Katsuya influence reached around the world. He died at 67. No cause of death has been released.

After years of training in Japan, Katsuya opened ‘Sushi Katsu Ya’ in Studio City in 1987. The modest restaurant quickly developed a loyal following and became one of Los Angeles’s defining dining destinations.

His versions of crispy rice with spicy tuna and yellowtail with jalapeño became signature dishes that spread far beyond Southern California. Their influence remains visible on menus across the United States and internationally, where chefs continue to reinterpret combinations he helped popularize.

The restaurant’s success soon expanded far beyond Studio City. Through partnerships and restaurant expansions, the Katsuya name grew into a global restaurant brand with locations across the United States, the Middle East and Asia. Along the way, it helped cement Los Angeles as a center of modern Japanese cuisine.

Chef Sevan Abdessian knew Katsuya personally and said he accomplished something few chefs ever achieve. He built an internationally recognized brand while keeping Los Angeles at the heart of its identity.

“The significance of Katsuya is his ability to take a style and a brand that he created here in Los Angeles and take it to a massive level. Hundreds of employees. Multiple locations. He changed the foundation of sushi in California and helped make it more mainstream and popular around the country. He was one of the originals,” Abdessian said.

Katsuya’s rise came at a time when sushi still felt unfamiliar to many Americans. While Los Angeles already offered respected Japanese restaurants, his ability to balance traditional techniques with approachable flavors introduced new diners to Japanese cuisine without sacrificing authenticity.

His restaurants attracted celebrities, neighborhood regulars and aspiring chefs, many of whom later built careers inspired by his work. His influence reached well beyond the dining room and helped shape a new generation of sushi chefs.

Abdessian said Katsuya’s greatest lesson had little to do with recipes. It centered on patience, discipline and the willingness to spend a lifetime mastering a craft.

“Young chefs today want instant gratification. Katsuya showed that success doesn’t happen that way.”

Abdessian said diners often admired the finished plate but rarely saw the years of commitment behind it.

“People don’t see the hard work he put in for 35 or 40 years, working every single day.”

That relentless work, Abdessian said, never changed Katsuya’s character or his passion for helping others improve.

“He had that discipline, yet he always had a smile on his face. He was passionate about his craft and pushed everyone around him to be better.”

Katsuya’s influence extended far beyond individual recipes. He helped introduce Japanese cuisine to a broader American audience at a time when sushi remained a specialty rather than a mainstream dining choice. His success also helped elevate Los Angeles into one of the world’s premier sushi capitals.

Friends describe Katsuya as humble despite his international success. Even as his restaurants expanded around the world, they say he remained committed to craftsmanship and to the standards that first made ‘Sushi Katsu Ya’ a destination.

More than three decades after opening his first restaurant, Katsuya’s signature dishes remain staples on menus around the world. But those closest to him say his greatest contribution cannot be measured by the number of restaurants bearing his name.

It lives in the chefs he mentored, the standards he set and the example he left behind.

It is history. It is culture. It is identity.

For generations, however, natural Black hairstyles have also been the subject of discrimination in schools, workplaces and public spaces. Advocates say many Black Americans felt pressured to straighten their hair or avoid protective styles to be viewed as professional or accepted.

Seven years ago, California became the first state in the nation to change that conversation.

On July 3, 2019, California enacted the CROWN Act — legislation that prohibits discrimination based on natural hair texture and protective hairstyles, including braids, locs, twists, cornrows and Afros. The law expanded the definition of race under California’s civil rights protections to include traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and hairstyle.

Today, supporters say the law has become a model for the nation while reminding people that the work is far from over.

“First word that came to my mind was protection,” said Jewel Brown, principal of Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts.

Brown remembers feeling pressure to straighten her hair long before the CROWN Act became law.

“My typical way of wearing my hair would have been to straighten it,” she said. “That kind of was embedded in me very early on. You needed to straighten it ... and that was what would be acceptable.”

After the law passed, Brown said she felt empowered to embrace her natural hair.

“I didn’t feel the necessity to straighten my hair,” she said. “I felt empowered to wear it in its natural state, to allow for the curls and the texture that comes with my hair to be on display. It allowed me to feel validated in that journey of self-expression.”

The California Black Health Network was among the organizations that continues to educate communities about the impact of the legislation.

