tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90260479548192577952024-03-14T01:40:49.970-07:00Assemblyman Mike Gatto BlogNews and Views from California's 43rd Assembly District.GattoCommunicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06391783993841380351noreply@blogger.comBlogger381125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-55269190992318156562015-05-28T14:23:00.002-07:002015-05-28T14:23:46.954-07:00RELEASE: Mike Gatto and Crime Victims United Issue Statement Regarding AB 84 Being Held by the Assembly Appropriations Committee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE </b>Justin Hager (818) 558-3043</div>
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May 28, 2015 Mobile (415) 889-9762<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Assemblyman Mike Gatto and Crime Victims United Issue Statement Regarding AB 84 Being Held by the Assembly Appropriations Committee</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">SACRAMENTO</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> - The following is a joint statement from <b>Assemblyman Mike Gatto</b> (D-Glendale) and <b>Crime Victims United</b> regarding the Assembly Appropriations Committee’s decision today to hold AB 84 in the suspense file:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Last December, the California Court of Appeal quietly struck down all of California's DNA-testing laws, which are used to solve the most serious crimes. An appeal is pending before the California Supreme Court. If the high court does not overturn the intermediate court's decision (and that outcome is in doubt), hundreds of thousands of California families awaiting justice for a murdered loved one, and hundreds of thousands of rape victims, will see their chances of obtaining justice greatly diminished. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The legislative process is old-fashioned, technical, and slow, and the Legislature remains a place that rarely speaks with uniformity on any issue. It is therefore highly doubtful that the Legislature could react to a bad Supreme Court decision with the necessary rapidity to ensure that millions of criminals do not go free without being tested to solve other crimes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Assembly Bill 84 was a rare example of the Legislature planning ahead to anticipate a less-than-ideal outcome, and had passed with bipartisan support and the support of crime-victims groups. Today, the Assembly Appropriations Committee and Assembly leadership took a huge gamble on the outcome of a lengthy and complicated case by holding AB 84, in effect killing it for this legislative session. Sadly, they chose political gamesmanship over victims' families. Words cannot express our<span style="color: red;"> </span>disappointment at this outcome, and we will do everything it takes to ensure that there is no lag in DNA testing of our most heinous criminals."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Mike Gatto is the Chairman of the Consumer Protection and Privacy Committee, and the longest-serving current member of the State Assembly. He represents California’s 43rd Assembly District, which includes 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. </span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.asm.ca.gov/gatto" target="_blank"><i>www.asm.ca.gov/gatto</i></a><i> </i></span><b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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Justin Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992441572444921508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-44544183827202625792014-12-17T13:24:00.002-08:002014-12-17T13:24:46.979-08:00Mike Gatto gives Rose Bowl tickets to CVHS student<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FDj0Chu5t4Q/VJH0IHPmQhI/AAAAAAAACak/1ky-pA-3bXw/s1600/Bostin%2BLakin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FDj0Chu5t4Q/VJH0IHPmQhI/AAAAAAAACak/1ky-pA-3bXw/s1600/Bostin%2BLakin.jpg" height="207" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br />Crescenta Valley High School football player Bostin Lakin has had an incredible year. Sure, he's part of the CVHS championship team. But what sets him apart is what he had to do to get there.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><a href="http://abc7.com/%E2%80%A6/5-hour-brain-surgery-saves-la-cre%E2%80%A6/424211/" target="_blank">http://abc7.com/%E2%80%A6/5-hour-brain-surgery-saves-la-cre%E2%80%A6/424211/ </a><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Today, it was a great joy to give him two tickets (my tickets) to the Rose Bowl game. Bostin, your perseverance has inspired us all.</span>Justin Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992441572444921508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-68948394074356846852014-12-17T13:20:00.001-08:002014-12-17T13:20:05.262-08:00Los Angeles and Bay Area News Groups Recognize Gatto for Never Missing a Vote<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i style="line-height: 17pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Excerpt
from Rick Orlov's Tipoff in the LA Daily News / Contra Costa Times:</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Speaking
of the Assembly, one local member has a voting record that was unmatched this
past year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">It
turns out Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Glendale) cast a yes or no vote in all
5,897 roll calls this year. He was the only member to not miss a vote.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">And
Gatto accomplished this all in the shadow of the investigation into his
father’s murder in his Silver Lake home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Kind
of like being the kid with the perfect attendance record.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">See the article at <a href="http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_27136565/tipoff-assemblywoman-lopez-catching-up-and-feeling-at">http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_27136565/tipoff-assemblywoman-lopez-catching-up-and-feeling-at</a></span>Justin Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992441572444921508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-36750022776983253612014-11-21T12:23:00.002-08:002014-11-21T12:23:49.462-08:00STREETSBLOG LA: Brown Vetoes Road User Safety Laws Including Hit-and-Run, Vulnerable User<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WCX9BTYaFkY/VG-XbfHkNEI/AAAAAAAAAFM/loSaRqQwe9A/s1600/streetsblog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WCX9BTYaFkY/VG-XbfHkNEI/AAAAAAAAAFM/loSaRqQwe9A/s1600/streetsblog.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jose Vasquez leaves a candle at the ghost bike memorial for <br />
Andy Garcia, killed in a vicious hit-and-run last year. <br />
Sahra Sulaiman/LA Streetsblog</td></tr>
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In the last hours before the deadline for signing legislation from this year’s legislative session,<br />
California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a batch of bills that could have improved safety for bicyclists, pedestrians, and other road users.<br />
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Included in the list of vetoes are three bills addressing the problem of hit-and-run crimes. Two of them would have increased penalties for convictions, and one would have made it easier to catch hit-and-run perpetrators. This brings to a total of four bills on the issue that passed both houses of the legislature with very few no votes—some unanimously—only to end up on the governor’s chopping block.<br />
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The governor’s general objection to creating new crime categories and increasing penalties was his excuse for declining these bills.<br />
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For similar reasons, Brown also vetoed Assemblymember Mark Levine’s “vulnerable user” bill that would have defined bicyclists and pedestrians, and a few other groups, as a special category of road users, and raised fines for conviction of violations that result in injury to them.<br />
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Another bill vetoed today was one that would have assessed a violation point against a driver’s record if convicted of using a cell phone or texting while driving. A second provision of the bill, requiring the Department of Motor Vehicles to include at least one question on the driver’s license exam addressing the dangers of distracted driving, may happen anyway. Brown, in his veto message [PDF], writes that he has directed the DMV to add such a question.<br />
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Here’s a list of bills [originated by Assemblymember Mike Gatto] that would have made the roads safer but were axed by the Governor:<br />
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<li><a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1532&search_keywords=" target="_blank"><b>A.B. 1532</b></a>, from Assemblymember Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles), which would have required an automatic six-month license suspension for anyone convicted of a hit-and-run collision in which a person was hit, whether that person was injured or not. Assemblymember Gatto’s intent was to enforce the notion that people must stop when they are involved in a crash, no matter what. The governor disagreed, citing his usual reluctance to create new categories of crime and stiffen penalties. “I don’t find sufficient justification for creating a new crime when no injury to person or property occurred. I think the current law is adequate,” says his veto message [<a href="http://la.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/AB_1532_Veto_Message.pdf" target="_blank">PDF</a>]. </li>
