Citys

CITY HALL — Fees and rates attached to some city services, such as trash pick-up and the city’s Beeline buses, could increase as city officials try to balance stagnant revenues with the increasing costs of service, officials said. “We are at the point where we are consuming every bit of money each year that we are making,” Public Works Director Steve Zurn said of operating the city’s bus and Dial-A-Ride service. “It’s time for us to get together to talk about what the future is of our lines and service.

CITY HALL — City officials on Tuesday reiterated their commitment to improving Glendale’s economy through a range of plans for business development, luring new companies to the area and building a brand identity that consumers can relate to. Their statements came during an update from Glendale development officials about the state of the city’s economy and efforts to address unemployment and low sales tax revenues. The city’s most recent measure of sales tax revenues, from the third quarter of 2009, shows they were down 13.7%, Development Services Director Philip Lanzafame said.

CITY HALL — Adult smoking rates in Glendale have dropped significantly since 2005, but obesity rates have climbed, according to a large-scale report on the city’s health due out Friday. The report culled data from a number of sources, including Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the U.S. Census Bureau and the city’s own statistics. The first report, which took seven years to compile, was released in 2002. In the latest Quality of Life Indicators Report, various measures were chosen using community input to compare Glendale to surrounding cities, the state and Los Angeles County.

CITY HALL — Ethnic diversity in the city’s workforce has continued to increase in recent years, representing a significant jump in minority representation from 1998 to 2008, according to the city’s most recent workforce demographic report. Last year, whites made up 43.9% of the city’s workforce, compared with 57.5% in 1998, according to the report. Meanwhile, representation of most minority groups has grown, with African Americans seeing their ranks grow by 21% within the 10-year period.

DOWNTOWN — Four restaurants have failed since the start of the year on a two-block stretch of the city’s retail core — an area that has drawn the attention of redevelopment officials hoping to stop a trend of closures. The closed restaurants include Baja Fresh Mexican Grill and Daphne’s Greek Cafe at the Glendale Marketplace and Tofu Village and Dolci Mango at the Exchange on Maryland. The now-empty storefronts add to major vacancies left behind by restaurants and large retailers like Circuit City and Linens N’ Things at the two shopping centers, which account for more than 260,000 of the city center’s 2.1 million square feet of retail space.

CITY HALL — Major renovations to one of the city’s oldest parks should begin this fall if the City Council on Tuesday approves the final concept plan for Griffith Manor Park. Acquired in 1937, the 3-acre park near the San Fernando Corridor is one of the city’s oldest public facilities and hasn’t undergone a major renovation since the early 1970s. The City Council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency on Tuesday, is scheduled to review a concept plan featuring a 2,400-square-foot community building, new restrooms, lights, irrigation systems, a lighted basketball court, benches and picnic pavilions, a new “splash pad” children’s water play area and an expanded parking lot and playground.

CITY HALL — A multimillion-dollar contract to operate the city’s four central parking garages comes back to the City Council dais tonight after a protracted bidding war that has drawn accusations of bias and unfair competition. After challenging the city’s initial attempt to contract with a new vendor, Parking Concepts Inc., the firm that has operated the garages for the last 11 years, came in with the lowest bid at $5.3 million for the three-year contract. Last summer, the City Council voted to negotiate exclusively with Los Angeles-based Modern Parking Inc. on a proposed $5.75-million contract after it submitted the lowest of six bids.

A contingency fund of $100,000 to cover extra, unforeseen costs for the replacement of the adult recreation center was approved Tuesday. The City Council approved the $10.5-million rebuild of the center in 2006, and since then, several changes have been proposed to the site plan that are expected to total at least $68,000. Architects for the project hope to secure final approval of the project’s building plans this month. The project will put a new adult recreation center — which houses the lion’s share of the city’s seniors programs — near the corner of Louise and Colorado streets and eliminate Central Park’s four tennis courts.

GLENDALE — While the amount of trash littering Glendale’s sidewalks and public areas remains fairly low overall, more of it gets left behind along the city’s busiest roadways and in the southern region, according to the latest survey. In a report to the Committee for a Clean & Beautiful Glendale on Thursday, Neighborhood Services officials found that, on a scale of 1 to 4 — with 1 reserved for “no litter” and 4 assigned to “extremely littered” — Glendale registered an overall grade of 1.52, mirroring the score for 2008.