“For so long, we’ve had to choose between our natural identity and our professional identity,” said Charity Faye, program director for the organization. “The CROWN Act gives us autonomy to make a choice for how we show up, what we deem as beautiful for our community, how we want to wear our hair and how we want to show up to the workspace.”

The law addresses a long history of race-based discrimination that often targeted Black hairstyles. Advocates point to students who were suspended for wearing locs or braids and employees who lost jobs or opportunities because their natural hair was considered unprofessional.

“There were Black people, especially Black women, who literally did have to fear how they might be discriminated against when they showed up to the workspace,” Faye said. “People have been fired. People have been suspended because they chose to wear locs or cornrows or braids or their Afros.”

She said the law represents more than symbolism.

“It is knowing that we can walk into spaces now without that fear of punishment and discrimination,” Faye said.

Brown believes the legislation also validated generations of Black Americans whose appearance had been unfairly scrutinized.

“It gave the validation that was necessary to descendants of Black culture to be themselves and to wear their hair how they so chose without being judged, without being marginalized and without being ostracized,” she said.

The conversation about hair discrimination has also reached the national stage.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama has publicly discussed avoiding certain hairstyles while serving in the White House because of concerns about how they would be perceived.

Supporters say those experiences underscore why legal protections remain important.

Faye said she has seen attitudes begin to change in workplaces since the law’s passage.

“We have seen Black men in tech, in finance and in other industries now feeling safer to wear their locs, to wear their protective styles, without the fear of being seen as unprofessional or intimidating,” she said. “Those are coded racial stereotypes anyway.”

Kolaiah Allen, an esthetician, said her employer’s embrace of the CROWN Act has created a more welcoming workplace.

“I do believe that they have taken active strides in order to embrace equity, diversity and inclusion,” Allen said. “It’s one thing to say it, but it’s another thing to actually do it. Having representation on your floor makes people more comfortable. It makes people feel as if they can be part of something rather than be excluded.”

Since California became the first state to pass the legislation, 27 states have adopted their own versions of the CROWN Act, according to advocates. Supporters continue pushing for federal protections to ensure people are protected regardless of where they live.

“We need individuals to continue to push for federal protection, especially in those states that have not passed the law yet,” Faye said. “No Black person should have to choose between their identity and the safety of their education, their jobs or other opportunities.”

Each year on July 3, advocates commemorate National CROWN Day, marking the anniversary of California’s landmark legislation while encouraging continued activism.

For Faye, the day is about remembering both the discrimination that inspired the law and the collective action that made change possible.

“We remember the young people who were suspended from school,” she said. “We remember those who were fired because of their beautiful hair. Most importantly, we remember the collective action that it took to change this.”

She hopes people celebrate the day by embracing their natural beauty and encouraging others to do the same.

“Find another sister friend or a brother friend, take a picture, talk about what’s beautiful about your hair, about our culture, about us, and make it a celebration.”

He grew up in the city, graduated from Glendale High School, joined the Glendale Police Department as a police cadet, and built a 24-year career serving the community. On Tuesday night, that journey came full circle when the Glendale City Council unanimously confirmed William as the city’s next chief of police.

The appointment follows six months of service as interim chief and marks a historic moment for the city. Mayor Ardy Kassakhian noted William becomes Glendale’s first police chief of Armenian American descent, a milestone in one of the nation’s largest Armenian American communities. But Kassakhian said the significance extends beyond making history.

“It’s not as important to be the first at something as it is to make sure that you’re not the last,” Kassakhian said. “When we open doors, we open them for the young children who are watching.”

For William, however, the moment was less about personal achievement than public responsibility.

“I live in Glendale. I grew up in Glendale. My wife and I are raising a family here,” William told the council. “Simply put, Glendale is my home.”

His roots in the city have shaped his philosophy of policing.

“The one lesson that has continued to be the common theme is that public safety is really about people,” he said. “It’s about protecting what is most important to them. It’s about trust. It’s about making sure everyone feels protected and respected, regardless of their background.”

William began his career with the Glendale Police Department in 2003 after serving as a police cadet. Over the next two decades, he worked in patrol, investigations, public information, administration and executive leadership, eventually serving as police captain, deputy chief and interim chief. He also helped develop the department’s strategic plan, emphasizing employee development, innovation, transparency and community engagement.

