Trees

Strong winds throughout the L.A. region on Monday knocked over trees and caused other damage, with some gusts measured at 41 mph, according to the National Weather Service. The agency issued a wind advisory that was to be in effect until 3 a.m. Tuesday, but gusty winds were forecast to stay around through Wednesday. As of Monday afternoon, city officials said no major damage had been reported. But in other areas, the report wasn't so rosy. A woman suffered a head injury Monday morning when a large eucalyptus tree fell onto a home in Granada Hills, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The trees! Where have all the trees gone? Gone to tree grinders, everyone. Beautiful trees along the Golden State (5) Freeway north and south through Burbank are being systematically destroyed, and for what? A carpool lane on the freeway! What a waste. No one uses carpool lanes, and those who do use them as race tracks. So, the beautiful trees and shrubs are being destroyed, never to be replaced. Oh, we might get walls with designs on them and eventually graffiti, but no trees.

Why are so many of our old oak trees from the Verdugo land being cut down? Yes, some, because of disease, but other trees are successfully treated for disease. I think of two oaks in particular that really saddened me. One was on large hillside estate between Rossmoyne and Cortez and the other was on the southwest corner of Stocker and Cordova. That one I remember looking up at and thinking what a wonderful remnant it was of the old Verdugo estate. I thought these trees were protected.

GLENDALE — The city's Park Services Manager William McKinley discussed city and community efforts to preserve trees in Glendale while making room for incoming development in a presentation to members of Crescenta Valley Heritage Monday at the Montrose Library. Oak, Bay and Sycamore trees are currently protected by the city, thus developers and homeowners often build around trees when adding on to or putting in new structures, McKinley said. "[Trees are] important to our environment, our ecology and the character of our community," he said.

Glendale Beautiful, in cooperation with the city of Glendale Community Services and Parks, will celebrate the 63rd Arbor Day on Tuesday at the Casa Adobe de San Rafael Park, 1330 Dorothy Drive, Glendale. Coffee social is at 10 a.m., and the program at 10:30. The highlight is the presentation of the Tree City USA Award to the City of Glendale by National Arbor Day Foundation. This is the city's 29th consecutive year for receiving the award. To date, more than 7,200 trees have been planted in conjunction with this Arbor Day celebration.

LA CRESCENTA — More than a century after the inception of Arbor Day, elected officials and community members gathered at Two Strike Park on Saturday to celebrate the planting of trees. “With all this cosmic chaos going on around us, we’re going to plant some trees,” said the Rev. Paige Eaves of United Methodist Church, who delivered the invocation for the Crescenta Valley Annual Arbor Day Ceremony. From the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan and civil unrest in Libya, the “oddly normal act” of planting trees served as an act of faith and hope for the future, Eaves said.

Glendale residents near the Golden State (5) Freeway at Western Avenue were dismayed this week to see dozens of 30-foot-tall trees ripped out to make room for carpool lanes. Jocelyn Perez, who lives 50 feet from the southbound ramp on Justin Avenue, said she and her neighbors had no idea the trees were scheduled for removal. "It is really bad on my side," Perez said. "My son has asthma. I barely take him outside. " California Department of Transportation officials said that the project has been in the works for years, and that it went through all the appropriate environmental review requirements.

Tim Willert Workers from the city's Integrated Waste Management section cruised the southeast section of Glendale Thursday, picking up discarded Christmas trees from curbsides in front of businesses and residences. The trees will be taken to the Scholl Canyon Landfill, where they will be recycled. The city will continue to collect trees through Jan. 15. Residents who live in single-family homes can put their trees out with the trash on their regular pickup day. Businesses and multifamily residences, such as apartments, should call the section at 548-3916 for curbside collection times and days, and have their trees by the curb by 7 a.m. the day of pickup.

Buck Wargo CITY HALL -- Glendale residents who like to take down their holiday trees the week after Christmas can get rid of them by putting them out on their curb. Trees are being accepted along with regular garbage collection. The trees must be placed along the curbs by 7 a.m. Large trees should be cut in half and all of the lights and ornaments must be removed. Those who want to drop off their trees in person can go to 548 W. Chevy Chase Drive between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. through 11 a.m. on weekends.

Back in 1924, when Alexander Nibley and his partners began planning a new development, they targeted people who were, even then, seeking to leave the increasingly crowded city for a place with more greenery and less noise and congestion. An early Nibley brochure read, "Rossmoyne is within a matter of minutes from Los Angeles, yet it might be in another world," as noted in an article "An Historic Neighborhood" included in the Rossmoyne Historic District application. The new residential development was to be on land previously owned by Erskine Mayo Ross.

