at the behest of my LAist-reading editors), I decided to dive into the three-story belly of a retail beast that has been a subject of obsession for LA's Web dwelling hipsters.

My first sight of the red bullseye -- 12:45 p.m. Friday -- were the shopping bags hulled by a group walking through the mall toward Mervyn's. Surely they couldn't be --gasp! -- Target shoppers!

After walking through one end of the mall to the other, I arrived at the Target's mall-side entrance -- there they were: clerks in red polo shirts, Starbucks, Pizza Hut and a row of check-out stands. At first glance -- a good crowd of 30-50 shoppers with moms, kids and downtown workers on their lunch break. It's the same scene upstairs and down, some pushing red shopping carts, others with a few sundries in hand.

All-in-all, a fair lunch-time crowd -- not quite as busy you'd expect in more established Targets as Burbank, Valencia or Pasadena, but not exactly empty either. The parking structure behind the building is about half-to-2/3rds full, with some folks opting to park in the sun (which I'm sure they wouldn't if the lot was empty).

Okay, so it's not exactly the weekend madness and traffic nightmare and meat market that is the West Hollywood Target, but hey, maybe after a few weeks?

Besides, those couple blocks of downtown Glendale are still a work-in-progress -- Rick Caruso's Americana won't open until next summer, which will definitely mess with the area's retail dynamic.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) |

Three-story Targets are all nice and good, but for Echo Park blogger Hexdous, it's all about Armenian beer at the Galleria food court.

The real story about the Glendale Galleria is the food court. Not talking about Pollo Campero here, I am talking about the fact that you can buy beer in the food court. What a concept, I know - but I don’t think most malls sell beer - do they?

Anyways, the International Grill sells kebabs, but they also have a fridge full of Erebuni beer from Armenia. So go there, knock back a few and then buy a bunch of stuff in the Apple store.

According to brewer Kotayk's Web site -- "It’s harmony in strength and flavour makes Erebuni the beer of choice."

Posted by Eugene Tong at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

A tip from a source got me out of bed a whole hour earlier this morning for a trip to the Glendale courthouse, where celebri-tant Nicole Richie plans to plead guilty to her DUI charge from last year. But then I wasn't the only one to get the tip, with the rest of the Los Angeles media brigade kickin' it outside for the big arrival.

It's like the Oscars, but with the velvet rope replaced by the yellow police tape, and the court handlers were passing out little orange tickets in case the courtroom gets too packed and they have to raffle the seats, but it didn't come to that. And let's face it, it's Nicole Richie, not Paris Hilton.

Since I'm just a writer, I waited inside the building, away from the cameras. Richie arrived in a black SUV in the arm of her boyfriend, rocker Joel Madden (a proud Glendalian, just like The Game). The couple and their entourage cruised past sheriff's security and waited outside Glendale Superior Court Department 1 along with the media throng -- probably two-thirds credentialed broadcast and print crews, one-third curious onlookers and bloggers. One woman in a brown sweater-coat carried an In Touch magazine in a grocery bag into court -- what was her deal?

I sat two rows behind Richie -- just close enough to read the tattoo on the back of her neck. It says "Richie" -- in case she forgets her famous last name, I guess.

I'm not going into the acutal hearing -- you can read the whole story here -- but the thing was over within a half-hour. Meanwhile, reporters compared notes on what happened as Richie and her crew left the building. The shooters get agitated, but this time I was caught outside between the curb and her SUV.

The next thing I knew, dozens of photogs suddenly turned in my direction, pushing over each other to squeeze a few shots of the departure. That's where the elbow to the head came -- a slight bump that ejected me to the rear of the pack. No big deal -- we all gotta pay the bills, and I had to run over to the DA's news conference.

The TV folks peppered Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Lugo with their two obsessions -- whether Richie will do her four days in jail in the county slammer or in a nice city jail, where there's TV and Internet access; and what is the lesson to be learned here.

That one had me chuckling. Uh...I don't know, don't drive while high? But a fellow reporter turned to remind me of etiquette -- I was not supposed to laugh OUT LOUD -- don't want to hurt any feelings.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Now it's all speculation at this point -- the Galleria Target's only opened for a few days, but the crowd is looking a bit light for LAist Callie Miller's liking:

So we checked it out during prime evening shopping hours and could not believe that it was empty, empty, empty. We asked some questions. Are there more things here than at our own Target? New items you can't get at other Targets? More Libertine clothing? Whole new sections other Targets haven't even dreamed up yet? Nope, nope and nope. Just more space.

I don't know -- I would at least wait till after the weekend before unleashing the snark. How about the folks who have shopped there--any thoughts?

Posted by Eugene Tong at 6:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

On assignment this morning and updates will be sparse -- but here's a bit of Glendale-related history courtesy of LAObserved's Native Intelligence. (Note the post includes an artistic nude portait shot by Weston -- don't look if you know you'll be offedned...)

Legendary photographer Edward Weston is most often connected with Northern California. The modernist known for his mastery of form had a studio in Carmel and co-founded Group f/64 with Ansel Adams and others. Not as well known is that Weston began his career as a portrait photographer in the Los Angeles area.

Weston moved here from Illinois in 1906, settling in Tropico, now part of Glendale. He married his sister's best friend, Flora May Chandler. She became the mother of their four sons, and quietly suffered as he pursued affairs with exotic women in his circle such as Tina Modotti and Margrethe Mather.

This all comes as the Getty opens a Weston exhibit July 31.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

IHOP posts 37 percent rise in second-quarter earnings on sales growth

GLENDALE, Calif. (AP)— Pancake house operator IHOP Corp., which is acquiring casual dining chain Applebee’s International, said Wednesday its second-quarter profit rose 37 percent, helped by new franchise restaurant openings, same-store sales growth and cost controls.

Net income for the quarter ended June 30 rose to $14.1 million, or 82 cents per share, from $10.3 million, or 56 cents per share, a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were looking for profit of just 59 cents per share.

Revenue climbed to $89.5 million from $85.1 million last year, above the $87.3 million analysts projected.

In early trading, IHOP shares rose 95 cents to $65.97.

Chairman and Chief Executive Julia A. Stewart said the company drove topline sales through new franchise restaurant openings and same-store sales growth, while moderating general and administrative expenses and continuing share repurchases.

For the three months ended June 30, systemwide same-store sales increased 2.5 percent, reflecting solid growth despite a continuing difficult consumer environment and increased competition for breakfast customers, the company said.

IHOP said it remains comfortable with existing guidance for 2007 as it relates to its IHOP business, but is suspending its fiscal 2007 profit outlook as current guidance doesn’t account for the effect of the Applebee’s acquisition on results.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Since the Daily News couldn't spare a photographer this year to cover Cruise Night due to some soccer game featuring some guy name David Beckham, here are a few YouTube videos of the festivities. Enjoy.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Finally a free morning to get our blog on...

• Along for the Ride columnist Sue Doyle rode out east early this week and visited some folks whose rides have more than 200,000 miles on the odometer

  GLENDALE - The upholstery on the driver's seat is in shreds. Masking tape patches a cracked taillight. And the odometer reads 223,626 miles.

  To some, it would definitely be time for a trade-in.

  But to Suren Rostonmyan, the 1986 Toyota pickup still has a lot of kick left. By staying on top of oil changes and continuing the TLC, he figures the reliable red truck could hit 300,000 miles without a hitch.

  Check out Suren's rig in the photo galleries to our right.

• Convictions in the 2004 beating death of 17-year-old William Maldonado -- a jury yesterday found William Torres, 24, Pedro Pena, 25, and Fredy Gudiel, 21 guilty of second-degree murder with a gang enhancement. Maldonado was riding his bike to his sister's house when the trio attacked him with baseball bats. Daily News

• Angry residents near Glendale High lashed out at the Glendale City Council last night about broken sprinkers and In-n-Out wrappers littered in their 'hood. They blame the campus' stadium, which holds too many events for their liking. News Press

  What do you guys think? Do they have to live with it since they did move next to a high school ? or do we blame the city and the school district? Me -- I blame society.

• Target at the Galleria -- "We're a normal Target." Good. News Press

  *The CurbedLA crowd marvels at the tri-level Vermaports inside the new Target store.

• The Times catches-up with the Burbank 7-Eleven turned Kwik-E-Mart. Since making the switch as part of a month-long marketing campaign for the Simpsons Movie, business has shot up 300 percent, and hot dog sales jumped from 800 to 3,000 a week.

• And finally, ain't no party like a Burbank party in which a couple of possibly uninvited guests blasted a few holes in the ceiling during a wedding reception Saturday night at Castaway restaurant. No injuries, no arrests and few are talking. Leader

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Gledale's self-appointed watchdog Barry Allen is hosting a series of discussions and workshops on being a pain-in-the-rear in City Hall...

Here's the skinny:

CONTACT: Barry Allen –818 243 1502
Vanguard -- POB 11202 -- Glendale CA 91226

Vanguard1@Charter.net

DATE: July/21/2007 Glendale California USA
HEADLINE: The Future of 101 Year Old Glendale
Summary: The City is 101 years old? What is its future?
Body: Through a series of nine 2-hour, small group meetings in Conference Room ‘A’ at the Glendale Central Library on Louise between Harvard and Colorado on July 25, 26 and 30, Vanguard, a community fiscal watchdog, will focus on the future of the 101-year-old city.

Vanguard Executive Director Barry Allen said, “Like most large cities, the residents suffer from a disconnect with the local government that dissolves into apathy demonstrated by a lack of involvement and engagement with the governmental process. Our guests will learn how to turn that apathy into advocacy; how to use the ‘Sunshine’ laws effectively and the possibility of living with an accountable, responsible and responsive government through grass roots involvement, engagement and advocacy.”

Vanguard started in 2003 as the need for community advocacy arose and has fulfilled that need through the use of the Open Government laws, publication of a widely distributed, weekly electronic newsletter and through successful interaction with Glendale City Officials.

Reservations are suggested, as the space is limited. Contact Barry Allen at 818 243 1502 or Vanguard1@charter.net.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Looks like the Unite Here folks will have someone new to tangle with in their quest to unionize Glendale Hilton workers...

via the Baltimore Business Journal

Hilton Hotels Corp. has appointed Linda Norman as the general manager for the Hilton Baltimore, a publicly financed convention headquarters hotel opening August 2008.

Norman will assume her new job as head of the 757-room hotel Aug. 13, 2008.

Currently general manager of the Hilton in Glendale, Calif., Norman was one of two finalists for the position. Norman and Thomas J. Thomas, resident manager of the Chicago Hilton, were interviewed by city officials last month during a Baltimore Development Corp. meeting.

A Duke University graduate, Norman was previously general manager of the Doubletree Guest Suites Tampa Bay in Tampa, Fla.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

GLENDALE - A man died early this morning when a woman backing out of a driveway hit him as he walked by, police said.

The man was killed at 1:15 a.m. in the 100 block of East Lomita Avenue near Brand Boulevard, police said. His name and age were not immediately available.

Police said the woman did not see the man, who died at the scene.

No arrests have been made, police said.

Last week, the Glendale Police presented a report on pedestrian safety before the City Council, which found the number of car-vs.-people collisions in Glendale to be steady the past couple years, but overall still lagging when compared to neighboring cities.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

In case you didn't hear Friday...

A Glendale man suspected of a hit-and-run crash that killed a 24-year-old Glendale woman was charged Friday with second-degree murder, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office announced. Ara Grigoryan, 21, was expected to answer to the charge in Pasadena Superior Court today, said Deputy District Attorney Robert Knowles. The D.A.'s office will ask that Grigoryan be held without bail.

Grigoryan is suspected of driving a black Mercedes-Benz on July 10 that struck and killed Elizabeth Sandoval as she was walking on Glendale Avenue near Windsor Road. The driver did not stop. The vehicle was found last Saturday near a Van Nuys body shop. Grigoryan was arrested in Mexico City this week by U.S. Marshals as he was allegedly going to take a flight to Europe and possibly his home country of Armenia, police said.

The Mexican government deemed him undesireable and turned him over to U.S. custody. If convicted, he's facing 15 years to life in prison, officials said.

Meanwhile, got a call from a reader who felt the fact that Elizabeth Sandoval was jaywalking when she was struck and killed should be emphasized more in the coverage. I mentioned that early in the coverage, but that detail dropped off when the story became that of an international manhunt for a hit-and-run driver.

The reader felt Sandoval's family should stop to consider that Elizabeth also broke the law, which resulted in her death. Any thoughts? It's one thing to jaywalk -- we all do it from time to time -- but did she deserve to be killed for it? Isn't a bigger crime for the driver -- who was speeding -- to hit her, then tried to escape responsibilty by fleeing the country?

I supposed it's all best left for the jury to grapple with when this gets to trial.

Earlier:
"Person of interest" in Glendale hit-n-run arrested in Mexico City
A break in the Glendale hit-and-run case?

Posted by Eugene Tong at 7:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) |

Catching up on the local news now having been on assignment this morning, and boy do we have a whopper!

I've heard this was happening from those in the know, but haven't been able to confirm it. Yes indeed, Glendale Fire Chief Chris Gray is leaving at the end of August after 21 years with the GFD, and will likely finish his career as Fire Chief in the city of San Rafael in Northern California.

But my question is this -- now that City Hall watchdog Barry Allen's nemesis has moved on, who is he going to kick around now?

*Update 6:44 p.m. -- Just caught up with Gray, who's already up north with his family to attend a City Council meeting there. His reasons for the move -- most of his family, including his children, have moved to the Bay Area, and the fire chief job held by John Montenero (also a former GFD chief) is opening up with his retirement.

"We have some special family circumstances that has required us to look closely at the future," he said. "That's the primary motivation."

Gray also said it was a "difficult" decision to leave Glendale, and only decided last Friday. "People who I have worked with for the last 21 years have been second-to-none. What won out ultimately is a decision based on family."

As for a sucessor, he'll be working with City Manager Jim Starbird to work that out in the coming month.

See the Glendale City Hall release below:

Continue reading "Glendale Fire Chief Christopher Gray retires*" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 6:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

GLENDALE - Doug Dall can still recall his mission clearly when nine years ago he and several local educators reopened an underused middle school as a technology magnet high school.

"Glendale is really a hub for technical work," said Dall, principal of Clark Magnet High School. "We wanted to come up with a theme that would draw students to the program. We didn't want to gerrymander attendance in Glendale to force students to come here. We want students to come here on their own."

As the 1,200-student campus begins its 10th year in August, it also will have the distinction as one of nine high-achieving schools profiled last month by the U.S. Department of Education as a model of excellence despite circumstances.

"We're the best kept secret in Glendale," Dall said. "But nationally, we're recognized. We're really proud of that."

See dailynews.com for more.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 6:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

A late item:

A man who lit a bottle rocket inside his Glendale apartment and sparked a blaze post-Fourth of July that destroyed his building has pleaded no contest Tuesday to criminal charges.

Kevin Carpenter entered his plea to two felony counts of recklessly causing a fire to an inhabited structure, and was sentenced to one year in county jail and three years probation, said Jane Robison of the District Attorney’s Office.

Burbank Superior Court Judge Patrick Hegarty suspended a two-year state prison term that Carpenter, as long as he complies with the terms of his probation.

Carpenter was accused of lighting a bottle rocket around 2:45 a.m. July 5 in his apartment at 807 E. Chevy Chase Drive with the intention of throwing it into the street. But it exploded and burned him, according to Glendale fire Capt. Tom Propst.

It took 44 firefighters 13 minutes to knock down the fire, which caused $800,000 in damage to the building and $200,000 in damage to the contents, he said. Three units were destroyed and a fourth was heavily damaged.

