Los Angeles River

CITY HALL — With easement issues coming to a close, the long-awaited walkway along the Los Angeles River once again rests on the availability of state funding, city officials said Friday. The Glendale Narrows Riverwalk project, which received concept design approval from the City Council in 2006, has encountered a number of bumps keeping it from becoming a reality. The project was put on hold in February when the state froze a $1.1-million grant because of the budget crisis.

Hordes of spectators surrounded the perimeter of Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary in the Hollywood Hills on Tuesday morning as they strained to catch a glimpse of Michael Jackson’s coffin and private funeral caravan. Fans engulfed a grassy area across the Los Angeles River as the late pop star’s motorcade — a chain of 30 cars led by five Rolls-Royces followed by more than two dozen California Highway Patrol vehicles — entered into the tightly controlled cemetery.

GLENDALE — State funds for the long-awaited redevelopment of Glendale’s walkway along the Los Angeles River may have been unfrozen, but the project is still awaiting the outcome of negotiations between the city and DreamWorks Animation LLC over an easement. The Glendale Narrows Riverwalk project was put on hold in February when the state froze a $1.1-million grant because of the budget crisis. The funds have now been released, but there is no guarantee they will remain, said Dave Ahern, capital projects manager for the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department.

SOUTH GLENDALE — Wheelchair-bound and still recovering from injuries suffered three years ago when she went through a windshield and fell 50 feet into the Los Angeles River, Narine Bagdasaryan on Monday was finally able to leave her house by herself. For the last two years, she has relied entirely on help from her mother and sister. “This is the first time I have ever left the house by myself,” she said. “Now I can do anything on my own.” Bagdasaryan received a brand-new aluminum wheelchair ramp Monday as a donation from TMP Services, a Colton-based company that installs Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant ramps, after her ramps were stolen from outside her home Thursday.

Police officers on Thursday built a temporary ramp for a 24-year-old wheelchair-bound woman after thieves reportedly stole the original in broad daylight. Narine Bagdasaryan, who fell 50 feet to the Los Angeles River from atop the Colorado Street offramp three years ago after being sent through her car’s windshield in a single-car accident, came home from physical therapy sessions about 5 p.m. Thursday to discover that the single-wheel dual ramps up to her door step had been stolen, family members said.

GLENDALE — Heavy rain left city streets slick and caused some accidents and traffic delays Friday, and weather officials expected the rain to continue today. Showers are expected to continue for most of today and last until Sunday morning, when they will eventually taper off, said meteorologist Mike Wofford of the National Weather Service. “There will be some periods of heavy rain,” he said. But Friday’s rainstorm did not cure the Southland’s drought-like conditions, Wofford said.

The City Council on Tuesday agreed to increase the contingency amount for a wastewater monitoring contract by $100,000. Several equipment failures over the past few years have depleted the account originally set up for a private firm to monitor the city?s wastewater flume and flow devices. The additional money will be used to purchase replacements for failed electronic monitoring devices and other equipment. Having the money at the ready would reduce the amount of time it takes to procure the new equipment ?

Famed movie star Bette Davis, born 100 years ago this month, once lived in Glendale. She purchased a house just off of Riverside Drive, by the Los Angeles River. According to a 1940 Los Angeles Times feature article, she preferred to live in a modest house close to the studios rather than in a huge Beverly Hills mansion. She was often seen riding her horse along the river bank. Marilyn Chrisman recalled that she and her family used to go down to the river to cool off in the hot summer weather.

WEST GLENDALE — Plans for a pedestrian bridge that would link Glendale to Griffith Park could soon enter an important planning phase if a city request to Caltrans is approved for $102,500 to study the project. Submission of the grant application comes as the city gets ready to start work on implementing the first phase of a multimillion-dollar, multi-jurisdictional river revitalization plan this year that is meant to eventually connect the city with Los Angeles via the proposed bridge.