Internment

Artists showing works in the international exhibition at Glendale's Silvana Gallery of Fine Art and Crafts have produced contemporary pieces using a wide range of media — sculptures in wood, bronze, clay or copper, paintings in oil, acrylic, or watercolor and handcrafted jewelry. They are expertly presented by gallery director and founder Silvana Ambar. Many artists in this exhibition are of Russian or Armenian descent. Before the 1980s, Russian artists were employed by the state and their art was restricted, conformed to a rubric, that did not include self-expression or iconography.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area athletes playing minor league baseball. Jason Hirsh (St. Francis High, 2000) Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees pitcher: The right-hander and California Lutheran University graduate has recently come up big on the mound for Scranton Wilkes-Barre, the triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. His last two trips to the mound led to him picking up victories and an accolade – International League Pitcher of the Week.

GLENDALE ? Current Glendale Unified School District employees will get first dibs to replace retiring Supt. Michael Escalante, school board members said Tuesday. The first interview is scheduled for today, when board members will sit in closed session with Deputy Supt. Dick Sheehan. Board members said they favor candidates who will continue to put student achievement first and who will be able to lead in a time of cutbacks and shrinking services. Board members said they could expand the process to external candidates, but said they were prepared to keep it as an internal search.

CITY HALL — Downtown Glendale could host an international piano competition for young adults under a proposal the City Council will review next month. A special committee, made up of Arts & Culture and Parks, Recreation and Community Services commissioners, voted unanimously Friday to recommend that the City Council approve hosting the competition, which requires an initial city commitment of $50,000, in addition to assembling a fundraising committee to raise $50,000 more for the event’s $240,000 budget.

The front yard of Becky Mate’s home Friday afternoon was filled with colorful paintings and balloons in celebration of International Art Day. Alice Asmar and Kristina Tashjian’s paintings were among those lined along the sidewalk as artists and patrons entered the courtyard on Lexington Drive. “There is so much negativity in the news and politics today, art is uplifting. Art, any art — paintings, writing or music — can be an escape from the negative,” she said.

GLENDALE — Between this summer and last, the Flintridge Prep boys’ basketball team is racking up the frequent flier miles in bunches. The Rebels board a plane bound for Beijing today for a nine-day tour of China that will also include stops in Shanghai and Xi’an for some friendly exhibition games against club and recreational teams from each city. Overseas road trips are becoming a regular summer occurrence for Prep, which spent a week at a basketball tournament in Maui last July.

A group of film enthusiasts are sitting back and letting the reel unwind on the first Burbank International Film Festival running through Sunday at Woodbury University. “Everything is done and now we can enjoy it,” festival Executive Director Sharon Wissel said. The festival is the baby of Burbank resident Val Tonione, festival president and founder. He produced the San Fernando Valley International Film festival from 2003 to 2007 at the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn in North Hollywood, he said.

GLENDALE — The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene .   KARWASKY, TEAM OFF TO STRONG START Glendale resident Tina Karwasky is part of a four-woman team representing the United States that has advanced to the semifinals of the 28th International Tennis Federation Seniors & Super-Seniors World Team Championships in Antalya, Turkey. Competing in the 55-year old age group, Karwasky’s team has gone 3-0 over the first three days of the event, which runs through Saturday.

On any given day, he’ll walk into class with deli meat and fresh bread from Mario’s Deli, lay it out on his desk and welcome students to dig in and taste Italian culture through its cuisine. Flavio Frontini, a 49-year-old native of Bologna, Italy, has been an Italian-language professor at Glendale Community College for eight years, teaching students in Glendale and abroad. He uses film, music and food as education tools and teaches the culturally diverse student body about their similarities and differences.

Glendale resident Dottie Stone is adamant that Filipino veterans of World War II must be remembered. In the chaos of the Pacific theater, Stone credits the troops for their bravery and sacrifice in rescuing her, her family and other prisoners of war from a Japanese-run internment camp in the Philippines. “If it wasn’t for them, we would all be dead,” said Stone, who spent three years at the University of Santo Tomas camp, enduring harsh conditions and rampant food shortages.