Soil

LA CAÑADA — Engineers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Tuesday filled a ramp full of powdery earth and slowly rolled a test rover onto the geological cocktail as they tried to simulate the rover Spirit’s unfortunate circumstance on Mars. Since May 6, the golf cart-sized Spirit has been embedded in an area on the west side of what scientists have named “Home Plate” on Mars. The rover’s wheels can still rotate but slip in the soft soil, so engineers won’t move it until they work out an extraction plan on Earth.

DAN KIMBER On our campus at Hoover High School, there are two tiny plots of land given over for the cultivation of vegetables. They are tended by only a handful of students who take a large measure of pride in their yield of corn, potatoes, squash and tomatoes each year. It is more a curiosity to the rest of the student body than anything else -- a project that the special- education students work on to occupy their time. If I had my way (in "my world")

Buck Wargo CITY HALL -- The Walt Disney Co. would be required to test soil at its 125-acre campus for chromium 6 and other chemicals and metals before constructing any buildings on the site, according to the final draft of an Environmental Impact Report released Monday. The mitigation measure, which Disney would have to follow if the report is certified by the Glendale Redevelopment Agency, is in response to concerns raised by members of state agencies and the Glendale Homeowners Coordinating Council that more soil investigation at the site was needed.

Jackson Bell City officials agreed to halt work in a pool-sized hole they dug at a now-defunct substation until the soil has been tested after listening to neighbors voice their concerns Thursday night about possible contaminants. Glendale Water and Power officials met with more than 20 residents who criticized them for only testing for polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, when other contaminates might also exist, and not holding any neighborhood meetings before digging up the site.

The Little Landers Historical Society is pleased to present Art of the Soil, a community art workshop created by District Two artist in residence Helen Lessick. The workshop begins on Saturday, Sept. 30 and continues for eight sessions. Each session will run from 9 to 11 a.m. People can attend only one workshop or come for the entire series. Materials will be provided. Art of the Soil will teach how to view California soil as a canvas. Attendees will learn how soil affects land and community, landscape painting and property values.

The city has found a few surprises at the Montrose site slated to be a Trader Joe's, but officials say it won't delay the scheduled 2011 opening of the market. Now a barren patch of dirt across Honolulu Avenue from the Montrose-Crescenta branch library, the site was an auto dealership and service garage for years before the city acquired it in 2002. City engineers knew there were contaminants in the soil related to the industrial uses, but in recent months they have identified one more patch of tainted soil, as well as a few structures.

Paul Clinton BURBANK -- With no time to spare, former defense firm ITT Industries submitted a soil and ground water cleanup plan to state regulators for land once used to manufacture aircraft parts. If the plan meets regulators' approval, firm officials said they would spend between $7 million and $10 million removing contaminated soil and water at the property, an 11-acre site on the Glendale-Burbank border. "We have developed a very good plan that's designed to protect the people," ITT Vice President Usha Wright said.

Gary Moskowitz What once were two plots of dried up, hard-packed dirt at Verdugo Woodlands Elementary School are now fertile beds of soil with flowers in full bloom. On his first attempt to plant impatiens, also known as Touch-me-nots, in two 4-by-4-foot plots of soil at the school, few even sprouted. But 12-year-old Daniel Lodygowski gave it a second try, this time soliciting the help of a small group of kindergarten students to properly turn the soil, plant the flowers and keep up with watering them.

The City Council tonight will consider authorizing an additional $140,000 to the city’s contract with Remedial Civil Constructors Inc. for the Greenwich Road Repair Project. The additional cost may be eligible for reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as the damage being repaired occurred in a federal disaster area, called for during the heavy rains of 2005. The amendment is due to unforeseen costs caused by underlying bedrock that was deeper than expected, increasing the amount of excavated soil, additional soil backfill and imported material required.

Since its Martian Memorial Day weekend touchdown, the Phoenix lander has been sending back pictures and data that have kept scientists and engineers busy. Although there have been some small glitches along the way, the bottom line is the Phoenix is fine and the team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is very happy, according to Mark Lemmon, camera team lead. The Phoenix website has been updated daily on the progress of the lander, with detailed photos that allow scientists and the world to see the arctic area they are investigating.

