Brain

CHARLES J. UNGER Now here is a ruling we can all be proud of. This is the story of Billy Warsoldier, a Native American who was freed from jail earlier this year after his sentence had been extended due to his refusal to allow his hair to be cut while in prison. Mr. Warsoldier was in prison due to the rare combination of possessing brass knuckles while driving under the influence of alcohol. The Adelanto Correctional Facility requires all inmates to comply with their grooming policies.

Gary Moskowitz An injury sustained during football practice last month might have temporarily paralyzed James Fletcher and left him with a massive concussion and a bruised brain. But the mishap did nothing to stifle the student's sense of humor. Three weeks after the incident, James is walking and communicating clearly. He misses participating in his Internet fantasy football league, has grudgingly agreed to wear a helmet when he goes snowboarding this winter, and has temporarily put aside his fantasy of riding his bicycle down the Foothill (210)

Ryan Carter The last question in the super quiz section of the Junior High Academic Decathlon for schools in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles was a slam dunk for the team from Incarnation School. How many covers of the Saturday Evening Post did artist Norman Rockwell's art appear on? Easy, the team members said. The answer was 332, same as the weight of U.S. President William Howard Taft, they said. And with that, the team of 10 Incarnation students, two alternates and five supporting students, correctly answered a perfect 50 questions in the super quiz.

Erik Boal It's days like today that Kathryn Gorsch values the most. For the 17-year-old middle blocker, playing volleyball at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy -- especially at 5:30 p.m. up the hill against intracity rival La Canada High -- has taken on a different perspective since May, when she and teammate Juli Bussjaeger were involved in a serious car accident traveling westbound on the Ventura (134) Freeway. With Bussjaeger driving and Gorsch in the passenger seat on the way to North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake High for practice with their Santa Monica Beach Club team, the pair was stuck in the heart of afternoon traffic when they were hit hard from behind near the interchange of the Ventura and Golden State (5)

Members of the "BrainWorks" team from the California Science Center's Science Theater on Tour got inside the heads of 672 students at Verdugo Woodlands Elementary School on Friday. The "BrainWorks" team put on a show for students in the school's cafeteria, using a life-sized replica of a human brain, skulls, vertebrae and diagrams of the brain to teach students about how the brain functions. The team, dressed in white lab coats, used humorous skits to explain scientific terms like sensory neurons, glial cells, cerebrum, cerebellum, sensory organs and the central nervous system to students in all grades.

As the owner of Glendale's DUI school, and author of the book, "Find Your Perfect High" I was impressed with your Feb. 5 editorial on alcohol sales. Toughening the laws may help, but as long as there is demand, people will find supply. And Lord knows, there's demand. We're an interesting society. We accept alcohol as a way of life. We use it to relax, socialize, reduce stress, express our emotions and shed our inhibitions. About $2 billion in alcohol advertising convinces us that alcohol makes us outgoing, sexy and part of the crowd.

Earth to Councilman Dave Weaver, please come in! The earth has an important message for you! Given Weaver's jaw-dropping words at last week's council meeting, a seething lecture for citizens who had the gall to offer him their unsolicited opinions, let's not be surprised if Weaver refuses to answer earth's call. After the council voted last week to reappoint a planning board member, Weaver told the mayor, "I have a comment. I'm speaking only for myself."

Chuck Benedict "The diagnosis: You are in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. In time, you will lose touch with reality. Eventually, you will be unable ..." That prognosis is frightening. For victims and their families, it often makes the living future seem worse than death. Medical science is feverishly trying to learn the secret of tackling this brain malfunction. It is a hope not yet in sight. Meanwhile, the reverse of that brain pyramid is a real hope for those with anoxia, a condition in which the brain, through accident or illness, has suffered from the lack of oxygen, causing immediate impairment of some capabilities.

Hamlet Nalbandyan SOUTHEAST GLENDALE -- He tried his best to explain to his two younger siblings why their mother was dying when they visited her at the hospital on her birthday. But things like this are impossible to explain, especially when you're 19. The same applies to how a basketball player who was the third offensive option on an average-at-best high school team, could find his way onto one of the best junior college programs in the state.

Amber Willard PASADENA -- Jurors will see photos of the beaten bodies of two boys and files from the computer of the La Crescenta teen accused of the deaths, a Pasadena judge ruled Monday. Michael Demirdjian, 15, is accused of killing Blaine Talmo Jr., 14, and Christopher McCulloch, 13, on a school playground in July. He is also accused of committing the crime in order to rob the boys and torturing them by the nature of their deaths. Although investigators found blood on a pair of shoes in a kitchen trash can in Demirdjian's home, along with Talmo's empty wallet and travel clock, no fingerprints at the crime scene match Demirdjian's, police have said.