Veterans Closer to Completing Two Strike War Memorial Wall

Fundraising efforts had a major boost from the Home Depot Foundation, presented by Assemblyman Mike Gatto to foothill war veterans.

By Nicole Charky

July 27, 2012 - Assemblyman Mike Gatto presented a $5,000 donation from The Home Depot Foundation to restoring the Two Strike Park veteran war memorial wall. 

The call to action started in 2006, when Army Spc. Nicholas Steinbacher was killed in Iraq.

After Steinbacher's death, Veterans of Foreign War Post 1614 and American Legion 288 members wanted a location in town to recognize all the locals in the La Crescenta and Montrose area who were killed in action, said Mike Baldwin, who was recently named Veteran of the Year for the 43rd Assembly District.

"We want to pay respect to those who died," Baldwin said.

The $5,000 donation from the Home Depot Foundation and an additional donation of $1,500 in cinder block materials are expected to help rebuild the current structure. 

"With this money we'll be able to give the names of all the people who've given their lives in the Crescenta Valley," said Warren Spayth, Commander Veterans of Foreign War Post 1614.

Family members and community leaders from the Crescenta Valley Town Council came to support the announcement from Gatto.

"We're really proud of this community, which stepped up and helped us. Our wives, our sons, our daughters, they're all proud of this place," said Ken Jury, Commander of American Legion Post 288.

The veterans hope to remember the fallen by next year, on Memorial Day.

Article from the Montrose Patch - Read this article at the Montrose Patch

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Mike Gatto is the Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore of the California State Assembly.  He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and parts of Los Angeles, including Los Feliz, North Hollywood, Silver Lake, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, and Van Nuys.  He has served in the Assembly since June 2010.  E-mail Mike at: assemblymember.gatto@assembly.ca.gov, or call (818) 558-3043.

Gatto Breaks Gound on Sunnynook River Park

Sunnynook River Park groundbreaking: golden shovels lifting ceremonial soil. Visible from left to right City Engineer Gary Moore, Councilmember Garcetti, Councilmember Reyes, Councilmember LaBonge, Recreation & Parks Assistant General Manager Kevin Regan, FoLAR founder Lewis MacAdams, and State Assemblymember Mike Gatto

July 25, 2012  Before a crowd of about 90, the city of Los Angeles broke ground on Sunnynook River Park this morning. The new Atwater Village park will be located in the mostly vacant area on the southwest bank of the Los Angeles River, between Glendale Boulevard and Los Feliz Boulevard – immediately downstream of the Sunnynook footbridge. The ceremonies were lead by Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge, and included remarks from representatives from various city, state, and federal agencies and groups.

Friends of the L.A. River’s Lewis MacAdams speaks at the Sunnynook Park groundbreaking

Speakers included LaBonge, City Councilmembers Ed Reyes and Eric Garcetti, City Recreation and Parks Assistant General Manager Kevin Regan, Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority’s Lisa Soghor, FoLAR’s Lewis MacAdams, Trust for Public Land’s Carolyn Ramsay, City Engineer Gary Moore, and Army Corps of Engineers Colonel Mark Toy.

L.A. Creek Freak wrote about the planned 3.4-acre Sunnynook River Park back in 2008 when it was being planned, and in 2009 when LADWP approved the park existing under their power lines. Though it’s not a big project, it’s been delayed a bit by state and city budget shortfalls.

Location of the planned Sunnynook River Park (from LAist)

It’s a fairly small all-natural, all-passive park, accessible mostly via the L.A. River bike path and via the footbridges that cross the 5 Freeway and the river. The site has had its problems over the years. It’s bordered by the 5 Freeway and the river, so it has been home to homeless encampments, mostly on the freeway-side of the site, maintained by the state transportation department Caltrans. Hopefully the park improvements can create a green space where everyone feels welcome and safe.

Construction gets underway now, and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2013.

Article from LA Creek Freak - Read this story at LA Creek Freak HERE 

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Mike Gatto is the Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore of the California State Assembly.  He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and parts of Los Angeles, including Los Feliz, North Hollywood, Silver Lake, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, and Van Nuys.  He has served in the Assembly since June 2010.  E-mail Mike at: assemblymember.gatto@assembly.ca.gov, or call (818) 558-3043.

Website of Assemblyman Mike Gatto: www.asm.ca.gov/gatto

Gatto Approves Bill that Bans Hunting of Bears, Bobcats

July 7, 2012 | 6:28 p.m.

The Sacramento office of Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Silver Lake) received a petition last Monday morning signed by 2,000 residents in his district urging him to support a bill that would ban the use of hounds in the hunting of bears and bobcats after he failed to vote on the measure a few days earlier.