His commitment to Glendale was tested early in his career.

In 2008, William was shot in the chest while responding to assist another officer during a foot pursuit involving an armed parolee. His bullet-resistant vest saved his life. After recovering, he returned to duty and continued serving the city.

Councilmember Vartan Gharapetian recalled that moment while congratulating the new chief.

“He took a bullet for our city many years back, and he didn’t flinch,” Gharapetian said. “He came back and went back to work.”

City leaders praised William’s experience and his deep understanding of Glendale.

“I’ve known the chief for over two decades,” Councilmember Ara Najarian said. “He knows what Glendale is all about. He carries those values. He is sensitive, he is kind, he is compassionate. Firm but fair.”

Councilmember Dan Brotman said William’s appointment reflected broad confidence across the department and community.

“There’s been huge support from the community, from the command staff, from the rank and file, the Police Officers Association,” Brotman said. “It was an easy decision.”

Councilmember Elen Asatryan called the packed council chambers a reflection of William’s impact over the years.

“It’s a testament to your work and what you’ve brought to the city over the years,” Asatryan said. “With you at the helm, it’s only going to get bigger and better.”

City Manager Roubik Golanian said William has demonstrated the leadership necessary to guide one of California’s most respected police departments.

“Robert understands the City of Glendale’s values, our expectations, and our commitment to providing exceptional public service,” Golanian said. “I’m confident that under Chief William’s leadership, the Glendale Police Department will continue to set the standard for professionalism, innovation and service.”

Looking ahead, William said his priorities include strengthening leadership throughout the department, embracing innovation, investing in employee wellness and continuing to build relationships throughout the community.

He also emphasized that public safety is a shared responsibility.

“My commitment to you is to listen to you, to engage with you, and to make you feel like you’re part of the public safety solution in Glendale,” he said.

Although William’s wife and two sons were unable to attend the ceremony because of their children’s basketball and hockey practices, he said their absence served as an important reminder.

“First and foremost, I’m a dad. I’m a husband,” William said. “Regardless of what my title is, what they have going on in their lives is just as important as mine.”

As applause filled the council chambers following his appointment, William reflected on the significance of the moment.

“I don’t look at this moment as an achievement,” he said. “I look at it as a responsibility.”

For the hometown officer who began his career as a cadet and nearly gave his life protecting the city, that responsibility now includes leading the department—and the community—into its next chapter.

• Late-career transition into acting after a successful business background, including rigorous training in theater and auditions starting in his 40s.

• Creation and global impact of an original film centered on an Armenian family in Glendale, achieving over 15 million views and distribution in 100+ countries.

• Overcoming cultural and self-imposed boundaries as an Armenian immigrant, emphasizing resilience, persistence, and thick skin in Hollywood.

• The business of show business, the necessity of creating one’s own content, and controlling narratives for underrepresented groups like Armenians.

• Parenting philosophy focused on trust, education, independence, and breaking generational fear cycles, illustrated through supporting his daughter’s study abroad.

Insights and Takeaways

• Acting and creative pursuits demand consistent preparation, professionalism, and self-belief, much like athletic training, regardless of age.

• Immigrant experiences often involve protective limitations rooted in fear, but intentional choices can rewrite these patterns for future generations.

• Authentic representation requires creators from within communities to tell their stories, fostering cross-cultural connection via shared emotions like love, fear, and joy.

• Pursuing passions later in life serves as personal healing from missed opportunities, promoting a mindset of action over regret.

• Building networks with like-minded individuals amplifies growth and supports bold reinvention without external permission.

WATCH FULL EPISODE HERE

Interview Transcript:

Silva Harapetian: Today on Inclusive Voices, I’m sitting down with Jack Topalianen. Before we even get into this conversation, you’ve probably already seen his work. Whether it’s Euphoria, SEAL Team, Madam Secretary, or even General Hospital, Jack has been working across television, film, and streaming platforms in a really meaningful way. But what I find really interesting about his story is how he got there, because this isn’t someone who started in Hollywood in his 20s.

Jack actually made the decision to step into acting later in life after a full career in business. And then went all in, training, theater, auditions, the whole process. And not only that, he’s also created his own content, including a film. Centered around an Armenian family that’s reached millions of people around the world. So this conversation is really about more than just acting. It’s about reinvention. It is about pushing past fear and it’s about what it actually takes to pursue something fully without waiting for permission.