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<li><a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB47" target="_blank"><b>A.B. 47</b></a>, also from Gatto, which would have created a new “Yellow Alert” system, similar to the existing Amber Alert that broadcasts information about child abductions quickly throughout the state. The Yellow Alert would have broadcast descriptions of vehicles suspected of being involved in hit-and-run crimes using freeway changeable message signs and other outlets to help law enforcement apprehend criminals who leave the scene of a collision. Governor Brown refused to sign this bill because of another bill, which he did sign, that adds developmentally disabled people to the groups for which the Amber Alert system can be used. “This expansion should be tested before adding more categories of individuals that could overload the system,” he wrote [<a href="http://la.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/AB_47_Veto_Message.pdf" target="_blank">PDF</a>]. It’s doubtful that the families and friends of hit-and-run victims would agree that this wait-and-see approach is sensible. </li>
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<i>You can read this complete article and more at Streetsblog LA by clicking <a href="http://la.streetsblog.org/2014/09/30/governor-vetoes-road-user-safety-laws-including-hit-and-run-vulnerable-user/#.VCsmA_3mJlM.twitter" target="_blank">HERE</a></i><br />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">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. <a href="http://www.asm.ca.gov/gatto" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;">www.asm.ca.gov/gatto</a></span></i><br />
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<br />GattoCommunicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06391783993841380351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-55552477101314714782014-11-21T12:16:00.001-08:002014-11-21T12:16:12.868-08:00MASSIS POST: California Assemblymember Mike Gatto Awarded the Mkhitar Gosh Medal<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b>GLENDALE </b>— The Republic of Armenia has awarded Assemblymember Mike
Gatto (D-Los Angeles) the Mkhitar Gosh Medal in recognition of his
contributions to strengthening U.S.-Armenia relations and many years of
dedicated service on behalf of the Armenian-American community. The
President of Armenia, Serzh Sarkisian, announced the award, which is
named in honor of the noted twelfth century Armenian clergyman, writer,
and codifier of the Armenian civil and canon laws...<br />
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“...Pursuant to paragraph 16, article 55 of the Constitution of the
Republic of Armenia, and guided by the Law of the Republic of Armenia on
State Awards, I hereby decree: To award Mike Gatto, California State
Assemblymember, the Mkhitar Gosh Medal for his contribution in
strengthening and developing the Armenia-U.S. friendly relations and
many years of dedication to Armenian issues.” said President Sarkisian.<br />
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Assemblyman Gatto has been a tireless advocate for Armenian issues
such as the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, which resulted in the
death of more than 1,500,000 ethnic Armenians at the hands of the
Ottoman Empire. He has authored or co-authored ten different bills
recognizing the Armenian Genocide, requesting proper inclusion of the
genocide in high school-history curriculum, and calling on the Congress
and the President of the United States to do the same. Among them is AB
173 (2011), which allows the families of victims of the Armenian
Genocide to file claims in California on insurance policies issued
during the genocide, helping Armenian Americans achieve justice for
their relatives.<br />
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This year, Gatto took bold action on behalf of the ethnically
Armenian people of Artsakh, a region in the Southern Caucasus that was
illegally severed from Armenia and placed under Soviet-Azerbaijani
control in 1921. Seventy years later, the people of Artsakh held
democratic elections and formally declared independence as the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Assemblyman Mike Gatto authored AJR 32, which
made California the most populous entity in the world to recognize the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and called upon the United States government
to do the same. After successfully passing the State legislature, AJR 32
was transmitted to Congress and President Obama.<br />
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“It is a privilege to advocate on behalf of the U.S.-Armenia
relationship and to work so closely with leaders in the
Armenian-American community. I have always believed that all people have
the right to safety and self-determination. These rights must be
protected, and the legacy of those killed in the centuries-old
oppression of Armenian peoples must not be forgotten.”<br />
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<i>To read this article and explore other important Armenian issues and causes click <a href="http://massispost.com/2014/10/california-assemblymember-mike-gatto-awarded-the-mkhitar-gosh-medal/" target="_blank">HERE</a></i> <br />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">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. <a href="http://www.asm.ca.gov/gatto" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;">www.asm.ca.gov/gatto</a></span></i> GattoCommunicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06391783993841380351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-71209404927786469592014-06-19T12:41:00.000-07:002014-06-19T12:41:00.324-07:00KTLA-5 Reports on my "Yellow Alert" systemHere's a report by KTLA's Kacey Montoya on AB 47, my bill to use extant infrastructure to catch hit & run perpetrators.<br />
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/zjcQfzvgw2w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Justin Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992441572444921508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-998436146205749392014-06-19T12:13:00.000-07:002014-06-19T12:13:19.565-07:00PRESS RELEASE: ASSEMBLYMAN GATTO HONORS BEACHWOOD CANYON RESIDENT MEG GILL, OWNER OF ATWATER VILLAGE’S GOLDEN ROAD BREWERY AS SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR<i>Earlier this week, it was awesome to honor Meg Gill, of Golden Road Brewery, as our district's Small Business of the Year!</i><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">ASSEMBLYMAN GATTO HONORS BEACHWOOD CANYON
RESIDENT MEG GILL, </span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">OWNER OF ATWATER VILLAGE’S GOLDEN ROAD
BREWERY </span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">AS SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Sacramento, CA</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> – Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles)
honored local business owner Meg Gill and Atwater Village’s Golden Road Brewery
on Monday, June 16, 2014 at the California Small Business Day Awards Ceremony in
Sacramento. The annual awards ceremony honors the contributions of small
businesses to the State of California. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Meg Gill and Golden
Road Brewery are an inspiration to us all,” said Assemblyman Gatto. “Her
entrepreneurship creates jobs and helps other young women to believe that with
hard work and perseverance, anything is possible.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Meg Gill, the
co-founder of the Golden Road Brewery, was nominated by Assemblyman Gatto for
her tireless dedication to building a successful small business that gives back
to the community as much as it takes. At 28-years-old, Gill is the
youngest female brewery owner in the country, was recently named to <i>Forbes</i>
magazine’s 30-under-30, and her brewery is the largest craft brewery in Los
Angeles County. But more importantly, in addition to building a vibrant
small business, Gill and Golden Road co-founder Tony Yanow have also remained
focused on building a vibrant Los Angeles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">"We're
incredibly grateful for the support we've received from Assemblyman Gatto and
the city of Los Angeles to help us, and fellow breweries, cultivate and drive
demand for craft beer and its community-driven culture,” said Gill. “In
under three years, Golden Road has grown to more than 150 employees and brings
20,000+ visitors a week to our restaurant and pub. Being recognized as
the Small Business of the Year will help us continue to foster our commitment
to local organizations such as Heal the Bay and the Greenway 2020 project.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Founded in 2011,
Golden Road Brewery produces and distributes its beers using environmentally
sustainable production methods, and utilize their restaurant and brewery to
create meaningful contributions to the community. They have partnered
with local nonprofit organizations, including Heal the Bay and the Los Angeles
River Revitalization Corporation, to help support socially- and
environmentally-minded projects such as producing a specific craft beer called
the Greenway IPA to support the Los Angeles River Greenway 2020 project. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Local businesses
and their owners are the backbone of a strong local and state economy,” said
Gatto. “It is important that we recognize these businesses for their