Why are so many of our old oak trees from the Verdugo land being cut down? Yes, some, because of disease, but other trees are successfully treated for disease. I think of two oaks in particular that really saddened me. One was on large hillside estate between Rossmoyne and Cortez and the other was on the southwest corner of Stocker and Cordova. That one I remember looking up at and thinking what a wonderful remnant it was of the old Verdugo estate. I thought these trees were protected.

Strong winds that whipped through Glendale Monday night caused a small tree fire and minor property damage, officials reported. Wires that got caught in tree limbs started a small blaze in a tree in the 1600 block of Ramona Avenue, according to Steve Zurn, who heads public works and Glendale Water & Power. A downed tree caused minor damage to a home on Cottage Grove Avenue and a broken limb damaged a car, Zurn added. No major damage was reported, although there were plenty of fallen palm fronds and street debris.

My husband and I bought our home on Burchett Street 31 years ago, a tree-lined street over which the tree limbs met, forming a beautiful canopy. Over the years, many of the trees suffered major losses due to the Santa Ana winds and disease. One by one, they were taken down. We lost ours to an infestation of ants, but the city replaced our tree and many others. During the past 10 years, our little California oak grew from a scrubby twig to the most beautiful on the block. Crews from the city have carefully pruned our tree so that city trucks can pick up garbage and sweep the street.

Glendale Beautiful, in cooperation with the city of Glendale Community Services and Parks, will celebrate the 63rd Arbor Day on Tuesday at the Casa Adobe de San Rafael Park, 1330 Dorothy Drive, Glendale. Coffee social is at 10 a.m., and the program at 10:30. The highlight is the presentation of the Tree City USA Award to the City of Glendale by National Arbor Day Foundation. This is the city's 29th consecutive year for receiving the award. To date, more than 7,200 trees have been planted in conjunction with this Arbor Day celebration.

A La Cañada Flintridge resident may be able to keep his 475-tree persimmon grove, horses and alpacas despite a recent update to the city's General Plan that forbids agricultural activity on open spaces. William Johnson, who maintains the farm on his property - although Southern California Edison owns the 11-acre plot of land where the trees are located - says he has signed a memorandum with the city that allows him to continue his operation. City officials, though, say they only agreed to consider his request.

Crews are working to restore power to more than 800 residents who live near Glorietta Avenue and Hermosita Drive after a pine tree took down a utility line, officials said. [Updated 1:06 p.m: Crews were able to restore power to 884 customers as of 12:12 p.m., officials said. ] The pine tree fell sometime after 11 a.m. on the power line for a Glorietta Avenue feeder, prompting 814 residents to lose electricity, Glendale Water & Power officials said. Residents affected by the outage live on North Ramona Avenue, South Moorside Drive, East Verdugo Road and West Rams Horn Court, officials said.

Many are familiar with the good works of the Cabrini Literary Guild, especially directed to Catholic charities. But what may be less known are the departments that allow a more personalized experience of philanthropy and socializing. There's the Book Reading Club, the Bridge Department, the Busy Fingers' Department, the Mannequin Department and the Philosophy Department. On Nov. 20, only two days before Thanksgiving, six intrepid souls gathered in the Burbank apartment of Philosophy Department Coordinator Sister Regina Palamara.

It's officially Christmas time at the Americana at Brand, where on Sunday night the switch was flipped on thousands of lights covering the giant white fir towering over the outdoor shopping mall. The spectacle -- accompanied by dancing snowmen, fireworks, “flying” reindeer -- wowed a crowd that at one point apparently reached capacity, with some people reporting on Twitter that they had been turned away after the fire marshal cut the inflow of people. The more than 100-foot-tall white fir Christmas tree, which rolled into the Americana prior to Halloween, was covered with thousands of lights and ornaments for the “Cirque du Santa” lighting ceremony, with acrobatics provided by  Zen Arts.

The December windstorm that downed trees and electricity wires in Glendale cost the city more than $500,000, according to a report to the Glendale Water & Power Commission on Monday. And that doesn't include the hit from lost revenues, which has yet to be determined, said Ramon Abueg, assistant general manager of electrical services for the city's utility. Since Glendale is self-insured for issues under $2 million, the utility will likely have to suck money out of its cash reserves to cover the costs, officials reported.