Carpenter was treated for second-degree burns, according to Glendale police Sgt. Susan Hayn.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 6:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

via Glendale Police:

Today the Glendale Police Department has Ara Grigoryan in custody for his involvement in a hit and run accident that caused the death of Elizabeth Sandoval on July 10, 2007. With the assistance of State and Federal Authorities, we were able to locate Ara Grigoryan in Mexico City. We would specifically like to thank Immigration Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, United States Marshalls, and the Mexican Authorities for their assistance in this case.

We would like to take this moment and give you a chronological order of events that took place during our investigation regarding this case.

On July 10, 2007 at 9:45 pm, Glendale Police Officers responded to Glendale Avenue and Windsor Road, regarding a traffic collision involving a vehicle and a pedestrian. Elizabeth Sandoval was pronounced at the scene. An investigation into the fatal hit and run accident began.

On July 11, 2007, traffic investigators were able to identify a location where the suspect vehicle might have been. Officers did not locate the vehicle in question; however, they were able to identify evidence that was left behind by the possible suspect.

On July 12, 2007, anonymous tips and more investigative work led us to identifying the vehicle and the person of interest who had been driving the vehicle in question.

On July 13, 2007, Glendale police investigators requested Mercedes Benz of America and ATX to activate the Global Positioning System to assist us in locating the suspect vehicle. After retrieving two court orders, our request still went unanswered. On July 14, 2007 at 7:00 am, the Los Angeles Police Department notified us that ATX had activated the GPS and the vehicle in question was located parked on a public street in the City of Van Nuys. There were obvious signs of fresh bodywork done to the front-end portion of the vehicle.

At the beginning of this week, we received information that a person matching the description of Ara Grigoryan was in custody in Mexico City. Today we have verified that Ara Grigoryan is in fact the person that was detained by the Mexican Authorities. With the assistance of the United States Marshall’s, Ara Grigoryan was transported back to the United States and released to the custody of the Glendale Police Department.

Our prayers again go out to the Sandoval Family and we hope this will give them some type of closer.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 1:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

via City of Glendale...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 17, 2007

“My Hometown” Photo Contest DEADLINE EXTENDED!

The Committee for a Clean & Beautiful Glendale and Neighborhood Services invite residents of Glendale, Montrose and La Crescenta to enter the “My Hometown” Photo Contest. Photos should represent the photographer’s sense of pride for his/her hometown and must be taken in Glendale, Montrose or La Crescenta. Participants may submit photos in the “color” and/or “black & white” categories and only one 8”x10” entry will be accepted per category per person. Photos may not be submitted digitally.

Photographs must be received no later than Tuesday, July 24th at the Neighborhood Services Office at 141 N. Glendale Avenue, Room 114. All photo entries will be on exhibit at the Summer Night on the Plaza on Friday, July 27th from 6pm to 9pm. During this event, the public will be able to vote on their favorite photo in each category. The photo contest is a special tribute to the City’s beauty. Two winners will be announced at the event and will be presented with a crisp one hundred dollar bill. The winning photos will be on display at City Hall, in the City’s website and other venues.

Summer Night on the Plaza is a fundraiser benefiting the Committee for a Clean & Beautiful Glendale’s community beautification programs. It will be held in the City Hall Perkins Plaza and Atrium at 141 North Glendale Avenue, on Friday, July 27, 2007. Join us for an evening of live music, an eclectic array of silent auction items to bid on and complimentary hors d’oeuvres from area restaurants & bakeries (California Pizza Kitchen, Carousel, Minx, Olive Garden, Billy’s Deli, C&C Café, Flor de Café Bakery, Art’s Bakery, Starbucks, Nestle Ice Cream, & Mignon Chocolates), plus be the first to view and vote for your favorite photo contest entries. Adult tickets are $12.50 in advance and $15 at the entrance.

For more information about the “My Hometown” Photo Contest or Summer Night on the Plaza, contact Sandra Rodriguez at (818) 548-2877 or visit our website at www.ci.glendale.a.us/cdh/home_town.asp.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 7:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Daily News biz-maven Julia Scott delves into the IHOP-Applebees proposal...

GLENDALE -- IHOP said Monday that it would buy Applebee's for $2.1 billion in cash as part of a plan to revive the bar-and-grill chain.

The $25.50-per-share deal offers shareholders a small premium over the recent trading price of Applebee's stock. The stock rose to $24.91 on news of the deal.

IHOP stock rose almost 9 percent, to $61.24, after news of the acquisition broke.

IHOP chief Julia Stewart plans to sell nearly all of Applebee's company-owned restaurants to individual franchise owners to boost cash flow and stock prices, a strategy she used to help breathe new life into the pancake chain.

Of the 1,319 IHOP eateries across the globe, 99 percent are franchises. Nearly 75 percent of Applebee's 1,943 locations are franchises.

"We've been down this road before and successfully led a total business transformation," Stewart said during a conference call. "We plan to do it again with Applebee's."

Read the rest at dailynews.com

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

If you feel like wasting two hours you'll never get back, stop by the Glendale Famima!! at 134 N Brand Blvd for a flyer that will admit you and a friend to a special screening of Bachelor Party 2 at the Mann theaters at 128 N. Maryland, 7:30 p.m.

Yes -- this is indeed based on the 1984 Tom Hanks wild and crazy comedy "Bachelor Party". I couldn't believe it myself.

Though the description on the back of the flyer says it was actually called "The Bachelor" -- it's probably written by a PA who wasn't old enough to remember the golden age of American cinema that was the mid-1980s, a time when stupid sex comedies inspired by Animal House, Porky's, Meatballs and Revenge of the Nerds ruled the multiplex; a time before Tom Hanks became an icon for the greatest generation, when his best known works were the cross-dressing sitcomBosom Buddies and that Daryl Hannah mermaid flick Splash.

In fact, it goes to show you there's life after Joe Versus the Volcano.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 5:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

The reaction so far to my story on the campaign to restrict public smoking in Glendale depends on which side you're on in the tobacco debate...

There's GGwinnie:

I have a reply for Eunice Kim.... how would she like to end up with lung cancer like my Mother. So Sad.. she weighed 76 lbs, couldnt eat or drink was in constant pain in spite of all the medicene she took. She sat up all night not able to sleep.. her inerest in llife was gone. she prayed to die.. SHE WAS A SWEET MOM AND GRANDMOTHER TO ALL MY CHILDREN. sHE IS SORELY MISSED TO THIS DAY... She would have loved to see her great grandchildren had she lived..I I miss her to this day... So Eunice, please dont smoke, live your life !!

And here's Rod Guilmette of Burbank, who has coined a collective name for tobacco regulators:

It would have seemed appropriate to mention that Steven Gallegos doesn't just work "with" the American Lung Association, but is under contract with them and with Glendale Adventist.

Using the terminology of Big Tobacco Control (a multi-billion dollar industry), he's a "paid shill."

As for smoking not being "American," 40 to 50 million American adults smoke.

Big Tobacco Control is addicted to smokers and smoking. Without large numbers of smokers paying huge excise taxes on tobacco products, tens of thousands in that industry (BTC) would be out of work. In addition, to cite just one of thousands of programs that have nothing to do with tobacco, funding for the national State Children's Health Insurance Program would have to be found elsewhere.

Whenever a state legislature considers banning the manufacture and sale of tobacco products in its state, Big Tobacco Control testifies against it. Why? From their own documented testimony: "It would decrease funding for their tobacco control efforts (no sales, no special excise taxes= no money for salaries).

Since Mr. Gallegos is a paid spokesperson for the American Lung Association and Glendale Adventist, can I assume these two organizations are now proposing that smokers cannot be true Americans? Did you check on that?

And between economic and emotional pleas, a caller who's against smoking also took time to attack immigration, which I guess is inevitable as the nation is still cycling through another wave of nativist fever (and especially so after our headline writers took time to hype-up the cultural angle).

As for the anti-smoking proponents, their petition has gotten 90 signatures as of 4 p.m.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) |

GLENDALE — A man has barricaded himself inside a house today in what appeared to be a botched burglary, police said.

The man, who appeared in his late 20s, is believed to be holed-up by himself in a home on the 1100 block of Avonoak Terrace, police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. Police had arrived at the home at about 11 a.m., after its burglar alarm was triggered, and saw the man come out of the garage.

When he saw the officers, he ran back inside, Lorenz said.

There has been several daytime residential burglaries reported in the area, and investigators suspect the man may be the culprit, Lorenz said.

*Update 5:46 p.m. -- Police has arrested Jerome Wilson, 26, of Tujunga, after a five-hour stand-off. Daily News

Posted by Eugene Tong at 2:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

A balanced meal to start your week.

• They've snuffed out cigarettes in Calabasas, Santa Monica, Burbank and Beverly Hills — and now a group of local residents has started pressing for a public smoking ban in Glendale. Advocates behind the "No Butts Glendale" campaign have been pushing the City Council since June to consider outlawing smoking in parks, lines and within 25 feet of sidewalks and business entrances. Daily News
  See their online petition here.

• Glendale-based IHOP (that's International House of Pancakes, for those not hip with the lingo) announced today it has entered into a deal to acquire Applebee's International Inc., operator of Applebee's restaurants, for $25.50 per share in cash, or about $2.1 billion. The all-cash transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2007, is subject the usual shareholders and regulatory approvals, of course.

• Lawyers in the Grand View Memorial Park civil suit will be doing some discovery Tuesday. News Press

• The Pasadena Star-News paid their repsects at slain Glendale College cheer captain Brittani Idom's memorial.
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

GLENDALE _ Police located Saturday the Mercedes Benz sedan that struck down in the a 24-year-old woman earlier this week, while the hunt continued for a man believed to be involved with the fatal hit-and-run.

The black four-door S430 sedan with a California license plate of O7TT777 was found parked along the curb in Van Nuys after the car’s tracking system was activated, police spokesman John Balian said. Investigators were trying to turn up new leads at area auto repair shops.

Police said the driver of the black Mercedes struck and killed Elizabeth Sandoval at highway speeds while she crossed the street at Glendale Avenue near Windsor Road Tuesday night, then fled the scene.

On Friday, police complained an attorney for the German automaker had refused comply with a court order to activate the car’s global positioning system. But the device’s Texas-based manufacturer contacted Los Angeles Police with a location Saturday, Balian said.

Authorities were looking for Ara Grigoryan, 21, of Glendale, a “person of interest” who matches witness descriptions of the man behind the wheel. The car is registered to one of Grigoryan's relatives, but he has been cited for seven traffic violations over two years while driving the car, including failure to yield to pedestrians and three cases of speeding.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 6:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

GLENDALE - Police are looking for a man believed to be involved in a hit-and-run crash that killed a 24-year-old woman earlier this week, but their efforts were stymied Friday when an automaker refused to cooperate with investigators trying to locate the suspect’s car.

Police said Ara Grigoryan, 21, of Glendale is a “person of interest” who matches witnesses’ description of the man behind the wheel of the black Mercedes Benz-sedan that struck and killed Elizabeth Sandoval at Glendale Avenue near Windsor Road Tuesday.

The car is registered to one of Grigoryan’s relatives, but he has been cited for seven traffic violations over two years while driving the car, police spokesman John Balian said. They include failure to yield to pedestrians and three cases of speeding.

Police attempted to locate the car by requesting Mercedes Benz to activate the vehicle’s onboard tracking system.
Many recent model luxury cars are equipped with a global position system allowing authorities to locate them if they were stolen. Police presented two separate court orders Friday, but attorneys at the German automaker’s North American headquarters in New Jersey refused to comply.

A message left with Frank Berenz, an attorney representing Mercedes Benz, was not immediately returned.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 6:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Glendale Police is calling an 11 a.m. news conference to present a "person of interest" in the Elizabeth Sandoval hit-and-run case. Sandoval, 24, of Glendale was killed Tuesday night when a speeding black Mercedes-Benz sedan struck her at Glendale Avenue near Windsor Road. The vehicle was traveling at up to 60 mph on impact, and flung her about 75-100 feet. See Daily News story here.

*Update 10:54 a.m. via Glendale Police
The suspected vehicle is described as a 2003 black 4-door Mercedes-Benz S430, with a California license plate of O7TT777, and is believed to have sustained front-end damage. The person of interest in this incident is Ara Grigoryan of Glendale, who is described as a male Armenian, approximately 5’9 with black hair and brown eyes. The investigators have developed information that Mr. Grigoryan is related to the vehicle that we are seeking.

It is expected that Glendale City Council will approve allocations for a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the hit-and-run suspect. LA County Board of Supervisor Michael Antonovich will also be asking for an additional $10,000.00 reward to be provided by the County. The Glendale Police Department is urging any witnesses or other involved parties to come forward with any information that they may have.

Anyone with any information is asked to call the Glendale Police Department at (818)548-4840. They can also call the Glendale Crime Stoppers anonymous hotline at (818)507-7867.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

The basketball hoops are down and there was a fresh coat of paint on the benches at Brand Park on Thursday, just more than two weeks after a shooting there raised concerns about public safety. Residents said the b-ball court - in a remote corner of the park and far from the gaze of police patrols - is a magnet for illicit rendezvous - drug deals, vandalism and other crimes.

The park made headlines June 26 when someone shot at an occupied vehicle after a confrontation. No one was injured, and two men - Harutyun Abrahamyan, 21, of Pasadena, and Haroutioun Aivazian, 19, of Glendale - were arrested about a week later on suspicion of attempted murder.

Police have stepped up patrols. Meanwhile, spooked residents are demanding the city clean up the sprawling 31-acre park nestled at the base of the Verdugo Mountains, the former estate of Leslie C. Brand, one of the city's pioneers.

more at dailynews.com...

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

On assignment this morning -- here's a quick update to fill the hours

A husband and wife from Glendale and two female accomplices from the San Fernando Valley were accused of running an adult day health care center out of a church community room, endangering senior citizens by having uncredentialed social workers conduct therapy and filing false claims to the state's Medi-Cal program, state officials said today.

Five felony counts, including false claims, grand theft, and subjecting seniors to great bodily injury have been filed against Simon and Vardui Rosi Dulbandzhyan, both of Glendale; Ani Ter-Gevorkyan, of North Hollywood; and Salphy Boyajian, of West Hills.

More at dailynews.com

Posted by Eugene Tong at 6:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Authorities have identified a 24-year-old Glendale woman who was killed by hit-and-run motorist while crossing the street.

Elizabeth Sandoval was struck down at about 9:40 p.m. by a black Mercedes Benz-sedan at Glendale Avenue near Windsor Road, police spokesman John Balian said. The vehicle was traveling at up to 60 mph when it struck Sandoval, and flung her about 75-100 feet. The speed limit at the intersection was 30 mph.

Sandoval was leaving an area convenience store with a friend, Balian said. Witnesses told police they were crossing the street against a red light, though one motorist had stopped for them before Sandoval was struck. Her companion was not injured.

Police believe the Mercedes was being driven by a man, and suffered major front-end damage. Television news footage showed the car’s front grill left at the scene. Anyone knowing more about the case was urged to call police at (818) 548-4818.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 2:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

As noted in my colleague-in-biz Julia Scott's Bargain Hunter blog, Target's Glendale Galleria store will open its doors July 24 for "Family & Friends," then heading into Grand Opening festivities Sunday, July 29.

When the news broke last year the red bullseye is heading into the hollowed-out anchor once home to Robinsons-May, I recalled a couple of haters say the Galleria is going downmarket with this new tenant. To you, I say stop the hate and relish the store that carries everything including a $46.89 Lobster Mold and a $679 espresso machine.

Target Opening Schedule:

Tuesday, July 24 – Family & Friends opening from 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Wednesday, July 25 – Soft opening
Sunday, July 29 – Grand opening for the public.