I am struggling to comprehend why there is not more outrage about the election of Zareh Sinanyan. This is America, it's not like we are bereft of sleazy politicians, but to have this man write the things he wrote and handle the accusations in the completely hyper-defensive manner in which he did, even trying to deflect the ugliness onto a well-respected council woman while the main press outlet in the city turns its back - it's embarrassing. Yet he still was elected and only after immense pressure and fumbling we got an apology?

Unemployment rates continued to drop in the tri-city area last month, boosted by job gains in trade, transportation and utilities, as well as leisure/hospitality and residential construction. However, after seeing some strengthening the past few months, the motion picture and sound recording industries reported some losses. The unemployment rates in Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena each dropped 0.5% to 7.5%, 8.1% and 7%, respectively, according to data released Friday by the California Employment Development Department.

I spoke at City Council on March 12 and March 19 regarding the gender discrimination and ethnic bigotry that are alive and well in Glendale. Witness the council meeting of March 12, when council member Laura Friedman reported that a person appointed to a city commission, who was also a candidate for city council, had allegedly written pornographic, homophobic and misogynistic postings dating back five years. It was Friedman's duty to agendize the matter so that the information could be vetted in a public forum.

Development continues to spread into Glendale's neglected southern section as a third large mixed-use building along the San Fernando Road corridor received initial approval from city officials this week. On Tuesday, the city council unanimously approved a preliminary design for The Link, a five-story apartment building with 142 units and 16,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor. It will be constructed on a roughly one-acre lot on the northwest corner of Central Avenue and San Fernando Road.

Gary Cornell, a city commissioner who played a role in doling out millions in federal grants for public projects and social services, died Friday morning in his home, his wife said. He was 79. Although the official cause of death was not yet been determined, his wife, Kimberly Cornell, said she believes his failing health played a role. Gary Cornell had suffered from heart issues and underwent abdominal surgery a month ago, his wife said. Kimberly Cornell added that she does not plan on having a funeral service for her husband so others don't have to feel the pain she's been struck with.

Former Glendale Police Capt. Ray Edey is not one to relax, so when he had the opportunity to return to writing grant applications for the city in September 2011, about a week after he retired, he took it. "I don't golf, fish or hunt," said the 30-year employee. "I need to keep my mind busy. " In addition to more work, he also reaped more money. He took home both an annual pension of $198,386 and a self-reported salary of roughly $80,000 a year until about four months ago. Edey is one of 46 city employees who, since 2000, retired and then returned to work at City Hall, according to an analysis of records from Glendale and California Public Employees' Retirement System, or CalPERS.

A sincere thank you to the Glendale Fire Department and other fire departments for their tremendous efforts in stopping the Glendale Fire. Arline Latino Elizagary Glendale

City officials are reviewing whether a rule that blocks full-time employees from holding other jobs applies to newly elected City Treasurer Rafi Manoukian.  Manoukian, who left his council seat early after winning the treasurer post, holds a second job as chief operating officer of Ameria Group, an Armenian advisory and financial services provider. Councilman Ara Najarian is calling on City Atty. Mike Garcia to enforce the rule, which exempts outside employment approved by the city manager.

RIVERSIDE - While the Flintridge Prep boys' swimming team came into the CIF Southern Section Division III meet with hopes of walking away victors, it saw that aspiration take a hit in prelims. Still, the Rebels were happy with what they were able to achieve Thursday at Riverside City College. Flintridge Prep also put together several personal-best performances to grab a runner-up and two third-place finishes, including both the boys and girls, and took seventh in boys as a team with 143 points.

The front page of the Glendale News-Press on May 2 carried the headline, “Sinanyan issues apology from council dais.” Apologies are good if they are sincere. However, one has to doubt Zareh Sinanyan's sincerity. Why? Because the apology comes only after being “cornered,” with no other alternative. The hate speech was real and genuine and Sinanyan knew it from the beginning. Yet he stood before the city of Glendale and smeared Laura Friedman when she brought up the issue, saying, “She's lying.” He knew she was not lying, but he still proceeded down his path of hate, lies and deceit.