Glendale Community

Ken Robin remembers walking his dog in Los Feliz about four years ago when a stranger came up to him and asked if he plays tennis and Ping-Pong. When he said he did, the man, Marshall Pura, replied: "Then I've got the game for you. " Robin, who was living in the Bay Area at the time, was just in Los Feliz for vacation, but Pura still picked him up the next day and drove him to the Glendale YMCA to play a game of pickleball. "I didn't know what pickleball was. I didn't even know what Glendale was," Robin, a retired attorney who has since moved to Los Angeles, said this week after finishing up a game of the sport that's been around since the 1960s, but has been increasing in popularity over the past decade.

Joyce Rudolph NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- Glendale Community College Theater Arts Professor Ken Gray is preparing his students for a theater festival at Cal State Hayward. But Gray is in charge of more than his students. He is the chairman of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region VIII. For six days beginning Feb. 11, about 1,000 theater students will arrive in Hayward from nearly 175 colleges and universities in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah.

Alecia Foster NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- Music is in the air at Glendale Community College as students from several different departments and groups plan recitals for the coming weeks. On Friday, a seven-member jazz combo will perform at 7 p.m. A piano recital featuring students from the advanced piano classes will perform at 7:30 p.m. Monday. Students also will perform chamber music from the baroque period to the 20th century at 1 p.m May 16. Students from Glendale Community College's Applied Music Program will perform May 18. Both vocalists and instrumentalists, all of whom auditioned and received recommendations from their instructors, will participate.

Whole Foods Market is serving a barbecue lunch to celebrate 20 years in the Glendale community and their first year in their new location at 331 N. Glendale Ave. in Glendale. There is a $5 minimum donation with proceeds going to support Whole Planet Foundation, a global non-profit organization dedicated to fighting global poverty. Being served up is an "all natural" barbecue lunch including a beverage and a slice of anniversary cake. The event is taking place at Thursday, June 28 from noon to 3 p.m. at the Whole Foods Market.

Iva Carrico, winner of the News-Press Woman of Achievement in 1992. In my opinion, she should win the News-Press Woman of Bigotry in 2002. After reading about her ignorant opinion at the recent City Council meeting, I, being an Armenian, born and raised in America, am appalled by her words of ignorance. Armenians make up a great part of the Glendale community, and make it the beautiful city it is. Carrico said that "Armenians are the evildoers"? It seems as though she's the evildoer in many people's eyes now. I'm very happy that Rafi Manoukian is the new mayor, and I'm sure that he'll make a lot of great contributions to the Glendale community.

It is a well-known understanding in the Glendale community that the Greggs qualify as entrepreneurs. The definition of an entrepreneur is: "A person who organizes, manages and assumes responsibility for a business or other enterprise." Why would the city of Glendale be obligated in any way to compensate the Greggs for having chosen to develop something that clearly is not for the good of the community or area and expect the taxpayers to pay them a "profit" for not developing it. As entrepreneurs, they "bet on the come and the come never came."

Sandra Kraisirideja, People GLENDALE -- Glendale Community College Alumni Assn. will honor three individuals for their service to the school and community at the 14th annual Alumni Awards Banquet Thursday. "The recipients were unanimously chosen by the Community College Alumni Board for their conscientious efforts and support of the alumni association," said Glady Kabateck, director of the association. Carole Jouroyan of Glendale has been involved in community organizations for 20 years.

TODAY GLENDALE The Glendale-Foothill Division 11 of the California Retired Teachers Assn. will meet at 11:30 a.m. for lunch at the Elks Lodge, 120 E. Colorado St. Cost is $11. The program will feature a presentation of four $1,000 scholarships to future teachers. For reservations and more information, call 841-1460. The annual student art exhibition will be in the Glendale Community College Art Gallery through June 4 at Glendale Community College, 1500 N. Verdugo Road.

