Pacific Avenue

I read the responses to my comments of "How Fast is too Fast?" Commander Don Meredith is part of the problem. As for T.L. Bentz he or she must belong to the my-city-right-or-wrong crowd. The facts remain that the officers have too much range in which to ticket -- 26 mph tickets wouldn't be reasonable. If the speed limit was a realistic 35 mph, my 39 mph -- for which I was ticketed on Pacific Avenue -- wouldn't look so bad. Other municipalities have signs in their school zones that read "25 mph when children present," here in Glendale the entire Pacific Avenue is a school zone 24 hours a day. As long as the ridiculous 25 mph speed limit remains, Pacific Avenue will remain a speed trap.

Alex Coolman SOUTHWEST GLENDALE -- A dilapidated row of apartment buildings across the street from the Edison-Pacific project will be razed and turned into low-income housing after its residents move out this summer, city officials said. The buildings -- one ramshackle pink house at the corner of Pacific Avenue and Vine Street and several small cottages next to the house on Pacific Avenue -- sit on property the city acquired in May from former owner Jamal Gharib.

The following items were taken from reports filed at Glendale Police Department: ? ? 500 block of Cumberland Road: A Glendale man reported Wednesday that a lawn mower, valued at $1,000, was stolen from the back of his truck. ? Pacific Avenue and Pioneer Drive: A Glendale man reported Wednesday that the window of his Chevrolet sedan was shattered. ? 1400 block of East Maple Street: A 25-year-old Los Angeles man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of driving without a license and on an outstanding warrant.

Amber Willard SOUTHWEST GLENDALE -- Glendale Police are looking for a man who stole a woman's purse as she walked on a sidewalk. The woman was headed north on Pacific Avenue at Broadway about 10:15 p.m. Tuesday when the man walked alongside her and spoke to her in an unknown language, she told police. The man then grabbed her purse and fearing he would attack her, the woman let go, she told police. The man ran north on Pacific Avenue after the robbery.

The following reports were taken from the Glendale Police Department blotter: 900 block of Pacific Avenue: An employee at Blockbuster Video reported Friday that someone smashed the front window of the store and stole numerous DVDs. Glenwood Road at N. Pacific Avenue: Four Glendale men were arrested Thursday on suspicion of felony burglary for taking bottles of liquor from Ralphs market. 1900 block of Niadrara Drive: A Glendale man reported Thursday that four men in a gold-colored Acura were following him to several locations around the city.

Karen S. Kim NORTHWEST GLENDALE -- A 19-year-old Burbank driver was arrested Sunday after hitting an elderly woman on the sidewalk of Pacific Avenue in Glendale, police said. Vardan Yagubyan, was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of marijuana at the time of the accident, said Glendale Police Officer David Buckley. Yagubyan was driving south on Pacific Avenue near the Ventura (134) Freeway at 10:36 a.m. when he was forced to brake hard because of stopped traffic, Buckley said.

A motorist who collided with another car and lost control of her SUV on Thursday afternoon crashed into the facade of the Marie Callender's Restaurant on Pacific Avenue, officials said. No injuries were reported. The restaurant sustained some damage, but not sufficient enough to close it, said Glendale Fire Battalion Chief Gregory Fish. The woman, who was not identified, lost control of her SUV and took out the restaurant's sidewalk sign and slammed into a corner of the restaurant, barely missing the dining room, officials said.

Gretchen Hoffman NORTHWEST GLENDALE -- Glendale Police are looking for a man who held up a dry cleaner at gunpoint. A man walked in to Nu--Way Dry Cleaning, 1115 N. Pacific Ave., at about 4:40 p.m. Friday, pointed a gun at the owner of the business and demanded money, according to police. He left with $150 in cash and fled on foot south on Pacific Avenue, police said. Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call Glendale Crime Stoppers, an anonymous hotline, at 507-7867.

The San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity, which represents the area, has a new executive director. Sonja Yates, of Pasadena, stepped into the position left vacant since January when Alan Dugan of Altadena resigned. Yates took the job last week. The SGV Habitat for Humanity is building four condominiums on Pacific Avenue at Vine Street in Glendale, a project which broke ground Feb. 28. Four low-income Glendale families have been selected to live in the homes, which will feature three bedrooms, one-and-a-half bathrooms, a living room, dining room, a private patio and an attached garage.

