Cash, Credit, and College: Assemblyman Mike Gatto Hosts Financial “Jeopardy” For Burbank Students

By Craig Sherwood - October 26, 2012

Assemblyman Mike Gatto met with local high school students Thursday as part of an entertaining, interactive, and educational program on financial literacy.  Working in cooperation with Burbank and Burroughs High schools, and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Cash, Credit, and College program was an opportunity for students to prepare for a successful financial future by learning financial fitness in a fun-filled 90 minute program.  Events included multimedia presentations on the importance of budgets, credit, savings, credit cards, and loan essentials by Matt Denny of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Assemblyman Gatto was an active and often humorous participant, doing his best Alex Trebek impersonation during the game of “Financial Jeopardy.”  He was even joined by District Director Jason Insalaco playing Gatto’s over-the-top sidekick, in the style of Rod Roddy.  Both performers kept the high-school students engaged and interested.

“This event is a fun opportunity for young people to learn the basics of maintaining strong finances,” said Gatto.  “Whether they are saving for college, a home, or a hot-rod, I hope that all of the participants learned the importance of living on a budget and saving for the future.”

Tony Tartaglla Public Affairs with So. California Gas Co. Assemblyman Mike Gatto, and Burbank High Principal Hani Youssef. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

One surprise for the schools came when Mike Mizrahi, the Regional Public Affairs Manager of SoCalGas presented each high-school principal with a check for $1,250 to be put towards continuing education on financial literacy.  Assemblyman Gatto helped secure the gift and explained that it was essential for students to spend more than one afternoon thinking about financial security.

“The long-term-financial success of our young people is essential to creating a stable economy; this money is just one small step towards helping ensure our community’s economic health.”

Burroughs High School Principal John Paramo praised the event for providing students with the opportunity to test their knowledge and interact one-on-one with a respected public official.

(Photo by Ross A. Benson)

“The students sometimes feel like their elected officials are out of reach, Assemblyman Gatto’s participation in this event showed that he is both accessible and fun,” said Paramo. “Burroughs [High School] already has a financial literacy program in its curriculum, but they were more motivated to study up when they knew they’d be playing jeopardy with a State Assemblyman.”

Current financial literacy statistics have shown a decrease in the baseline financial knowledge levels.  According to the FINRA Investor Education Foundation’s 2010 State-by-State Financial Capability Survey, 23% of young Americans [18- to 34-year-olds] nationally spend more than their household income, 68% do not have money set aside in a rainy day fund, and 34% engage in non-bank borrowing.  A 2010 Charles Schwab Survey found that of those young people who use credit cards, only one-third (33%) pay off their entire balance every month.

You can read this article and more at Burbank N Beyond by clicking HERE

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Mike Gatto is the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the California State Assembly.  He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Los Feliz and Silver Lake.  E-mail Mike at: assemblymember.gatto@assembly.ca.gov, or call (818) 558-3043.

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

Poet David Meyerhof recognized by Assemblyman Gatto

By Joyce Rudolph

October 24, 2012 | 12:38 p.m.

David Meyerhof of Burbank is a published poet, and now everyone in his hometown knows it.

Meyerhof received recognition from the city of Burbank, the State Assembly and the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday at the Little White Chapel during the first public presentation of his book of poetry, “Look Beyond.” It is now available on more than 100 websites around the world, he said.

The event included a piano recital by Sophie Wiegand, who is an eighth-grader at Luther Burbank Middle School. Meyerhof signed his book and Sophie made her music DVD available at the end of the program. Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Silver Lake) presented the California State Assembly certificate to the poet.

Meyerhof is a retired middle school teacher who taught for 33 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

His parents escaped from Germany and survived the Holocaust. David's grandfather, Otto Meyerhof, won the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for describing how sugar is converted into energy in the human body.

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You can read this article and more at the Burbank Leader by clicking HERE

 

Mike Gatto is the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the California State Assembly.  He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Los Feliz and Silver Lake.  E-mail Mike at: assemblymember.gatto@assembly.ca.gov, or call (818) 558-3043.