One of the things that intrigued me about talking to you was the fact that you didn’t allow— the invisible boundaries we tend to put on ourselves as Armenians— stop you from kind of breaking through and making it into Hollywood. Talk to me about the mindset that made that possible.

Jack Topalian: Interesting question. My approach is simple. I come from a world of business. Building a business is one of the toughest things that anybody can do. And you get a lot of no’s, you know, depending on whatever your product is, whether you’re selling sandwiches or tires or cars, it doesn’t matter. You’re going to get a lot of rejection. So you have to, you know, you have to build up. That resilience. And you have to believe in what you’re doing. So when I got into the film industry, I believed in what I wanted to do. But I didn’t just jump in. I mean, it’s not something that magically just happens. You have to train for it. You have to study it. You have to understand characters. You have to prepare for auditions.

You have to be the ultimate professional when you show up on set and so forth. So, by doing these things consistently, I mean, you start getting recognition. People will realize that, okay, he’s a committed person. He comes prepared. Right for every role that’s out there. And that’s a given. That’s another fact you have to come to terms with, right? That I’m not going to get every role that even I audition for. But, you know, it’s persistence. Resilience, determination, and believe in yourself. i don’t have any lack of you know i’m a pretty confident person.

Silva Harapetian: There is the the element of having a thick skin and if you’ve been in media or worked in media many of many young people now understand no by holding a phone to their face that that is a form of form of media and all of the hate and the negativity that you get and the judgment that you get comes with the hiring managers that want you don’t want you your hair isn’t right your lips aren’t right your physique is right all of these things come with it and you develop a thick skin in the process what’s what was also intriguing to me is that you did jump in in your 40s and you didn’t just kind of go hey this is something that I could potentially do but you trained for it you had to audition and you went to school and you you really got your you sunk your teeth in on theater from what I understand.

Jack Topalian: Well I started in theater so the training the initial training I got was in theater you know I’ve always been a fan of movies and theaters and TV shows and so forth. But, you know, when the opportunity came up, you know, like you said, I wanted to train and I wanted to be prepared. It’s like, listen, like an athlete, you know, when you’re trying out for the LA Lakers. Or you’re playing whatever sport you are, you have to train. You can’t just say, ‘Hey, I’m a good shooter.’ But somebody like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant, they would go into the gym early in the morning and just take hundreds and hundreds of free throws until they got good, then they kept doing it every day of the week and then twice on Sundays just to stay at the top of their game. So acting is no different. But since I did get into this a little late in life, you know, because most people that get into the film industry are usually start at a younger age. One of the things that I came to terms— or came to realize immediately—was: This is a business, like any other business. It’s called show business. And if the business doesn’t work, the show will never go on. So there’s plenty of shows that never get anywhere because they don’t make any money. But another thing I also realized is someone my age and my background and so forth that I needed to create my own content and that’s why really early on one of the ideas that I had was to write this movie based on an Armenian family living in Glendale. You know, and kind of show that world, you know, to the masses, if you will. And I did that very successfully. And 10 years after the fact, that movie has resonated not only in America. but it’s been sold in over 100 countries. It’s been translated into six or more languages. I’ve seen subtitled versions in Chinese and in Korean and it’s on YouTube last couple years as a revenue share. We have over 15 million views. So that’s telling me that there’s an audience out there that likes real stories. So I created something for myself, and along the way, you know, obviously, people notice you. Or you get in call for casting, you know. I have agents and managers that do all of that, and then I go in. You know, again, I don’t get every job. I wish I got every job. I go in for, you know, every job.

But no actor will tell you they’re they get every job. Even the superstars, you know, like big names, without giving any particular names. Sometimes you’ll hear, like, ‘They were thinking of this person to play the lead, but this other person ended up playing, right?’ You hear that later on. So even at that level, it’s kind of a very picky thing because it’s a business.

Silva Harapetian: It is also…opportunity once you really get into understanding the business of media and content, and once you understand how that whole wheel turns, you recognize, especially now, with the phones and access to all of the technology, that really it’s more imperative than ever for us to create our own content. Absolutely. For us to be the tellers of our own story.