Amber Willard NORTHWEST GLENDALE -- A 20-year-old Glendale man was arrested on suspicion of threatening a restaurant manager at a drive-through window and running from police. The man allegedly threatened to kill a manager at Jack In the Box at 805 N. Pacific Ave. Sunday and punched a window at the drive-through station. When officers arrived, the man ran from them, police said. Officers chased the man to Pacific Avenue and Doran Street, where he was caught.

A motorist who collided with another car and lost control of her SUV on Thursday afternoon crashed into the facade of the Marie Callender's Restaurant on Pacific Avenue, officials said. No injuries were reported. The restaurant sustained some damage, but not sufficient enough to close it, said Glendale Fire Battalion Chief Gregory Fish. The woman, who was not identified, lost control of her SUV and took out the restaurant's sidewalk sign and slammed into a corner of the restaurant, barely missing the dining room, officials said.

NORTH GLENDALE — Grandview Avenue just got a little safer for cyclists with the recent addition of street markings designating a shared roadway with motorists. The street markings, known as sharrows, indicate where cyclists should travel on the road to avoid being hit by opening car doors and to be seen by motorists, officials said. The symbols were stamped onto Grandview Avenue more than a week ago as part of Glendale’s Bikeway Master Plan, said Colin Bogart, a liaison with the nonprofit Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.

Four injured as truck hits pole A 19-year-old driver and three of his passengers on Saturday were transported to Los Angeles County USC Medical Center with various injuries after an early morning accident in the intersection of San Fernando Road and Pacific Avenue, police said. The passengers, all of them teenagers under the age of 18, suffered a variety of injuries ranging from severe head trauma to a broken femur and dislocated hip, police said. The driver is being kept under medical observation.

GLENDALE — A 19-year-old driver and three of his passengers on Saturday were transported to Los Angeles County USC Medical Center with various injuries after an early morning accident in the intersection of San Fernando Road and Pacific Avenue, police said. The passengers, all of them teenagers under the age of 18, suffered a variety of injuries ranging from severe head trauma to a broken femur and dislocated hip, police said. The driver is being kept under medical observation.

The following were taken from reports filed at the Glendale Police Department: ? ? 200 block of North Glendale Avenue : A 40-year-old Los Angeles woman was arrested Sunday on suspicion of giving false information to police. ? 3300 block of Country Club Drive: A 39-year-old Glendale man was arrested Monday on suspicion of driving without a California driver?s license. ? Canada Boulevard and Menlo Drive: A 41-year-old Glendale man was arrested Monday on suspicion of driving without a driver?

GLENDALE — An officer in plainclothes walked across an unmarked crosswalk at Hawthorne Street and Pacific Avenue numerous times Wednesday to see if drivers yielded to him, and those who didn’t stop received a citation. Many motorists sped by the officer, who wore a white T-shirt and blue jeans, as he walked the unmarked crosswalk, but other drivers stopped for him. Uniformed motorcycle officers quickly followed motorists who made no attempts to stop for the officer, cited them for failing to yield to a pedestrian at an unmarked crosswalk and informed them of the rules for those walkways.

GLENDALE — A 24-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges that he tried to flee after crashing into vehicles in two separate incidents, police said Wednesday. Garegin Ghulyan of North Hills was charged Tuesday with one count of leaving the scene of an accident, one count of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving while having a .08% or higher blood-alcohol level, according to a criminal complaint. He entered a not guilty plea to the misdemeanor charges, court officials said.

The new red light photo enforcement program begins today, Friday, Feb. 29 in Glendale. Cameras and violation sensors will monitor two of the city?s highest-risk intersection approaches, at Verdugo Road and Mountain Street and at Colorado Street and Pacific Avenue. According to city officials, the program is an important step to improve safety and traffic flow. Because the program is just beginning, the city and police will be giving drivers who live, work or travel through Glendale a 30-day grace period before actual citations are issued.