i-blog.

• The Armenian National Committee takes its share of credit in the LA Times Managing Editor Doug Frantz's resignation, pegging it as fallout from his spiking that Armenian Genocide story back in April. But so far, no actual reason from the Times newsroom, other than word Frantz is heading back to Istanbul to head Middle East coverage for the Wall Street Journal.

• Meanwhile, if you're still keeping score, this year's version of the Armenian Genocide recognition bill making its way through the House now has 218 co-sponsors -- a majoirty -- screams Rep. Adam Schiff in a release this morning.

  "In gaining 218 cosponsors today, we have demonstrated that a majority of the House strongly supports recognizing the facts of the Armenian Genocide,” said Congressman Adam Schiff. “While there are still survivors left, we feel a great sense of urgency in calling attention to the attempted murder of an entire people. Our failure to acknowledge these dark chapters of history prevents us from taking more effective action against ongoing genocides, like Darfur.”

  “The Affirmation of the U.S. Record on the Armenian Genocide” resolution (H. Res. 106) calls on the President to "ensure that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding" of the 'Armenian Genocide' and to “accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide.”

• It's new to me: The Falcon, Crescenta Valley High's school paper.

• The line was out the door and into the back parking structure at the Glendale Galleria this morning as about 150 people line-up for the iPhone, Apple's new must-have gadget....we'll have photos as soon as i upload...
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

Glendale City Clerk Ardy Kassakhian wants to pick your brain about the conduct of the recent municipal elections. If you have something to say, stop by the Glendale Police Department's Community Room Wednesday night. Come one, come all!

Me? I expect absentee returns by 7:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m. on election night, and a good third of the precincts counted by 9:30 p.m. I got a couple screaming editors to mellow, y'know...

The City Clerk of Glendale is holding a public meeting to discuss the last city election and seek input from the public about ways to improve the municipal electoral process. Community members are invited and encouraged to share thoughts and ideas at a “Town Hall” meeting and express how they think the City can improve its municipal elections.

WHO: Glendale City Clerk

WHAT: Election Process Town Hall

WHEN: Wednesday, June 6 6:30 – 8:30 PM

WHERE: Glendale Police Community Room
131 North Isabel Street

CONTACT: 818-548-4000 www.ci.glendale.ca.us/city-clerk

Posted by Eugene Tong at 04:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

Internet Explorer ate my post! Let's start over...

• The Daily News looks at crime organized and otherwise -- first with a series from Troy Anderson and Jason Kandel on Eurasian mob activity in the valley. The Sunday story is an overview of the problem and the scams, while Jason follows today with a tale of how a Ukrainian family used Medicare fraud as a shortcut to the American Dream.

  Oppressed in their native Ukraine, Konstantin and Mayya Grigoryan came to the United States a dozen years ago in search of the American dream.

  They didn't speak English, struggled to pay the bills and relied on family and friends to make ends meet. Eventually they found jobs and began to acquire wealth, opening a restaurant, starting a string of medical clinics and finally buying a $661,500 home in a gated community in Altadena.

  But this American dream was built on a crooked foundation, authorities say. Indicted by a federal grand jury in 2004, the couple was convicted of leading a Russian-Armenian organized crime ring that paid kickbacks to doctors, recruiters and patients and defrauded the U.S. government out of $20 million over five years.

• Also, DN's Tony Castro profiles Timothy McGhee, an Atwater Village gang member who is standing trial this week for two murders, seven attempted murders and five shootings. He writes:

  His spiral notebook of rap lyrics depicts McGhee as a 21st century American psychopath, devoid of conscience, who used the Atwater Village area as an urban killing field.

  In the words of Andy Teague, the now-retired LAPD detective who tracked him, "It's his high, and he does it for kicks."

  "Here I come last chance to run," McGhee writes in one set of lyrics. "Killer with a gun out to have some fun/ In my dreams I hear screams/ Pleasure I feel is so obscene."

  McGhee, after all, is believed to have killed one young man - 16-year-old Ryan "Huero" Gonzales in 2000 - simply because he thought Atwater Village wasn't big enough for two people with the same nickname.

  It is the kind of violent rampage for which McGhee came to be called in his neighborhood "the Monster of Atwater." Some cops even compared his murderous nature to that of Charles Manson.

• Meanwhile, Sunday's Armenian Parliamentary elections were deemed fair, according to international election monitors. The Life in Armenia blog has posts about observing the balloting and the day after.

