Interview

Glendale merchants could move closer to forming business improvement districts Tuesday when they interview five potential consultants to aid in the process. Representatives of the Downtown Merchants and Adams Square Merchants associations and the Redevelopment Agency will meet with the consultants, city officials said. Funding for the groups will end in 2006 unless business improvement districts are formed. While membership in the merchant associations are voluntary, members of a business improvement district would be assessed a fee. The consultant will examine the feasibility of establishing the districts, and make recommendations on their potential size, scope and the amount of the assessment.

Josh Kleinbaum Emanuels, Jones and Associates might learn that there is some truth to the old saying about first impressions -- they are pretty darn important. In 2002, Glendale Mayor Bob Yousefian met with representatives from the firm, which is the city's lobbyist in Sacramento, when the city and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy were negotiating a $25.25-million deal to purchase 238 acres of hillside land from a developer, preserving the land as open space.

She loves fashion, but hates famine. And Rosetta Ragusa us doing something about both. The 16-year-old wrote an interview that is coming out in Seventeen magazine next month, and founded a student club that has raised $5,000 for Uganda relief. Rosetta, a Crescenta Valley High School junior, interviewed pop singer Christina Aguilera for a Seventeen magazine article that will appear in the September edition of the teen fashion and entertainment magazine. "It was a lot of fun. A lifetime experience," said Rosetta, who aspires to be editor of the magazine one day. "She's into the Marilyn Monroe look.

Crescenta Valley’s Zack Torres has had a wonderful start to the year and now he can add his first honor of the year. With his great running at the Woodbridge Invitational, finishing at 14 minutes, 26 seconds, Torres earned Athlete of the Week by California’s primary cross country and track website, www.Dyestatcal.com This past week, Dyestatcal held an interview with him. In the interview, he admitted he “[likes] cross country because I can out-smart people on all the terrains and use the courses to my advantage.

Gary Moskowitz SOUTHEAST GLENDALE -- Glendale High School English teacher Starr Cortes is getting her students to learn about themselves. Cortes teaches Literacy for Success at Glendale High, which is an intervention reading program for students as many as two grade levels behind in reading. And for her efforts, Cortes was honored earlier this month by basketball great Michael Jordan's Jordan Fundamentals Program. Jordan Fundamentals honors teachers nationwide for innovative teaching methods.

While my wife and I were on a recent vacation in Washington, D.C., I heard an interesting interview on a local radio station. An official of the National Democratic Party was being interviewed on a political talk radio show. The official and the radio host were discussing the possibility of the Democrats regaining control of the house. During the interview, the Democratic Party official was talking about targeting selected districts and pouring money in order to upset the incumbent.

When was the last time you laughed during a difficult moment in your life? You?ve probably often heard the old adage, ?Laughter is the best medicine.? Well, it truly is. There is nothing like a good belly laugh, a silent giggle or the reaction to a bad joke to lessen the stress of any situation. Difficult moments are the most difficult to find a laugh in, but if you can manage it, it feels like a ton of bricks have magically disappeared from your shoulders. Several years ago I had a friend who was in the hospital with a potentially life-threatening condition.

Mark R. Madler The attorney for O.J. Simpson said Monday there would be no appearance of the former football player this weekend for a television interview or for a signing in Industry. Simpson, who lives in Florida, was reportedly scheduled to appear at a sports memorabilia shop in the city for an interview with an NBC affiliate. Yale Galanter, Simpson's attorney in Florida, said there were no plans for the football Hall of Famer to be in Burbank or anywhere in California this weekend for an interview.

CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour will be making a rare public speaking appearance in Pasadena as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series. She will be at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Wed., Feb. 15, at 8 p.m. Individual tickets to Amanpour are not available. However, Amanpour and the remaining speakers are still available in a subscription package of four speakers for $198. Amanpour has reported live from the most troubled areas around the globe, cementing her reputation as the preeminent international correspondent in war-torn or conflicted regions.

A group of Clark Magnet students learned firsthand Wednesday which U.S. presidents worked best with the CIA over the years and what it's like to take part in various intelligence roles. Admiral Bobby Inman, former deputy director of the CIA, spoke with students in the school's Geopolitics Club, which is known for snagging interviews with military/political figures via Skype. In February, Maj. Gen. Paul D. Eaton, who was in charge of training the Iraqi military between 2003 and 2004, spoke with club members, and last year they interviewed Brig.