There is, and this is part of what this is all about, right? We call this Inclusive Voices because I felt like there was a whole lane missing in media of stories that are not being told from the lens of the immigrant, from the lens of the underrepresented from the lens of the Armenians, Iranians, the Chinese, the Japanese, the Filipinos, right? We all see the world differently because of our upbringing. And there’s opportunities for us to see ourselves in content. Who’s going to do it? For us.

Jack Topalian: Well, we have to do it. We have to do it. And just like you said, I’m fascinated when I see other cultures. You know, like you said, Koreans, I don’t know, Germans. Whoever, like I watch a lot of foreign content and I’m always fascinated, but the way you know they represent certain things so— but Armenians, we have not been represented in that particular way because it’s been kind of out of our control. You know, like I’ve played many Armenians on television shows and in films, like on Euphoria even. My character is an Armenian character, but it’s not something I’ve written. But it’s something that I will play, you know, I get cast for. However, in order for us to have our own voice heard, like you said, we have to control the narrative. We have to have our stories told from our perspective, but even that’s not enough. Because we have hundreds, if not thousands, of stories, and every one of us has a story.

Grandparents, parents, you know— leaving the country in a war-torn country, you know, like your background is from Iran. You guys had to escape the Ayatollahs and all of that, right? We’ve all kind of done. I came from the Soviet Union. My dad tried to get us out because of that thing. So these stories are there, but the story has to also be relatable. It has to be. It has to be presented in such a way that... people will go, ‘Huh? That’s interesting.’ I could see myself doing that.

Silva Harapetian: Or I could see myself in that situation. Maybe not exactly the same way, but the emotions that are shared, I call this the human condition. Of course. Every news story, every movie, every episode, if it does not tap into the human condition, it’s not relatable across the board in other ethnicities, other backgrounds. It’s connecting to the emotions, to love, fear. Your happiness, joy, loyalty, all of those things.

Jack Topalian: Loyalty, yeah, whatever, right. And one of the best examples of that was My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Silva Harapetian: I hated that movie. You know why I hated that movie.

Jack Topalian: Why? Can you take a wild guess? Why?

Silva Harapetian: It was too real.

Jack Topalian: That’s what I’m saying, though.

Silva Harapetian: At that moment in time, I was not a teenager. I was a young 20s. Right. And... I, and... I need a moment. You see what happens? You get me all riled up. I need a moment.

Jack Topalian: Okay. Silva’s having a moment right now. We’ll be right back.

Silva Harapetian: No, no, no. We roll through all of this. Having a moment, but people can relate because I was in my young 20s from a family who had just immigrated to the United States. So there was this element of deep and very rigid cultural understanding of things, the old country, right, that’s now existing within the four walls of the home. And then I am a young 20s trying to figure it out in the West. Sure. Right? So while all of that stuff is great, I have to figure out how to maneuver and navigate it. Thank you. Within this culture, within this community that I’ve sort of been thrown into without any instruction manual. So for me, that process of navigation was intense and it was difficult. And watching the movie was like, ‘This is not funny. This is my life.’

Jack Topalian: But then I guarantee you the second and the third time you watch it, you realize that it is funny because you saw that. That family was, even though they were Greek on the screen, they could have been Armenian, they could have been Hispanic, they could have been Italian, they could have been many different cultures— Korean, Chinese, whatever, right? And I think that’s the thing that becomes what I was saying earlier is the relatability. Because these are things that all cultures go through. Everybody that’s known me all of my life has always known that I’m Armenian. No matter what industry I’ve been in. I come from a world of business and so forth.

And then, when I got into the film industry, I have never been on set, I have never been in any situation when someone asked me, ‘Hey, what’s your background?’ I would always proudly, I’m extremely proud of my heritage, I always say that I’m Armenian. And whether I’m playing an Armenian or I’m not playing an Armenian, it doesn’t matter. So people... will accept you for who you are. Now, but I also look at myself as a representative of my people. Now, I’m not saying that in any such a way that I am the representative of my people. No. At that given moment, whatever that situation is, wherever that room I’m standing in with whomever, I am representing not only myself, but I’m representing my heritage, my culture, my ethnicity.

So if I come across as some kind of... of a jerk or some kind of a standoffish whatever, that’s going to be a reflection on not just me as an individual, but somebody’s going to... Odar, a non-Armenian, is going to say, ‘Oh, yeah, these guys, you know, they’re going to have a bad impression of me.’ But I’m not trying extra hard to get them to like me. I want them to naturally understand who I am and accept me. Whether they do or not, that’s their choice.

