The majority of this issue was written before early Monday morning when we received a phone call from our daughter, Megan, a freshman at Virginia Tech.

Needless to say, it has been hectic since then.  Fortunately, Megan called before we saw any television accounts, so we were spared most of the uncertainty that other parents faced that day. 

Thank you all so much for your concern, prayers and kind thoughts for Megan, who has asked us to pass on just how much she appreciates all your thoughts and kind remarks.

Right now Megan is fine, but she undoubtedly has some tough times ahead.  It is not made easier for the students by the media circus and the inevitable camera or microphone in their face.  Fortunately, Megan has the support of her soccer team and coaches.  She loves her teammates, the school and the community's incredible spirit. It sounds corny, but for her VT is indeed a special place.  Both Nancy and myself are impressed, even proud, of how incredibly well the VT students have presented themselves to the world during the ordeal and subsequent vigils.

Megan didn't want to leave campus, feeling she was deserting the school.  But her coach and teammates decided that they should all get away from circus for a few days, clear their heads, then come back and try to represent VT in an even stronger way.

Thank you all again for your kind words, thoughts, prayers, and offers of help. 

I know some may wonder why I would even try to put out an issue this week.  Well, you can only look at the same images and talking heads on television for so long.  And in some ways, just finishing this issue was therapy.  But there are also many events and stories that deserve their publicity. (although I could not get around to a number of items readers submitted and for that I apologize).

Please read the announcements below regarding the Rossmoor 50th Anniversary Celebration on May 5th.  The TriTown Trot 5k Race, Parade and celebration at Rush Park will be great for the entire community.  The Los Al High Grad Night 2007 committee desperately needs some additional volunteers.  Check out their latest message here and continue to visit their website.

    FALL SPORTS SIGNUP SEASON:  Spring is definitely in the air which obviously means it's time to sign up for Fall youth sports.   Los Al Pop Warner Football is already in the middle of their sign-up season.  Click here for more info.    AYSO, the biggest of all the athletic baby-sitting organizations, starts its annual sign-up frenzy on Sunday, April 29, and Friday Night Lights Flag Football will return for a second season, with signups officially beginning May 1.

Thanks so much to the people who have made inquiries about advertising.  I hope you understand why I didn't get back to you this week, but I promise I will.  If you're interested in advertising, here's a list of our rates.  

Parade officials seeking players from 1958 Rossmoor-Los Al LL and 1983 World Championship teams.

Former Rossmoor resident and two-time Olympic Diving Gold champion Pat McCormick, Los Alamitos  High School football coach John Barnes, and JFTB Commander Brigadier General James Combs, will serve as grand marshals for the Rossmoor 50th Anniversary Parade on the morning of May 5th. 

The Rossmoor parade committee chose the three for having had great positive effect on the combined Rossmoor-Los Al-Seal Beach community.

McCormick, (above right), the first female member of the National Swimming Hall of Fame,  the Olympic Hall of Fame, and one of Sports Illustrated's "Athletes of the Year" was born in Seal Beach, won gold medals at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics, lived in Rossmoor where she raised her daughter, Kelly (who medaled at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics), and most recently  has headed up a foundation which helps at-risk youth.

Los Al High football coach John Barnes is the winningest football coach in Orange County History.  Since 1979, Barnes has coached the Griffins to 257 wins, 14 league championships, and four CIF Championships - Div. 3 in 1991 and 1992, Div. 2 in 1993, and Division I in 2002.   More importantly, he has been a major influence on the lives of over a thousand young men from this community -- emphasizing character and academics -- and helping numerous student athletes earn scholarships which in some years have collectively totalled over a million dollars. 

General Combs, a resident of Seal Beach, has actively reached out to the local communities, trying to help the cities where he can and make "the base" an even more integral part of and a valuable resource for the local community.  He assumed command of the 40th Infantry Division (Mechanized) and the Joint Forces Training Base, on 1 November 2005, and is directly responsible for the command and training readiness oversight of nine brigades, numbering over 20,000 soldiers.  

There will also be a section for all former Los Al football players at Rush Park after the parade that day.  And any who want to run or walk in the Tri-Town Trot 5K race which preceeds the parade, can do so and designate their entry fee to go to the football program (or any other LAHS program) and the Los Al High broadcast fund which will benefit all LAHS sports and activities. 

