Homeland Security

Joshua Pelzer The City Council has joined cities across the country that are appealing for more control of funding for homeland security and local emergency agencies. The federal government appropriated $1.3 billion for local homeland security materials and for first responders. That money will be allocated in a block grant to the states, which will decide how much local governments receive. First responders include police, fire and other emergency personnel who are the first to respond in disaster situations.

Blue Star war resolution enacted LA CRESCENTA -- A resolution recognizing service in the U.S. Armed Forces and the families of those in the military has been enacted into state law. The resolution, introduced by Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy (R-La Crescenta), designates the second week of March as Blue Star Families Week during times of military conflict. Under the program, families with members serving in the Armed Forces receive a Blue Star poster to place in their window as a symbol of that family's sacrifice, Mountjoy said.

SEWER PROJECT The council approved a motion requesting an increase in a contingency amount for the Fairmont Avenue Sewer Main Replacement Project by $450,000. WHAT IT MEANS After construction on the project began, several problems emerged, one of which showed the soil in the planned trench area was not suitable for backfill. The new sewer main has to be encased with a controlled material, costing more, officials said. HOMELAND SECURITY The City Council approved acceptance of a state grant that provides $485,360 to the Glendale Fire and Police departments to be used for homeland security.

Robert Chacon and Fred Ortega The Glendale Police Department has compiled a list of possible terror targets that includes the Glendale Civic Center, Bob Hope Airport, local churches, schools and office high-rises, police officials said. The department's list builds upon a recently released list of local facilities considered potential terror targets by the Homeland Security Department that includes the Glendale Galleria, the Burbank Media Center and Pasadena's Rose Bowl.

The Burbank Fire and Police departments will boost their preparedness for disasters and terrorist events with federal grant money unanimously approved by the City Council on Tuesday night. The $860,000 in two grants from the Department of Homeland Security would be used for training, equipment and planning for emergency operations. Training in hazardous materials and urban search and rescue will take Fire Department personnel to Alabama, New Mexico and Nevada, interim Fire Chief Tracy Pansini said.

Ryan Carter President George W. Bush's emergency call for billions of dollars to fund the war effort is being supported by the area's local congressmen. "I think that whatever Congress can provide for the troops the president ought to have," Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Glendale) said. "And I would hope that amount would be swiftly approved." Bush sent an emergency bill to Congress this week requesting $75 billion, the bulk of which would go to the Pentagon and classified activities.

Karen S. Kim GLENDALE -- Assemblyman Dario Frommer (D-Glendale) has been selected to join a legislative delegation lobbying on behalf of the state in Washington D.C. The delegation will meet with members of Congress and Cabinet to discuss a number of issues, including terrorism, defense, education, health and welfare. Frommer, who was selected by Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson (D-Culver City), will meet with Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, U.S. Health and Human Services Department Secretary Tommy Thomson and Gov. Tom Ridge of the Office of Homeland Security.

The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested nine people employed by businesses serving Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport over the past two weeks. "They worked in security, retail, baggage handling, construction, parking and catering," said Francisco Arcaute, a spokesman for the bureau. "How did they get there? They've probably been flying under the radar for quite some time." The arrests are part of Operation Tarmac, which investigates the background of every employee working at every airport in the country.

Regarding Jeff Keating's highlights of the USA Patriot Act: Apparently, no one in Congress remembers the joy of having Joe McCarthy around. To paraphrase a quote: Those who fail to learn from history will be condemned to repeat it. The USA Patriot Act is ruinously expensive, and as a practical matter, highly unworkable. Yes, we need homeland security. But the USA Patriot Act will just make the bad guys more creative. This is democracy run amok. Do we really want our grandchildren to live in an era when they can't even step outside their door without some government official asking, "Papers, please"?

City Manager James Starbird was asked Tuesday to explore way the Glendale City Council might work more closely with the Crescenta Valley Town Council and other county representatives in La Crescenta. The request came from Councilman Ara Najarian, who said the idea occurred to him while riding in the Montrose Christmas Parade, a major holiday event for both city and county residents. Starbird said he would look into the issue, and possibly report on ways the city and county are currently working together, in police and fire matters.