innovative and positive contributions to our neighborhoods and economy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">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. <a href="http://www.asm.ca.gov/gatto">www.asm.ca.gov/gatto</a> <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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Justin Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992441572444921508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-56558261697931006952014-06-19T12:07:00.001-07:002014-06-19T12:07:56.092-07:00Los Angeles Times: Assembly approves bill to increase reporting of on-campus incidents <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>UPDATE: This bill, AB 1433, passed the Senate Education committee yesterday. </i></div>
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<i> </i><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c8pCQJQj7ww/U6M0kypjhjI/AAAAAAAACJs/TXOZgLry_o8/s1600/LA+Times.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c8pCQJQj7ww/U6M0kypjhjI/AAAAAAAACJs/TXOZgLry_o8/s1600/LA+Times.png" height="49" width="320" /></a></div>
May 28, 2014 | <a href="http://www.latimes.com/la-bio-melanie-mason-staff.html" target="_blank">Melanie Mason</a><br />
Los Angeles Times<br />
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The Assembly unanimously approved a measure Wednesday that would require college officials to relay reports of certain on-campus incidents to local law enforcement.<br />
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The bill, by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles), comes at a time when universities across the country are under scrutiny for allegedly underreporting or not fully investigating sexual assaults and other such incidents occurring on campus.<br />
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"Campuses are not bubbles. They should not be treated that way," Gatto said on the Assembly floor. "We should make sure every crime that occurs on-campus is investigated with the same dignity and the same vigor as a crime that happens in our streets and in our homes."<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZR8ffsptNv8/U4jP8VALIcI/AAAAAAAAAEA/_Ilax9Q3RxU/s1600/la-me-pc-gatto-campus-crime-20140528-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZR8ffsptNv8/U4jP8VALIcI/AAAAAAAAAEA/_Ilax9Q3RxU/s1600/la-me-pc-gatto-campus-crime-20140528-001.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a><br />
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Under the bill, when a victim reports a certain violent crime, such as a sexual assault or a hate crime, to campus officials, the college or university would have to immediately disclose that report to local law enforcement...<br />
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<i>You can read this entire article and more by visiting LOS ANGELES TIMES <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-gatto-campus-crime-20140528-story.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">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. <a href="http://www.asm.ca.gov/gatto">www.asm.ca.gov/gatto</a> </span></i>GattoCommunicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06391783993841380351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-31034442401630056462014-06-19T12:03:00.000-07:002014-06-19T12:03:00.051-07:00NBC4 LA: Lawmakers Consider Hit-and-Run AlertsMy AB 47 proposes an Amber Alert-style system to catch drivers who flee the scene of accidents. See more here from NBC News Los Angeles <br />
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fgftg7xIv5o" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Justin Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992441572444921508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-61031799290282413332014-06-06T16:24:00.000-07:002014-06-06T16:24:19.973-07:00Los Angeles Times: Nostalgic Black License Plates Are Soon Hitting the Road Los Angeles Times | <a href="mailto:melanie.mason@latimes.com" target="_blank">Melanie Mason</a><br />
June 5, 2014<br />
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A little retro flair will soon be hitting California roadways, as the
Department of Motor Vehicles announced this week it has begun producing
historic black license plates...<br />
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...Now, they're back on the
presses, thanks to a 2012 law by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles)
which instructed the DMV to start producing the iconic plates if the
department received at least 7,500 <a href="http://apps.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg17L.pdf">applications for the plates</a>.<br />
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"California motorists are excited about classic license plates,"
Gatto said in a statement. "Aside from not salting our roads, California
doesn't do much for automobile enthusiasts."<br />
The historic plates
program "is an easy way for the state to enable everyone from the
backyard restorer, to the nostalgic, to the purchaser of a retro-styled
automobile to add that extra bit of detail for those of use who
appreciate the classic era of automobile design," he said.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pPSvoCLeByA/U5IficIZuTI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/eiVa_sxtSBQ/s1600/la-me-pc-black-license-plates-20140605-003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pPSvoCLeByA/U5IficIZuTI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/eiVa_sxtSBQ/s1600/la-me-pc-black-license-plates-20140605-003.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Under Gatto's legislation, AB 1658, the DMV can also produce yellow
plates with black lettering, a design from the 1950s, and blue plates
with yellow lettering, recalling the 1970s...<br />
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<i>You can read this article and more at the LOS ANGELES TIMES by clicking <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-black-license-plates-20140605-story.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>. </i><br />
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<i><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">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. <a href="http://www.asm.ca.gov/gatto">www.asm.ca.gov/gatto</a> </span></i> </i> </div>
GattoCommunicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06391783993841380351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-31354614971903225862014-05-29T21:15:00.001-07:002014-05-29T21:15:21.625-07:00MEDIA ADVISORY: Mike Gatto to Host Senior Scam Stopper Event; Prevent Financial Abuse of Senior Citizens<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">MEDIA ADVISORY CONTACT: Justin Hager 818-558-3043</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Thursday, May 29, 2014 Mobile 415-889-9762</span><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Mike Gatto to Host Senior Scam Stopper Event; <o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Prevent Financial Abuse of Senior Citizens</span></u></b><u><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Members of the public and local media are invited to attend a <b>FREE </b>Senior Scam Stopper seminar <b>Thursday, June 5, 2014 </b>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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">This educational event is <b>FREE </b>and open to the public. Photography will be permitted at the event</span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 12.0pt;">;</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> permission to record video or audio must be cleared in advance by contacting Justin Hager, Communications Director for Assemblyman Gatto.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Thursday June 5, 2014</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">4:00pm – 5:15pm</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Glendale Adventist Medical Center<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Community Gym<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">311 Vallejo Drive<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Glendale, CA 91206<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Parking is available behind the gym or in the main tower. Street parking is also available.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;">Why</span></b><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;">: 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. </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;">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.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">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. <a href="http://www.asm.ca.gov/gatto">www.asm.ca.gov/gatto</a> <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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Justin Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992441572444921508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-56856582516046616302014-05-14T16:11:00.000-07:002014-05-14T16:11:00.517-07:00Crescenta Valley Weekly: American Legion RemodeledBy Robin Goldsworthy | May 8, 2014<br />
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The American Legion Post 288 is in the midst of a facelift – a much needed facelift.
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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.<br /></div>
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“Home Depot has a core value of giving back,” said Chuck Messig, community captain for District 26 at Home Depot.</div>
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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.
