Firms

CITY HALL — Two construction firms have withdrawn their protests against a city recommendation to award the contract for a new, $7.92-million Adult Recreation Center to the fourth-lowest bidder, clearing the way for the long-delayed project to move forward when it comes before the City Council today. The contentious project, in the works for more than a decade, was taken off the City Council agenda March 17 after Perera Construction & Design Inc. and G-2000 Construction Inc. formally protested a staff recommendation to go with a local firm at a $120,000-to-$495,000 premium.

The recession has made businesses nationwide uncertain about their finances, but it has also made employees fearful about losing their jobs, something human resources consultants are attempting to remedy. Many small and medium-sized businesses don’t have the funds to hire their own human resources staff members, but the services those representatives provide can be critical to increasing productivity, especially during the economic downturn, said Gary Olson, president of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce.

Two local businesses with deep ties to the military and aviation sectors recently got huge lifts from a federally funded training program. Glendale’s Accurate Dial & Nameplate and Burbank’s Centerpoint Manufacturing are poised to pick up work from some of the largest companies in the nation thanks to months-long improvement efforts, a financial stake from the Verdugo Jobs Center and the expertise of the nonprofit California Manufacturing Technology...

GLENDALE — Nearly 60% of the money raised to support passage of the $270-million school bond in the April 5 election has come from companies that have a financial stake in the measure’s passage, records show. Of the roughly $160,000 raised in support of Measure S, $93,500 came from firms or their representatives that could benefit from the work generated by the bond, according to the latest campaign finance disclosure forms filed with the city clerk’s office. The contributions included $25,000 from Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets; $25,000 from Los Angeles-based investment firm E.J. De La Rosa & Co.; $15,000 from Jones Hall, a San Francisco-based law firm that specializes in bond counsel; $10,000 from the chief executive officer of a Chino-based architecture firm; and $10,000 from a Newport Beach-based architectural firm.

Gary Moskowitz School board members Wednesday began the process of replacing a superintendent they had hoped would stick around a little while longer. Supt. Jim Brown announced Tuesday that he will retire from the Glendale Unified School District on Jan. 31. Brown, 60, has been superintendent of the district since 1996, and his career in education spans more than 38 years. Board members gathered for a special meeting Wednesday afternoon to approve a letter that spells out their plans for finding his replacement.

Citizen Academy still has openings The Laguna Beach Police Department is still accepting applications for the Citizen Academy, a 12-week course designed to educate the community on local law enforcement. The academy begins Sept. 14 and is free to anyone who works or lives in Laguna Beach. Throughout the course, citizens will learn about crime scene investigation, narcotics enforcement, the police K9 program and more. The class will also include a tour of the Orange County Jail and a chance to shoot a weapon at the police firing range.

This paper’s Oct. 31 editorial, “Council did no one any favors,” questioned, quite properly in my view, whether the City Council acted in the public interest in refusing to grant a taxi license to a new applicant. The editorial has now been questioned in the Nov. 2 Community Commentary, “Decision on taxis was pure common sense,” by Jim Weling, a former chairman of the Transportation & Parking Commission. Weling presented several arguments, among them that there is overcapacity in the taxi cabs that serve Glendale and that there is apparent separate ownership of four of the five taxi companies that now serve Glendale.

Buck Wargo CITY HALL -- Glendale has tossed out six proposals for partnering with the city to operate recycling services in the community. The City Council rejected the proposals after two of the firms at the top of the list did not meet the requirements for documenting their bids. The proposals of four other firms were considered a poor choice for the city, according to a report from the Public Works Department. The two top bidders were Aardvark Recycling of Wilmington and Quality Papers Fibers of Pico Rivera.

GLENDALE — A design firm has finished an initial plan for Maryland Mini-Park that includes a community garden, a playground and native plant landscaping, officials said. The City Council on Tuesday approved the allocation of $42,136 for Costa Mesa-based David Volz Design firm’s services. The firm’s site plan will be submitted to the state, along with a grant application, to potentially receive funding to help build a portion of the park, officials said. While state officials will announce grant recipients in September, the city has the budget to move forward with the design, said George Chapjian, director of the city’s Community Services and Parks Department.

Buck Wargo CITY HALL -- A decision could be made as early as next week on whether to replace the consultant who prepared the environmental report evaluating the Oakmont View V subdivision. Glendale Senior Planner Dave Bobardt said the Environmental and Planning Board might meet as soon as June 15 to make a recommendation to City Manager Jim Starbird on who should revise the draft report. Rincon Consultants of Ventura has come under fire from anti-development groups for underestimating the impact of the proposed 572-home project.