Gatto approved the bill later that day, sending it to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Gatto said there were several last-minute amendments made to SB 1221 that he wanted to study before casting a vote.

In the first round of voting, the bill needed seven votes to pass before the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife, but only got six, with Gatto abstaining.

“I checked with a number of my constituents who I turn to for advice on these issues and they thought the provisions in the bill were workable and made sense for California,” Gatto said during a phone interview.

He said his office also received many phone calls regarding the measure from people living in, and outside, the 43rd Assembly District.

Jennifer Fearing, California director for the Humane Society of the United States, said her organization is elated Gatto voted in favor of the bill.

“We are very pleased that the forward momentum for this bill continues,” she said.

She added that she feels confident that the outreach efforts in Gatto's district were “powerful and persuasive.”

During the petition drive, one volunteer who gathered about 500 signatures said 100% of the people who stopped and talked to her signed the document.

-- Mark Kellam, Times Community News

Twitter: @LAMarkKellam

Article from the Glendale News-Press, read this article at the Glendale News-Press HERE

# # # 

Mike Gatto is the Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore of the California State Assembly.  He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and parts of Los Angeles, including Los Feliz, North Hollywood, Silver Lake, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, and Van Nuys.  He has served in the Assembly since June 2010.  E-mail Mike at: assemblymember.gatto@assembly.ca.gov, or call (818) 558-3043.

Website of Assemblyman Mike Gatto: www.asm.ca.gov/gatto

Gatto’s Reform To Fix California’s Constitutional Amendment Process Clears Key Hurdle

CRAIG SHERWOOD, JULY 6, 2012   Tuesday, Assemblyman Mike Gatto’s (D-Los Angeles) Assembly Constitutional Amendment (ACA) 10, an important reform measure to protect the sanctity of California’s constitution, passed the Assembly Committee on Elections and Redistricting by a vote of 4-1.

The measure, part of Gatto’s package of constitutional reforms, seeks greater parity between the U.S. Constitution and California’s when it comes to the amendment process. The U.S. Constitution has been amended 27 times in 223 years, whereas California’s Constitution has been amended 521 times in roughly half the time, requiring only a simple majority of the electorate to amend.

“I would submit that one of the reasons our country has not been torn apart by strife is that, to amend our governing document, you need consensus.  California’s Constitution has been treated by special interests as just another statute, subject to the temporary whims of the majority of voters who show up and vote in any given year,” said Gatto.

ACA 10 seeks closer parity with the Federal Constitution in two ways. First, it would require a 55% majority to approve a new initiative constitutional amendment. Second, it would add a geographic-distribution requirement for signature gathering among the state’s far-flung and diverse Senate districts.

“These changes would ensure that amendments to our state’s constitution reflect the desires of the entire state.  It will also force those with the idea du jour to actually go discuss it with their fellow citizens across the state.”

Only 24 states even have an initiative process. Half of those states have similar geographic-distribution requirements, several require that votes cast far surpass the simple majority threshold, and six have gone as far as to forbid initiatives from amending their constitutions.

“A constitution should be a sacred, hallowed document that contains fundamental governing principles and rights.  I expect to have the support of my colleagues, who believe in the sanctity of the Federal Constitution and the wisdom of our Founding Fathers, to support taking these steps to ensure California’s Constitution is similarly protected,” said Gatto.  “No right is permanent, and no reform has any teeth, if it can be repealed at the very next election.”

ACA 10 now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for consideration.

Article from Burbank N Beyond, read this article at Burbank N Beyond HERE

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Mike Gatto is the Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore of the California State Assembly.  He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and parts of Los Angeles, including Los Feliz, North Hollywood, Silver Lake, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, and Van Nuys.  He has served in the Assembly since June 2010.  E-mail Mike at: assemblymember.gatto@assembly.ca.gov, or call (818) 558-3043.

Website of Assemblyman Mike Gatto: www.asm.ca.gov/gatto

Gatto's Homemade Food Bill Makes La.Eater

Thursday, July 5, 2012, by Matthew Kang 

Artisanal Organic Jams at Artisanal LA[Photo: Ricardo Diaz]

On Wednesday, the State Senate Health Committee unanimously voted 8-0 to approve a bill proposed by local State Assemblyman Mike Gatto (Districts: Burbank, Glendale, Parts of Los Angeles i.e. Los Feliz, North Hollywood, Silver Lake) that would lift the ban on sales of homemade foods categorized as "non-potentially hazardous." It seems that no one has ever died from a piece of stale bread (and especially not one that was freshly baked). So far 32 states that have similar laws have reported no food-borne illnesses from "non-potentially hazardous foods."