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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.</div>
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“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. </div>
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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.</div>
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“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.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7D3hWwIrRnw/U3PwQVOEzII/AAAAAAAAADg/8YKSZMAD7rw/s1600/DSC_4295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7D3hWwIrRnw/U3PwQVOEzII/AAAAAAAAADg/8YKSZMAD7rw/s1600/DSC_4295.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo By Dick CLUBB</td></tr>
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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.</div>
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<i>This article originally appeared in the CRESCENTA VALLEY WEEKLY. You can read this article and more by
visiting the CRESCENTA VALLEY WEEKLY <a href="http://www.crescentavalleyweekly.com/news/05/08/2014/american-legion-remodeled/" target="_blank">HERE</a>. </i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">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. <a href="http://www.asm.ca.gov/gatto">www.asm.ca.gov/gatto</a> </span></i><br />
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GattoCommunicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06391783993841380351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-46161679549075878152014-05-14T16:10:00.001-07:002014-05-14T16:10:37.060-07:00VARIETY: Mayors Urge California to Expand Production Tax CreditTed Johnson- Senior Editor<br />
May 13, 2014 | 10:29 AM<br />
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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.<br />
<br />
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...<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GKTT7oRMr3U/U3P2RjrYv4I/AAAAAAAAADw/ojbbONBVIkg/s1600/califronia-tax-incentives-sacramento-capitol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GKTT7oRMr3U/U3P2RjrYv4I/AAAAAAAAADw/ojbbONBVIkg/s1600/califronia-tax-incentives-sacramento-capitol.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a>...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.<br />
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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...<br />
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<i>You can read this entire article and more by visiting VARIETY <a href="http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/mayors-urge-california-to-expand-production-tax-credit-1201179434/" target="_blank">HERE</a>. </i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">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. <a href="http://www.asm.ca.gov/gatto">www.asm.ca.gov/gatto</a> </span></i>GattoCommunicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06391783993841380351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-7741250662055170462014-04-28T15:36:00.000-07:002014-04-28T15:38:21.307-07:00GNP: Gatto's social media bill headed to a vote<span style="font-size: x-small;">By Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com - April 26, 2014 | 2:05 p.m.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4LBo7q57QYU/U17WUr08cVI/AAAAAAAAADE/zFVKrp4C9Ro/s1600/Gatto+Press+Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4LBo7q57QYU/U17WUr08cVI/AAAAAAAAADE/zFVKrp4C9Ro/s1600/Gatto+Press+Photo.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div>
A state bill that sets social media-monitoring standards for schools is now heading to the full State Assembly for a vote.<br />
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Introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Silver Lake), AB 1442 passed with a 7-0 vote by the Assembly Education Committee. It would require educators monitoring bullying online to inform parents when their child’s Facebook, Instagram or Twitter account is being viewed.The proposed legislation would also require schools to delete any collected photos or other posts to be deleted within a year of a student turning 18.<br />
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“Imagine the harm that could be caused if a hacker, mean-spirited employee or even a careless IT worker were to expose a database of all the things a person said or did as a teenager,” Gatto said in a statement.<br />
--<br />
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Follow Arin Mikailian on Twitter: @ArinMikailian.<br />
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<i>You can read this article and more at the Glendale News Press by clicking <a href="http://www.glendalenewspress.com/news/tn-gnp-gattos-social-media-bill-headed-to-a-vote-20140426,0,2996108.story" target="_blank">HERE</a></i>GattoCommunicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06391783993841380351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-45767891627915732482014-04-28T15:02:00.001-07:002014-04-28T15:27:18.795-07:00Cal. Newswire: Mike Gatto’s AJR 1 Historic Constitutional Resolution Passes California State Assembly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iJ61ELrQcfU/U17PfDOqJII/AAAAAAAAAC0/_PCQ_6ZlWRk/s1600/28th+Amendment+Roadshow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iJ61ELrQcfU/U17PfDOqJII/AAAAAAAAAC0/_PCQ_6ZlWRk/s1600/28th+Amendment+Roadshow.jpg" height="375" width="500" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="color: blue;">Campaign finance reform is so important. This weekend, I participated in a panel at UCLA School of Law sponsored by Common Cause (See photo above), on this topic and my AJR 1, which is discussed in the California Newswire article below:</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></i><span class="small" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: lowercase; vertical-align: baseline;">by</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span><span class="author vcard" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: capitalize; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fn" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://californianewswire.com/author/christophersimmons/" rel="author" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #888888; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Posts by Christopher Simmons">Christopher Simmons</a></span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span><span class="small" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: lowercase; vertical-align: baseline;">on</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span><abbr class="date time published" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #999999; cursor: help; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="2014-01-30T17:13:51-0700">Thu, 30 Jan 2014</abbr></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 1.5em;">SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — This week, California Assemblyman Mike Gatto’s (D-Los Angeles) AJR 1, a measure to begin the process to amend the United States Constitution to address the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, took a major step forward, passing the California State Assembly by a vote of 51-20. In Citizens United, a deeply divided Supreme Court held that corporations are due the same free-speech rights enjoyed by natural persons.</span></div>
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The decision spawned “Super PACs,” which have flooded unlimited and largely anonymous corporate money into federal elections. According to the Federal Election Commission, Super PAC spending in 2012 federal elections totaled more than $567 million.</div>
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“Most Americans are fed up with the notion that money is speech and that moneyed interests can therefore drown out the speech of average citizens,” said Gatto.</div>
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Historically, all amendments to the U.S. Constitution have started in Congress, and been ratified later by 3/4 of the states. AJR 1 takes advantage of the rarely-used Article V process for amending the federal Constitution, which allows states to demand that Congress act. If 2/3 of the states make such a demand, Congress must call a constitutional convention on the topic. Several states and municipalities have already passed informal resolutions condemning the Citizens United decision, but Gatto’s AJR 1 is the first to utilize the Article V process which could compel Congress to act.</div>
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The state-initiated process in Article V has been tried several times, with limited success. Although the process has never resulted in a constitutional convention, it has spurred Congress to take action several times. According to a 2007 article in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, at least four different amendments to the U.S. Constitution have been proposed by Congress in part because of Article V actions. For example, the amendments that repealed prohibition and allowed for the direct election of Senators were first demanded by state legislatures under Article V.</div>
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AJR 1 calls for a convention that would be expressly limited to campaign-finance and corporate-personhood issues. Now that it has passed the State Assembly, the resolution will next go to the California State Senate, after which other states could similarly act, triggering the convention. Its passage is further significant because it is the first time in recent memory that a Democratic-controlled legislature has passed an Article V demand. Several Republican-controlled statehouses have recently passed Article V resolutions for the Balanced Budget Amendment or simply to establish rules for a future Article V convention. Today’s passage of AJR 1 signifies broad, nationwide, bipartisan action, by the legislators closest to the people, to demand action on Congress on big issues.</div>
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“I doubt our Founding Fathers had the free-speech rights of multi-national and foreign corporations in mind when they drafted the First Amendment,” said Gatto. “But the Founding Fathers did anticipate that every once in a while, the states would need to prod Congress to act to amend the Constitution. That’s what we are doing.”</div>
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<i>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. <a class="autohyperlink" href="http://www.asm.ca.gov/gatto" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #428bca; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="">www.asm.ca.gov/gatto</a></i></div>
