Economy

A few months back, the Desi Geestman Foundation supported a Burbank family by providing a $200 grocery card. Around the same time, another $200 was given to a San Gabriel family to assist in covering funeral expenses after the father was laid off. An additional $500 went toward a rent payment for a family whose son was a patient at the City of Hope for a bone-marrow transplant. There are more examples of how families in the area and around Southern California are struggling to pay for medication, grocery bills or housing while coping with children who have cancer.

This is in response to those socialistic letters that Roberta Gutierrez keeps writing. Doesn't she see that America is a capitalistic society and that communism has failed? Reading her letters is like reading "A Communist Manifesto" by Lenin, the way she states the facts about what the economy is and what the economy needs and what the landlords are doing and what is needed is government controls. I read "A Communist Manifesto" about 25 years ago, and reading her last letter of Oct. 14 is very similar.

Our country, perhaps more than any other on this planet, is guided by public opinion. We conduct polls to chart our fondest hopes as well as to reveal our deepest fears. In the latter category, Gallup has developed a "worry index" to find out what keeps us awake at night. Despite our troubles in the Middle East, it is our economy at home that heads that list for most Americans (although I would hazard a guess that $200 billion a year spent refereeing a civil war in Iraq just may have an impact on our domestic economy)

It is difficult in this economy for those of us struggling simply to put food on the table to focus on much else. Our economy is complex and is defined by more than just business. So many things determine how the economy is doing. That is why the president has been trying to secure our economic future by encouraging more people to go to college by making it more affordable, giving the largest tax cuts to the middle class we have seen in a long time; is trying to put more money into small community banks to increase loans to small businesses and entrepreneurs, to invest in new energy jobs; and yes, has tried to solve the problem of rising health-care costs.

I’m responding to the May 2 Community Commentary “Immigrants here illegally strain area’s resources” written by Jesse L. Byers. I wish to educate you, provide some truth to your readers and give a voice for the voiceless. First off, it is hard to read the rants of a fellow American about things that do not include all undocumented immigrants as a whole, put a distorted vision of what seems like an outrage, not a reality. Ever since our nation was founded, we’ve been a country of immigrants offering the world a place of refuge, peace and a shot at what I still hope is the American dream.

Karen S. Kim Gregg's Artistic Homes might have lost its chance to develop the Oakmont View V hillside property, but over the past 70 years, the Gregg family has built more than its fair share of Glendale. More than 3,000 homes in the city have been developed by the Greggs since Alice Lee Gregg started the business in 1934. Gregg homes are mainly in northwest and northeast Glendale and La Crescenta. "In those areas, it's hard to drive around without seeing one of our homes," Vice President Bob Gregg said.

Over the next five years, Glendale may still face multi-million dollar budget gaps, even if revenues from property and sales taxes continue to climb at a steady rate, city officials said at a budget meeting Tuesday. But unlike in recent years, the shortfalls may not be as difficult to surmount as they've been in years past, thanks to a variety of ways to increase revenues, including new taxes, officials said. Rather than the $15.4-million and $18-million gaps of the past two years, respectively, the city may see deficits of $1.2 million to $11.3 million over the next five years, according to a city report.

For those who have been lucky enough to enjoy a long, illustrious performance career, a turn behind the scenes can offer its own kind of magic. Jamie Nichols found that several decades in the spotlight was enough. The Glendale native relished her 23 years at the helm of Fast Feet dance company, earning numerous accolades in one year, including three prestigious Lester Horton awards, which are presented annually by the Dance Resource Center of Greater Los Angeles. But then, said Nichols, at a characteristically vibrant clip, “I just didn’t feel compelled to continue.

How valuable do you think a strong economy is? How about our local economy? I’m sure as we enter a time of financial uncertainty the importance of maintaining a strong economy is uppermost all of our minds. Can you identify what our local economy is? It’s the restaurants along Honolulu, the local carpenters and handymen, the stores that sell everything from food to trinkets to chlorine for our pools. One entity that spends each working day nurturing and promoting our local economy is our local chambers of commerce.