The parade committee is also seeking players from the very first 1958 Rossmoor-Los Al Little League (which eventually became LAYB - Los Al Youth Baseball which now plays on the base) as well as members of the 1983 World Championship all-star team.  Anybody with information or contacts for any players or coaches from these teams can contact me via email or at (562) 431-7001.

The Los Al Boys volleyball team suffered its first Sunset League loss, falling to Esperanza 3-1 (16-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-20) on Tuesday.

The loss drops Los Al's league record to 4-1 and 13-3 overall.  They play at Newport Harbor Thursday. Esperanza, the No. 1 team in Orange County, is now 5-0.

Esperanza had handed the Griffins one of their two earlier losses - a shortened two-game victory at the Orange County Championships.  Both games went in "extra time" (29-27, and 32-30) before the Aztecs prevailed.

Seeking revenge, the Griffins came out strong on Tuesday, winning the first game of the match, but then the Aztecs started using more quick hits in the middle, which caused some confusion with the Griffins blocking scheme and gave the Aztecs some open hitting angles.  But Los Al also hurt itself with some poor passing off Aztec serves and mental errors in key situations. 

Coach Phil White said the Griffins game plan was deep serves and keeping the Aztec's strong middle players off the net.  

Los Al returned from the spring break with two wins over Fountain Valley last week.  Perhaps logey from the break, Los Al struggled in its match at Fountain Valley on Tuesday.  They committed 23 service errors, and struggled with their passing in an unimpressive 3-1 win over the Barons.  But after a tough two days of practice - highlighted by many floor burns from "coach and 1's" diving and sliding drills, the motivated Griffins put Fountain Valley away in three straight (25-12, 25-16, 25-16).  Senior Srdjan Nadazdin (shown above) had seven kills for Los Al.

In a week of highs and lows, the Los Al softball team won the games the Sunset League games count, but lost two at the Woodbridge Tournament.

Anna Cahn's two-run home run in the sixth inning gave Los Al a 3-2 win over Marina yesterday at Los Al. 

Last week in league play the Griffins downed Fountain Valley 12-5 and  3-2, with Cahn hitting two home runs in the first game, and picking up the pitching wins in both games. 

Doctors orders kept Cahn off the mound in Saturday's Woodbridge Tournament games, and the Griffins could not get untracked falling to Elsinore 6-1, and Sunset League rival Edison 3-1.  Megan Mawn had three of the team's four hits in the latter game.

Los Al, which is now 12-8 overall, hopes to improve on its 3-0 league mark against Edison on Thursday.

 Amanda Traylor was named the outstanding female swimmer of the meet at the Klaus Barth Invitational Swim Meet, (formerly known as the Wilson Invitational) held at Belmont Plaza April 5.  Traylor captured the 200 and 500 freestyles. In the 500, the Ohio-bound senior became the first county swimmer this season to break five minutes with a 4:57.16.  Traylor and teammates Adriana Quezada, Kaylee Dodson, Leonella Baudino and Lindsey Buchbinder (pictured right) helped the Griffins capture the girls title at the meet as well.

The Los Al golf team extended its unbeaten league record to 5-0 with a pair of wins over Fountain Valley last week.  They play Marina (0-401) and Edison (4-1) this week.

Los Al senior Katelyn Beighton vaulted 11 feet, 7 inches to win the rising stars girls' pole vault competition at the 40^th Annual Arcadia Track Invitational.  On the boys side, Servite pole vaulter Nick Masterson (Rossmoor) set a personal best of 13 feet 7 inches at the Arcadia Invitational Track Meet.

The Los Al boys lacrosse team dropped a tough 3-2 match to Avalon last Friday.  Their record is now 6-3 with matches against Newport Harbor and Marina remaining.   The girls lacrosse team dropped a 11-6 match to a strong Beckman squad and fell to a 3-3-1 record.

The Los Al High tennis team cruised to a 14-4 victory over Newport Harbor yesterday.  Junior Andrew Frisk, battling a sore right shoulder, swept at love in singles while senior Mike Ramsey and Akiba Chonoles also swept in double. Despite their injuries which have forced numerous line-up shifts, are ranked tenth in Orange County.

LOCAL SIGNINGS:  Nikki Osuna, a volleyball player at Los Alamitos, has committed to Seattle Pacific University, which went 24-3 last season en route to winning its second straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference crown, and finished among the top 20.

