Week in review
PUBLIC SAFETY
The family of Elizabeth Sandoval — the 24-year-old Glendale resident who was struck and killed by a car while jaywalking across South Glendale Avenue in July — came face to face for the first time Tuesday with her accused killer, his family and the Pasadena Superior courtroom where they will see the justice system play out for weeks to come.
Sandoval’s accused killer, 20-year-old Ara Grigoryan, sat in a bright orange prison jumpsuit and handcuffs Tuesday morning as attorneys asked for more time to develop their cases.
Grigoryan is accused of driving the black Mercedes-Benz sedan that on July 10 hit and killed Sandoval as she and a friend jaywalked across South Glendale Avenue near East Windsor Road, and then left the scene.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Tuesday sentenced two Glendale men to 15 years to life in state prison for beating a 17-year-old boy to death in 2004.
Fredy Gudiel, 21, and William Torres, 24, were found guilty in July of second-degree murder for bludgeoning William Maldonado with baseball bats on Oct. 6, 2004, as he rode his bicycle down the 800 block of South Columbus Avenue.
The mandatory 15-year sentence gave the judge no discretion over the sentence.
The two will be eligible for parole in 15 years and will receive credit for just under three years of time served, making them eligible for parole in 2019. The two were returned to the custody of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department for transportation to the Los Angeles Department of Corrections.
Videotaped confessions revealed that a third man convicted in the murder, 25-year-old Pedro Pena, delivered the fatal blow to Maldonado’s head, prosecutors said. Pena is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 18 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority will submit a proposal to the city of Burbank to build two buildings at Bob Hope Airport to comply with a federal mandate to alleviate security concerns and ease congestion in Terminal B, officials said.
The move comes in response to a July 31 letter from the Transportation Security Administration saying that space limitations in Terminal B — which is used by United, Skywest, American and Alaska airlines — is posing problems for the airport’s baggage-screening machine, said Dan Feger, deputy executive director for the airport.
To provide additional space, airport staffers are proposing a new building south of the existing terminal to be used exclusively for inspecting baggage, he said. They are also proposing a second, temporary structure to accommodate rental car operations away from the main terminal.
CITY HALL
The growing burden on the city to maintain Grand View Memorial Park while it sits shuttered during a long-running legal battle drew a virtual war cry from the City Council on Tuesday night when it tabled a proposed $400,000 city maintenance plan in favor of moving to invoke public nuisance orders against the property.
Faced with the realization that the maintenance plan might be the beginning of a very expensive endeavor, the City Council unanimously approved a motion directing the City Attorney’s Office to pursue public nuisance abatement orders against the cemetery.
The plan was developed to bring the cemetery and its grove of brittle, unsafe trees up to acceptable safety standards in order to re-establish a periodic public visitation schedule. But invoking a public nuisance order would allow the city to mitigate the issue without the property owner’s consent and leave open the possibility of future reimbursement, officials said.
BUSINESS
The country’s largest labor union filed charges Wednesday of unfair labor practices against the owner of the Glendale Galleria, a union spokeswoman said.
Service Employees International Union, which represents 1.9 million workers nationwide, filed the charges on behalf of janitors at three shopping malls owned by General Growth Properties Inc. — Glendale Galleria, Park Meadows Mall in Colorado and Alderwood Mall in Washington, a union spokeswoman said. General Growth owns 220 malls in 45 states.
Workers at the Galleria allege that supervisors of a cleaning contractor hired by General Growth illegally threatened and interrogated unionized employees, she said.
General Growth contends that the union’s charges are intended to harm the company’s reputation and have little to do with employee rights or the pursuit of justice, said General Growth’s director of public affairs, adding that he was responding only to reports that charges had been filed.
EDUCATION
California High School Exit Examination results released Thursday showed overall improvement in Glendale schools, but an ongoing achievement gap remains, prompting the state’s superintendent to urge educators to find ways to close it.
Beginning with the class of 2006, students have been required to pass the exit exam as a requisite for graduating high school.
The exam tests in two categories — math and English-language arts.
Students take the exam in 10th grade and can retake it in their junior and senior years.
There were 2,427 10th-graders in the Glendale Unified School District who took the English-language arts test, of which 2,099, or 86%, passed.
Statewide, 77% passed the English-language arts test.
Out of 2,418 10th-graders who took the math test in the 2006-07 school year, 2,136, or 88%, passed. Statewide, 76% passed the math portion.
For results by school, district, county and state, visit https://cahsee.cde.ca.gov/reports.asp.
SPORTS
The five area high school football teams — Glendale, Hoover, Crescenta Valley, Flintridge Prep and St. Francis — concluded their first week of practice. The season will begin the first week of September.
Most of the teams practiced for the first time in pads with each coach getting ideas on which players will make their respective teams.
St. Francis was the lone program to qualify for the California Interscholastic Federation playoffs last season.
Toronto Blue Jays starting catcher and Glendale native Gregg Zaun returned to Southern California on Thursday. The Blue Jays are in the middle of a four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angels Stadium.
Zaun, a 1989 St. Francis High graduate and a former All-Del Rey League Most Valuable Player, went hitless in four at-bats during Toronto’s 5-4 victory on Thursday. He threw out a runner.