Strategy

Congressman David Dreier (R-San Dimas,CA), chairman of the House Rules Committee, voted to encourage increased financial literacy amongst Americans. H.Res. 737, Supporting the Goals and Ideals of Financial Literacy Month, was approved by the House with broad bipartisan support,423-1. "As we enter the 21st Century, more Americans have access to financial services and products than ever before," Dreier said in a prepared statement. "With the click of a button, consumers can perform a variety of financial activities over the Internet, from paying bills to managing investments.

DOWNTOWN — The firm hired to develop a strategy to promote Glendale as a destination for businesses, visitors and potential residents expects to begin a research effort this month that may last until October and involve a series of surveys and focus groups, an executive said. City officials agreed to terms with the firm, North Star Destination Strategies, in November, hoping it would help give Glendale a recognizable identity or brand. Although the firm expected to begin its research at the start of the year, it is awaiting completion of a city contract, which officials anticipate will be signed next week.

A year after city officials proposed a $150,000 emergency marketing campaign to encourage local shopping during the recession, store owners are still wondering when residents will get the message. Customer foot traffic and sales remain low at local retailers, stores are continuing to close and leave behind unsightly vacancies, and information about the economic benefits of buying from community businesses has not reached residents, store owners said. “Everybody here is fighting,” said Audrey Robles, co-owner of audrey k boutique, referring to the challenges businesses have faced because of abysmally low consumer demand.

Will Rogers Friday's column about the City Council's decision to reappoint all three of its airport commissioners was followed by a flurry of activity among city insiders over the weekend. From homeowner activists to longtime business establishment types, the council opting not to make changes at the airport had jaws dropping all over town. Though it may seem unrelated, I've mentioned before that my 69-year-old mother has joined the Peace Corps. She's leaving for her two-year assignment in Moldova, a small country near the Black Sea, once part of the Soviet Union.

Glendale school board member Greg Krikorian, who is challenging Mike Gatto for the 43rd Assembly District seat in November, ramped up his campaign at a recent anti-genocide rally by appealing to the Armenian American vote with a fiery speech that has since been posted online. In his address to the crowd, Krikorian spoke in terms that appeared to limit his appeal to Armenian voters - a strategy used many times by candidates before him with limited success - by saying it was time to elect someone who “speaks for us” and that “one of our own represents our community.” In his speech outside Glendale Community College, which was posted on YouTube , Krikorian also pledges “to be the voice of American Armenians and to be the voice of Glendale - to be in touch with you.” Krikorian said he tailored his comments - which at times became excited and touched on the international geo-political trials of Armenia - for his audience at the candlelight vigil commemorating the Armenian genocide of 1915.

T he Glendale Teachers Assn., after three days of voting this week, voted to reject a tentative contract that would have saved the school district about $3.8 million each year. The rejection now sends Glendale Unified back into the realm of greater fiscal uncertainty, a place that seems to be becoming more and more like home. And that home looks more and more like a place that the teachers union has built. In the dragged out back-and-forth with the school district, the union's tactics and direction have emerged as head-scratching and unfocused.

Weakened by a 2009 court-ordered injunction and prison terms for several members, a Glendale-based gang has been actively recruiting teens in an attempt to rebuild and reassert its presence, police officials say. The directives to find new, younger recruits have come from incarcerated members of the gang, Glendale police detectives said. “County jail and prison inmates have a lot of influence of what happens on the streets,” Det. Jeffrey Davis said. For gang leaders, teens are ideal members because, he said, they are easily persuaded, usually don't have criminal records and, if arrested and convicted, typically serve short sentences.

Tim Willert GLENDALE CITY HALL -- The Housing Authority on Tuesday unanimously adopted a revised version of the city's affordable housing strategy, an $84.5-million plan that includes new incentive programs for landlords and low- and moderate-income residents. The 2000-2005 plan includes several programs, including one for first-time home buyers and another to entice landlords to participate in the city's Section 8 housing program. "I think it's a good balance between ownership and rental housing programs," Councilman Gus Gomez said.

Josh Kleinbaum A series of e-mails between General Growth officials in Connecticut show one of the company's approaches to competition. General Growth owns the Glendale Galleria and opposes the Americana at Brand project that will be built just south of the downtown mall. One e-mail, sent from John McGourty to seven other General Growth employees with the subject "Buckland Hills vs. Evergreen Walk," highlights eight tactics General Growth could use to delay or sink Evergreen Walk, a proposed center a quarter-mile from General Growth's Buckland Hills Mall on the East Coast.

Every Wednesday at Harbor View Elementary, the members of the after-school chess club learn the ins and outs of one of the world's greatest strategic games. But they also learn an important rule: Chess is a gentleman's sport. Last week, the club's instructors -- director Al Massip and assistant Brett Strunk from the Chess Center in Costa Mesa -- led a seminar on how to move and capture pieces. They prefaced it, though, with a talk on board etiquette, beginning with a simple rule.

