Glendale

City officials are reviewing whether a rule that blocks full-time employees from holding other jobs applies to newly elected City Treasurer Rafi Manoukian.  Manoukian, who left his council seat early after winning the treasurer post, holds a second job as chief operating officer of Ameria Group, an Armenian advisory and financial services provider. Councilman Ara Najarian is calling on City Atty. Mike Garcia to enforce the rule, which exempts outside employment approved by the city manager.

Ever wonder what you would grab to take with you when a police officer bangs on your front door, and hollers, “You have to evacuate now - as fast as you can - there is a fire out there”? That was just the position I found myself in Friday, May 3. Oddly, I felt very calm. I quickly changed into a pantsuit. Threw a blanket and pillow in the car. Then a couple of bottles of water. A warm scarf. The ring my husband gave me many years ago. And the handbag, containing some cash and the credit card.

Would the members of the Glendale City Council wake up on May 14 and recognize the need for a multi-unit residential amendment to Glendale's Fresh Air Ordinance - one that will protect the city's nonsmoking apartment/condo tenants from inter-unit drifting secondhand cigarette smoke. How about requiring, say, 80% of all apartment units in the city - 100% of contiguous ones - upon being vacated by their current tenants, being designated as permanent non-smoking ones. I know all too well how bad it can be, both from my own past experiences and from the tenacious, ongoing side effects that tend to linger long after the offending in-unit smoker or smokers have either belatedly quit the pernicious habit, moved away or, not surprisingly, died.

Mark Geragos, a Glendale attorney who has represented Michael Jackson and numerous other high-profile clients, has penned a book with fellow criminal defense attorney Pat Harris that delves into the faults of the criminal justice system and gives an inside look at the headline-grabbing cases he's argued in court. Geragos - who is scheduled to discuss his book, "MISTRIAL: An Inside Look at How the Criminal Justice System Works…and Sometimes Doesn't" at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Glendale Central Library - said defendants are too often assumed guilty in the modern justice system.

FULLERTON - Timely hitting throughout the order and reliable relief pitching have been staples of Glendale Community College baseball success this season. On Friday afternoon, however, they were the Vaqueros' undoing. GCC stranded 13 base runners and its bullpen allowed two runs, as the Vaqueros lost to Palomar, 3-2, in the opening game of the Fullerton Super Regional of the CCCAA tournament at Fullerton College. "We really didn't play our game," said Vaqueros Coach Chris Cicuto, whose team will now play either El Camino Compton Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at Santa Ana College, hoping to move on and into another elimination game Saturday afternoon at Fullerton.

GLENDALE - Coming into their season-ending rivalry game on Thursday, the Glendale High and Hoover softball teams had somewhat disappointing seasons. Both the Nitros and Tornadoes were out of the playoff hunt in the bottom half of the Pacific League pack. But one of them would end the season with a win and a rivalry win, to boot. "It's huge," Glendale Coach Christine Paknik said. "There's no bigger word you can use. They needed this. This is how they should have played all year.

A 28-year-old Van Nuys man has been charged with the kidnapping and murder of a Glendale man who was run over with a vehicle and shot to death in Sun Valley, authorities said. Hachik Maskovian faces four felony murder-related charges in the death of 33-year-old Joshua West, including that the incident was premeditated and that he was kidnapped during the April 24 incident, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. West died of multiple gunshot wounds, but was also cut and suffered blunt force trauma, said Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman Ed Winter.

A 26-year-old man was arrested Tuesday after he and two other men allegedly beat up his neighbor outside a fast food restaurant and stole his iPhone 4, police said. Edvard Zograbyan, who was reportedly on probation for felony theft, was booked on suspicion of the May 1 robbery outside Burger King in the 1200 block of East Colorado Street, according to Glendale police. The neighbor told police he had gone to a nearby gas station to buy a pack of cigarettes and was walking back when he was suddenly punched, knocked to the ground and kicked.

"Unusual" is perhaps the only word to describe a spate of burglaries in Glendale on Wednesday that involved lottery tickets, curling irons and more than $300 in cash found between an alleged thief's buttocks. It all began about 6:31 a.m. after witnesses reported hearing loud bangs in the 2500 block of Cañada Boulevard. Police discovered the glass storefront at Cañada Liquor had been smashed and nine California Lottery scratchers had been stolen. Coins inside the store's cash register were left untouched, as were other lottery scratchers on display.

A Glendale police helicopter on Thursday hauled away several hundred feet of the water hoses used last week to fight a 75-acre blaze in Glenoaks Canyon. The hose lines were left behind on May 3 after more than 200 firefighters battled flames that swept through tinder-dry brush and prompted neighborhood evacuations. PHOTOS: Glendale Police assists Glendale Fire to gather hose after fire Officials opted to haul away the water hoses using helicopters to save time and avoid potential injuries to firefighters, who would have had to trek up the hillside to retrieve them, said Glendale Police Lt. Steve Robertson.