Target at Glendale Galleria Operating Hours
Monday – Saturday: 8:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sunday: 8:00 am – 9:00 pm

Posted by Eugene Tong at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

It didn't take even an hour for Jason to post an item about the 24-year-old Glendale woman who was killed in a hit-and-run last night on the Daily News Web site that we get one reader lashing out at immigration and immigrant drivers.

Now I'm not going to repeat the post here -- here's the link if you're curious -- but the writer's argument seems to be based on the fact the car that hit the woman was a Mercedes Benz sedan. That's big leap in logic, but extreme nativism is rarely logical.

I usually expect this kind of talk AFTER police have an identified suspect in custody, but then it doesn't take much set off the anti-immigration crowd nowadays. I wonder what the commenter will say when he or she finds out the victim was Latina.

Maybe it's something against the Germans, those engineers of fine automotive products. We have to put a stop to German immigration! Who knows how many of teutonic scofflaws are living among us without proper papers?

Posted by Eugene Tong at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

A memorial service for Brittani Idom, the 18-year-old Glendale College cheerleader who was shot and killed in Los Angeles last Friday is scheduled for Saturday July 14, 9 a.m. at Lake Avenue Congregational Church, 393 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena.

Viewing is scheduled Friday, July 13 between 2 p.m. - 7 p.m. at Woods - Valentine Mortuary at 1455 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena.

Donations and condolences can be sent to 1746 Morada Place, Altadena, CA 91001

Earlier: Teen's zest for life recalled

Posted by Eugene Tong at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

GLENDALE -- Two banks were robbed Tuesday just 15 minutes apart, one by a man authorities have dubbed “The Zorro Bandit” and the other by a group who pulled off a well-organized heist, police said.

The first robbery occurred about 9:45 a.m. when three men wearing baseball caps and armed with handguns entered Bank of the West at 400 N. Glendale Blvd. Two of the men ordered the patrons and the tellers to lie down on the floor while the third man took money from teller stations and entered the vault, Glendale police spokesman John Balian said.

Outside, the trio joined an accomplice waiting in a gray Toyota with no license plates.

The other robbery was reported about 10 a.m. at Union Bank at 33 N. Brand Blvd. when a man armed with a handgun approached a teller demanding money.

The man is described as 5-feet-5 and 160 pounds and appeared in his mid-20s to early 30s.He had slick, greasy hair and wore a goatee — hence the Zorro nickname, Balian said. The FBI has linked him to at least five previous heists.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

A smorgasboard.

• A 24-year-old woman was killed in Glendale last night by a hit-and-run driver. The woman was hit by the car about 9:40 last night on Glendale Avenue near Windsor Road, said Glendale police Sgt. Dennis Smith. The victim was walking west across Glendale Avenue, about 50 feet south of Windsor Road, accompanied by another woman, when she was struck by a black Mercedes-Benz. Daily News CBS2 (video)

• The Times profiles Burbank's Autobooks-Aerobooks, which has been in business since 1951. It's collection of books, models and memorabillia for gearheads has drawn a celebrity clientele including Nicholas Case, Tim Allen and Jay Leno.

• Since gunfire errupted at Brand Park a couple weeks ago, frightened residents have been stroming the Glendale City Council pushing for more police patrols, security cameras and removal of the basketball hoops there, which they say draw unsavory elements. News Press

• Here's a tale involving unsuspecting travellers flying to Vegas from Burbank on Southwest, and rock god Tommy Lee. E! Online
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 9:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Six people who allegedly skipped-out on paying an estimated $1 million in state taxes as construction contractors have pleaded not guilty today to multiple counts of felony tax evasion.

The six people, who resided in Burbank and Glendale, were arraigned in Los Angeles Superior Court, state Franchise Tax Board officials said. The next hearing is scheduled Sept. 5.

They include:

• Sarkis Ter Abelian, aka Mike Terabelian, 42, of Burbank and his wife, Alisa Oganyan, 32;
  
• Zohrab Mkhitarian, aka Rob Mikitarian, 39, of Burbank and his spouse, Marine Metspakyan, 31;
  
• Avetik Gyandzhyan, 37, of Glendale and his wife, Lilit Lusparyan, 27.

The defendants allegedly operated businesses providing plumbing, air conditioning, and electrical work, and operated companies under multiple names. Investigators said the companies failed to file state income tax returns for 2001-04, or filed returns claiming expenses were equaled to reported income.

The county District Attorney’s office, which began the investigation, also alleged the defendants of overcharging, billing for services not performed and for substandard work.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 6:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich has dished-out a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of 18-year-old Brittani Idom's killer. Idom attended Glendale College, and was captain of the cheerleading sqaud there.

Meanwhile, LA City Councilman Herb Wesson is waiting for his council to approve a $50,000 reward in the Idom case -- she was shot early Friday while driving in his Mid-City district.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

All-Star Tuesday.

• Glendale story of the day -- Brittani Idom had just finished her first year at Glendale College and was captain of the cheerleading squad there. But the life and promise held by this 18-year-old was severed last week in a senseless shooting. Daily News

• Grand View case moves another inch -- a judge yesterday allowed the city of Glendale to clean-up dried growth and other hazards, paving the way for the twice-a-month visiting hours to resume, though we're not sure when. News Press

• Glendale Water & Power wants to test drill for water near Dunsmore Elementary School to tap into the Verdugo groundwater basin. News Press

• Meanwhile in Burbank, theives are targeting fire hydrants for their bronze caps, which are fetching good prices, with metals and other building materials in high demand worldwide. "A phenomenon of three-dollars-a-pound scrap," Burbank Water and Power General Manager Ron Davis said.

• And a laser light show is no fireworks at the Starlight Bowl Fourth of July Spectacular Leader
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Back in action...

• Burbank story of the day -- A chat with Tim Stehr, soon-to-be chief of the Burbank Police Department. He started out as a cadet right here, and now he's about to be running the place.

• Glendale Police has been busy -- they arrested Kevin Cunningham, 22, whose runaway fireworks lit-up an apartment building on Chevy Chase Dr. Then on Thursday, they arrested two men on suspicion of attempted murder for a shooting in Brand Park a couple weeks ago.

• If you only get your news from these Internets, the biggest news to come out of Burbank last week was the conversion of the 7-Eleven on Verdugo and Olive into a Kwik-E-Mart -- part of a big fantasy-intrusion-into-the-real-world marketing campaign for the upcoming Simpsons movie.

• Lisa Burks over at valleynews.com tries to make sense of the Grand View executor Tom Trimble's cemetery bail-out plan.
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Via Glendale Fire Department:

The Glendale Fire Department is asking for your voluntary cooperation in discontinuing the use of wood for all outdoor barbeque pits and outdoor fireplaces.

Glendale’s 2006-2007 rain season is the driest in recorded history! Due to a record low rainfall and extremely dry conditions, brush areas in Glendale are experiencing record low fuel moisture content resulting in tinder dry vegetation. The Glendale Fire Department is anticipating one of the worst wildfire seasons in years. Flying embers have a dangerous and deadly potential for igniting wildfires. You can do your part to prevent a disaster by refraining from using wood in your outdoor barbeque pits and outdoor fireplaces.

• If you choose to use your barbeque pit or outdoor fireplace to burn wood you must comply with the following safety requirements.

• Once lit, NEVER leave a barbeque pit or outdoor fireplace unattended.
  Make sure the barbeque pit or outdoor fireplace has a metal safety spark catching screen covering the barbeque pit or fireplace.

• Make sure there is a garden hose or fire extinguisher readily available to put out any unexpected fires.
  Solid fuel burning barbeque pits and outdoor fireplaces shall not be used within 25 feet of a structure or combustible material.

For additional information regarding outdoor barbeques and fireplaces, or to schedule a home barbeque safety inspection, please contact the Glendale Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Bureau at (818) 548-4810 or visit your neighborhood Fire Station.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 1:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

For the record, that last blog post took 15 minutes to type out on the iPhone (granted I included the half-dozen tries it took me to log into Movable Type -- it's tougher than you think to get those fingers exactly on the right key to spell my login and password, even if they're already 10 times the size of those itty-bitty Blackberry keys...)

So I couldn't resist running back to the Galleria Apple store to taking the thing for a test drive when 6 p.m. rolled around. After I cruised past some anti-war protesters outside Mervyn's and made the store at about 6:20 p.m, the gadget grab was already on -- about 65 people through the store so far, with more coming.

More pics and thoughts on the way...

Continue reading "iPhone Test Part Two -- or More Thoughts From a Tech Layman...*" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 7:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Blog entry by iPhone.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 6:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

The obligatory iPhone post -- what self-respecting blogger could ignore the hype? Heck, this'll probably drive a couple more hits to this humble blog...

So I got to the Glendale Galleria at 10 a.m., and the line was bout 150 long and snaking from the mall Apple store, rounding the corner at Abercrombie & Fitch then out to the parking garage and beyond.

Continue reading "iCame, iSaw, iGot Paid 100 Bucks by My Aunt to Wait Here..." »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 2:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

The city of Glendale is dishing out the money to keep the twice-a-month visiting hours at Grand View Memorial Park going, but it might take a while until they're letting you back in. Mike Grant, the city attorney working on the case told me this morning it all depends on how long it takes to remove the dead trees and other hazards from the cemetery.

First step, the city has to secure a court order from the trial judge to permit the maintenance they want to do, and that won't happen until at least July 9, when the next hearing in the civil case against the cemetery owners takes place. Meanwhile, city crews have to assess how to remove the hazards while staying within budget.

We'll just have to wait and see...

Posted by Eugene Tong at 6:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Free ride/ Take it easy.

A pox of thefts and rip-offs for Glendale's cornucopia of BMWs, according to the News Press

via city of Glendale:

GLENDALE, California – The Glendale City Council last night adopted a resolution implementing Phase I of the City’s Water Conservation Plan which asks all Glendale Water & Power (GWP) customers to voluntarily reduce their household water usage by 10% or about 20 gallons per person per day. The Water Conservation Plan was adopted by the city in 1995.

Following the City Council action, GWP is now launching a public outreach campaign "Glendale, It’s Time to Save Water." The campaign encourages all residential and business customers to save water so that Glendale can meet its water conservation goal.

Continue reading "Glendale Says: Cut Water Use by 10%" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 6:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) |

Via Tom Propst, Glendale Fire Department:

On Tuesday, June 26, 2007 at 7:46 AM, 3 Companies of Glendale Firefighters, 2 Companies of Burbank Firefighters, 1 Glendale Fire Rescue Ambulance, and the Glendale Arson Investigation Unit under the direction of Battalion Chief Corey Creasey responded to a Structure Fire at 110 S. Irving 1820 Riverside Dr. in Glendale.

*Address corrected by Glendale Fire, 8:34 p.m.

Continue reading "Early-Morning Blaze at Glendale Duplex; No Injuries*" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Via Glendale Police spokesman John Balian:

Glendale Police Officers responded to 1601 West Mountain, Brand Park after receiving a call of multiple gunshots coming with in the park. On June 26, 2007, at 5:00 pm, witnesses reported hearing gunshots coming from a white SUV type vehicle at Brand Park. The driver of the vehicle was described as a male Armenian, in his twenties, wearing a hat and sunglasses. The driver exchanged words with a group of males in the park and then began shooting.

Approximately five shots were fired and three of the shots fired struck a vehicle that was in the path of the gunshots. No injuries were reported at the time of the incident. The Glendale Police Department has made steps to add extra police patrol at Brand Park, by utilizing Park Rangers, Special Enforcement Detail, Gang Unit, and field patrol units.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Glendale Police Detectives at 818-548-3987.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Glendale City Council voted unanimously tonight to continue the twice-a-month visiting hours they've been running at Grand View Memorial Park, and are allocating $107,800 to conduct a one-time clean-up of dead or dying trees -- a liability risk as accidents waiting to happen, and a fire hazard in this weather.

They'll also fork out another $79,800 for staffing to operate the visiting hours for one year.

It wasn't an easy decision -- an estimate from a trusted company doing the trimming and tree removal came back $250,000, much more than the city was prepare to spend. But the council asked city arborists to take a second look and find a way to stay within budget.

No doubt the suggestion by attorney Paul Ayers that the city can recoup some of the costs through their court eventual court settlement also helped grease their wheels. Ayers represents Grand View Memorial Park families who are preparing a class action against the troubled cemetery's owners.

The next regularly scheduled opening is two weeks from Sunday. More story to come in the A.M...

*Update 8:28 a.m. -- here it is.

**Update 4 p.m. -- My colleague in Grand View, Lisa Burks of valleynews.com has this write-up of the meeting.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

While Glendale Councilman Frank Quintero warned about brush clearance and John Drayman waxed about a visit to the Grayson Power Plant, Mayor Ara Najaraian spent a few minutes out of his life (and ours) to give a shout-out to all the stores slated to go into Americana at Brand.

That's from Armani Exchange to pinkberry.

Barneys New York's casual outlet, whose presence at the mall was announced yesterday, drew a ooohhh from his honor the mayor. And Najarian -- just to let all the haters know-- the Americana is coming.

I wonder if we'll see any contributions to Ara from General Growth in the next election cycle...

Posted by Eugene Tong at 6:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Catching up from the weekend...

• In case you haven't heard, Burbank homeowners will be seeing a $1.61 hike in trash fees beginning July 1. That's an 8 percent hike. It's because of operations expenses -- read fuel and salaries. Leader

• Meanwhile, firefighters battle stubborn blaze in South Glendale Residence
  
  On Monday, June 25, 2007 at 5:11 AM, 6 Companies of Glendale Firefighters, 1 Rescue Ambulance, 1 Air Utility and the Arson Investigation Unit under the direction of Battalion Chief Corey Creasey responded to a Structure Fire at 1814 Vassar Ave. in South Glendale.

Continue reading "Burbank Trash Fee Hike; Glendale blaze" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Another quarter, another blast of tenant news for The Grove East, otherwise known as The Americana at Brand. You already know about Barnes & Noble relocating to the Rick Caruso mixed-use extravaganza next to the Glendale Galleria. The new list includes some heavy hitters, opportunities for shoppers to work up that national debt. The release from Caruso Affiliated says the mall is now 80 percent leased.

Shoe mavens have Kate Spade, which is opening its first Los Angeles-area location; Barneys New York CO-OP features designer casuals. There's also fancy cookware dealer Sur La Table. (I'm looking at YOU, Galleria tenant Williams Sonoma...)

For the hoi poloi, there's The Cheesecake Factory, and a pinkberry outlet. (Taking the faux-gurt back from knock-off purveyor Roseberry or Rosegreen or whatever their name is up the street...)

*For more Caruso goodness, check out this past weekend's edition of KPCC's Off-Ramp, which spent some time with LA's uber-developer -- there's a chat with Ed Leibowitz, who profiled the man for Los Angeles Magazine; and take a walk with Caruso through The Grove, where he shares a few hidden secrets...

Other Americana tenants:

Continue reading "A Barney, a Kate, more Cheesecake and Faux-Yogurt Multiplies*" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

The City of Glendale / Knows how to party...

JUNE 22, 2007 -- Glendale officials announced today the entertainment schedule for the 14th Annual Cruise Night Car Show and Street Party. The event will be held on Saturday, July 21, from 5:30 to 10:30pm on Brand Boulevard.

Best remembered for his 1973 soul classic “Show and Tell”, Al Wilson, will kick things off at 5:30pm on the main stage at Brand and Milford. “Show and Tell” was both a million seller and the #1 record in America. Wilson will be followed at 6:30pm by The Chantays who had the 1963 surf hit “Pipeline”. The Chantays’ sound influenced a number of artists including The Ventures, Dick Dale, and the Beach Boys. At 7:30pm, Johnny Tillotson will take the stage. Tillotson’s “Poetry in Motion” sold over a million copies and zoomed to #1 in America. Closing out the entertainment for the evening will be The Marcels whose hit “Blue Moon” became the #1 song in America by bumping Elvis Presley’s song “Surrender” out of the top spot. Emcee for the evening will be KRTH Radio legend Brian Bierne, Mr. Rock and Roll ®.

