Generation

The power of the press led Joseph Maier to Glendale. Born in 1845 near Stuttgart, Germany, the young boy read about the California Gold Rush and dreamed of coming to the United States. He and his wife, Fanny, arrived in 1873. Their two sons, Fred and Herman, were born in Cleveland. After a move to Chicago, Maier read an ad promoting Glendale in the local newspaper, further stoking his childhood dreams of living in California, according to family historian Bob Maier, the fourth generation Maier to live in Glendale.

The second annual Russian and Ukrainian Painting Exhibition at the Silvana Gallery in Glendale consists of more than 100 paintings that retain techniques of the first generation of rebellious Russian Impressionists. The same turgid brushwork, out-of-tube pigment and other elements that once disguised the meanings in propagandistic art are used here by a new generation for narratives of life, architecture and landscape. Subject matter for this second generation of Russian and Ukrainian impressionists celebrates the life and land of the common people, no longer because Soviet sensors have secrets, but because after Perestroika in the 1990s, they have the freedom to choose the content in their work.

As the first decade of the 21st century draws to a close, my generation will get a chance, for the first time, to look back on the first 10 years of a new century. The last time this happened to a generation, television hadn?t been invented. At my 10-year high school reunion in November, we couldn?t help but talk about what we didn?t have in terms of technology. In the late 1990s, there was no so such thing as social networking. Dial-up was the norm, as was listening to streaming audio on Real Player and using Netscape Navigator to surf the Internet.

Maybe it was the images of devastated Haitians this week that filled our TV sets, or the sense of impending disaster that permeated the county with one rough storm after another, but the way our schools mobilized to join the Haiti relief effort was a welcome reminder that we are grooming capable leaders for the next generation. Yes, businesses have set up donation drives, and nonprofits have banded together. And we’ve sent medical professionals and emergency crews. But those are, by definition, professionals, trained and bred to answer the call of duty wherever it may be. But when it would be just as easy to tune it all out and focus on Facebook and how to keep hairdos maintained in the pouring rain, it was our local students who’ve shown us that there is still a sense of human obligation among this largely desensitized generation.

Are you one of those who tried to program a new cell phone, a car’s GPS, a digital television, Bluetooth or a computerized photo viewer and found yourself in need of the technological skill and expertise of your 10-year-old grandchild? Or have you watched today’s young children manipulate a hand-held game or computer program and quickly learned not to challenge the little ones lest you embarrass yourself? Their games and gizmos require incredible dexterity, hand-eye coordination and fast decision-making far beyond what many of our technologically challenged generation are able to do. And have you experienced the frustration of spending considerable time trying to program or operate a new gadget only to have a child or grandchild help you figure things out quickly and effortlessly?

Monday, October 22 nd is the last day to register to vote in the upcoming November election.  And if you're still one of the people who doesn't know why you should vote, then here are a few reasons. In his 1967 Inauguration speech Governor Ronald Reagan spoke to Californians about the miracle of transferring power by way of the electoral process.  Reagan was a Republican newcomer to politics who succeeded the wildly popular Governor Pat Brown and would himself be succeeded by another Brown Democrat - Pat's son Jerry.

A sense of entitlement — it seems to grow more rampant with each generation. When I think about my maternal grandfather and how he raised my mother and uncle, I witnessed respect. They obeyed him and were grateful for everything — and anything — they received. I asked my mom once why she never gave her parents trouble. She said she just knew they were the boss and never had reason to disobey. Today, I see a generation that sometimes expects more, complains more, talks back to their parents more and has a tendency to be egocentric.

The subject of “good manners” came up the other day when a colleague, who is a mother of teenagers, threw up her hands in exasperation. She was telling me that her kids basically had no manners, and they were driving her crazy. “It’s a losing battle,” she told me. “They slouch in their chairs, they’ve forgotten words like, ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ they’re rude and obnoxious and loud, disrespectful, apathetic.

Let council be guide on Glendale’s roads The 2008 Allstate America’s Best Drivers report that was released in November ranked 193 cities from best to worst in terms of drivers’ safety habits (“Report: Locals drive unsafely,” Jan. 22). Glendale was at No. 192. Mayor John Drayman asked council members to discuss the city’s traffic concerns and establish what the city can do to solve the traffic problems. As the city grows, the number of vehicles on streets also gets larger.

