Top 10 stories of 2005

Metrolink disaster devastates community

1 The city's worst disaster in 75 years -- and the worst in Metrolink history -- occurred in the early morning hours of Jan. 26, when an SUV left on the tracks triggered a three-train crash that killed 11 and injured 189.

Juan Manuel Alvarez, 25, of Compton, allegedly parked his Jeep Cherokee on the railroad tracks near Chevy Chase Drive just before 6 a.m., doused it with gasoline and set it on fire before abandoning it. The southbound Metrolink 100 train hit the jeep and derailed, smashing into a parked Union Pacific train. The remaining cars of the Metrolink train, which was headed to Union Station from Moorpark, crossed paths with the northbound Metrolink 901 train, which also derailed.

Alvarez is charged with 11 counts of murder with "special allegations," a legal designation that allowed prosecutors to seek the death penalty. Alvarez, who pleaded not guilty and claims to have been deranged and suicidal at the time of the incident, is scheduled for a pretrial conference on March 3.

Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against Metrolink by injured passengers and survivors of the dead, alleging that the use of a controversial "push-pull" method by Metrolink contributed to the severity of the accident. The method involves a locomotive pushing a train from behind in one direction, but pulls it in another direction.

City strained as mall wars continue in and out of courts

2 It was a year of court battles and uncertainty for the $264.2-million Americana at Brand project, as Glendale Galleria owner General Growth Properties pursued a lawsuit against the developer and the city.

On Jan. 20, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert O'Brien denied the Glendale Galleria owners' claims that the environmental impact report for the 15.5-acre commercial and residential project was inadequate and that two buildings on the downtown site -- the old Fire Station 21 and Pacific Bell buildings -- were of historical significance and should be preserved. General Growth then appealed O'Brien's decision to the California Court of Appeals, Second Appellate District.