The California Homemade Food Act (AB 1616) would allow micro-entrepreneurs and artisan food makers to create what's commonly known as acottage food operation and thereby legally produce and sell "healthy, homemade" foods such as breads, tortillas, dry roasted nuts and legumes, granola, churros, jams, jellies and other fruit preserves, rice cakes and cookies. Maybe next time you step into a local cafe you'll be munching on fresh homemade cookies made by someone's grandmother.

The "red tape" involved with becoming a producer isn't very difficult. If the producer chooses to sell directly to the consumer, he or she would have toregister with the local health department and complete a food handler’s course. If a producer chooses to sell to a local store or grocer, such as the neighborhood coffee shop, he or she would have inspections and a permit from the local health department. Compare this to renting a commercial kitchen or setting up an entire retail or wholesale operation at a brick and mortar space. With health inspectors already overworked and thinly spread out, one wonders how the local health departments would handle this additional load of inspections.

With California's unemployment currently at around 12%, this proposed legislation could provide additional income outlets for the unemployed and underemployed, as well as boosting local community activity. The bill recently has been amended to include a series of specific restrictions on retail sales to make sure this remains a small-scale, community activity.

Most of the opposition to the legislation seems to be stemming from large corporations who see this as increased competition. No surprise there. The bill now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee before going to the Senate Floor for a full vote of the chamber. Governor Jerry Brown must sign the bill before September 30th to lift the ban on homemade foods sales in California. Here's to hoping for a slew of new, artisanal products available at our local outlets and stores.

See a five minute video of the story behind AB 1616 and learn more about Assemblyman Mike Gatto's support for Mark Stambler and other Cottage Food businesses by clicking HERE

From LA Eater - Read this story at LA Eater HERE

# # #

Mike Gatto is the Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore of the California State Assembly.  He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and parts of Los Angeles, including Los Feliz, North Hollywood, Silver Lake, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, and Van Nuys.  He has served in the Assembly since June 2010.  E-mail Mike at: assemblymember.gatto@assembly.ca.gov, or call (818) 558-3043.

Website of Assemblyman Mike Gatto: www.asm.ca.gov/gatto

Christening the Rosemont Preserve

I am proud to support the opening of the Rosemont Preserve.

Saturday was a good day in La Crescenta, Calif and for those who care about open space in our congested Los Angeles basin. The Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy officially opened its latest acquisition, the 7.75-acre Rosemont Preserve.

Read about Jim Burn's account of the opening in LARIVERFLYFISHING HERE

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Mike Gatto is the Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore of the California State Assembly.  He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and parts of Los Angeles, including Los Feliz, North Hollywood, Silver Lake, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, and Van Nuys.  He has served in the Assembly since June 2010.  E-mail Mike at: assemblymember.gatto@assembly.ca.gov, or call (818) 558-3043.

Website of Assemblyman Mike Gatto: www.asm.ca.gov/gatto

Press-Enterprise Editorial: Favors Mike Gatto's Ballot-Box Reform

The Press-Enterprise becomes another in a growing chorus of major publications to editorialize in favor of my ballot-box budgeting fixes.

THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
Published: 02 July 2012 05:20 PM

"Haphazard budgeting at the ballot box only ensures that the state’s fiscal turmoil will continue. California needs to use available resources wisely. Voters should help advance that effort by rejecting ballot measures that create arbitrary spending formulas and new earmarks.

Ballot-box budgeting is the issue behind AB 2220, by Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles. The bill would mandate a ballot pamphlet reminder to voters about proposed initiatives that would raise new revenue and dedicate it to specific programs. The official analysis of such measures would have to include language specifying that the money raised by the initiative would go only to the intended programs, and would not be available for other state needs unless voters approved changes later. The requirement would not apply to tax measures that directed the resulting money into the general fund without restriction.

The fate of AB 2220, now in the Senate, is unclear. Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed nearly identical legislation last year, saying that a rote disclaimer in initiative analyses “won’t provide voters greater clarity.” Well-informed voters, of course, already know that legislators have little power to alter initiatives — which is one reason ballot measures are popular with an electorate that distrusts the Legislature.

Regardless of how the bill fares, however, Gatto has a legitimate point: Voters too often decide budget-related ballot measures with little insight into the state’s larger financial picture — or the consequences that result from such disjointed fiscal choices.

California has many voter-approved propositions that limit budgeting flexibility. The most sweeping is Prop. 98, the 1988 measure that requires about 40 percent of the budget to go to education. Prop. 99, also from 1988, raised the cigarette tax and earmarked the money for health programs. Prop. 172 in 1993 raised the sales tax to fund law enforcement. Prop. 10 in 1998 raised the cigarette tax again, directing the money toward early childhood development programs. Prop. 64, in 2004, taxed wealthy Californians to pay for mental health services.

