Investment

I hope Bruce Murray is kidding when he says Glendale is boring (“This just in - Glendale is boring. So what?” Dec. 3). Saying your hometown is boring is kind of like saying you're boring, and no one wants to think of themselves that way. Though I'm no expert, on the face of it, it seems reasonable for Glendale to try to brand and promote itself. Everyone else is doing it, from individuals, like Michael Jordan, to whole countries, like the United States. I expect even the United Nations spends money on image and self-promotion.

CITY HALL — City Treasurer Ron Borucki today is expected to ask the City Council to open a "terribly restrictive" investment policy up to include more corporate players, such as the Walt Disney Co. and McDonalds. The request to change the policy comes as the city's investment portfolio ended the fiscal year at $400 million, down $48 million from the end of last year. The majority of the hit stemmed from the city's $25-million pre-payment to the California Public Employees Retirement System, according to Borucki's report on the first quarter of the new fiscal year.

CITY HALL — Amid the doom and gloom of the international credit market and fears of a recession, City Council members got a dose of good financial news Tuesday: Returns on city investments are up. While the size of the city’s investment portfolio grew $10 million over the past year to $484 million, the most telling columns on the spreadsheets were those on interest earnings, up $3.1 million to $18.8 million for the year, city Treasurer...

CITY HALL — Glendale’s $440-million investment portfolio continues to ride out the storm on Wall Street with top-rated holdings in mostly federally backed institutions, according to the city’s first-quarter report. While the portfolio ended the period between July and Sept. 30 down by $29 million, $22 million was attributed to the city’s first-ever lump-sum payment to the state Public Employees Retirement System. Paying the annual assessment up front rather than monthly was expected to save the city roughly $840,000, city officials said.

What gratifying and happy news to read of Clark Magnet High School's recognition and much deserved nomination for Blue Ribbon accolades (“Clark gets another Blue Ribbon nomination,” Jan. 10). Doug Dall, Clark Magnet's principal, and his outstanding, dedicated and professional teachers and staff are a true and shining jewel and treasure in the Glendale Unified School District. Dall's brilliant vision, incredible energy, unwavering commitment to students, strong and devoted trust in his teachers and staff, and his strong and dynamic leadership are a model and an inspiration for other educators throughout California and the nation.

Earth Day discount at local dry cleaners In celebration of Earth Day, Foster’s Carpet Dry Cleaning in Glendale will offer 30% off on all service appointments for residential and commercial customers reserved before April 22. The store uses only organic cleaning products for its carpets and rugs. For a free estimate, call Jackie or Michael at (866) 99-FOSTERS. For more information, visit www.callfosters.com . Local investment firm names director American Realty Advisors announced last week that Jeff Gilder has joined the firm as a senior director.

A number of years ago, I invested in a number of speculative stocks. They looked like real winners and I figured I'd make a bundle of money on them. But instead, circumstances have changed and I've lost a bundle of money. Who should compensate me for my unfortunate losses? Who should I sue to recoup my lost thousands? No one, because I was the one who made the risky investments and therefore my losses are no one's responsibility but mine! A number of years ago, the Greggs made a very speculative investment in 238 acres of hard land to build on, mostly steep-sloped, environmentally sensitive hillside land.

Investing millions of dollars to purchase and hold land zoned and designated for single-family development, paying property taxes, bringing in roads and utilities, obeying the rules, respecting and observing applicable local zoning, following city regulations and paying substantial fees to build homes is not similar to purchasing "a number of speculative stocks." This errant comparison made by Robert Morrison in the News-Press (Community Forum, July 19)

The Mountain Oaks developers, M. Jorjrizian Investments, have postponed their presentation to Crescenta Valley Town Council at their September 21 meeting. The investment company was initially scheduled to present their plans for a 40-acre development in the Mountain Oaks area that would include a private Armenian high school and several condominiums. Residents have met with representatives of the Historical Society of Crescenta Valley, Sierra Club and the Glendale Crescenta Volunteers Organized In Conserving the Environment (V.O.

