Fiesta Days off to a strong start

Fiesta Days got off to a strong start Saturday with a car show and the unveiling of what will be La Cañada Flintridge's float in the 2013 Rose Parade.

St. Francis graduates say farewell

Family and friends of St. Francis High School's 2012 graduating class turned out Saturday morning to watch 165 young men receive their diplomas.

Gatto's bill to reduce violence at sporting events now lacks bite

A bill designed to reduce violence at sporting events is moving forward in the state Assembly, but it doesn’t have the same teeth it once had.

After strengthening a ban on artificial turf in residential front yards last year, the Glendale City Council this week approved spending roughly $99,000 for a consultant to prepare plans to install the fake stuff at Pacific Park.

Burroughs High grads return to Memorial Field: 'It feels awesome'

It was impossible to tell which was shining more brightly at the Burroughs High School commencement ceremony on Thursday — the faces of the graduates or the newly renovated Memorial Field.

Counter Intelligence: Ración is Basque country

San Sebastian's old town may be the most food-intensive neighborhood in the world, with street after street of pintxos bars and taverns and roaring restaurants, and hundreds of counters heaped with shellfish, hams and roasted meat — the answer to a tapas lover's sweatiest dream. You stumble down the crowded streets of this Basque city, stopping in one bar for its anchovies, another for its famous cuttlefish, another for the delicious spider crabs, washing each down with a glass of cider or thin, acidic Txakolina wine.

Glendale to continue temporary art exhibits, for now

Stripped of resources once afforded by local redevelopment, Glendale must weigh what’s more important: temporary art exhibits that brighten vacant storefronts, or permanent projects that become staples in the community.

San Gabriel Valley roundup: Alhambra isn't a hick town, All Souls to launch language program, and an El Monte adult care facility closes

A group of local cities, including Pasadena and Glendale, have sued the state regarding the wind-down of redevelopment agencies. Pasadena Sun 

Hoover High marching band to perform at namesake's birthplace

The Tornado band is preparing for a presidential march.

Federal authorities today announced the arrests of five men – one of them in Burbank -- for alleged firearms and narcotics violations during an undercover investigation dubbed “Operation Hollywood Confidential.” 

Friends of Otto Jensen express shock, sadness over his death

Those who knew Otto Jensen — the 101-year-old Burbank photographer who was struck and killed by a 91-year-old driver Tuesday night — were in a state of shock and mourning this week as they recalled a man who was as much a devoted volunteer as he was a friend.

Nature enthusiasts will have something to celebrate this Memorial Day weekend after roughly 41,000 acres in Angeles National Forest that were closed in the wake of the Station fire reopen to the public today.

Italy counsul general stops by Glendale school

Italian students at Franklin Elementary School put their language skills on display Thursday for a high-profile visitor.

Police bust major marijuana operation allegedly run by Montrose business

Three men with ties to a Montrose irrigation business were arrested Wednesday night after police seized 700 marijuana plants inside a warehouse in Van Nuys and another 200 at the home of one of the men.

Adults of all ages, backgrounds secure their high school diplomas

Burbank resident David Standel was scheduled to graduate from high school in 1961 before a series of complicated family issues forced him to drop out.

Glendale, Pasadena sue state over redevelopment wind down

Nine cities, including Glendale and Pasadena, filed a lawsuit this week to force the state to make good on millions of dollars for local officials to pay down debt and other obligations left over by the dissolution of local redevelopment agencies.

This post has been updated.

Fire crews work in a barren landscape in Angeles National Forest after the brush fire passed through on Aug. 28, 2009. Update: Forest areas closed after Station Fire to reopen this weekend

This article has been updated.

San Gabriel Valley roundup: Parents behaving badly in Sierra Madre, smacking the kids around in Alhambra, and a fake cop in Glendora

An Alhambra gym owner takes violence off the streets by teaching kids to smack each other around -- in the boxing ring. Alhambra Source 

Authorities stop searching Verdugo Mountains for missing FBI agent

Authorities have stopped actively combing local mountains and hillsides for an FBI agent who went missing from his Burbank home nearly two weeks ago, instead basing their search on tips from the public, a police official said Wednesday.

Council moves to block T-Mobile cell tower in Burbank

Residents were successful Tuesday in keeping a wireless telecommunications facility out of their neighborhood after Burbank City Council members pledged to block the project.

Glendale Water & Power leader resigns

The general manager of Glendale Water & Power resigned Wednesday, citing personal reasons.

Carl Meseck, a former mayor of Glendale who served on the City Council for 12 years, has died. He was 81.

Hiker encounters Clint Eastwood cutout on La Cañada trail

A gunman with a reputation for cleaning up corrupt backwater towns has taken up residence in La Cañada Flintridge, with an eye on north Glendale and the whole Crescenta Valley.

San Fernando and San Gabriel valley reps look to curb helicopter noise

Unable to get their "Los Angeles Residential Helicopter Noise Relief Act" off the ground, the bill’s sponsors are implementing a Plan B to nudge federal officials, at the very least, to study ways to address neighborhood complaints about helicopter noise. 

Los Angeles the worst in traffic? Nah...

Think Los Angeles has the worst traffic congestion of any city in the United States? Not so.

People who haven’t scratched a doctor’s visit off their to-do lists in a while can receive a battery of potentially life-saving health screenings — all of them free — next weekend in Pasadena.

Times Community News receives finalist nominations for LA Press Club awards

The four Times Community News publications in Los Angeles County have received five finalist nominations from the Los Angeles Press Club. 

Burbank photographer, 101, dies after being struck by 91-year-old driver

Otto Jensen, a 101-year-old photographer whose studio was a staple on Olive Avenue, was struck and killed by 91-year-old driver Tuesday night in Burbank, police said.

San Gabriel Valley roundup: Civil war vets honored in Altadena, rude waiters in Alhambra, and The Donut Man turns 40

Vegetarians rejoice! Real Food Daily, formerly subjugated to the hinterlands of Los Angeles and Santa Monica, is coming to Pasadena. Pasadena Sun 

Disney moves forward with ABC Studios project at Golden Oak Ranch

A half-century ago, Walt Disney leased a horse ranch in Placerita Canyon to shoot episodes of “The Adventures of Spin and Marty” from the classic ABC series “The Mickey Mouse Club.”

A 34-year-old man was charged Tuesday with battery after he attacked an officer who tried to detain him as he ran around in his underwear in South Glendale and tried to grab a group of teens, police said.

The challenges facing the youth of La Crescenta fueled prayers by local leaders and clergy who spoke on their behalf at the first ever Crescenta Valley Town Council Prayer Breakfast on Tuesday.

Crews have restored power to hundreds of customers in the North Glendale neighborhood where a small plane crashed Monday night, a city spokesman said.

The operations at Bob Hope Airport are expected to improve over the next 20 years, but not to pre-recession levels, according to a forecast released this week.

One moment, Mourad Halabi and his daughter were unloading groceries from the trunk of their Lexus. The next, there was a crash, bang, flash and an airplane next to their front yard.

More details have emerged about a violent postgame incident Sunday in the Dodger Stadium parking lot in which a man was beaten as his pregnant girlfriend looked on.

Scott Phelps, a member of the Pasadena Board of Education, writes a letter to the editor arguing against Measure A, the local initiative that will create voting districts within the PUSD. If you have a different view, we want to hear your opinion! Email me at dan.evans@latimes.com. 

This post has been updated.

The pilot of a single-engine plane crashed into the front yard of a North Glendale home Monday night, knocking down power lines before coming to a rest upside down, police said.