Armenian Language

Tim Willert GLENDALE CITY HALL -- City officials have accused Armenian talk show host Vrej Agajanian of instigating an e-mail campaign and City Hall protest to get the U.S. flag lowered for the Armenian Genocide. But Agajanian himself says the City Council shortchanged the Armenian community. Agajanian said Friday that the council sidestepped the U.S. flag issue during a special meeting called Tuesday by Mayor Rafi Manoukian. He said it was disrespectful for the council to keep hundreds of Armenians waiting for four hours without addressing their concerns.

Alex Coolman GLENDALE -- The city's two largest Armenian political organizations have weighed in on the City Council race, each picking a different Armenian candidate. The Glendale/La Crescenta Chapter of the Armenian National Committee gave the nod to Hamo Rostamian, along with Frank Quintero and Mary Boger. But in its endorsement, the Armenian Council of America went with Bob Yousefian. The council also endorsed Tony Tartaglia. Peter Darakjian, executive director of the council, said the decision not to include Rostamian in his group's endorsements -- and to pick only two candidates instead of three -- was motivated at least in part by strategic concerns.

Joyce Rudolph A display of Armenian artifacts received rave reviews Sunday from dignitaries, including a former California governor, attending a private reception honoring the exhibit's opening at the Queen Mary in Long Beach. George Deukmejian, who is Armenian, said the installation of this collection recognizes the large Armenian community in Southern California. The collection has been added to the "Treasures of the Last Russian Emperor," on loan to the Queen Mary from the Russian Ethnographic Museum in St. Petersburg that opened in July.

Buck Wargo GLENDALE -- A large Armenian population in Glendale, Burbank and Hollywood may be undercounted because not enough is being done to educate people about the census, the head of a leading Armenian-American organization said Tuesday. Vicken Papazian, director of the western region of the Armenian National Committee, said in an interview that more advertising is needed on Armenian television stations and newspapers He also called for more fliers to further promote the census.

Robert Shaffer DOWNTOWN -- An appeal to the Armenian vote turned into a sometimes heated debate over crime and gun control at a forum that featured state Assembly and Senate candidates for two local races. The event Sunday, sponsored by the Pasadena-based Armenian General Benevolent Union, was the second such event at the library in less than a week. Many of the candidates tailored their messages to the audience of about 150 people, most of whom were of Armenian descent.

Robert Shaffer GLENDALE -- The owner of a television network that brings Armenian programming to Glendale is saying cable television company Charter Communications is being unfair to the city's Armenian population. Allen Silliphant, co-owner and president of Wallis/Silliphant Communications, the company that leases channel 17 on Charter for Armenian and ethnic language programming, said the cable company is raising their prices to force him out of business.