Colorado Boulevard

Like swallows returning to Capistrano, the early birds flocked to Pasadena's Colorado Boulevard on Friday for their annual rite: staking out the finest curbside viewing spots for today's 105th annual Tournament of Roses Parade. The crowd began forming along the parade route by 8 a.m.

Thierry Perez, former co-owner of Fraîche, says he is planning to open Waterloo & City in Culver City by the end of this month or the beginning of 2010. Perez says he has partnered with Carlos Tomazos, who had been manager at Gilt and had worked at Per Se, both in New York. The third partner and chef, who asked not to be named because he hasn't notified his current employer, describes it as a British-style gastropub with a predominantly Italian and French menu. "He's English and I'm French," Perez offers as an explanation.

Los Angeles city planners have proposed a package of building restrictions and design inducements called the Colorado Boulevard specific plan that will encourage more pedestrian-oriented growth along Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock. If the plan becomes law, it will limit development along the commercial strip from Eagle Dale Avenue on the west to Eagle Vista Drive on the east. Under the plan, zoning would be more restrictive on properties fronting Colorado Boulevard. An outgrowth of the city's 1987 moratorium on mini-malls on Colorado Boulevard, which expired in January, the specific plan proposal has a long way to go before it becomes law, according to city planners.

A stretch of Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock has increasingly become a popular shopping district dotted with trendy eateries and neighborhood shops. But residents say the boulevard's wide lanes have also attracted street racers and drivers who ignore the speed limit. "It's known for speeders," said Mike Flores, 60. "In the two years I was there, all you could hear is all these cars flying by and brakes screeching. And every once in a while, one of them would lose control."

A stretch of Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock has increasingly become a popular shopping district dotted with trendy eateries and neighborhood shops. But residents say the boulevard's wide lanes have also attracted street racers and drivers who ignore the speed limit. "It's known for speeders," said Mike Flores, 60. "In the two years I was there, all you could hear is all these cars flying by and brakes screeching. And every once in a while, one of them would lose control."

It's lunchtime in Old Pasadena, and the Tie Patrol is on the move. Tacked down or flapping free, striped or subtly patterned, the cravats add a certain gentlemanly crispness to the passing sartorial parade on Colorado Boulevard. And should the lunch hour stretch a bit too long into the afternoon, the neckwear suggests a ready excuse: "Hey! We got tied up!"

A Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus jumped a curb on Rosemead Boulevard and crashed through a wall and into the dining room of a Jack-in-the-Box, but no one inside the restaurant was injured, a sheriff's sergeant said. The driver was treated at a hospital for minor injuries after the crash north of Colorado Boulevard in an unincorporated area east of Pasadena, said L.A. County Sheriff's Sgt. Debra Herman. There were no passengers on the bus. The California Highway Patrol was investigating the cause of the crash, Herman said.

A 10-inch iron water pipe that runs under Colorado Boulevard has qualified Pasadena for membership in the Cast Iron Pipe Century Club, sponsored by the Ductile Iron Pipe Research Assn., based in Birmingham, Ala. Membership is limited to cities with iron pipes more than 100 years old. The city was presented with a plaque and officially inducted into the club Monday during a brief ceremony at City Hall. The club has about 300 members nationwide, according to Michael S.

I was moved by Morris Newman's article, "Old Pasadena Project Is Dogged by Profits Vs. Preservation" (Aug. 13), on the efforts of Claire Bogaard of Pasadena Heritage to save historic buildings at Colorado Boulevard and Fair Oaks Avenue. I grew up in Altadena and I love the region. That part of Pasadena was part of my territory. I rode the bus and spent hours delving into Army surplus stores on Colorado Boulevard and looking at stamps and coins at the Royal Stamp Co. Years later, I worked in the Pasadena Art Museum (now the Norton Simon)

Two parade-goers were found dead in a tightly sealed van parked in a lot next to the Rose Parade route, apparently victims of asphyxiation from the fumes of a charcoal cooker they had been using to keep warm, Pasadena police said today. The bodies of Teresa Marie Bruening, 21, of Long Beach and a 37-year-old Paramount man were found Wednesday afternoon by employees of a carpet store on Colorado Boulevard at Wilson Avenue who became curious about a van parked in their lot all day, Sgt.

A Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus jumped a curb on Rosemead Boulevard and crashed through a wall and into the dining room of a Jack-in-the-Box, but no one inside the restaurant was injured, a sheriff's sergeant said. The driver was treated at a hospital for minor injuries after the crash north of Colorado Boulevard in an unincorporated area east of Pasadena, said L.A. County Sheriff's Sgt. Debra Herman. There were no passengers on the bus. The California Highway Patrol was investigating the cause of the crash, Herman said.

As the newly announced grand marshal for the 2006 Rose Parade, retiring U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has an odd act to follow. This year's grand marshal was Mickey Mouse. Without benefit of Mickey's oversized white gloves, O'Connor will wave to the crowds Jan. 2 as she rides along the parade route through Pasadena in an antique auto. The selection of O'Connor, who attended the parade as a little girl, is a landmark of sorts for the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Assn.

When Rose Queen Ashley Moreno travels down Colorado Boulevard on New Year's morning, two security guards will walk alongside her float, not so much to protect the teenage queen, but to ensure the safety of the $100,000 crown perched on her head. After nearly a century of rhinestones and cubic zirconia, the 2005 Rose Queen will be crowned with diamonds and pearls, handpicked by jewelers who just don't get that many chances these days to build a royal headpiece -- unless "Miss Universe" counts.

For a few brief hours, the Rose Parade floats delight millions around the world who tune in or turn out to see the floral spectacles. Then many of those floats are destroyed. But not all. In this small town in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley just 100 miles west of Washington, float builder Earl C. Hargrove Jr. has opened one of the state's fastest-growing tourist attractions: an airplane hangar-size showcase for award-winning parade floats, many of them from the Rose Parade.

Thank you for the story on Eagle Rock--one of the great, relatively hidden treasures of Los Angeles ("Mayberry, Shmayberry," by Dave Gardetta, July 29). It irked me, however, that Gardetta didn't seem to understand that the reason Eagle Rock matters is not because it might be poised as the "next hot place." Eagle Rock offers an alternative to the tired trendiness of West Hollywood and Los Feliz. For Eagle Rock beginners, I suggest having dinner at Colombo's on a Friday night to get a taste of the rich, quirky, wonderfully diverse community.

PARADE FACTS 83rd Rose Queen Michelle Jacobs will reign over this year's parade after being selected from among almost 1,000 young women from the Pasadena area. The 17-year-old senior attends Flintridge sacred Heart Academy. Jacobs plans to attend either a UC school or USC, where she intends to major in public relations. The Armchair Parade KTLA-TV Channel 5 will present live Rose Parade coverage at 8 a.m. with replays throughout the day. The parade will also be broadcast starting at 8 a.m.

Brazilian soccer star Pele, known internationally as the "King of Football," has been named grand marshal of the 1987 Tournament of Roses parade. Introducing Pele on Wednesday in Pasadena, Fred W. Soldwedel, president of the Tournament of Roses Assn., said: "Recognized by millions throughout the world as perhaps the most gifted natural athlete ever, Pele uniquely symbolizes this year's parade theme, 'A World of Wonders.' He is a true citizen of the globe."

Thank you for the story on Eagle Rock--one of the great, relatively hidden treasures of Los Angeles ("Mayberry, Shmayberry," by Dave Gardetta, July 29). It irked me, however, that Gardetta didn't seem to understand that the reason Eagle Rock matters is not because it might be poised as the "next hot place." Eagle Rock offers an alternative to the tired trendiness of West Hollywood and Los Feliz. For Eagle Rock beginners, I suggest having dinner at Colombo's on a Friday night to get a taste of the rich, quirky, wonderfully diverse community.