Alecia Foster NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- Tickets have gone on sale for Father's Follies. The Follies is an annual fund-raising event for Verdugo Woodlands Elementary School where dads at the school dress up as women to entertain the audience. This year's show, themed "2001: A Father's Odyssey," will be made up of a series of comical skits. The show will be at 7:30 p.m. on May 25 and 26 at Glendale Community College. The college is at 1500 N. Verdugo Rd. General admission is $5. For more information or to purchase tickets, call Verdugo Woodlands Elementary at 241-2433.

Alecia Foster NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- Tickets have gone on sale for Father's Follies. The Follies is an annual fund-raising event for Verdugo Woodlands Elementary School where dads at the school dress up as women to entertain the audience. This year's show, themed "2001: A Father's Odyssey," will be made up of a series of comical skits. The show will be at 7:30 p.m. on May 25 and 26 at Glendale Community College. The college is at 1500 N. Verdugo Rd. General admission is $5. For more information or to purchase tickets, call Verdugo Woodlands Elementary at 241-2433.

While competing in the Western State Conference championships, the members of the Glendale Community College men's and women's track and field teams had something more to fend off besides their opponents Friday. With a howling and frigid wind blowing throughout the majority of the meet at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, many of the Vaqueros were able to successfully conquer the opposition and the conditions. It turned out to be a big day in particular for Glendale women's distance runner Lizzy Nelson, who won a pair of events and helped the Vaqueros win the overall team competition.

PASADENA - Two weeks ago, the prospect of the Glendale Community College men's golf team getting out of the Western State Conference Final and qualifying for the Southern California Regionals was bleak. But when the Vaqueros placed second in a conference match April 14 at Oakmont Country Club, there was a glimmer of hope that the team could qualify for the postseason. With three of the four postseason spots already locked up heading into Monday's conference finals, Glendale college would have to best the remaining four schools to earn a berth.

Five of the six tennis players from Glendale Community College encountered their first taste of postseason competition as freshmen. Though none of the members from the Glendale men's and women's tennis teams advanced to the state tournament following the second day of the California Community College Athletic Assn. State Regionals in Ventura County, the Vaqueros will at least have the luxury of having gained some much-needed experience to help them heading into next season. Two men's doubles teams and one women's doubles team and a singles player from Glendale all had their runs end Friday.

  VALLEY GLEN - There is still hope for the Glendale Community College baseball team, but it is fleeting. Much as the Vaqueros' opportunities seemed to dissipate into the hot afternoon, Glendale's chances to return to the postseason waned, as well, on Thursday following an 8-4 Western State Conference South Division loss to host Los Angeles Valley. “Our chances are slim right now,” said Vaqueros Coach Chris Cicuto of making the playoffs. “Obviously, we didn't help ourselves today.” Heading into Thursday, Glendale (20-15, 13-7 in conference)

The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level. Erin Ashby (Crescenta Valley, 2011) Stanford softball junior: Along with much of the Stanford lineup, Ashby is putting up some lofty numbers in 2014. A former two-time All-Area Softball Player of the Year, Ashby has progressed every season for Stanford and that's not changing during the current campaign. Ashby, who has played and started in 39 of her team's 41 games, is hitting .339 (37 for 109) with 12 extra-base hits including five home runs, along with 28 runs batted in and 27 runs scored.

GLENDALE - It's been a frustrating season for the members of the Glendale Community College softball team. Though it was expected to be a season in transition, the Vaqueros have encountered a few extra speed bumps along the way. Glendale looked to reverse its fortune Thursday against rival College of the Canyons in a Western State Conference Blue Division contest, but a string of errors paved the way for a 10-5 home defeat for the Vaqueros at...

GLENDALE - Taking a week-long break from competing in the Western State Conference South Division, the Glendale Community College baseball team found itself matched up against a familiar foe in L.A. Pierce on Wednesday. PHOTOS: GCC vs. Pierce baseball Glendale and Pierce had been rivals when both teams were members of the South Division before Pierce recently moved to the conference's North Division. Unfortunately for Glendale, it encountered a rough first inning, as it yielded four runs en route to a 6-3 conference interdivisional contest defeat at Stengel Field.