Assemblyman Mike Gatto Blog: May 2014

Thursday, May 29, 2014

MEDIA ADVISORY: Mike Gatto to Host Senior Scam Stopper Event; Prevent Financial Abuse of Senior Citizens

MEDIA ADVISORY CONTACT: Justin Hager 818-558-3043
Thursday, May 29, 2014 Mobile 415-889-9762

Mike Gatto to Host Senior Scam Stopper Event;

Prevent Financial Abuse of Senior Citizens

What: Members of the public and local media are invited to attend a FREE Senior Scam Stopper seminar Thursday, June 5, 2014 at the Glendale Adventist Medical Center. Organized by Assemblyman Gatto in conjunction with the Contractors State License Board and the Live Well Senior program at GAMC, the free seminar will teach senior citizens, their family members, and their caretakers how to protect themselves from fraud related to home repair, finances, identity theft, and Medicare, and will help seniors to identify scams before they become a victim.

Less than two weeks ago, Glendale police issued a community alert, after residents were scammed out of thousands of dollars by people posing as law enforcement, federal agents, or city employees and pressuring them to pay up or risk being arrested or having their power shut off.

In a separate incident in March, an 83-year old Glendale woman was scammed out of nearly $52,000 by a man posing as a lottery official. The elderly woman was told that she had won seven-million dollars but that in order to claim the prize, she must pay fees certain fees and taxes. The perpetrator was arrested last week and Glendale police have now identified victims of the scam in at least twelve other states.

To educate our community about these and other predatory behaviors, Assemblyman Mike Gatto will introduce a panel of experts from the Glendale Police Department, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Bureau of Automotive Repair, and discuss legislative efforts to protect seniors from fraud and financial scams, including AB 1624 (2012), his legislation to protect senior citizens and others from having their bank accounts drained by a co-signatory.

This educational event is FREE and open to the public. Photography will be permitted at the event; permission to record video or audio must be cleared in advance by contacting Justin Hager, Communications Director for Assemblyman Gatto.

Thursday June 5, 2014

4:00pm – 5:15pm

Glendale Adventist Medical Center

Community Gym

311 Vallejo Drive

Glendale, CA 91206

Parking is available behind the gym or in the main tower. Street parking is also available.

Why: According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, senior citizens are the most likely demographic to have developed solid financial resources, to live alone in homes they own, and to have excellent credit. Each of these attributes make them prime targets for scam artists seeking to defraud them of money or personal information.

Unfortunately, misinformation, shame, and fear often make seniors less likely to report when they are the victims of fraud. Senior Scam Stoppers is a joint effort of Assemblyman Mike Gatto and the Contractors State License Board that seeks to lift the veil of misinformation and equip seniors with the tools they need to protect themselves from fraudulent scams.

Mike Gatto is the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee in the California State Assembly. He represents Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Atwater Village, East Hollywood, Franklin Hills, Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz, and Silver Lake. www.asm.ca.gov/gatto

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Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Crescenta Valley Weekly: American Legion Remodeled

By Robin Goldsworthy | May 8, 2014

The American Legion Post 288 is in the midst of a facelift – a much needed facelift.

For years the building has been struggling with plumbing issues, outdated appliances and carpet that defied cleaning, but all of that is changing thanks to Home Depot.

“Home Depot has a core value of giving back,” said Chuck Messig, community captain for District 26 at Home Depot.

In 2011, Home Depot committed $80 million specifically for veterans organizations. The grant values vary. “The [average] value of a grant is $15,000. In this case, [Post 288] got so lucky. We were granted $20,000 in a materials grant, ” Messig said.

The grant provided materials like kitchen and bathroom appliances and carpeting. The labor for all of this comes from the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1614 that share the building, community members and volunteers from Home Depot.

“Our volunteers do everything but kitchen cabinets and counter tops and doors. For those, we partner with our service providers,” Messig said. Those partners are paid for by the grant. The idea for this project came from Susanne Dunwell, former senior field representative for Assemblymember Mike Gatto. Dunwell, who recently retired, returned to the American Legion on Friday to kick off the remodeling project at the American Legion. “I had worked with [American Legion] veterans when we did the Two Strike Park memorial,” she said.

Although there was a memorial wall at Two Strike Park, over the years it had become tattered and there was a very limited amount of space for names of those who had served. Members of the American Legion and VFW, along with community members and organizations, raised funds to replace the memorial with one that could contain names of all Crescenta Valley military personnel that had made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. During this time, Home Depot had been contacted by Gatto’s office and a grant of $5,000 was donated to the project.

“I saw how focused the veterans were on the memorial and how much time they [donated] to the [project], ignoring there own [Post] needs, ” Dunwell said. She approached Shari Caraway, program manager of the Home Depot foundation western division. “Shari was the hero in this,” Dunwell said. “I talked to the veterans, asked them to put a list together of everything they needed and I submitted it to Home Depot.” Shari approved the grant. Dunwell said this goes beyond just a gift for the veterans; it is a gift for the community. Messig agreed. “If you think about it, this is more than just about the veterans. They have families, they live in our community,” he said.

Photo By Dick CLUBB

After the remodel, the American Legion lodge will be a place that local individuals, veterans and non-veterans, as well as organizations, can rent. It is a win-win for the community and the veterans, Messig said. The veterans and members of the community came out in force to help with the remodel. Messig was impressed with the community support.

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This article originally appeared in the CRESCENTA VALLEY WEEKLY. You can read this article and more by visiting the CRESCENTA VALLEY WEEKLY HERE.

VARIETY: Mayors Urge California to Expand Production Tax Credit

Ted Johnson- Senior Editor
May 13, 2014 | 10:29 AM

Seeking to boost prospects for expanding California’s production tax credit, mayors from 10 of the state’s largest cities announced their support for legislation to make the Golden State more competitive with dozens of other states that are luring production away.

Mayors from Sacramento, San Francisco, Fresno, Bakersfield, Oakland, San Jose joined with civic leaders from Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Ana and San Diego in an effort to show that support for an expanded credit extends beyond the state’s production centers in Southern California...

...A letter from the mayors was released in advance of an Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee hearing on Tuesday to consider legislation from Assemblymen Mike Gatto and Raul Bocanegra that would make big-budget motion pictures eligible for the credit as well as more categories of one-hour drama series and post production work.

Still to be announced is exactly how much money lawmakers will seek to expand the program, which is currently at $100 million per year. That figure is expected later this month as the legislation moves through the Assembly...

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You can read this entire article and more by visiting VARIETY HERE.