• For those still following the Times spiking an Armenian Genocide story fracas, here's an account of a recent meeting between Times executives and members of the ANCA, California Courier Publisher Harut Sassounian and others. via Asbarez

• And finally, one of Glendale's blingy-est residents, rapper The Game, was arrested late Friday after LAPD searched his home in the hills for three hours. He was booked for making criminal threats, then bailed out for $50,000 Saturday morning. Here's YouTube video of KABC7's report, with The Game himself mugging for the cameras.
  

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

The dust has settled in the final canvassing for the Glendale Municipal Election -- No changes on the City Council. It's still John Drayman, followed by Dave Weaver. Rafi Manoukian gained some more votes, but it still wasn't enough for a seat. In the school board race, board member elect Nayiri Nahabedian finished second, 230 votes ahead of first-time candidate Todd Hunt, increasing her lead from just 29 votes last week.

Election results
Earlier
Even earlier
Daily News school board story
Daily News City Council election story

Posted by Jason Kandel at 04:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

My Burbank Election 2007 Scrapbook:

Sorry for the delay -- got caught up on an assignment (and I probably should've uploaded this stuff last night...)

Since the photos from City Hall weren't all that, I'm just going to go with two post-election interviews conducted last night with the winners.

Post-election interview with Gary Bric:

Post-election interview with Anja Reinke

Posted by Eugene Tong at 08:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

Back in the saddle after two days of Glendale election madness with the MSM...

• But first, more Gledale election aftermath -- Did the ethnic divisions in Glendale's City Council elections spill over to the school and college board races? Daily News
  
• A few words from -- well, there's no other way to say this -- the losers, via Glendale News Press. MIA -- Rafi Manoukian, who word has it, win or lose, is taking a break with his family.
  
• More election analysis from my idol Will Rogers. It starts with "They elected who?" -- financing, identity politics, attitude adjustments -- it's all here.
  
• Here's Pasadena Weekly's take.
  

• The News Press comes through with gavel-to-gavel coverage of Carlos Palma and Julian Martinez, who were found guilty of first degree murder in the 2004 New Years' Eve drive-by shooting death of 16-year-old Carlos Pinon in Glendale. Palma, the shooter, faces 50 years to life while Martinez, the driver, could see at least 25. Here's a partial copy of the charges.
  
• Burbank Library Blog! -- I know it's been online for a year since last August, but it's new to me! And any blogger who digs author Haruki Murakami and Mike Judge's underappreciated Idiocracy is worth plugging in my book (hey -- book! get it?).
  
• It's an actor's life in Burbank -- from the Branford Era in Pennsylvania.
  

Finally, for Burbank folks looking to serve the city, it's commission application season once again! Follow the link...

Continue reading "Morning Briefing -- April 6, 2007" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 07:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)|

Good morning ...

• Eugene Tong explains the back story to the twists and turns of the Glendale elections.

  He writes ...

  How did the best-financed incumbent lose his City Council seat, a mayor widely believed to be vulnerable retain his and a community advocate who once fell short of a win emerge as top vote-getter?

  For Glendale City Hall pundits, Tuesday night's surprising election results could be rooted in an odd political convergence: a strong grass-roots campaign by the newly elected John Drayman, who rode an anti-incumbent tide into office, coupled with a miscalculation from those counting on Armenian politics to win the day.

  Daily News

• More news about the Gyumri Mayor shooting in Armenia ... The chief of Armenian police vows to find and punish those responsible for the attempted killing of Gyumri Mayor Vartan Ghukasian armeniandiaspora.com

• An annoucement of the April 24, 2007 events marking the 92nd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

  hyelog

  
  

  Posted by Jason Kandel at 08:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

Will Rogers just posted an update on the election results. The column's titled "DRAYMAN WINS, AND WEAVER TAGS ALONG!" Oy vey...

Posted by Eugene Tong at 03:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

A quick briefing today -- got a load of work today:

• I'm sure Glendale folks are reeling this morning at the surprising City Council election results. John Drayman, the head of the Montrose Shopping Park Association, came out on top, and Mayor Dave Weaver, who many thought was vulnerable, kept his seat, leaving incumbent two-term councilman Rafi Manoukian out in the cold. Here's how the numbers break down:

  1. John Drayman 8,576
  2. Dave Weaver 6,582
  3. Rafi Manoukian 5,906
  4. Greg krikorian 5,754
  5. Chahe Keouroghlian 4,351
  6. Vrej Agajanian 2,330
  7. Herbert Molano 2,314
  8. Lenore Solis 892
  
  If you're into ethnic politics, this spells an end to the three-out-of-five Armenian American majority on the council. It's two of Armenian descent, a Latino, a returning councilman who's white and married to an Asian Amerian, now joined by a self-proclaimed Jewish atheist. It almost reflects the city's demographics. More Daily News coverage here.

