Complaints

Gretchen Hoffman A year after Charter Communications opened the doors to a regional call center -- resulting in a flood of complaints about customer service -- officials say the cable company is consistently meeting industry standards for call-response times. The call center has more than doubled the number of customer-service representatives, to 600 employees, and is answering 90% of all calls in 30 seconds or less, Charter spokeswoman Sandra Magana said.

Freeman Avenue Janine Marnien The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works will be removing six of about 10 chevron arrow signs added to Freeman Avenue, a spokeswoman for Supervisor Michael Antonovich told the Crescenta Valley Town Council on Thursday. The signs had been added to alert drivers to a curve, but complaints from residents that there were too many signs prompted the removal of six of them, said Rita Hadjimanoukian, a field representative for Antonovich.

GLENDALE — Dozens of homeowners claim they paid for loan litigation services with Los Angeles-based Bander Law Firm and never saw any legal action taken in their cases, causing some homes to foreclose. The homeowners gathered Saturday for a news conference inside a Glendale Days Inn Motel banquet hall, where several signs calling for attorney Joel Bander’s disbarment lined on the walls. Daniel De Leon said he paid the law firm $12,000 to sue his bank to lower mortgage payments on his Hesperia home.

Robert Chacon The Better Business Bureau has given Glendale-based Cal Repair Inc. a failing grade when it comes to dealing with customer complaints. In the past three years, customers have filed more than 150 complaints about Cal Repair Inc. with the consumer advocate organization which monitors and reports on companies' practices. The downtownbusiness, which provides plumbing, electrical, heating and air conditioning services, has only responded to half of those complaints and has subsequently garnered an F rating by the bureau, spokeswoman Katie Mitzner said.

Robert Chacon After a more than two-year investigation, the state as revoked the license of a Glendale-based company for five years following hundreds of customer complaints. Following a six-week hearing with an administrative law judge in Sacramento, the California Contractors State Licensing Board found that Cal Repair Services Inc. and its Chief Executive Officer Zohrab Mkhitarian had committed several infractions, including forging signatures on license applications, misrepresenting information on license application forms, failing to get necessary permits for work and charging homeowners for unnecessary work.

The article "Crimes committed by transients up" (April 20) has the potential for generating the antihomeless sentiments that often lead to violent actions. There is no reference to the type of crimes committed and yet these people are referred to as "criminal transients." A significant difference exists between a "complaint" and an arrest followed by a conviction. Were these complaints for loitering, littering, disturbance of the peace, or for stealing and violent crime?

A resident who wrote a letter in favor of The Mix bar on Honolulu Avenue in Montrose has had his vehicles vandalized in recent weeks. "Two days after his letter was published someone wrote profanity in lipstick on his windshield," said Officer John Balian, spokesman for Glendale Police Department. Because of the recent vandalism the police do not want to release the man's name. The letter was published on Aug. 9. On Aug. 11, the lipstick was discovered on his windshield.

Jacqui Brown For the second time in four months, the Transportation Security Administration changed the guidelines covering searches by airport screeners, this time requiring them to modify the way women passengers are inspected, after numerous complaints about the way more thorough examinations were being conducted. Many women waiting in line at the Bob Hope Airport this week were unaware of the changes or complaints, but said that if an examination of a woman's breasts ensured their safety while aboard an aircraft, then security officials should continue to conduct the inspections.

The Glendale City Council Tuesday accepted a proposal by Police Chief Randy Adams to set up a special committee to meet monthly and hear public issues and complaints about the Glendale Police Department. The council could not take an official vote of approval without making it a legislative action and bringing the controls of the Brown Act and public meeting laws into play. The council met Aug. 22 to consider whether the city should set up a police commission to handle community issues.

Most of the speakers at a zoning hearing Wednesday in La Crescenta opposed efforts to roll hack multiple residential zoning in the community. The hearing was conducted by the county Department of Regional Planning, as part of a study ordered by the Board of Supervisors. The study resulted from complaints about growth due to conversion of single family homes to multiple developments. The complaints came mostly from two local groups, the Crescenta Valley Town Council and Crescenta Valley Heritage.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has quietly added two dozen priests and brothers to its list of clergy accused of child molestation. Though the church deems the allegations against the men credible, the archdiocese has declined to release information about the complaints, including the number of accusers, the dates of the alleged abuse and the parishes where the men worked. The names were disclosed in a two-page report posted on the archdiocese's website last month alongside 12,000 pages of internal records related to its handling of abuse claims.

