Long Beach

A 33-year-old man was arrested Sunday after he allegedly broke into the Scholl Canyon Landfill and tried to steal a Glendale Water & Power truck, which he planned to use to return home to Long Beach, police said. But Brian Hoke apparently didn't get very far. Police found the truck at about 9:30 a.m. stuck in a ditch inside the landfill in the 7700 block of North Figueroa Street, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. Hoke was reportedly hiding in some bushes just outside the truck.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - Angel Rodriguez had never experienced pitching nine innings in his career. On Friday night, the Glendale Angelenos starter found out what it's like to accomplish the feat. Unfortunately for Rodriguez, his effort fell just short, as he surrendered a pair of runs in the top of the ninth in Glendale's 3-2 loss against the Long Beach Legends in an independent summer collegiate game at Stengel Field. "I wanted the ball in the ninth, and I felt stronger than any point before," said Rodriguez, who struck out five in a 120-pitch performance.

o7These people have been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. They are considered innocent until proved guilty.f7 COSTA MESA Aug. 31 Dean Hiruto Kohara, 21, Costa Mesa Janelle Marie Waltmire, 18, Costa Mesa Thursday Fred Vincent Dunphy, 49, Costa Mesa Friday Francisco Benitez Mercado, 33, Costa Mesa Saturday Benito Martinez Gonzalez, 35, Costa Mesa ...

ROBERTA G. BADDAR Roberta G. Baddar, 56, died July 25, 2002, at her home in Glendale. She was born Feb. 20, 1946, in Long Beach. Mrs. Baddar was a law office administrator with Halversen & Gilanians Law Firm. She is survived by her husband, Mohamed; and father, Dr. William T. Grimsley of South Carolina. Funeral services are at 11 a.m. Monday in the Peace Chapel of Kiefer & Eyerick Mortuary. Burial will follow at Forest Lawn, Glendale.

Dian passed away peacefully at home on April 17. Born in Long Beach, she attended Eagle Rock High School, then Redlands University. She was married in 1947 to Victor Torrance, who passed away in 1999. She was a long time member of the Eagle Rock chapter of PEO, and volunteered at Glendale Memorial Hospital for many years. She was an avid bridge player, enjoying her weekly bridge games with her many friends. Survived by her daughter, Cindy Olson, her son Randy Torrance, and her loving grandchildren Heather Olson and Erik Olson.

The California Department of Transportation must quickly sell some of the nearly 500 properties it owns in Los Angeles, South Pasadena and Pasadena, according to a bill by Sen. Carol Liu (D-La Cañada Flintridge), which was signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Jerry Brown. The homes are located in the so-called 710 gap, where transportation officials are studying a 4.5-mile tunnel that would connect the Long Beach (710) and Foothill (210) freeways. Brown vetoed a similar bill last year.

Prosecutors on Monday charged a Glendale man for allegedly possessing 15 pounds of methamphetamine, which were found inside a Long Beach home. Mario Cuellar, 25, and another man, 50-year-old Frank Gutierrez of Reseda, face a felony charge of possessing methamphetamine in connection with Dec. 12 drug seizure, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. Cuellar is also charged with allegedly transporting and selling the drug. Glendale narcotics detectives were conducting a drug investigation when they saw two vehicles pull into a store parking lot on Firestone Boulevard in Norwalk, Glendale police spokeswoman Tahnee Lightfoot said.

Mark Davis Brolsma July 14, 1955 – February 22, 2011   Born July 14, 1955, in Long Beach, California, passed away on February 22, 2011.  His simplicity, laughter, humor, storytelling, love of animals and compassion are treasures his family and friends will cherish.  He is survived by his son, Donald James Brolsma, sister, Lisa Huff, nieces, Alyson Boocock and Erin Huff, great niece, Charlee Boocock, and former spouse of 24 years, Norma Louise Brolsma.  Mark is also survived by their family dog, Sammy, whom he adopted for his son after the passing of their beloved dog, Brandy.

Those in support of closing the 710 Freeway gap must not travel the 210 very often because this freeway has its share of daily bumper-to-bumper traffic, particularly during weekday mornings eastbound. This is without the heavy truck traffic that would instantly materialize with the gap's closure. Also, the 5 Freeway is a heavily industrial corridor that favors heavy truck traffic; the La Crescenta, La Cañada and Pasadena environs are decidedly not. Any cursory view of a map will show that the triangle created by the 5, 210, and 710 freeways gives the shortest, most direct route to and from Long Beach to the 5. Closing the gap simply adds more miles and time on the road for trucks whose cost efficiency would be negatively affected; and, we all know who pays for shipping costs.

