Victory Boulevard

The volunteers who planted some gangly saplings along Victory Boulevard saw them as a symbol of how things are supposed to work in the new L.A.: A local advisory group identified a way to make its neighborhood a little better, took its idea to local government and government pitched in. Inexplicably, however, someone has been sabotaging Valley Glen's tree-planting project in the dusty medians between Babcock and Goodland avenues.

How do you make a Costco beautiful? It's been a thorny topic in the west San Fernando Valley for more than a year, ever since Westfield Group, owner of the landmark Topanga and Promenade malls, announced plans for a 30-acre development between the two shopping centers. Many residents were expecting a Bloomingdale's, high-rise towers, upscale dining. What they got was a Costco. "It's just a box with a parking lot," said Shirley Blessing, a 41-year resident. Plans to include a 20-pump gas station didn't help matters.

Can an iconic 26-foot mural bridge the gap between a big-box retailer hoping to build a 148,000-square-foot store on a prime Warner Center corner and residents who oppose it as ugly and out of place? The ceramic tile mosaic by acclaimed artists Marlo Bartels and Astrid Preston was placed on the front of a Home Savings and Loan branch at 21818 Victory Blvd. in 1989. It depicts the juxtaposition of homes and businesses in Woodland Hills. The former bank building is now a copy shop and shipping center, and it is earmarked to be demolished to make way for a new Costco.

Can an iconic 26-foot mural bridge the gap between a big-box retailer hoping to build a 148,000-square-foot store on a prime Warner Center corner and residents who oppose it as ugly and out of place? The ceramic tile mosaic by acclaimed artists Marlo Bartels and Astrid Preston was placed on the front of a Home Savings and Loan branch at 21818 Victory Blvd. in 1989. It depicts the juxtaposition of homes and businesses in Woodland Hills. The former bank building is now a copy shop and shipping center, and it is earmarked to be demolished to make way for a new Costco.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joy Picus on Thursday reiterated her threat to block Victory Boulevard to prevent a tidal wave of traffic from the proposed Ahmanson Ranch project. But Las Virgenes-area homeowners on the other side of the development fumed, saying that she was being too provincial. Picus' line in the sand is a one-foot strip of dirt--a right of way held by the city, but not yet dedicated for public use.

Creating a new roadblock for the Ahmanson Ranch development in eastern Ventura County, the Los Angeles City Council rejected a plan Tuesday to open a stretch of Victory Boulevard that is vital to the construction and operation of the 3,050-home project. The road, which dead-ends at Los Angeles city limits, is seen as a major access point for construction vehicles, and will be needed as an alternative to the crowded Ventura Freeway when residents move in.

How do you make a Costco beautiful? It's been a thorny topic in the west San Fernando Valley for more than a year, ever since Westfield Group, owner of the landmark Topanga and Promenade malls, announced plans for a 30-acre development between the two shopping centers. Many residents were expecting a Bloomingdale's, high-rise towers, upscale dining. What they got was a Costco. "It's just a box with a parking lot," said Shirley Blessing, a 41-year resident. Plans to include a 20-pump gas station didn't help matters.

Faced with a potential lawsuit, Los Angeles City Council members asked the city attorney's office Wednesday for an opinion on their decision not to reopen a road vital to the Ahmanson Ranch development. A motion introduced by Councilwoman Jan Perry said the developers have said the council action "may have legal consequences and potential liability for the city."

Undeterred by vandals who destroyed 10 newly planted trees last weekend, residents got their hands dirty again Saturday morning and replaced the saplings along a Victory Boulevard median. A handful of neighbors, assisted by a Los Angeles Conservation Corps crew, planted a row of trees that will line Victory Boulevard between Whitsett and Coldwater Canyon avenues.

Eighteen people were arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after being stopped at a sobriety checkpoint at Canoga Avenue and Victory Boulevard in Canoga Park Friday night and Saturday morning, Los Angeles police reported. Police said that 592 drivers passed through the checkpoint between 9:30 p.m. Friday and 2:30 a.m. Saturday and that 21 were given sobriety tests.