Such tinkering blocks any attempt to set sensible priorities for public spending, and helps make state budgeting more opaque and convoluted. The Legislature should be directing available funds to sustain the most crucial programs first. Instead, the state wrestles with ways to pay for priority services while tax money flows unchecked to less critical programs. Thus Prop. 49, from 2002, requires the state to spend nearly $550 million a year on after-school programs when districts struggle to fund classroom instruction.

Yes, the Legislature has an abysmal record of making shortsighted, reckless financial decisions. But voters will not encourage greater fiscal responsibility by approving arbitrary spending dictates based on whatever cause happens to gain sufficient popular support.

Randomly disrupting sensible allocation of public money is not a strategy for fixing the state’s chronic fiscal woes. Good intentions do not justify ballot measures that make the state’s budget more intractable."

Read more HERE

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Mike Gatto is the Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore of the California State Assembly.  He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and parts of Los Angeles, including Los Feliz, North Hollywood, Silver Lake, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, and Van Nuys.  He has served in the Assembly since June 2010.  E-mail Mike at: assemblymember.gatto@assembly.ca.gov, or call (818) 558-3043.

Website of Assemblyman Mike Gatto: www.asm.ca.gov/gatto

Gatto’s bill to Legalize Sales of Homemade Food Clears Next Legislative Hurdle

Assemblyman Mike Gatto’s (D-Los Angeles) Assembly Bill (AB) 1616, the California Homemade Food Act, earned its latest legislative victory Wednesday with a unanimous vote of 8-0 in the Senate Health Committee. The Act would allow for the sale of homemade, “non-potentially hazardous” foods by creating a two-tier system of “cottage food operations” based upon the point of sale.

The Assemblyman made a commitment to help micro-entrepreneurs improve access to locally produced foods after his constituent, Mark Stambler, was shut down by the Los Angeles Department of Environmental Health for selling homemade breads baked in the brick oven in his home. “The victory in Health Committee is another substantial step for artisan food makers like Mark,” said Gatto, “I am happy to see such broad support clearing the path for people to produce healthy, homemade foods. But, our work is far from complete. The opposition from large corporations who want to kill potential competition is growing.”

Under AB 1616, foods available for sale would include every-day items such as breads, tortillas, dry roasted nuts and legumes, granola, churros, jams, jellies and other fruit preserves, rice cakes and cookies. If the producer chose to sell directly to the consumer, he or she would register with the local health department and complete a food handler’s course. If a producer chose to sell to a local store or grocer, such as the neighborhood coffee shop, he or she would have inspections and a permit from the local health department. “During these tough times, micro-businesses and our local governments need not waste time and money on a long, drawn out permitting process that is intended for corporate retailers and producers,” commented Gatto. “Creating a legal structure for the safe, in-home production of certain foods that respects the importance of public health is a sensible approach.”

The legislation is consistent with similar laws of at least 32 other states, none of which have reported a food-borne illness from non-potentially hazardous foods. The Act has been amended several times to reflect numerous conversations with local health directors, small and large-scale retail interests, and cultural and ethnic groups. The bill has thus far received the support of a variety of organizations statewide, including the Los Angeles Bread Bakers, the Sustainable Economies Law Center, Proyecto Jardin, Whole Foods Market Northern California, the Central Coast Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, and the California Food and Justice Coalition.

There has been debate about whether to allow sales of such products through retail shops, but Gatto insists this is a matter of access to opportunity during difficult economic times for families struggling to make ends meet. In 2008, 86-year-old disabled World War II veteran Jack Melton was stopped by Shasta County Environmental Health Officials from selling the fruitcakes he had been making in his home kitchen for ten years. Gatto said, “In a state where farmers markets have limited space, are concentrated in more populated counties, and are seasonal in many areas, limiting this opportunity doesn’t make sense. The disabled veteran fruit cake-maker, the elderly woman making jelly, the single mom selling churros, and the bread-baker who works Saturdays at his regular job are limited in their ability to transport their products to farmer’s markets. They shouldn’t be kept from taking advantage of this opportunity to provide for themselves and for their families.”

AB 1616 has been amended to include a series of specific restrictions on retail sales to make sure this remains a small-scale, community activity, which is a critical economic development tool in a State with 12% unemployment.

AB 1616 now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee before going to the Senate Floor for a full vote of the chamber. The Governor must sign the bill before September 30th to lift the ban on homemade foods sales in California.

Read more in BurbanknBeyond HERE

# # #

Mike Gatto is the Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore of the California State Assembly.  He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and parts of Los Angeles, including Los Feliz, North Hollywood, Silver Lake, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, and Van Nuys.  He has served in the Assembly since June 2010.  E-mail Mike at: assemblymember.gatto@assembly.ca.gov, or call (818) 558-3043.

Website of Assemblyman Mike Gatto: www.asm.ca.gov/gatto