In addition to the great music, the 14th Annual Cruise Night will feature over 400 pre-1973 custom cars and trucks. The celebrity judge for this year’s event will be Edd “Kookie” Byrnes who portrayed the character Gerald Lloyd “Kookie” Kookson III on the 1960’s TV detective series 77 Sunset Strip. Byrnes and singer Connie Stevens recorded the song “Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me your Comb” following his popularity on the TV show. Those who would like to register their car can call (818) 548-2184.

Cruise Night this year will feature a dance and hoola-hoop contest at the Awards Stage located at Brand and Wilson. There will also be booths, displays and games for the kids at Brand and Broadway. Restaurants and businesses will be open during the event. For more information, call (818) 548-6464 or go to the Cruise Night website: glendalecruisenight.com.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 5:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

You're less likely to die from heart failure at Glendale Memorial Hospital on average than at other hospitals across the nation, according to an analysis of cardiac care from a federal agency.

The study released Thursday by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) compares heart attack and heart failure death rates from more than 4,000 hospitals nationwide. Glendale Memorial is among the 38 hospitals where the heart failure death rate is below the national average of 11.1.

Here's the USA Today story and a list of how hospitals did. For more such statistics, check out this U.S. Department of Health and Human Sevices site.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

And that's the Majesty Of Rock! The Mystery of Roll!

This SUNDAY-SUNDAY-SUNDAY! LIVE at the GLENDALE CIVIC AUDITORIUM! It's the ARMENIAN ROCK FESTIVAL GLENDALE 2007!!!!!

Where RAWK and a 1600-year-old alphabet meet!!!!!!!

Posted by Eugene Tong at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

"The name Friday comes from the Old English frigedæg, meaning the day of Frige, the Anglo-Saxon form of Frigg, the Germanic goddess of beauty." Read the rest of the Wikipedia entry here.

Via Glendale Fire Department --

Brush Fire -- Verdugo Mountain Range / Beaudry North Motorway On Thursday, June 21, 2007 at 2:07 PM, a phone call was received at Glendale Fire Station #29 from a concerned citizen identifying a brush fire located near the top of the Verdugo Mountain range in the City of Glendale. Firefighters from Glendale Fire Station #29 immediately self dispatched and notified the Verdugo Communications Dispatch Center with a request of additional resources. A total of 6 Engine Companies of Glendale Firefighters, 1 Glendale Rescue Ambulance, 2 Water Dropping Helicopters, 4 Los Angeles County Camp Crews, 1 Los Angeles County Fire Camp Crew Superintendent, 1 Los Angeles County Engine Company, 1 Engine Company of Burbank Firefighters, 1 Glendale Arson Investigator and 1 Glendale Fire Patrol unit all under the direction of Acting Battalion Chief Thomas Marchant responded and mounted an aggressive attack on the fire.

While enroute, fire units reported a visible fire near the top of the Verdugo mountain range in the area of the Beaudry North Motorway. First arriving firefighters on scene discovered a half-acre brush fire burning in steep terrain with heavy brush. With no wind but high temperatures to aid the fire, firefighters immediately mounted an aggressive attack on the fire by utilizing a progressive hose lay operation along the flanks. With the aid of water dropping helicopters and the work of hand crews from the Los Angeles County Fire Department it took firefighters only 30 minutes to call a knockdown. The fire had advanced, however, no structures were threatened and no evacuations were necessary in the area.

The fire was contained to the area of origin and the cause has been listed as undetermined by the Arson investigator on scene. There were no reported injuries to firefighters or civilians at the time of this report. Incident duration was 8 hours and 46 minutes.

As a reminder, with high fire danger conditions and the combination of record low fuel moisture levels and historic low rainfall amounts, the Glendale Fire Department is reminding residents to assist with brush fire weed abatement measures. Brush clearance from structures is required to be 100’ providing a defensible space for protection of structures during a wildfire. If you have further questions regarding brush weed abatement or would like to schedule a neighborhood visit by the Glendale Fire Department, please call 818/548-6402 or visit us at www.glendalefire.org.

GFD PIO Tom Propst told me this morning they suspect it may have been caused by vehicle exhaust -- a couple of cars were in the area, but nothing conclusive.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 9:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Arraignment for Alan Freibaum -- the "Irreconciliable Differnces Bandit" -- has been postponed until July 13 in Burbank Superior Court. The 55-year-old alleged made off with more than $44,000 in Southland bank robbery spree between December 2006 and until his June this year. He apparently began knocking down banks because he was going through a divorce and needed money. Victims include four Citibank branches in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Glendale and Burbank, two Wells Fargo branches in Glendale and Encion and others.

He's charged with 25 counts of robbery, and was being held in lieu of on $2 million bail.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 4:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Some results from this year's California English Language Development Test (CELDT). Students are graded as beginning, early intermediate, intermediate, early advanced and advanced. The last means the student is deemed proficient in English.

At Glendale Unified School District, 2,829 English learners, or 46 percent of 6,198 students tested, were rated early advanced proficiency or better. Of that, 807 received the top ranking of advanced. Last year, 61 percent of the 6,815 English learners GUSD tested earned a passing grade. See complete GUSD results here.

Burbank Unified School District tested 1,828 English learners, of which 43 percent, were deemed early advanced or better. Among them 133 students were rated advanced. About 65 percent of the 2,047 students tested passed the exam last year. See complete BUSD results here.

*Update 3:17 p.m. -- GUSD's Director of Assessment and Evaluation Terry Dutton said doing a year-to-year comparison of the numbers doesn't really show what's happening, since English learners who are deem proficient don't have to take the test anymore. Overall, the English language learner population here is shrinking, as overall enrollment declines and students master the language. Also, district is seeing fewer immigrants who do not speak a word of English -- most have some prior knowledge.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

The City of Glendale is working on a license system for tobacco sellers doing business here as a tool to prevent underage smoking. City officials are holding a meeting tonight to take-in public comments -- Perkins Building Community Room, 141 N. Glendale Ave., Room 118. Call Noreen Benjaminsen at (818) 548-2125 for more details.

Burbank already launched a permiting system for retailers of cancer sticks within their borders last month. It costs stores $200 a year.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Finally, some news...

• The Glendale City Council approved a trash fee hike -- an extra $1.11 for residents to offset fuel costs. It's a 7 percent increase to $16.95 from $15.85. News Press

• The Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission is looking at potential ethnic tensions between Armenian and Latino students at Glendale High, after a student brawl last month. Some attributed inter-group tensions as a cause of the fight, though police disagreed. News Press
  Earlier: Law and order in Glendale

• For you entertainment techies -- Joost threw a party for Hollywood execs in North Hollywood, though this tech columnist thought it closer to Burbank than Tinseltown.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 9:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Some dude boogie-ing down at Glendale High School, set to Rick James -- is this where your tax dollars are going?

Glendale's filipino community celebrates The Philippines' June 12 Independence Day (from the Spaniards -- not the Americans) with song and dance at the Glendale Library auditorium. The show's organized by FABAG -- the Filipino American Business Association of Glendale.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 9:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

From Glendale Fire Department --

Fire Chief Orders Flags to Fly at Half-Staff in Honor of Fallen Firefighters

(Glendale, CA) The City of Glendale and members of the Glendale Fire Department grieve for the fallen members of the fire family and their departments during this past week. In memory of fallen members from the Charleston, SC and Pasadena, CA Fire Departments, we hold the victims in our hearts, lift them up, and comfort those who are suffering.

As a mark of respect for our fallen fire family members and in accordance with City of Glendale policy, under direction from City Manager Jim Starbird and Fire Chief Chris Gray, City of Glendale Fire Stations will display the American Flag and City of Glendale Flags at half-staff in honor of our fire family loss. Flags at City of Glendale Fire Stations will be displayed at half-staff until sunset Tuesday, June 26, 2007 at which time they will be returned to the normal position.

Pasadena Fire Department lost two members in a small plane crash over the Sea of Cortez last Thursday. They were on vacation; Nine firefighters from Charleston were killed when the roof collapsed in a burning furniture store Monday night.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 9:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads...

• A Glendale motel clerk was bind and gagged in an early Monday robbery, according to police, and the perb got away with $250. News Press

• The Leader checks out helicopter traffic patrols police are operating over Burbank and Glendale.

• Burbank is now contemplating replacing the cancelled Fourth of July fireworks show at the Starlight Bowl with a LASER show! City leaders cancelled the event last month due to high brush fire danger. LASER is an acronym -- light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 8:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Here's a look at Baskin-Robbins, which has been trying to shed its old, linoleum-ecnrested image for something more hip in order to compete in a crowded marketplace. Boston Globe has the story, though I wrote about this about two years ago when they opened one of their first new concept stores with the new logo in Stevenson Ranch. It reminded me of Starbucks, but brighter.

Local historians will recall those 31 flavors started life in Glendale in about 1945. It's now owned by the company that owns Dunkin' Donuts back east, though it still operates an ice cream test lab out in Burbank, I believe. Ah, here's a 2003 Time magazine story with a peek inside the lab.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

A blood drive for Patrica Agahaian is scheduled at Glendale Memorial Hospital on Wednesday, June 20 from 5 p.m.- 8 p.m. Patrick, a 4th grader at Verdugo Woodlands Elementary School, was recently diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia and started chemotherapy at the UCLA Medical Center. Patrick's mother is Juanita Shahijanian, Teacher Specialist at Jefferson Elementary.

Patrick will most likely need a bone marrow transplant, but couldn't find a donor match through his immediate family. If you want to be a potential donor and take the simple blood test, here are the details:

Glendale Memorial Hospital Auditorium
1420 S. Central Ave
Glendale, CA 91204
(818) 243-5515

Contact Liana @ (818) 429-4688 for more information.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Grand View Memorial Park has seen better days, as these vintage cards from valleynews.com blogger Lisa Burks show...

Check out the rest here.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 8:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Today's theme: Gluttony...

• An Washington-based pizza franchise is moving into Burbank and other locales in Daily News-land (that being Simi Valley, Stevenson Ranch and Valencia), according to CurbedLA. Never had a Garlic Jim's pie, but if anyone out there has and cares to share, leave a comment below!

• Meanwhile, Daily News restaurant critic Larry Lipson stops by the year-old Porto's Burbank. Excerpt:

  Last year, Porto's came to neighboring Burbank's Magnolia Park and took off right away. It's a mega hit. Tasty, refreshing, quickly served fare at very reasonable prices. And no tips.

  What originally was primarily a bakery where there were a few tables available for a pastry nosh and a cup of coffee had turned into a hugely successful, quasi-self-service cafe.

  See the rest of the review here.

  Also, Sharon Kaplan over at our reawakened Table Talk food blog praises Porto's potato ball!

• Don't forget to check out our link to Chowhound's good eats in Burbank/Glendale thread to our right...
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) |

The Glendale City Council will take another look at the Grand View Memorial Park situation June 19 -- pushed back from yesterday. The last city-sanctioned visiting hours are this Sunday.

Update 5:28 p.m. -- It seems the City Council has pushed back Grand View yet again, this time to June 26. Their agendas have been packed with budget items, and this one could include some serious debate. valleynews.com's Lisa Burks has a write-up.

Earlier:
Grand View Reopening Proposal on the Table
The View from Grand View

Posted by Eugene Tong at 9:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

In other union vs. management action, the Glendale Teachers Association is mounting a rally at Brand and Wilson today at about 4 p.m. to draw attention to their contract talks stalemate with Glendale Unified. A state-appointed mediator is involved right now, and both sides are doing a numbers check.

The dispute is over the raise -- the union representing 1,400 teachers, counselors and other certificated staff are making a hard push to make up for raises they had forego in past years, while the district, which had a good budget year with an extra $12 million from Sacramento, wants to save in anticipation of declining revenues due an enrollment drop. Another meeting is scheduled June 30.

Update 7:45 p.m. -- According to GTA president Allen Freemon, about 400 of the floursecent green tee shirt-wearing union members rallied on at Wilson and Broadway this afternnoon, though their message went from demanding GUSD return to the negotiating table to let's make a deal.

Freemon told me the district, which retreated into fact-finding two weeks ago to review the numbers, called him earlier today to say they're ready to go back to the table, and they've set a June 21 meeting to work things out.

Here's what's on the table: The union is still looking for a double-digit percentage raise, but GUSD surprised them at their May meeting with a two-year proposal -- 6.1 percent for the 2006-07 school year, then another 2.6 percent for 2007-08. It's closer than where both sides were at the start of last school year, with the union proposing 12.6 percent and the GUSD countering with 5 percent. But still not quite enough...

"I think there's room to compromise on a two year deal and we want to reach a settlement," Freemon said. " We're willing to work together to make something that's fair and equitable happen."

If they go for the two-year solution, that could postpone the union's opening talks for a new three-year contract, also slated to begin in the new school year.

Here's GUSD's GTA's release from earlier...

Continue reading "Glendale Teachers to Rally for Contract" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Another year, another anniversary for Damon's the venerable bamboo-and-palm frond tiki steakhouse on Brand. For it's 70th today, they're doing a fundraiser for Glendale Healthy Kids. The $20 cover gets you in on a celebration of meat and protein at 1937 prices -- that's $1.10 for a New York, $1 for a Filet Mignon. See the menu here.

Party begins at 4 p.m.

Yelp.com's reviews and Citysearch's entry.

How TIki is Damon's? Ask Critiki!

Keep reading for the release...

Continue reading "Damon's Spices 70th Bash with 1937 Prices" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

As if working to save Hollywood from runaway production and piracy wasn't enough, Assemblyman Paul Krekorian has brought some acting muscle to the issue of health care. Here's the release:

Assemblymember Paul Krekorian, Hollywood Stars and Local Activists Join In Demanding ‘Healthcare For All’

GLENDALE, CA– Assemblymember Paul Krekorian (D-Burbank) will join actors Yvette Freeman (Nurse Haleh Adams on ER), Kirkwood Smith (That 70’s Show) and John Harnagel (formerly in Desperate Housewives), along with activists from the Service Employee International Union and League of Women Voters, to discuss California’s healthcare crisis this Saturday afternoon in Glendale.

The gathering will feature personal stories of concerned local citizens, a brief video program and comments from Assemblymember Krekorian regarding the landmark healthcare reform proposals passed by both the Assembly and Senate on Thursday.

“More than six million Californians lack any health coverage at all, and millions more are underinsured. That is a crisis by any definition, and we need to get serious about solving it,” said Assemblymember Krekorian. “Yesterday we took a bold step by passing a sweeping proposal to ensure that all of California’s children will have the health care they need, and to substantially reduce the number of adult uninsured in our state. But we still have so much more to do. Our leaders of the past wiped out poverty among the elderly through the Social Security program, and they ensured comprehensive quality health care for seniors through Medicare. Certainly we can have similar vision and courage in solving the healthcare crisis for all Californians.”

WHAT: It’s our Healthcare!

WHEN: 1:00 p.m., Saturday, June 9th

WHERE: 326 Cumberland Road, Glendale, CA

Posted by Eugene Tong at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

valleynews.com's Grand View Memorial Park expert Lisa Burks' latest scoop is that Tom Trimble, estate executor and brother of the facility's late majority owner Marsha Howard, has proposed a plan that could re-open the shuttered cemetery on a full-time basis.