Silva Harapetian: One of the things I want to talk to you about, because in addition to obviously being an actor and a husband, you’re also a father. And I am curious to hear your thoughts about one of the things that I’ve noticed living somewhere else and being independent, which, you know, is not always celebrated as a young woman who’s single.

And then coming back to Glendale. One of the things I noticed is that the culture has a really tight hold on people and I see that sometimes it’s great, but limiting.

Jack Topalian: Mm-hmm. Restricting.

Silva Harapetian: Restricting. And it creates this unspoken boundaries and limitations that don’t allow us to... really thrive the way we should, as not only individuals, but as a culture. Yeah. Talk to me about that. From the position of a dad, from someone who didn’t allow that restriction to impact your decisions.

Jack Topalian: You know, when we first came to the States, I was a young boy. You know, I have a younger sister, a younger brother. So, you know, my parents were immigrants, like a lot of parents that came here at those times. So they were very protective, and they didn’t know the culture. They didn’t know America. They didn’t speak the language. They didn’t really understand the rules and the laws. So they were very protective. Don’t do this, don’t do that. You know, so they were like always that. You know, but as time went by, you know, I started to find myself. But I also made myself a promise that when I have children one day, three amazing children. I get emotional when I talk about them. But I made the decision that I’m going to give them the best education that I can. Not only will they get their education, but whatever my wife and I... teach them at home about family, about love and all of that. But you also have to trust them. Yeah.

Silva Harapetian: What is happening? What is that? You’re really... You’re talking about your children and you’re getting emotional. What is it about that that’s really...

I don’t know, they’re grown.

Silva Harapetian: Time is fleeting.

Jack Topalian: Yeah.

Silva Harapetian: Are you feeling proud?

Jack Topalian: Extremely.

Silva Harapetian: Is it sadness?

Jack Topalian: No. Or is it joy? It’s joy. It’s crazy. There’s no sadness.

Silva Harapetian: You have daughters, right?

Jack Topalian: I have a daughter. My youngest is a girl. She’s 22, my Elizabeth.

Silva Harapetian: Oh, my God. What are you going to do on her wedding day?

Jack Topalian: I have two boys, 28 and 27, and extremely proud dad. I mean, my boys finished college. They’re extremely successful. In their fields, one’s a CPA, one’s a financial advisor. They’re both engaged to be married, so we’re anticipating this year, next year to having two amazing weddings. My daughter is graduating this year, degree in psychology, major, and she wants to also, you know, be a minor in film, which I’ve been very supportive of her.

Silva Harapetian: You told me a really wonderful story about how your daughter came to you and said that she wanted to study abroad. Tell me about that.

Jack Topalian: Yeah, she, through her college course, they had an opportunity to study abroad in Europe. So she came to me and she said, ‘Hey, Dad. I have this opportunity to study in Europe.’ And I said, ‘Oh, that’s interesting.’ Where? So she named a few cities, you know, London, Paris, you know, Rome, Florence. And I said, ‘Well, what are you thinking?’ She’s thinking Rome. She said, ‘I’m thinking Florence.’ And we’ve been to Italy. We’ve been to Florence as a family. I said, ‘Do you really want to do this?’ She said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Why?’ Because she said it’ll give me, you know, a sense of independence. A sense of getting to know who I am. This is crazy. Jesus, I get really emotional with my kids.

Silva Harapetian: Well, I think there’s something else going on. What is that thing that’s going on internally? Okay for everyone who listen, I’m I’m gonna there’s a reason why I scheduled you as at the end of the day because I knew it was gonna mess up all of my makeup.

Jack Topalian: This this is really messing up my whole tough guy exterior.

Silva Harapetian: I know it is,

Jack Topalian: but... Jesus.

Silva Harapetian: One thing I didn’t tell you, I am known as the interviewer who makes people cry.

Jack Topalian: Ay, ay, ay. So, sorry about that. I should have told you.

Jack Topalian: I usually get paid to cry on... It’s in my contract. The screenplay says he gets emotional.

