Glendale News Press

I wish you would instruct your restaurant reviewers about the city of Glendale. It is neither a part of, nor a suburb of, the city of Pasadena. It seems like nine out of 10 reviews in the Glendale News-Press are in Pasadena. Glendale has some nice restaurants - and some funky, undiscovered ones that we will never hear about because our “local” newspaper prefers to focus on a nearby city instead of our own. I like to eat out, but would never drive to Pasadena for a hamburger. Please support our local restaurants!

1) Glendale-trained Ronda Rousey takes titles and MMA world by storm - Much like her six professional bouts - which have never extended past the first round - the year 2012 was a whirlwind of success for “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey. “She's the biggest rising star in women's mixed martial arts, if not the sport as a whole. Ronda Rousey's rise has been meteoric,” wrote Sports Illustrated when it crowned Rousey's rise as the No. 65 sports moment of the year. Indeed, Rousey's rise to stardom and becoming a full-fledged star in the burgeoning realm of MMA - and in the mainstream - has grabbed headlines in the Glendale News-Press and myriad other forms of media, big and small.

Some weeks ago, following the shooting in Colorado, I wrote to the Glendale News-Press regarding the gun shows at the Glendale Civic Auditorium. At that time, I suggested that our city take a stand against gun violence and ban these “shows.” In light of Friday's tragic shooting in Connecticut, I suggest again that the outlawing of such events in Glendale would be a great statement against these violent acts. As long as Glendale supports, advertises and endorses such weapon displays and sales, all Glendale residents must hold some responsibility for these kinds of crimes and this culture.

At the very back of our Glendale offices, in a cramped, ill-lit room, is a treasure trove of local history, art and the general debris from a 107-year-old business, a year older than the city in which it sits. I have to admit, I rarely think about our morgue - the morbid, though industry-standard, term for where old papers, photos and artwork are stored. But as we're soon moving out of these offices, and out of Glendale, now is the time. But first, a general statement and plea for calm: We're not closing any of the papers, we're not on the brink of financial disaster, and we're not changing our mission of hyperlocal coverage and service in any manner.

I'm very worried at the prospect of the Glendale News-Press being moved from downtown Glendale to Los Angeles. I don't understand how the News-Press staff can be expected to cover the city of Glendale as efficiently or thoroughly as they do now if they also have to shuttle between downtown L.A. and Glendale. It is a short-sighted decision that will inevitably affect the quality of coverage. We need a close eye on our local government and the News-Press has been in the best location to provide that essential service.

I think that it's a shameful waste of the public trust for the Glendale News-Press to dignify a wisecrack, in this case by Francis Adams (“ A Halloween mask inspires political fear ,” Mailbag, Oct. 31). I am astonished that the News-Press is so starved for content that it feels somehow justified in the need to print two sentences from Adams that are simply insubstantial character slurs without any value outside of a crude joke. I find it offensive to journalism and irresponsible on behalf of the paper.

The websites for the Glendale News-Press and Pasadena Sun are finalists in the annual EPPY awards, an international contest curated by Editor & Publisher magazine. The industry publication announced the finalists for best media websites after “four weeks of in-depth and thorough judging” by an in-house team and panel of 68 judges. Glendale News-Press is a finalist for “Best Daily Newspaper Website with under 1 million unique monthly visitors,” along with the Imperial Valley Press  - Associated Desert Newspapers, Lawrence Journal-World,  South Bend Tribune and The News-Sentinel.

Beginning next month, the Glendale News-Press, Burbank Leader, La Cañada Valley Sun and Pasadena Sun will be undergoing some changes. Here's a preview of what to expect. To start, we will be launching a News-Press app for iPhone, iPad and Android users on Nov. 1. This is part of our ongoing evolution to ensure our readers can get their news in a variety of ways - be it print or online, through Facebook posts and tweets, or on their mobile devices. Apps for our other publications are also being looked into.

I am appalled, disappointed and disgusted. I got the Glendale News-Press on Sept. 11 and did not see one mention of 9/11, one of the most horrific events of our country. Why was no mention made? It is disgusting. Rita Leblanc La Cañada Flintridge

I trust that locals fixated on GWP's finances took note of the recent L.A. Times article on JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s conniving, to the cost of anywhere from $57 to $200 million and quite possibly much more, in suspected thefts from California ratepayers (“Gaming of energy market jolts consumers,” July 18). Given the intense interest in utilities here in Glendale, I look forward to the Glendale News-Press going beyond pensions and smart meters to cover the local impact of this alleged corporate manipulation of California's energy market.