818 Roundup: Students battle it out in Science Bowl, hit-and-run driver sentenced and more

By Ryan FonsecaStaff Writer

Feb. 3, 2016 7 AM PT

Good morning, 818. Today is Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Temperatures for today are forecasted to reach a high of 63 and a low of 43, according to the National Weather Service.

Here are your local headlines:

Crime and Public Safety

Man sentenced for March 2015 fatal hit-and-run

A 56-year-old Glendale man was sentenced to 360 days in county jail Tuesday after pleading no contest to fleeing the scene after his car fatally struck a 4-year-old girl in Glendale last March, officials said. Shant Badleean pleaded no contest to one felony count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. Glendale News-Press

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Probation check leads to arrests, seizure of drugs and guns

Glendale police seized more than 200 marijuana plants from a Sun Valley home during a probation compliance check last week that led to three arrests, police said. A married couple and their cousin were arrested on suspicion of drug sales and fraud. However, police weren’t looking for the trio, but rather a Glendale man who police identified as a known gang member on probation. Glendale News-Press

Charge dropped against former Glendale police sergeant

A charge against a former Glendale police sergeant accused of soliciting a prostitute at a Las Vegas casino was dismissed Tuesday after he “stayed out of trouble,” paid a fine and completed an AIDS awareness class, officials said. Vahak Mardikian, 50, was charged in August 2014 with offering an undercover detective posing as a prostitute $250, plus $25 in gas money, for sex, Las Vegas Justice Court records show. Glendale News-Press

Woman trapped under tree

A woman in her 50s, was crossing the street at Clybourn Avenue near Sarah Street shortly before 11 a.m. when she reportedly heard a crack, and started running. A 50-foot pine tree , which stood outside a single-family home on the Los Angeles side of Burbank’s border, collapsed onto the roadway in Burbank before the woman could escape, leaving her trapped under branches for half an hour until firefighters could rescue her. Burbank Leader

Civic News and Politics

Battle for the bridge

The Mariposa Street Bridge is at the center of a fight that has pitted “horse people” in Burbank’s Rancho area and elsewhere against a type of bipedal bridge user: bicyclists. Now, a little more than a month after introducing an ordinance to ban cycling across the bridge, the Burbank City Council is poised to ban even the possession of bikes on it. In past several weeks, equestrians have mounted a campaign to lobby the council to ban even the possession of bikes on the bridge, which they say is a “bridge to nowhere” for bike riders because, they say, bikes aren’t allowed on the L.A. side. Many have met with council members privately, some at the bridge, to discuss their concerns. Burbank Leader

Was it worth it?

Some Burbank City Council members questioned the value of a recent trip to Washington, D.C., where local city government and airport officials met with senior Federal Aviation Administration officials. Last week, the council discussed the matter in a public meeting for the first time since Mayor Bob Frutos and Vice Mayor Jess Talamantes, along with Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority officials, met with federal officials on Capitol Hill in the office of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank). Burbank Leader

Education

Are you ready for some science?

Two words were frequently used by students to describe regional competition for the U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl: “nerve-racking” and “fun.” On Saturday, more than 100 students from high schools throughout Southern California took part in the competition, which marked its 24th year at NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada. Glendale News-Press

Suspensions and explusions down in Burbank schools

There were 456 students suspended from Burbank schools during the 2014-15 school year, down from 766 in 2011-12, in what is an ongoing trend of fewer suspensions occurring in Burbank Unified each year — and in schools across the state. Expulsions are also decreasing in Burbank schools — three occurred during the 2014-15 school year compared to 16 during the 2011-12 school year, according to the data released by state officials last month. Burbank Leader

In the Community

Happy (Lunar) New Year

The Americana at Brand celebrated the Lunar New Year — the Year of the Monkey — this past Saturday. The event featured lion and dragon dances to scare away bad luck as well as welcome good fortune. There were also calligraphy artists, face painters, craft activities for children and food. Glendale News-Press

Army sergeant from Glendale killed in crash overseas

An Army sergeant from Glendale serving in Iraq was killed last week in a rollover accident, Army and Department of Defense officials said. Sgt. Joseph F. Stifter, 30, suffered fatal injuries when his armored vehicle rolled over at Al Asad Airbase in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, the Department of Defense confirmed Friday. Glendale News-Press

Business

All aboard

With few exceptions last year, Bob Hope Airport saw a trend of increased passengers traveling through the Burbank airfield each month, compared with the same months a year earlier. The trend continued in December, the third straight month of passenger gains following a flat line in September and August, but increases each of the six months before that. Burbank Leader

Ryan Fonseca, ryan.fonseca@latimes.com

Twitter: @RyFons