Gang Injunction To Be Filed Against Toonerville

Today I saw a 6-page public notice taped to a sign at San Fernando Road and Chevy Chase, in front of Tacos el Sauz. The notice was dated today, 11/15/08 and was on letterhead from the City of Glendale City Attorney's Office.

TO: TOONERVILLE (aka TVR), a criminal street gang sued as an unincorporated association, DOES 1 through 300, inclusive.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, ex rel. Rockard J. Delgadillo, as the City Attorney for the City of Los Angeles ("Plaintiff") and Scott H. Howard as the City Attorney for the City of Glendale, Hereby Puts You On Notice that it will file an Ex Parte Application for an Order to Show Cause ("OSC") Re: Preliminary Injunction to be heard on November 20, 2008 at 8:30a.m. in Department 86, Los Angeles Superior Court at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, California, 90012. Before said hearing, Plaintiff will file its "Complaint for Injunction to Abate a Public Nuisance" entitled People of the State of California, Plaintiff vs. Toonerville (aka TVR), a criminal street gang sued as an unincorporated association, Does 1 through 300, inclusive, Defendants.

Toonerville is a very old Atwater-based street gang that has some peripheral involvement in south Glendale. Last I heard, their activities were heavily tamped down compared to their peak in the late 90's and early 2000's, but this should keep the lid on them even further. The injuction would make any public association between known members of the gang off limits in a huge swath of Glendale and Northeast L.A., including specific bans on hanging out in Chevy Chase and Palmer Park.

Glendale, 1905: A Survivor

While reading an old copy of the Glendale Architectural And Historical Survey Self-Guided Tour (1983) this week I came across this intriguing description:

108 N. Brand Blvd. (1905)
Although unprepossessing in its current appearance, this two story building is the most historic on Brand Boulevard. It is the oldest structure on the street, and the first brick building in the city. Commissioned by Leslie C. Brand, it housed the First National Bank (until 1918) on the lower story and a large meeting room, used by the Masons, on the upper story.

108 N. Brand is a building I walk by every day. It is now occupied by Sansai Japanese Grill and a law firm.
Here it is today.

Here it is in 1906. Things were a bit different then! Interurban rail started operating on Brand Boulevard in 1904. The First National Bank building (now Sansai) was built in 1905. A Pacific Electric rail depot was built at the NE corner of Brand & Broadway in 1906.

Here is a similar perspective today.

Inside the bank in 1909.

First National Bank (with the Pacific Electric train depot in foreground) in 1909. Note how much more developed Brand is in this shot compared to the 1906 photo above.

The Security Trust and Savings Bank (1923) was built on the former site of the rail depot and now looms over the humble First National/Sansai building. From the guide:

100 N. Brand Blvd (1923)
The first six story building in Glendale, the Security Trust and Savings Bank was erected on the site of the Pacific Electric depot in 1923. Its Renaissance Revival design by Alfred Priest has been altered; however some original features, including the frieze and the office entrance on Brand, can still be seen.

108 N. Brand. Next time you walk past, take a moment to reflect on the changes this building has seen since 1905.

Vintage photographs were scanned from Glendale: A Pictorial History (PDF) and were originally courtesy of the Special Collections Room of the Glendale Public Library.

In Defense of Glendale

There's some serious Glendale self-loathing on display in the letter to the editor page of the Glendale News-Press this week.

Is it just me, or is Glendale seriously lacking in locations or businesses remotely resembling an “arts district?” With developer Rick Caruso’s latest “contribution” to our community, alongside one of the largest malls in Southern California, I couldn’t help but think “why?” when I read the ridiculous “news” about the “hundreds of shoppers, heralded by a multimedia advertising blitz” for the opening of the Marshalls Shoe MegaShop in what used to be a pretty decent and fairly priced place to go to buy film, movies and even books (“Store Marshalls in a new era,” Business Spotlight, Nov. 3).

In a city of more than 200,000 residents of all ethnicities, ages, genders, political affiliations and sexual orientations — do we really need another useless clothing retailer? Or do we deserve a place where we can connect and meet each other and learn from one another on a level that’s a little more substantial and relevant to our minds and spirits?

Someone tell me why there isn’t a non-corporate place I can go on a Friday night in Glendale to discover and experience independent music, film, performance, art or anything other than $80 “vintage” T-shirts, tasteless $500 handbags or bland, expensive dinners. Oh, that’s right, we’re talking about Marshalls here — it’s much cheaper, therefore, it’s OK. Forget the arts — bring on more stuff I don’t really need, but should buy because it’s such a bargain!

..........

Speaking of art, why don’t we have a museum? It really wouldn’t hurt our city one bit to work a little harder to bring some of this stuff into our own community, and at least try to challenge the general consensus that Glendale is a boring city full of boring people.