This one's been known for a while, but UC Irvine officially announced their list of signees for next year's Women's Volleyball team and the list includes Los Al's Riley Cropper.  The 6-1 middle blocker was a key part of Los Al's drive to the state championship last season.

The Los Al High Surf Team won the state championship in the inland division competition (with teams from 10 Aliso Niguel, Canyon Crest, Capistrano Valley,
Cathedral Catholic, Canyon Crest, Los Alamitos, Loyola, Rancho Buena Vista, Tesoro, and Wilson).  Landon Pietrini took sixth place in the longboard competition.  The team has some cool photos at their web site.

In the better late than never department this week, we have the post-season awards for the Griffin girls basketball team, which qualified for the playoffs for the first time in four years.  The team banquet saw the Varsity MVP award go to the entire starting five of Kelly Jue, Katie Kovach, Marissa Main, Kylie Norman and Jamie Yonaki, as coach T.C. Chen felt they played as a unit and no one truly stood out.  Jue was the Academic Athlete of the team and Katie Kovach made First team All Sunset League and Marissa Main made Second team All Sunset League.

The JV the award winners were: Coach's award: Kelsey Bertels, Most Improved: Jessica Okui, and MVP: Bethley Honma.

The Frosh/Soph honors went to: Coach's award: Maddy Main; Most Improved: Sharon Kim; and MVP: Ashley Actkinson, Aryn LaFerrara.

   Division II power Chapman University is 22-4 so far, thanks in no small part to the help of a gaggle of Los Al grads.  Ryan Prechtl (LAHS '06/Rossmoor) is hitting.330, and Joe Lehman ('06/Los Alamitos)  has a healthy .438, while pitcher Travis Cross ('06/Seal Beach) is sporting a 2.25 ERA.  James Godfrey ('03/Rossmoor) is also seeing action.

   Danny Farris pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, including a perfect eighth inning, for Pepperdine against Long Beach State last week, but the 49ers rallied in the ninth inning to down the Waves 6-5. 
   Farris gave up the winning run in Pepperdine's 5-4 loss to San Francisco on Sunday, and gave up a run in a 6-2 loss to UCLA on Tuesday.  In 17 appearances this season, Farris, a former Sunset League Pitcher of the Year, has a 2-1 record with a 4.70 ERA.
    Another former Griffin, infielder Chase D'Arnaud (LAHS '05/Lakewood) is hitting .333 with 22 RBIs, for Pepperdine.

    Brandon Godfrey (LAHS '03/Cypress) had three hits for LB State when they beat Oral Roberts on April 5.  Godfrey had two more the next day when the Beach won the game in the ninth inning  after Oral Roberts reliever Erik Crichton (LAHS '03/Seal Beach) walked Matt Cline on a full count  to give Long Beach an 8-7 win.  Crichton had intentionally walked the previous batter to load the bases.

Trent DeLazzer (LAHS '06/Cypress) has made five appearances for the University of Connecticut,  pitching 11 innings with a 5.87 ERA, although most of those runs came in a one-inning appearance. 

 Jason Schnitzer, who is 5-1 as a starter (3.99 ERA), got a little relief action for Cypress College on April 12, closing in the ninth, allowing no runs as Cypress downed Fullerton 9-2.   Ricky Eisenberg had 2 RBI and scored two himself when Cypress beat Merced 10-4 on April 4. Shortstop Tyler Marmion is hitting .279, after polaying in 30 games, starting 25.

Junior Caroline Howe (LAHS '04/Rossmoor) homered in both games to help the George Washington Colonials (18-17, 5-7 A-10) split their doubleheader with the St. Bonaventure last Saturday.  On the season Howe is hitting .276 and is second for GW with 17 RBIs. Defensively, she has been playing shortstop lately after splitting time between third and first base.

Former Griffin Brittany Murphy (LAHS '04/ Rossmoor) helped Long Island University  to its 12^th straight win, getting two hits in the first game of a double-header sweep over Central Connecticut.  LIU is now 20-16 overall.  Murphy, the starting centerfielder, went 3-for-5 against Wagner on March 31. 

Classmate Brooke Viola (Los Alamitos, Calif.) has a 3.14 ERA, 5-5 record and 39 strikeouts for the University of Niagara softball team.

