Transformer

Gretchen Hoffman A transformer blowout left oil pouring into the Verdugo Wash and caused a power outage in north Glendale for hours on Friday, fire officials said. Hazardous Materials crews responded to the Fremont substation of Glendale Water and Power, 601 Hahn Ave., about 2:45 p.m. Friday after a transformer blew out the side of a 1,100-gallon oil tank. "Unfortunately, it dumped into a storm drain instead of into a secondary system," Battalion Chief Corey Creasey said.

Mark R. Madler Glendale -- Along city streets early Sunday morning, a 100,000-pound electrical transformer was moved to a power plant as a replacement for a transformer damaged last month. Escorted by four Glendale Police motorcycle officers and monitored by staff from Glendale Water and Power, the trailer hauling the transformer crossed over into opposing lanes of traffic to avoid striking stoplights. "I saw people peeking out their windows just for curiosity," said Ramon Abueg, the city's electrical services administrator.

Jackson Bell Glendale Water and Power officials have been unable to pinpoint the cause of three power outages in recent weeks, but they hope replacing a damaged transformer will solve the problems that left about 20,000 customers in the dark this week. A backup transformer weighing more than 100,000 pounds will be shipped from the Tropico substation in downtown Glendale to the Grayson power plant early Sunday morning to replace a broken generator, said Ramon Abueg, the city's principal electrical engineer.

Outage affects more than 13,000 residents A bird flew into a transformer on Saturday, causing 13,500 customers to lose power in La Crescenta and Montrose from 8:27 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., Saturday, city officials said. Workers cleaned and repaired the area at the Montrose substation within 45 minutes, said Ramon Abueg, Glendale Water and Power's electrical services administrator. A bird that looked like a crow or a raven flew into a small gap on the transformer, which generates 34,000 volts of energy.

Buck Wargo CITY HALL -- Two years ago, a damaged transformer put Glendale Water & Power officials on alert of the potential for power outages. The transformer, one of two in the city, receives power through Los Angeles from plants the city owns in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah and from Hoover Dam and Pacific Northwest hydroelectric plants. When it was knocked out of action, Glendale had to use Burbank as a backup for supplying power, and the city cranked up all eight generators at its Grayson Power Plant, where normally one or two would operate.

The other evening I was consulting a book in front of my computer screen with the TV on when there was a sudden "k-zz-zz-t" sound, and both screens and the book went dark. Patti Jo and I looked at our circuit breakers and they were still in the on position, so we walked out front and saw our neighbor Elaine out there too, and knew that our little group had gone Amish again. Up on Alta Laguna Boulevard, there's a strip of seven houses on our block which are connected to the same transformer, and periodically water gets into the transformer and all the power in our houses goes out. When this happens, it's poignant to look across the street and see the facing homes, bright and merry.

Alex Smothers NORTHWEST GLENDALE--Temperatures reached as high as 105 degrees over the Labor Day weekend, and some residents had to weather the heat without air-conditioning, thanks to power outages in the area. A two-block area around Royal Avenue went without power Sunday and much of Monday after a transformer blew at the Grandview substation, according to Glendale Water and Power electric superintendent Larry Wolfe. Several dozen residents, businesses and homes were affected.

Jackson Bell City officials say they have put an end to a string of power failures that caused large portions of the city to go dark four times in as many weeks. Rerouted high-voltage cables and a backup transformer set to be installed this weekend at Grayson power plant should keep the lights on without interruption, said Ramon Abueg, the city's electrical services administrator. "We believe that after we put in the transformer, everything should be back to normal circulation," Abueg said.

CITY HALL Power out, agents in Darkness, stolen signs and so-called undercover agents marked the week leading up to Glendale's April 5 municipal election. About a quarter of the city lost power for two hours Thursday due to a problem with a transformer at Grayson Power Plant. It was Glendale's third blackout in three weeks, and city officials believe the transformer is responsible for all three. The problems began March 8, when an animal got too close to the transformer and caught fire.

