Robert Shaffer
GLENDALE -- It's been a pretty good news year in our little corner of
the world.
We had a fire that lit up the sky but didn't hurt anybody. We had
elections that provided a fresh new look for the City Council. The best
known entertainment company in the world decided to build a creative
campus in our city, but a top-notch theater company left for greener
pastures and newer facilities. We've lost good people to tragedy this
year, and others have been put behind bars for disturbing our safe
community.
In our effort to inform you about things that affect your lives -- the
City Council decisions that decide how your city will look, the crimes
that remind you it could happen here, and all the good news that tries to
balance out the bad -- we bring you our biggest stories of 1999.
Let's start off with the good.
1. A WONDERFUL GIFT
In March, Ralph and Larry Cimmarusti gave $1 million to the Glendale
Community College Science Center, which is believed to be the biggest
donation ever given to a Los Angeles-area community college.
The brothers, who both graduated from GCC, own 130 Burger King and
Tony Roma's restaurants in Glendale and five states.
The Science Center, which has a planned partnership with Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge, is expected to include a
geology complex, planetarium and laboratories.
Larry Cimmarusti was humble when asked why he donated $1 million of
his hard earned money.
"It's kind of a good message to send out. When you make money in the
community, give it back and share it," he said.
2. ARMENIANS, HILLSIDES DOMINATE ELECTIONS
Fast-forward to April, where politics dominated the front page. Two
new members, Gus Gomez and Rafi Manoukian, were elected to the City
Council. Manoukian, whose election is believed to have signaled the
awakening of the Armenian electorate, and Gomez, who campaigned against
hillside development, quickly shook up City Hall by refusing all or part
of an auto allowance given to council members, which critics charge is
little more than a way to increase their pay without forcing the issue to
a vote.
3. THE SHOW LEAVES TOWN
Unfortunately, the news wasn't all good in 1999. Glendale lost an
institution in May, when the classical theater company A Noise Within
left town for Cal State Los Angeles. Despite being in the city only eight
years, the troupe brought high-class entertainment, and yearly
performance awards, to the Jewel City.
Just as important was what the company did for Glendale's children. A
