Bond Funds

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Wednesday granted the release of former City Councilman John Drayman from jail after his supporters agreed to pay a $16,000 bond. All that remained Wednesday afternoon was for a bondsman to provide the $200,000 bail to the court, and hammer out details to secure Drayman's release. Prosecutors allege Drayman used his position with the Montrose Shopping Park Assn. and the Harvest Market on Sunday to embezzle between $304,000 and $880,000 over the course of roughly seven years.

A joint-use committee of members from the City Council and La Canada Unified School District School Board is holding a community input meeting today to discuss the possibility of constructing an indoor gymnasium and multipurpose facility at Paradise Canyon Elementary School. The committee is considering a grant opportunity that would finance the construction of the facility by providing special state bond funds. The project is a concept idea and no formal proposal or planning have been considered by either the council or the board.

Josh Kleinbaum Despite concerns about how bond funds have been spent and allocated, the state's department of finance said the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy will receive its full funding of $23 million to purchase and preserve open space, including nearly $1 million expected to be spent rehabilitating a winery at Deukmejian Wilderness Park in La Crescenta. The department of finance and the conservancy reached a tentative agreement to ensure that the conservancy receives its funds, said H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the department.

President Obama boosted local hopes for a high-speed rail line Thursday, announcing $2.25 billion in federal stimulus funds for a project expected to generate tens of thousands of jobs for the region. The rail line, which is planned to run through Glendale with a stop in Burbank, would shuttle passengers from Anaheim to San Francisco ? a distance of 465 miles ? in 2 hours and 57 minutes when completed, according to the California High Speed Rail Authority. The first phase of the $45-billion project is set to be completed by 2020 and would send electric-powered trains at speeds as high as 220 mph moving between major California metropolitan areas, according to the rail authority.

Alecia Foster NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- Will Glendale residents support a bond measure? If so, for how much? Those are some of the questions Glendale Community College officials are hoping to answer next month when public opinion polling begins. A polling firm has been hired to conduct the polls -- the results of which will be used to determine whether the college's Board of Trustees will place a measure on the March 2002 ballot. Meanwhile, college officials have been busy updating the school's master plan.

Re: “City to pipe in new bond funds,” Nov. 3, the Glendale City Council recently raised our water rates 13% over the next four years. In addition, this is on top of the already 38% water rate increases residents, businesses and schools have experienced since 2007. By the year 2015, residents, businesses and schools will have been assessed a 51% water rate increase. The people's attorney, Harry Zavos, many times came before our city council and challenged the illegal transfer of money from the Water Fund to the General Fund.

A senior member of the Glendale Unified planning and facilities team - hired last year to usher through millions of dollars in capital improvement projects funded by Measure S - has left the district, officials confirmed this week. Margaret Brown resigned from her position as administrator of planning, development and facilities on Jan. 17 for “personal reasons,” said Assistant Supt. for Human Resources David Samuelson. He declined to elaborate on what precipitated the departure, citing personnel privacy laws, but on Monday, Glendale school board President Joylene Wagner said that after roughly seven months, Brown's relationship with the district “didn't work.” Brown's exit marks the second time in three years she has left a school district while helping to process a large bond-funded construction schedule.

Gary Moskowitz At a time when the district faces the biggest state budget shortfall in California history, school board member Mary Boger thinks of the Glendale Unified School District as a family that can get through it all. She also thinks an experienced board is necessary to make smart decisions about what should be cut. Boger is one of four candidates running for three open seats on the school board in...

Former Glendale Mayor Larry Zarian's seat on the California Transportation Commission was confirmed unanimously by the California Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday. Zarian was appointed to the commission by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in April 2006, but had not been confirmed for the post. The confirmation means Zarian's term will continue until April 23, 2010. "I'm extremely honored that the state Senate approved what the governor appointed last year," Zarian said. "There is no greater honor."

Claudia Peschiutta DOWNTOWN - The Glendale Board of Education is about to decide the fate of Crescenta Valley High School. At a special meeting Monday, board members will decide whether to limit to $45 million the renovation and modernization of the campus, the most expensive single project in Glendale Unified School District history. Members will also have to determine whether they are willing to go into debt to fund the project. The cost of transforming the campus, which was designed to serve as a middle school, was originally estimated to cost $22 million.