The city has found a few surprises at the Montrose site slated to be a Trader Joe's, but officials say it won't delay the scheduled 2011 opening of the market. Now a barren patch of dirt across Honolulu Avenue from the Montrose-Crescenta branch library, the site was an auto dealership and service garage for years before the city acquired it in 2002. City engineers knew there were contaminants in the soil related to the industrial uses, but in recent months they have identified one more patch of tainted soil, as well as a few structures.

SOUTH GLENDALE — Thirteen-year-old Chad Anderson had no problem waking up early Saturday morning for some community service. The seventh-grader at La Cañada Junior and Senior High School was one of about 200 volunteers who beautified Muir Elementary School in Glendale. “It’s nice to do service,” Chad said. “It makes you happy.” It also made the school look brand new. Decaying fences were repainted and arid soil was replaced with fresh plants, flowers and much — donated by the volunteers from the Church of Latter-day Saints, school parents and community members.

The City Council tonight will consider authorizing an additional $140,000 to the city’s contract with Remedial Civil Constructors Inc. for the Greenwich Road Repair Project. The additional cost may be eligible for reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as the damage being repaired occurred in a federal disaster area, called for during the heavy rains of 2005. The amendment is due to unforeseen costs caused by underlying bedrock that was deeper than expected, increasing the amount of excavated soil, additional soil backfill and imported material required.

MEDIA DISTRICT — A federal judge in Los Angeles refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Burbank-based Walt Disney Co. of polluting the surrounding area with chromium 6. U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson on Monday denied the company’s motion to dismiss the claims of Environmental World Watch and four residents who contend that the contamination violates the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Disney officials...

LA CAÑADA — Engineers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Tuesday filled a ramp full of powdery earth and slowly rolled a test rover onto the geological cocktail as they tried to simulate the rover Spirit’s unfortunate circumstance on Mars. Since May 6, the golf cart-sized Spirit has been embedded in an area on the west side of what scientists have named “Home Plate” on Mars. The rover’s wheels can still rotate but slip in the soft soil, so engineers won’t move it until they work out an extraction plan on Earth.

BURBANK — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday confirmed it is evaluating the so-called Polliwog site, an 11-acre parcel at the center of two recent lawsuits that allege the Walt Disney Co. has for decades contaminated groundwater with toxic chemicals, including cancer-causing chromium 6. “The EPA has supported and will continue to support the state’s efforts to determine what if any action to take at this site,” said...

Cerritos Elementary School third-graders loosed up beds of flowers with their hands and shovels Wednesday in order to make room for a new vegetable garden in the campus courtyard. The students honored Earth Day by spending time outside the classroom, clearing up plants and prepping the soil for their garden. “It’s kind of fun because we could learn how to plant a garden the right way,” 9-year-old Kimberly Depaz said. “We can tell our moms to buy us seeds, so we can plant our own gardens.

Since its Martian Memorial Day weekend touchdown, the Phoenix lander has been sending back pictures and data that have kept scientists and engineers busy. Although there have been some small glitches along the way, the bottom line is the Phoenix is fine and the team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is very happy, according to Mark Lemmon, camera team lead. The Phoenix website has been updated daily on the progress of the lander, with detailed photos that allow scientists and the world to see the arctic area they are investigating.

The city is still working on future actions for the property at 350l Ocean View Blvd. which has sparked concern in the Sparr Heights community, Councilman John Drayman said this week. Drayman said the former site of Bowman?s Cleaners has had a stop work order on new construction after alarms were raised about the work underway. The project was given an over-the-counter exemption from design review after the owners indicated they were doing all work within the footprint of the existing building.

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — A planned cleanup of contaminants that leaked from an underground storage tank at a Chevron on West Glenoaks Boulevard has some residents worried about the pollution the project could expel into their neighborhood. The site, at 1501 W. Glenoaks Blvd., is about one block from Jefferson Elementary School and is bordered by residential and light-commercial buildings. After a leaky storage tank was removed from the site in 2003, routine testing of the adjacent soil revealed levels of the now-discontinued gasoline additive Methl Tertiary-butyl Ether, or MTBE.