Judge orders road to remain open

A hillside road in Lincoln Heights that was blocked last month when a landowner erected a wrought iron gate across it must remain open for residents’ use, a Los Angeles judge ruled Thursday.

Superior Court Judge David Yaffe issued a preliminary injunction ordering Gardner Compton to allow public use of Forest Park Drive, a dirt road that meanders up a hill near Lincoln High School. No date for a future airing of the case was set.

Ironically, the gate disappeared about two weeks ago. Compton, 76, asserted it was stolen. On Thursday, witnesses reported that Compton collapsed on the courthouse’s steps and was taken to a hospital in an ambulance before the case was to be heard.

Hillside homeowner Meeno Peluce said the goal of the drive’s 18 residents is to get the roadway paved and improved. “In the next El Nino it will be a disaster,” Peluce said after the hearing.

-- Bob Pool