Re: “City to pipe in new bond funds,” Nov. 3, the Glendale City Council recently raised our water rates 13% over the next four years. In addition, this is on top of the already 38% water rate increases residents, businesses and schools have experienced since 2007. By the year 2015, residents, businesses and schools will have been assessed a 51% water rate increase. The people's attorney, Harry Zavos, many times came before our city council and challenged the illegal transfer of money from the Water Fund to the General Fund.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Wednesday granted the release of former City Councilman John Drayman from jail after his supporters agreed to pay a $16,000 bond. All that remained Wednesday afternoon was for a bondsman to provide the $200,000 bail to the court, and hammer out details to secure Drayman's release. Prosecutors allege Drayman used his position with the Montrose Shopping Park Assn. and the Harvest Market on Sunday to embezzle between $304,000 and $880,000 over the course of roughly seven years.

Built in 1977 and passed over amid a wave of bond-funded refurbishment projects three decades later, College View School is now poised for a multimillion-dollar makeover that Glendale Unified officials say will enable the district to better serve its severely disabled students. School board members on Tuesday picked apart four potential construction projects with price tags ranging from $11.6 million to $19.4 million that would dramatically reshape the site. It will be among the first projects funded by Measure S, a $270-million school bond passed by voters in April 2011.

A senior member of the Glendale Unified planning and facilities team - hired last year to usher through millions of dollars in capital improvement projects funded by Measure S - has left the district, officials confirmed this week. Margaret Brown resigned from her position as administrator of planning, development and facilities on Jan. 17 for “personal reasons,” said Assistant Supt. for Human Resources David Samuelson. He declined to elaborate on what precipitated the departure, citing personnel privacy laws, but on Monday, Glendale school board President Joylene Wagner said that after roughly seven months, Brown's relationship with the district “didn't work.” Brown's exit marks the second time in three years she has left a school district while helping to process a large bond-funded construction schedule.

While reading the Sunday edition, I came across two articles about the proposed Americana at Brand expansion. One was a full-page ad saying that Glendale faces an $8-million deficit this year with threats to services like police, fire and parks. Then it goes on to say that the Americana has generated more than $3 million in revenue. Now they want to take away a small piece of property with a motel on it and add it to the Americana, (saying by doing this the city will get more revenue.

CITY HALL — The City Council on Tuesday gave the go-ahead for a pedestrian walkway that will link a number of the city’s downtown civic buildings with the Americana at Brand. The council unanimously authorized a $185,000 contract with EDAW AECOM for the design of the proposed paseo, which will create a pedestrian connector between the new Adult Recreation Center, Central Park, a revamped Central Library and Brand Boulevard. The project will also include the reconfiguration of the alley and parking lot between Central Park and the east side of Brand Boulevard.

President Obama boosted local hopes for a high-speed rail line Thursday, announcing $2.25 billion in federal stimulus funds for a project expected to generate tens of thousands of jobs for the region. The rail line, which is planned to run through Glendale with a stop in Burbank, would shuttle passengers from Anaheim to San Francisco ? a distance of 465 miles ? in 2 hours and 57 minutes when completed, according to the California High Speed Rail Authority. The first phase of the $45-billion project is set to be completed by 2020 and would send electric-powered trains at speeds as high as 220 mph moving between major California metropolitan areas, according to the rail authority.

LA CAÑADA — Foothill Municipal Water District officials have settled on a $63-million plan — to be presented to the public next month — for projects that a voter-approved bond would help fund. The series of projects, which also include $7 million in rehabilitation to the district’s aging infrastructure, are aimed at reducing the region’s reliance on expensive imports through recycled water and groundwater capture projects. “The more independent we are, the more reliable we are,” said Foothill Municipal General Manager Nina Jazmadarian.

CITY HALL – The City Council on Tuesday authorized the Redevelopment Agency to issue an additional $20 million in bonds to help pay for library improvements, a new adult recreation center, soccer field and public swimming pool. Construction on the long-awaited replacement for the Adult Recreation Center is scheduled to break ground next week after the City Council in March authorized a $7.92-million contract to build the 19,100-square-foot facility. More than a decade in the works, the building would roughly double the size of the existing center and significantly redevelop the block bordered by Brand Boulevard, and Colorado, Louise and Harvard streets.

DOWNTOWN — The city of Glendale played host Wednesday to the state's top transportation agency, but the start of the two-day meeting was overshadowed by a stalled state budget that could cut up to $1.3 billion in transit funds. The nine-member California Transportation Commission, which allots money for transportation projects statewide, was slated to vote on whether to approve funding for more than 30 projects by today. But in light of $1.1 billion in proposed transit-spending cuts approved Friday by the Assembly and another $100 million in transit cuts proposed Wednesday by Republican senators, the commission was forced to postpone any funding decisions, said Commissioner Larry Zarian, a former Glendale mayor and 17-year councilman.