Murals, performing arts programs and lighting upgrades to the Civic Auditorium to showcase art exhibits are among the top priorities for city commissioners who are trying to reshape Glendale as a public arts draw. The Arts & Culture Commission met this week to start strategizing after the City Council on Tuesday unanimously supported a five-year plan to transform Glendale into a popular arts destination, not unlike Pasadena and Santa Monica. “We're on our way with this,” Mayor Frank Quintero said.

TV host Mayte Prida, a Miami transplant from Mexico City, survived four bouts of cancer. For her first cancer diagnosis, third-stage breast cancer, she had no medical insurance. Her father gave her the money to get a second opinion, during which a malignant tumor was discovered growing on one of her kidneys. Her third bout - lung cancer. Her fourth bout - uterine cancer. In 2010, her 15-year-old daughter was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. “Latinos are diagnosed with breast cancer less but die the most,” Prida said.

The European-style prep school that is in escrow to buy the former General Motors training facility in Burbank's Rancho district from a Santa Monica developer is moving ahead with plans to call the site home. The Lycée International de Los Angeles, which has four campuses, including one each in Los Feliz and Pasadena, filed paperwork requesting an administrative use permit with the city to allow a school to operate at the site, officials said. The roughly 5-acre site is zoned for office use. Students in pre-kindergarten to 12th grade attend the bicultural and bilingual school.

The bullet trains that would someday streak through California at 220 mph are, in the vision of their most ardent supporters, more than just a transportation system. They are also a means to alter the state's social, residential and economic fabric. But those broader ambitions are triggering an increasingly strident ideological backlash to the massive project. The fast trains connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco would create new communities of high-density apartments and small homes around stations, reducing the suburbanization of California, rail advocates say. That new lifestyle would mean fewer cars and less gasoline consumption, lowering California's contribution to global warming.

CITY HALL — A 72-unit affordable rental housing complex secured $13.9 million in city assistance Tuesday, advancing the transformation of Glendale’s southern gateway into a residential metropolis. The Vassar City Lights complex, to be built at 3685 San Fernando Road, is among the largest such projects ever planned for Glendale, and will play a major role in transforming the southernmost tip of the city from a drab industrial corridor into a bustling residential neighborhood, city officials said.

Producers of this year’s Bethlehem Village are adding more sights, sounds and smells to give visitors the most realistic look at what life was like when Jesus was born. The parking lot of First Presbyterian Church of Burbank will be the backdrop where volunteers will build sets for a marketplace and the manger for the Dec. 5 and 6 event. More than 150 church volunteers participate as shop owners or working behind the scenes. As visitors arrive at the village, they will be welcomed by Roman soldiers and directed to census takers who present them with gold coins to spend at the various shops.

Library officials will seek an additional $35,560 to cover cost overruns for improvements at a satellite library branch in southeast Glendale. If approved, the increased contingency amount would be in addition to the $508,671 awarded in April 2007 by the City Council to overhaul the storefront library at 1100 E. Chevy Chase Drive. While construction on the project is nearly complete, the additional money is needed to cover unforeseen expenses, such as fixing aged plumbing and asbestos abatement in the 1928 building.

Lorraine Watkiss knew she was going to die. After beating cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, then having a malignant tumor removed from her groin ? depriving her of her womanhood ? the disease returned a fourth time, and she accepted her likely fate. She didn?t go down fighting; she was too physically weak, her widow John Watkiss said. Instead, she went down painting. For 80 days straight, Lorraine Watkiss painted variations of an angel, using a wide array of metallic, water-based paint to create images that John Watkiss says were inspired by a spiritual visitation his wife experienced.

Implausible as it may seem for a 21st-century woman to transform into a grande dame from a British musical only to transform again into a character from a Charles Dickens novel, actress Mary Van Arsdel of Burbank wears all these hats in the musical murder mystery “Drood.” Van Arsdel will perform as Angela Prysock from 18th-century Britain who will then perform as Princess Puffer, a character from Charles Dickens’ unfinished novel, “Drood .” The Tony Award-winning musical adaptation and play-within-a-play, created by Rupert Holmes and produced by the Musical Theatre Guild, will come to life Monday at the Alex Theatre in Glendale.