Silva Harapetian: In full transparency, Jack and I met a couple of weeks ago. We’ve had multiple lunches together. We’ve talked about things quite a bit. And in one of our conversations, he told me this wonderful story. And I noticed how emotional you got by telling that story. And I think it’s important. To tell that story and be as authentic as you are on camera now about that, because there’s a lesson to be learned with that. Because Hmm. There’s some things in life you don’t get a do-over. Right? And for And the thing that I noticed about you was that you experienced that limitation and you made a conscious choice to do it differently with your kids and that is changing the narrative and changing the perspective.

And I think there’s such a big, important thing to learn for parents out there. I’m not a parent, so I can’t speak as a parent. I suspect that’s really hard to do. But tell me about the thing that you wanted to do so badly that you didn’t get to do.

I think we need the napkin. We both need the napkin. No, no, no. You’re going to start talking about it and I’m going to be all— you know, waterworks here.

Jack Topalian: Jesus. There goes the neighborhood. Thank you. Jeez.

Silva Harapetian: You all right?

Jack Topalian: Yeah, yeah, I’m alright. I gotta get a better grip on my emotions.

Silva Harapetian: I think there’s something really beautiful about about this that— Thank you— is gonna change things. One for you, one for me.

Jack Topalian: Hold on, what was your question again? What was your question again?

Silva Harapetian: What made you cry?

Jack Topalian: Well, I got emotional. You know, it’s...

Silva Harapetian: The thing that you wanted to do that you didn’t get to do.

Jack Topalian: When I was 21, I actually went into business really early. Really early. But then, when I was 20 or 21, I traveled to Paris to France for the first time, like that was like my big trip. I’d never been to Europe, this was like a big thing for me. Right. And I went with a friend of mine. I had a cousin who lived in Paris, and then my dad’s friend lived in Marseille.

So I went for a month— two weeks in Paris, two weeks in southern France. My friend, my dad’s friend, he took us to, you know, Monte Carlo. We went to Italy, Ventimiglia, San Remo, you know, like Saint Tropez. We were like all over the place, you know? So I came back, I was like, this is crazy. Culture. I love this. I said, this is where I belong. I came home and I talked to my parents, and I said, listen, I want to just take time off. Go study in Europe. And live in Paris? Or maybe live in southern France, you know, and, well, what are you going to do there? I said, you know, I’ll study. I’ll be a waiter. I’ll be whatever it takes. I’ll figure it out. It’s not a problem. Plus, my cousin lived in Paris at the time, so I’m not going to be thrown out there in a bunch of strangers.

I’m not blaming my parents, but because of their upbringing, they just like, ‘Oh, this is No, it’s not going to happen.’ This isn’t right. You can’t. What are you going to do? And they were extremely worried. So it was one of those things that never worked out for me. And then I kind of caved in. And I’m not. Not that I didn’t have a great life afterwards, you know, and I went on to do a lot of great things, and I’m extremely proud of that. But because I didn’t have that opportunity, and when my daughter came to me... And she said, ‘You know... I want to do this.’ Ai. It totally liked hit home for me and that’s kind of what’s going on right now. And, uh, I trust her completely.

Silva Harapetian: Had you realized how much that had affected you?

Jack Topalian: No. It did hit me later. Because I didn’t say yes right away, but then the more I thought about it is, you know, my wife and I have done an amazing job of raising our three children. I mean, I’m, Jesus, I’m beyond proud of my children, you know, I mean. What everything, like, I’m proud not only of everything that they have accomplished in life to this point, but the fact that they’re... They’re great human beings. That they could walk into any room and hold their heads up high. That’s who I am. That’s who my wife is. That’s who we are as a family. And, you know, as a dad, I’m proud to see that. That they’re they’ve turned out great.

So when this opportunity came up with my daughter Elizabeth to go to Florence I you know my wife was a little hesitant I was too but I didn’t want to show it because I knew what it meant. And she went. She studied in Florence for three months. She had a little summer break. She had a lot of summer break, but she had like a little break like a month and a half in. And it was our anniversary coming up. My wife and I have been married 32 years to this date.

So, it was in October, and I said, ‘Let’s go somewhere.’ She said, ‘Let’s go to Europe.’ We’ll see Elizabeth. I said, ‘Great.’ We’ll go to Paris. Elizabeth can fly to Paris. And then my boy said, ‘Well, we want to come too.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ And their fiancé said, ‘Well, we want to come.’ So it became this whole big family thing, which was incredible. I mean, it was like I couldn’t have planned it any better. So we stayed a week in Paris. We stayed a week in Florence. She showed us all around.