So now it’s Friday night, and I want to watch something other than “Beverly Hills Chihuahua,” and I really don’t want to pay $12.75 for it either. Hmmm, what’s a nearby city that can provide a “light” version of the arts/entertainment of Los Angeles, without all the hectic traffic and impossible parking?

Pasadena, here I come.

NORA MOSSESSIAN

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..........
The Laemmle Theatres do show movies I want to see. Barnes & Noble and Borders in Glendale are OK, but Vroman’s in Pasadena is an outstanding bookstore. Glendale has some good restaurants, but Pasadena has a lot more.

Pasadena has several excellent museums, while Glendale has none. Even after the Embassy Suites opens, Pasadena will still have more and more varied hotels.

In short, once A Noise Within leaves, there will be nothing in Glendale I would take an out-of-town visitor to see. There’s no reason to take a visitor to the Americana. There isn’t a single store in the Americana that a visitor can’t find in his or her hometown.

STANTON J. PRICE

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Did you think I was happy in Glendale?

With this money I can get away from you...you with your chickens and your pies and your kitchens and your everything that smells of grease. I can get away from this shack with its cheap furniture; and this town and its dollar days and women that wear uniforms and men that wear overalls!

VEDA PIERCE

It's Mildred Pierce all over again!

I think Stanton is a plant from the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce. The criticisms are fair enough, except for the crack about the bookstores. Vroman's is okay, but within a three block radius in downtown Glendale we have the Brand Bookshop, Bookfellows, and Abril Books. Downtown Glendale is far smaller than downtown Pasadena yet has a phenomenal variety and density of independent restaurants, particularly on Brand north of Broadway. We are certainly short on museums, although we don't exactly have none: we have the Doctors House, the wonderful Brand Library and Art Center, Casa Adobe de San Rafael, and the museum at Forest Lawn.

Glendale is walkable, safe, diverse, and relatively affordable. Beyond downtown Glendale, I can be in Atwater in 5 minutes, Silver Lake, Los Feliz or Griffith Park in 10 minutes and at the Arclight Hollywood in 20.

If nothing else, hey, at least we're not Burbank.

(Just kidding, Burbank!)

In the spirit of constructive criticism, I've written my own letter to the News-Press:

This letter is in response to Nora Mossessian and Stanton Price's letters criticizing the lack of arts and culture in downtown Glendale. While I don't yet think that downtown Glendale is cultural black hole, at least not north of Broadway, investment in the arts in downtown Glendale is clearly needed. My bit of unsolicited advice to the city would be to redevelop Maryland Avenue and the Exchange complex into an arts district. The Exchange is almost entirely devoid of retail tenants and currently Maryland is a beautifully landscaped street featuring empty boutiques, one great independent coffeehouse (Urartu Coffee) and a dated movie theater that will be closing in 2011. Before the Mann Exchange 10 closes, the city should work to attract an arthouse theater such as a Laemmle to fill the space. If an arthouse theater were to open on Maryland, it would attract a more cultured clientele that would in turn support local arts-related businesses and provide a counterweight to the crass commercialism on the western side of Brand Boulevard.

SCOTT LOWE
GLENDALE

Public Notice Of Proposed 6-Story Mixed-Use Development In South Glendale

A public hearing notice just went up on the city's website regarding a proposed development at 435 Los Feliz Road, right across the railroad tracks from the Costco in Atwater Village. I assume there is a physical public notice up, but it's probably easy to miss with the road work on Los Feliz and awkward placement of the site.

From the city website:

Avalon Land, LLC is proposing to develop a 6-story, 175,749 SF mixed-use development at 435 Los Feliz Road. The project includes the following: grocery market, day spa, restaurants, retail uses, and medical/general offices. Parking for the project will be provided in a 5-story parking structure with 717 parking spaces. The proposed project is located within the San Fernando Road Corridor Redevelopment Project Area; the 2.1-acre rectangular site is bordered by Los Feliz Road, Gardena Avenue and Fernando Court.

The Project’s architectural design will be presented to the Redevelopment Agency for Stage I Design Review approval at a public hearing.

Here's the meeting information:

Council Chambers of City Hall
613 East Broadway, Glendale
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
2:30 P.M.

What Do I Do With This Bottle Of Wild Turkey???

Thankfully I didn't require a bottle of Wild Turkey to make it through election night. I'm not much of a drinker, so now what do I do with an ironically acquired bottle of Wild Turkey?

Currently my options are:

• Pour down drain, find higher power.
• Donate to homeless shelter.
• Drink because of prop 8.
• Send to Sarah Palin in spirit of bipartisanship.
• Use to strip paint, sterilize bathroom drain.
• Share with actual wild turkeys.
• Save for 2012.

