Uc Berkeley

GLENDALE ? Becoming a NCAA Division I softball player in the Pacific-10 Conference was a longtime goal for Amy Bishop. But it?s one she admits she never truly believed would come to fruition. Nevertheless, the 2008 Glendale High graduate now finds herself part of the UC Berkeley softball team. ?It still really hasn?t hit me,? Bishop said. ?Slowly I?m realizing that I?ve made it to what I was always striving for. I didn?t really believe it. I was thinking the other day, I really got to where I wanted to be.?

GLENDALE — Residents and community leaders walked the streets Saturday and examined local city intersections to determine whether they are safe for pedestrians. The stroll was a walkability assessment as part of the Community Pedestrian Safety Training seminar that the UC Berkeley Traffic Safety Center and California Walks put on for the city. Saturday’s seminar was the first of 12 that the center will conduct this year, said Jill Cooper, the center’s assistant director.

These are big days that lie ahead of Jillian Davis. On Aug. 25, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy graduate has a birthday, her 21st, in fact. On that same day, the UC Berkeley women's volleyball team begins its 2006 year. For Davis and company, it's predicted to be the genesis of the program's greatest season. Big days, indeed. Davis, along with Samantha Carter, is co-captaining the squad, hopefully, into uncharted waters. For three successive seasons, these Golden Bears have made the NCAA playoffs and an unprecedented fourth consecutive trip will only be the starting point in reaching the team's redefined goals.

Judy Seckler LA CRESCENTA -- The Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce held its Flag Day Mixer awarding two $250 scholarships to Crescenta Valley High students Jessica Lee Wilson and Eun Hee Han. A $2,000 donation was also given to Crescenta Valley High's aquatics department. Wilson has received honors in English and Spanish, geometry and U.S. history. She was the captain of her CV volleyball team. Some of her college choices include U.C. Berkeley, Amherst, Vassar and U.C. San Diego.

Cecilia Serrano and Eric McLaughlin Cecilia Serrano and Eric McLaughlin of San Francisco have announced their engagement and plan to marry in Belize in February. They got engaged while on vacation in Vietnam. The bride-to-be is the daughter of Marlo and Carlos Serrano of Glendale. She graduated from Flintridge Preparatory School in La Canada Flintridge and UC Berkeley in Northern California. She is employed by Nielsen Media Research. The groom-to-be is the son of Sylviane and Neil McLaughlin of Tenafly, N.J. He graduated from Tenafly High School, Boston University and Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans.

Fewer Californians are dying in traffic accidents caused by hand-held cellphone use, according to a study by the Safe Transportation Research and Education Center at UC Berkeley. Traffic deaths declined by 22% in the two years after the state outlawed the use of hand-held cellphones by drivers in 2008, and fatalities dropped by 47% for drivers using cellphones. "These results suggest that the law banning hand-held cellphone use while driving had a positive impact on reducing traffic fatalities and injuries," said Dr. David Ragland, director of the Berkeley center.

Judy Seckler DOWNTOWN -- The future of five high school graduates from Glendale Unified School District just got brighter. The Glendale Hispanic Business Professional Assn. awarded scholarships to the students at Tuesday's City Council meeting. The scholarship recipients were: Hoover graduate Cindy Paladines, who will attend U.C. Berkeley. Hoover graduate Mercedes Gonzalez, who will attend Occidental College. Hoover graduate Jose Manuel Ortega, who will attend Glendale Community College.

HOPKINS -- GOSNELL Kimberly Hopkins and Chad Gosnell have announced their engagement and will marry in July. The bride-to-be is the daughter of Rosa and Stephen Hopkins of Glendale. She graduated from Crescenta Valley High School in 1995, and from Azusa Pacific University in 1999 with a degree in liberal studies and a teaching credential. She is a third-grade teacher at Monte Vista Elementary School. The groom-to-be is the son of Francine and Monty Gosnell of Merced.

Marketing guru to host workshop Glendale-based mortgage company OCD Group will host marketing guru Jay Levinson for a workshop at 11 a.m. Feb. 5 at Brandview Collection, 109 E. Harvard Ave. Levinson taught marketing at UC Berkeley for 10 years and helped create such marketing icons as the Jolly Green Giant, Charlie the Tuna and the Maytag Repairman. His book Guerrilla Marketing has sold more than 14 million copies. The event will focus on how to use guerrilla marketing tactics to promote business, improve sales and build client loyalty.

Florence Edith Bonetto Florence Edith Bonetto died Oct. 25, 2004. She was 98. She was born Sept. 30, 1906, in Brooklyn, N.Y., and moved to Glendale in 1919 then to La Crescenta in 1920 where she, along with husband Tom, became pioneers in the small community's development. Florence graduated from UCLA, received her master's degree from UC Berkeley and came home to teach in Pasadena and Glendale. In 1932, she married Thomas Bonetto, having one son, Thomas J. Bonetto Jr. Florence was active in the Rebekah Assembly of California, serving as president in 1948.