Jade Espinoza beat out an infield hit to the pitcher and helped the Cypress College softball team clinch its sixth straight Orange Empire Conference championship  in a 4-0 win over Riverside last Friday.  Cypress is now 13-1 in league play, and 39-4 overall, but will not begin regional state playoff action until May 5.

 DJ Dykes is turning heads at the University of Colorado in his bid to become a starter.  Dykes sat out last season after transferring from Idaho, where he had been a preseason all-league pick.  (Boulder, CO, Daily Camera, March 31, 2007)

John Hale is competing again for a starting linebackers position on the UCLA team.  (OC Register, April 7)

     Another Pulitzer Prize winner from Seal Beach, LA Times reporter Michael Hiltzik, had a long article on cyclist Floyd Landis who won the Tour de France last year and then was accused of using banned substances.  The Landis team has put together a novel defense, utilizing the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, to show that the methodology used by the French lab was very seriously flawed.    It may be that the doping charge against Landis could be in trouble.
     Hiltzik also participated in a chat on the case at LATimes.com

Patti Bakes - Seal Beach rez Patti Larson turns baking hobby into business -( Press-Telegram, Apr. 10) 

Los Alamitos' Laura Hillman shares experiences of surviving the Holocaust in her new book.  (Jewish Journal, April 13)

Former Seal Beach Librarian, Mary Huck Colmar, celebrates 90^th birthday (Redlands Daily Facts, April 9)

Seal Beach man, Lonnie Dean, leads family in internet weight loss competition (Salt Lake Tribune, April 2)

Frereiko Aguilar, who spent a couple years in Seal Beach, publishes a book about Vegas (press release, March 10)

Long Beach School Board member under fire after Seal Beach DUI  (Gazette Newspapers, April 12)

Shorebirds with a purpose (Press-Telegram, Apr. 12)  -- What happens with injured birds found at Bolsa Chica and Seal Beach Wildlife Refuge?

Seal Beach begins spring tree trimming (OC Register, Apr. 11)

Volunteers restore Seal Beach bird habitat (OC register, April 9)

Seal Beach Weapons Station sailor honored for rescuing women from burning car while off-duty (Navy Compasss, March 30)

Seal Beach police officer receives award for saving life of drug overdose victim (OC Register, March 29)

AJGA tournament moves from Cota de Caza to Old Ranch GC

Long-time Seal Beach councilman Frank Laszlo dies.  OC Register

Seal Beach homebuilding laws to be discussed (March 7)

Pacific Premier Bank receives industry recognition  (press release, April 12)

Baker Tanks of Seal Beach announces new brand name - BakerCorp - (Water Online, press release, Apr 4)

BakerCorp names James Leonetti Chief Financial Officer (Business Wire, Apr 3)

Seal Beach-based Clean Energy Fuels Inc., backed by legendary oilman T. Boone Pickens, has upped the size of its pending public offering to $345 million from $287.5 million, (Orange County Biz Journal, Apr. 2)

Verizon gets go-ahead to give Time-Warner competition in local Cable TV franchise wars. (press release, March 23)

Superwire - provider of cable TV services to Leisure World - acquires ExtreamTV, time-share/resort TV service supplier (Marketwire, Apr 10)

Olson Company, Seal Beach-based construction firm, completes Paradise Walk, 96-unit townhouse community, in San Diego area (San Diego Business Journal, March 26)

Verizon to offer television as well as phone lines, internet throughout area (Press-Telegram, March 9)

Bloomfield Bakers, a Los Al institution for many years, has been acquired by the Ralcorp Corporation of St. Louis.  Bloomfield Bakers was begun by Harold Rothman, owner of the Original Fish Company and Steve Ross, who have grown it from a small bakery into a leading producer of the highest quality nutritional bars, cereal bars and specialty cookies, crackers and cereal products.  Both Rothman and Ross will remain with the company. (PRNewswire-FirstCall, March 9)

Los Al Cancer Relay For Life - (OC Register,   , 2007)

Tenet Los Al hosts Cancer Society Wall of Life

Pack for the Future raises $23,000 at Old Ranch wine-tasting event.  (OC Register, __  2007)

Los Al chief Mike McCary retires... again. (OC Register, March 9)

Los Al approves creation of a new TV commission(OC Register, March 7)