Trees

GLENDALE — Powerful wind gusts of up to 61 mph in Glendale toppled several trees throughout the city early Thursday, including a massive 50- to 70-foot Ficus tree that caused significant damage when it collapsed on two parked vehicles along Central Avenue. No injuries were reported. Early-morning winds roared through several Glendale neighborhoods and caused major headaches for some residents who awakened to find streets littered with branches and downed trees blocking roadways on Central Avenue and Tyrrell Place.

GLENDALE — This year, it's not just the tree that can be recycled. Residents can also give their old Christmas lights a second life. Starting Monday and running through Jan. 14, Glendale trash collectors will pick up Christmas trees stripped of their decorations through the city's regular refuse service. "It's very simple," said Public Works Director Steve Zurn. "You just put it out at the curb. We put it as part of our green waste program. " The Christmas tree recycling program is an established citywide program that city officials say is the safest and easiest way to dispose of dried-out trees after the holidays.

When the attorney for F.P. Newport Co. and the Verdugo syndicate that developed Verdugo Woodlands visited the area, he decided to purchase three acres on Cañada Boulevard for his own family. The property was later developed as Capistrano Circle. The attorney, Charles L. Chandler, and his wife, Gisela, an accomplished linguist and ornithologist, had been living in Los Angeles, but relocated to Glendale in 1913. They lived on North Central Avenue while building their house, "Los Ritos.

The catastrophic mutilation of the prized Moreton Bay fig tree in La Crescenta is the latest in a series of debacles that have given rise to a reawakening in our community — a renewed and blistering realization that our heritage and aesthetic values remain completely vulnerable within unincorporated L.A. County. On the day of yet another weekend demolition, galvanized Crescenta Valley residents showed up in droves and succeeded in preserving what was left of the mangled tree ("Owner stops chopping," Nov. 22)

For 35 years, the Assistance League of Glendale has presented its Festival of Trees. This year's location, the Glendale Hilton, provided a sparkling setting for this looked-forward-to occasion. On Sunday, close to 500 supporters headed to the hotel's foyer where a silent auction started at 10 a.m. Shortly after that, the ballroom opened to more chances to give and receive at the same time — items including 21 lush, highly decorated Christmas trees lining the walls. One of the most popular opportunity prizes was the perennial Santa's sack full of gift certificates to the best of Glendale restaurants, such as Palate Food + Wine.

CITY HALL — Three years after Glendale became a widespread subject of scorn for fining a husband and wife $347,000 for illegally trimming 13 trees, the City Council today is slated to discuss easing some rules, while giving officials more discretion to punish egregious violators. The City Council initially adopted the Indigenous Tree Ordinance in 2007 to appease community fears that developers would remove mature, indigenous trees for new projects. But within six months, controversy erupted when news spread of massive fines levied on residents.

LA CRESCENTA — The owner of a Foothill Boulevard property agreed Saturday to halt trimming a more than century-old Moreton Bay fig tree after dozens of residents rallied to save it. Jenny Nam, owner of New Star Realty and Investment at 2620 Foothill Blvd., told a group of La Crescenta leaders that she will instruct crews not to cut and further trim the prized fig tree, which they had begun hacking away at Friday afternoon. Community members will keep an eye on tree to ensure that Nam sticks to her agreement, said Cheryl Davis, Crescenta Valley Town Council president.

Atheists United spent three solid hours last Saturday cleaning up our north Glendale strip of the Glendale (2) Freeway, and by Monday there were already several "witches britches," as the British call plastic bags caught in trees and bushes, fluttering unattractively along the very area we had cleaned. So kudos to Los Angeles County supervisors for banning single-use plastic bags in Los Angeles County ("La Crescenta says goodbye to plastic," Nov. 17), and let's hope Glendale and beyond follows suit.

La Crescenta leaders on Friday raced to save a prized Moreton Bay fig tree that has found itself in the middle of a tug-of-war between developers who want it cleared out and residents who say it's a living, natural artifact. Residents have been rallying for the 100-year-old tree at 2620 Foothill Blvd. since early summer, when a previous developer started excavation work on a controversial project. Supporters of the fig feared then that it had been irreparably harmed by the cut branches and excavation work, but it survived.

Glendale resident Minas Soukasians would have just given away the pomegranates that someone cut through his backyard fence to steal, but they never asked. Soukasians on Monday noticed the tall tree, which once sparkled with ruby-colored fruit, was almost barren. "I can't believe it," he said. Upon further inspection of the tree, Soukasians said he noticed a gaping hole in the fence. Someone had cut the chain-link to steal the more than 20 pomegranates. "I have been waiting the whole year for this fruit," he said.