Details of the proposal, which involves pooling all of the cemetery's current and expected revenue streams, were included in a letter sent to the City of Glendale earlier this week. Here are the letter's contents, according a post by Betty Haskell, Trimble's fiance, at this Yahoo Group for Grand View Families.

Continue reading "Grand View Reopening Proposal on the Table" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Glendale City Clerk Ardy Kassakhian wants to pick your brain about the conduct of the recent municipal elections. If you have something to say, stop by the Glendale Police Department's Community Room Wednesday night. Come one, come all!

Me? I expect absentee returns by 7:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m. on election night, and a good third of the precincts counted by 9:30 p.m. I got a couple screaming editors to mellow, y'know...

The City Clerk of Glendale is holding a public meeting to discuss the last city election and seek input from the public about ways to improve the municipal electoral process. Community members are invited and encouraged to share thoughts and ideas at a “Town Hall” meeting and express how they think the City can improve its municipal elections.

WHO: Glendale City Clerk

WHAT: Election Process Town Hall

WHEN: Wednesday, June 6 6:30 – 8:30 PM

WHERE: Glendale Police Community Room
131 North Isabel Street

CONTACT: 818-548-4000 www.ci.glendale.ca.us/city-clerk

Posted by Eugene Tong at 4:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

It's bound to happen sooner or later -- five banks in four days and you're just asking to get caught...

GLENDALE - The suspected "Irreconcilable Differences" bandit, suspected in 16 bank robberies, was arrested today after trying to hold up a Wells Fargo Bank branch, officials said.

The unidentified suspect, who matches the description of the robber in 16 other Southland bank heists since December, was nabbed in the parking lot of a McDonald's restaurant near the scene of today's robbery, said Laura Eimiller of the FBI.

The "Irreconcilable Differences Bandit" robbed the Newport Beach branch of California National Bank on Monday, two days after holding up a Citibank branch in Santa Barbara, according to the FBI.

He also tried to rob a Burbank bank Friday, but did not receive any cash from the teller. He robbed another bank in Burbank, then a bank in Glendale later that day, escaping with an undisclosed amount of cash.

In addition to the bank robberies, he is also suspected in a street robbery in Beverly Hills.

He got his nickname from his first bank robbery on Dec. 22 in Beverly Hills, when he told a teller he was going through a divorce and needed help wiring money, requesting that the transfer be done in such a way that his estranged wife's attorney would not learn of it.

More at Daily News.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

The feds have their eye on this local bandit, who brazenly robbed three banks this afternoon. Daily News

A serial bank robber known as the Irreconcilable Differences Bandit struck again today at three banks in Burbank and Glendale, the FBI reported.

The unidentified white man alleged to have committed 14 bank robberies since December attempted to rob a Bank of America at 142 E. Olive Ave. just after 1 p.m., but was unsuccessful.

Soon after, he stuck up two Citybank offices in Burbank and Glendale, at 360 Magnolia Blvd. and 700 N. Brand Ave., respectively, and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash, according to the FBI.

During the Glendale holdup, he reportedly apologized to a teller several times for having to rob the bank.

Continue reading "Irreconcilable Differences Bandit Strikes Two Banks" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

via Glendale Unified School District:

Mark Ouweleen has recently been selected to represent Glendale Unified School District as our Teacher of the Year and to participate in the Los Angeles County Office of Education competition.

The Los Angeles County Office of Education has served as the sponsoring organization of the Los Angeles County Teachers of the Year Program -- an honors competition and awards luncheon that spotlights excellence in public education. The program is the largest in the state and is part of the California and National Teacher of the Year programs.

The following points summarize his selection:

Mark has been teaching at Columbus Elementary School since January 27, 1994. The first year of his career Mark was described as being an enthusiastic and charismatic teacher. This has not changed in the 12 years since he began teaching.

Continue reading "Mark Ouweleen Selected as Glendale Teacher of the Year" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Curbed LA is backing off from their earlier post that the Glendale Home Depot will be closing to make way for a residential/retail mixed-use development.

According to the latest, a City of Glendale planner told one of their tipsters no such thing is in the works for the San Fernando Road property. However, they did say Lowe's would be building a store at the old Levitz site on 5375 W. San Fernando Road.

I would check for myself, but I'm technically still on vacation...

Posted by Eugene Tong at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

valleynews.com stalwart and Grand View Memorial Park blogger Lisa Burks has a pair of posts -- one looking at times past, the other at an uncertain future...

• First up, the Glendale City Council will review the Grand View situation at its June 12 meeting, as mentioned in her valleynews post about the cemetery's increasingly dry conditions.

  The National Weather Service reports that the Los Angeles area has had less than four inches of rain this season, nearly a foot below normal precipitation levels, making this the driest year in history since it began record-keeping in 1877.

  Nowhere in Glendale is that more evident than on the increasingly arid grounds of Grand View Memorial Park, which hasn't been watered in nearly a year.

  Most of the grass is now dead and picker-filled, many of the flowering bushes are shriveling and large palm tree branches are dropping to the ground making it increasingly difficult to safely walk to grave markers, particularly in Section M.

• Though the cemetery was closed for Memorial Day for the first time in 122 years, Burks takes a look back at how locals commemorate servicemen and women in times long past:

  The earliest records of Memorial Day ceremonies held at Grand View that I've found date back to the 1920s, in old news clippings from The Glendale Evening News housed at the Glendale Central Public Library's special collections room.

  In 1924, when Grand View was advertised as an American Legion Cemetery and several months before construction began on the West Mausoleum, 75 Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Civil War veterans' graves were decorated on Memorial Day morning under the direction of two men from the GAR Gen. N. P. Banks' post: Past Commander T. M. Barrett and Comrade R. N. Taylor, post officer of the day.

  Graves of 112 heroes from all wars, including the Spanish-American War, were decorated on Memorial Day in 1926 with "California's most beautiful flowers" during "impressive services" sponsored by both the GAR's Banks' post and the Burbank American Legion, with the Banks post's chaplain, Rev. Charles R. Norton, officiating the "ritualistic service."

  It was reported that people from cities throughout the San Fernando Valley attended the elaborate event to assist decorating the graves with garlands of flowers in addition to the floral arrangements placed by the Memorial Day committee.

  
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 8:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

• Curbed LA is reporting the Glendale Home Depot on San Frenando Road is closing to make way for a mixed-used residental/retail development. It's a use made possible by a 2004 rezoning of the area.

• Meanwhile, a bit of hillside development news...

  Gangi Development Unveils ‘Last’ of Area’s Hillside View Lots in Whitting Woods Area of Glendale, CA --Surrounding Area Preserved

  GLENDALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With new hillside view residential opportunities in close-in Los Angeles areas virtually gone in the wake of community and environmental sensitivities, Gangi Development Company has unveiled two estate-sized lots in the rustic Whitting Woods neighborhood of Glendale, CA that it terms “the last dream sites in the area” and which assure preserving surrounding hillsides.
  

Continue reading "Of Homes and Depots" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 8:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Officially-sanctioned news from Glendale Unified's Linda Junge...

Continue reading "This Week in GUSD Happenings" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 7:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Hey, it counts as an update...

Continue reading "This Week in Government Press Releases" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 7:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

• Police are saying today a series of fights that broke out between two groups of students at Glendale High Wednesday was not due to Armenian vs. Latino tensions.

  A News Press story this morning quoted a couple students who suspect it could be a cause for the melees between two groups of friends, the first of which began at about 12:30 p.m. -- lunch time. Several more fights broke out throughout the day that students had to be dismissed in groups. And this all happened during the Every 15 Minutes DUI prevention program, with several GPD officers on campus.

  "There is no evidence in yesterday's incidents that says it's racially motivated," Glendale Police spokesman John Balian told me. "It was a 'What're you looking at?' -- that type of thing." In fact, another fight happened today after school on the soccer field, he said. No one was hurt.

  As for ethnic tensions, Balian said: "It's been quiet for a long time."

  Tensions between the two groups erupted in 2000, when Latino Hoover High student Raul Aguirre was stabbed to death when he was caught in a fight between rival gang members. Three charged in his murder were Armenian Americans.

  I'm just waiting for the YouTube video to see for myself.

• Meanwhile, Jason Kandel blogs about Glendale's pay-to-stay jail. It's a Crime.
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 8:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

So Unite Here Local 11, that union shop trying to organize Glendale Hilton workers, was all set this morning to register their displeasure at a meeting of the state Lottery Commission at Pasadena City Hall, but they ended up handing them kudos instead.

The campaign had intended to pressure the Lottery to honor their boycott and stop putting up out-of-town contestants appearing on The Big Spin, which is shot at KCET studios in Hollywood. Their leverage -- an allegation that Lottery Director of Broadcasting Richard Leeson, who oversees hotel contracting for the show, is receiving kickbacks from the Hilton in the from of "Hilton Honors" points -- more than 96,800 points. According to their relesae:

This is more than enough for a free night at the Grand Wailea Resort in Hawaii, two nights at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, three nights at the Glendale Hilton, or up to twelve nights at other Hilton hotels.

Despite having been notified of these kickbacks, the Lottery Commissioners continue to allow their staff to do business with the Glendale Hilton in violation of the workers' boycott. On May 24, hotel workers and other concerned members of the public will call on the Commissioners to honor the boycott and answer for this unseemly use of public funds.

They were all set to rock, until Unite Here's Ty Hudson said he received a phone call Wednesday morning from a Lottery attorney saying the state agency has ended its contract with the Hilton, and is conducting an investigation. "It's a victory for us," Hudson told me today.

A call from a Lottery spokesman confirmed they had cancelled their Hilton contract yesterday for a cause, but it wasn't for the union, whose campaign they are impartial to. He declined to give further information, and would not say whether an investigation is being carried out or if it has anything to do with the union's allegations against Leeson, as they don't comment on personnel or matters that could involve litigation.

Follow the link to see the union's May 22 release...

Continue reading "What Frequent Stay Points Get You at the Glendale Hilton" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

All aboard...

• Glendale story of the day -- I visited EnVironmental Motors, one of the Valley's only car dealers dedicated to electric cars, scooters and other green alternative transports. Taryn Sokolow, the head of the venture, is the daughter of Colonial Honda owner Kent Sokolow, and she's motivated by Al Gore's movie to help drivers reduce their carbon footprint..

  Check out some ECARS photos to the right, under our new PHOTO GALLERY feature. Then watch video of the test drive below.

• In other transport news, the travel site Jaunted.com liveblogged the launch of Skybus -- AKA that airline that takes you to Columbus from Burbank for $10 a leg. Loads of photos and video from inside the cabin on this trip from Portsmouth , NH to Columbus, Ohio. Marvel at the new plane smell and the muscular calfs of flight attendants!

• Meanwhile, the Glendale City Council have disembarked from their trip to the International Council of Shopping Centers convention in Vegas. News Press
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 6:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Nine local high school seniors and Glendale Community College students were awarded a total $6,000 in scholarships from the Glendale Latino Association at a special fete this morning. From the release:

Almost all of the 2007 recipients are the first in their families to attend college. Many have beaten incredible odds. Their successes are remarkable compared to their counterparts nationwide. According to a June 2003 report issued by the U.S. Census Bureau, more than two in five Hispanics aged 25 and older have not graduated from high school. Only 57% have earned their high school diplomas and the percentage of those earning a Bachelor’s degree is even more staggering at 11.1%.

“Unfortunately, Latino students are facing so many challenges today in pursuit of higher education… Learning the process as they go along, not having the right guidance, or not having the means to pay for the astronomical college tuition fees and costs of books,” stated GLA President, Martha Rivera. “Their stories mirror that of many of the association’s Latino professionals. Inspired and remembering their own struggles, the members have pulled together to give back and help out the next generation.”

The 2007 scholarship recipients are: Christiane Gomez and Desiree Jerez of Crescenta Valley High School, Luz Ramirez, Norma Rojas and Erick Santos of Glendale Community College, Yared-Montalvo-Montano of Glendale High School, Aksana Guzman of Holy Family High School, and Alejandro Hernandez and Jessica Olivas of Hoover High School.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) |

With the blog a one-man show now, posts may not be as frequent as I would like given the demands of my day job. Let's see how it works out...

• Record high gas prices thoughout California. Daily News Here's the News Press' Glendale-centric version.

• If driving's too expensive, try flying! Skybus, that Columbus, Ohio-based startup airline with the $10 seats, is taking off the tarmac this morning with flights bound for Burbank's Bob Hope Airport, Kansas City, Mo., and Portsmouth, NH. All flights include a stop in Columbus, which means it's not a bad deal if you're flying west to east. WBNS-10 Central Ohio

• Meanwhile, expect airline delays this summer. Times

• Local Chromium 6 clean-up hinges on a $2 million grant application with the state Department of Health Services. News Press

• New Daily News Crime blog. It's a crime

• City of Burbank has issued its first tobacco sales license. Amayak Tarkhanyan, owner of "A to Z Service Station," 2005 N. Glenoaks Blvd. was the first person to sign-up, according to a city release. The City Council unanimously approved the ordinance in March 2007, which requires all Burbank tobacco dealers to comply by July 1.

  The license costs $200 a year with a $35 application fee, and officials believe it would assist in preventing children under 18 from buying smokes. If a retailer is caught selling tobacco products to under-aged children, then this can lead to either a suspension or revocation of this newly established license which grants the privilege of selling tobacco products. Call the Burbank License and Code Service Division at (818) 238-5280 for more info.
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

A federal study about the health affects of ingesting chromium 6 found that high doses of the stuff in drinking water causes cancer in lab rodents, this according to a release from U.S. Rep Adam Schiff.

We here in Glendale have some of that stuff in a couple of groundwater wells, and city officials and the EPA have been working up a plan -- currently in testing phase -- to remove the industrial chemical.

An excerpt from my Oct. 13, 2006 story on the topic:

...
Hexavalent chromium -- more commonly known as chromium 6 -- is a metal-finishing chemical that gained public attention in the Academy Award-winning film ``Erin Brokovich.'' The environmental crusader helped win a landmark settlement for residents of Hinckley who were sickened by chromium 6 contamination in the town's water supply.

The chemical is a legacy of the defense and aviation industries that dotted Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley since the 1940s.

The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board is still trying to determine the source of the local contamination, which also affects wells in North Hollywood and Burbank.

The contaminant appears in high concentrations at three of eight alluvial wells managed by Glendale Water & Power -- between 35 to 54 parts per billion as of July. One part per billion is about a drop of ink in an Olympic-size swimming pool.
...
State law allows 50 ppb of the chemical in drinking water, with federal standards at 100 parts per billion. The Glendale City Council wants to further reduce that to 5 parts per billion.

Us folks here East of the 5 is living on Arrowhead deliveries. Click the following link to read Schiff's release:

Continue reading "What's in your water?" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 3:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

LA River explorer Jay Babcock checks out the view below the 2 Freeway in the Glendale Narrows . Check out his blog Nature Trumps. He also edits and publishes Arthur.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Top o' the morning...

• Burbank city revenue for 2007-08 is slated to grow 9 percent, they're also spending more due tohigher staff and benefits costs. Leader

• Burbank Unified School District is installing a $50,000 emergency phone notification system to reach about 11,000 households. Leader

• Blame the horses? A Hampton Inn still under construction on Glenoaks Blvd. near Burbank Airport "has had a sign up saying 'coming, Fall, 2006' for ages." It makes to the list of "What's that gonna be?" projects at Curbed LA.

• Lisa Burks wonders what happened to the late Grand View Memorial Park owner Marsha Howard's dogs at valleynews.com

  

  Have you seen Meeka and Ivory?

  These two gentle American Eskimo dogs, left unattended, got out of the Grand View Memorial Park residence last November during the removal of their owner Marsha Howard's body, and they remain missing.