Faced with worsening congestion on Los Angeles freeways and surface streets, transportation planners say they will try to make traffic flow faster across the city's most important arterial roads. Under a plan announced by Mayor James K. Hahn on Monday, synchronized stoplights on 35 major streets would be reset so that traffic on those streets would have priority. Among them are Sepulveda Boulevard, Olympic Boulevard and Western Avenue.

George Meadors was convicted of involuntary manslaughter Thursday, nearly a year after he stabbed his roommate in a Northridge apartment. Meadors, 52, was acquitted of an original charge of second-degree murder. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charles Peven in San Fernando scheduled sentencing for April 10.

Faced with a potential lawsuit, Los Angeles City Council members asked the city attorney's office Wednesday for an opinion on their decision not to reopen a road vital to the Ahmanson Ranch development. A motion introduced by Councilwoman Jan Perry said the developers have said the council action "may have legal consequences and potential liability for the city."

Creating a new roadblock for the Ahmanson Ranch development, the Los Angeles City Council rejected a plan Tuesday to open a stretch of Victory Boulevard that is vital to the construction and operation of the 3,050-home project. The road, which dead-ends at the city limits, is seen as a major access point for construction vehicles, and will be needed as an alternative to the crowded Ventura Freeway when residents move in.

Creating a new roadblock for the Ahmanson Ranch development in eastern Ventura County, the Los Angeles City Council rejected a plan Tuesday to open a stretch of Victory Boulevard that is vital to the construction and operation of the 3,050-home project. The road, which dead-ends at Los Angeles city limits, is seen as a major access point for construction vehicles, and will be needed as an alternative to the crowded Ventura Freeway when residents move in.

The current two options for the Valley east-west busway are both incorrect. Both Oxnard Street and Chandler Boulevard are residential streets with schools, synagogues, convalescent homes and lots of pedestrians. Oxnard Street is a narrow street. Victory Boulevard, on the other hand, is a wide boulevard with businesses and apartments serving people much more likely to use buses. The busway should run northwest on Lankershim Boulevard to Victory and straight west on Victory to Warner Center.

A North Hollywood motorcyclist was killed Saturday after he struck a car turning left at a Glendale intersection, police said. Steven L. Edgmon, 34, hit a vehicle driven by an elderly motorist who was turning left from Jesse Avenue onto Victory Boulevard. Edgmon, who was not wearing a helmet, suffered head and chest injuries. He died at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank at 3 p.m., several hours after the accident. There was no indication that Edgmon was intoxicated or was traveling at an unsafe speed, police said.

Your story about the excellent program being administered by Sutter Middle School was a very fine piece of reporting. Unfortunately, it contained a glaring error. The school is not in Canoga Park but in the community of Winnetka, whose boundaries are Parthenia Street on the north, De Soto Avenue on the west, Victory Boulevard on the south and Corbin Avenue on the east We are proud of our community and urgently request that you make every effort to avoid this error. LEONARD HOLDEN Winnetka

The volunteers who planted some gangly saplings along Victory Boulevard saw them as a symbol of how things are supposed to work in the new L.A.: A local advisory group identified a way to make its neighborhood a little better, took its idea to local government and government pitched in. Inexplicably, however, someone has been sabotaging Valley Glen's tree-planting project in the dusty medians between Babcock and Goodland avenues.

Dear Traffic Talk: Heading east on Burbank Boulevard as you cross Sepulveda Boulevard or turning east onto Burbank from Sepulveda always presents a problem when the Sepulveda Basin is closed because of flooding. The only signs warning that the basin is flooded are at the entrance at the crest of the hill, and they are impossible to see until you are already there. Whenever the basin is closed, there is a major traffic jam because drivers are making U-turns to get out of the area.