• The Burbank City Council finalized the details and enacted the Second Hand Smoke Ordinance early this morning by a 3-2 vote. I'm still trying to sort out all the changes.
  

Now I have to make sense of all this, or you can check out tonight's Armenian American Real Estate Association mixer. Flyer coming up...

Continue reading "A little late Morning Briefing April 4, 2007" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 09:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

It's all over -- just after midnight, Glendale elected one new councilman, John Drayman, and kept Dave Weaver, the incumbent mayor. Two-term councilman Rafi Manoukian got the boot. He finished third -- 676 votes behind Weaver. More coverage here.

Here's a trip down live-blogging memory lane...(thanks Technorati for keeping a record of that post after I deleted it!)

Continue reading "Glendale Election Update" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 12:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

If you're looking to do more than just spend Tuesday night in front of the television (I'm a Frontline man myself), have I got a slate of alternatives for you! It's election day in Glendale, and that means candidate election night PARTIES!

Word so far from local muckraker and party animal Barry Allen of Vanguard is council candidate and Montrose Shopping Park honcho John Drayman is holding his shindig at Damon's downtown. Lenore Solis, the former GWP commissioner who's also running but is not really spending much on it, will likely be there too.

Candidate and immigration consultant Chahe Keuroghelian is staging his party at Little Russia on Broadway; TV host Vrej Agajanian will be kickin' it at his office at 436 W. Broadway.

Challenger and Glendale Unified School Board member Greg Krikorian is holding up at that new Phoenicia restaurant on Central; his rival and incumbent Councilman Rafi Manoukian will dance the night away at Giggles on Brand.

Candidate and City Hall agitator Herbert Molano will be at Bacara restaurant downtown; Mayor Dave Weaver -- will be having a private party? Hope there's no velvet rope.

And if partying with Glendale politicos isn't your drink, there's always the Burbank City Council, where they'll attempt to sign-off on those new public smoking restrictions. The Burbank Armenian National Committee also is planning an action during public comment tonight to condemn a city grant committee's questioning of whether to fund a local charity with the word "Armenian" in its name. The Armenian Relief Society has been around since 1910, and provides social services such as job placement and immigration adivce geared towards Armenian Americans, though they won't turn away anyone who show up needing assistance.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 04:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

With the election just days away, it's time for Glendalians to consider their picks for city council, school board and college board. Some of the lastest election resources and coverage leading up to April 3:

• City Clerk Ardashes Kassakhian reminds us how absentee ballots will work...

  All absentee ballots must be returned by 8:00 pm on Tuesday, April 3—when the regular polling locations close. Absentee ballots may be returned in any of the following ways:

  1. By mailing it to the City Clerk’s Office – 613 E. Broadway, Glendale, 91206.

  2. By returning it in person to the City’s Clerk’s office or any polling location on April 3 during voting hours: 7:00 am to 8:00 pm.

  3. By authorizing a legally-allowable person to return the ballot on your behalf. A legally-authorized person must be a close relative or person residing in the same household as you.

  Absentee ballots may NOT be returned by any paid or volunteer worker or any candidate’s campaign committee, or person or group working for a campaign. Election questions may be directed to 818-548-2090 during normal working hours.

  Here's the city's election Web site.

• Pasadena Weekly sized up the candidates in Tuesday's election, though they seem to have missed a couple for Glendale Unified.

• All eight candidates tried to close the deal at the Northwest Glendale Homeowners forum Thursday night. Coverage from the News Press

• Appo Jabarian of USA Armenian LIfe Magazine makes his picks in today's edition, and narrows the city council field down to five. It's no surprise that incumbent Rafi Manoukian and school board member Greg Krikorian _ both Armenian Americans with public service experience _ made the list. But the rest are definitely surprising...

  Continue reading "Mark Those Ballots" »

  Posted by Eugene Tong at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

Look what followed me back to Glendale from downtown Burbank yesterday?