While several City Council candidates said they'd be willing to look into a plastic foam container ban at a campaign forum Thursday night, few would give a direct answer as to whether they would support such a law if elected. Dozens of cities across the state, from San Clemente to Oakland, have banned polystyrene foam containers, commonly known by the brand name Styrofoam. The prohibitions mostly focus on take-out containers used at restaurants, but in Los Angeles County, a more limited restriction only impacts county-run facilities such as hospitals, golf courses and beach concession stands.

The pool of candidates in the Glendale City Council race has grown to 13 after two people filed the necessary 100 signatures in time to qualify for the April 2 ballot Tuesday afternoon. Although the technical deadline was Thursday, it was extended by five days since an incumbent, Mayor Frank Quintero, is not running. The candidates for three seats are: Aram Kazazian, Chahe Keuroghelian, Sam Engel, Jr., Jefferson Black, Zareh Sinanyan, Mike Mohill, Roland Kedikian, Edith Fuentes, Rick Barnes, Perlita M. del Rey, Herbert Molano and incumbents Ara Najarian and Laura Friedman.

Glendale Unified has rejected a claim filed by a candidate for school board who alleges the district engaged in discriminatory and unfair business practices when it severed ties with his security firm in 2007. Ali Sadri - who is running in the April 2 election for a seat on the Glendale Unified school board - declined to comment on why he had filed the claim on Dec. 11 - roughly five years after the district declined to renew a security contract with his firm, Armguard Security. Sadri's Glendale-based company had provided security for Glendale Unified schools for 17 years until the district decided to go with ESPY Security and Patrol.

From the ads and trailers, you might think that “Flight” is some sort of legal thriller, with Denzel Washington's character being unfairly accused or even framed; and you'd be about 10% right. In fact, “Flight” is primarily a moral character drama of the subspecies “addiction.” Its greatest suspense centers on how low the hero's self-sabotage will take him. Washington plays Whip Whitaker, an experienced airline pilot who for many years has managed to hide his alcoholism from his corporate overlords.

The Pasadena law firm that defended Glendale in lawsuits stemming from a 2005 mudslide that cost the city nearly $15.4 million has agreed to pay $98,500 to settle a malpractice lawsuit, according to a City Council announcement this week. Glendale sued the firm, Sabaitis-O'Callaghan, in 2011, claiming that its legal advice led to the city losing out on an attempt to recoup a nearly $1-million payout to residents who had filed a damage claim, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records.

Former City Councilman John Drayman this week agreed to pay $15,000 over 15 years to settle a lawsuit filed by a firm that claimed it was underpaid for remodeling work done on his condominium. The settlement reached Tuesday is far less than the $98,000 that the contractor, National Fire Systems & Services, had sought in Los Angeles County Superior Court after filing a lien against Drayman's condo. “It was worth it for me to move on, to end it and move on,” Drayman said in an interview Thursday.

Glendale Unified officials this week said they will take steps to reduce the visual impact of solar panels being installed at seven local schools, but will not relocate them, as requested by some neighbors. The district broke ground last month on the $7.2-million project, which includes installing solar panels at Clark Magnet and Crescenta Valley high schools, Rosemont Middle School and Keppel, Columbus, Mountain Avenue and Monte Vista elementary schools. It is being paid for with funds from Measure S, a $270-million school bond passed by voters in April 2011.

An accounting firm will review 178 insurance claims as part of a deal struck in a case involving a multimillion-dollar compensation fund for descendants of Armenian Genocide victims, attorneys announced Monday. Lawyers Mark Geragos and Roman Silberfeld, who sit on opposing sides of a dispute regarding the fund, said claims for $10,000 or more will be examined to make sure there were no accounting discrepancies. Originally, Silberfeld's client, Glendale-based attorney Vartkes Yeghiayan, had sought an audit of all 1,300 claims made to a compensation fund set up by France-based insurer Axa S.A. to check for problems.

A law firm recognized for its work on patent and trademark issues plans to move into Glendale by mid-December, according to city officials. Christie, Parker & Hale has signed a lease at 655 Central Ave.  and will move its 120 employees -- 45 of whom are attorneys -- from its offices in Pasadena, the city announced Tuesday. Zecco, an online stocks and equity trading company, also recently brought 100 employees from Pasadena to 500 N. Brand Blvd. The firm represents some of the world's largest companies, including Verizon, Raytheon Co., Guess, the Neiman Marcus Group and Samsung.

Bob Hope Airport commissioners on Monday unanimously approved a $1.5-million contract with a design firm to draw up plans for a new scaled-back transit center. The center, which will house rental car, bus, rail and taxi services, had to be revised in June when construction bids came in $47 million to $69 million higher than the projected $112-million price tag. Houston-based Pierce, Goodwin, Alexander & Linville will draft the new plans for the center, which will be built near Hollywood Way and Empire Avenue.