The next superintendent of Glendale Community College probably will be one of 12 candidates who will set foot on campus in early April for interviews. At a board of trustees meeting this week, Donna Voogt, administrative dean of human resources for the college, said the 11-member hiring committee had screened 23 applications on March 15 that met the minimal qualifications for the job. Of those 23 applicants, 12 were chosen to participate in on-campus interviews April 2 and 3. But with the hiring committee sworn to secrecy, college trustees will be left in the dark about the backgrounds of each of the 12 candidates for now. At a board meeting this week, Glendale Community College trustee Ann Ransford jokingly spoke of her futile attempt to gain information.

For about 15 hours this week, I've been sitting in Vrej Agajanian's AABC TV studio, serially interviewing each of the candidates for Glendale's City Council, School Board and City Clerk. For those of you keeping score at home, there are 12 candidates for council, seven for school board and two for clerk. There is a fourth office on the ballot, City Treasurer, but Rafi Manoukian, a current councilman, is running unopposed. Still, that's a total of 21 people for the three contested races.

Noel Coward was the great renaissance man of British culture, so it's not surprising to see him listed in the opening credits of the 1942 “In Which We Serve” as producer, star, composer and director. But, not really comfortable with cinema, he hired editor David Lean - director-to-be of “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Dr. Zhivago” and others - to co-direct (with second billing, of course). Over the next few years, they collaborated on three more projects - “This Happy Breed,” “Blithe Spirit” and (most famously)

Fox is releasing this sort-of-comedy from Alexander Payne (“Citizen Ruth,” “About Schmidt”) - which won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar and was nominated in several other categories - on both DVD and Blu-ray. If you're into watching supplements, the Blu-ray is a much better deal. The DVD includes “Everybody Loves George,” seven minutes of fulsome praise for star George Clooney. Sure, he's always seemed like a great guy. But do I have to listen to everyone else in the production testifying to that effect?

The only Glendale police officer to retain his job after taking a joy ride with two other officers to Las Vegas told investigators the incident was a “stupid prank” that he regretted, according to court documents. Last week, the Civil Service Commission voted 4 to 1 to reinstate police officer Patrick Hamblin after he was fired in March. But they voted 3 to 2 uphold earlier decisions to let go of officers Fernando Salmeron and Michael Ullerich, who had worked with Hamblin in the Community Policing Unit.

The Geopolitics Club at Clark Magnet High School had their second chat last week with Sergei Khrushchev, son of the late Nikita Khrushchev, who led the Soviet Union from 1955 to 1964. The high school students were dressed up for the occasion in suits, ties and dresses as they spoke with Khrushchev in a video call using Skype. The club approached cinema teacher Matt Stroup to ask if Stroup could connect Khrushchev on a conference earlier this year. Club president Grigori Grigoryan sent an email to Khrushchev’s university email account after learning he was a professor at Brown University, where he has worked since 1991.

When was the last time you laughed during a difficult moment in your life? You?ve probably often heard the old adage, ?Laughter is the best medicine.? Well, it truly is. There is nothing like a good belly laugh, a silent giggle or the reaction to a bad joke to lessen the stress of any situation. Difficult moments are the most difficult to find a laugh in, but if you can manage it, it feels like a ton of bricks have magically disappeared from your shoulders. Several years ago I had a friend who was in the hospital with a potentially life-threatening condition.

YOUTH WILL COMPETE IN PASADENA PAGEANT Courtney Bolin, of Glendale, was recently selected to participate in Nationals Inc. 2009 Miss Pre-Teen Pasadena Pageant competition on Feb. 22. Courtney is in sixth grade at Toll Middle School where she is on the drill team. She attends Golden State Gymnastics. Courtney submitted an application and took part in an interview session that was conducted by Patty Neidert, this year’s Pasadena pageant coordinator. Courtney will compete for thousands of dollars in prizes and specialty gifts in the division for ages 7 to 19 in modeling routines that include casual wear and formal wear.

Crescenta Valley’s Zack Torres has had a wonderful start to the year and now he can add his first honor of the year. With his great running at the Woodbridge Invitational, finishing at 14 minutes, 26 seconds, Torres earned Athlete of the Week by California’s primary cross country and track website, www.Dyestatcal.com This past week, Dyestatcal held an interview with him. In the interview, he admitted he “[likes] cross country because I can out-smart people on all the terrains and use the courses to my advantage.