An alleged drug dealer was charged Thursday with selling cocaine to a Glendale man in front of Mark Keppel Elementary School, officials said. Franklin Vasquez Marquez, 34, of Los Angeles faces one felony count of possessing cocaine for sale and transporting and offering to sell cocaine, as well as one count of child abuse for taking his 3-year-old son along with him for the alleged drug drop off, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court...

A 26-year-old parolee pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of selling heroin at a Montrose strip mall parking lot, officials said. Vaghan Stepanyan, who is on parole for a grand theft conviction, faces six felony counts for drug sales, possessing a controlled substance and firearm violations, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. Two other men - Tigran Zmrukhtyan, 19, of Pasadena and Nverik Yaghoomian, 26, of Glendale - also were charged with possessing a controlled substance after they allegedly purchased heroin in an alley and tried to rid of it when Glendale police spotted them.

Lawyers for Jet Propulsion Laboratory challenged former JPL employee David Coppedge on his track record at the NASA-affiliated research facility Tuesday, laying out a history of complaints about his work that had nothing to do with religion or politics. Coppedge is suing JPL for wrongful termination, claiming he was the subject of discrimination because he engaged other coworkers in conversation about California's ban on gay marriages and the theory of intelligent design. The theory holds that an intelligent agent guided the creation and evolution of the universe.

A Republican candidate excluded from a Jewish Journal forum has filed a complaint with the IRS alleging that the nonprofit publication is improperly engaging in political advocacy. An attorney for  writer Susan Shelley, one of two Republicans in the widely watched clash between Democratic Reps. Howard Berman and Brad Sherman for a San Fernando Valley congressional district seat, alleged that the newspaper was opposing Shelley. As a  tax-exempt, nonprofit organization, the newspaper is not allowed to take positions for or against political candidates.

In her criticism of your headline for the review of the North Shore Burger restaurant, reader Marla Fogg seems to have missed a few points (“ Restaurant headline doesn't sit well ,” Jan. 2). She thinks that your use of the term “flat” was primarily trying to reference a surfing term when it merely reflected the reviewer's opinion that the restaurant was not exceptional. Lisa Dupuy wrote that the food was good, but far from great - her sandwich was overcooked and gave her heartburn, and the size of the bun didn't proportionally match the meat of the burger.

Fifteen people were arrested Thursday on suspicion of taking part in an elaborate $18-million Medicare fraud scheme that officials say involved a Glendale medical clinic and a pharmacy in San Marino. The scheme involved so-called “prescription harvesting,” in which Manor Medical Imaging Clinic and San Gabriel Valley pharmacies allegedly re-billed the government repeatedly for anti-psychotic medications, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed Thursday. A total of 17 people were named in the complaint.

Rep. Howard Berman (D-Valley Village) is calling on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee to convene a panel on low-flying helicopters above residential areas in Los Angeles County. In his letter to the committee's leadership, Berman said lax federal regulations have allowed helicopters "to operate with impunity over residential areas of Los Angeles, with no regard to their impact over my constituents' safety or quality of life. " Berman introduced legislation in July that would require the Federal Aviation Administration to more strictly regulate flight paths and minimum altitudes for helicopters in certain areas in response to complaints from residents, especially in the San Fernando Valley, who say the noise from the choppers has gotten worse.

Ever since I began writing about the Glendale Water & Power smart meters, I have received letters from fellow citizens who are likewise frustrated and curious as to the exact reasons why their utility bills have gone up. I count myself among those individuals, although to say I'm surprised that my bill went up after the meter was installed could hardly be described as leaving a curious taste in my mouth. I'd describe it more like expected resignation with subtle notes of chocolate and “what the heck”!

CITY HALL — A criminal complaint filed by Glendale officials against a city commissioner have been dismissed after he brought his vacant property into compliance with city codes. City officials in May filed a 19-count criminal complaint against Civil Service Commissioner Sam Manoukian, who is not related to Councilman Rafi Manoukian, and several business partners who own a property at 900 W. Glenoaks Blvd. The complaint alleged that the property had fallen into disrepair. In the complaint, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, city attorneys listed municipal code violations at the “dilapidated” property, ranging from the accumulation of junk and debris to failing to maintain proper landscaping.