Violence

When Deborah Johannes visits her family?s beach cottage in the Mexican village of Popotla, just south of Rosarito, she travels, sans jewelry, in a low-profile Jeep Patriot. ?You don?t go driving a BMW in Mexico,? the La Cañada Flintridge resident said. During her most recent trip she left her teenage son at home, even though he was on spring break. ?We would have loved to have our son take his friends down and surf, but none of the parents wanted to let their kids go with us,?

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this week restored $16.3 million in funding previously cut from domestic violence shelters, the fanfare was more than a little tempered. Much of the damage had already been done, a lot of which is irreversible. While the revived funding stream was no doubt a welcome reprieve for cash-strapped shelters, it was still less than what the state had originally budgeted, and even then, lawmakers warned that we’d likely be back to square one by next fiscal year.

GLENDALE — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger restored $16.3 million Wednesday to domestic violence programs, a move that could save cutbacks at YWCA of Glendale, the area’s main women’s shelter. The bill, drafted by Sen. Elaine Alquist (D-San Jose), restores money cut from this fiscal year’s delayed state budget for 94 domestic violence shelters, forcing six shelters to close across the state and others to reduce their services. The funding cut had an immediate impact on the YWCA of Glendale, which lost a $207,000 grant, causing the elimination of three positions and reduced hours for one full-time employee.

Mona Marcos endured 20 years of verbal abuse from her husband until she decided enough was enough and left him. She tried to report the verbal abuse to police, but back then, a domestic abuse report was considered a dispute, she said. “The minute the officer left the door I knew I was in trouble,” she said. When she finally left her abusive husband, she opted not to date anyone for five years, she said. Marcos’ current husband had to ask for her hand in marriage three times until she finally said yes. She now hosts support groups to help other victims of domestic violence.

Glendale High School students participated in Rachel’s Challenge, an anti-violence program started by the parents of Rachel Scott, the first death in the Columbine school shooting outside Denver in 1999. Students watched a video that combines Rachel’s life with footage from the horrific day at Columbine High School when 12 students and one teacher were shot to death by two students. Organizers said the presentation is meant to encourage acts of kindness. After the video, a 45-minute session with adult and student leaders discussed ways to sustain the lessons of Rachel’s legacy.

GLENDALE — The number of beds at the YWCA of Glendale’s 24-hour domestic violence shelter will be reduced, administrators said, after the nonprofit lost more than $200,000 in state funding. Since the organization lost a $207,000 grant during state budget cuts, it had to eliminate three positions and cut an employee’s 40-hour work week in half, YWCA executive director Richard Burrell said. Fewer positions means the shelter would be minimally staffed, so the organization must take in fewer women and children, Burrell said.

CENTRAL GLENDALE — Domestic violence victims Friday were thrown a support line of sorts with the donation of pre-paid cell phones, which officials said will help them during an emergency. Verizon Wireless officials donated 20 pre-paid cell phones as part of its HopeLine program to the Glendale Police Foundation, which in turn will give the phones to YWCA of Glendale for its clients, who live at the nonprofit’s emergency domestic violence shelter. The phone company also gave a $2,500 grant to the foundation, which will distribute the money to the Glendale Police Department for domestic violence programs.

The summer blockbuster movie season is starting to heat up, with movies as “X-Men,” “Star Trek” and “Harry Potter” opening soon. What films, currently showing or not, do you recommend for people seeking “alternative” choices?   Being aware of what we observe and allow into our minds is an important process in establishing a personal sense of well-being and peacefulness. Many people seem to enjoy violent, action-packed movies that bring up an adrenaline rush through fear and trepidation.

The summer blockbuster movie season is starting to heat up, with movies as ?X-Men,? ?Star Trek? and ?Harry Potter? opening soon. What films, currently showing or not, do you recommend for people seeking ?alternative? choices? ? The best movie that I have seen recently is the Disney production of ?Earth.? It is beautifully done! James Earl Jones is the narrator and the musical score ?soars? with every scene. The plot is simple ? survival for three animal families: Arctic polar bears, African elephants and a migrating whale and her calf.