China's Solar Valley - a green tech version of California's Silicon Valley - wants to cozy up to Glendale. Government officials there are interested in sending staffers to work at Glendale City Hall for a year to see how planning is done here, Mayor Laura Friedman said this week as she described her visit to China during a City Council meeting. A businessman who developed much of the clean-tech metropolis is also eyeing Glendale for a possible 8.5-acre manufacturing site, she said.

Everybody loves a good story, especially when they're being asked to donate money. At conference of dozens of representatives from local nonprofits this week, administrators said communicating moving client success stories to donors was key in getting support for their programs. The meeting of minds at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center on Tuesday - called “Burbank Nonprofit Day” - allowed Burbank nonprofit employees to swap tips and insights about maintaining success.

Weakened by a 2009 court-ordered injunction and prison terms for several members, a Glendale-based gang has been actively recruiting teens in an attempt to rebuild and reassert its presence, police officials say. The directives to find new, younger recruits have come from incarcerated members of the gang, Glendale police detectives said. “County jail and prison inmates have a lot of influence of what happens on the streets,” Det. Jeffrey Davis said. For gang leaders, teens are ideal members because, he said, they are easily persuaded, usually don't have criminal records and, if arrested and convicted, typically serve short sentences.

The Los Angeles Police Department launched a new crime-fighting strategy Wednesday in Studio City and North Hollywood that delivers a simple message: Hats off. Under the program, customers of stores in the two San Fernando Valley communities - which have been hit recently by a string of robberies - will be required to take off their hats and pull their sweatshirt hoods off their heads before entering. Headgear is often worn by criminals to shield their faces during robberies and break-ins, including a recent rash of jewelery heists in Southern California committed by hoodie-wearing men trying to hide their identities from surveillance cameras, police said.

T he Glendale Teachers Assn., after three days of voting this week, voted to reject a tentative contract that would have saved the school district about $3.8 million each year. The rejection now sends Glendale Unified back into the realm of greater fiscal uncertainty, a place that seems to be becoming more and more like home. And that home looks more and more like a place that the teachers union has built. In the dragged out back-and-forth with the school district, the union's tactics and direction have emerged as head-scratching and unfocused.

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — As it got later in the afternoon, it appeared increasingly likely that the Pacific League boys’ tennis match between Glendale High and host Hoover would come down to a tiebreaker after an even split between the Nitros’ singles and the Tornadoes’ doubles. Glendale’s No. 1 singles Ashot Papikian saved everyone the trouble of adding up games in which the Nitros would have come out on top anyway, by defeating Hoover No. 3 singles Alex Vartanian in the final set of the day. That win, along with the success of Coach Bob Davidson’s strategic splitting up of his top duo of Jeff Asano and Elliot Kim to dominate the doubles bracket, resulted in a 10-8 win that kept the Nitros in fourth place in league.

CITY HALL — Despite continued drops in attendance, the Alex Theatre ended the first half of the fiscal year on more solid financial footing due in part to cost-cutting measures and attracting film shoots. For the period of July through December, the theater this week reported a surplus of $204,022. Without the city’s so-called management fee, the venue would be $210,978 in the red, but that would still be slightly better than the same period last year, according to the report.

A year after city officials proposed a $150,000 emergency marketing campaign to encourage local shopping during the recession, store owners are still wondering when residents will get the message. Customer foot traffic and sales remain low at local retailers, stores are continuing to close and leave behind unsightly vacancies, and information about the economic benefits of buying from community businesses has not reached residents, store owners said. “Everybody here is fighting,” said Audrey Robles, co-owner of audrey k boutique, referring to the challenges businesses have faced because of abysmally low consumer demand.

DOWNTOWN — The firm hired to develop a strategy to promote Glendale as a destination for businesses, visitors and potential residents expects to begin a research effort this month that may last until October and involve a series of surveys and focus groups, an executive said. City officials agreed to terms with the firm, North Star Destination Strategies, in November, hoping it would help give Glendale a recognizable identity or brand. Although the firm expected to begin its research at the start of the year, it is awaiting completion of a city contract, which officials anticipate will be signed next week.

DOWNTOWN — The Americana at Brand and Glendale Galleria have taken dramatically different approaches in marketing themselves as holiday shopping destinations, with one focusing on cheer and the other on value. The Galleria, during a news conference Thursday, emphasized its bargain holiday deals from retailers like Target and J.C. Penney, as well as many more early-morning Black Friday shopping options. But Americana officials are instead focusing on the center’s unique decorations and atmosphere, which is capped off by what’s being billed as the tallest Christmas tree in the nation.