Letter

Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Silver Lake) says allegations that he doesn't live within the his 43rd Assembly District are politically motivated. News on Friday that prosecutors were looking into the allegations came nearly two months after a similar probe into Gatto's election rival, Republican Sunder Ramani. Gatto on Friday said he has lived in his Silver Lake residence for seven years. David Demerjian, the deputy in charge of the Los Angeles County district attorney's public integrity division, confirmed the inquiry Friday, but said it would be a mistake to call it an investigation.

Regarding Francis Adams' recent letter ("Glendalian is not in Kansas anymore," Nov. 11), first of all, us "no-brain Californians" actually fought off a Republican from buying the governorship for roughly $141 million of her own money. If you can remember two weeks ago, the mud-slinging went both ways, but our governor-elect actually voted for the last 28 years. The bright spot for us will be that someone will actually be looking out for the middle class again. Adams' memory seems to evade logic since it was the Republicans that put this country in the financial mess that it finds itself, with the Bush administration policies of the last eight years.

Every week, I get letters from readers. While I may not respond to all of them, I do read them, and for the most part enjoy every differing opinion. OK, so maybe the ones that wish my demise aren't at the top of my bestseller list. Nevertheless, as a writer, I can respect the ingenuity and originality of my haters when they describe in precise detail how they would dispatch me from this world. Good or bad, writing a letter to someone or something you've never met is a great way to let go of an emotion — to cast it from your own soul out into the universe.

Calligraphy, the art of designing letters, can be traced back as far as the 10th century and the inherently artistic Ottoman Turks. With today's technology and available theme font selection at our fingertips, it is easy to forget that these artistic interpretations of the alphabet have been designed by someone. Burbank's Creative Arts Center Gallery hosts an exhibition titled "Expressions — Images from Our Pens," a showcasing of the best work, from all skill levels, of the members of the Society for Calligraphy.

After years of painstaking studies, millions of dollars and one failed federal application for nighttime flight restrictions, Bob Hope Airport officials are turning to Congress. Last month, the three congressmen whose districts are most affected by curfews signed a letter seeking legislation to bar flights from arriving or departing between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. at Bob Hope and Van Nuys airports. The effort comes one year after the Federal Aviation Administration rejected the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority's request to impose a ban in what has become a decades-long effort to dampen noise at the airport.

DOWNTOWN ? Glendale Police officers were honored Saturday for creating a safe environment for shoppers at the Glendale Galleria. Sgt. Javier Ruiz and Capt. Lief Nicolaisen were given a letter of appreciation from mall executives for playing critical roles in helping control crime in the area and helping establish the Downtown Policing Unit at its new substation in the shopping center, said Janet LaFevre, senior marketing director for the Galleria. ?We have has a long relationship with the Glendale Police Department, which I think has been instrumental since the shopping center was built,?

Every Christmas at least one of our overactive friends puts out a Christmas letter. They’re the couple nobody likes. They make their own clothes and annual stock of zucchini relish; their children never scowl and are kind to grasshoppers and strangers; they donate to charities regularly and still have enough left over for a weekly bowling night. And yet, each year we read their saccharine diatribe and silently yearn to be them. Or at least to send out Christmas cards of our own this year.

Andrew Hagler’s letter in Thursday’s Glendale News-Press, “Ready for ‘reality’ to end,” is spot on. Many years ago, Newton Minow lamented that television was a vast wasteland. It can now best be described as a toxic dump. The dumbing down of America has been accomplished. MARIE FISH Glendale   Important election in Crescenta Valley We are a few days away from an important election in Crescenta Valley.

GLENDALE ? Nine Glendale firefighters were greeted with a hero?s welcome Tuesday in Lindsey Johnson?s first-grade class at R.D. White Elementary School. The class presented firefighters with 780 handwritten cards and thank-you notes appreciating the response to the Station fire, which delayed the start of school for three days. ?I was trying to think what our kids could do to show they care about the community and are good citizens,? Johnson said. ?I was hoping for a lot of cards, and every day I went to my mailbox, it was filled.

CENTRAL GLENDALE — A Superior Court judge Friday ordered a 47-year-old Glendale man to stay at least 100 yards away from two city Community Development and Housing Department employees after he made racial remarks to one and threatened another. Jorge Murillo, a Section 8 housing recipient, wept aloud Friday in court when he explained to Judge Laura Matz that he suffered from anxiety and panic attacks, which he said could have led to his erratic and threatening behavior. “I have bigger fish to fry than to be a threat to these individuals,” he said.