Glendale police and fire officials received more than $850,000 in U.S. Department of Homeland Security grants this week for intelligence-gathering equipment and search-and-rescue training. Enhancements to video equipment on police helicopters, upgrades to night-vision capabilities, new police protective wear and equipment for the city's regional training center at Scholl Canyon are some of the projects that will be funded through grants, Police Capt. Ray Edey said. The funding will also pay for license plate camera recognition systems to be installed on two patrol vehicles and for new cameras along the rail systems in the San Fernando Road corridor, he said.

Montrose Search and Rescue team members Capt. Janet Henderson, Lynda Daniels and Mike Leum responded to a call on Feb. 5 for help in searching for a missing aircraft, its pilot and two passengers. The Montrose team was among the search and rescue teams that found the bodies on a Catalina Island mountaintop the morning of Feb. 6. Los Angeles County Coroner’s office has identified the victims as pilot Mark Hogland, 48, from Dana Point, and his passengers Marshall D. Goldberg, 39, from Lithia, Fla. and Amy Marie Judd, 25, from Boise, Idaho.

Anita Brenner By the time you read this, the Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals will have heard oral arguments on Dec. 5 on a grassroots lawsuit by Jet Propulsion Laboratory employees to protect their right to privacy. The lawsuit, Nelson vs. NASA, was filed by 28 JPL employees. It challenges JPL’s implementation of a Homeland Security directive. The directive, known as HSPD 12, was signed by President Bush in August 2004. It requires “secure and reliable forms of identification issued by the Federal Government to its employees and contractors.

During the last several weeks, our office has been flooded with calls from constituents needing help with passport applications. We are happy to help expedite these applications, and it is important for the public to know that this service is available through our office at no cost. While the Department of State may charge a fee to expedite a passport, my office can assist in assuring that the department acts promptly and appropriately. In 2004, in an effort to improve our homeland security, Congress passed the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)

CITY HALL — The City Council on Tuesday approved more than $245,000 in state funding to replace the city's aging stockpile of nerve-agent antidote kits. The unanimous 5-0 approval comes about three months before half of them are set to expire. Orders will be made in time to replace the city's 4,500 antidote kits by the end of July, two months before half of them reach their expiration dates in September, with the rest expiring in December, Glendale Fire Capt. Jim Frawley said.

"The Last Mimzy" is an interesting and unusual family movie that is fun to watch but ultimately leaves no lasting impression. It's too bad because the story has great potential but falls short of groundbreaking status. If the word mimzy strikes a chord of recognition, you probably read Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky" as a child. And the allusion is intended. Mimzy is the name of a stuffed bunny (think the White Rabbit) that the little girl in the film finds on the beaches of Whidbey Island.

The Glendale City Council has approved a resolution accepting a $485,360 homeland security grant from the state. Most of the funding will be applied to equipment, including $66,000 for four field medical shelters to be used in case of a major emergency involving large number of casualties. The city will also purchase a response command unit for $65,000. The unit will be outfitted for the transportation of medical supplies. Other medical purchases will be 20 transportable beds for field use, and 12 evacuation chairs to assist in taking handicapped, injured or medically fragile people out of multi-level buildings.

GLENDALE — A recent $485,000 grant from the federal Department of Homeland Security will soon have the city's emergency services talking in more ways than one. In addition to a myriad of equipment purchases for the city's fire and emergency medical services, the grant received on Tuesday will be used to upgrade the Glendale Police Department's emergency radios to be compatible with a new state-of-the-art communication system, Glendale Police...

SEWER PROJECT The council approved a motion requesting an increase in a contingency amount for the Fairmont Avenue Sewer Main Replacement Project by $450,000. WHAT IT MEANS After construction on the project began, several problems emerged, one of which showed the soil in the planned trench area was not suitable for backfill. The new sewer main has to be encased with a controlled material, costing more, officials said. HOMELAND SECURITY The City Council approved acceptance of a state grant that provides $485,360 to the Glendale Fire and Police departments to be used for homeland security.

A letter to Rep. David Dreier: I would have to respectively disagree with your political position on the border issue and on immigration ("Congress won't stop until border is safe," Pol Position, Oct. 9). In fact, House Republicans are turning the immigration issue into a racial issue, and all the while frightening American citizens into giving up their civil liberties and their rights under the pretext of "national security and protecting our borders." U.S. citizens and the undocumented have always lived alongside each other, working and living together, and it has never been an issue in the past.