New Horizons

CITY HALL — At the same time New Horizons Family Center was facing mounting financial problems with little money for a new building, city officials continued to dole out hundreds of thousands in limited federal funding to the project, records and interviews show. Founded in 1994 to serve low-income families in south Glendale, New Horizons has long been a nonprofit darling at City Hall — receiving more than $1 million in federal community block grants and stimulus funding for social services and capital improvements in the past decade.

Federal officials have decided to hold Glendale liable for a $240,000 grant made to the now-bankrupt New Horizons Family Center - ensuring the demise of the once-stalwart nonprofit will be felt among other social service providers for years to come, officials reported this week. That's because Glendale will be paying the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development back by relinquishing a cut of its normal community block grant allotment each year for three years, meaning there will be even less money to spread around to other nonprofits that provide social services to the city's low-income residents.

Tim Willert SOUTHEAST GLENDALE -- State Sen. Jack Scott (D-Glendale) has thrown his support behind a comprehensive youth center being proposed by New Horizons Family Center. On Wednesday, Scott wrote a letter to the state Department of Parks and Recreation on behalf of New Horizons, which has applied for a $1.3-million grant. The money would be used to acquire and develop property at 744 S. Glendale Ave. on which to build a recreational facility and community center that would offer after-school programs.

Ms. Deravanesian quoted me ("Board ignored south Glendale and its citizens," April 1) as saying that New Horizons was more successful than all the other CDBG applicants. I did not say that, nor is it true. My comment was centered on their success and/or ability to raise huge amounts of money, real estate and land. In turn, New Horizons, I hope, will counsel and teach children of south Glendale. I would suggest that New Horizons study and attempt to copy the methods used by the Homenetmen facility, which is a classic example of success.

Legendary performer Charo will be the featured entertainment at New Horizons Family Center's 11th annual gala "An Evening at the Copacabana" Sept. 24 at the Los Angeles Downtown Marriott. Proceeds will help support various New Horizons' projects, including child development and after-school programs for local homeless and low-income families. Local reporter, Miriam Hernandez of ABC 7 Eyewitness News, is master of ceremonies for the event, which will include an award presentation to three outstanding community leaders.

CITY HALL — A proposed $4 million, two-story child development center for low-income families in south Glendale took its first major step toward city approval Wednesday, even as some neighbors protested the increase in traffic and noise the building might draw to the narrow residential street. Developers brought plans for a New Horizons Child Development Center at 1242 South Maryland Ave. to the city’s zoning administrator Wednesday in an effort to obtain the five zoning variances needed to carry the project forward.

Claudia Peschiutta GLENDALE -- It was supposed to provide enough money to hire another instructor to work at a soon-to-be-opened teen center. But the annual New Horizon Family Center Golf Tournament left the nonprofit program with only $10,000, after expenses, officials said Wednesday. "We had hoped to raise more than we did," said Maria Rochart, the center's director. New Horizons plans to open a satellite teen center as soon as another instructor can be hired to work with young people in the after-school program.

Gretchen Hoffman The city has received more than $2.7 million of the green stuff to increase the amount of green space and youth services through the construction of a recreation center and a mini-park in southeast Glendale. Gov. Gray Davis announced the grants Wednesday, part of $42.2 million earmarked for 44 inner-city projects across the state as part of the Murray/Hayden Youth Services Grant Program of Proposition 12. The funding is targeted at areas with a critical lack of parks and open space, significant poverty and unemployment and at-risk youth.

City officials have turned down a proposal from Los Angeles affordable housing developer PATH Ventures to build a veterans facility in South Glendale, citing its steep price tag. During a closed-door meeting last week, the City Council, it in its dual role as Housing Authority, rejected PATH Venture's roughly $1.4-million proposal to purchase a property on the 1200 block of South Maryland Avenue, formerly owned by the now-defunct nonprofit New...

With roughly 12 percent of white children ages 6-11 in California being overweight and nearly 24 percent of the youngsters in the Mexican American population (Report of the California Task Force for Childhood Obesity, 2004), the Kraft organization feels something needs to be done. Kraft introduced a new program called Salsa, Sabor y Salud , or Food, Fun and Fitness, that addresses the problem of obesity across the nation, particularly among the Latino community. According to the Kraft Web site, over the course of eight sessions, the program helps families take small steps to change their daily routines and eating habits, adding up to major lifestyle improvements.

