Results tagged “chatsworth”

Is Menchies going to overtake Pinkberry in Los Angeles? It was not that long ago when it was a franchise of one in Valley Village. Now they're opening it's 19th location in Chatsworth, which is the 11th for the L.A. area (and there are plans to open five more from Granada Hills to Beverly Hills to Santa Monica).

Text messaging appears to be one major caper in the Chatsworth Metrolink train crash last year, which left 25 dead and 135 injured. Investigators found that Metrolink Engineer Robert Sanchez sent a text message 22 seconds before his train slammed head-on into a freight train.

     

Yesterday, friends, family, co-workers, and community members gathered in Stoney Point Park in Chatsworth to hold a memorial service and dedication of a plaque to honor the lives lost one year ago in the Metrolink-Union Pacific train crash. In addition to the Chatsworth event on Saturday a memorial was held in Simi Valley at the Metrolink Memorial Plaza, which was where Metrolink 111 would have next stopped had the train not collided with a freight train. There at the station, "individual plaques bearing the name of each person who died in the crash, and messages suggested by their families," have been installed at the east platform, according to the Daily Breeze.

It's been nearly a year since that fateful Friday afternoon when a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train smashed into each other, leaving 25 dead and 135 injured. It happened around a section of single track, blindly curving around Stoney Point in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles.

In a direct and to-the-point opinion in the Daily News yesterday, Councilman Greig Smith further shamed the firefighters' union for a mailer sent out last week depicting the Chatsworth metrolink crash, which left 25 dead and 135 injured, juxtaposed with information about budget cuts to the LAFD. Smith, who represents Chatsworth and is the incoming chairman for the city's Public Safety Committee, lambasted union president Pat McOsker in his writing:

First there were signs in front of fire stations (see above) and now a mailer using images from the Chatsworth train crash (see below) that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is calling "tasteless, offensive and misleading."

Groundbreaking is scheduled to take place this morning on Metro's Orange Line extension, which will expand the dedicated busway that currently runs from North Hollywood to Warner Center. The $215.6 million extension "is the very first project to begin construction under the new voter approved Measure R half-cent transportation sales tax," reports abc7.

      

This past weekend at an Earth Day cleanup in the Valley, a few teenage boys came upon a rattlesnake while picking up trash. Unfortunately, the overzealous teens killed it, something you're not supposed to do (as the San Diego Zoo says, "these beautiful animals are important to the environment because they control rodent populations.")

Remember to dot your "I's" and cross your "T's." A mansion in unincorporated Chatsworth that sustained $3 millions in fire damage early yesterday morning had an outdated phone number attached to its alarm system. Starting last Saturday, two days before the fire, any local calls made within the 818 area code required 1-818 before dialing local numbers because of the new 747 area code overlay. The auto call to alert the local fire department never made it, which may have caused a delay in their arrival. Because the home was inside a gated community and initially there was low water pressure, firefighter's response times attack on the fire was additionally delayed. All four occupants of the house escaped safely and one firefighter broke his ankle.

              

The Garden of the Gods is more about exploring than hiking. The 23-acre park, most known for once being a part of the famous Iverson Movie Ranch (it set the scene for the wild west, Africa and Asia), has one small official trail and a lot of rocks to scramble and climb (not with gear, though).

Metrolink yesterday fired two supervisors who oversaw train engineer Robert Sanchez, who was behind the controls of the train that slammed into a freight train killing 25 people last year September. But the two supervisors are not really not fired, per se, becuase they're employees of Connex, Metrolink's contractor for employees. Rather, the two supervisors were taken off the job and will be replaced. From the LA Times: "'The unauthorized text-messaging, the 'ride-alongs' and other unacceptable behaviors are all a reflection of Connex's failure to monitor its employees,' said Metrolink board Vice Chairman Richard Katz... Although agreeing that safety is its first priority, the company said, 'We take exception to the allegations made as to their reasons for taking this action, but will not debate it in the same way they have chosen to deliver it.'"

It's not just that Metrolink engineer Robert Sanchez, who is suspected of causing the deadly September 12th train wreck in Chatsworth, let teens ride with him in the train's cab, it appears he let friends sit at the controls of the train. "I’m gonna do all the radio talkin’...ur gonna run the locomotive & I’m gonna tell u how to do it," he texted to a rail enthusiast two days before the crash, reported the LA Times who is covering a hearing about the crash in Washington D.C. Letting someone ride-along in the cab is a serious violation of the law--this is even worse--but it appears that no one was with him the day of the crash. However, the investigation did find that Sanchez sent a text message 22 seconds before his Metrolink commuter train slammed into a freight train.

On September 12, 2008, Angelenos and the nation watched in horror as emergency personnel responded to what would soon go down as the worst train crash in recent US history when a Metrolink train collided with a freight train in Chatsworth. As investigators continue to probe the incident and Robert M. Sanchez, the Engineer at the wheel on that deadly day, more information is coming to light about the man's work habits.

