The 818 Now

Classes at GCC have advanced since this photo was taken in May, 1948. (Photo by Los Angeles Times photographic archive, UCLA Library via Wikimedia Commons)

Glendale Community College will offer a range of Lifelong Learning Seminars Jan. 4 to Feb. 11.

The free classes are held across Glendale, including the Life Skills Building at the college main campus and Sparr Heights Community Center.

Classes feature discussions like Quality of Life, Where’s My Memory and Contemporary World Affairs. 

Seminars also promote healthy living, such as Health through Aerobics and Health and Exercise. Other courses include Art History, Beginning Sketching and Self-Discovery via Writing.

For course times and locations call 818-243-5196 or visit the website.

Students can register online or during class.

On the right path

The roughly dozen residents lunching at Glendale’s largest homeless services provider were those without families nearby for Christmas Day.

Trains ready for new cars

Against the backdrop of train crashes that have killed three dozen passengers and injured hundreds more across the San Fernando Valley, Metrolink officials are set to roll out new cars designed to better withstand deadly wrecks on one of the nation’s most perilous rail systems.

Schools get Caruso dollars

Thirty-two public and private schools in Glendale will be among the 270 beneficiaries of an Americana at Brand donation program, company officials said.

Peevey renamed to commission

Michael Peevey, president of the California Public Utilities Commission and husband of state Sen. Carol Liu (D-La Cañada Flintridge), was reappointed to his post last week for another six-year term.

Meeting all expectations

Kira Lee had no intention of resting on her laurels.

Duo back for seconds

With the Pacific League finals on the horizon, Glendale High girls’ tennis Coach Bob Davidson believed a change needed to be made.

Small Wonders: Christmas morning in script

Daughter 1: It’s 9:15!
Daddy: Do you like your new watch, honey?

Lending families a hand

A last-minute push from firefighters and the community helped the Family Service Agency of Burbank meet a record demand from families in need of holiday toys, officials reported.

Checkpoints to eye DUIs

Drivers who take to the road after sipping a couple of alcoholic drinks at a holiday party stand a greater chance of landing in jail this weekend.

Cutting down on smoke

Local law enforcement and anti-smoking advocates are lauding a citywide program that aims to keep cigarettes away from children, citing a dramatic reduction in the number of businesses that fail to check identification.

Board moves for funds

The Burbank Unified School District Board of Education unanimously entered into an agreement Dec. 17 with state officials to formalize the district’s candidacy for the Obama administration’s signature education policy.

Small Wonders: Christmas morning, in script

Daughter 1: It’s 9:15!
Daddy: Do you like your new watch, honey?

Helping families in need

For many, Christmas is a time of celebration and gift giving, but for families struggling to make ends meet, the time of Santa and presents under the tree can be daunting.

Fees not raising much

When the City Council in 2007 imposed development impact fees on new projects in Glendale, they were heralded as a way to bring in tens of millions of dollars to combat the city’s lack of park space and aging library facilities, but a protracted recession has kept that revenue to a trickle, officials said.

Checkpoints to eye DUIs

Drivers who take to the road after sipping a couple of alcoholic drinks at a holiday party stand a greater chance of landing in jail this weekend.

Water district targets independence

Foothill Municipal Water District officials have settled on a $63-million plan — to be presented to the public next month — for projects that a voter-approved bond would help fund.

Rewriting the record book and Hoover history

Unprecedented may be the best word to describe the 2009 season turned in by the Hoover High boys’ water polo team and its best player, Hakop Kaplanyan.

ALL-AREA FIRST TEAM

A list of student-athletes taking home big honors.

Education Matters: Christmas tidings from the hospital

I find it easier to focus on meaningful things at this time of year. Easier also to center my attention away from the vast and the noisy and the troublesome and more on the quiet, the unobtrusive, the inconspicuous, the vital.

[UPDATE] A 38-year-old San Diego woman was struck and killed by what California Highway Patrol officials have determined to be a large, metal piece of road debris Wednesday morning while driving northbound on the Golden State (5) Freeway.

The car was in the No.2 lane of the I-5 in Burbank when a Mack truck passed by at about 8 a.m. in the No.3 lane and kicked up the piece of debris. The metal damaged the hood of the car, penetrated the windshield and killed the woman before she could be taken to a hospital, authorities said.

Her husband was driving, and her children, both under 6-years-old, were uninjured.

They were driving to Davis for the holidays, authorities said.

