GLENDALE, BURBANK : Forums Will Probe Ballot Measures

With election day approaching, students at Glendale College and community groups have slated educational forums and debates on two controversial statewide ballot initiatives aimed at reforming health care and curtailing illegal immigration.

Today, the Assn. of Latin American Students and the college’s ethnic studies department will host the first of two forums on Proposition 187, the measure that would deny education, health care, welfare and other government services to illegal immigrants.

A panel of health care workers, lawyers, educators, social workers and others will discuss the issue from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the campus center, and the student group will make a “major announcement” on the proposition at the conclusion of the event, organizers said.

A second forum on Proposition 187 will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday on the second floor of the campus center.

Also today, Verdugo Hills Hospital will present a forum and discussion on Proposition 186, the California Health Security Act, also known as the “single-payer initiative.”

The event, slated from 7 to 9 p.m. in the council room of the hospital, 1812 Verdugo Road, will feature as panelists Jon Gilwee of the Hospital Council of Southern California, Dr. Vincent Gualtieri and state Assemblyman James Rogan (R-Glendale.)

On Oct. 20, the League of Women Voters of Glendale/Burbank will host an “advocacy forum” on Proposition 186 at 7:30 p.m. in the First Methodist Church, 700 N. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank. “Obviously, health coverage is an important issue for us all,” said Dick Seeley, an organizer of the event. He said the forum’s aim is to counteract “misinformation, both spoken and written” about the proposition.

All of the forums are free and open to the public. Information on the events at Glendale College: (818) 240-1000, Ext. 5470; on the event at Verdugo Hills Hospital: (818) 952-2227; on the League of Women Voters forum: (818) 248-1793.