Two mobile homes are currently on fire--one that is "well involved"--just outside of Chatsworth in unincorporated LA County. "It was originally reported as a brush fire, but at this time it has not gone into the brush area, so it's considered a structure fire right now," LAFD Spokesman Ron Myers said over the phone. There have been two injuries and fire crews at the scene are expecting to be able the contain the fire without additional resources. The fire off Woolsey Canyon Rd and Valley Circle, which near the Chatsworth Reservoir, was first reported at 12:56 p.m. by multiple callers and was first thought to be within city limits.

In what is the third train related death in a week, "authorities say a woman is dead after a Union Pacific freight train crashed into her sport utility vehicle on railroad tracks in Palmdale." Last weekend, two women died in separate incidents in Burbank and Chatsworth when they were hit by Metrolink and Amtrak trains, respectively.

Authorities are investigating the death of Myra Theresa Mina-Calove of Woodland Hills, who was struck and killed by an Amtrak train inside the tunnel near Chatsworth Park yesterday evening.

Yesterday Metrolink revealed their plan to combat their "most pressing safety and organizational issues," reports the Glendale News-Press. The findings were presented to the transit company's Board of Directors by a combined team of experts concerning trains and oversight; the pursuit of greater safety at Metrolink largely stems from the aftermath of September's Chatsworth crash--the deadliest accident in Metrolink's history.

If it gets prioritized funding, the Metro Orange Line's swoop to the north from Canoga Park to the Chatsworth Train Station could begin construction in 2010 and be in operation by 2013, finds Curbed LA. Four new stations will be added and every other westbound bus from North Hollywood will travel the new route. The Gold Line extension to East LA will open next year and the Expo Line from downtown to Culver City is expected to open in 2010.

       

More great photos from LAist Featured Photos contributors on Flickr.

As Santa Ana Winds began to warm and increase in speed today, the National Weather Service extended their Red Flag Warning for an additional day to 11:00 p.m. Saturday night, prompting the the LA Fire Department to extend their own red flag parking restrictions through 8:00 a.m. on Thursday morning (but that can change in a moment's notice). A couple fires with potential to spread into larger incidents were knocked down north of Chatsworth and in Moreno Valley. The Foxborough Fire in the Fontana/Rancho Cucamonga area is 60 percent contained and was started by fireworks.

A smoldering fire was knockedown shortly before 8:30 a.m. this morning in Browns Canyon north of Chatsworth inside the burn area of the Sesnon Fire. The fire was not an immediate threat, Brian Humphrey of the LA Fire Department said, but to make sure it didn't become one, they sent a few engines and helicopters to soak it down. The fire, which was first reported at 7:14 a.m., had no visible flames and was burning under decomposing vegetation such as weeds, leaves, tree roots and branches.

As of this morning, here's the latest on road closures and public transit routes affected by the Sesnon and Marek Fires (things can change, if they do, they should be updated at (800) 439-2909):

The City of Los Angeles has released these traffic advisories for the two fires.

As people are dealing with the effects of the local wildfires, there are also organizations making sure the four-legged victims are being looked after. Especially since there are so many horses in the fire-stricken neighborhoods.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's Office sent out a big press release tonight updating traffic, transit, evacuation and school information regarding the Sesnon Fire in the Northwest San Fernando Valley that's mainly affecting the Porter Ranch and Chatsworth neighborhoods and surrounding areas. All the info can be read here.

Captain Henry Rodriguez of LA County Fire told KCAL9 on live TV that at least nineteen structures have burned in the Sesnon Fire that is burning in Porter Ranch, Chatsworth and outlying county areas. Map and more basic info on the Sesnon Fire can be found here.

"Winds are causing fire conditions to change by the hour, which is why it is so important that residents in the areas surrounding these wildfires heed warnings from public safety officials to evacuate," Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said in preface to his emergency proclamation. "It's critical that everyone in the warning areas continue to be prepared-know what you're going to take and be ready to move very quickly if the evacuation order comes in your area. The state is coordinating with federal and local officials to ensure that firefighters have the resources they need, but with such a serious situation on our hands, we need residents to take every precaution to remain safe during this dangerous and difficult time."

The two fires burning in the San Fernando Valley have neared a total of 9,000 acres. The Sesnon Fire, which began north of Porter Ranch around 10:30 a.m. this morning, has quickly grown to 3,700 acres reaching into Chatsworth with no containment reported. The Marek fire in the Northeast Valley that began early Sunday morning is at 5,000 acres with 5% containment.

Metrolink is using Twitter to update their service. The latest: "Ventura Co. Line to be shut down in the Chatsworth area due to heavy smoke in tunnel area. More details to follow." UPDATE: Metrolink has some bus bridge alternatives, but depending on where you are and where you're going, you'll need to see their specific details.