Andrew Norman, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's newest composer-in-residence, was speaking to a small audience seated on folding chairs one February evening at Pierre's Fine Pianos in Los Angeles. "Close your eyes and count 22 seconds silently, then raise your hands as you finish," Norman said. The audience complied. "I love silence and how we perceive it when there's nothing to mark it," Norman said, when only a few audience members raised their hands squarely on the 22-second mark.

Halfway into the fiscal year and things look grim for gains in Glendale's investment portfolio. “Where I thought that the bottom was last year, let's just say that these certainly are challenging times,” said City Treasurer Ron Borucki during a City Council meeting Tuesday. Historically low interest rates - which determine the city's returns on investments - are far from bottoming out, causing Borucki to second-guess his original projection of a $4-million gain by the end of the fiscal year on June 30. By the end of last fiscal year, the city made $4.3 million from its investments.

The City Council on Tuesday signed off on giving the city's treasurer greater freedom to invest in corporate bonds in an effort to preserve Glendale's roughly $385-million portfolio until the market rebounds. City Treasurer Ron Borucki had asked for the changes given that his office's “meat and potatoes” option - federal bonds - is becoming more limited. Glendale's investment returns have been stifled by low interest rates and a still struggling economy, prompting the review of the city's investment policy, according to a city report.

Glendale's investment portfolio ended the fiscal year in June at $393 million, down $16 million from the same period last year, according to a city report released this week. The city's investment returns have been stifled by low interest rates and a still struggling economy. “We haven't lost $16 million, we have spent $16 million, but that hasn't been replaced,” said City Treasurer Ron Borucki. “More dollars flow out of the portfolio than are coming in.” The city's interest earnings for the year finished at $4.3 million, down from $5.8 million in the previous year.

The city's investment portfolio continues to get pinched amid slow economic recovery, officials reported this week, ending $11 million down compared to the previous fiscal quarter. With the third quarter results out, the $385-million portfolio has now been on a downward trend for more than a year. “In a nutshell, it's not getting easier out there,” City Treasurer Ron Borucki told the City Council on Tuesday. The rate of return for the third quarter dropped 10 basis points to 1.02% at the end of March, according to a city report.

Officials are putting off millions of dollars worth of improvements at the Alex Theatre because under a state mandate to dissolve local redevelopment agencies, Glendale may be forced to sell off the historic venue. In their most recent quarterly report, Glendale Arts, which operates the theater, said they're holding off on the major upgrades until they know whether earlier moves to try and transfer ownership of the venue from the now-defunct Redevelopment Agency to the city are deemed legal.

What gratifying and happy news to read of Clark Magnet High School's recognition and much deserved nomination for Blue Ribbon accolades (“Clark gets another Blue Ribbon nomination,” Jan. 10). Doug Dall, Clark Magnet's principal, and his outstanding, dedicated and professional teachers and staff are a true and shining jewel and treasure in the Glendale Unified School District. Dall's brilliant vision, incredible energy, unwavering commitment to students, strong and devoted trust in his teachers and staff, and his strong and dynamic leadership are a model and an inspiration for other educators throughout California and the nation.

As she gathered with friends in the new library at Glenoaks Elementary School on Monday, 11-year-old Meghan Imperio eagerly volunteered her endorsement. “I love how it is organized, especially from fiction to nonfiction,” the sixth-grade student said. “It is more roomy and colorful, and more kid-friendly.” That was exactly what parent volunteers had in mind when they began fundraising in fall 2010 to revamp the facility. “Our goal was not just to have a new library space, but really to reinvent the culture of the library here at the school,” said Karen Veloz, president of the Glenoaks Elementary School Foundation.

I hope Bruce Murray is kidding when he says Glendale is boring (“This just in - Glendale is boring. So what?” Dec. 3). Saying your hometown is boring is kind of like saying you're boring, and no one wants to think of themselves that way. Though I'm no expert, on the face of it, it seems reasonable for Glendale to try to brand and promote itself. Everyone else is doing it, from individuals, like Michael Jordan, to whole countries, like the United States. I expect even the United Nations spends money on image and self-promotion.