Safety

I've been reading a lot about the proposed extension of the 710 Freeway to the 210, and everyone is concerned about pollution and traffic impact, but no one is talking about the crime element that it would bring into our cities. It is a well-known fact that criminals travel the freeways and target areas with easy access to the freeways for quick getaways. So why do we want that, in addition to all the other negatives, including that of having a tunnel freeway in earthquake country!

The highway patrol, county fire department and American Red Cross are stressing one word this Memorial Day Weekend: safety. Hundreds of thousands of Southern Californians are expected to take to the roadways and head to parties and vacation spots during the holiday, and people are urged to buckle up, avoid drinking and driving, keep a watchful eye on children playing in and near pools and use caution when cooking with barbecue grills. Memorial Day Weekend is a maximum enforcement period for the California Highway Patrol, and every available officer will be on duty looking for drunk drivers and motorists who fail to obey seatbelt laws.

LOS ANGELES — A panel of train specialists and oversight experts revealed a wide-ranging plan Friday to address Metrolink’s most pressing safety and organizational issues, three months after a commuter train crash killed 25 people in Chatsworth. Among the findings, the panel told Metrolink’s Board of Directors that the commuter rail agency needs to upgrade its infrastructure, analyze the commuter rail company’s short-term projects and bring the entire rail system into “the modern age.” “This is a pretty complete look at how we can make this safer, which is what we set out to do,” said board member Richard Katz, who helped organize the panel.

Buck Wargo DOWNTOWN -- Ford Motor Co. and "Sesame Street" are teaming up for a automotive safety campaign at the Glendale Galleria and Star Ford. Called "Buckle Up with Sesame Street," the child safety clinic will be 2 until 7 p.m. Thursday at Star Ford, 900 S. Brand Blvd. Safety professionals will check a child's seats for proper installation. Kids can have their picture taken with a "Sesame Street" character. On Friday through Sunday at the Glendale Galleria, there will be shows at noon, 2 and 4 p.m. by "Sesame Street" characters about safety.

Gretchen Hoffman GLENDALE -- A stricter law going into effect Tuesday aims to make car trips safer for small children. The new law requires children under 6 or who weigh less than 60 pounds to be in a safety seat or a car booster seat. The old law required safety seats until up until 4 years or 40 pounds. The law is designed to protect children, many of whom are too big for traditional safety seats yet too small for a seat belt to function properly.

Tim Willert CITY HALL -- A rash of traffic accidents involving pedestrians has prompted the City Council to take protective measures. The council on Tuesday is expected to adopt plans and specifications for upgrading pavement markings and warning signs at 48 crosswalks not protected by stop signs or traffic signals. "Anything we can do to make the crosswalks safer is a good thing," Glendale Police Lt. Don Meredith said Friday. The proposed safety features would include more durable paint to outline crosswalks, and clear reflective markers to increase crosswalk visibility at night and during poor weather.

CITY HALL — Toll Middle School parents again called on the City Council on Wednesday to step up the city’s police presence on Glenwood Road where 11-year-old student Meri Nalbandyan was struck and killed Oct. 29 while using the cross walk. Parents and board members of the school’s PTA said assigning a police patrol to the area of Glenwood Road that fronts three schools — Keppel Elementary, Toll Middle and Hoover High schools — between 7:45 and 8:15 a.m. would cause a interim shift in driving and pedestrian habits until a more comprehensive safety enhancement plan is settled on. They also asked for more crossing guards to assist the thousands of students who cross the street each day to and from school.

The News-Press’ front page Monday featured “above the fold” a man who “keeps an eye out for traffic as he crosses the street at the 3000 block of Foothill Boulevard” (“Rain fails to test basins,” March 8). And well he should! There is no indication of a crosswalk in your photo. And, is that a lane marker I see him about to cross? (Or a yellow-lane marker in the lower left-hand corner?) We hear much-well-deserved press about unsafe drivers in the area.

In reference to the Dec. 1 letter “Note to council: Show your human side” by Armando Suarez, the Doran Street crossing should be closed due to the danger that it poses to the public. There is no question that the Doran Street railroad crossing is a liability to the taxpayers due to its location and lack of safety. Being less than 100 feet from a propane gas facility is a major concern to the public. However, to uninformed and politically influenced individuals like Jim Kussman (“Don’t close crossing after accident,” Nov. 30)

Josh Kleinbaum Glendale will request $62 million in federal funds to separate railroad and vehicular traffic at three railroad crossings to improve safety, a move some transportation experts consider expensive and ineffective. The request, which officials expect to submit to Rep. Adam Schiff by Tuesday, is an attempt to address concerns raised after a deadly train crash Wednesday near Chevy Chase Drive. The crash killed 11 and injured nearly 200 after a Metrolink commuter train hit a Jeep Cherokee wedged on the railroad tracks, investigators said.

