Glendale Galleria

GLENDALE — Kendra Owen was shopping at the Glendale Galleria on Wednesday when Alana Gregos, the assistant manager of the LUSH cosmetics store, briefed her on North America's dependence on fossil fuel. Gregos was one of the more than half-dozen LUSH employees who wore T-shirts, posters and black plastic oil barrels to raise awareness of the Canadian tar sands, an oil operation in Alberta that opponents say wastes energy and produces toxic runoff to neighboring indigenous people and wildlife.

?The eyes tell all.? ? Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz on determining if someone is under the influence of drugs. ? ?They needed money to pay for food. They needed to pay bills and to support their drug habit.? ? Glendale Police Det. Robert William of a couple who broke into four Glendale stores and stole California Lottery Scratchers. ? ?He?s playing games with words and failing to live up not only to his campaign promises, but to his role and obligations as president of the freest country in the world to declare the events of 1915 a genocide.

Americana at Brand developer Rick Caruso on Tuesday said he would be interested in using a new joint $750-million investment fund to buy the rival Glendale Galleria. Caruso, a billionaire who also developed the Grove in Los Angeles, announced the joint venture with global investment firm TPG Capital on Tuesday, saying it would be tapped to buy and transform distressed properties into retail and mixed-use destinations. Although Caruso plans to spread his new investments along the West Coast, he said he was specifically interested in adding to his 475,000 square feet of commercial and retail property in Glendale and to his other developments in the Los Angeles region.

As for Rick Caruso’s trolley going up and down Brand Boulevard on his dime — thank you, Caruso, for your imagination and the workings of your marketing department (“Trolley to roll in April,” March 19). You have not failed me and the many supporters of your project, the Americana at Brand. The same critics of the past still go before the City Council today criticizing and speaking ill of your “Dream for Glendale.” One critic gets upset when told to keep off the “public grass” for lawn maintenance and also criticizes the new special “signage” for our two premier malls.

GLENDALE — Police say they plan to pursue several fraud-related charges for a 38-year-old parolee who was arrested Saturday after officers found check-making supplies and equipment in his car. Officers approached Joseph Jarmen on Saturday after seeing him working on a laptop while parked outside the Target on Colorado Street, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. Jarmen was on parole for weapons violations and was believed to be armed and dangerous, Lorenz said. He told the Glendale officers that parole authorities had been searching for him since he failed to check in, Det. Jason Ross said.

DOWNTOWN — The home of Borders Bookstore on Brand Boulevard could soon be empty, city officials say. The store location, at the city’s most prominent commercial intersection, is being explored as an “opportunity site” for other potential retail tenants that could fill the space, Development Services Director Philip Lanzafame said Tuesday during a Glendale Redevelopment Agency meeting. Mary Davis, a spokeswoman for Borders Group Inc., disputed this, saying the company had “no plans at this time to close the Glendale store.

CITY HALL — City officials on Tuesday reiterated their commitment to improving Glendale’s economy through a range of plans for business development, luring new companies to the area and building a brand identity that consumers can relate to. Their statements came during an update from Glendale development officials about the state of the city’s economy and efforts to address unemployment and low sales tax revenues. The city’s most recent measure of sales tax revenues, from the third quarter of 2009, shows they were down 13.7%, Development Services Director Philip Lanzafame said.

A new take on the juried art gallery is showing no signs of slowing down, with the Local Collection ? owned and operated by the Glendale Galleria ? continuing to introduce regional artists and their works to one of the most high-traffic retail areas in the state. Local Collection is a retail consignment boutique featuring the work of 25 local and independent artists. Opened in November, the space sells jewelry, clothing, paintings and other works in a retail setting that few stand-alone galleries can generate.

DOWNTOWN — Versailles Gallery on Brand Boulevard will close this month, putting an end to furniture sales in the city’s transforming commercial core. Versailles Gallery, which sells reproductions of antique and designer furniture, is next to the Alex Theatre and will shut its doors after a year of operations there, owner Joseph Hashemian said. “It’s heartbreaking,” said Hashemian, who previously sold his furniture out of the Glendale Galleria and a store in Pasadena.

DOWNTOWN ? Glendale Police officers were honored Saturday for creating a safe environment for shoppers at the Glendale Galleria. Sgt. Javier Ruiz and Capt. Lief Nicolaisen were given a letter of appreciation from mall executives for playing critical roles in helping control crime in the area and helping establish the Downtown Policing Unit at its new substation in the shopping center, said Janet LaFevre, senior marketing director for the Galleria. ?We have has a long relationship with the Glendale Police Department, which I think has been instrumental since the shopping center was built,?