Cal Poly Pomona

Tawnya Agre of Monrovia and former Glendale resident Brian Lichtman , also of Monrovia, were married at the Reef in Long Beach. Cantor Harvey Block officiated the combined Christian/Jewish ceremony. Serving as the maid of honor was Amy Long , a grade-school friend. Bridesmaids were A ndrea Carr, Julie Weber, Elaine Kao, Nicole Martinez and Heather Lichtman of Glendale, the groom?s sister. The best man was Penn Christensen , a grade-school friend.

Hamlet Nalbandyan La Canada High boys' basketball player Billy Hofman has made his college choice. The four-year varsity player chose Cal Poly Pomona, an up-and-coming Division II program, over several others after practicing with the team Wednesday. Hofman, who earned Rio Hondo League Most Valuable Player and CIF Southern Section Division IIIA first-team honors this season, picked Cal Poly Pomona over the likes of Cal Lutheran, Azusa Pacific and Biola.

Marshall Allen LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- Bob Perry will speak about sustainable urban landscapes and use of California native plants in a seminar at Descanso Gardens. The seminar will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, at Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La Canada Flintridge Perry is professor emeritus in the Department of Landscape Architecture at Cal Poly Pomona, and author of two books on water-conserving plants for California. Perry has combined academic instruction, research and consulting to achieve a balanced approach to landscape design.

Services were held Tuesday at La Cañada Presbyterian Church for Matt Cronin of La Verne, (formerly of La Cañada), who passed away June 9, 2005, at USC Norris Cancer Hospital at age 23 after a courageous battle with ocular melanoma. Born May 30, 1982 in Glendale, Matt attended Paradise Canyon Elementary School, La Cañada 7/8, La Canada High (class of 2000) and Cal Poly Pomona. He was in Indian Guides, a Cub Scout, and played baseball with the La Cañada Junior Baseball Association.

Students from Hoover High School and Toll Middle School will participate in the 2004 California State Science Olympiad May 1 at Cal Poly Pomona. Student teams from about 50 middle and high schools will participate in competitions that cover forestry, mechanical engineering and cellular biology. Top scoring middle and high school teams will participate in a national competition May 21 and 22 in Huntingdon, Pa. Participating students will be asked to construct a wheeled vehicle that can travel between five and 10 meters, build test rockets made of plastic bottles, construct the lightest bridge capable of carrying a maximum load, identify fossil specimens and identify constellations and solving astronomy problems.

Darleene Barrientos If you're a culinary student with a goal of graduating from Cal Poly Pomona's Collins School of Hospitality Management, considered one of the nation's top-10 programs, your first stop could be Glendale Community College. With a nearly $300,000 grant to be spread over three years from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Services, GCC and the Collins School of Hospitality Management will be begin working together to give Latino students a chance to earn undergraduate credits at the community college and transfer their credits seamlessly to the four-year university program.

Robert M. Bennett, owner and founder of Bennett Productions Inc. of Los Angeles, has been elected chairman of the executive committee of the board of directors of the Muscular Dystrophy Assn. Bennett, a Newport Beach resident, was chosen for the position by the board of directors during its recent annual meeting in Los Angeles. Bennett recently stepped down as chairman of the board, a position he held for 10 years. A volunteer national leader of the Muscular Dystrophy Assn.

Charles Rich Billy Hofman (La Canada, 2003), sophomore guard, Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball -- Hofman, who was the 2003 All-Area co-Player of the Year, notched six points, two assists and a steal in 21 minutes to help Cal Poly Pomona earn a 70-62 home victory against San Francisco State University on Saturday. Hofman scored two points and contributed one rebound and four assists in a 64-61 loss to visiting Sonoma State University on Friday.

Erik Boal GLENDALE -- o7 In an effort to keep track of local high school players who now compete in college, the News-Press will devote space to a weekly update:f7 Kelly Gaudino (La Canada, 2000) sophomore outside hitter, UC Davis women's volleyball -- Although every California Collegiate Athletic Assn. match is important for Gaudino and the Aggies (11-8, 7-6 in conference) entering their regular-season stretch run, Saturday's contest, scheduled for 7 p.m. at Cal Poly Pomona, holds a little extra significance.