Federal officials have decided to hold Glendale liable for a $240,000 grant made to the now-bankrupt New Horizons Family Center - ensuring the demise of the once-stalwart nonprofit will be felt among other social service providers for years to come, officials reported this week. That's because Glendale will be paying the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development back by relinquishing a cut of its normal community block grant allotment each year for three years, meaning there will be even less money to spread around to other nonprofits that provide social services to the city's low-income residents.

Maria Rochart, founder of the now-defunct nonprofit New Horizons Family Center, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and her 9-year-old daughter was taken into child protective custody due to alleged neglect, officials said. Rochart, who was widely known in the city for her work with children from low-income families, was released early Wednesday on her own recognizance in connection with allegedly driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.13, Glendale police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

Another blow is coming by way of the New Horizons Family Center. Its lender, Bank of the West, has scheduled a foreclosure sale for the end of the month - a move that likely will prevent Glendale from recouping $16,000 the city is owed by the now-defunct nonprofit. The bank's roughly $1.07 million foreclosure sale is set for May 24. But Glendale is so far down on the list of creditors that it probably won't see a penny. “Unfortunately, it appears there may not be anything left over for us,” said city spokesman Tom Lorenz.

City officials have turned down a proposal from Los Angeles affordable housing developer PATH Ventures to build a veterans facility in South Glendale, citing its steep price tag. During a closed-door meeting last week, the City Council, it in its dual role as Housing Authority, rejected PATH Venture's roughly $1.4-million proposal to purchase a property on the 1200 block of South Maryland Avenue, formerly owned by the now-defunct nonprofit New...

A defunct nonprofit entangled in financial issues that promised to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars it owed the city of Glendale has filed for bankruptcy, a move that may stall those plans. New Horizons Family Center filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Oct. 25, according to court records. The nonprofit faces liens, legal issues and a lengthy list of creditors. “Obviously it puts taxpayers' money at risk, so I'm concerned about that,” said Councilman Ara Najarian, who has long complained about city oversight of New Horizons.

CITY HALL - The defunct New Horizons Family Center has sold its former headquarters to a local businessman for $1.73 million - all of which has gone to repay government grants and back taxes. The local nonprofit closed its doors in January in the wake of mounting financial problems after nearly two decades of providing child care to low-income families in south Glendale. The closure came several months after founder Maria Prieto announced she would be forced to scrap longstanding plans for a new building and place the vacant property and the nonprofit's adjacent mental health facility on the market.

CITY HALL — Several audits of how thousands of dollars allocated to New Horizons Family Center were spent have been suspended after the debt-ridden nonprofit closed its doors last week, city officials said Monday. City officials initiated the audits last year when New Horizons founder Maria Prieto announced she was scrapping plans for a long-awaited expansion project after spending $300,000 in federal funding — allocated by City Hall — on pre-development costs.

SOUTH GLENDALE — In severe debt and under scrutiny for how it handled federal grant money for a failed expansion plan, the nonprofit New Horizons Family Center has closed its doors after 16 years of serving low-income families. New Horizons founder Maria Prieto, whose former last name was Rochart, on Friday notified Glendale officials of the center's impending closure, said Jess Duran, interim director of the Community Services & Parks Department. The news came less than a week after she had said she was focusing consolidated operations at the headquarters at 744 S. Glendale Ave. Prieto, who was at the center on Wednesday, confirmed the closure, but declined to elaborate.

The leader of a Glendale nonprofit that received more than $300,000 for a failed child-care center said on Tuesday that she is on the verge of repaying the city. Maria Prieto, whose former last name was Rochart, executive director of New Horizons Family Center, said Tuesday the nonprofit has reached a tentative agreement to sell three Glendale properties for $1.4 million, recouping $131,000 in federal stimulus dollars and $170,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds it received from the city.

SOUTH GLENDALE—Hundreds of poor families stood in the pouring rain for up to three hours Saturday morning for a chance to receive free toys for Christmas. Glendale resident Rosa Nogueda was one of the first in line outside New Horizons Family Center at 5 a.m. in the hopes of receiving a box of canned goods and toys for her children. Despite the weather, Nogueda said she was determined to make this holiday special for her children. So like the past few years, Nogueda made a trip to the center on the 700 block of South Glendale Avenue for its annual toy giveaway.