A 33-year-old man was arrested Sunday after he allegedly broke into the Scholl Canyon Landfill and tried to steal a Glendale Water & Power truck, which he planned to use to return home to Long Beach, police said. But Brian Hoke apparently didn't get very far. Police found the truck at about 9:30 a.m. stuck in a ditch inside the landfill in the 7700 block of North Figueroa Street, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. Hoke was reportedly hiding in some bushes just outside the truck.

GLENDALE - It proved to be a learning experience during the first week of the season for the Glendale Community College softball team. Under the tutelage of first-year coach Sal Pizzo, the Vaqueros played three ranked teams in Southern California. Though Pizzo's squad lost the final two games of the week Saturday, including a 10-0 defeat against powerhouse Santiago Canyon in a finale of the David “Hawk” Wilder Memorial Tournament, he said the Vaqueros made some progress. “If you told me that we'd go 3-2 in our first five games, I'd take it,” said Pizzo, who served as an assistant the past six years under Wilder, who died in June after coaching the Vaqueros from 2001-13.

GLENDALE - After paying tribute to their former coach, the members of the Glendale Community College softball team turned to Jocelyn Zavala for some clutch plate appearances Friday night. Prior to Glendale's game against Long Beach City College at the Glendale Sports Complex, the Vaqueros honored Dave “Hawk” Wilder, who had piloted the program the past 13 years. Wilder died in June at 70, and the program decided to name its annual tournament in honor of him. Zavala enjoyed a big night at the plate, as she drove in all three runs to propel Glendale to a 3-1 tournament victory.

Prosecutors on Monday charged a Glendale man for allegedly possessing 15 pounds of methamphetamine, which were found inside a Long Beach home. Mario Cuellar, 25, and another man, 50-year-old Frank Gutierrez of Reseda, face a felony charge of possessing methamphetamine in connection with Dec. 12 drug seizure, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. Cuellar is also charged with allegedly transporting and selling the drug. Glendale narcotics detectives were conducting a drug investigation when they saw two vehicles pull into a store parking lot on Firestone Boulevard in Norwalk, Glendale police spokeswoman Tahnee Lightfoot said.

The California Department of Transportation must quickly sell some of the nearly 500 properties it owns in Los Angeles, South Pasadena and Pasadena, according to a bill by Sen. Carol Liu (D-La Cañada Flintridge), which was signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Jerry Brown. The homes are located in the so-called 710 gap, where transportation officials are studying a 4.5-mile tunnel that would connect the Long Beach (710) and Foothill (210) freeways. Brown vetoed a similar bill last year.

I've read and reread the endless stories about the 710 Freeway extension tunnel. I've read the letters to the editor. It seems everyone has opinions. Me too. My history with that stretch of freeway goes back to 1961 when a friend declared we'd have a freeway all the way to the beach soon. Well, little did I know the Long Beach (710) Freeway had been approved all the way from the harbor to its juncture with the Foothill (210) Freeway back in 1947. Sixty-six years ago. I cast a critical eye when dollar signs are followed by zeros.

LA CRESCENTA - A day after scoring 31 runs on 22 hits, it figured the La Crescenta 14-year-old Babe Ruth baseball team would come back to earth in championship bracket action of the State All-Star Tournament on Friday evening. Yet, La Crescenta's return to normalcy was more like a crash, as the home team was three-hit by a trio of pitchers in an 8-0 loss to District 2 champion Westchester at Dunsmore Park. The defeat cast District 4 champion La Crescenta into the consolation bracket in an elimination game versus Heartwell of Long Beach at Stengel Field on Saturday evening at 7. Westchester advanced to Sunday's 4 p.m. final at Stengel Field and will face the winner of Heartwell-La Crescenta.

While anti-freeway activists have dominated the dialogue over efforts to extend the Long Beach (710) Freeway, the city of Alhambra launched the first salvo on Wednesday in its campaign to drum up support for an extension by declaring July 10 to be "710 Day. " The city hosted its first-ever 710 celebration along Fremont Avenue, one of the main thoroughfares for traffic heading to or from the 710 Freeway's current terminus. Fremont was closed from Mission Street to Valley Boulevard.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority this week voted to block fast-track funding for the Long Beach (710) Freeway extension over the next 10 years. While the proposal to extend the 710 Freeway to the Foothill (210) Freeway will be prevented from getting a share of the $9.4 billion in accelerated funding, studies on five alternatives for closing the gap, including a controversial proposal for a tunnel, will continue. The studies are expected to be completed in 2015, but money to move forward after that has not been identified.