Construction Site

DOWNTOWN ? A 36-year-old construction worker was killed on Monday afternoon at the site of a new BMW car dealership on South Brand Boulevard in what officials say was an industrial accident. Police received several 911 calls at about 1:30 p.m. of a man injured at the site at Brand Boulevard and Windsor Avenue, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. "Upon arrival, police encountered a man who had been severely injured on the job site as a result of falling glass," Lorenz said.

Marshall Allen LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- The La Canada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Assn. will hold an open house and seminar on float construction from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 1, at the Valley Water Company's float construction site, 4524 Hampton Road, La Canada Flintridge. The float crew is looking for volunteers who are interested in learning about welding, hydraulic systems, computer controlled systems, sculpting, shaping of pencil rod and foam carving.

Public Works crews on Wednesday shut down traffic at San Fernando Road and Cerritos Avenue while firefighters investigated a gas leak at a construction site, officials said. Construction crews punctured a six-inch gas pipe just after 11:30 p.m. at the site on Cerritos and San Fernando, prompting heavy response from fire and police. Gas crews estimated the leak would take up to three hours to repair, so Public Works crews set up barricades to divert cars during the work. Veronica Rocha    

Gretchen Hoffman Hikers will have to navigate around a construction site a little longer than planned as Forest Service workers put the finishing touches on a new pedestrian bridge northeast of La Canada Flintridge. The Arroyo Canyon bridge, which is located about three miles north of Windsor Road in La Canada Flintridge, has been closed to all foot and equestrian traffic since June 24, Angeles National Forest officials said. Construction of a new bridge was estimated to be completed July 31, but officials now say hikers and horseback riders should expect to be rerouted around the construction site until Aug. 15. The new concrete bridge is being built in response to public concern over the poor condition of the old bridge's wood decking.

Gretchen Hoffman A man died Sunday after being thrown from his car in a crash at the Glendale (2) Freeway interchange with the Foothill (210) Freeway, officials said. The 33-year-old man was driving a Honda CRX north on the Glendale (2) Freeway about 12:30 p.m. when he apparently lost control of the car, California Highway Patrol Officer J. Seumanutafa said. Officials declined to reveal further information regarding his identity. The car went up an embankment and crashed through a fence around a construction site.

Northbound drivers on North Verdugo Road can see the progress of the Cimmarusti Science Center construction site at Glendale Community College. The state-of-the-art facility is 70% complete, its concrete walls and domed roof visible from Verdugo Road. Ground was broken on the facility in May, and installation of lecture hall seating, a domed roof and the facility's central plant is complete. To date, $8 million in Measure G bond money has been spent on the project, which has an anticipated price tag of $13 million, Business Services Director Bill Taylor said.

The following incidents were taken from reports filed at the Glendale Police Station: 200 block of North Central Avenue: About $4,750 worth of computer monitors were reported stolen from Crazybridge Studios on Monday. There were no signs of forced entry. 4200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue: Burglary was reported Monday after workers discovered four bundles of electrical wire missing from a construction site. The wire was worth about $1,200. 800 block of West Glenoaks Boulevard: Police are looking for a man that was reportedly caught on video surveillance cameras stealing $400 worth of lottery tickets from a 7-Eleven store on Monday.

Amber Willard Glendale firefighters were kept busy Monday. In the morning, they had to free a man trapped in a trailer's hydraulics system, and in the early evening check for injuries when a private ambulance was hit by an SUV. In the later accident, no one was seriously hurt. But the man in the morning accident suffered a broken leg after he slipped off a trailer full of dirt and fell into its hydraulic connection to a dump truck. The 38-year-old man, a foreman at the construction site at the Pacific-Edison site at Riverdale Drive and Pacific Avenue, was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Public Works crews on Wednesday shut down traffic at San Fernando Road and Cerritos Avenue while firefighters investigated a gas leak at a construction site, officials said. Construction crews punctured a six-inch gas pipe just after 11:30 p.m. at the site on Cerritos and San Fernando, prompting heavy response from fire and police. Gas crews estimated the leak would take up to three hours to repair, so Public Works crews set up barricades to divert cars during the work. Veronica Rocha    

She won’t move in for 10 months, but that doesn’t stop Izabella Tumanyan from visiting the beginnings of her new home each day in the 600 block of Geneva Street. Sometimes she comes with her husband and two children, ages 10 and 12. “We are very excited,” Tumanyan said. “Every day I come here…and watch from the outside to see how it is being built.” The Habitat for Humanity project is in the beginning stages — a crew from the Pasadena-based construction company Pankow laid the foundation this week.

SOUTH GLENDALE — Changes at Glendale Community College’s Garfield Campus to accommodate new construction could complicate student life there, with the spring semester beginning next week. Construction along the east side of the campus has consumed about 30 parking spaces, leaving fewer than 100 spaces for a school teeming with more than 800 students at any given moment during the week, campus officials said. Parking has long been a dilemma at the college, student Robert Thompson said, adding that students have become accustomed to the race for parking.

The following were taken from reports filed at the Glendale Police Department: ? ?300 block of Whiting Woods Road: Two 22-year-old Glendale men were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of possession of marijuana. ?1600 block of Garden Avenue: A 49-year-old Glendale woman reported Thursday that her Chevrolet Suburban was burglarized. Three helmets, two blankets, two headphone sets, CDs, stereo equipment and cellphone charger were stolen. ?1600 block of Garden Avenue: A 54-year-old Glendale man reported Thursday that his Chevrolet Blazer was burglarized.

GLENDALE — Santa Ana winds ripped through the San Fernando Valley at speeds that reached as high as 50 mph Wednesday night and Thursday, wreaking havoc on trees, neighborhoods and a city park. A 45- to 50-foot Diadora cedar, which was planted more than 40 years ago in Glenoaks Park, was uprooted by the winds, said Gary Marello, park services administrator for Glendale. “It caused no damage in addition to the tree itself,” he said. A three-person work crew cleared the area in about four hours, he added.

GLENDALE — It may be another year before Glendale Community College’s new field station on the Baja California peninsula is ready for use, the director of the school’s Baja California Field Studies Program told the college’s board of trustees Monday. “We are about 60% finished,” director Jose Mercadé said. Given the status of construction, Mercadé predicted that the facility could be opened to students by November or December 2008. “I feel very confident that barring any unforeseen consequences, things will proceed smoothly,” Mercadé told the trustees after giving a presentation that included aerial photos of the construction site.

GLENDALE — Police are investigating a string of recent metal thefts in the city, the latest being the heist of $30,000 worth of copper materials and tools from a downtown construction site on Sunday afternoon, officials said. Police suspect that the burglars are looking to exploit the re-sale value of scrap metals, including copper, Glendale Police Officer Sherri Servillo said. "This is a big thing to steal the wiring," Servillo said. "They take it to the recycling place and they get quite a bit of money for it."