  "Marsha loved animals. Her dogs were her family, her kids," says Betty Haskell, who was Marsha's friend and is currently the fiancé of Marsha's brother, Tom Trimble.

  Then there's Bear, a black Labrador Retriever-Chow mix, who was left locked inside the home that same evening, hiding under Marsha's bed, says Betty. Sadly, Bear was picked up days later after authorities received calls about her barking, taken to the Pasadena Humane Society and eventually destroyed.

  
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

If you're not home watching the Gilmore Girls series finale (as I likely will be), stop by your local City Council meeting! It has its moments, though both the Burbank and Glendale councils seem a lot less exciting with the elections out of the way.

• On the Glendale Council agenda -- new nerve gas antidote kits for first responders, paid for by a Homeland Secuirty grant; new traffic signal at Wilson and Kenwood; a final vote for that proposed at-grade railroad crossing on Flower Street between San Fernando Road and Air Way; more Adams Sqaure mini-park revisions and a no-bid $980,000 contract for a GWP generator overhaul. Meeting starts 6 p.m. at City Hall, 613 E. Broadway.

• Meanwhile, Burbank offers, uh, parking lot resurfacing at Central Library, Northwest Library, Verdugo Park and Foy Park; sidewalk extensions and bike racks! Also a bit of budget study action. Starts 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 275 E. Olive Ave.
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Cha-Cha-Changes...

• Daily News Burbank story of the day from your humble narrator-- GloZell Green has seen Leno as part of the live audience for 177 times -- and counting, and she blogs about it here.

• The News Press follows Friday's lockdown at Toll Middle School, Hoover High and Keppel Elementary with a story on charges filed against the 13-year-old Toll 7th grader who brought the airsoft gun to campus and started the scare. Two other kids were charged for misleading police. Of course, it also milks a Virginia Tech mention.

  I'm more interested in the YouTube videos from the scene that're making their way online. Here's one from outside Hoover High:

  and this one, from the inside...

• And today we bid farewell to Jason Kandel, my partner in crime in the blogosphere, who is now working breaking news-online over at our mothership, dailynews.com. I wouldn't have started this wee blog without his backing, and he kept it interesting with fresh ideas and cool community items when things got too bogged down around here with boring ol' news. Good luck, dude!
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Grand View Memorial Park expert and valleynews.com contributor Lisa Burks' new blog about the situation at the troubled Glendale cemetery is coming together nicely. Grandviewmemorialpark.info

Posted by Eugene Tong at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

GLENDALE - A student who brought an air-soft pistol to school grounds triggered a lockdown at three local schools today after administrators received reports of an armed student on campus, officials said.

Eleanor J. Toll Middle School at 700 Glenwood Road, where the rumor surfaced, entered lockdown mode about 1:45 p.m. after a student reported seeing a handgun on campus.

About 4,500 students were affected as Hoover High School and Mark Keppel Elementary also were secured as a precaution.

Police recovered the model gun from a backpack just after 3 p.m., and officials began releasing students. Police identified the boy as a seventh grader from Toll Middle School, who was being held for questioning.

Brian Crosby, who teaches journalism at Hoover High, was holed up with about 18 students in his classroom as police conducted a room-by-room sweep.

"The door is locked, the lights are off and we're under tables," he said during the lockdown.

Nayiri Nahabedian, a Glendale Unified School District board member, praised the vigilance of the student who made the original report to school officials.

"We are very fortunate that one of our students acted responsibly and notified an adult when they saw something suspicious," she said. "Everything happened the way it was supposed to."

Posted by Eugene Tong at 4:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Fruit topping with your museli...

• The Armenian National Committee of America got some love from Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa after the mayor received a package from the Turkish Consul General of Los Angeles, reports Asbarez.

  In the Mayor’s letter, he states that “[T]he Turkish Consul General of Los Angeles recently sent me, as gifts, two books denying the Armenian Genocide. [The Turkish Consul General] also sent a letter protesting my support of House Resolution 106 and my request to Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring the Resolution to a vote as soon as possible.

  “I would like to donate the books to the [ANCA] so that your organization can study them and ensure that any attempts to diminish the gravity of the Armenian Genocide are met with factual retorts."

• Glendale Police honors its finest at an award ceremony. Officer Joe Allen of the vice/narcotics detail was named officer of the year for his work and for mentoring other officers. News Press

• And finally in today's boy band news -- former 'N Sync star Lance Bass turned gas pump attendant in Burbank Thursday morning as Star 98.7's morning intern. He apparently lost a bet when boybandmate Joey Fatone had a mediocre showing.
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

• Atwater Village Newbie posts a great photo of the brush fire in Griffith Park.
  Atwater Village Newbie

• Here's a view of the brush fire from Atwater Village.
  Friends of Atwater Village

• Red flag warnings remain in effect today.
  Daily News

• Ongoing brush fire coverage ... 817 acres burned ...
  Daily News

• Both the Burbank Leader and the Glendale News-Press seemed to be silent on the brush fires, but the News-Press did cover a fire in Glendale that left four people without a home.
  Glendale News-Press

• A registered sex offender is in custody in connection with an assault on a 14-year-old boy.
  News-Press

• The newly reorganized Burbank City Council talks traffic, development, and the environment at a recent meeting.
  Burbank Leader

• Grand View Memorial Park will be open for Mother's Day.
  valleynews.com
  

Posted by Jason Kandel at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Good morning ...

• Eugene Tong follows up on the murder-suicide in Burbank.
  Daily News

• An apartment complex in Montrose that has been trying to evict tenants is cited for safety violations by the Glendale Fire Department.
  Glendale News-Press

• Glendale Community College does a follow-up story on the march on the Turkish Embassy two weeks ago to push that country's government to recognize the Armenian genocide.
  El Vaquero

• Grand View Memorial Park cemetery in Glendale may be open on Mother's Day this Sunday, Lisa Burks writes at valleynews.com.

• Atwater Village Newbie immortalizes Glendale in song.
  Atwater Village Newbie

• Atwater Village News posts an article from the Griffith Park News in 1936 about a school open house that featured a musical accompaniment and a reasonably priced spaghetti dinner.
  Atwater Village News blog
  

Posted by Jason Kandel at 8:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Both Burbank and Glendale police are setting up DUI checkpoints just time for the annual bacchic revelry of Cinco de Mayo, a celebration for every American's inner Mexican.

BPD is keeping mum about the location and duration. GPD also isn't talking, though it'll run betweem 7:30 p.m.- 1:30 p.m. operation. Drive safe.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Westfield said it would duke it out in court with high-profile Los Angeles developer Rick Caruso to try to prevent his latest 830,000-square-foot mall project from going forward in Arcadia, the Pasadena Star-News reports. The Australian-based Westfield plans to use the California Environmental Quality Act within the next couple of weeks or so, saying Caruso's The Shops at Santa Anita is "fatally flawed" and reflective of "a political process where the City of Arcadia's haste and desire to approve the project outweighed proper and objective consideration of critical issues and long-term impacts." Arcadia Assistant City Manager Don Penman, whose city recently approved the Caruso project, says everything was done properly, according to the required Environmental Impact Report. Caruso said Westfield is simply trying to "stop competition" and is abusing the court system. Readers recall that Caruso is the developer behind Glendale's Americana at Brand, slated to open in 2008. Caruso's best-known project is The Grove.

Posted by Jason Kandel at 3:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Lisa Burks, Burbank resident, history buff, and resident gravehunter for valleynews.com, decries the loss of yet another historic L.A. home, as a developer has requested to bulldoze an old Craftsman in Montrose, one of the city's first homes, to make way for an apartment complex.
Lisa Burks Online

Posted by Jason Kandel at 4:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

News here!

• A builder wants to bring down an old Craftsman house to build five apartments on a lot zoned only for two.
  Glendale News-Press
  
• A dog in La Crescenta has died after suffering kidney failure from the recent nationwide pet food contamination recall.
  Crescenta Valley Sun
  
• Glendale City Council hears concerns of residents about a mini-park and changes its plans.
  Glendale News-Press
  
• Los Angeles Councilman Eric Garcetti is creating a River Management & Maintenance Task Force made up of an alphabet soup of city and county agencies to clean up everything from vandalism to the environment in and along the L.A. River.
  Atwater Village News - blog
  
• Is Starbucks coming to Atwater Village soon? Soon is a relative term.
  Atwater Village Newbie
  

Posted by Jason Kandel at 8:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Lisa Burks writes at valleynews.com that former Glendale Mayor Bob Garcin had the ashes of his father and stepmother removed from the beleaguered Grand View Memorial Park. Garcin gave Burks access to the disinterment yesterday of Edwin and Lucille Garcin as long as she followed one court-imposed rule -- no photos.

Garcin hopes his actions prompt other families of loved ones buried at the cemetery, which has been under state investigation for over a year for having misplaced remains and other financial issues.

Burks retraces her footsteps to the Garden of Prayer, outside the North Mausoleum, where Garcin's parents were laid to rest in 1954 and 1966.

She writes ...

Two Eternal Hills groundsmen, Leo and Alfredo, began the process by prying Edwin and Lucille's markers off the wall with shovels. They came off with relative ease and set to the side. A bit of cement remained on each, which the guys later chipped off before the stones were placed in the trunk of Bob's car.

No formal ceremony was planned, so Leo and Alfredo immediately began the job of gingerly digging out relatively narrow space of dirt between the inner and outer retaining walls with narrow shovels, first above Edwin's spot.

Approximately 20 minutes later, the top of a small concrete vault was reached. Next came the process of excavating the earth around the vault, with very little wiggle room in which to work, maybe an inch or so on any side. The procedure took longer than usual due to having to work within such a small space, Leo told me.

Everyone's mood was somber and respectful.

At times, Bob wept.

Read the rest here.

Posted by Jason Kandel at 3:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Viva la (blank) revolucion!

• It's May Day, a day now commemorated by student activists looking to make a statement about immigration by taking to the streets -- will we see any "La Gran Marcha Deux" activity in Burb-Dale?

• The News Press has this report on last nights Glendale Beeline community meeting about proposed new services.

• Burbank blogger Dan Evans found this cool craigslist ad...
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Happy reading ...

• Glendale Redevelopment Agency meets to vote on a 100-unit condo complex that could be a part of the Americana at Brand project. Glendale News-Press

• Glendale's Board of Education will consider hiking before and after school care fees at a meeting tonight. News-Press

• Burbank Councilmembers elect Gary Bric and Anja Reinke will be sworn in at Tuesday's City Council meeting. Burbank Leader

• Heat over comments about the Armenian Relief Society ... Leader
  

Posted by Jason Kandel at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

City Hall transport staffers want to hear from you about proposed changes to the Glendale Beeline bus system. Among the route changes is the "Buzz" -- a runabout connecting the Metrolink station and Stocker by way of Brand and Central -- Glendale's answer to Downtown LA's DASH, scheduled to run during peak times. Download a meeting flyer and the proposed route map here.

Public meeting begins tonight at 6 p.m. at City Hall council chambers.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 5:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

A couple more items from the weekend:

• Relive Burbank on Parade at this Daily News Photo Gallery.

• My weekend preview of the new Glendale Adventist Medical Center tower includes a video tour -- take a stroll with hospital COO Warren Tetz.
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Grand View Memorial Park blogger Lisa Burks talks to Bob Garcin, who served on the City Council from 1975 to 1983, about disintering his father and stepmother from the troubled cemetery. Edwin Thomas Garcin died on May 20, 1954 and Lucille Norman Garcin followed Jan. 2, 1966.

"I'm thankful that they are in urns and not caskets," Garcin said. "I don't know if I'd be doing a disinterment if it was a casket. I don't think I could go through that."

More here at valleynews.com.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

From Glendale City Hall this afternoon:

Glendale City Manager Jim Starbird announced today that Dan Waters will serve as interim Director of Glendale Water and Power. Waters will replace outgoing Director Ignacio Troncoso who announced last month that he is retiring. Waters, 72, is scheduled to begin working April 30.

This is the second time Waters has served as interim Director of GWP. He replaced former Director Bernie Palk in September 2000 and remained with the City until Troncoso was appointed in April 2001. Starbird says Waters brings extensive experience to the position. “Dan is well respected by those who work in the industry,” says Starbird. “We’re fortunate to have someone of his caliber serving as our interim Director.”

Waters has an extensive background in the area of water and power. He worked for the LA Department of Water and Power from 1962-1994 including four years as General Manager and Chief Engineer. Waters also served as Executive Director of the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) from 1994-2000. He was also hired in 2001 by the cities of Glendale, Burbank and Pasadena to serve as Project Manager for a series of electric generating units in partnership with the State of California.

Waters has a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of California Los Angeles.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 5:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Larry Mantle of KPCC's Airtalk discussed the issue this morning with guest Harut Sassounian, publisher of the California Courier, who broke the story, reported earlier by LA Observed.

And here's another take on the whole affair from USA Armenian Life Magazine's Appo Jabarian -- scheduled to be published in Friday's edition. Excerpts:

In recent years, the Los Angeles Times officially adopted a journalistically accurate editorial policy regarding the veracity of the Armenian Genocide. Readers welcomed Times’ highly commendable editorial position. In fact, the Times illustrated how much it values its professional integrity. Over the next few years, the common expectation that Times will no longer question the veracity of the genocide, metamorphosed into a sigh of relief. But alas, that sigh of relief turned out to be a false sense of security when a very disturbing development emerged only recently.

Continue reading "More on the Times-Arax-Armenian Genocide Flap" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 3:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Running to standstill...

• A little Adam Schiff news -- activity has picked up a bit at the congressman's new blog. A few interesting items, including his recent meeting with LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and his trip a couple weeks ago to Pakistan.

• Is this for real? A new airline out of Ohio called Skybus is offering $10-a-leg flights from Burbank's Bob Hope Airport to its hub in Columbus, Ohio. In fact, that the only place you can fly to (and back). Once you're there, don't forget to visit the Jack Nicklaus Museum!

• Tomorrow in Glendale is Take Your Kids to Work Day -- from the City Hall release:

  The City of Glendale will hold its 11th Annual Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. This program will also provide an opportunity for daughters/sons to gain a deeper understanding of employee’s role and contribution to the City of Glendale.

  At 9:30 am there will be a ceremony and presentation in the Council Chambers (City Hall) with Mayor Ara Najarian. After the ceremony, participants will be invited to the parking lot immediately behind City Hall where the kids will have an opportunity to interact with representatives from various departments, and learn about the challenging work they perform.

• An update on the development fight brewing in the Verdugo Hills Golf Course. News Press

• The Leader writes-up nurses and hospital staff picket at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. The have been working without a contract since March 31.

• KROQ's "Doc on the ROQ," Boyd Britton took time yesterday to remind us of another geoncide in this email:

  Not to detract in any way from the Armenian horror, but if you dig deep enough you'll find the FIRST of the 20th century genocides was the attempt to exterminate the Herero tribe by Von Trotha in German Southwest Africa (now Namibia) in 1904. About 50,000 died, exceeded by later events but just as evil.

  
  
  

  Posted by Eugene Tong at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Here's an extended interview with the 96-year-old Rev. Dulgarian conducted yesterday afternoon. Click here for the Daily News story on the 92nd anniversary of the Armenain Genocide.

The video also is available in a higher-quality stream, along with other genocide remembrance coverage at the Daily News Web site

Update 8:40 p.m. -- Jason interviews local Armenians on remembrance day.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

KPFK is doing special coverage today about the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The station aired a special edition of "Uprising" earlier, and will have another special at 4 p.m., hosted by Serge Tankian, the lead singer of the rock band System of a Down, whose documentary, "Screamers," pushes to have the genocide acknowledged across Europe and the U.S. Our own reporter, Brad Greenberg, wrote earlier today about a conservative Encino synagogue that has begun pushing for Jewish recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

To listen to KPFK's report, click here.

