Protest

NORTH GLENDALE — More than 50 Glendale Unified teachers and community members took part in a candlelight vigil outside school board President Greg Krikorian's home Wednesday evening to protest dozens of possible layoffs. The demonstration was the latest salvo in a union campaign to pressure school board members to withdraw all 77 teacher pink slips before the final layoff process begins this summer. It also brought the politics of the district's cost-cutting efforts to Krikorian's doorstep, a move that caused some dissension within the ranks of the Glendale Teachers Assn.

An activist who helped expand the Occupy Wall Street movement to Los Angeles is setting his sights on new territory: Pasadena's iconic Rose Parade. “Everything is not coming up roses,” said Peter Thottam, an Occupy L.A. organizer who has launched OccupytheRoseParade.org to call for an economic justice rally at the Jan. 2, 2012, celebration. The Rose Parade is expected to draw nearly a million spectators to Pasadena streets as well as tens of millions of TV viewers around the world.

Before the local water district draws the mistaken conclusion that residents support the soon to be enacted 16.6% sewer rate hike because only 15 letters of protest were submitted, let's look at some of the reasons for the seemingly scant opposition. About a month ago the agency sent its customers a Public Notice of Proposed Increase in Wastewater Rates advising us that opponents “...may file a written protest of the proposed rate changes by sending a letter to CVWD.” We were also told that “A valid protest letter must include your name, your CVWD service address, a statement of protest and an original signature.” Sounds pretty straightforward right, so what's the problem?

Approximately 500 people took part in a protest, organized by Occupy the RNC, in Tampa Monday afternoon. Heavy rains and concerns about Tropical Storm Isaac reduced the number of people who took part. But one who did was a man from Baltimore, Maryland, dressed in an elephant costume, who only identified himself as "Vermin Supreme," in a generalized protest against the Republican Party.  "Do you have a donkey one?" someone asked from the crowd.  The man simply shook his head.  -- Dan Evans, Times Community News E-mail: dan.evans@latimes.com Twitter: @EditorDanEvans

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Teamsters Local 399 will stage a large rally outside the Burbank headquarters of Original Productions on Monday morning in support of crew members from the TV series "1000 Ways to Die. " "This is about healthcare, this is about safety and dignity in the workplace, and it's part of the IA's ongoing campaign to support workers in the all genres of TV," said Mike Miller, director of...

Cars honked Tuesday night as a handful of people stood near City Hall protesting Glendale's circus elephant-themed float for the Tournament of Roses Parade. The protest, organized by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal's Los Angeles chapter, comes after Glendale City Council members received emails from across the country from people concerned about the float, which features a circus elephant as part of a carriage. The council approved the float last week, but construction had already begun after the design was green-lighted by the Glendale Rose Float Assn.

If you're outside in Los Angeles and you see what looks like a message in the clouds, you haven't lost your mind. A Los Angeles artist is taking his craft, and his message, to the skies. Saber, a longtime graffiti artist in Los Angeles, is up in an airplane skywriting. He's sharing his creations on Twitter along the way. His messages include “End Mural Moratorium” and “Art Is Not A Crime,” as well as “OBEY,” an homage to artist Shepard Fairey and his Obey Giant campaign.

The time was 7 a.m. The year was 1994. It was a Thursday morning and many who lived on Marion Drive on Adams Hill were still in their bathrobes. Suddenly the early morning quiet was shattered as a truck roared onto the street. The residents knew why the truck and its crew were there: to take out, despite protests from residents, the old lampposts that had been installed when the area was developed. “The city planned to remove them as part of its street-widening project on Marion Drive,” resident Rebecca Rees explained in a recent interview.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Two self-described homeless men from California said they took part in Monday's protests against the Republican National Convention to showcase what they said was the GOP's thirst for war and insensitivity to the needy. One of the men, Stephen Sweet - who also brought his two dogs, Friendly and Bourgeoisie, along for the drive - said he made the trek out of a sense of "civic responsibility. " "There's a real surge in interest by people these days; it's almost a renaissance," he said.

Josh Kleinbaum If Glendale is going to have a Town Center anytime soon, the City Council will need a unanimous vote to implement necessary zoning changes. General Growth Properties, owners of the Glendale Galleria, and Robinsons-May, the Galleria's anchor tenant, filed a protest against the changes at a City Council meeting Tuesday night, a move that is expected to trigger a seldom-used city charter provision that requires a unanimous vote. Councilman Frank Quintero opposes Caruso's proposal and is expected to vote against the changes, which could delay the project by at least six months.