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GattoCommunicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06391783993841380351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-56000151344196569602014-04-28T14:53:00.000-07:002014-04-28T14:53:32.871-07:00WATCH IT HERE: KNBC on Safeguarding Students' Social Media and AB 1442Watch the NBC-Los Angeles story on my AB 1442, which provides safeguards for when governments use tax dollars to store students' social media.<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="330" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2nVWvAcZXJo" width="580"></iframe>GattoCommunicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06391783993841380351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-17716385457251900352014-04-15T15:36:00.001-07:002014-04-15T15:38:38.909-07:00Glendale News-Press: Gatto: New legislation would protect victims of on-campus rapes, other crimes <span style="color: #0b5394;">Mark Kellam- Glendale News-Press</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">January 6, 2014</span><br />
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If legislation introduced Monday by Assemblyman <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="https://www.blogger.com/topic/politics/government/mike-gatto-PEPLT00008575.topic" id="PEPLT00008575" title="Mike Gatto">Mike Gatto</a>
(D-Silver Lake) becomes law, college officials across the state would be
required to report certain crimes occurring on or near campuses to law
enforcement to investigate, if the victim does not request anonymity.<br />
<br />
AB 1433 comes after several California colleges have been accused of
covering-up on-campus sexual assaults because of concerns that higher crime
statistics would lead prospective students to choose elsewhere, Gatto said.<br />
<br />
The unwillingness of campus officials to involve proper non-campus
law-enforcement professionals greatly diminishes the chance that a perpetrator
is arrested and convicted, he added.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6GB7TPSU-EM/U02zwvERGZI/AAAAAAAAACg/gep6A5_IWeQ/s1600/Assemblyman+Mike+Gatto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6GB7TPSU-EM/U02zwvERGZI/AAAAAAAAACg/gep6A5_IWeQ/s1600/Assemblyman+Mike+Gatto.jpg" height="320" width="246" /></a></div>
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“Victims of crime should not see their chances of justice hurt, nor should
perpetrators be allowed to victimize others, because a school values its public
image more than victims' rights,” Gatto said in a statement. “Colleges should
focus on teaching, and leave the investigation of crimes to the professionals --
local police and sheriffs.”<br />
<br />
Two southern California colleges are currently the subject of a federal
investigation for their handling of on-campus sexual assaults and other violent
crimes, Gatto said.<br />
<br />
“Crimes that occur on campus should not be treated any differently than
those that occur elsewhere in our community,” Gatto said. "California law needs
to make sure that college administrators involve law enforcement when
appropriate."<br />
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<i>This article originally appeared in the GLENDALE NEWS-PRESS. You can read this article and more by
visiting the GLENDALE NEWS-PRESS <a href="http://www.glendalenewspress.com/news/tn-gnp-me-gatto-new-legislation-would-protect-victims-of-oncampus-rapes-other-crimes-20140106,0,2962033.story">HERE</a>. </i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">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. <a href="http://www.asm.ca.gov/gatto">www.asm.ca.gov/gatto</a> </span></i>GattoCommunicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06391783993841380351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-5857719093654671532014-04-15T15:16:00.000-07:002014-04-15T15:40:38.978-07:00California Newswire: Calif. 2014 Water Conservation Bill Clears First Committee as Drought Looms<div class="post-meta">
<span class="small">By</span> <span class="author vcard"><span class="fn"><a href="http://californianewswire.com/author/christophersimmons/" rel="author" title="Posts by Christopher Simmons">Christopher Simmons- California Newswire </a></span></span> </div>
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<abbr class="date time published" title="2014-03-25T17:11:02-0700">March 25, 2014</abbr><br />
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — A key water-conservation bill
introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) passed the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee today by a vote of 13-0. AB 2636 establishes
CalConserve, a revolving-loan program to provide loans to home owners and
businesses to help finance water-efficiency projects. The program will reduce
urban, per-capita water use and help cities and counties reach their water-use
reduction goals.</div>
<br />
Conserving water has long been a goal of California policymakers, but with
the state in the midst of a disastrous drought, conserving precious water
resources has never been more important. For the first time in history, water
exports to Central Valley farms and Southern California homes have fallen to
zero. Crops are dying, cities are running out of drinking water, and streams are
running dry. The drought is even forcing children in the Central Valley to leave
school, as their parents are forced to abandon drought-scorched crops in search
of work elsewhere.<br />
<br />
“The technology already exists to save millions of gallons of water, but the
infrastructure of our homes and businesses needs to be updated,” said Gatto.
“This legislation would provide funds for homeowners and businesses to make
water-saving infrastructure upgrades.”<br />
<br />
Gatto’s bill authorizes the Department of Water Resources to administer a
state revolving-fund program that will be a self-renewing source of funding for
water-use efficiency. By helping private entities pay the upfront infrastructure
costs of installing water-efficiency technology, CalConserve will allow more
homeowners and business to save water. As they begin seeing savings on their
water bill, these private entities will pay the infrastructure loan back to
CalConserve.<br />
<br />
“California can save water without asking taxpayers to spend a single dime,”
noted Gatto. “Instead of giving away limited state resources in grants to pay
for retrofits, we can help people pay the upfront costs and let them pay us back
slowly from their water-bill savings.”<br />
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AB 2636 now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.<br />
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<i>This article originally appeared in CALIFORNIA NEWSWIRE. You can read this article and more by
visiting CALIFORNIA NEWSWIRE <a href="http://californianewswire.com/2014/03/25/CNW19118_171102.php/calif-2014-water-conservation-bill-clears-first-committee-drought-looms/">HERE</a>. </i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">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. <a href="http://www.asm.ca.gov/gatto">www.asm.ca.gov/gatto</a> </span></i><br />
<abbr class="date time published" title="2014-03-25T17:11:02-0700"> </abbr> </div>
GattoCommunicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06391783993841380351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-87784250292362349802014-04-15T14:50:00.001-07:002014-04-15T15:41:54.873-07:00LA Times: California film tax credit bill OKd by Assembly panel<div class="mod-articlesubtitle" id="mod-article-subtitle">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The proposal, which aims to stem so-called runaway film and TV production,
would renew and boost a state tax credit to better compete with subsidies and
studios elsewhere. </span></i></span></h2>
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Proposed legislation would
extend the California film tax credit program… (Michael Robinson Chavez)</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Marc Fisher - LA Times</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">March 25, 2014</span></span></span><br />
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SACRAMENTO — Proposed legislation aimed at providing more tax credits to
attract so-called runaway movie and television productions back to the
industry's birthplace in California won initial approval from a legislative
committee Tuesday.
The proposal would renew and increase a state tax credit — amounting to as
much as $400 million a year — to better compete with generous tax subsidies
available in more than 40 states, including New York, Louisiana, New York and
Michigan, as well as studios in Canada and Britain.</div>
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The tax credit would allow most film and TV production companies to reduce
their tax liability by 20% of the cost of many production expenditures.<br />
<br />
The movie industry, supporters said, is too important to California's
economy, history and image to be allowed to slip away. "This is our industry to
keep or lose," said Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica). "We need to send
a message to New York, England and other states competing for our jobs and say,
'It stops here.'"<br />
<br />
The bill, AB 1839 by Assemblymen Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) and Raul
Bocanegra (D-Pacoima), passed Tuesday on a 7-0 bipartisan vote by the Assembly
Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media Committee. Gatto said he
expects an easy transit through the Assembly but conceded that the bill might
face more skepticism in the Senate and governor's office. Gov. Jerry Brown has
not taken a public position.<br />
<br />
Representatives from movie-related trade unions, studios, caterers and other
service providers, film commissions and local governments, including the city
and county of Los Angeles, filled the ornate Capitol hearing room with
spontaneous applause. The measure now moves to the Assembly Revenue and Taxation
Committee.<br />
<br />
"We can't afford to let any more jobs abandon our state," Gatto said. "This
effort is a rare example of government appropriately taking steps to ensure
well-paying jobs stay in California."<br />
<br />
About 70 lawmakers have signed on as coauthors of the bill, which has solid
support across party lines and in all regions of the state. The only public
opposition came from the California Teachers Assn. and the California School
Employees Assn. The two groups said they opposed giving special tax breaks to a
particular industry. The money, they suggested, would be better spent on K-12
education.<br />
<br />
The Gatto-Bocanegra bill, if passed, would replace a 2009 law that has
provided $100 million a year in credits. To date, it has funded about 270
projects, generated $4.75 billion in economic activity and created 51,000 mainly
high-paying jobs, many for skilled workers such as electricians, carpenters,
animators and cinematographers, the legislators said.<br />
<br />
The proposed legislation would extend the program until 2022. It would
broaden eligibility to include big movie productions, all television series and
provide a special incentive for shooting outside the traditional Los
Angeles-centered area.<br />
<br />
According to Gatto's office, film production in California has declined by
half in the last 15 years. Just last year, 21 of 23 prime-time television series
were filmed outside California, transferring jobs to other states and forcing