“It would be a freak accident that they just happened to be there and the debris happened to be kicked up at that moment and struck their vehicle and not anyone else’s,” California Highway Patrol Officer Ming Hsu said. “There was no way for the driver to avoid this at all. There was no way he could’ve taken evasive maneuvers. “

Names for the family were not released Wednesday.
————–

[Developing] A woman died this morning on the Golden State (5) Freeway in Burbank after a piece of a Mack truck or road debris penetrated her vehicle’s windshield shortly after 8 a.m., California Highway Patrol officials said.

Authorities are still working to determine what the object was, but they said she was riding behind the Mack truck at the time of the incident. The object struck the mother, killing her before she arrived at a nearby hospital.

Her husband was driving and her children, who were in the backseat, were uninjured, authorities said.

The accident occurred in the northbound lanes. More information from the California Highway Patrol is forthcoming.

[Developing] A woman died this morning on the Golden State (5) Freeway in Burbank after a piece of a Mack truck or road debris penetrated her vehicle’s windshield shortly after 8 a.m., California Highway Patrol officials said.

Authorities are still working to determine what the object was, but they said she was riding behind the Mack truck at the time of the incident. The object struck the mother, killing her before she arrived at a nearby hospital.

Her husband was driving and her children, who were in the backseat, were uninjured, authorities said.

The accident occurred in the northbound lanes. More information from the California Highway Patrol is forthcoming.

Glendale Unified School District Board of Education is meeting in a special session tomorrow morning to discuss and possibly decide on its application for Race to the Top, a $4.35 billion competative grant that we’ve written about recently.

The Burbank Unified Board of Education approved 5-0 to apply for Race, but could opt out at a later date. Check out the story in Thursday’s News-Press.

(Photo via Flickr user Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the BPL)

A new mapping and database site tracks historical maps through Google Earth. Old maps are scanned in then laid over with current street names and landmarks. 

Basically, you get to see what’s changed and what’s stayed. 

The San Fernando map dates back to 1880 when a state engineer surveyed water routes. The topographer drew in city land divisions, mountains, rivers, railroads and roads.

Crescenta Valley High School (photo via Glendale Unified School District)

Nice work, Crescenta Valley.  

U.S. News and World Report placed Crescenta Valley High in the top 3% of schools in the country. The rankings rely on Advanced Placement scores and demographic information.  

Its ranking as 44th best in California puts it within the top 6% of schools in the state, which includes public, private, charter and competitive admission campuses.  

Even though California is close to being a failed state — especially when it comes to education funding — the state finished third (behind Massachusetts and Connecticut) in terms of the percent of schools that ranked highest in the magazine’s College Readiness Index.  

California and Massachusetts are considered to lead the nation in academic standards.

(Image via Creative Commons)

Party on, Marshall Elementary School. 

The 11th annual Jingle Jam Winter Holiday Concert is set for Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Teachers and staff will play and sing-a-long to seasonal favorites from multiple cultures and in several languages. 

The concert is open to the public for $3 per person. 

Parents listen up! 

Friday morning will feature all grade levels performing songs they’ve rehearsed for weeks. It is among the most memorable events of the year, organizers say. 

Be there… I just might make it myself.

Glendale High School's symphonic orchestra will be one of several acts in a special concert Thursday at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. (Photo via Amy Rangel)

That’s right. The Glendale High School Instrumental Music Department is organizing a special winter concert Thursday at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. 

The 90-minute performance will feature the school marching band, jazz bands, concert band and orchestra. 

Eat your heart out, Gustavo Dudamel. 

General admission is $8 and children 5 and under get in free.  For more information visit: www.ghsmusiconline.com or www.ruslanbiryukov.com.

This is embarrassing. 

(Image by Lone Tree Elementary via Creative Commons)

Two female foreign-language teachers were caught naked together in the classroom while their students were in an assembly. 

The school, James Madison High in Brooklyn, New York, now nicknamed “Horndog High,” has become the butt of late night jokes. 

“The teachers, in their defense, said it was show and tell,” cracked David Letterman. 

Can you say, public relations nightmare? I can’t imagine what kind of blowback there’d be if something sexual happened in the 818.

(Image by Flickr user Torley)

Burbank Salvation Army volunteers today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., are preparing holiday gift boxes for needy children and families. 

Starbucks is providing coffee, and 30 employees from Kaiser Permanente are helping. You can too. 

Volunteers are gathering at the office at Angeleno Avenue and Third Street.

Mountain Avenue students celebrate their performance. (Photo via Skip McNevin)

Mountain Avenue Elementary School jog-a-thon by the numbers: 

-150 students 

-$24,500 raised for the school 

-10,345 laps 

Not bad. 

Funds will go to improving the computer laboratory and library, providing grade-level grants and upgrading technology and playgrounds. 