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

Silver Lake Celebrates its Newest Sidewalk

October 10, 2012 - The completion of a new sidewalk does not usually draw a crowd, let alone three TV news crews a pair of Los Angeles city councilmen, and a State Assemblyman.  But the new, approximately 500-foot sidewalk along Tesla Avenue marks the completion of a years long effort to build a walking path around the Silver Lake and Ivanhoe reservoirs.  Much of the path around the reservoirs was completed at the end of 2008 except for a section on Tesla Avenue, where the lack of a sidewalk forced pedestrians into the narrow street.

While the s$600,000 sidewalk and retaining wall have already been in heavy use for a few weeks now,  a grand opening celebration with councilmen Tom LaBonge and Eric Garcetti, and Assemblyman Mike Gatto was held late this afternoon on the north edge of the Ivanhoe reservoir near the new sidewalk.

Building the new sidewalk was not a simple as pouring a strip of concrete.  At one point, officials were considering building an elevated boardwalk on Tesla. That idea was abandoned in favor of cutting a notch into what is basically part of the dam that contains the Ivanhoe reservoir. That plan, however, needed to be reviewed and approve by state dam officials.

The closure of the 500-foot gap in the walking path means joggers and walkers no longer have to venture into the street to circle the reservoirs. But, as the photos above show, some folks still like to go off road around the reservoir.

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You can read this story and more at the Eastsider LA by clicking HERE

Mike Gatto is the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the California State Assembly.  He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Los Feliz and Silver Lake.  E-mail Mike at: assemblymember.gatto@assembly.ca.gov, or call (818) 558-3043.

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

Assemblyman Mike Gatto Welcomes New Family Member

Evangelina Felicity Gatto was born to Mike and his wife, Danielle, 

at 9:55 PM on October 6. She weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces, and was 18 inches long.

Assemblyman Mike Gatto has a new constituent close to home.

Evangelina Felicity Gatto was born to Mike and his wife, Danielle, at 9:55 PM on October 6.  She weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces, and was 18 inches long.

“I am overwhelmed with joy,” said Assemblyman Gatto.

Assemblyman Gatto’s first child, two-year-old Elliana also said she was very excited to have a little sister to share her toys with.

Mike Gatto represents the 43rd Assembly District, which includes the cities of Burbank, Glendale (including part of Montrose), La Crescenta, the Los Angeles communities of Atwater Village, Franklin Hills, Los Feliz, Silver Lake and the San Fernando Valley communities of North Hollywood, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, and Van Nuys.  He was recently appointed Chairman of the Assembly Appropriations Committee

Golden plates: Car buffs laud plan to bring back iconic colors

Donna P. Crilly
September 22, 2012

Classic car owners generally have a few things in common. Aside from a love of an era of cars when baby boomers were still babies, enthusiasts typically have money to spend and time to restore their classic models to a “T.”

But there’s one thing they don’t have in common. Not all classic car owners can buy the original license plates. The look, for some, isn’t complete without a nod to the black on yellow, yellow on black or yellow on blue plates.

Not anymore if Gov. Jerry Brown signs AB 1658, a piece of legislation that would allow classic car enthusiasts to pre-order replica plates with the look and colors of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. (Update: Brown signed AB 1658 on Sept. 28.)

Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, introduced the bill to the State Assembly, which unanimously passed it in May. Gatto said he wanted to do something “nice” for California car owners by bringing forth the legislation.

“It just seemed like a good idea,” Gatto said. “We have a very confusing set of regulations. There’s things like red light cameras and all sorts of things that are a pain in the butt for people who drive. This is just something nice that I think the state can do.”

Gatto said that if Brown signs AB 1658 into law, car owners can begin pre-ordering the classic-style plates in January 2013 for a $50 fee per plate plus a $40 registration renewal fee. If 7,500 plates are ordered by Jan. 1, 2014, the DMV will begin printing and disseminating them.

Gatto said meeting the quota of 7,500 pre-ordered plates shouldn’t be a problem, though. Local San Diego County car enthusiasts agree.

“Even a car guy that doesn’t have a classic car will get it,” said Dino Iacovino, owner of a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air four-door station wagon.

Iacovino flaunted his Chevy Bel Air at Classic Car Nights along Pacific Coast Highway in Encinitas on Sept. 13. He had his car parked, windows rolled down, trunk up and a binder with pictures of the model out for passersby to stop and peruse through.