many longtime California residents to move away, Gatto's office said.<br />
"I don't want to move, but there's tons of work in Atlanta," said Ed
Gutentag, a Topanga cameraman who says he's moving to Georgia in a few
weeks.<br />
<br />
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# # #</div>
<div style="font-family: Adamina; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;">
<i>This article originally appeared in LOS ANGELES TIMES by Marc Lifsher. You can read this article and more by
visiting LOS ANGELES TIMES <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar/25/business/la-fi-film-tax-credit-20140326">HERE</a>. </i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">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. <a href="http://www.asm.ca.gov/gatto">www.asm.ca.gov/gatto</a> </span></i></div>
</div>
GattoCommunicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06391783993841380351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-86633090201442317622014-04-15T14:19:00.000-07:002014-04-15T15:16:49.704-07:00Asbarez: Community Makes Homenetmen, Woodbury Leadership Seminar a Success<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H7WfELIhg7I/U02fnIgLUFI/AAAAAAAAABw/bPme9_ywegI/s1600/leadership-1-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H7WfELIhg7I/U02fnIgLUFI/AAAAAAAAABw/bPme9_ywegI/s1600/leadership-1-small.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Speakers and organizers of the 'Elevate 2014'
Leadership Seminar at </span></div>
<div class="wp-caption-text">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Woodbury University's Fletcher Jones Foundation
Auditorium</span></div>
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<b>Participants hear from distinguished leaders from government, medicine,
business, entertainment, and academia</b><br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://asbarez.com/121553/community-makes-homenetmen-woodbury-leadership-seminar-a-success/">Asbarez</a><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />April 4, 2014</b><br />
<br />
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BURBANK–Well over 250 excited and eager attendees packed the Fletcher Jones
Foundation Auditorium at Woodbury University early on Saturday morning to
participate in “Elevate 2014” Leadership Conference Seminar. Hosted by the
Homenetmen Glendale “Ararat” Chapter and the Woodbury University Center for
Leadership, this one of a kind event was originally conceived in 2012 through a
partnership of the aforementioned entities and sought to unite and engage
concerned community leaders who recognized its tremendous and immediate need and
was established in response to growing community calls for a vehicle to exist
which develops and instills, within its youth, the leadership skills that
elevate and empower them to become productive citizens and influential members
of society.<br />
<br />
“We are beyond pleased with this event. It was so uplifting to see so many
young people here so early on a Saturday morning to attend a leadership
seminar,” remarked Homenetmen Glendale “Ararat” Chapter Chairman Tomik
Abrahamian. “When you put so much time, energy and effort into an event of this
kind and it yields the positive response and interest it does, you cannot help
but be proud, reinvigorated and encouraged. We thank all of our speakers,
sponsors, participants, attendees and Dr. Calingo and his staff at Woodbury
University for their cooperation and support in this effort and hope to build on
our unique partnership with Woodbury University on future events and
projects.”<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sqbzx55ZssA/U02fo9CYCLI/AAAAAAAAAB8/kOmgFSBUaOs/s1600/leadership-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sqbzx55ZssA/U02fo9CYCLI/AAAAAAAAAB8/kOmgFSBUaOs/s1600/leadership-2.jpg" height="262" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="wp-caption-text">
Homenetmen Glendale 'Ararat' Chapter Chairman
Tomik Abrahamian, Academy Award winning producer at Pixar Animation Studios
Katherine Sarafian, and Homenetmen Glendale Chapter Executive Director Armond
Gorgorian</div>
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<div class="entry">
This capacity room event featured a unique list of accomplished and renowned
speakers which included: Katherine Sarafian, Academy Award winning producer at
Pixar Animation Studios; Luis Ma. R. Calingo, Ph.D., President of Woodbury
University; Mikayel Israyelyan, entrepreneur and CEO of Muse Lifestyle Group;
Scott Ochoa, City Manager for City of Glendale; Arby Nahapetian M.D., VP of
Medical Affairs and Quality at Glendale Adventist Medical Center; and longtime
community leader and philanthropist and founder and President of Massis Kabob,
Hacop Baghdassarian, who was honored with the “2014 Elevate Leadership Award.”
Also attending were California State Assembly member Mike Gatto, Mayor of the
City of Burbank Emily Gabel-Luddy, City of Burbank Councilmember Jess
Talamantes, Glendale City Clerk Ardashes “Ardy” Kassakhian, and Glendale
Community College Member of Board of Trustees Dr. Armine Hacopian.<br />
<br />
Certificates of Recognition were provided to the participants and honorees by
the offices of Congressman Adam B. Schiff, Calif. State Assembly Speaker John A.
Pérez, Calif. State Assembly Members Adrin Nazarian and Mike Gatto, Calif. State
Controller John Chiang, LA County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, Calif. State
Senator Carol Liu, City of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and Los Angeles
Councilmembers Paul Krekorian and Felipe Fuentes.<br />
<br />
“I was very impressed with the large turnout and assemblage and quality of
speakers who participated in today’s seminar. There was something special for
everyone that came here today to learn to lead and grow effectively,” stated Dr.
Luis Ma. R. Calingo, President of Woodbury University. “The various fields and
disciplines represented here was extraordinarily unique and we are extremely
proud to host this event, for the second time now and look forward to partnering
with the Homenetmen Glendale “Ararat” Chapter on the next ‘Elevate’ Seminar and
other similar events.”<br />
<br />
After the event, attendees were treated to a special luncheon hosted by the
University at its Alumni Quad, during which they had further opportunities to
meet and mingle with the speakers and one another. Through an extra special
arrangement, UFC and MMA superstars Edmond Tarverdyan (UFC Bantamweight Champ
Ronda Rousey’s trainer), Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke, Shayna “The Queen of Spades”
Baszler, and Marina Shafir were on hand to sign autographs and participate in
photo opportunities with attendees.<br />
<br />
The “Elevate 2014” Leadership Development Conference Seminar Series of the
Homenetmen Glendale “Ararat” Chapter and the Woodbury University is the largest
and only Armenian-American Leadership Incubator of its kind and draws and
directs the wisdom and experience of the nation’s top Armenian-American
corporate and business leaders, public figures and accomplished and recognized
leaders from the fields of the arts and sciences, entertainment, athletics and
civic and community leaders and academics and identifies and instills within
today’s Armenian-American youth the leadership skills and organizational tools
required to prepare them to become tomorrow’s influential citizens and community
leaders. This Leadership Development Incubator focuses on character shaping and
leadership development.<br />
<br />
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# # #</div>
<div style="font-family: Adamina; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;">
<i>This article originally appeared in ASBAREZ. You can read this article and more by
visiting ASBAREZ <a href="http://asbarez.com/121553/community-makes-homenetmen-woodbury-leadership-seminar-a-success/">HERE</a>.<span id="goog_397123593"></span><span id="goog_397123594"></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">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. <a href="http://www.asm.ca.gov/gatto">www.asm.ca.gov/gatto</a> </span></i></div>
</div>
GattoCommunicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06391783993841380351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-92018172764143760532014-01-30T15:26:00.001-08:002014-01-30T15:26:31.830-08:00THE TEMPEST: New bill offers hope to assault victims on college campuses<div class="permalinkphotobox" style="float: right; font-family: Adamina; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; padding: 0px; width: 300px;">
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<a href="http://www.solanotempest.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/article-2507481-196A512400000578-784_634x400.jpg" rel="prettyPhoto[1]" style="color: #243e90; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles"><br /><img class="catboxphoto" src="http://www.solanotempest.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/article-2507481-196A512400000578-784_634x400-595x375.jpg" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 300px;" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.solanotempest.net/uncategorized/2014/01/29/ruben-rangel-opinion-editor-49160/" style="color: #243e90; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"></a></div>
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Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles</div>
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<a href="http://www.solanotempest.net/staff/2014/01/27/addi-simmons-staff-writer-16941/" style="color: #243e90; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Addi Simmons</a>, <a href="http://www.solanotempest.net/opinion/2014/01/29/new-bill-offers-hope-to-assault-victims-on-college-campuses-56710/" target="_blank">TEMPEST</a> Staff Writer<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />January 29, 2014</div>
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According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, less than five percent of completed or attempted rapes against college women are reported to law enforcement. That’s 95 percent of sexual violence going unnoticed and therefore, unpunished.</div>
<div style="font-family: Adamina; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;">
California Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, hopes to change that by proposing an assembly bill (<a href="http://www.asmdc.org/members/a43/press-releases/assemblyman-mike-gatto-takes-action-to-protect-victims-of-on-campus-rapes-and-similar-crimes" style="color: #243e90; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Bill Overview">AB 1433</a>) that would require colleges to report violent crimes (forcible rape, willful homicide, robbery or aggravated assault) and hate crimes to local law enforcement for investigation unless the victim requests otherwise, according to a press release from Gatto’s office.</div>
