Montrose

An 83-year-old Montrose man was cited Sunday after he allegedly crashed his car into a deli on La Crescenta Avenue, police said. Andrius Pira was parking his car in front of Alexis Deli & Grocery in the 4000 block of La Crescenta Avenue, when he accelerated into the building, police said. Three patrons were inside the deli at the time of the crash, but police said only one of them suffered a small scrape. Pira was cited on suspicion of driving with a suspended license. Pira reportedly told officers that he received a letter from the Department of Motor Vehicles advising him that his license was suspended and he needed “to go to the DMV to fix it,” according to Glendale police reports.

A 31-year-old man was arrested Sunday night after residents saw him spray-painting his moniker in huge letters on a wall in Montrose, police said. Richard Cordova was taken into custody about 11:35 p.m. on Honolulu Avenue and Wickham Way after police spotted him trying to flee the scene, Glendale Police Officer Matt Zakarian said. He allegedly spray-painted his moniker in nearly 5-foot-tall by 4-foot-wide letters. The tagging was not gang-affiliated, but detectives were still investigating the incident, Zakarian added.

The surgery to help diagnose a Montrose boy’s elusive medical condition was unsuccessful Wednesday, his mother Natalia LoCicero said. The procedure had never been done on someone so young, and 4-year-old Reece LoCicero will likely undergo a different and potentially more invasive operation in a few weeks, she said. From the time he was 10 months old, Reece’s life has been marked with myriad of symptoms difficult for doctors to diagnose, including unexplained bleeding and sores.

The money keeps flowing in for the Montrose Shopping Park Assn., which for years had been plagued by revenue problems. For 2013, the organization that promotes nearly 200 businesses near and along Honolulu Avenue is forecasting income of $460,000 - $100,000 more than originally forecasted for 2012, according to data released on Thursday. By August, the organization had taken in $400,000, which is more than the $360,000 it had expected to make in 2012 when it presented a budget to the City Council last year.

Recent headlines present a thought-provoking juxtaposition: “Changes sown at the Harvest Market” and “Lights, camera, money” on Feb. 3. Change is coming to Montrose, beyond the proposals for the Harvest Market, and here's what I wonder. If Montrose starts to look like Any Other Town, U.S.A., with a Starbucks on every corner, while losing a bit of our frisson due to a ban on politics at our farmer's market (can that even be legal?), will TV and movie production companies continue to be interested in filming here?

Learn about the past of your favorite shopping area on the Montrose Walking Tour on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 11 a.m. John Drayman will narrate as we stroll by the historic shops along Honolulu. John is the unofficial historian for Montrose and gives a fascinating and humorous look at the evolution of the quaint little town that has become one of the jewels of the Crescenta Valley. We'll meet in front of White's Art Gallery at 2414 Honolulu Ave. and take an easy, two-block walk ending at the new restaurant area of the 2200 block (just in time for lunch)

Karen S. Kim MONTROSE -- Montrose residents and business owners are going to have to find a new place to "feel the burn" next month, as 24 Hour Fitness on Honolulu Avenue is closing March 31. The gym's departure will mark the 11th or so vacancy seen in Montrose Shopping Park in recent months, association President Lori Flagg said. "I'm very disappointed that they decided to close the facility," Flagg said. "I think it was an important asset to the area."

Karen S. Kim MONTROSE -- After 18 years, the owners of the Gift Corner on Honolulu Avenue in Montrose are packing it up, hitting the road and heading to Vegas. Owners Steve Petker and Ray Corder have been thinking of relocating to Las Vegas for the last 10 years. "A friend of mine called and told me there was a house out there that I would want to buy," said Petker, 53, of Burbank. "So I went out there, and within five minutes, I bought the house."

Buck Wargo CITY HALL -- The Glendale City Council backed up its words with actions in changing the zoning ordinance in Montrose. The council voted 5-0 Tuesday to enact an ordinance council members on April 4 said they would support. The changes are geared to prevent offices and service companies from destroying the Main Street feel of the shopping district along Honolulu Avenue. The ordinance requires new businesses with more than one employee per 370 square feet to obtain a variance from the Glendale zoning administrator.

Laura Sturza What's new in Montrose? Residents celebrating the city's 90th birthday Sunday in the 2300 block of Honolulu Avenue said much remains unchanged. "There are all kinds of wonderful people [in Montrose]," said resident Alfred Weisshaar, who turns 100 today. "They keep their places beautiful." A few things are different from when he moved to the city 57 years ago. There were no freeways then, hardly any houses above the foothills and parcels of land were sold for $500 each, Weisshaar said.