Cars

She drives a 2002 Honda and drove a Toyota before that, but Sandy Norris’ heart is set on her 1949 Ford — one of her late husband’s favorite cars. Born in Chicago and raised in Cleveland until she was 12, Norris came to La Crescenta in 1952. She graduated from Glendale High School in 1957 and married her husband in September that year. They were happily married for 42 years; it will be 10 years this August since he died after battling cancer. When they met, she was driving a ’49 Ford and he was driving a ’49 Mercury.

Darleene Barrientos Taste in cars helped retired Glendale Police Capt. Jim Swinford bond with the woman he has been married to for the past 35 years. After meeting his wife, Donna, Swinford offered to drive her to her car. She got into his 1967 Fastback Mustang without saying a word. She didn't have to when he drove up to her 1967 Fastback Mustang. Swinford and his wife both kept their Mustangs and will show hers off this weekend at the 12th annual Cruise Night on Brand Boulevard.

Police say a series of tire slashings on luxury cars and SUVs early Saturday in Northwest Glendale was a "random act" of vandalism. In some cases, all four tires were slashed on the high-end cars, most of which were parked in home driveways and on the dimly-lit streets of Vista Drive, West Mountain Street, Grandview and Winchester avenues and Cumberland and Kenneth roads, according to Glendale police. One of the cars, a Cadillac CTS, belonged to City Manager Scott Ochoa and had all of its tires slashed.

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Amber Willard DOWNTOWN -- Seven cars, including three that were set on fire, were found with their tires slashed in the 400 block of Oak Street. The vandalisms were reported early Friday, about two hours after police responded to a report of loud music coming from an apartment along the street. Only one of the cars received severe fire damage. Firefighters extinguished a fire under a Chevrolet Lumina, whose rear portion was damaged. Officials found a rag hanging from its gas tank.

Alexa Capeloto Glendale will no longer be home to the Blessing of the Cars, the annual hot rod showcase known for providing a Catholic priest to bless classic automobiles. For the past five years the event was held at Verdugo Park, attracting more than 7,000 spectators and 800 cars in 1998. This year, organizers decided to rent Sun Valley's Hanson Dam Park for the July 29 event instead. Organizer Stephanie Baltierra said she and husband Gabriel decided more than a year ago that the event had outgrown Verdugo and needed a bigger space.

Brand Boulevard dealership plans complex as trends in renovation along the main drag continue.DOWNTOWN GLENDALE -- It has the amenities of a five-star hotel: a Starbucks, plasma TVs, free internet access, a boutique, ATM, elevators and enclosed parking. Nothing is spared for the "guests" at Lexus of Glendale, one of several dealerships on the landmark Brand Boulevard of Cars that are investing millions to upgrade their facilities. Lexus completed its new 225,000-square-foot facility at 1221 S. Brand Blvd.

The past was present Saturday during the seventh annual Foothill Festival of Cars at the First Baptist Church of La Crescenta. More than 160 cars that spanned nine generations of automobile ingenuity were spread across the two-tiered parking lot in what organizers said was one of the year’s biggest church fundraisers. Last year, the event pulled in $10,000 — the highest amount since the car show debuted in 2001, volunteer Joan Sapper said. Money was raised through a combination of food and drink sales and the sale of raffle tickets.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Vandals shattered windows on 10 cars parked on city streets over the weekend with what appears to have been shots fired from a BB gun, police said. No injuries were reported in the incidents, but the shooting spree will rack up thousands of dollars in damage, making the crime a felony, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. "It's a pretty serious offense," he said. "It's obviously unnecessary, and it's pretty low that someone would do something like this."

Beneath a starry sky, Sosé Thomassian and Allen Yekikian held each other on their wedding night, arms looped around hips, eyes locked, for more than 20 minutes so the photographer could capture what would become their favorite wedding photo. Back at the wedding reception in a lakeside Armenian town, the photographer showed off the shot and the crowd cooed. The couple got their wedding, but there will be no first anniversary. About eight months after the wedding, on May 10, Thomassian and Yekikian died in a head-on car crash while on a weekend getaway in Georgia, Armenia's neighbor to the north.

