Politics

In modern society, youth are generally known to consume themselves with mindless matter that is irrelevant to knowledge they can use later in life. Though that may be the stereotype for teenagers, times are changing fast, and more students are becoming involved in current events, politics and government. What were once the most boring issues the young mind could ponder, are now becoming fascinating discussion topics in casual conversations. One of the causes of this new interest among teens is the fact that teachers are incorporating these topics in their curriculum.

Utility should pay for generator rental I am a retired, 100-year-old physician, former director of education at Huntington Memorial Hospital with honorary degrees from Johns Hopkins and various other places. Recently I received a printed card in the mail informing me that the electricity to my house was to be turned off on Aug. 2 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Since I am on obligatory oxygen all the time I asked Southern California Edison for advice. They suggested that I rent a generator.

It seems as though there is a certain type of person who goes into politics while the rest of us shudder at the thought. Because the job of an elected official comes with two challenges: You have to be willing to do the job, but first you have to get elected. And a lot of people who are perfectly willing and able to actually do the job, are simply not up to the hard-fought election part. Because politics can be dirty, elections polarize people in an artificial, and usually temporary way: if you’re for one candidate you often start being against the opposing candidate.

A couple of weeks ago we made an embarrassing error that was corrected in our Sept. 2 issue: We inadvertently referred to local attorney Robert Smith by the last name of "Brown" when reporting on the launch of Smith's new website, http://www.willstotrust.com . I was horrified when I received an e-mail from Smith's daughter Olivia the day we printed the error. Olivia, now a college student who throughout her years attending La Cañada High was a Valley Sun intern, contained herself nicely when she pointed out our gaffe.

40||21st century||11 40||40th anniversary||12 40||abc||11 40||abortion clinics||15 40||abortion debate||11 40||absentee ballots||12 40||abu dhabi||11 40||accounting||11 40||acoustic guitar||13 40||ads||11 40||advocacy group||11 40||affordable housing||16 40||african american||13 40||african americans||11 40||aging||12 40||aid programs||11 40||air||11 40||air force||14 ...

Joe Torres has always been politically minded. It's never been hard for his mom, Shari Torres, to see his political side. She would often have intelligent conversations with her son about the 2004 presidential election. Joe, today a 17-year old La Cañada High School senior, was 11 at the time. "He's always been interested in politics and he's always gotten along with pretty much everybody," Torres said. This interest in politics appears to run in the family. Joe's grandfather was heavily involved in the Republican party in New York and had connections with the Reagan and Bush families.

Congressman David Dreier , House Rules Committee Ranking Republican, highlighted the release of the fourth-quarter Gross Domestic Product [GDP] data which demonstrated a growth rate of 3.5 percent. The 10 percent yearly export growth contributed to the overall GDP growth. Dreier stated that the numbers show that the country's economy is strong. "Nowhere are the benefits more evident than in the workforce. Nearly 2 million new jobs were created last year," said Dreier. Dreier also applauded passage of a resolution reestablishing the House Democracy Assistance Commission.

Last week, as City Hall went about its business, two elected officials took that business to the nation's capital, representing La Cañada in the National League of Cities (NLC) Conference in Washington, D.C. The annual event allows some 1,500 local representatives to network and speak to members of Congress and heads of federal agencies about issues relevant to their communities. This year, City Council member Dave Spence and Mayor Pro Tem Mike Davitt headed to the Hill to seek ideas and relationships that could be of local benefit.

Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition - the moratorium is over! After two months of staying mum due to the school board elections, I can finally write my wife's name, Kaitzer. I write these columns looking for the yin and yang of an issue; it brings humor to the story. Kaitzer is definitely the yang. During the campaign there was a lot of humor about the yang. The ancients believed the world was divided in half: man and woman. The gods and goddesses kept the world stable bringing harmony when they were in balance.

I was a bit disappointed to see Rex Nishimura's letter published this week . He begins by acknowledging that the school board election is fundamentally a nonpartisan race. The text of his letter further demonstrates his understanding of the nonpartisan nature of this election. However, by innuendo and what he no doubt considers to be clever semantics, he then makes clear the political affiliation of a candidate of whom he disapproves. I am actually grateful to Nishimura for reinforcing my decision to vote for Dan Jeffries: It's not so much that I agree with his political affiliation, not relevant in this election, but that Nishimura's candidate, Kevork Kurdoghlian, is encumbered by unethical supporters.

It had been some time since we'd visited the Target store near Vroman's in Pasadena, so after a casual dinner the other night here at Magpie's, my husband and I ventured across the Arroyo in hunt of some bargains. Some might not call that a date night, but coming home carrying treasures like my new Mossimo ballet flats (only $12!) is the best kind of aphrodisiac known to this woman. Our arms were quite literally filled because we forgot to take any cloth grocery bags into the store with us, and because it is located in Pasadena, this particular Target does not package purchased items in plastic bags anymore.

Anthony Portantino, who for the past six years has represented La Cañada Flintridge in the state Assembly, enters this holiday season with a new task: Figure out what to do next. Portantino's job ended officially on Dec. 1, when the new legislative year began. Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D- Silver Lake) now represents La Cañada, while new Assemblyman Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) represents other parts of Portantino's old district. At Zeli Coffee Bar in La Cañada on Tuesday, Portantino said that with his mother in his native New Jersey facing declining health and his youngest daughter, Bella, growing up, he's grateful for the chance to step back.

If the state Legislature were a high school cafeteria, you wouldn’t find Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D- La Cañada Flintridge) sitting with the popular kids. But that’s just fine by him. During his five years in Sacramento, Portantino — now fundraising for a congressional bid in 2012 — has clashed with the Assembly’s Democratic leadership on a number of occasions. When many Democrats cried foul over legislative pay cuts ordered by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Portantino argued lawmakers should also give up their state-provided cars.

Support from vast friend networks has always been an asset to those seeking political office. For the first time in the history of La Cañada Flintridge elections, Facebook friends count too. Four of the seven City Council candidates in the March 8 election are using the popular social networking site to communicate with potential voters, posting notices about upcoming events, photos from the campaign trail and even newspaper coverage of...

Jacqueline Harris would like to have a word with you. Since announcing her bid for City Council last year, the longtime volunteer Girl Scouts leader, mother of three and 19-year La Cañada Flintridge resident has worked to build a grassroots campaign one conversation at a time. Foregoing the usual campaign signs, mailers, ballot statements and fundraising efforts, Harris said she has instead spent her time going door-to-door to more than 2,000 homes. Her effort is one to bring politics back to the people, she explained, believing current council members and city government as a whole have become disconnected from residents.

Jacqueline Harris would like to have a word with you. Since announcing her bid for City Council last year, the longtime volunteer Girl Scouts leader, mother of three and 19-year La Cañada Flintridge resident has worked to build a grassroots campaign one conversation at a time. Foregoing the usual campaign signs, mailers, ballot statements and fundraising efforts, Harris said she has instead spent her time going door-to-door to more than 2,000 homes. Her effort is one to bring politics back to the people, she explained, believing current council members and city government as a whole have become disconnected from residents.

Author and syndicated radio talk show host Dennis Prager is one of the better conversationalists you'd ever meet, but he pulls no punches for political correctness' sake. "Ask me anything," he invites during an afternoon meal at Ichiban Japanese Restaurant in La Cañada Flintridge — a favorite dining spot of his since moving here in 2007— handling chopsticks almost as deftly as he articulates deeply conservative politics and confident moral beliefs, relishing food and idea alike.