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Originally, Gatto’s proposed bill required campus police to report these crimes to local law enforcement regardless of the victim’s wishes, but after speaking to sexual assault survivor and UC Berkeley Junior, Sofie Karasek, he amended the bill. Karasek told Gatto that if she knew that by reporting the crime to campus police the case would be transferred to local law enforcement, she never would have come forth to report it in the first place, according to an article in Newsweek.</div>
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A lot of the time, sexual assault survivors choose not to report the crime because they’re afraid of not being believed, fear reprisal, or simply don’t want to go through the long, tedious process of trial. It can be detrimental to the victims to have to relive details of the attack and most don’t feel comfortable opening up to prosecutors about their experience because it seems too personal to share, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.</div>
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However, if the crimes aren’t passed on to the police department, often times the victims don’t see justice and the assaulters are able to victimize others. If this bill were passed, it would prevent future occurrences by not allowing the criminals to walk away without punishment and would dissuade other potential assaulters from committing the same crime.</div>
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According to Gatto’s website, a number of colleges in California were found to be allegedly discouraging victims from reporting their assaults in order to protect the reputation of the school. Now, multiple organizations and policymakers have taken notice and are stepping up to the plate in order to change things. This includes, not only Mike Gatto, but President Obama as well.</div>
<div style="font-family: Adamina; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;">
On Jan. 22, 2014,<a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/01/22/white-house-task-force-seeks-to-tackle-college-sexual-assault" style="color: #243e90; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Obama takcles college rape"> Obama signed a presidential memorandum </a>creating a task force to protect students from sexual assault.</div>
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“To help them come up with better ways to protect and respond to sexual assault on their campuses, and then we’ll help them put those ideas into practice,” President Obama said in a press briefing at the Whitehouse, according to media reports.</div>
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The assembly bill Mike Gatto is proposing is only the beginning in a slew of action finally being enforced upon college campuses that fail to take these incursions seriously. Although we still have a long way to go in combating sexual assault, AB 1433 seems to be taking a step in the right direction.</div>
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# # #</div>
<div style="font-family: Adamina; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;">
<i>This article originally appeared in THE TEMPEST, the student voice of Solano Community College. You can read this article and more by visiting the Tempest <a href="http://www.solanotempest.net/opinion/2014/01/29/new-bill-offers-hope-to-assault-victims-on-college-campuses-56710/" target="_blank">HERE</a></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">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. <a href="http://www.asm.ca.gov/gatto">www.asm.ca.gov/gatto</a> </span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Justin Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992441572444921508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-15265399622209086172014-01-13T15:27:00.003-08:002014-01-13T15:27:30.737-08:00LA WEEKLY: Mike Gatto Wants You to Weigh in on World's First Wiki-Made Law<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OvRX-rfKYdg/UtR1M3KLjDI/AAAAAAAACD0/xydncpLnrIo/s1600/crowdsourcinglaw.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OvRX-rfKYdg/UtR1M3KLjDI/AAAAAAAACD0/xydncpLnrIo/s400/crowdsourcinglaw.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MikeGatto.wikispaces.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">By Dennis Romero -</span><a href="http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2013/12/mike_gatto_wiki_bill_california.php" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" target="_blank"> LA Weekly</a><br />
<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br />In what is being trumpeted as "the first purely crowdsourced piece of legislation in the United States," L.A. state Assemblyman Mike Gatto is inviting you, the average citizen, to help draft a new law.</span><br />
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
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He has turned to <a href="http://mikegatto.wikispaces.com/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #0c67a1; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Wikispaces to let anyone -- anyone! -- weigh in on this proposal</a>, and the lawmaker has vowed to introduce the final product in the legislature no matter what he ends up with.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
But before you start jumping around and saying, <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Legalize it!</em>, an idea that would surely dominate this exercise, there is a caveat:</div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Gatto has limited this experiment to probate law, the regulation that covers the wills and estates of the dead and how this wealth gets transferred.</div>
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This is why, his office states:</div>
<blockquote style="background-color: #eeeeee; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px; vertical-align: baseline;">
To narrow down the submissions in this first trial of the process, Gatto is asking bill drafters to focus their proposals on changes to the California probate code. This subject matter was selected because it is one where large numbers of specialists exist with an interest in participating (lawyers, CPAs, etc.), but also, since almost everyone has had some experience in handling the death of a loved one, large numbers of the public are also likely to have an opinion on how California's relevant laws could be improved.</blockquote>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
So there you have it. Not as fun. But just as experimental. For example, you could <a href="http://mikegatto.wikispaces.com/Probate+Draft+Legislation" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #0c67a1; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">try to change the law regarding who gets a decedent's property</a> when there's no will.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
But Gatto has warned folks who might get excited by the process that coming up with a proposal, no matter how just or far out, would only be the first step.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The bill would have to be green-lighted by numerous committees, both houses of the legislature, and Gov. Jerry Brown. That's an uphill battle even for no-brainer proposals like extending California's last-call-for-alcohol time beyond 2 a.m.</div>
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Gatto is excited nonetheless, saying this is a better way than sometimes-extreme citizen initiatives or even President Obama's own online petitions.</div>
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The lawmaker says:</div>
<blockquote style="background-color: #eeeeee; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px; vertical-align: baseline;">
This is a great way for people to have a voice in their government. Too often, special-interest groups draft legislation. In contrast, 'crowdsourcing' a bill on the Wiki platform will allow for a fully transparent brainstorming, drafting, and editing process that will incorporate ideas from a large group of people. The collective wisdom of the public will choose the final product.</blockquote>
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The collective wisdom of the public? Be careful what you wish for.</div>
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<i>You can read this article and more at the LA Weekly <a href="http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2013/12/mike_gatto_wiki_bill_california.php" target="_blank">HERE</a></i></div>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">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 </i></div>
Justin Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992441572444921508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-87713485311476439012014-01-13T14:49:00.001-08:002014-01-13T14:50:34.528-08:00LA TIMES: New bill targets underreporting of sexual assaults at state colleges <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Attorney Gloria Allred, left sitting and Dr. Caroline Heldman, professor of politics, along with 6 sexual assault victims at a news conference last April to announce the filing of a complaint against Occidental as a result of what the women allege is the college's "Deliberate indifference to rape victims." (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times / April 18, 2013)</td></tr>
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From: <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-college-sexual-assault-20140106,0,4727901.story#axzz2pgB8grGp" target="_blank">Los Angeles Times PolitiCal</a></div>
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<span class="dateString">January 7, 2014</span><span class="dateTimeSeparator">, </span><span class="timeString">7:00 a.m.</span></div>
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SACRAMENTO -- A new bill introduced Monday would impose new reporting requirements for crimes occurring at colleges and universities, a response to reports that several California schools did not fully disclose on-campus sexual assaults.</div>
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The bill, by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles), would require colleges to report violent crimes and hate crimes on or near campus to local law enforcement for investigation, unless the victim of the crime requests that such a report not be submitted.</div>
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"Members of the public are tempted to think of universities as bubbles -- but they are not," said Gatto in an interview. "A crime that occurs there is just as harmful to society as a crime that occurs in someone’s backyard."</div>
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Gatto said his bill, AB 1433, was inspired by reports that a number of colleges in California, including Occidental College and USC, did not fully report crime statistics. Federal law requires colleges and universities to disclose to the U.S. Department of Education those statistics, which are then compiled into an annual report.</div>
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Gatto said his bill would improve on the federal law by getting the police involved when the crime is reported.</div>
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"What helps those victims is the crime actually being investigated by a competent law enforcement agency," he said. </div>
