Music to His Ears
Many thanks for the heads up on the Glendale Pops Jazz Concert [Miles Mosley ‘Soulful Swing’ on Oct. 13]. We enjoyed the concert at the Alex so very much. When I saw five saxophonists in that band my thought was, “I hope they can make the music talk.” That they did!

[My wife] Marilyn pointed out to me, as we looked down our aisle, all the people who were keeping time, nodding their heads. This was a first time for us seeing an acoustic bass played by a real musician. How delightful!

Many years ago I was able to audit a class in music appreciation. The prof? Dave Brubeck. I know he would have enjoyed the Glendale Pops
Warren & Marilyn Boehm
La Crescenta


Community Ties
Last week’s Letters to the Editor expressed some of the best things about the foothill communities: from Virginia Sturmer thanking people who had taken time to help her when she needed it, to Vanessa Lee sharing how the newspaper had helped her discover the community ties of the Crescenta Valley.

Thank you, Crescenta Valley Weekly, for bringing people together one story at a time.
Karen Zimmerman
La Crescenta


Job Killer on Ballot?
Throughout the entire campaign season, business and the economy have been the hot-button issues for the voters. Here in California, our unemployment rate is at 10%, and companies are leaving by the hundreds. Two-thousand of our most productive citizens flee California each week. Most recently, Comcast announced it was taking 1,000 jobs out of our state due to overly burdensome regulations.

How has Sacramento responded? A survey of 500 CEOs from across the country found that California is still the least business-friendly state in the union. Our problem, however, is a bit closer to home. Our own state assemblyman, Mike Gatto, has chosen to ignore the interests of local businesses in favor of special interests.

For two years, Gatto has failed to represent the business interests of the 43rd AD. However, don’t take my word for it – Mike Gatto’s grades from independent business entities speak volumes. Each legislative session, Cal-Chamber releases a list of job killer bills. Of the 17 that Mike Gatto had a chance to vote on, he voted for 16 of them. His resulting grade from Cal-Chamber is a failing grade of F. The National Federation of Independent Business gave him a subpar grade of D. The Valley Industry and Commerce Association also gave him a D. Perhaps the most glaring score that Gatto gets from the business community is from manufacturers, many of which are based in the 43rd. Gatto voted with the California Manufacturer’s and Technology Association a dismal 27% of the time.

He isn’t only failing – he is completely clueless as to the needs of our district.

If being business friendly were a high school education, Mike Gatto wouldn’t graduate.
Bill Graham,
Burbank