Another North County resident posted up in a beach chair next to his baby blue beauty while a surf rock band played classic tunes at Classic Car Nights. Darryl Gassaway sat and smoked a wooden tobacco pipe while talking about his love for classic cars and for his late wife, with whom he planned to travel to world. He said that because his wife passed away, he decided to refocus his money toward restoring his car.

Gassaway reflected on when his love for cars began.

“I came out of the womb kicking and screaming, holding a gear shift,” Gassaway said.

So far, Gassaway has spent more than $30,000 restoring his 1956 Chrysler DeSoto – and it’s still not done. He said that if the legislation passes, he would buy a retro-style plate.

“If the state of California were to make it available for a one-time fee of $50-$100 to buy that plate and put it on my car, I’d be more than willing to pay it,” Gassaway said.

Some classic car owners worry that the retro-looking license plates may lower the value of the cars already fitted with the original plates. However, Doug Jones, Classic Car Nights coordinator and director of the Encinitas Community Emergency Response Team, says the opposite.

“When you have an original plate – like I have an original yellow with black lettering, never been restored, still original – and it says on it ‘Y56,’ it adds $1,500 value to the vehicle,” Jones said.

The “Y56” stands for “year 56,” the year the license plate was issued, which is what will likely set the plates apart, according to Jones.

Jones said the DMV will be very articulate about distinguishing what’s an original plate and what’s not, and says car buffs will easily be able to tell the difference.

Gatto says another difference between the original and the retro-style plates is the reflective coating seen on modern plates, which makes it easier for California Highway Patrol officers to scan cars. The new wave of retro-style plates will have the coating. Original plates do not, according to Gatto.

Donna P. Crilly is a North County freelance writer



You can this article and more at the North Coast Current by clicking HERE

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Mike Gatto is the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the California State Assembly.  He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Los Feliz and Silver Lake.  E-mail Mike at: assemblymember.gatto@assembly.ca.gov, or call (818) 558-3043.

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

LISTEN IN: Assemblyman Mike Gatto discusses AB 1616 on KPFK's Focus on Food

Even a Tiny Initiative Reform Can't Make It Past the Governor

By Joe Mathews |  Friday, Oct 5, 2012  |  Updated 9:13 AM PDT

Initiative reform is an unpopular cause, and an uphill battle.

Assemblyman Mike Gatto, a Burbank Democrat, has been one of the few lawmakers foolhardy enough to attempt it. And this session he appeared to have achieved some success with AB 2220.

This was modest with a capital "M." But useful. The legislation tried to grab the attention of voters by letting them know something very important about their votes on initiatives: that when they do something by initiative, it can't be changed. This permanence -- you could call it inflexibility -- distinguishes California's initiative process from how the initiative is used around the country and the world.

Gatto specifically would have instructed the non-partisan legislative analyst to add one paragraph to the ballot pamphlet warning that the measure would provide an increase in revenues to fund new or existing programs, create a new fund, or create or change a funding formula for programs. In essence, this is a warning label that fiscal decisions are being made that will be hard to undo. An example of one of the possible warnings:

"Unless changed by a future voter-approved ballot measure, this initiative would permanently dedicate state funding to the program(s) identified, and these funds would not be available to meet other responsibilities of the state."

This legislation made it through the legislature. But it couldn't make it through Gov. Jerry Brown, who has been a political reform skeptic and has seen the initiative process as a means to the end. He vetoed it.

His explanation? He wrote in a veto message that, while he shared Gatto's concern that voters should understand what their vote on an initiative means, he wasn't sure if additional warning was all that helpful, since the legislative analysis already provides information in the ballot pamphlet.

Let's hope Gatto tries again.

Lead Prop Zero blogger Joe Mathews is California editor at Zocalo Public Square, a fellow at Arizona State University’s Center for Social Cohesion, and co-author of California Crackup: How Reform Broke the Golden State and How We Can Fix It (University of California, 2010).

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Read this article and more at NBC Bay Area by clicking HERE

Mike Gatto is the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the California State Assembly.  He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Los Feliz and Silver Lake.  E-mail Mike at: assemblymember.gatto@assembly.ca.gov, or call (818) 558-3043.

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