Monday, May 27, 2013

Downtown Glendale Building On Fire Again*

Last night's fire at 233 N. Brand apparently rekindled and is still burning as I write this. Downtown Glendale resident Erik Yesayan sends the following photos:


*Update at 8:20pm: the latest photos from the scene show the fire apparently under control. Let's hope it stays that way this time!

Dramatic Photos and Video of Huge Brand Boulevard Fire

Here are some dramatic photos and videos of the large fire that occurred at 233 N. Brand Boulevard in downtown Glendale shortly after midnight last night. One man jumped from a second story window to escape the flames and suffered minor injuries. Two firefighters also suffered minor injuries while fighting the flames. I'm not sure yet about the extent of the damage to local favorite Skaf's Lebanese Cuisine or the other businesses on the ground floor of 233 N. Brand, but fortunately the Brand Bookshop was undamaged in the blaze.

(photo by Tony Petborisooth)

Here's an incredible video by Greg Shear of the fire at its peak:

 (photo by Erik Yesayan)

(photo by Erik Yesayan)

More coverage of the fire:




Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Zareh Sinanyan Finally Apologizes For Hateful Comments


A week after Zareh Sinanyan admitted responsibility for the hateful online comments first reported here nearly two months ago, he finally publicly apologized for the content of those comments at last night's City Council meeting:

“I apologize to anyone who might have been offended by my past comments. I am truly sorry. Many have said they look forward to my future performance, and as I have said many times, my performance will speak for itself. When I appeared before the council as a candidate and addressed the subject of these blog posts, I explained that they were not me, they were not reflective of my character. That was true then, just as it is now. I am here to serve the people of Glendale. All of the people. It truly does not matter to me if you are Armenian, or Latino, or Anglo, or Korean; it doesn’t matter if you’re gay, or straight. And it doesn’t matter if you are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or Hindu. As my life experiences have demonstrated, the only thing that matters to me is that I want to serve Glendale. Working together to improve our homes is who I am. That is reflective of my character, and I fully welcome and invite people to use this standard to measure my success and effort.”


Good apology; it's frankly amazing he didn't give it two months ago instead of attacking and obfuscating. The apology begins at approximately minute 32 of last night's meeting.