Hit-and-Run Accident in Central Atwater Village

ACCORDING TO this eyewitness, a driver hit a parked car yesterday, July 11, on Valleybrink Road in a heavily residential area of central Atwater Village. See the full-size photo here. Los Angeles Fire Department arrived on the scene, but the witness says the injured driver took off, and no one else was hurt. Still, looks like a mess.

New Pedestrian Bridge Over Untroubled Waters?

ALTHOUGH ITS precise location has yet to be planned, and its precise cost could range from $2 million to $30 million, depending on designs, Glendale City Council wants to connect its city with LA's Griffith Park by building a new pedestrian bridge over I-5. LA Times reports:

Residents from Glendale, Burbank and Atwater Village — especially local equestrians and bicyclists — have also expressed support for the proposed bridge.

The bridge is planned as a future third phase of the Glendale Narrows Riverwalk along the Los Angeles River. (With any luck, it'll connect the industrial east bank with the well-tread bike path across the river.) The riverwalk's first phase breaks ground this summer, upstream from Atwater Village, just past Flower Street, behind ABC-7 and Dreamworks studios.

Download Glendale's 33-page riverwalk presentation, with photos and detailed plans.

Tweet Me Like a Newbie

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS too small to blog, too big to ignore, from the Atwater Village Newbie Twitter feed:

• Grab the kayak! EPA declares LA River "traditional navigable waters" @LATimescityDesk
• "Tam O'Shanter in Atwater Village... as ersatz as can be, a Disney version of a Scottish inn" @laweeklyfood
• On newly expanded Trader Joes in Silver Lake, Katie from Atwater Village says: "It seems huge" @TheEastsiderLA
• New studio in Atwater Village, it's called Brazilian Yoga and Pilates, 3191 Casitas Ave.
• Marijuana shop at 3153 Glendale Blvd may be violating zoning ordinances and regulations by also offering classes

Follow Sasha's Story, From the End

TRAGEDY STRUCK an Atwater Village family last week when 15-year-old Sasha Rodriguez, a high school student and drill team member from the neighborhood, died after attending the Electric Daisy Carnival rave. While funeral services are planned for today, July 6, 2:30pm at Forest Lawn Glendale, the LA Times has been following the aftermath of Sasha's death, including policy changes at LA Coliseum. Catch up here:

• June 30 - Girl, 15, dies after weekend rave at LA Coliseum
• June 30 - LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky calls for moratorium on raves at LA Coliseum
• July 1 - Overload from Electric Daisy Carnival - Coliseum officials suspend raves after teen girl's death.
• July 2 - Girl's rave death raises questions whether such parties are getting too big to handle
• July 3 - Girl who died after LA rave didn't tell family she was going, spokesman says
• July 5 - Electric Daisy Carnival: drug-infested all-nighter - All law enforcement officers know that the whole idea behind raves is to take Ecstasy. Whoever approved the use of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for this event should be held civilly responsible.
• July 5 - Four girls touch the world, two in death and two in life

Friends and family have organized a funeral fundraiser on Facebook and a fundraising dinner Saturday, July 10, 5:00pm.