Feature

TODAY GLENDALE A tai chi beginners class will be at 8:30 a.m. weekly at the First Congregational Church of Glendale, 2001 Canada Blvd. The cost is $4. For more information, call 243-2109. The L.A. Zoo will celebrate Latino Heritage Month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Sunday at 5333 Zoo Drive, Griffith Park. The event will feature dance groups, mariachi music and pinatas. Admission is $9, $4 for children. For more information, call (323) 644-6400.

When I write, I often begin sentences with "and. " But when I edit other people's writing, I usually delete those "ands. " When I edit feature articles, I don't change "like" to "such as. " But when I edit advertorial articles, I do. I often point out that sources like "Webster's New World College Dictionary" say it's fine to use the word "healthy" as a synonym for "healthful," meaning "promoting good health. " Yet I applaud the Los Angeles Times' habit of frequently opting for the more conservative "healthful" in its weekly Health section.

TODAY GLENDALE The Stepping Stone Players will host its third annual yard sale from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1446 Highland Ave. Local businesses, schools and residents are encouraged to donate items for the sale, which raises money for the organization. For more information, call 246-8822. A tai chi beginners class will be at 8:30 a.m. weekly at the First Congregational Church of Glendale, 2001 Canada Blvd. The cost is $4. For more information, call 243-2109.

Development continues to spread into Glendale's neglected southern section as a third large mixed-use building along the San Fernando Road corridor received initial approval from city officials this week. On Tuesday, the city council unanimously approved a preliminary design for The Link, a five-story apartment building with 142 units and 16,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor. It will be constructed on a roughly one-acre lot on the northwest corner of Central Avenue and San Fernando Road.

With a combat career already filled with firsts, the history in the making that is Ronda Rousey's career now officially has an opponent to co-author the next chapter in women's mixed-martial-arts chronicle. With Rousey sitting cageside along with Glendale Fighting Club trainer Edmond Tarverdyan and friend and fellow GFC trainee Marina Shafir, bantamweights Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano made their Ultimate Fighting Championship debuts Saturday in Las Vegas at “The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale,” thrilling the Mandalay Bay crowd with Zingano winning the back-and-forth barnburner via third-round technical knockout.

In a television landscape where police dramas were all trying to come up with a format that wasn't simply a “Dragnet” knockoff, “Naked City” (1958-1963) struck a blow for a more serious kind of drama. Created by Stirling Silliphant, who also came up with its “hip” youth-y equivalent in “Route 66,” the series was completely New York-based, which gave it access to a rich pool of theater actors. So it makes sense that the latest DVD collection of episodes is organized around the idea of “Can you believe how young these future movie stars look in these early performances?

Thousands of people braved 100-degree heat Sunday to enjoy the Montrose Shopping Park Association's fourth annual Kids 'n' Kritters Day. The event, which local merchants hold to mark the end of summer, was held concurrently with the popular Montrose Harvest Market. The open-air market features dozens of booths hawking organic produce, flowers, baked goods, novelties, antiques and original works of art. Although moms and dads still got to enjoy the shopping, as well as live music by Gremoli New Orleans Jazz Band, Sunday was all about the kids.

The playground area at Columbus Elementary School filled up with food, friends and even a fire truck on Friday at the annual Columbus Fair. "This is our biggest event of the year," said Columbus Elementary School Principal Kelly King. "We get our current students and former students and our neighbors come with kids so we get future students too." A big attraction was a Glendale Fire Department fire truck parked at one end of the campus blacktop. Four firemen greeted children and posed for pictures.

Gary Moskowitz SOUTHEAST GLENDALE -- Roupen Akmakian started his amateur singing career as a joke, a way to make his family laugh at home. But along the way something clicked, and now Roupen, a 16-year-old junior at Glendale High School, is a committed member of the school's vocal music program. He will be one of 230 singers participating in the third annual All-City Choral Concert on Tuesday. The performance will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the auditorium at Glendale High and will feature vocal performing groups from Crescenta Valley and Glendale high schools and Glendale Community College.