Students who raised $100 or more were invited to a special reception where 125 prizes were raffled off. 

Up for grabs: a Lakers backpack complete with an autographed photo of Kobe Bryant.

Dr. Kevin Jolly, Burbank Unified School District superintendent. (Photo courtesy of the Burbank Unified School District)

It’s official. Burbank Unified School District superintendent, Kevin Jolly, will resign effective June 30.

Be sure to check out our story in tomorrow’s paper. For those who need to get up to speed, check out Saturday’s article.

The Board of Education has yet to decide the next step in finding a new superintendent.

What they do know is that they will not elaborate beyond the statement board President Dave Kemp released late Monday, which follows:

“Today, District Superintendent Dr. Kevin Jolly submitted, and I accepted, his resignation from the District effective June 30, 2010. He has announced his resignation now so that he is able to fully consider other opportunities and in order to allow the District time to find his replacement. Dr. Jolly brought passion, energy, and progressive ideas in his time with the District.  he remains committed to working with the Board in maintaining and building upon the many achievements of which the District community can be proud.

Board of Education

However, there is no doubt that the District faces challenges going forward.  In addition to Dr. Jolly’s resignation, there is the recent departure of Deputy Superintendent Mr. Joel Shapiro. Additionally, the District is once again faced with the challenge of further State budget cuts. These changes and challenges only reinforce the fact that the District’s focus must be forward-looking and on ensuring that a leadership team and structure is in place that is able to guide the District through this critical transitional period. To this end, the Board is carefully evaluating these issues and is committed to taking the actions necessary to maintain the quality of educational services the District community has worked so hard to provide.”

Dave Kemp, President

The Burbank Unified School Board of Eduction met as planned Monday morning, but did not settle on language that would “clear the air” (to use President Dave Kemp’s phrase) as to the employment of  Supt. Kevin Jolly.

We reported Saturday that Jolly was resigning after six months in office.

After this morning, it seems this statement will come later Monday or Tuesday, and likely to be issued by both Jolly and the board.

Asked whether Jolly was leaving, Kemp and Jolly both said the statement will explain everything.

Stay tuned.

Worth 1,000 words (cartoon by Steve Greenberg via LA Observed)

Pick your poison: more cuts to education or more taxes. 

Students mostly from Cal State Los Angeles protested outside Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s downtown office this morning against likely $21 billion in additional across-the-board cuts. 

Like the UC and community college systems, CSU schools have raised fees while reducing services. 

The state of education, and the state of the state more broadly, is forcing some to wonder, is California is the next Dubai?

Students practice Korean at Mark Kepple Elementary School in September. Glendale Unified announced it will add Japanese to its popular Foreign Language Academy of Glendale (FLAG) amid strong parent interest. (Raul Roa/News-Press

 From the Glendale News-Press:

GLENDALE — School officials have approved expanding the district’s popular foreign-language immersion program to include Japanese at Verdugo Woodlands Elementary School.

The Foreign Language Academy of Glendale is a dual-language elementary and middle school program in which students are exposed to instruction in one of now six foreign languages and English throughout the year.

Full story here.

(Image via Flickr user charity shopper)

‘Tis the season…. 

Three local schools are collecting books and toys for families in need in the Glendale area. 

Valley View and Glenoaks Elementary schools and Toll Middle School are collecting toys through Friday. 

You don’t have to be a parent to participate: Anyone can donate and help out. 

For more information, call Valley View, 236-3771; Glenoaks, 242-3747; and Toll, 244-8414.

The AIDS Ribbon (Image by WikiCommons)

HIV/AIDS remains an epidemic around the world. In this country, it has changed from being a mostly gay, white disease in the ’80s and ’90s to infecting many poor and minority people in the Southeastern and Southern U.S. 

World AIDS day began in 1988 by the United Nations organization that was renamed UNAIDS. 

According to the LA Gay & Lesbian Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation:

- As many as 7,000 Californians will become infected with AIDS this year.

- African-Americans make up 6% of California’s population, but account for nearly 19% of those living with HIV/AIDS. 

- Someone is infected with HIV every 9.5 minutes in the U.S. 

- An estimated 56,300 people will become infected with HIV this year. 

- 1.1 million people are currently living with AIDS, 21% of whom are unaware. 

- Americans ages 13-29 account for 34% of all new infections, most of which are through sexual contact. 

- Racial and ethnic minorities account for about 67% of those living with HIV and about 70% of AIDS deaths. 

- AIDS is the single leading cause of death of women globally. 

For more check out the AIDS/LifeCycle.