Category Archives: Glendale-Burbank

My Sunday Column: Wishing PACs would pack it in — Mike Gatto and the Role of Outside Money in Burbank Elections

Posted on March 2, 2013 by

Just days before Burbank voters went to the polls, Mike Gatto was the star attraction for a Napa Valley retreat at a five-star hotel where, for $5,000 each, guests could schmooze with the assemblyman and four of his legislative pals. … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 Election, Glendale-Burbank, Hot Topics | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

My Sunday Column: Seeking the Straight Story on the Billions the State Confiscated in Abolishing Community Redevelopment

Posted on February 25, 2013 by

Twenty months after Gov. Jerry Brown and the state Legislature abolished community redevelopment agencies statewide, local officials have gone through all the stages of grief — from horror to anger to confusion. Now they have reached the point where all … Continue reading →

Posted in Development/CRA, Glendale-Burbank, Hot Topics | 1 Comment

My Sunday Column: A forefather’s forethought — What Would George Washington Think About the State of America Today?

Posted on February 16, 2013 by

When I retired five years ago after a career as a rather maverick newspaperman bristling at the restraints of corporate journalism, I vowed to speak what was in my heart and to say “yes” to just about everything. Being a … Continue reading →

Posted in Glendale-Burbank, Hot Topics | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

My Sunday Column: Glendale — It isn’t utopia, but it’s far from LA, the dystopia next door

Posted on February 9, 2013 by

Once long ago, during my year as an old-fashioned rewrite-man at the National Enquirer, the demonic man who owned and ran the tabloid as if it and its journalists were a figment of his over-active imagination sent a reporter around … Continue reading →

Posted in Glendale-Burbank, Hot Topics | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

My Sunday Column: The Gatto Plot Thickens — What Does ‘democracy’ Mean to the Democratic Party

Posted on February 2, 2013 by

The clumsy statements by Assemblyman Mike Gatto’s political team denying that he ran a slate of delegates for the 43rd Assembly District’s seats at the state Democratic Party convention — and that challengers were threatened and intimidated — also contained … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 Election, Glendale-Burbank, Hot Topics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

My Sunday Column: Democratic Party needs to clear the air — Teachers, Armenians Say Mike Gatto Went Way Too Far

Posted on January 26, 2013 by

Assemblyman Mike Gatto’s political director sent out an email blast urging Democrats in the 43rd Assembly District to show up with “as many friends and family as possible” on Jan. 12 at the IATSE union hall in Burbank to elect … Continue reading →

Posted in Glendale-Burbank, Hot Topics | 3 Comments

My Sunday Column: A few people can change a lot in a community … Look at the Political Awakening in Pasadena

Posted on January 20, 2013 by

The radical community organizer Saul Alinsky, whose insights are used today as much by those on the right as on the left, once wrote: “If people don’t think they have the power to solve their problems, they won’t even think … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 Election, 2013 LA Elections, Glendale-Burbank, Hot Topics | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

My Sunday Column: L.A. has gone to potholes — Jewel City’s Sidewalks and Streets Remain Urban Gems

Posted on January 13, 2013 by

Cracked and potholed streets don’t just damage your car and annoy you, they also kill — causing accidents, slowing emergency response times, endangering pedestrians, even increasing the risk of West Nile virus by allowing stagnant pools of water to accumulate … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 LA Elections, City Hall, Glendale-Burbank, Hot Topics, Los Angeles | 9 Comments

My Sunday Column: They Didn’t Kick the Fiscal Can Down the Road in Glendale Like They’re Still Doing in L.A.

Posted on January 6, 2013 by

For Scott Ochoa, it was a year to remember given the 41-year-old city manager’s leap from a small suburban town to Glendale, a city five times larger and far more complex. And he had big shoes to fill as well, … Continue reading →

Posted in Glendale-Burbank, Hot Topics | 3 Comments

My Sunday Column: Is It Time for Solutions to Real Problems Instead of Change for Change’s Sake?

Posted on December 29, 2012 by

Frankly, I’m fed up with politicians telling me, “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” when they really mean you better not get in the way of them serving some special interest at the public expense. I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Glendale-Burbank | 18 Comments