Angst over how the state budget will impact Glendale Unified boiled over this week among parents concerned about a cost-saving proposal to increase class sizes for third-graders. But district administrators say the plan is only a preliminary effort that anticipates a worst-case scenario. The preliminary budget includes a plan to raise the maximum third grade class size from 24 to 31 students as officials work to cut $6.5 million in spending from the district's roughly $180 million budget.

Thousands of Armenians chanted outside the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles Wednesday to commemorate the massacre of some 1.5 million of their ancestors 98 years ago -- a genocide that has yet to be officially recognized by the U.S. Chanting “We will fight, we will fight, until the end!” in Armenian, the large crowd decried decades of denial by modern day Turkey that a genocide occurred during the time of the Ottoman Empire. PHOTOS: Armenians protest at Turkish Consulate to end genocide denial Among them was Glendale resident Armen Aroutiounian, 19, who called it a “pathetic” political game that after 98 years, the United States and Turkish governments refuse to recognize the genocide.

The Glendale-based Unified Young Armenians April 24th poster, seen on its Facebook page, portrays a toddler named Ani wearing a black T-shirt, posing as a serious demonstrator, with the following caption, “I am a soldier of justice.” It encourages parents to post similar photos of their toddlers wearing the organization's black uniform on the page. On one hand, I find the campaign to be disturbingly similar to outreach campaigns by extremist groups in the Middle East, such as Hamas, where pictures of uniform-wearing children are frequently used in propaganda posters.

The time was 7 a.m. The year was 1994. It was a Thursday morning and many who lived on Marion Drive on Adams Hill were still in their bathrobes. Suddenly the early morning quiet was shattered as a truck roared onto the street. The residents knew why the truck and its crew were there: to take out, despite protests from residents, the old lampposts that had been installed when the area was developed. “The city planned to remove them as part of its street-widening project on Marion Drive,” resident Rebecca Rees explained in a recent interview.

Oxfam America, a national relief and development organization, came to Glendale Friday to ask Nestlé if the company weighs its profits over the welfare of women. Protesters erected a 15-foot-high “Scales of Justice” structure in front of the company's U.S. headquarters to illustrate their view that Nestlé values the money made from its candy over the rights of its female workers in foreign countries. Oxfam International released an investigation last month showing neglect, inequality and unfair treatment of female cocoa growers in countries that supply much of the cocoa used in Nestlé products such as M&M's, Oreos and Crunch bars.

Starting Feb. 19, Charter Communications customers in Glendale and Burbank will no longer receive Horizon Television on Channel 385, instead receiving New Wave TV on Channel 389. New Wave TV, like Horizon, offers 24-hour programming targeted at the Armenian community, but the move has been unpopular with Horizon supporters, who have organized opposition to the pending change. Ara Khachatourian, editor of the Asbarez newspaper, said losing Horizon would be a blow to the community, which is why he was helping organize a protest at the local Charter office on Saturday.

Nurses, technicians and other employees gathered outside Glendale Memorial Hospital Thursday morning to protest planned layoffs. The hospital last week announced plans to layoff an undetermined number of employees, citing an increase in the number of uninsured patients caused by the lengthy economic recession and cuts in government insurance programs. The 334-bed hospital also reported seeing fewer patients in recent months. One of the city's other major hospitals, Glendale Adventist Medical Center, laid off 21 workers  two months ago in response to federal healthcare payment reform and other industry shifts.

A proposed ban on smoking in new apartment buildings has ruffled the feathers of some new developers who say the restrictions will put them at an unfair disadvantage with older properties, but several Glendale City Council members say they still support pressing ahead with the measures. The council began working through several new smoking rules for restaurants and multifamily housing developments in September. Although changes were made to outdoor dining areas, proposals to limit smoking in apartment complexes were left for further discussion.

Walt Disney Co. is implementing a new policy to use less paper from environmentally threatened areas, a year after it was targeted by environmental protesters. In May of 2011, activists from the Rainforest Action Network hung a banner outside Disney's Burbank headquarters charging the entertainment giant with "destroying Indonesia's rainforests. " At the time, Disney called the protest a "publicity stunt" and said it had already made a commitment to "sustainable paper" in a 2010 corporate citizenship report.

About 85 electrical workers marched outside Glendale City Hall Tuesday afternoon shouting “All we want is a contract” and declaring that it's taken the city too long to make a deal with its newest union. “These guys are a little upset,” said Martin Marrufo, spokesman for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18. “These guys are at their wit's end.” The union, which has been a thorn in the city's side since even before it officially became recognized in 2011, has protested outside City Hall and packed City Council chambers several times in the past year during protracted negotiations on a contract.