Community

Sean Sauceda moved quickly through dry brush near a Pasadena freeway off ramp before dawn Tuesday morning, looking for the homeless people most at risk of dying on city streets. He stopped to peer inside a cluster of bushes. “People hollow them out by breaking the branches inside,” Sauceda said as he snapped a branch. “It's natural shelter. It's large enough where you can fit a dome tent inside of it. I've done it.” Sauceda, 41, a Fresno-area native, lived on the streets of Los Angeles for 13 years.

I n 1974, Judy Weber's son, Tobin, was dealing with autism so severe that it would manifest itself as destructive behavior. "He faced state hospitalization," she said. At the time, Weber was serving on a committee serving autistic children within the Los Angeles Unified School District. Tobin was living at UCLA, where researchers were using him as a subject for early autism research. When UCLA was close to completing their research, Weber became frustrated when she found that no school would take Tobin due to the severity of his autism.

Officer Bryan Duncan was running late to a drunk-driving enforcement operation on March 17 when he witnessed a major traffic collision on the Foothill (210) Freeway that quickly escalated into an inferno. Duncan jumped off his motorcycle, ran toward the collision - which involved a Dodge Challenger and a Nissan Sentra - and began calling for emergency crews. After Duncan and a passerby pulled the driver from the fiery Nissan, he tried using a fire extinguisher to douse the flames.

GLENDALE — Though she's only been the head coach of the Glendale Community College women's basketball program for four months, Carrie Miller isn't going to use the lack of time in the position as a crutch. Known for having a sharp eye at evaluating talent, Miller didn't have the opportunities that her counterparts had in exploring the recruiting trail this past summer in an attempt to find players who might be able to grasp her strategies. That doesn't mean the current cast of players at Glendale college doesn't fit the bill, though.

LA CRESCENTA — More than a half-dozen people in the Crescenta Valley were arrested last week in connection with drug-related offenses, Glendale police said. While the cluster of drug-related arrests was uncommon, drug issues, particularly among teens, have been a problem in the area, said North Command Lt. Ian Grimes. “It’s definitely something we are asking the officers to focus on,” Grimes said. In the latest arrest, police got a tip Saturday from a citizen who noticed two teens acting suspiciously at the restrooms in Glorietta Park on Verdugo Road, Grimes said.

Whole Foods Market is moving its regional headquarters to an eight-story building in Glendale that has sat vacant since it was constructed in 2009, officials announced this week. With its regional headquarters currently in Sherman Oaks, Whole Foods has almost 50 stores in its western region, including Southern California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii. During a Glendale City Council meeting on Tuesday, city officials outlined the move and what it means to the city, which has been working to reduce its Class A office vacancy rate of about 22%. Whole Foods will lease the top two floors - or about 45,000 square feet - in the sleek building at 207 Goode Ave. along the Ventura (134)

The City Council on Tuesday begrudgingly approved a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the motorist who struck cyclist Damian Kevitt near Griffith Park, maiming him to the point where he lost part of his right leg. Council members approved the reward despite many contending the money would be better spent on traffic safety issues within the city. But Kevitt's mother, Michele Kirkland, said on Wednesday that the reward will help to renew interest in her son's case.

Peter Murphy, lead singer of British Goth rock band Bauhaus, was arrested Saturday after he allegedly rear-ended a vehicle in Glendale, injured the driver and then fled to Los Angeles, where he was blocked by an eyewitness until police arrived, officials said. The eyewitness followed Murphy, 55, from the crash at Central and Goode avenues in Glendale to the 3400 block of Barham Boulevard in Los Angeles because “he was afraid [Murphy] would kill someone with his driving,” according to Glendale police.

Art class was in session Saturday, but there were no desks or whiteboards out on Honolulu Avenue, just artists showing their paintings and sharing their techniques with the public during the Montrose Art Walk and Sale. Artists are encouraged to demonstrate and talk about their techniques during the show, said Rose Gamble, administrative assistant for the Montrose Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce, which coordinates the event four times a year. “The purpose of the art walk is to bring knowledge and enrichment to the local community and to make them aware of the local artists who do beautiful artwork of the local and surrounding areas,” Gamble said.

Karen S. Kim Gregg's Artistic Homes might have lost its chance to develop the Oakmont View V hillside property, but over the past 70 years, the Gregg family has built more than its fair share of Glendale. More than 3,000 homes in the city have been developed by the Greggs since Alice Lee Gregg started the business in 1934. Gregg homes are mainly in northwest and northeast Glendale and La Crescenta. "In those areas, it's hard to drive around without seeing one of our homes," Vice President Bob Gregg said.