Southern California

Here comes the rain. The National Weather Service says rain is expected to move into Southern California on Friday night and make for wet conditions through the weekend. The "relatively weak" storm will move in Friday and gain momentum Saturday morning, said meteorologist Rich Thompson of the National Weather Service office in Oxnard. "It's not a tremendous amount of rainfall," Thompson said, estimating 1 to three fourths of an inch will fall in the central areas and about 1 inch in the mountains.

Possibly damaging winds were expected to whip Southern California early Thursday with gusts of up to 35 mph as the sun returns to Los Angeles. The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for the morning and early afternoon. High temperatures are expected to be in the 60s and 70s. Temperatures Thursday night in Los Angeles are expected to fall to the 40s and 50s. Continue reading > > -- Rong-Gong Lin II, Los Angeles Times

The potential impacts of what one meteorologist called "the strongest storm  of the season" are becoming clearer as rain and snow approach Friday and Southland residents begin taking precautionary measures against the bad weather. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for Southern California, which officials say will likely turn into a warning by the end of Friday. That means winter driving conditions this weekend with some snow and ice on the roads.

The National Weather Service has issued an "excessive heat watch" for Southern California for Saturday -- warning that intense heat and high humidity could prove dangerous, especially to the young, aged and infirm. As an emergency measure, the city of Los Angeles is opening "cooling centers" to include senior citizen centers, recreation facilities and libraries. A full list can be found at Emergency.lacity.org . Click on the banner that says "Cooling Facilities to beat the heat.

A feeble rainstorm from Alaska could possibly trigger thunderclaps in Los Angeles County on Wednesday afternoon and evening, forecasters said. The National Weather Service said there is a 20% chance of thunderstorms across the L.A. area late Wednesday. But the rainstorm was expected to be all but anemic, water-wise. Overall rain totals were expected to be light, with less than one-tenth of an inch in most areas, and some areas may not get measurable rain at all, forecasters said. There was a better chance for snow at local ski resorts, with about 10 inches expected for Big Bear and other areas above an elevation of 5,000 feet in the San Bernardino County mountains.

Authorities say there has been a rash of burglaries targeting wealthy neighborhoods and beach communities in Southern California, including 100 in the city of Los Angeles alone since the beginning of the year. Sources familiar with the investigation said they began noticing a surge in these crimes since Thanksgiving, with burglars hitting communities including Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Woodland Hills, Pacific Palisades, Bel-Air, Playa Vista and Brentwood. In the last three days, authorities have arrested 13 burglary suspects.

State forest firefighters will be on alert for brush fires in coming days as temperatures rise and strong winds prevail in Southern California. The Inland Empire already was experiencing high winds and rising temperatures early Wednesday, said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, commonly known as CalFire. Winds were picking up Wednesday “to allow for the possibility of a mild Santa Ana event,” Berlant said. “This puts us back into the peak of fire season down in Southern California.” After rain earlier this month, forecasts call for temperatures in the 90s Wednesday and Thursday, and in the high 80s and low 90s Friday.

After an unseasonably dry and warm winter so far, Southern Californians will be treated to some cooler temperatures this week and maybe even some rain later on, National Weather Service officials said Tuesday. Rain could come as early as Friday and last into the weekend, but the amount hasn't been forecast yet, said Bonnie Bartling, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service. January temperatures have averaged a high of 73 degrees, and one day rose to 86 degrees.

Tobias Lewsaddler grabbed this photo overlooking Glendale Thursday evening, capturing, as he put it, "another amazing Southern California day. "

For the members of the Glendale Community College men's golf team, it's been about starting over. After a historic postseason run that culminated with an appearance in the state tournament - the first in the program's history - last season, the Vaqueros began this year with a relatively new lineup. It took most of the first half of the season for Glendale to establish momentum. After some early struggles, the Vaqueros regained their focus in time with the goal of finishing no worse than second in the competitive Western State Conference.

