Cal State Northridge

TOOMBS-PACKARD Launie Lee Toombs and Jeffrey Craig Packard were married in Topanga, Calif. The Rev. Mark Huntington officiated. After the couple's first dance, a combined mother-son and father-daughter dance followed by a special dance for all "Disney Lovers." Photo collages of the bride and groom were shown with a memorial to their parents. The matron of honor was Kimberly Irvine, the bride's sister. Attending the bride were the bride's nieces, Emily and Ali Irvine, and Yvonne Packard, the groom's daughter-in-law.

Jeff Tully Jillian Schafer has battled her share of tough competition this season as a senior pitcher for the Burbank High softball team. However, when the hard-throwing Bulldog takes the circle in her next game, she will be going against some of the best senior hitters around. At 4 p.m. Tuesday Schafer will be on the East team when it takes on the West squad in the 19th annual San Fernando Valley All-Star game at Cal State Northridge. Schafer is the only local player invited to play in the game.

Rima Shah They go to school, work, support themselves, and at the same time manage to look beautiful. Jennifer Ball, 27, of Burbank, and Glendale residents Carol Nasi, 22, and Silva Yesayan, 19, will be the local delegates in the Miss Asia-USA pageant at 5:30 p.m. today at the Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd. in Glendale. Nasi is Miss USA-Iraq, Ball is Miss USA-Philippines, and Yesayan is Miss USA-Armenia in the beauty contest, which has more than 27 delegates from across the United States, representing 19 Asian countries, said Virgelia Villegas, president and chairwoman of Virgelia Productions, which organizes the pageant.

Rosette Gonzales They sacrificed their weekends, opting for tutoring instead of play. They built up endurance practicing math and logic problems. And they worked as a team to finish the race. Now they have two trophies to show for it. Students at St. Robert Bellarmine Elementary School made history among their peers when they placed first in the Deanery for the Los Angeles Archdiocese's 2005 Academic Junior High Decathlon March 5 at Loyola Marymount University.

Bryan James Wolf, the son of Mel and Linda Wolf of Burbank, received his doctor of medicine degree from the College of Medicine and Public Health at Ohio State University. He was also honored for a year of genetic research by induction into the Landacre Society. He will shortly commence an internal medicine residency under the University of Nevada's program at Washoe County Medical Center in Reno. Wolf graduated from John Burroughs High School in 1982 and graduated cum laude in biology from Cal State Hayward in 1999.

Darleene Barrientos In a role reversal, Glenoaks Elementary School teacher Elena Heimerl is spending her summer as an intern at Crescenta Valley High School, where Rosemont Middle School students are taking classes. Heimerl isn't regressing, she is finishing up her master's degree and administrative credentials this year. An administrative internship is one of the program's requirements. "I love teaching," Heimerl said. "But I just wanted to get this under my belt.

Mark R. Madler Like most of his nearly 100 classmates, Jerome Angeles had his own personal cheering section when he graduated Saturday morning from Bellarmine-Jefferson High School. His was just a little more, well, enthusiastic. Following the ceremony at the Hall of Liberty at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, a group of cousins held up letters spelling out Jerome's name so he could spot them easier among the several hundred people milling about, talking and taking pictures.

SPECIAL SECTION Homes, sweet homes Whether you're planning to buy or sell your home, whether you're looking for a fixer-upper or a mansion, whether you're looking for that first home or that dream home, don't forget to take the Real Estate Guide from today's Leader, with comprehensive listings from the Burbank, Glendale and the foothill areas to help you find the right place. SPORTS Winding down Burroughs High graduate Jesse Perez is down to his last two games at Cal State Northridge.

Jackson Bell When Mary Alvord was named the first female city manager for Burbank nearly a year ago, she was a little surprised by the response. Despite her being known for breaking local barriers for women, Alvord said, people seemed to be more interested that her nearly 35-year career began as a part-time employee with the city's Park, Recreation and Community Services Department. She started as a junior recreation leader while studying psychology and elementary education at Cal State Northridge.

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH L.A. COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION WHAT HAPPENED The board unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding between the district and the L.A. County Office of Education for the 2003-04 school year. WHAT IT MEANS It provides training for teachers working toward English-language development certification, with the cost of training not to exceed $5,800. APPROVAL OF VERIZON CELL-PHONE AGREEMENT WHAT HAPPENED The board unanimously approved an agreement between the district and Verizon Wireless.