Week In Review

PUBLIC SAFETY

Police are asking for the public’s help in finding the driver of a car that struck a 64-year-old Glendale man on Monday, leaving him dead and injuring his daughter before driving away from the scene.

Salvador Soria Ramirez was helping his 33-year-old daughter, Veronica Ramirez, push her car — which had broken down — out of the parking lot of New Horizons Family Center about 8:30 p.m. when a car coming southbound on Glendale Avenue collided with the vehicle they were pushing, Glendale Police said.

The car they were pushing spun 180 degrees, pinning Salvador Ramirez beneath the car and knocking his daughter unconscious, Glendale Det. Matt Gunnell said. The driver then fled the scene, Gunnell said.

The father and daughter were transported to County-USC Medical Center, where Salvador Soria Ramirez died shortly after arrival. Veronica Ramirez was listed in stable condition.

Police have not determined which party was at fault for the accident, but are calling on the community to come forward if they have any details about the incident to help them locate the driver.

“We’re not saying who is at fault right now, but if you leave the scene when someone is injured, it’s a felony,” Gunnell said.

Witnesses described a compact vehicle — possibly a Honda, Mazda, Hyundai or Saturn — with a dark blue-green metallic color, Glendale Police Officer John Balian said.

The front bumper and passenger side of the vehicle would have sustained some damage from the collision, he said.

Anyone with information on the incident can call (818) 507-7867 or Gunnell at (818) 548-3130.

CITY HALL

After hearing comments from dozens of concerned residents, three City Council members voted on Tuesday to compose and send a letter on behalf of Glendale journalist Arman Babajanyan, who is serving a four-year prison sentence in Armenia for evading military service.

The letter — to be sent to the Armenian government — will not request Babajanyan’s liberation, but will speak to Babajanyan’s work and good standing in the city of Glendale and will be sent to Babajanyan’s attorney, said Senior Assistant City Atty. Lucy Varpetian, who put together a report on the situation for council.

“Three of them will be signing a letter to be directed to [Babajanyan’s] attorney and the Republic of Armenia Prosecutor General,” she said.

The motion passed on a 3-1-1 vote, with Councilman Bob Yousefian voting against it and Mayor Dave Weaver abstaining, saying he did not know enough about the case.

Babajanyan, a Glendale resident who operates the Armenian Zhamanak newspaper, which is published in both Los Angeles and Armenia, was imprisoned in June on a return trip to his home country. He was convicted of forging documents to evade military service and was handed the maximum punishment, friends and family said.

But many who addressed the council Tuesday felt Babajanyan was discriminated against because his newspaper has criticized the Armenian government.

“Journalism is the hardest professional field in the world, especially in countries that are under totalitarianism,” said Roudik Hovsepian, who works with a local Armenian television channel.

EDUCATION

When Terry Piumetti isn’t teaching, she spends her weekends at school mentoring students who are interested in learning about the law — and now she’s being honored for it.

Piumetti, a history teacher at Providence High School, is also the mock-trial coordinator at the school.

She also teaches law as an elective.

“It’s so important to me that I dedicate my time to the students so they learn,” said Piumetti, a native of Glendale. “Not because they are going to become attorneys, it’s so they understand how they can become better citizens.”

Piumetti found out last week she’d been selected to receive the Helen Bernstein Outstanding Teacher Award.

The award is given to teachers who have experience coordinating mock trials and have contributed to emphasizing good sportsmanship among students and citizenship skills in a mock trial.

“She gives hours to this program, and what she teaches these students is just amazing,” Principal Michele Schulte said.

Piumetti has been the mock-trial coordinator for the past 10 years.

Her mock-trial team visits courtrooms in Los Angeles, where students meet with real lawyers who judge their mock cases, she said.

For 11 years, the school has participated in the county’s mock-trial competition.

SPORTS

Behind a stifling defense and an offense keyed by senior driver Lybov Tchougounova’s nine-goal performance, the Crescenta Valley High girls’ water polo team dismantled San Marino by 16-9 Wednesday afternoon in a nonleague match at Crescenta Valley High.

Tchougounova scored three goals in a 52-second span and four in the first period. It keyed an 8-0 run to start the match for the Falcons (2-0).

The Falcons held San Marino (3-6) scoreless over the first 12:14 of the match. None of San Marino’s goals came easy, thanks to the play of Falcons goalie Isla Zilbert, who had eight saves.

While it can’t be said that the Golden Valley Grizzlies went down without a fight, they posed little opposition to the Tornadoes’ efforts to reach the final round of the Hoover Classic in a lopsided 71-51 Hoover victory in a semifinal game.