POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:Krikorian starts campaign

More than 200 people showed up at Oakmont Country Club on Oct. 26 to watch Glendale Unified School District Trustee Greg Krikorian officially kick off his campaign for City Council.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich spoke at the event. Other dignitaries attending included former Glendale Mayor Larry Zarian, Burbank City Councilwoman Marsha Ramos and Glendale City Council Bob Yousefian. Crescenta Valley Town Council members Steve Pierce, Sharon Hales, Krista Smiley and Charles Beatty also attended.

Krikorian's goals include getting the city to stick to its hillside ordinance more closely.

The election is April 3.

Montrose Shopping Park Assn. President John Drayman has also officially announced he will run for a spot on the council.

Board moves drug program forward

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved Michael Antonovich's motion to direct county staffers to pursue the possibility of expanding a pharmaceutical disposal program to the entire county.

The "No Drugs Down the Drain" program informs residents about the hazards of throwing away medications in places where they can reach surface waters and negatively affect the environment.

Research has shown that medications in surface waters complicates human growth and reproduction.

The program encourages county residents to either dispose of medicine waste at hazardous-waste collection centers or seal them in sturdy plastic containers before putting them in trash cans.

Group inaugurates new headquarters

The Armenian National Committee of America — a national advocacy organization that promotes the role of Armenian Americans in U.S. policy — has inaugurated a new national headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Armenian-American dignitaries and religious leaders from throughout the country joined Armenia's Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian for the inauguration on Oct. 21.

Oskanian stressed the importance of cooperation between Armenians in the states and the Armenian government in working on issues of economic and democratic development in Armenia, and in strengthening the relationship between the United States and Armenia.

Schiff to speak on Darfur genocide

Rep. Adam Schiff will be holding a Town Hall meeting to discuss the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan at 9:45 a.m. today at Alhambra High School.

Schiff, whose district covers Burbank and Glendale, has held previous meetings on this topic in Glendale and Pasadena and sponsored legislation to help get funds for victims.

Among those joining Schiff at the meeting will be Mabior Isaac Amol, a former Sudan resident who helped start an orphanage in Darfur, and Father Vazken Movsesian, of In His Shoes Ministries in Glendale, which is raising money to provide aid to the people of Darfur.

Alhambra High School is located at 101 S. 2nd St., Alhambra, and visitors must sign in at the school office.