Sevana Zargarian and Samantha Sismundo continued to improve in the semifinal round of the Southern California Regional Saturday. It didn't yield the result the Glendale Community College women's tennis team's top doubles squad wanted, though, as they fell to Ventura's Jessica Worring and Sonia Landeros in a hard-fought match, 6-3, 7-5. "It would have been nice to make finals, but they've been playing great," Glendale Coach Bob Donaghy said....

It may have been a short stay for Trevor Campbell and Grayson Frazier in the Southern California Regionals, but it likely didn't feel that way for the Glendale Community College No. 1 men's doubles team. Not after a grueling two-and-a-half hour match ended the tandem's season in a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) loss to Saddleback College's Sena Sharifi and Pedro Campos in the round of 16 at Irvine Valley College. "[We're] definitely [disappointed]," Campbell said. "But we competed. "It was a good match, we played well.

Sevana Zargarian and Samantha Sismundo started off the day by checking off a major goal, but their work at the Southern California Regionals remained far from done. The Glendale Community College No. 1 doubles team, which also teamed together at Glendale High, won a quarterfinal match Friday afternoon at the Marriott Desert Springs in Palm Springs to secure a spot in today's semifinal round at 11:30 a.m. "We've got a chance for Southern Cal," said Vaqueros Coach Bob Donaghy, whose top tandem will take part in an All-Western State Conference final along with the No. 1 teams from Ventura and Santa Monica and Ventura's No. 2 team.

For the Glendale Community College softball team, the postseason will begin much the same as the regular season did - with an early matchup with Ventura College. The first meeting carried little importance - Ventura edged Glendale, 2-0, for its first loss of the season in a Vaquero Softball Classic contest, but the Vaqueros still advanced anyway when the Pirates were unable to play in the tournament finals. The stakes are much higher now, as the teams are now set to do battle in the opening round of the 2012 California Community College Athletic Assn.

It didn't play out ideally for Cecilia Nicolas and Nohemi Martinez, but both Glendale Community College women's track and field runners said their desire to succeed fueled them to cross the finish line first at the Western State Conference Championships. Rodriguez and Martinez were the only Vaqueros - both men and women - to finish first Friday at Moorpark College, as the women took third with 108 points, behind West L.A. College (119) and College of the Canyons (112). The Wildcats swept on both sides, as their men also finished first with 135 points.

With his right ankle practically healed, Trevor Campbell went about his normal business of staying aggressive Friday afternoon. The Glendale Community College sophomore men's singles tennis player shuffled from sideline to sideline returning shots during his round-of-16 Western State Conference match at Ventura College. Campbell, a Burroughs High graduate, rolled his ankle April 14 during an opening-round match and it wasn't determined until Thursday if he would compete Friday.

Tobias Lewsaddler grabbed this photo overlooking Glendale Thursday evening, capturing, as he put it, "another amazing Southern California day. "

Authorities say there has been a rash of burglaries targeting wealthy neighborhoods and beach communities in Southern California, including 100 in the city of Los Angeles alone since the beginning of the year. Sources familiar with the investigation said they began noticing a surge in these crimes since Thanksgiving, with burglars hitting communities including Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Woodland Hills, Pacific Palisades, Bel-Air, Playa Vista and Brentwood. In the last three days, authorities have arrested 13 burglary suspects.

August 4, 1917 -- March 11, 2012 After living a full and eventful life, Dr.  Alfonse Capodieci passed away peacefully in Walnut Creek, California at the age of 94 on Sunday, March 11.  He was a 45-year resident of Glendale, where he practiced Orthopaedic Surgery.   Al was born in New York City on August 4, 1917, the seventh of 10 children, and was educated in New York City public schools, graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School.  He graduated from The Cooper Union in 1939 with a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering.  On December 31, 1947, he and Lucille Weekes were married in New York City.  The next day, the newlyweds boarded the train to Los Angeles where Al worked as a Civil Engineer for the State of California during the late 40's and early 50's, the years which saw the construction and expansion of much of the Southern California freeway system.  He would always proudly point out "his bridge" whenever driving down the Santa Ana Freeway beneath the Alondra Boulevard overpass.  In 1952, at the age of 35, with a baby on the way, Al moved with Lou to Washington, DC to attend Georgetown University Medical School, graduating in 1956.