Studio City

Vandals spray-painted more than three-dozen black swastikas on a vacant Studio City house in the third hate crime reported in the San Fernando Valley within a week, Los Angeles police said Tuesday. The newly constructed residence in the 4300 block of Rhodes Avenue was vandalized between noon Monday and 6 a.m. Tuesday, when a real estate agent found the graffiti, Police Lt. Ron LaRue said. Police counted 37 black swastikas painted on walls and windows.

A Studio City carwash, once the subject of a spirited campaign by neighbors who wanted it declared an official Los Angeles cultural landmark, will wash its last car this weekend. Pat Galati, who operates the 28-year-old carwash and adjoining Unocal gas station at Ventura and Laurel Canyon boulevards, said Saturday will be the carwash's last day of operation. The gas station will shut down at the close of business Sunday night, he said. "It's over," Galati said Tuesday.

It was 9:30 a.m. on the 220th anniversary of America's birth, and in a certain neighborhood in Studio City, the air was charged with the pursuit of happiness. Here at the home of Michael and Karen Morin, parade preparations were in full swing. On a walkway lined with tiny Old Glories, neighborhood kids--including the Morins' Nick, Casey and Marissa--decorated bicycles, tricycles, wagons and baby strollers in red, white and blue crepe paper.

Songwriter, singer and former "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi has sold her home in Studio City for $6.3 million. Built in 1923, the 7,600-square-foot French chateau-style house was renovated and expanded by DioGuardi and her husband, home builder Mike McCuddy. The five-bedroom, 6.5-bathroom home sits on 3 acres with an infinity pool and a hot tub. Features include a 23-foot-tall stone fireplace, herringbone walnut floors and a sauna. DioGuardi, 42, was on the panel of "American Idol" for two seasons starting in 2009 and a judge on "Platinum Hit" in 2011.

Ground has been broken for a $6.5-million, 34,000-square-foot office building at 4705 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Studio City, being developed by LMC Investments of Glendale. The building will have three floors plus a penthouse. Completion is scheduled in December.

A Studio City residents association has offered to provide the California Department of Transportation with volunteer manpower to help clean up an unkept stretch of the Ventura Freeway in Studio City. Members of the Studio City Residents Assn. said that if Caltrans will provide the equipment, they will mount a volunteer effort to cut down overgrown weeds and pick up trash along the freeway's course through Studio City.

An 84-year-old Studio City man drowned Thursday after he apparently became fatigued while swimming, authorities said. David Tindler was discovered in the private pool by neighbors who administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation, said Los Angeles Fire Department dispatcher Brian Humphrey. Tindler was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, a nursing supervisor said. "Apparently, he was in really good shape and swam regularly," Humphrey said.

The former 8,500-square-foot headquarters building for Summit Health Ltd. at 4070 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Studio City, has been leased for 10 years at a value of about $1.5 million to Albert Collins and Arthur Stone for their business, "For Women Only," a health and beauty center. Summit Health relocated to 1800 Avenue of the Stars, Century City.

A plan to rid its streets of panhandlers and educate residents on how best to help people in need has taken hold in Studio City, the program's director said. Under the Studio City Cares program launched in February, posters and brochures listing the do's and don'ts of dealing with panhandlers are being displayed in about half the businesses in Studio City, Ken Bernstein said.

A group of Studio City residents has asked to be left out of the proposed city of Hollywood, raising the second boundary challenge in as many months. Last month, a group of east Hollywood residents also petitioned to be removed from the proposed city. "We did an informal poll, and nobody in Studio City thinks of themselves as being part of Hollywood," said Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Residents Assn. "They all identify more with the [San Fernando] Valley."