Alex Theatre

I'd like to thank all the people and volunteers over the years that help save and run the Alex Theatre. What upsets me is that the state of California can take it away and sell it. We the people of Glendale and taxpayers to the state of California have paid for the Alex. People are the government and I think we forget that power. I made my opinion simple, instead of complex, like our government in California has become. We need to get back to simple government or lose what we have.

The Glendale City Council officially approved designating the Alex Theatre as a civic building on Tuesday night, adding a protective layer to the historic building, should it fall under the ownership of the state and be sold off. Now the theater can only be used for certain purposes, such as a performance arts venue. Under its previous zoning, it could be used as a church or bowling alley. City officials don't want that, but they had no power to prevent it without changing the theater's zoning.

On a November night in 1994, the Alex Film Society was about to screen “Gone With the Wind” when the sound system failed. The screen had only been propped up two days before, and there had been no time to test the sound before the society's first event. “I had to go out and say, 'We have a problem,'” recalled society founder Brian Ellis, and everyone went home early. Theater management had already predicted that the new group wouldn't attract much of a crowd, so Ellis and society member Randy Carter personally rounded up soda and candy from a local store.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Elissa Glickman, the newly appointed chief executive of the nonprofit that runs the Alex Theatre. Even though we are friends via social media, I had not seen Glickman since I left the Alex Regional Theatre (ART) Board in 2004. I served on the committee that interviewed and hired her to be director of marketing and resource development, so news of her promotion was a happy occasion, as it reinforced what we saw in her some eight years ago. It was an interesting meeting for a couple of reasons, our differing perspectives on the recent demise of redevelopment agencies statewide being one such reason . I have been critical of redevelopment agencies for transacting in a number of questionable real estate and financial decisions that by many accounts seem to favor wealthy developers more than the people they are supposed to serve.

The City Council on Tuesday moved to change zoning boundaries in such a way that would prevent the historic Alex Theatre from being turned into a church, recreation center or even a banquet hall should the venue fall into the state's hands and be sold off. The theater has been in limbo since a state mandate forced cities like Glendale to dissolve their redevelopment agencies and send billions in property tax revenues to Sacramento to fill a...

The nonprofit that manages the Alex Theatre plans to form a task force in the coming months to deal with the impending loss of more than $400,000 a year from the city of Glendale - the result of the state slashing redevelopment powers and possibly taking ownership of the historic venue. The task force will be made up of Glendale Arts board members, staff members and local residents, said Elissa Glickman, who after serving as interim chief executive of the nonprofit that runs the Alex Theatre, was recently given the permanent job. At the first-ever “State of the Alex” presentation to board members on Tuesday, Glickman said the task force will study three areas - fundraising potential, income opportunities, such as rental rates, and operations, including staff costs - and then make recommendations, Glickman said.

On behalf of Glendale Arts, we would like to respond to the June 8 article “ Alex Theatre's future is in question ,” which focused on the Alex Theatre's third-quarter financial results. While the article is factually true, the spin is decidedly negative. It focuses solely on the organization's cash flow rather than presenting the whole picture of the organization's activities that were highlighted in the report. Has the 2011-12 fiscal year been economically challenging?

Officials at the Alex Theatre are reevaluating their long-term strategic plan for the historic venue, which has been relying heavily on its reserves as it copes with an uncertain future. The theater was shuttered for three months at the beginning of the year due to renovation work, severely impacting hurting revenues for Glendale Arts, the nonprofit that manages the venue. “In short, the third quarter of the fiscal year was challenging,” according to a letter to the City Council this week from James Wilke, chairman of the Glendale Arts Board of Directors, and Interim Chief Executive Elissa Glickman.

GLENDALE — They were honored with all-league awards, were recognized at team banquets and were praised in the community for their accomplishments throughout the year. Before the school year finished, local athletes had one more opportunity to be acknowledged for their feats at the third annual Athletes with Character and Ethics (ACE) Awards on Monday at the Alex Theatre. Athletes from Glendale Community College and Glendale, Hoover and Crescenta Valley high schools were distinguished for demonstrating outstanding athletic skill, sportsmanship, citizenship and leadership.