Alhambra Ca

The customers pour in daily at Noodle World in Alhambra, usually expecting nothing more than a heaping plate of Thai pad see-ew or a steaming bowl of Vietnamese pho. But on occasion, they react the way Martin Moreno did when entering the restaurant for the first time. "Oh my God, there's a Bob's Big Boy," the furniture seller said, staring at a statue of a boy in checkered overalls. "In an Asian restaurant?"

Phil Spector's defense said Wednesday that new allegations submitted by prosecutors -- that the music producer had threatened women -- were intended to prejudice the jury, which begins hearing his murder trial later this month. "It's highly inflammatory evidence, which seems to be intended to vilify Mr. Spector and cause the jury pool and others to treat him as a pariah," defense lawyer Bradley Brunon said in a telephone interview.

Alhambra's storybook fortress on a hill evokes a Pyrenees chateau -- which was, in fact, the builder's inspiration. For nearly 80 years, this reinforced concrete castle near Fremont Avenue and Valley Boulevard remained relatively unknown -- even after it was purchased by rock 'n' roll producer Phil Spector in 1998. But when actress Lana Clarkson was shot to death in the foyer in February 2003, notoriety replaced anonymity.

On Feb. 2, 2003, Phil Spector's chauffeur drove the legendary record producer and a series of his dates to Southern California dining and entertainment hot spots. By the next morning, Lana Clarkson would lie dead in Spector's house and he would be accused of murder. Visit latimes.com/spector for an interactive version of these maps detailing the night of Clarkson's death, plus video, photos of the key players and links to documents. 1. Alhambra to Studio City 7 p.m.

There were the Cantonese-speaking bakers on the corner, the Vietnamese-Chinese herbalist a few storefronts to the west and a mainland Chinese restaurant next door that made a pork stew named after Mao Tse-tung.

The body of an unidentified adult man was found Tuesday in the rubble of a longtime Alhambra strip mall destroyed by fire the day before, officials said. The man's remains, discovered by Alhambra firefighters around 11 a.m., were charred beyond recognition and authorities have not yet confirmed his identity. The Los Angeles County coroner's office plans to conduct an autopsy today or Thursday. No other victims have been discovered. The fire at the plaza caused an estimated $3 million in damage.

About 2,200 customers in Alhambra lost power about 4:45 a.m. Monday due to an equipment failure in an underground circuit, according to Southern California Edison. Most of the power was back within 30 seconds. By 6 a.m., power had been restored to all but two commercial customers. -- Susannah Rosenblatt

The shrine of flowers, candles and teddy bears is gone. A tiny, granite grave marker -- so new, it still glitters in the sun -- is all that bears witness to the brief life of the infant girl tossed to her death in an Alhambra ravine in March, just hours after she was born. But baby Therese Rose -- named by the Alhambra parish that adopted her in death -- left a legacy that her mother, who is still being sought by police, could not have anticipated.

The San Gabriel Valley, boasting strong job growth but relatively little new housing in recent years, will soon see one of its largest residential projects. Construction is expected to begin next year on a $189-million, 351-unit condominium complex in Alhambra. The units are to be priced from about $400,000 to $900,000. Los Angeles developer Ratkovich Co. said last week that it planned to build the complex at an office park called the Alhambra, which occupies the 45-acre former campus of C.F.

At the end of a week that saw the lives of 50 young Americans erased in a reinvigorated war 7,600 miles away, a playful wind kicked through the intersection of Garfield Avenue and Main Street in Alhambra. It was Good Friday, 5:30 p.m. Traffic was a little lighter than usual and some drivers shielded their eyes from the low-angled sun in the west.