Santa Monica

GLENDALE — Charting the progression of the Crescenta Valley High softball team from the beginning of the season to now is a bit of an arduous task. It’s difficult to really notice improvement when a team hasn’t lost a game. But heading into today’s CIF Southern Section Division III quarterfinal Falcons at Santa Monica tilt at 3:15 p.m., one of the biggest questions is what has changed since they last met? The 28-0 Falcons have won 21 games since they defeated the Vikings, 5-3, on March 17 in the championship game of the High Desert Tournament in Lancaster, grabbing a Pacific League title and claiming the CIF tournament’s No. 1 seed along the way. Santa Monica on the other hand, has gone 15-3 since then, picking up the Ocean View League title in the process.

I was a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker when it had an office on the corner of 9th and Wilshire in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and am now a real estate broker in Glendale. I would like to point out a few problems with rent control that I have not seen addressed previously. When market rents are not allowed when a unit becomes vacant, there is an influx of renters from areas where there is no rent control, like Pasadena, or from areas where market rents are allowed when the unit becomes vacant, like Los Angeles.

SANTA MONICA — For 98 minutes, the improbable seemed possible for the Flintridge Prep's girls' soccer team. Yet, with one bounce of the ball, the Rebels' upset hopes were crushed, as host Santa Monica, the No. 3 seed, scored the game's only goal with two minutes remaining in overtime, ending Flintridge Prep's season with a 1-0 loss in Friday's CIF Southern Section Division III first-round playoff match. "No coach could be prouder of any team," Flintridge Prep Coach Sean Beattie said.

SANTA MONICA — Sona Karakashian and Joyce Librando came up big when their team needed them most. After losing its first two doubles sets, the Glendale High girls' tennis team's No. 1 duo found itself in position to win the match. Karakashian and Librando regrouped to win the final set of the day to propel the Nitros to a 10-8 road victory against Santa Monica on Thursday in a CIF Southern Section Division II wild-card match. Glendale (11-4) will next face host Los Alamitos in a first-round match at 2 p.m. Thursday.

SANTA MONICA — Early in Saturday night’s CIF Southern Section Division I-A girls’ basketball second-round playoff game, both teams came out pressing. Whereas host Santa Monica’s press was of the full-court variety and set a tone of defensive intimidation, the pressure Crescenta Valley applied was mainly to itself. The Falcons couldn’t get acclimated to the intensity of the game early enough to avoid falling into a 15-point hole before scoring their first points just inside the 2:00 mark of the first quarter.

SANTA MONICA ? It was Kali Cancelosi?s turn. With a much-ballyhooed Crescenta Valley High offense, a top-flight defense and fellow junior right-hander Heather Bacon to rotate trips to the circle with, Cancelosi?s still made the most of her chances to shine this season. None were brighter than her performance on Thursday afternoon at Santa Monica, as Cancelosi crafted a three-hit, shutout gem to lift the Falcons past the Vikings, 3-0, in the CIF Southern Section Division III quarterfinals.

Maybe the first round victory will suffice until next season. Heading into the CIF Southern Section Division I-A playoffs as the No. 15 seed, the Falcons knew they’d have to face No. 2 Santa Monica if they beat West Covina in the first round, and probably at Santa Monica. Unsurprisingly, after Crescenta Valley beat West Covina, the San Antonio league’s No. 3 team, the Falcons had to travel to Santa Monica to face the Vikings. Though they put up a good defense effort, Santa Monica put up a better one and the Vikings defeated the Falcons, 60-30, last Saturday.

Erik Boal NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- If the Glendale Community College men's basketball team had any designs on securing second place in the Western State Conference Southern Division, a win against visiting Santa Monica on Wednesday night at GCC was a must. The teams entered the contest tied in conference play, and Santa Monica had won the previous meeting on Jan. 20 by one point. Thanks to a strong second-half effort, the Vaqueros earned the season split with the Corsairs, posting a 65-53 victory in their final regular-season home game.

SANTA MONICA - A few minutes after seeing its season end Wednesday afternoon, the Hoover High boys' tennis team began focusing on 2013. After finishing fourth in the Pacific League, the Tornadoes got another taste of what it's like to participate in the postseason for the second straight year. That's something Hoover Coach Julie Hoppe said could prove to be a boon for the returning cast next season. "It was an invaluable experience," said Hoppe, whose team suffered a 17-1 CIF Southern Section Division II road loss to second-seeded Santa Monica.