Ryan Carter LA CRESCENTA -- Reacting to recent Foothill Leader articles and what they said is a threat to creation of a community plan, community members have alleged the president of the Crescenta Valley Town Council has violated the nine-member advisory board's bylaws. Town Council President Charles Beatty denied the charges. During a public comment period at Thursday's Town Council meeting, former Town Council member Pat Mumbauer gave a letter to the council from Glendale attorney Albert Abkarian, stating an opinion that Beatty had violated administrative rules.

  James Olliff James W. Olliff, 64, passed away on September 15, 2011 after a valiant three-year battle with cancer. With the exception of the four years he served in the U.S. Air Force, Jim was a lifelong Glendale resident.   He was devoted to his family, his friends and his community. He served for years as a Neighborhood Watch block captain. He was also an avid amateur radio operator (ham), a member of the Crescenta Valley Radio Club, and served as City Radio Officer for Glendale.

Tawnya Agre of Monrovia and former Glendale resident Brian Lichtman , also of Monrovia, were married at the Reef in Long Beach. Cantor Harvey Block officiated the combined Christian/Jewish ceremony. Serving as the maid of honor was Amy Long , a grade-school friend. Bridesmaids were A ndrea Carr, Julie Weber, Elaine Kao, Nicole Martinez and Heather Lichtman of Glendale, the groom?s sister. The best man was Penn Christensen , a grade-school friend.

CITY HALL — Assistant City Manager Bob McFall announced his retirement Tuesday after 33 years with the city. McFall, who was appointed to his position in 1987, said he will retire effective June 30 to pursue other interests and spend more time with his two grandchildren. “Sometimes you know when the time is right to move on to the next opportunities,” he said. “I’m genuinely looking forward to pursuing many of my own personal interests.” McFall first worked for the city as an intern while attending Cal Poly Pomona, from which he received a bachelor’s degree in parks administration.

GLENDALE — Coming off a big win in the final race of the College of the Canyons Summer Series and now a third-place finish in the Fullerton Invitational on Saturday, the Glendale Community College women’s cross-country team has plenty of momentum to start the season. More importantly, they’ve got confidence in their ability to race with anyone after beating out university programs such as USC, Loyola Marymount and Cal State Fullerton with 98 points in the 6K season opener at Fullerton Golf Course, which was won by Azusa Pacific with 53 points, followed by Long Beach State (65)

Lifetime Glendale resident Ted Walters cannot imagine his life outside of the city. He raised five children in this city, owned the same house for 35 years and is friends with all of his neighbors. And while Glendale has been good to him, he’s intent on giving back. Walters has served for 19 years as a member of the Northwest Glendale Lions Club, an organization dedicated to issues around the world, especially to eye care. “I’m not a selfish person,” Walters said.

The following are updates on area athletes at the collegiate level.   Eric Kleinsasser (Crescenta Valley, 2008) freshman, Occidental College cross-country : After running to the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference individual championship on Nov. 5, Kleinsasser has navigated his way to Saturday’s NCAA Division III championships in Hanover College, Ind. On Saturday at Willamette University’s Bush’s...

U9 tourney baseball team forming The La Crescenta Crush, a 9-year-old and under tournament baseball team, is looking for players that wish to partake in regional tournaments. Players must be 9 years of age or younger as of April 10, 2009 and have received All Star, MVP or Championship team honors. This independent, advanced skills kid pitch team will practice in the La Crescenta area and travel to tournaments once per month. Interested families should contact (818) 641-4694 or markdlangford@gmail.

GLENDALE — Fresh off earning a bachelor’s degree in urban and regional planning from Cal Poly Pomona, Carlos Rojas is ready to plan ahead. He will do exactly that as the new coach of the Hoover High girls’ soccer team. Rojas, who graduated from Hoover in 2002 after starring on the school’s boys’ soccer team, replaces Julie Testin. It will be the first head-coaching position for Rojas, who was hired Oct. 12. “I never thought I’d get into being a head coach at the high school level,” said Rojas, who served as an assistant coach for San Fernando Valley-based Samba club team the past two seasons.