I was informed that the station's audio archives were down earlier, but listeners can download audio from the archives later by clicking here.

Posted by Jason Kandel at 1:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Today, Armenians around the world remember the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian genocide.

• The blood-stained carriage and the smoldering city still seemed fresh to the Rev. Vartan Dulgarian as he recalled personal memories of what many believe was the first genocide of the 20th century, Eugene Tong writes in today's Daily News.

  "The garbage wagon - all the bodies just piled up - the blood was flowing for three days," Dulgarian, 96, said Monday as he recounted memories of a massacre of Armenians in Izmir in 1922. The city on Turkey's Aegean coast, then held by Greeks, was set ablaze by invading Turks.

• A remembrance at Glendale Memorial Hospital ...
  Glendale News-Press

• The Armenian genocide was inspirational to Hitler.
  Daily Kos

• Still can't call it a genocide, though ...
  Chicago Tribune

  More ...
  

Continue reading "Morning Briefing -- April 24, 2007" »

Posted by Jason Kandel at 8:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Granola goodness...

• Sentencing is scheduled this morning for Rafael Yepiz, lead defendant in the federal racketeering case against the Vineland Boys street gang, whose turf includes Burbank. Yepiz was convicted of racketeering, drugs and weapons charges last year, and he could face up to life in prison.

• The January 2005 Glendale Metrolink crash has made freight rail line owners around the nation leery of allowing commuter and light rail trains on their tracks. Rocky Mountain News (Denver)

• More Americana on Brand news -- books and media mega-mart Barnes & Noble has signed a lease to house a store at the Caruso "lifestyle center" slated to open next year. From today's release:

  NEW YORK -- Barnes & Noble, Inc., the world’s largest bookseller, announced it has signed a lease agreement to open a new Barnes & Noble bookstore in Glendale, California, which is in the Los Angeles area. The bookstore, expected to open in April 2008, will be located in The Americana at Brand on Colorado Street between Central Avenue and Brand Boulevard. The day prior to the opening of the new store, the existing Barnes & Noble at 245 North Glendale Avenue in Glendale will close. The new store will stock close to 200,000 book, music, DVD and magazine titles and include a café serving Starbucks coffee.

  Store features include a "giant" newsstand and pay as you go Wi-Fi. Wonder how rival Borders with react, with its two-story store just down the street in the Marketplace...

• On the right, more from local blogger Joe Fein; On the left, it's guns, Wolfowitz and the Superfriends from the Burbank Democratic Club.
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 7:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

• More on Glendale's affinity for former Massachusetts Governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who is Mormon -- a friend who grew up here told me the city apparently has a large population belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Could they be the ones funneling contributions to Romney?

• Could next Wednesday's Glendale City Council meeting promise the return of former Councilman Rafi Manoukian? When Manoukian lost re-election, he also lost his seat as one of the city's three representatives on the nine-member Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority governing Bob Hope Airport. The council can choose to reappoint him to serve until May 2009, which wouldn't be a bad deal since he does have the experience, though council members Dave Weaver and Frank Quintero may also want in (Bob Yousefian already serves on the panel with Lt. Carl Povilaitis from Glendale Police and Ara Najarian is going to be pretty busy as mayor; John Drayman is a freshman...). Watch out!

  Note the meeting is scheduled Wednesday April 25, since April 24 is Armenian Genocide remembrance day.
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 2:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Locke or Hobbes?

• Glendalians for Mitt Romney? -- Lisa Friedman of Daily News' Washington Bureau runs the numbers on the major 2008 presidential contenders and breaks contributions down by local geography:

  An analysis of the records found that close to $1 million has been given since January by donors who identified themselves as living in San Fernando Valley-area communities. And contributors who identified themselves as being from Los Angeles - which could include Valley residents - gave more than $3 million.

  Valley donors gave twice as much to Democrats as to Republicans, with Clinton easily leading the field. But Republicans - particularly former Massachusetts Gov. Romney - still have found pockets of strong support.

  This handy contibutions table shows Romney withdrew more than $58,000 from Glendale donors, followed by Encino and Woodland Hills with about $14,000 each. Glendale's other pick is Illinois Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, who received about $7,997 from area donors.

  Burbankers favored Democrats -- New York Sen. Hillary Clinton led with about $35,000, while Obama trailed with $16,900. But Romney again led the Republican ticket here with $5,700 from donors, followed by Arizona Sen. John McCain with $2,100.

• Glendale Community College teachers finally finished drawn-out salary negotiations -- the 700 Glendale College Guild members will be getting up to a 7.5 percent raise for the current school year. News Press. That leaves Glendale Unified School District and the Glendale Teachers Association still stuck in salary talks -- and with a state mediator involved.

• City of Glendale reminds us a blood drive will be held Sunday, April 22, as Glendale’s Week of Remembrance activities continue. The blood drive will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Saint Mary’s Church, 500 E. Central Avenue. The one day event is being put on in coordination with the American Red Cross. For an appointment call (818) 243-3444.

• The Times noted sub-prime lender WMC Mortgage in Burbank is cutting another 771 jobs.

• Bond rating news! -- Burbank Public Financing Authority's revenue bonds, 2007 series A (Golden State Redevelopment Project). Excerpt:
  

Continue reading "Morning Brief -- April 20, 2007" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 7:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

A couple of items on politics:

• Burbank blogger Joe Fein at Valley of the Shadow ("A man in exile from the Washington Beltway. An artist and policy-maker.") posts another installment of his analysis of the local and state GOP.

• Glendale City Hall's favorite uncle Barry Allen has this preview of this week's Vanguard newsletter:

  City management places Council in a no-win position on Beeline Contract; Vanguard invites Fire Department to open discussion; Unsuccessful Council candidate had undisclosed city contracts; Challenge to City Council...

  To subscribe to Vanguard Weekly News, send an E-mail to
  Vanguard1@charter.net with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. Disclaimer: The views expressed by Vanguard are not necessarily those of Daily News Los Angeles or this here reporter.
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Enjoy your Web surf with a little Raisin Bran ...

• Eugene Tong writes a tale of two cities ... Burbank makes a $9.65 million deal with its schools to open athletic fields to the public. Glendale, on the other hand, might follow Burbank's lead, if its city's bosses can all agree on how to work it out.
  Daily News

• Glendale residents mourn the loss of the Virginia Tech students and family members who suffered in the senseless shootings.
  Glendale News-Press

• Gravehunter Lisa Burks is getting reader mail. One person wants to know how to find a loved one buried at the beleaguered cemetery. She tells him how.
  valleynews.com

• La Crescenta holds its first Crescenta Valley Town Council land-use meeting of the year and the group will mull a 26-unit condo project that would cut into a hill.
  Glendale News-Press

• For those interested in keeping tabs on the work of developer Rick Caruso, the Arcadia City Council just approved his latest development for an 825,000-square foot project, called the Shops at Santa Anita, on a part of the 304-acre Santa Anita Park property. Readers recall that Caruso is developing the 475,000-square foot Americana at Brand.
  globest.com

Posted by Jason Kandel at 7:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

A regular part of a balanced breakfast...

• NEW FEATURE: East of the 5 on YouTube!

• The News Press has a write-up on Sudanese genocide survivor Valentino Achak Deng, who gave a talk at the Glendale Library last night. Dave Eggers novelized his story in "What Is the What."

• The News Press also has a round-up of rest of the City Council committee assignments for the year.

• Glendale College -- meet your new golf coaches! PGA pro Greg Osbourne and actor James Caan are taking on the program, writes Daily News columnist Jill Painter: "Osbourne, who landed the job as head coach in February, and Caan are both competitive and passionate about the game of golf. They hope to breath some life - and a little humor - into a program that was cut in 1985."

• Checking in with Will Rogers -- the local newshound parses the Burbank election results in an eagerly-awaited column (for me, at least!). Scroll down a bit for the April 16 entry. Up top on the same page is a piece about Burbank Councilman David Gordon outlining allegations he mixed optometry with politics. Now I haven't looked into this -- judge for yourself. Also, we may see a lot more of Will's pontifications online. Thanks for the kudos!

• Just in time for tax season -- a release from the IRS Criminal Investigation Los Angeles office.

  April 17, 2007 -- Los Angeles, California – A former City National Bank Vice President who was found guilty of participating in a conspiracy that was designed to structure cash deposits into accounts in a manner that was intended to aid his coconspirators avoid bank reporting requirements, was sentenced yesterday to serve 21 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Continue reading "Morning Briefing -- April 18, 2007" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

If you're into reading the tea leaves that is the Glendale City Council, Monday night's special meeting installing a newly-elected councilman and a new mayor was a warts-and-all display of both what has been, coupled with a silver-lining of what could be.

click on Ara for meeting video

For on full-display last night, after all the congratulations, platitudes and oath-taking, was the sour, fractious relationships between the four sitting council members, who once again broke down into camps in electing a new mayor for 2007-08.

Now the mayorship is mostly a ceremonial role in this town, a first-among-equals who gets to represent the city's elected leadership at local functions and forums, and can set the agenda at meetings. The title is rotated among the five, and can offer incumbents a boost at the polls if they're up for re-election.

But the evening also revealed the keen political sense of newcomer John Drayman, who managed to stay above the fray and look good doing it.

Continue reading "Hopping on Mayor Najarian's Red Wagon" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Before getting off to our morning routines, I'd like to offer condolences to those dealing with the senseless tragedy in Virginia this morning ...

• A community meeting is scheduled for noon today at New Woody's to provide Woodbury University students, faculty, and staff with an opportunity to share their feelings regarding the Virginia Tech tragedy and to pay their respects to members of the Virginia Tech community and their families. "We send our condolences to the students, faculty, and staff of Virginia Tech. The tragedy which occurred on their campus today cannot be imagined – more than 33 people killed in a senseless mass shooting. Please remember their community in your thoughts," says Dr. Kenneth Nielsen, president, Woodbury University.

• A Burbank man was among those who has family members at Virginia. The Virginia Tech alumnus recounts his story of hearing the news about the shootings. He tells nbc4:
  

  I lived in a dorm adjacent to the one in which (the shooter) killed the people. I actually have two cousins there. One was at home. I was worried about both of them.

  
  nbc4

  In other news ...

• They built a science lab and improved test scores at Luther Burbank Middle School, and that helped earn the campus new status as a California Distinguished School, one of 171 middle and high schools statewide earning the distinction this year.
  Daily News

  Updated 4:30 p.m. -- Here's video of the visit:
  

• Ara Najarian is Glendale's newly selected mayor on a City Council that rotates mayors. The selection wasn't easy. Before Najarian was selected, newly minted Councilman John Drayman was nominated. He declined. Oh, and, uh, Councilman Bob Yousefian offered up himself, Dave Weaver, Najarian, and Tony Soprano ... think he's a member of Glendale's shadow government ...
  Glendale News-Press
  

Posted by Jason Kandel at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

I've been thinking about a recent article in the Los Angeles Times (registration required) that followed up on the Glendale municipal elections story that you read here first. The thing that stood out for me in the Times story wasn't the fact that John Drayman came out on top in the City Council race, or that he is Jewish. What was curious was the fact that Glendale was once the West Coast home for the American Nazi Party. Believe it or not, a city with one of the most ethnically diverse populations today, with a Jewish councilman elect, with tens of thousands of Armenians, Latinos and many others, Glendale was once the West Coast outfit to one of the most notorious political and hate-mongering groups in world history. I guess it could be seen as ironic, but it also probably made sense to locate in Glendale, at the time a bastion of white, Anglo Saxon and Protestant folks, for those bent on reviving the ideals that we went to war for to wipe off the face of the earth.

For the uninitiated ... In 1964, George Lincoln Rockwell picked Glendale to be the location for the headquarters of the ANP for the West Coast, with the hope of continuing twisted ideals laid out earlier by Adolf Hitler's National Socialist German Worker's Party. Ironically, it was one of Rockwell's own unhappy party members who killed him in 1967. But his American Nazi Party headquarters at Colorado Boulevard would remain open through the 80s. The group's Web site has a page dedicated to Rockwell.

So we don't forget where that ideal led the Nazis. They slaughtered six million Jews in what was deemed "the final solution." Yet, the deaths of those who perished will never be forgotten. Every April 15, we remember.

Posted by Jason Kandel at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Some deep thoughts to digest with your coffee...

• Expect politiking galore tonight when the Glendale City Council installs new Councilman John Drayman, and elects a mayor. Is Dave Weaver, who won another four years earlier this month, going for another term? Do Bob Yousefian and Ara Najarian have the time? (One serves on the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Commission and the other serves on the MTA board.) What about Frank Quintero? I don't have the answer, and they're not telling the News-Press. Here's the agenda for the 8 p.m. party.

• Meanwhile, Burbank City Council is preparing to adopt tomorrow night a deal with Burbank Unified School District to share recreational facilities.

• Local blogger Joe Fein talks further about whipping the California GOP back into shape at Valley of the Shadow. Scroll down a bit to read about his take on Burbank.

• The New York Times has an editorial up over Turkey's protests of a Rwanda genocide exhibit at United Nations headquarters because it mentions the Armenian Genocide.

• The Times looks into earlier reports of fish in the LA River near Atwater and the Glendale Narrows.
  

More to come...

Posted by Eugene Tong at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

A couple of thoughts from Barry Allen of Vanguard this week -- Who's going to be Glendale's new mayor when the new City Council convenes next week? Barry tries to handicap the proceedings; A couple of genocide-related events with Holocaust Remembrance this week and the Armenian Genocide march next week.

To subscribe to Vanguard Weekly News, send an e-mail to Vanguard1@charter.net with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. Disclaimer: Vanguard's content are from its publisher, and does not represent editorial content or views of Daily News Los Angeles or its staff.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 1:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

The dust has settled in the final canvassing for the Glendale Municipal Election -- No changes on the City Council. It's still John Drayman, followed by Dave Weaver. Rafi Manoukian gained some more votes, but it still wasn't enough for a seat. In the school board race, board member elect Nayiri Nahabedian finished second, 230 votes ahead of first-time candidate Todd Hunt, increasing her lead from just 29 votes last week.

Election results
Earlier
Even earlier
Daily News school board story
Daily News City Council election story

Posted by Jason Kandel at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

So when she's not digging around for stories at Grand View Memorial Park cemetery, Lisa Burks is a habitué of ebay. She writes ...

Most of the memorabilia-type items I find are related to Forest Lawn, (Go figure) schools or businesses.

But today I found what I consider to be a true treasure: a listing for a fantastic, vintage postcard depicting a gorgeous home nestled in Glendale's foothills.

She's hoping someone out there in the world can identify the home in the postcard. Send in your comments, if you think you know.
valleynews.com

Posted by Jason Kandel at 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

The art of Paul Batou is being featured tonight at the Harvest Gallery in Glendale. His work, entitled "My Iraq ... The Destruction and Aftermath of Mesopotamia," features 25 paintings and the release of his new book, "My Last Thoughts About Iraq." His work shows the pain, humiliation and destruction from ancient Mesopotamia to today's Iraq. Harvest Gallery is at 938 N.Brand Blvd., Glendale. His reception will be held from 7-10 tonight. The gallery will be open Friday through April 27. Batou, a native Iraqi, is a Burbank resident and pharmacist by trade, who served in the Iran-Iraq War as a medic.

valleynews.com

Posted by Jason Kandel at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

The driver who was killed early this morning when he slammed his car into a tree at 12:30 a.m at North Verdugo and Monterey roads has been identified as Edward Bagdasarian, 22 of Glendale. Authorities said he was wearing his seatbelt and alcohol was not suspected, though he may had been speeding -- going as fast as 60 in a 35-40 zone, according Glendale police spokesman John Balian.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

The Glendale City Clerk's office is canvassing all the ballots today from last week's election, including some 2,000 provisional ballots that could decide the Glendale Unified School Board race (a 29-vote gap separates 2nd-place Nayiri Nahabedian and 3rd-place Todd Hunt), or even narrow the City Council results (though that's unlikely)

Results are expected Friday.