SANTA MONICA - A few minutes after seeing its season end Wednesday afternoon, the Hoover High boys' tennis team began focusing on 2013. After finishing fourth in the Pacific League, the Tornadoes got another taste of what it's like to participate in the postseason for the second straight year. That's something Hoover Coach Julie Hoppe said could prove to be a boon for the returning cast next season. "It was an invaluable experience," said Hoppe, whose team suffered a 17-1 CIF Southern Section Division II road loss to second-seeded Santa Monica.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - A rousing start was exactly what the Glendale Community College women's basketball team needed to get Coach Carrie Miller her first home victory since taking over the program last season. Before Miller realized it, the Vaqueros had an early sizable advantage before holding on for a 65-59 Western State Conference South Division victory against visiting Santa Monica City College on Wednesday night. "They are starting to run the things we ask of them and they came out and shot well to get us a quick lead," said Miller, whose team ended its five-game losing streak.

Glendale Community College football Coach John Rome has seen his team progress in various aspects at times this season, but the Vaqueros truly turned a corner on Saturday when they nailed down their elusive first win of the season at Santa Barbara. "Our season has sort of had three phases to it," Rome said after his team beat Santa Barbara, 38-17, to improve to 1-7 and 1-3 in the Pacific Conference American Division. "First, the defense was struggling to find its identity while the offense is moving the ball, then [starting quarterback]

Poachers mutilated a mountain lion found dead in the Santa Monica Mountains, officials said this week . The 7-year-old male, known as P-15, was discovered dead last month. He had been tracked for nearly two years by National Park Service scientists who had trapped him in Point Mugu State Park after spotting signs of territorial marking. They outfitted him with a GPS collar and released him as part of an ongoing study of mountain lion movement in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

BOYS' WATER POLO Hoover 11, Santa Monica 7: Hakop Kaplanyan scored three goals for the Tornadoes in a nonleague road win on Thursday. David Pogosian scored three goals, Hakop Baghumian had a goal and three assists and Sevada Khodaverdi saved nine shots for Hoover (4-3). Flintridge Prep 10, Villanova 6: Alex Blaine scored five goals in two games for the Rebels Thursday, as Prep opened the Malibu Tournament against Malibu and closed the day out with a match against Villanova.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — A lack of turnovers helped the Glendale Community College men's basketball team climb to the top of the Western State Conference's Southern Division. The Vaqueros entered Wednesday night's division home game against Santa Monica City College tied for first place with defending division-champion Citrus College and College of the Canyons. Unfortunately for Glendale, turnovers proved to be a sticking point. Glendale committed 22 turnovers en route to a 79-75 defeat.

GLENDALE — At some point, the Glendale Community College football team figures it will eventually win a game and at least one close finish will go its way. While four consecutive close losses have tugged at Vaquero third-year Coach John Rome's heartstring, more than anything, he would just like for a victory to come sooner than later. Glendale will once again try for its first win of the season when it battles host Santa Monica City College in a Pacific Conference American Division contest at 6 p.m. today.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Though the Glendale Community College women's volleyball team was swept in a Western State Conference match Friday night, it can at least take solace in the fact that one of its top players wasn't seriously injured. Late in the first game of Glendale's 25-22, 25-17, 25-22 home loss against Santa Monica City College on Friday night, Glendale sophomore outside hitter Jessica Alvarez went full force near the net to get a loose ball but collided with Santa Monica's Melissa Tindall.

GLENDALE — Charges were filed Tuesday against the "Fedora bandit" — so dubbed for the hat he wore while allegedly robbing nine businesses, including three in Glendale, officials said. Alex Tabatabaee, 31, who was on parole for committing seven other robberies, was arrested Sunday in Hollywood while allegedly robbing a Payless shoe store, Glendale Police Det. Keith Soboleski said. Soboleski is still investigating whether Tabatabaee robbed another business that same day in San Fernando, he said.

PASADENA — Rep. Adam Schiff on Friday announced the start of the long-awaited study of the region's hillsides, which could lead to federal protection of the local area. The announcement was a major milestone for Schiff (D-Burbank), who began lobbying for the so-called "Rim of the Valley" study in 2001. The study was approved as part of federal legislation signed by President George W. Bush in 2008. Two years later, officials allocated $500,000 to begin the study, which will start with an exhaustive public outreach and exploration process this summer.