I am concerned how Glendale is managing the city's coyote population. I admit that coyotes are useful in controlling rodents, but they are doing more than this. They are hunting for pets, are harassing pedestrians and their pets, or are roaming in neighborhoods in packs and terrifying residents. If this trend continues, someone - most likely a child - will end up either being killed or seriously injured. Last time when a coyote killed a child in Glendale, the city trapped and killed 58 coyotes near where the child had died.

Sporting yellow T-shirts, members of the city's new Trail Safety Patrol hiked and biked through Glendale's trails on Saturday for the first time. And even as the program kicks off, city officials are already devising a plan to expand the patrol's reach via a new river unit. The river patrol would be an option for those who may not be able to handle the rigor associated with the mountainous landscapes of the trail unit. The skills test for the branch required hikers to climb six miles of trails along the Verdugo Mountains and back in less than 2 1/2 hours, but some couldn't meet the rigorous qualifications, said Marc Stirdivant, senior administrative analyst.

Glendale Police Chief Ron De Pompa discussed how Southern California is seeing an increase in crime by repeat offenders a year after the passage of AB 109 when he spoke to the Glendale Noon Rotary Club on Nov. 8. AB 109 was the public safety realignment bill that aimed to reduce the number of low-level inmates in state prisons. A year after the law was implemented, De Pompa said, 22,000 felons have returned to the community in Los Angeles County. About 12,000 have been released from state prison and are under county probation.

In response to the letter to the editor written by Trent Sanders, “ GCC ought to dispense with its empires ,” Sept. 19, I would like to point out that having a campus police force is a must. The world today, versus back in 1959 when Trent Sanders went to GCC, has changed a lot and has gotten more violent. Nobody can ever foresee a tragedy, calamity or an accident. That is why prevention is always the key. We know that the city police are always ready to help, but in a situation that needs an immediate action, having a department that is solely dedicated to help is a lot better than waiting for rescue.

I've been reading a lot about the proposed extension of the 710 Freeway to the 210, and everyone is concerned about pollution and traffic impact, but no one is talking about the crime element that it would bring into our cities. It is a well-known fact that criminals travel the freeways and target areas with easy access to the freeways for quick getaways. So why do we want that, in addition to all the other negatives, including that of having a tunnel freeway in earthquake country!

A 35-year-old transient from Honduras who broke through the glass of his third-story window at Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center on Wednesday evening was safely retrieved by emergency crews after threatening to jump, police said. The man, who was not immediately identified, had been admitted to the hospital after overdosing on methamphetamine, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. He apparently broke through his third-story hospital window shortly before 6:40 p.m. and threatened to jump, prompting a massive response from emergency crews who put down giant inflatable bags below the drop site.

Glendale and Burbank have been awarded nearly $900,000 to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety around school sites, the latest wave of grant money aimed at addressing local traffic congestion and the dangers it poses to students. The combined amount was announced by the California Department of Transportation last week as part of $48.5 million in grants to be filtered via the Safe Routes to School Program that will fund 139 projects up and down the state. The city of Glendale was awarded $449,200 to improve sidewalks, and install crosswalks, bike racks and pavement markings around Balboa, Verdugo Woodlands, R.D. White and Dunsmore elementary schools.

While the consumerism around July 4th is hard to avoid, planning barbecues, having friends over and watching fireworks give me pause to reflect on things that I appreciate about our country. I spent the last week in senior-level emergency preparedness training for the Incident Management System, which is part of the federal National Incident Management System structure and sponsored by the Federal Emergency Preparedness Agency (FEMA). It's the system that is used by public safety organizations across the country to manage recovery efforts in a wide variety of disruptions in our cities and communities, whether caused by natural or man-made disasters.

As the Fourth of July approaches, officials are warning the public against using illegal fireworks and reminding residents to take precautions against dehydration and other hazards. “Fireworks in no way, shape or form are allowed in the city of Glendale,” said Glendale Fire Battalion Chief Greg Godfrey. “Every year there are a number of people, especially children, who are injured by fireworks. They are basically an explosive. It can blow fingers off, or take your hand off.” A blaze in the San Gabriel or Verdugo mountains could be disastrous, said Godfrey, adding that fire and police officials plan to deploy special patrol units to search for illegal fireworks.

Only one area hospital received a grade higher than a C on a recent national report card that evaluated patient safety - rankings that administrators say could be flawed because they were based on outdated information, some of which was four years old. Since that time, administrators said their hospitals have made major improvements in patient safeguards. Glendale Memorial was the only area hospital to get a B in the report by the Leapfrog Group, an employer-backed nonprofit group that focuses on quality healthcare.