Barry Allen promises to hover over the proceedings (but apparently couldn't make it, he just told me), while Will Rogers riffs on the topic at his site.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Consider this your morning reveille ...

• Eugene Tong writes about Rocky Delgadillo's crackdown on unlicensed contractors, complete with a short online video. (Tong's getting pretty high tech)

• Jason Wells writes about the fact that Glendale is having one of its driest years on record, equaling that of the yearly average for Death Valley, and causing firefighters to be on high alert. Glendale News-Press.

• Atwater Village Newbie ribs the New York Times for its recent articles discovering life in Northeast L.A. and Atwater Village. Newbie writes:
  

  Last month the paper profiled our fellow neighborhoods in Northeast Los Angeles, or NELA. New Yorkers, it seems, are learning that some California homes are priced under $600,000 and have views of Mount Washington - "which could be mistaken for Tuscany."

  
  Read the rest here.

• Lisa Burks follows up on the unfolding situation at Grand View Memorial Park with a story asking whether Grand View is a Harley-Davidson biker cemetery, and reveals a new civil complaint filed in Superior Court alleging misplaced remains.
  Grave Concerns: Inside Grand View Cemetery

  And finally ...

• Glendale resident George Reyes has won the Dorothy Cook Lifetime Achievement Award for improving the grounds at Five Acres, a non-profit in Altadena that helps turn around the lives of abused children. Reyes is the owner of Rey-Crest Roofing in Los Angeles. Since 1994 he has done many projects on the Five Acres campus free of charge -- from painting, refencing and even installing an emergency generator. In 1998, after joining and then chairing the building and grounds committee, he became vice chair for business affairs. Five Acres says George has made the lives of the children of Five Acres better today because of his extraordinary generosity with his time and expertise and his devotion to children.
  

Have fun ...

Posted by Jason Kandel at 8:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Good morning. Here are a few items to go with your morning Cheerios.

• Arthur Pilavyan, the owner/operator of A & L Nursing Registry located in Pasadena, was arrested by Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and Federal Bureau of Investigation recently on charges stemming from his indictment last week on federal criminal charges including health care fraud and money laundering.
  Click here to read the press release from the IRS.
  
• Irish Police are investigating the apparent theft of 122 R.E.M. concert tickets for the band's forthcoming sold-out Olympia Theatre show on Saturday, June 30.
  marketwire.com
  
• The next meeting of the Los Angeles River Master Plan Advisory Committee is Wednesday, April 25 at 9:30 a.m. at Southern California Edison's Montebello Service Center.
  

  Presentations include:
  Edison’s guidelines for river adjacent properties
  Trust for Public Land’s Parks for People – Los Angeles Program
  Location: Montebello Service Center, Conf. Room A
  Address: 1000 Potrero Grande Dr., Monterey Park, CA 91755

  
  
• Vahe Balabanian at hyelog has more on the Armenian genocide.
  
• More than 50 Nobel laureates from around the world have appealed to Armenia and Turkey -- Can't we all just get along?
  rferl.org
  
• Glendale-based Focus on the Children Now, Inc. (FCN), an organization that helps needy children in Armenia, has recently completed its first successful clothing drive for people in Gavar and Sevan who make about $500 a year.
  more
  
• A little bubble gum ... A Burbank resident is among the final four on "The Apprentice."
  The Bushido Way
  

Posted by Jason Kandel at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

This just in -- the Glendale Community Foundation, a nonprofit which distributes funds to local charity groups, has a new executive director. Sharon C. Collins takes over from Tom Miller, who unexpectedly died of a heart attack in December. Here's the release:

Glendale -- The Board of Trustees of the Glendale Community Foundation announced today that they have selected Sharon C. Collins to be the Foundation’s new Executive Director.

Collins’ work background includes management positions in large private non-profit agencies, midsize health services organizations, and community hospital and medical research foundations. Her public service career began with eight years at the State of California Department of Social Service as a senior administrator.

Continue reading "Glendale Community Foundation appoints new executive" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

A note from Glendale Commnity College -- April 6, 2007:

Glendale Community College received a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the Math and Science Transfer, Excellence and Retention (MASTER) Scholarship Program. The five-year grant program will focus on providing scholarships to financially disadvantaged students maintaining a level of academic achievement and majoring in science, technology, engineering or math.

Continue reading "Wanted: Motiviated, Cash-strapped Science Students" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

For the folks who are into it, Happy Easter:

• Two separate car crashes killed two elderly Burbank residents early Friday. One of the drivers who drove the wrong way on the 134 and struck a 73-year-old driver head-on, is in custody on suspicion for vehicular manslaughter and a DUI. Another driver ran over a woman going home from breakfast on Olive Avenue.
  
• Meanwhile, Glendale Police caught a hit-and-run driver Thursday with a little detective work. The elderly victim was only injured, and the 21-year-old driver turned himself in.
  
  
• Valleynews.com prep softball blogger Richard Colon has a write-up on this week's match-up between cross-town rivals Burbank and Burroughs.
  
• Also, Grand View blogger Lisa Burks has two new posts -- one about the case of a pair of missing headstones; the other has a few thoughts about the nature of news coverage and sensitivity to Grand View's victims.
  
• Schiff, Bono Introduce Comprehensive Arson Legislation -- now when I saw this in the email inbox Friday, I thought whoa, our own U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff working with the U2 front man on a campaign to save the world from, uh, arsonists? But no, it was referring to U.S. Rep. Mary Bono, republican of the 45th congressional district, which includes Palm Springs. And short of third-world debt relief, they're proposing a database to track arsonists.
  
• A word from local state Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, who's pushing an Assembly resolution Monday condemning the Armenian Genocide, just in time for the annual remembrance in two weeks. Excerpt from the release:

Continue reading "Weekend Update -- April 8, 2007" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

via Barry Allen de Vanguard...

Let's talk with Barry Allen about the election results in Glendale. One popular Council member was not re-elected and another who is the subject of FPPC violations and has used City resources for the benefit of ‘friends’ was returned to office. You can vent and share your thoughts on the election. Was it a manipulation of one professional politician? Did incumbent Manoukian fall victim to endorsements? Did 4 Armenian candidates slice the cake too thin? Call in Tuesday April 10th at 9 AM. You can participate by calling - (605) 990-0400 Access Code - 244852#

To subscribe to Vanguard Weekly News, send an e-mail to Vanguard1@charter.net with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line..

Posted by Eugene Tong at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) |

The classics ride again!

From Glendale City Hall APRIL 5, 2007...

Officials for the City of Glendale announced today that Classic Rock and Roll stars The Marcels, Johnny Tillotson, The Chantays and Al Wilson will be performing at this year’s Cruise Night Car Show and Street Party. The 14th Annual Cruise Night will be held on Saturday, July 21, from 5:30 to 10 pm on Brand Boulevard in Glendale. Over 35,000 people are expected to attend this year’s event.

Continue reading "Cruise Night 2007" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 3:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Back in the saddle after two days of Glendale election madness with the MSM...

• But first, more Gledale election aftermath -- Did the ethnic divisions in Glendale's City Council elections spill over to the school and college board races? Daily News
  
• A few words from -- well, there's no other way to say this -- the losers, via Glendale News Press. MIA -- Rafi Manoukian, who word has it, win or lose, is taking a break with his family.
  
• More election analysis from my idol Will Rogers. It starts with "They elected who?" -- financing, identity politics, attitude adjustments -- it's all here.
  
• Here's Pasadena Weekly's take.
  

• The News Press comes through with gavel-to-gavel coverage of Carlos Palma and Julian Martinez, who were found guilty of first degree murder in the 2004 New Years' Eve drive-by shooting death of 16-year-old Carlos Pinon in Glendale. Palma, the shooter, faces 50 years to life while Martinez, the driver, could see at least 25. Here's a partial copy of the charges.
  
• Burbank Library Blog! -- I know it's been online for a year since last August, but it's new to me! And any blogger who digs author Haruki Murakami and Mike Judge's underappreciated Idiocracy is worth plugging in my book (hey -- book! get it?).
  
• It's an actor's life in Burbank -- from the Branford Era in Pennsylvania.
  

Finally, for Burbank folks looking to serve the city, it's commission application season once again! Follow the link...

Continue reading "Morning Briefing -- April 6, 2007" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 7:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) |

Blogger Lisa Burks asks "who's in Mr. Lenn's Grand View grave?"

That is the question behind the latest mystery surrounding the creepy story at Grand View Memorial Park, which has apparently lost track of who's buried where, at the century-plus old Glendale cemetery. The story reads like a Sherlock Holmes novel, with an attorney speculating he's solved the mystery of who's buried in John Lenn's grave.

Burks writes ...

After two recently successful court-ordered interments at the little cemetery with big problems, a third was cancelled this week when an apparent occupant was discovered in what should have been an unused grave.

Paul Ayers, a lawyer for the family of Lenn, speculates, "In 1989, Wayne Warrington was buried in Grave 69. In 1999, Ms. Howard sold Mr. Lenn then empty Grave 68, but did not update her records to memorialize the sale. In 2002 when Patricia Warrington died Ms. Howard sold the family what she thought was an available grave next to Wayne Warrington. In my opinion the most likely decedent now in Grave 68 is Patricia Warrington."

Read "Two bodies and a cancelled funeral at Grand View".

Update at 12:40 p.m.: Attorney Paul Ayers forwarded a court document, an order for Lenn's burial, that you can read here.

Posted by Jason Kandel at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Good morning ...

• Eugene Tong explains the back story to the twists and turns of the Glendale elections.

  He writes ...

  How did the best-financed incumbent lose his City Council seat, a mayor widely believed to be vulnerable retain his and a community advocate who once fell short of a win emerge as top vote-getter?

  For Glendale City Hall pundits, Tuesday night's surprising election results could be rooted in an odd political convergence: a strong grass-roots campaign by the newly elected John Drayman, who rode an anti-incumbent tide into office, coupled with a miscalculation from those counting on Armenian politics to win the day.

  Daily News

• More news about the Gyumri Mayor shooting in Armenia ... The chief of Armenian police vows to find and punish those responsible for the attempted killing of Gyumri Mayor Vartan Ghukasian armeniandiaspora.com

• An annoucement of the April 24, 2007 events marking the 92nd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

  hyelog

  
  

  Posted by Jason Kandel at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Will Rogers just posted an update on the election results. The column's titled "DRAYMAN WINS, AND WEAVER TAGS ALONG!" Oy vey...

Posted by Eugene Tong at 3:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

A quick briefing today -- got a load of work today:

• I'm sure Glendale folks are reeling this morning at the surprising City Council election results. John Drayman, the head of the Montrose Shopping Park Association, came out on top, and Mayor Dave Weaver, who many thought was vulnerable, kept his seat, leaving incumbent two-term councilman Rafi Manoukian out in the cold. Here's how the numbers break down:

  1. John Drayman 8,576
  2. Dave Weaver 6,582
  3. Rafi Manoukian 5,906
  4. Greg krikorian 5,754
  5. Chahe Keouroghlian 4,351
  6. Vrej Agajanian 2,330
  7. Herbert Molano 2,314
  8. Lenore Solis 892
  
  If you're into ethnic politics, this spells an end to the three-out-of-five Armenian American majority on the council. It's two of Armenian descent, a Latino, a returning councilman who's white and married to an Asian Amerian, now joined by a self-proclaimed Jewish atheist. It almost reflects the city's demographics. More Daily News coverage here.

• The Burbank City Council finalized the details and enacted the Second Hand Smoke Ordinance early this morning by a 3-2 vote. I'm still trying to sort out all the changes.
  

Now I have to make sense of all this, or you can check out tonight's Armenian American Real Estate Association mixer. Flyer coming up...

Continue reading "A little late Morning Briefing April 4, 2007" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 9:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

It's all over -- just after midnight, Glendale elected one new councilman, John Drayman, and kept Dave Weaver, the incumbent mayor. Two-term councilman Rafi Manoukian got the boot. He finished third -- 676 votes behind Weaver. More coverage here.

Here's a trip down live-blogging memory lane...(thanks Technorati for keeping a record of that post after I deleted it!)

Continue reading "Glendale Election Update" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 12:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

If you're looking to do more than just spend Tuesday night in front of the television (I'm a Frontline man myself), have I got a slate of alternatives for you! It's election day in Glendale, and that means candidate election night PARTIES!

Word so far from local muckraker and party animal Barry Allen of Vanguard is council candidate and Montrose Shopping Park honcho John Drayman is holding his shindig at Damon's downtown. Lenore Solis, the former GWP commissioner who's also running but is not really spending much on it, will likely be there too.

Candidate and immigration consultant Chahe Keuroghelian is staging his party at Little Russia on Broadway; TV host Vrej Agajanian will be kickin' it at his office at 436 W. Broadway.

Challenger and Glendale Unified School Board member Greg Krikorian is holding up at that new Phoenicia restaurant on Central; his rival and incumbent Councilman Rafi Manoukian will dance the night away at Giggles on Brand.

Candidate and City Hall agitator Herbert Molano will be at Bacara restaurant downtown; Mayor Dave Weaver -- will be having a private party? Hope there's no velvet rope.

And if partying with Glendale politicos isn't your drink, there's always the Burbank City Council, where they'll attempt to sign-off on those new public smoking restrictions. The Burbank Armenian National Committee also is planning an action during public comment tonight to condemn a city grant committee's questioning of whether to fund a local charity with the word "Armenian" in its name. The Armenian Relief Society has been around since 1910, and provides social services such as job placement and immigration adivce geared towards Armenian Americans, though they won't turn away anyone who show up needing assistance.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Word from Atwater is carp -- big ones -- are spawning in that concreted stretch of the oft-maligned river channel. More from LA Observed.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 8:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) |

With the election just days away, it's time for Glendalians to consider their picks for city council, school board and college board. Some of the lastest election resources and coverage leading up to April 3:

• City Clerk Ardashes Kassakhian reminds us how absentee ballots will work...

  All absentee ballots must be returned by 8:00 pm on Tuesday, April 3—when the regular polling locations close. Absentee ballots may be returned in any of the following ways:

  1. By mailing it to the City Clerk’s Office – 613 E. Broadway, Glendale, 91206.

  2. By returning it in person to the City’s Clerk’s office or any polling location on April 3 during voting hours: 7:00 am to 8:00 pm.

  3. By authorizing a legally-allowable person to return the ballot on your behalf. A legally-authorized person must be a close relative or person residing in the same household as you.

  Absentee ballots may NOT be returned by any paid or volunteer worker or any candidate’s campaign committee, or person or group working for a campaign. Election questions may be directed to 818-548-2090 during normal working hours.

  Here's the city's election Web site.

• Pasadena Weekly sized up the candidates in Tuesday's election, though they seem to have missed a couple for Glendale Unified.

• All eight candidates tried to close the deal at the Northwest Glendale Homeowners forum Thursday night. Coverage from the News Press

• Appo Jabarian of USA Armenian LIfe Magazine makes his picks in today's edition, and narrows the city council field down to five. It's no surprise that incumbent Rafi Manoukian and school board member Greg Krikorian _ both Armenian Americans with public service experience _ made the list. But the rest are definitely surprising...

  Continue reading "Mark Those Ballots" »

  Posted by Eugene Tong at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

Former Glendale Mayor Bob Garcin has petitioned Su