Summer

Jerry Lane Welcome, sweet springtime, we greet thee with what? I remember what that meant when I was a kid: spring cleaning. There was taking down the storm windows, washing the windows, putting up the screens, beating the carpets, dragging out the fans, cleaning the closets -- all kinds of drudgery. Our house is a lot easier to keep than the one my mother ruled over. There isn't as much to do, but spring still signals a flurry of activity to get ready for summer.

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan The Cyclone Connie Mack baseball team didn't showcase its best offensive skills during Wednesday's game. Clubs usually don't during the summer. The formula for success during the summer is usually simple to abide by, though. Because teams are so young and inexperienced, the squad that commits fewer errors frequently wins. -- BOX SCORE -- -- Cyclones 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 -- 4 6 1 Indians 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 -- 2 7 4 -- -- Cyclones IP H R ER BB K Snyder 4 4 1 0 1 2 Jaco 3 3 1 1 3 1 Totals 7 7 2 1 4 3 -- -- Indians IP H R ER BB K Ballard 3 4 4 3 1 1 Wylder 2 2 0 0 0 2 Iniquez 2 0 0 0 0 2 Totals 7 4 4 3 1 5 -- -- WP-- Snyder LP-- Ballard SV-- Jaco 2B: C-Hernandez 3B: C-Moon SB: C-Er.

While her peers lounge on beach towels and rack up respite time this summer, Shannon McShane, of Glendale, will be working on the Warner Bros. Studios lot in Burbank, fulfilling an internship that comes with four years of entertainment industry experience and $10,000 of scholarship money. As part of the studio's two-year-old Youth Enrichment Program, McShane, an 18-year-old senior at Providence High School, is one of three Burbank students to be accepted into the scholarship and four-year internship program this year.

Gary Moskowitz What started as a quick way to make some spending money turned into a five-year commitment for Eliseo Garcia. Garcia is one of more than 300 Glendale teens participating this summer in Glendale Youth Alliance programs. The alliance is a nonprofit corporation established 11 years ago to provide employment primarily for youth from lower-income families. The program serves kids between 14 and 19. The alliance operates with a combined budget of more than $1 million in state and federal grants and local funds.

Erik Boal As annual a tradition as the Little League Major Baseball World Series is every summer in Williamsport, Pa., so too is the Stauffer family embarking on vacation to Lake Tahoe. Ever since 16-year-old Katie -- the third of five children in the family -- was born, she can recall her parents, Dave and Shelley, and her siblings, Jason, Shannon, Amy and Laura, making the annual trek to the popular vacation spot in August, just in time for some rest and relaxation before another school year crept up upon them.

  GLENDALE — The Crescenta Valley Major Softball All-Star team didn't start the Western Regionals the way it planned, but after readjusting its goals, it ended the tournament just like it designed. After losing its first two Southwest pool-play games and dropping out of contention for the tournament's semifinals, Crescenta Valley sought to win its final two regional games. And that's exactly what it did. A day after defeating Lincoln County Little League of Panaca, Nev., Crescenta Valley closed out its summer with a 10-2 victory against Mile High Little League of Butte, Mont.

Writer merits praise for balanced article I?m a huge admirer of the beauty and excitement that fireworks bring. Filipinos back home have celebrated occasions ? such as Independence Day, New Year?s Day and even Christmas Day ? with fireworks. I guess that mentality is still with me. I was delighted by the way Glendale News-Press writer Veronica Rocha wrote her article about fireworks (?Kids see dangers of fireworks,? July 2). She cleverly targeted two audiences, the users and the nonusers.

For the first time in 17 games this summer and in 32 contests the past two years, it happened. For the first time with 15-year-old ace Kirsten Slouber in the pitcher's circle, the unthinkable transpired. And unfortunately for the Glendale Senior Softball All-Stars, it couldn't have taken place at a more inopportune time. Leading, 2-0, entering the top of the fifth inning in Wednesday's pool-play game against Midway Little League of Waco, Texas, in the 27th annual Little League World Series at Skyview Park in Jeffersontown, Ky., Glendale surrendered three runs and eventually fell, 4-2, to the U.S. Southwest champion.