Please vote in the sidebar on the right. If you have any other bright ideas, please share in the comments.

Craiglist Scammers Busted At Borders

A couple who scammed prospective renters out of their deposits was arrested during a sting operation Tuesday at Borders Books in downtown Glendale.

Coincidentally, I happened to be walking by Borders at exactly that moment. I saw a number of normally dressed people looking intently at one man, and thought I might be about to witness a fight. I saw one man lift up the back of his shirt and pull out a pair of handcuffs, and then I realized I was actually surrounded by plainclothes police officers, who handcuffed and patted down the man they had surrounded.

At that moment, a Mustang drove by on Broadway and was pursued by a Glendale PD Charger which turned on its siren and raced across Brand. The Mustang pulled over on Broadway and two of the plainclothes officers who were in front of Borders sprinted through the crowd at the bus stop and past me towards the stopped Mustang. At the time, I had no idea what was going on and just kept moving because I wanted to stay out of the way of the police officers during an ongoing situation.

From the Police Department press release:

On October 27th, 2008, detectives from the Glendale Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit received a report of a fraudulent Craigslist.com listing, advertising an apartment for rent in the City of Glendale. A victim reported that they responded to the listing and arranged to meet with the couple purporting to be the owners of the unit. They met with the suspects and provided a completed lease application provided by the suspects and a cash deposit for the apartment unit. The victim later learned that the suspects were not the owners of the unit being rented, and contacted the Glendale Police Department to have the incident investigated. As the investigation progressed, additional victims were located and all related similar accounts of how the scam was being committed. Victims responded to the online ad, were contacted by the suspects, and then met them at a variety of local establishments where they provided them with money and a lease application containing a wealth of personal information. Detectives from the Glendale Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit were able to establish contact with the suspects under the guise of being interested in renting the unit. On November 4th, 2008, detectives met with the male suspect at a local bookstore where money and a lease application were provided to the suspect. He and his female counterpart were arrested shortly thereafter. The suspects were booked on fraud related charges. Detectives of the Glendale Police Department believe that there may be additional victims who have yet to report their dealings with these suspects. If you have any further information regarding this crime, please contact Detective Jason Ross or Sergeant Brian Cohen at 818-548-3101.

More info in the Glendale News-Press here.

Election 2008 Photos

Here's a slideshow of election related pictures I've taken this year. Direct link to the Flickr set: Drive For Change/Election 2008.

Parking Meters Coming To Brand

Yes, parking meters are coming to Brand. In addition to metering Brand, the city has increased amount of free parking time in city parking structures to 90 minutes and reduced the price of a monthly parking pass in the city structures. The goal of the meters is to increase the availability of spots for customers of businesses on Brand. Currently employees of nearby businesses often take up the spots on Brand in defiance of the current two hour parking limit, which is difficult to enforce.

Here are the city structures that now have 90 minute free parking:

• 120 South Maryland Avenue
• 115 North Maryland Avenue
• 222 North Orange Street

Single? Signs

Have you seen those "Single?" signs around Glendale lately? They're a scam and planted illegally. This guy did research into where they come from:

Remember when I said that certain dating businesses can print money? This is one of them. A 2006 press release reveals that the company was then bringing in about $45 Million of revenue a year. I also found an unverified claim from a disgruntled ex-employee on ripoffreport.com that claims the company charges their customers from $3,000 to over $15,000 for their matchmaking services.

If you see them, remove them immediately. If you see someone planting them, write down their license plate number and report it to the city. Last week alone I removed several signs each from Brand, Maryland, Glendale Ave, Wilson, Central and San Fernando Road.

Americana Holiday Update

The 106-foot tall Christmas tree at The Americana has now been painted bright green. These pictures don't show it that well, but it really is shockingly green.

There is also a cutesy Santa house under construction. Santa will be available starting on November 16th. The tree lighting ceremony (with fireworks) is on November 15th.

In response to the dismal state of the economy, I noticed that several of the businesses at the Americana are now having discount sales and meal specials. For instance, Frida, purveyor of $19 enchiladas, has now introduced a lunch menu with items in the $8 to $12 range. This is certainly a welcome addition given that there aren't any other decent Mexican restaurants in downtown Glendale.

This week I also spoke with a valet at the Americana and confirmed that free bike valet service is now available. Thank you, Mr. Caruso!

Jewel City Photo: Seeley's

WOW

What a night! After Obama's stunning victory and moving speech, Anne and I joined a few Los Feliz-based friends in a massive, cathartic, happy mob at the corner of Sunset & Alvarado. It was certainly one of the best nights I've had in eight years.






