Los Angeles City Council

GLENDALE — Democratic Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, who is running for Los Angeles City Council, plans to speak Thursday about his midterm decision to seek another office. Krekorian, whose district includes Glendale, Burbank and some Los Angeles city communities, filed candidacy forms Monday for the post. The former Burbank resident, who recently moved with his family into an apartment in Valley Glen, is hoping to replace former Los Angeles Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who represented Council District 2 until she took over as controller on July 1. The election is slated to take place on Sept.

Democratic Assemblyman Paul Krekorian publicly announced his candidacy for Los Angeles City Council at a midday news conference Friday. The announcement comes two years before his second term in state office is set to expire. Krekorian, whose Assembly district includes Glendale, Burbank and parts of Los Angeles, filed candidacy forms Monday for the 2nd District seat left vacant by Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who took over as city controller July 1. Flanked by community leaders and supporters at a news conference Friday in Van Nuys, Krekorian cited his past experience on the Burbank Unified Board of Education and legislative track record in Sacramento as key in helping “the valley once again achieve greatness.

Resident Deborah Dentler has been appointed to the Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors, following a unanimous confirmation of the Los Angeles City Council. Dentler was nominated by L.A. Mayor James Hahn to join the board of 37 directors. The Metropolitan Water District is the regional water wholesaler that supplies water to local water districts and cities throughout Southern California. The board has a budget of $1 billion a year and serves 17 million residents in Southern California.

While today’s election serves as a primary for most races, in the 43rd Assembly District it will also determine who fills the seat until November. The winner will serve the district, which represents Glendale, Burbank and parts of Los Angeles, until the end of the current legislative session in November. The seat has been vacant since January, when Paul Krekorian left to serve on the Los Angeles City Council, leaving state Sen. Carol Liu (D-La Cañada Flintridge) as the area’s sole representative in Sacramento.

A proposal to potentially turn over management of the Los Angeles Zoo to a private operator  was approved by a Los Angeles City Council committee Thursday.  If the plan gets the OK of the full council next month, the city could begin soliciting proposals from prospective operators by the end of this year. Council members also made a new request: that city analysts develop an alternative to privatization to see whether there are changes that can be made to save money and keep the zoo under city management.

by Katherine Gould, Editor So the Verdugo Hills Golf Course has been sold. Escrow on the property closed Monday. The housing developers that bought the property say at this time that their only plans are to "improve the property." Now, I don't know about you, but my definition of "improving" a property that is currently a well used and much beloved community golf course does not include replacing the golf course with houses. So this week, I am going to be optimistic and take them at their word.

When Democratic Assemblyman Paul Krekorian announced his candidacy for Los Angeles City Council midway through his second term in Sacramento, we expected his detractors to have a field day, and they did. Almost immediately, they responded with calls for his resignation, claiming he’d be a deadbeat representative for the Assembly’s 43rd District while pursuing Los Angeles’ District 2 seat. Jane Barnett, chairwoman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, argued in her July 9 letter calling for Krekorian’s resignation that his announcement was likely nothing more than Paul taking care of Paul, a pursuit of “higher salary, less commute, bigger office and the ability to walk away from our state chaos he helped create.

Glendale police will no longerissue citations for red-light violations caught by cameras set up at four intersections throughout the city, officials said. The decision, which took effect Feb. 24, was made because the program had become a burden on resources, and police needed the officer assigned to reviewing violations out in the field, officials said. In short, the nearly 4-year-old red-light camera program became “cumbersome” and not “the best use of our resources,” Capt.

A proposal to potentially turn over management of the Los Angeles Zoo to a private operator  was approved by a Los Angeles City Council committee Thursday.  If the plan gets the OK of the full council next month, the city could begin soliciting proposals from prospective operators by the end of this year. Council members also made a new request: that city analysts develop an alternative to privatization to see whether there are changes that can be made to save money and keep the zoo under city management.

Locals took to the kiddie links Sunday in a bid to save Verdugo Hills Golf Course. Marc Stirdivant, a member of Glendale-Crescenta Volunteers Organized in Conserving the Environment, joined friends and family for a round of miniature golf and a brief magic show at Golf 'n Grill in Tujunga in the latest effort to block plans to turn Verdugo Hills Golf Course into a 229-home development. Stirdivant and others are trying to stop the project that he says will lead to traffic congestion and diminished recreational opportunities.

While today’s election serves as a primary for most races, in the 43rd Assembly District it will also determine who fills the seat until November. The winner will serve the district, which represents Glendale, Burbank and parts of Los Angeles, until the end of the current legislative session in November. The seat has been vacant since January, when Paul Krekorian left to serve on the Los Angeles City Council, leaving state Sen. Carol Liu (D-La Cañada Flintridge) as the area’s sole representative in Sacramento.

A long-planned coalition of San Fernando government agencies on Tuesday took the last major important step to becoming a reality. Burbank and Glendale voted unanimously last year to join the San Fernando Valley Council of Governments, a regional planning group for tackling cross-jurisdictional issues and coordinating public infrastructure projects. Los Angeles, Santa Clarita and San Fernando have also endorsed their respective memberships. And on Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to join the group — the last vote needed before the group can begin meeting.

For nearly all of state Sen. Carol Liu’s term in office, she has had to deliver bad news to officials in Glendale and Burbank. Trouble began shortly after Liu’s election in 2008, when the national economy went south. California state officials worked last year to close a combined deficit totaling $60 billion, and some of the lawmakers’ solutions directly affected cities. Liu (D-La Cañada Flintridge) met with city officials from her district, which includes Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, Pasadena, San Gabriel, Temple City and parts of Los Angeles.

I’m not sure what our City Council members see when they envision the future of Glendale (“Marketing to buyers,” March 20). What I see is a city that seems to have endless growth, despite the fact that this is wearing away at the charm Glendale once had. If there are 200,000 people living here, what’s the limit? Water is a consideration, increased traffic, a blighted skyline from more and more high rises. With an increase in population comes an increase for public services.

As California lawmakers begin forming a plan to address an estimated $21-billion budget shortfall by mid-2011, city and school officials in Glendale and Burbank will have less of a voice. The cities, which lie largely within the 43rd Assembly District, will be without Assemblyman Paul Krekorian (D-Los Angeles), who is set to step down from his post and take his oath of office at the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday. That will leave the district’s Assembly seat vacant for at least four months, according to the California Secretary of State’s office.

At least three candidates have publicly stated their intents to replace Assemblyman Paul Krekorian (D-Los Angeles), with a fourth weighing a decision to jump into the race. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has yet to call a special election to fill the seat, but the date could be set for as early as April. It could also be tied in with a statewide election June 8. Krekorian, who won an election for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council, will vacate his Assembly post Monday and will be sworn in at L.A. City Hall on Tuesday.

Assemblyman Paul Krekorian (D-Los Angeles) is on his way to the Los Angeles City Council after being elected by a double-digit margin Tuesday, a shift that has set the stage for what is expected to be a contentious special election to fill his Sacramento seat. Krekorian earned 57% of the 19,170 votes cast, defeating former Paramount Pictures executive Christine Essel, who won more than 43% of voters. His win came despite record-setting spending in support of Essel, who was backed by a total of more than $1.8 million, compared with the $746,653 spent on Krekorian’s behalf, according to the most recent financial disclosures from the Los Angeles Ethics Commission.