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"Colleges and universities are there to teach. They're not there to investigate crimes," he added. "The police forces clearly are experts." </div>
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Another bill introduced Monday seeks greater protections for sexual assault victims: AB 1460, by Assemblywoman Nora Campos (D-San Jose), would allow judges to grant restraining orders for victims of sex crimes, without first requiring the victim's testimony.</div>
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<span class="toolSet" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; width: 335px;"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>You can read this article and more at the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-college-sexual-assault-20140106,0,4727901.story#axzz2pgB8grGp" target="_blank">Los Angeles Times</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-college-sexual-assault-20140106,0,4727901.story#ixzz2qJypV4zi" style="color: #003399; text-decoration: none;">http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-college-sexual-assault-20140106,0,4727901.story#ixzz2qJypV4zi</a></span><br />
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<i>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 </i>Justin Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992441572444921508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-59441488311452904712014-01-13T14:40:00.000-08:002014-01-13T14:40:07.844-08:00OPINION EDITORIAL: Crime on campus: Local police should investigate incidents like San Jose State's<h1 class="articleTitle" id="articleTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 33px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 11.326px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
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By Mike Gatto</div>
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Special to the <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_24857156/crime-campus-local-police-should-investigate-incidents-like" target="_blank">Mercury News</a></div>
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The stories are undeniably tragic.<br />
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At Occidental College in Los Angeles, the administration allegedly did not report on-campus rapes to law enforcement, apparently concerned that higher crime statistics would make prospective students choose elsewhere.<br />
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At San Jose State University, the administration admittedly failed to recognize the brutal abuse of a 17-year-old African-American student, who was targeted for his race, by his roommates.<br />
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The failure of administrators in these cases to recognize dangerous warning signs, properly train staff and take student-crime reports seriously has prolonged these students' misery and harmed their chances of seeing justice.<br />
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In the roommate abuse case, the young man was allegedly held captive in his room for short periods of time with a bicycle lock around his neck. The university's president has admitted that by "failing to recognize" the warning signs and not "intervening earlier," it "failed" this young man.<br />
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Similarly, the unwillingness of officials at Occidental to involve non-campus law-enforcement professionals in on-campus sexual assaults resulted in numerous students not receiving the medical attention they needed, and surely diminished the ability for them to someday see an arrest and conviction of their rapists.<br />
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If only the stories ended there. They don't.<br />
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Two Southern California colleges are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for their handling of on-campus sexual assaults and other violent crimes.<br />
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In addition, five U.S. campuses, including UC Berkeley and two Southern California campuses, are the subject of a federal lawsuit alleging violations of Title IX and the Clery Act. The Clery Act requires colleges and universities participating in federal financial-aid programs to disclose information about crimes that happen on or near campuses.<br />
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Victims of violent and demeaning crimes face numerous obstacles to a full recovery. For deeply personal reasons, some victims may choose not to report a crime to administrators or police. But those victims that do report should expect to be taken seriously, and for non-campus law enforcement to be notified immediately.<br />
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I think colleges should focus on instruction, and leave law enforcement up to the professionals. Victims of crime should not see their chances of justice hurt, nor their agony prolonged. I suspect that involving local police or sheriffs will result in greater prevention and threat assessment than if such things are left up to university administrators.<br />
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For these reasons, on Monday I introduced urgency legislation that would require colleges to promptly report on-campus crimes to local law enforcement. This legislation, AB 1433, strikes a balance between the right of a victim to not report a crime and the need for crime reports to be taken seriously.<br />
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It may not address all circumstances. Situations like the one at San Jose State demand additional training beyond the scope of this legislation to help administrators and staff to recognize the warning signs earlier.<br />
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But it will ensure that when students do come forward, their voices will not be silenced by bureaucracy or by concerns about student recruitment and retention.<br />
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Our college campuses may look like bubbles from the outside. But the crimes that occur there are no different in their effects on victims than crimes occurring elsewhere in our community.<br />
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Let's give independent law enforcement the knowledge they need to fight sexual assault and other crimes on campus.<br />
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<i>Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, is chairman of the Appropriations Committee in the California State Assembly. He wrote this for this newspaper (<a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_24857156/crime-campus-local-police-should-investigate-incidents-like" target="_blank">Mercury News.com</a>).</i><br />
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# # #Justin Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992441572444921508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026047954819257795.post-49143336709041454332014-01-13T14:28:00.003-08:002014-01-13T14:28:41.577-08:00CBS LA: Lawmaker Moves To Boost Training For Teachers To ID, Report Child Abuse<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; outline: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 12px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b>You can listen to this story and more from CBS Radio <a href="http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/01/07/lawmaker-moves-to-boost-training-for-teachers-to-id-report-child-abuse/" target="_blank">HERE</a></b></div>
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<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com)</strong> — A Southland lawmaker has introduced a bill that would require teachers and other school staffers to undergo training on how to identify suspected cases of child abuse.</div>
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KNX 1070′s Margaret Carrero reports Assemblyman Mike Gatto wants the California Department of Education to provide guidelines for educators on how — and when — to alert authorities.<br />
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Under existing state law, a parent or guardian of a minor can face criminal charges for failing to provide clothing, food, shelter, or medical care “without lawful excuse.” Existing law also makes it a crime for a parent or guardian to desert a child under 14 years of age with the intent to abandon that child.</div>
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<a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/asm/ab_1401-1450/ab_1432_bill_20140106_introduced.pdf" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #266ec4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Assembly Bill 1432 (PDF)</a> would require teachers and other school officials to pass an online course on how to identify and properly report abuse before the start of each school year.</div>
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Recent reports showed that certain abuse was prolonged because large numbers of school personnel were unaware of the processes and their responsibilities for reporting abuse, according to Gatto.</div>
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“We can’t allow unfamiliarity with the signs of abuse and the proper way to report it to serve as excuse for permitting child abusers to continue working in our schools,” said Gatto. “AB 1432 is a common-sense approach to the problem, since every year, education professionals will be reminded of their duties.”</div>
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The legislation comes after <a href="http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/02/05/more-information-emerges-about-alleged-sexual-misconduct-at-south-la-school/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #266ec4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">several reports of alleged abuse cases</a> at Miramonte Elementary and other schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District since 2012.</div>
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One Southland father of two said the legislation is a step forward for educators and students alike.</div>
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“Just to remind them of the dangers of child abuse and the signs can be subtle,” he said. “So I think it’s probably a good idea that they do something.”</div>
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<b>You can listen to this story and more from CBS Radio <a href="http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/01/07/lawmaker-moves-to-boost-training-for-teachers-to-id-report-child-abuse/" target="_blank">HERE</a></b></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 25px;"><i>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 </i></span></div>
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Justin Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08992441572444921508noreply@blogger.com0