(top image from here, I believe)

It's Up To You, America

I can't breathe. It's up to you, America. Do the right thing. If Obama wins, we pop the champagne. If it's McCain, we're finishing the Wild Turkey.

As a bonus, if Nevada goes blue (with a teensy canvassing assist from us), we'll open this sparkling wine from Nevada, Spain.

Please, please, please.

An Eerie Resemblance At Kaldi Coffee

During an attempt to join an ill-fated "No On Prop 8" phonebank at Kaldi Coffee in Atwater Village this Sunday I noticed a remarkable resemblance between friendly Kaldi barista Ivo and revolutionary rocket scientist, JPL co-founder and occult practitioner Jack Parsons. I have Parsons on the mind because I'm currently reading a fascinating biography of him called Strange Angel. Judge for yourself!

Bike Valet At The Americana?

The Coalition For A Green Glendale Blog says:

We recently discovered that the Americana offers free valet services for bicycles. Just visit the valet stand and hand over your bike to a cheery valet attendant. The attendant secures your bike and hands you a claim ticket. Simple and convenient!

A welcome development! This must be new. On opening day, no one at the concierge desk had any idea if there was even any official bike parking on site. I titled that post "What, No Bike Valet?".

Americana Christmas Tree Erected

And the game of "whose Christmas tree is biggest" begins. This 106 foot white fir tree from McLeod, California, is certainly the tallest Christmas tree Glendale has ever seen.

The trunk and branches were separated for transport. In the pictures below, you can see numbers written on the base of the branches, which I assume indicate which level that branch belongs to. I had to get back to work, but it would be fun to sit with coffee and a magazine and watch the workers reassemble this behemoth for a few hours.





The tree lighting ceremony will be on Saturday, November 15th at 7pm.

Halloween Ghost Train

This year's Halloween display at 1665 Highland portrayed a life-size steam locomotive crashing through the front of the house, plus a speaking animatronic skeleton and bird. The attention to detail was stunning, from the patina of the train to the animated wheel and pistons. Great work, Peter.

Kwik E. Kart

A brilliant name for a junk-food kiosk at the Glendale Galleria.

Blight At the Corner of Chevy Chase and Brand

In my backyard, grrrrr. I spoke against this at the zoning administrator's hearing but the zoning change to allow it was approved by Edith Fuentes.

Glendale's Halloween Scene

My friend James is a master craftsman (and brilliant animator) who puts up a fantastic Haunted Mansion Halloween display in his front yard every year. The most astonishing aspect of his display is that all of the props and decorations are handmade and not store bought. The attention to detail is phenomenal, and he's documented much of the building process on his blog. You can check it out tomorrow night at 1233 Moncado Dr.



Last year he helped another Glendale resident put up an amazing giant animatronic ghost ship and talking skeleton. This year, that person is putting on another large display with a crashed steam locomotive. Check out this year's display at 1665 Highland Ave, just below Cumberland. Here are some pictures from last year's incredible life size ghost ship.



There are a number of other Halloween events happening this weekend. Kendyl has a thorough list here. Notably, the cast of Wicked will be performing at the Americana on Friday at 5pm.

I'll leave you with a picture of last year's best group costume winners from the costume competition on the Disney lot. These guys were great and very much in character.

Glendeal: 33 Cent CFL Light Bulbs TODAY ONLY

Spotted in the Albertson's 8-hour sale circular: A 3 pack of energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs for only $1. That's 33 cents a bulb, plus the money you'll save on electricity!

Stock up now, as this deal is only available Thursday, October 30th from 1pm to 9m at your local Albertson's.

Porto's Presidential Cookie Tracking Poll

The Porto's Presidential Cookie Poll is not yet referenced on Electoral Vote or Five Thirty-Eight yet, but it does offer some insight into local political leanings. Barring some sort of October cookie surprise, the Obama cookies are dominating.




Much like campaign promises, the shortbread and frosting political cookies are far too sweet for my taste. I'm looking forward to a savory Democratic salad of fiscal and environmental responsibility come January.

The Atwater Village Newbie covered Porto's Burbank location cookie poll here.

Los Feliz Blvd Being Resurfaced

Los Feliz Boulevard is being resurfaced from Central to the border with Atwater Village. I haven't found any information on the city's website about the duration of the project. Hopefully this fixes the lumpy pavement on the south side of Los Feliz that I always have to dodge on my road bike.

Unless you really want to get filthy, you'll probably want to use Chevy Chase to Brunswick to Los Feliz or Glendale Blvd as an alternate route into Atwater Village for the next week or so.

Obama In Nevada

Here are a few photos from the highlight of my productive and exhausting weekend in Nevada.

My Dad took this one.