While Swinney is expected to recover fully and resume her career at San Jose State next year, the surgery brings a stellar high school career to a premature end. Swinney burst onto the scene as a freshman to help the Tologs finish second in the 2007 CIF Southern Section Division II finals and was a part of two CIF title winning relay teams at that race.

With none of the four members on those relay teams an upperclassman, it was viewed as the beginning of surge for Sacred Heart swimming. Swinney would return as a sophomore to help the Tologs place third in Division II and helped the 200-yard medley relay team return to the CIF finals as a junior when Sacred Heart made the challenging jump to Division I.

This season, the Tologs were looking forward to seeing Swinney and fellow seniors Andrea Kropp and Madeline Talt try to lead the team to one more CIF run in Division I.

Fresh fruits and vegetables and a variety of other items like flowers and sprouts are available at the Glendale Farmers Market on Brand Blvd. on Thursdays.

Dexter Scott of Jazzy Sprouts plays the soprano sax during Thursday's Farmers Market on Brand Blvd. in Glendale on March 11, 2010. Scott has been selling his sprouts at this market for 18 years. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

Lisa Condon of Eagle Rock gets some red swiss chard during Thursday's Farmers Market on Brand Blvd. in Glendale on March 11, 2010. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

Sweet lemos at Thursday's Farmers Market on March 11, 2010. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

Red and yellow onions at Thursday's Farmers Market on March 11, 2010. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

Hass avocados at Thursday's Farmers Market on March 11, 2010. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

Asparagus at Thursday's Farmers Market on March 11, 2010. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

Strawberries at Thursday's Farmers Market on March 11, 2010. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

Carrots at Thursday's Farmers Market on March 11, 2010. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

Toll Middle School students held signs outside the Glendale school after class in support of their teachers.  The students do not want their teachers to be laid off at the end of the year.

Toll Middle School students rally for teachers who might be laid off at the end of the school year, in front of the Glendale school on Thursday, March 11, 2010. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

Toll Middle School students rally for teachers who might be laid off at the end of the school year, in front of the Glendale school on Thursday, March 11, 2010. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

Toll Middle School students rally for teachers who might be laid off at the end of the school year, in front of the Glendale school on Thursday, March 11, 2010. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

The two men, both white, were driving through the intersection about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday when they pulled up beside a vehicle occupied by another two men, one black and the other white.

One of the suspects yelled a racial slur at the black man and then proceeded to chase his car about one mile, eventually ramming his car at the intersection of Riverside and Beachwood drives, authorities said. There were no reported injuries or damage to the vehicle.

The suspect’s vehicle is described as a large, lifted metallic-blue pickup truck.

Pitch, Hit and Run is the official skills competition of Major League Baseball. This grassroots program is designed to provide youngsters with an opportunity to compete, free of charge, in a competition that recognizes individual excellence in core baseball/softball skills.

Competitors are divided into four age divisions: 7/8, 9/10, 11/12, 13/14, and have the chance to advance through four levels of competition, including team championships at Major League ballparks and the national finals at the 2010 MLB All-Star Game.

The individual champions, along with the all-around champion in each age group at the local competition, will be awarded and advance to the sectional level.

All participants must bring a copy of their birth certificate and fill out a registration/waiver form prior to the start of the competition. For questions concerning the competition, contact the Burbank Community Services Sports Office or call (818) 238-5330.

After years of complaints about the cumbersome presence of recreational vehicles in residential neighborhoods, the City Council narrowly approved a measure requiring RVs owners to obtain a permit to park  on city streets.

The City Council voted 3 to 2 on Tuesday to enact the new restrictions, which include time constraints for each permit and a set parking distance from intersections.

The permit fees and parking fines will be hammered out in coming months with enforcement slated to begin after a three- to four-month grace period, said Ken Johnson, the city’s traffic engineer.

Transportation officials plan to educate RV owners about the new guidelines, including placing signs announcing the new regulations at all entrances to the city and on the city website.

“It will be quite a bit of an outreach effort, but frankly our intent is not to punish RV owners,” Johnson said. “Our intent is merely to regulate the storage of these vehicles on city streets.”

Burbank High School's Greg Dotson. (Raul Roa/Leader)

It looks as if the local track and field teams have strong representation this season in the middle- and long-distance events.

Leading the way are seniors Greg Dotson and McKenzie Paul from Burbank High, as well as sophomore Anthony Monroy of Burroughs.

Monroy is coming off a cross-country season in which he earned All-Area Male Runner of the Year and advanced to the CIF Southern Section Finals.

Paul is the reigning Pacific League girls’ 800-meter champion and Dotson won the boys’ 800 title and advanced to the CIF Southern Section Master’s Meet.

Bellarmine-Jefferson and Providence also have their share of runners who should do well in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200.

Batting practice will begin at 3:30 p.m.

For more information, contact Crescenta Valley High baseball Coach Phil Torres.

Mejia, who was released on bail Wednesday, was charged with one felony count of possession of a controlled substance for sale, said Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

The 21-year-old singer is expected to be arraigned  April 15 in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Glendale, she said.

Mejia and Burbank resident Peter Asencio, 28, were arrested Tuesday night after a Glendale police officer stopped the Ford Mustang she was riding in for speeding, Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

In February, there were a total of 357 notices of default, auction sales, foreclosure sales or bank repossessions in Glendale, Burbank, La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta, according to a local analysis from real estate tracking firm RealtyTrac.

In January there were 417 filings, according to the data.

Foreclosure filings fell 2% nationally and about 5% in California between January and February, according to RealtyTrac.

While the local month-to-month decline was better than state and national trends, regional foreclosures remain above their levels from a year ago , according to RealtyTrac.

Local foreclosure filings were up 6% from February 2009, while statewide the figure was down 15%, according to the data.

Nationally, foreclosure filings were up 6% from a year ago.

In La Crescenta, one in every 319 homes had received foreclosure-related notices, which was better than the state average of one in every 195 homes, but worse than the regional figure of on in every 371 homes, according to the report.

Burbank and Glendale shared the same foreclosure rate of one in every 370 homes. La Cañada Flintridge had the lowest rate at one in 453 homes, according to the data.