Strip Mall

Local wildfires, the highly anticipated completion of the Americana on Brand and the La Cañada Town Center and a murder at the interchange of the Glendale (2) and Foothill (210) freeways were just some of the notable moments that made up 2008 and were reported in the pages of the Crescenta Valley Sun. Not surprising were the ongoing budget battles regarding funding for public schools, an issue that will most likely not be put to rest in ’09. Proposed development along Foothill Boulevard and the demolition of one of the oldest homes in Montrose caused concern if not downright uproar by local residents.

GLENDALE — Several tenants who lease storefronts at the Glen Vine Center said they are losing customers since they can’t post signs with their business names on the center’s exterior. The tenants of 20/20 Video and Postal Pack n Ship occupy space in the seven-unit center in the 400 block of South Central Avenue. They have leased units since the fall. Tenants opened their businesses and placed banners on the center’s exterior in the fall. But Jana Kanner, the center’s property manager, asked that the banners be taken down.

A 26-year-old parolee pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of selling heroin at a Montrose strip mall parking lot, officials said. Vaghan Stepanyan, who is on parole for a grand theft conviction, faces six felony counts for drug sales, possessing a controlled substance and firearm violations, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. Two other men - Tigran Zmrukhtyan, 19, of Pasadena and Nverik Yaghoomian, 26, of Glendale - also were charged with possessing a controlled substance after they allegedly purchased heroin in an alley and tried to rid of it when Glendale police spotted them.

A man was killed shortly after 12:30 p.m. Thursday when a Lexus coupe slammed into a bakery on East Broadway , injuring five others, police said. The man, who was not immediately identified, was trapped under the vehicle at the Oledina's Cake Factory in the 1100 block of East Broadway, where he was pronounced dead, Glendale police officials said. The man was apparently hit while getting a cup of coffee, authorities said. The 72-year-old Glendale motorist who was driving the car reportedly plowed through the front windows of the shop, striking and pinning the 55-year-old man against a counter, according to Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz.

A 55-year-old man who was killed Thursday when a 71-year-old motorist plowed through a cake shop in Glendale has been identified as Stepan Vardanyan. The Glendale resident was pronounced dead shortly after 12:30 p.m. at Oledina's Cake Factory in the 1100 block of East Broadway, where the collision occurred, according to Los Angeles County Coroner's spokesman Ed Winter. Vardanyan was waiting for a cup of coffee at a counter when Wanda Wong, of Glendale, drove her Lexus through the windows of the cake shop and struck and pinned him, according to Glendale police.

Tim Willert WATER SYSTEM STUDY WHAT HAPPENED The council voted to pursue a $115,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to conduct what is called a "vulnerability assessment" of the city's water system. WHAT IT MEANS The study is designed to improve water system security by examining every part of the city's water system, including building conditions and staff training. Don Froelich, Glendale's water services administrator, said the purpose of the evaluation it to examine prudent measures and improvements in hopes of providing a reasonable level of water system security.

Sunday's high winds caused several signs in a La Crescenta strip mall to fall, hitting two cars but injuring nobody. Dave Higashi, a captain at the La Crescenta Trader Joe's store, said the frame of the large sign at the edge of the store's parking lot started shaking at 6 a.m. and didn't stop until several signs had fallen to the ground in pieces. "It was incredible," said Dave Higashi, who has been an employee with Trader Joe's for 25 years. "I've heard of it happening ... but I've never actually witnessed it. It [the storm]

Lost hiker found safe and well A 26-year-old Los Angeles man who got lost Saturday in the Angeles National Forest used his cellphone to call Montrose Search and Rescue for help, officials said. The man veered miles from his trail and called for help about 10 p.m. because his heels were blistered, said Mike Leum, a Montrose Search and Rescue reserve chief. The man was found about 15 miles from La Canada Flintridge and taken to safety, Leum said.

The Range Rover of a man Glendale Police believe might have been the victim of foul play was found early Friday parked in Burbank, but police still don't know what happened to the man himself. Martin Pogosian, 33, of Downey was last seen Jan. 23 at a strip mall in the 1200 block of South Glendale Avenue. Based on information from family members, who are now in seclusion themselves, police said they believe Pogosian was the victim of foul play. On Friday morning, officers found Pogosian's white 2001 Range Rover parked on the street near the intersection of Andover Drive and Glenoaks Boulevard in Burbank.

Darleene Barrientos Investigators are looking into whether a pile of trash or a spark from an electrical panel ignited a blaze Wednesday behind a strip mall. Smoke billowed from behind a market in the Plaza de Verdugo shopping center about 3 p.m. Wednesday from a fire burning electrical lines and piles of rubbish, Glendale Fire Battalion Chief Harold Scoggins said. The center, on the corner of Verdugo Road and Chevy Chase Drive, is across from Glendale Fire Station 25. Glendale Police and Glendale Community College officers blocked off traffic on Chevy Chase at California Avenue and Verdugo Road from Chevy Chase to Wilson Avenue while firefighters worked to douse the electrical lines that caught fire.