MAILBAG - Dec. 3, 2008
Town Council lacks a sense of the past
Regarding “Group questions Town Council,” Nov. 25:
No disrespect to a few members on the Town Council whom I feel are effective, but I am in total concert with Michael Morgan and Mike Lawler, the head of the Crescenta Valley Historical Society, regarding the overdeveloped direction our council is taking us.
If they listen to their constituents, it is abundantly clear that we are saturated, and many residents have asked our representatives to discourage developers from building more condos and apartments in our valley. If the council doesn’t listen to us, then we should form another organization that would gain the attention of Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich. Inasmuch as we are in the Glendale Unified School District, maybe we should petition for Glendale annexation.
Destroying historical homes to develop more housing is definitely not progress. Our infrastructure is already strained. We don’t need more development; we need to fix what we already have and restore our historical structures. Ours is a rural community, and every effort should be made to preserve it.
Many requests have been made to our council to have our streets cleaned properly and enforce the 72-hour parking ordinance, which is totally ignored by the council. Our street sweepers cannot perform their duties due to residents who refuse to move their vehicles. We do pay taxes for this sweeper and driver.
Interestingly, this trash attracts rodents that carry serious diseases, and this presents a health problem. We certainly have our share of street trash, especially around Crescenta Valley High School.
If we were annexed to Glendale, the city would impose parking restrictions throughout our community without hesitation. Several streets have petitioned for one-hour parking, and others are in the process of petitioning for no-parking days so their streets can be properly cleaned.
With the increase in condos and apartment construction, parking and traffic are problematic beyond words.
ANDREW J. GERO
La Crescenta
This association is open to everyone
Regarding “Group questions Town Council,” Nov. 25:
This Crescenta Valley Community Assn. has no head table. Everyone is invited to take a chair and state their concerns or just listen. There are many who attend who can offer suggestions from experience, which can be used or not.
No one person can attend every meeting and event, so the sending of representatives provides information to bring back to officials and other organizations. We’re very fortunate that the officials have an interest in what is going on around them and want to hear what the community members have to say at these meetings.
The best way to find out what an organization is all about is to attend one of its meetings.
JEAN MALUCCIO
La Crescenta
EDITOR’S NOTE: Maluccio is the president-elect for the Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors.
Children need to mind traffic, too
The tragic death of 11-year-old Meri Nalbandyan (“Girl killed in collision,” Oct. 30) has been a major topic of letters to the Glendale News-Press. I have been following this news from the first day, and I’m glad that your news team has been covering the incident. There is plenty of information on the accident.
Unfortunately, it seems that all of the focus is on the traffic rules and regulations surrounding the area or the drivers’ behavior in the neighborhood. I have yet to see any comment on how we can educate our children more about traffic hazards.
Almost every day, I see how unresponsive young kids are regarding the ongoing traffic. It appears that all the responsibility is on the driver, and the kids have all the rights when they are around.
I think there should be more education for the youngsters about their part. For example, just the fact that there are traffic laws does not mean the law will be followed, and the young kids themselves would be paying the price, too.
EDWIN GHAZARIAN
Burbank
Prop. 8 was not a vote for religion
I disagree with Ray Shelton on the reasons why and the blame for Proposition 8 passing (“What qualifies as a religion?” Mailbag, Nov. 26).
He takes the easy road and blames Mormons. I neither consider myself religious nor a bigot; however, I voted to support marriage between a man and a woman because I am tired of the homosexual lifestyle being pushed down our throats every day.
Homosexuals make up less than 5% of the population of our state, but with the entertainment industry making sure we have one in every show, they once again show everyone else that they must accept their lifestyle.
If you voice your displeasure, you are labeled a intolerant person. However, it’s OK for homosexuals to hurl obscenities at churchgoers and claim free speech.
I am still waiting for the No on 8 people to protest in the inner cities, where the black vote was 70% for marriage between a man and a woman.
JOHN MUIR
Ventura