The driver gave me a look over the shoulder when he spotted my camera phone rollling down Glenoaks. I flashed him back a peace sign. We parted near Brand _ he headed north into the hills, and I went south back to the office.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

Citizen journalist Gary Judy scoops writes on valleynews.com this morning with news about Nayiri Nahabedian throwing her hat in the ring for a seat on the Glendale School Board this spring. The vote is April 3. She's running on a platform that includes securing funding to make schools safer for kids by engaging parents and the community. Her endorsements include the Glendale Teachers' Association, Glendale Police Officers' Association, Armenian National Committee of America, and the Glendale Young Democrats. Other notables include Pam Ellis, who's on the Glendale Board of Education, state Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, former state Assemblywoman Carol Liu, Glendale Councilman Rafi Manoukian, Glendale Community College Board of Trustees President Dr. Armine Hacopian, Glendale Community College Board of Trustees member Victor King, and Montrose Shopping Park President John Drayman, who's also a candidate for the Glendale City Council.

In her candidate statement, the Cal State Los Angeles professor writes:

I am running for Board of Education in our city. I am running for this seat because I have a fundamental commitment to excellent public education. As an educator myself, I know what it takes to have outstanding public schools. First-rate education is crucial for our children's success, and I have the experience and the ability to fight for excellent public schools.

Updated March 29 at 6 p.m.

Posted by Jason Kandel at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

In compiling the Glendale City Council candidate profiles, I asked each candidate to respond in writing to a questionnaire. Here are extended excerpts of their answers, in the order they appear on the ballot.

Continue reading "Glendale City Council candidates -- in their own words" »

Posted by Eugene Tong at 12:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

It didn't take long for the sharks to smell blood as revelations about Gary Bric, the perceived frontrunner for Burbank City Council, and his past run-ins with the law made the news last week. A mailer paid for by the Coalition for Responsible Leadership, also known as the Good Government Committee, juxtaposes his Los Angeles Superior Court case history with the bullet point "Bric's record shows a repeated history of BAD judgment." (emphasis from mailer)

On the back, the mailer knocks Anja Reinke, who finished second in the primary and has the support of most of the current council except for Councilman David Gordon. The good doctor is backing Carolyn and Phil Berlin. Both long-time local activists, the Berlins supported Gordon's run last year in the special council election.

Now I haven't looked into the allegations _ and there are plenty in this one _ but Will Rogers takes a shot analyzing the hit piece in his latest column.

Not sure how Bric and Reinke plan to respond _ hope it doesn't get too ugly.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 03:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

So the Glendale Teachers Association took time off from their still-unresolved salary negotiations with Glendale Unified to name their endorsements in the April 3 election.

From their March 22 release, they're backing challenger John Drayman and incumbent councilman Rafi Manoukian for the City Council. From GTA president Allen Freemon:

The 1,400 members of the Glendale Teachers Association know that both John Drayman and Rafi Manoukian value our public schools. As elected Council members, Drayman and Manoukian will be committed to making Glendale schools a priority. Furthermore, these leaders have made it clear that they value the work done by all public employee groups here in Glendale.

I'm not sure how much weight GTA endorsements have in a municipal election, but it's a straight-up dis(missal) for GUSD board member Greg Krikorian, who's also running for council. But it's not too surprising _ the teachers pressed Krikorian to take sides in their negotiation with the district, which has reached an apparent impasse, but not much has happened.

The GTA also is backing incumbent Vahe Peroomian and challenger Christine Rodriguez for the Glendale Community College Board race. Rodriguez, as you may remember, won support of the college's faculty union.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 01:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

Burbank City Council candidate Gary Bric's past run-ins with the law are just coming to light, and his opponents are smelling blood.

According to the Burbank Leader, court documents show Bric, a local restaurant owner, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in June 1997. He also was arrested in 1990 on bookmaking charges, which were later dropped. The charges were apparently based on allegations from an informant.

The informant alleged that Bric accepted wagers at his residence, also acting as a pay-and-collect person for a gambling operation. The informant also alleged that he often settled up on wagers with Bric.

...

Bric maintains his innocence in the bookmaking charge, which he said is evidenced by the fact that when another defendant in the case, Arthur Hanlon, was convicted for bookmaking in February 1991, the charges against Bric were dropped.

"I know the arrest doesn't look good, but I hope people will look at the fact that all charges were dropped against me after the bookmaker pleaded out," he said.

Word on the street is these revelations about Bric have already found their way into the latest round of mailers. Since I'm working out of Glendale, can someone Email me a copy?