A new apartment complex in downtown Glendale is betting that young city dwellers will pay a premium for units as small as 375 square feet in order to have access to a variety of amenities and live in the heart of the city. The 208-unit, seven-story Elevé Lofts and Skydeck at 200 E. Broadway is renting the small apartments -- which are about the size of a typical two-car garage -- for $1,500 a month. Huntington Beach-based AMF Development, owners of the Elevé, is targeting the “Gen Y” demographic, members of which are in their mid-20s.

The money keeps flowing in for the Montrose Shopping Park Assn., which for years had been plagued by revenue problems. For 2013, the organization that promotes nearly 200 businesses near and along Honolulu Avenue is forecasting income of $460,000 - $100,000 more than originally forecasted for 2012, according to data released on Thursday. By August, the organization had taken in $400,000, which is more than the $360,000 it had expected to make in 2012 when it presented a budget to the City Council last year.

Monday, October 22 nd is the last day to register to vote in the upcoming November election.  And if you're still one of the people who doesn't know why you should vote, then here are a few reasons. In his 1967 Inauguration speech Governor Ronald Reagan spoke to Californians about the miracle of transferring power by way of the electoral process.  Reagan was a Republican newcomer to politics who succeeded the wildly popular Governor Pat Brown and would himself be succeeded by another Brown Democrat - Pat's son Jerry.

The second annual Russian and Ukrainian Painting Exhibition at the Silvana Gallery in Glendale consists of more than 100 paintings that retain techniques of the first generation of rebellious Russian Impressionists. The same turgid brushwork, out-of-tube pigment and other elements that once disguised the meanings in propagandistic art are used here by a new generation for narratives of life, architecture and landscape. Subject matter for this second generation of Russian and Ukrainian impressionists celebrates the life and land of the common people, no longer because Soviet sensors have secrets, but because after Perestroika in the 1990s, they have the freedom to choose the content in their work.

It appears that the early retirement plan offered up by city officials as a way to cut down on the number of potential lay-offs at City Hall is getting strong interest from employees. A recent survey, unveiled at the City Council meeting thsi week, indicates that nearly half the number of employees that officials said would be needed to take part in the early retirement program to avoid significant lay-offs plan to do so. The city needs about 150 employees to retire early in order to impact a $15.4-million deficit.

The campaign may be fake, but the benefits proved very real last night as a local businesswoman who has launched a faux run to be mayor of Glendale gave a $5,000 check to Glendale Healthy Kids, the beneficiary of all of her contributions. Helen McDonagh, owner of Massage Envy, gave the check to Camille Levee, outgoing executive director of the nonprofit, the night before Levee left Glendale to take a position in Arizona. McDonagh is halfway to her goal to raise $10,000 for Glendale Healthy Kids, which provides access to health services for needy children.

The parade of two-wheelers snaking toward R.D. White Elementary School could have stocked a bicycle shop. There were mountain bikes, road bikes and beach cruisers with whitewall tires. Helmeted heads bobbed up and down to the rhythm of the pedals. It was a scene playing out at schools across the country Wednesday as thousands of students flicked up their kickstands and took to the streets for the first national Bike to School event. Sponsored by the National Center for Safe Routes to School, the ride was modeled after its International Walk to School Day, designed to foster pedestrian safety and healthy lifestyles.

One of my earliest memories takes place at the doors outside of kindergarten my first day of school. The cackles of school children fill the hall while I stand there frozen, growing more anxious as the minutes linger. My little hand slips out of my mom's protective grip and as I'm pushed toward the classroom, the lump in my throat grows so big, it feels like it's going to burst. I'm not worried about meeting new friends or being away from home. At 5 years old, I'm worried because, even though I've spent almost my entire existence watching and understanding “The Flintstones” and “The Jetsons,” I can't speak English.

Income from parking fees took a nose dive at Bob Hope Airport in January, dropping about 6.2% compared to the same period last year, according to figures released this week. Parking fees - an important revenue source - generated $1.5 million for the airport in January, down from roughly $1.6 million during the same month last year, according to a Monday report to the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. ________ For the Record: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the figure for January 2011 as being "nearly $2 million.

Since the city began levying new fees on developers aimed to curb impacts on libraries and parks in 2007, $2.6 million has been generated, according to a recent report. More than half of the earnings - or $1.5 million - were generated in fiscal year 2010-11, according to the report. The pace of new development had been slow in past years due to the recession and the inability to secure financing. But the city's development scene is beginning to stir once again as the finance market begins to thaw.