Two motorists crashed into buildings in two separate collisions Monday morning, police said. The first crash occurred about 8:24 a.m. at Everett and Colorado streets, police said. An eastbound driver reportedly failed to stop for a red light before being hit by a southbound motorist, police said. The driver then crashed into the southeast corner of a building in the 800 block of East Colorado Street. The driver was cited on suspicion of driving without a valid driver's license, police said.

A man accused of striking and killing a 61-year-old Glendale doctor with his car pleaded no contest on Wednesday to a charge of intoxicated driving, officials said. Edmond Grigoryan, 30, initially faced a more serious felony count of driving under the influence of a controlled substance and causing serious injuries, but that was reduced Wednesday to a misdemeanor DUI count, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court officials. Grigoryan's vehicle struck Jacob Orphali on Oct. 12 in the 1100 block of Western Avenue, according to Glendale police.

Glendale firefighters rescued a Palmdale man whose Saturn overturned Thursday morning into an embankment along the Glendale (2) Freeway at Mountain Street, officials said. The 37-year-old motorist, Edgar Herrera, was taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, where he was treated for a fractured left femur, said California Highway Patrol Officer Kevin Denmon. Herrera also complained of pain to his chest and right wrist. Herrera was driving south in the fourth lane at about 6 a.m. on the Glendale (2)

Police say a series of tire slashings on luxury cars and SUVs early Saturday in Northwest Glendale was a "random act" of vandalism. In some cases, all four tires were slashed on the high-end cars, most of which were parked in home driveways and on the dimly-lit streets of Vista Drive, West Mountain Street, Grandview and Winchester avenues and Cumberland and Kenneth roads, according to Glendale police. One of the cars, a Cadillac CTS, belonged to City Manager Scott Ochoa and had all of its tires slashed.

Surviving victims and family members of a deadly Pasadena car crash that occurred during a police pursuit on Christmas Day - a Glendale woman and a Daly City boy - have filed claims against the city that could pave the way for wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits. The five claims filed on March 11 contend police were negligent in giving chase over what amounted to a vehicle code infraction. “Due to the dangerous and hazardous conditions created by high-speed police pursuits in populated areas, it was careless, negligent and unnecessary for the involved law enforcement officers to engage in high-speed pursuit initiated by a minor vehicle infraction,” the claims read.

Two deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, including one from the Crescenta Valley Station, were treated for minor injuries following a fight with a suspect and a related car crash in Altadena Saturday afternoon.   The suspect and three motorists involved in the collision were also taken to area hospitals with minor injuries, Sheriff's Sgt. Brian Mann said.   Deputies with the Altadena Sheriff's Station were responding to a family disturbance call in the 200 block of Galbreth Road in Altadena at about 3:30 p.m. when the clash erupted between deputies and a man at the location.

Motorists without passengers would be able to use the car pool lanes on the Ventura (134) Freeway during non-peak hours under legislation introduced to address the growing gridlock on state freeways. Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Silver Lake) said his AB 405 will create a test program that could be expanded to other congested freeways in Southern California that do not open up car pool lanes to all traffic after rush hour. It would allow single-passenger vehicles to use the car pool lanes in off-peak hours in a five-mile stretch of the 134 between the 170 and 5 freeways.

An 86-year-old female driver crashed a red sedan into a Starbucks in Glendale after she pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake Friday afternoon, authorities said. A 65-year-old man sitting on the patio jumped out of the way of the Dodge Stratus, which hit the Starbucks at 1703 W. Glenoaks Blvd. at about 1:20 p.m. The man suffered a small cut on his head and another man who tried to help the driver cut his head on glass, police reported. All injuries were characterized as being minor.

City officials say parking permits may be the imperfect answer to a years-long fight waged between residents and car dealerships along South Brand Boulevard. On Monday, the Transportation and Parking Commission supported streamlining rules for a special permitting process in an effort to strike a compromise between the competing interests. “It's not a perfect plan. It's a start,” said Commissioner Aram Sahakian in front of about 25 people at the City Hall meeting. If the City Council eventually approves the ordinance as recommended by the commission, the city will create a “preferential parking district” bounded by Central Avenue to the west, Colorado Street to the north, Glendale Avenue to the east and San Fernando Road to the south.