Background checks the Leader conducted on the other candidates in the April run-off _ Carolyn Berlin, Philip Berlin and Anja Reinke _ didn't turn up much.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

Here's another column from local pundit/blogger Will Rogers involving one Bob Garcin, which is not entirely flattering for Burbank City Council Candidate Phil Berlin. Judge for yourself here.

A disclaimer _ Will is a former writer for my local competiton who has since taken his opining online. His views are entirely his own, and in no way reflects the views of this Daily News reporter. I do read his stuff, and I think he could try cutting it down a bit. (Info-snacking is the future, as envisioned by a certain institutional investor whose firm owns a large chunck of Tribune Co. stock.)

Why link to him? Why not? This site is operating in the age of open media, and if there's a Burbank or Glendale angle to any item, I'm going to post it, regardless of ideology. Think of this site also as a local editorial page, where the market and a little news judgement are the best filters.

So I look forward to hearing from any online Garcin or Berlin backers, either in the comments section or by email. If you want me to post your email, be sure to include your name and a number (hey, stand by your words! The phones are just for a quick check, and will remain confidential).

Posted by Eugene Tong at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

So the Glendale College faculty union is endorsing one of their own in the three-way race for two seats on the Community College District board. Word from the Glendale College Guild is they're backing challenger Christine Rodriguez, a former guild member who now teaches at East Los Angeles College. She's trying to unseat incumbents Tony Tartaglia and Vahe Peroomian. Here's the release:

At its February meeting, the Glendale College Guild voted to endorse Christine Rodriguez for our district's Board of Trustees. Ms. Rodriguez was a member of the Guild until recently, teaches full-time at East Los Angeles College, and has been active in the Guild in that district. Among other service to the LA College Guild at ELAC, she has served as the Grievance Officer for that campus. She has also worked many years as a (employee-side) labor lawyer.

In her endorsement interviews, Ms. Rodriguez evinced a commitment to improving the lot of adjunct faculty, direct communication with all members of the campus community, and respect for the rights of workers to organize.

Both of the other candidates presented significant strengths, and only a few troubling weaknesses, but Guild members decided not to pick between them. The Guild's political action committee will do what it can to help elect Ms. Rodriguez, and the Guild will work closely with whomever is elected to the Board on April 3rd.

Now I haven't been following this race that closely _ does this make a difference? Or is this as much an incumbents-only done deal as my mediocre political handicapping tells me?

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|

The latest Glendale City Council candidate forum held Thursday night by the League of Women Voters Glendale/Burbank is up on the city Web site.

For a guy whose job it is to watch and take notes _ two words: Seek Function.

During the 90-minute round-robin Q&A, the moderator quizzed the eight candiates on such salient issues of the day as hillside development, downtown economics and transportation. How did they do? Judge for yourself. Between the civic boosterism, plain restatements of city issues sometimes passed-off as answers, and occasional pie-in-the-sky rhetoric, I'm sure all of them said something substantial or had at least one good idea.

Perhaps the most telling was what each chose to address when they were given the floor at 1:20...

Challenger Vrej Agajanian said the city is falling behind in the use of solar power systems, and is in favor of open space and clean air.

Incumbent and current mayor Dave Weaver supported hiring city treasurers by appointment, rather than by general election. The reason? The public might elect someone on the basis of popularity, rather than by actual experience.

Candidate John Drayman, president of the Montrose Shopping Park, urged the city to purchase Mountain Oaks, a property near La Crescenta where a developer wants to build condos and a school to the distress of area residents.

Former Glendale Police spokesman Chahe Keuroghelian said the community should organize neighborhood watch meetings and engage the police department in dialogue to address public safety.

Glendale Unified school board member Greg Krikorian attacked the current council for recently failing to review a proposed hillside view ordinance for lack of quorum and urged the city to be pushier with developers.

Incumbent Councilman Rafi Manoukian touted the local economy is "strong and robust," reciting figures from a city investment forum earlier in the day. He also said he has always been respectful to public speakers at council. He's open to meetin constituients in South Glendale and Montrose.

Challenger Herbert Molano said there's a lack of involvement by the current council and the public when it comes to addressing the issues.

Challenger Lenore Solis, a former Glendale Water & Power commissioner, sought fiscal accountability and was concerned about fund transfers the city has used to prop up the utility. She's also against mansionization.

Can't wait till April 3.

Posted by Eugene Tong at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)|