Silva Harapetian: You found yourself thinking about... what you would have liked to have done. Had you had the opportunity, which is, because not a lot of, you know, I don’t think a lot of parents, I, listen, I’ve had an amazing life and I have amazing parents. Yeah. But. I would be lying if I said that I did a lot of things with their blessing.

Jack Topalian: You know, I mean, I think it’s growing up. Yeah. You know what? Immigrant parents and you know it’s fear— it’s fear— it’s totally fear, and I totally understand it. But I chose not to give in to fear. And when I was there and I saw Elizabeth, Uh, In her. in that world, how she was in complete control. She took us to the restaurants that she would go to. She introduced us to people. I was like, wow.

Silva Harapetian: Have you thought about... Because there you know, I there’s a lot of literature about about, um, correcting the wound that exists, you know what I mean. I don’t mean to be, you know, super psychological, but have you thought about what it is that you would need to do for yourself to remedy this thing that you still carry? Because it’s real.

Jack Topalian: I do it every day. You know what that is? What is that? Doing whatever it is that I want to do, like becoming an actor in my mid-40s, like pursuing my passions, because I made a conscious decision that I am never going to sit on the sidelines. Never. I’m not going to do it. I’m going to follow my dreams, I’m going to follow my passions, and I’m going to achieve all of those goals that I have set. It’s not up for debate. It’s not up for negotiation.

Because I am never going to be that guy who sits there and says, ‘I wish I had done this.’ No, no, no. I’m the guy that says, ‘I did do that.’ Mm-hmm. Whatever way it turned out, it doesn’t matter. I did it. You know, if I want to go somewhere, travel. I’m going to go do it. If I want to pursue a particular passion that I have in business or in life, then I’m going to do it. I don’t want to second guess myself. Because when I was younger, I didn’t have certain opportunities. Now that I’m older, I’m wiser, hopefully. I’m a little more seasoned.

Silva Harapetian: Really heavy to carry, that it is, and that sense of loss and what could have, should have, that’s heavy to carry in the only way— sometimes you do have to remedy it is to live intentionally.

Jack Topalian: And you know this because we know people, you know, we all know people that, you know, just sit around or maybe they’re like in their 40s or 50s or maybe 60s, whatever. And they wish they’d have done certain things.

Silva Harapetian: They’re unhappy in their marriages. They’re unhappy in work. Their careers, exactly. And there is this fear of change. There’s a fear of pivoting. There’s a fear of reinventing yourself. There’s a fear of judgment. There’s a fear of what other people are going to say, what my parents are going to say. This is why I really wanted to have this conversation with you because you are an example, a real-life example of what happens when you allow other things, other people, external entities, whether it be a parent or circumstances, to limit you from doing what you absolutely want to do.

So I have a recommendation— and I don’t know if you would agree with this. If you love these types of conversations, the one thing that has helped me is surrounding myself with people who speak. who speak this language, who speak and understand what we’re saying, right? If you want more of this in your life, find people who think that way, whose mindset is on that level. And you can have these types of conversations. They can push you. I wouldn’t be where I am without that support and without surrounding myself with people who are like-minded. Jack, thank you so much for coming.

Jack Topalian: Thank you for... This has been a really great conversation. Yeah, my God, you... Thank you for having me.

Silva Harapetian: How did I do? I know you’ve been doing...

Jack Topalian: You did great.

Silva Harapetian: You’ve been doing podcasts and interviews for a while.

Jack Topalian: No, I know. But it’s just you know one of the things that I loved about what we just did— is very organic, very no agenda. Just we just talked, and I appreciate you having me.

Silva Harapetian: And Thank you for allowing the authentic emotion come through. I really appreciate that. It’s really hard to do. Thanks. Next time they ask you to cry on set, you just call me and I’ll have a conversation with you on the phone. I don’t know. Call Silva, she’ll get the tears going, right? Okay. Thank you all for watching. Come back and see us again. Come back and do another interview again.

Jack Topalian: I will. I’d love to.

I’m Silva Harapetian, see you next time.

Thanks for watching!

At the Japanese American National Museum, visitors of all ages were invited to answer that question by sharing their wishes for America ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

The activation is part of a nationwide effort led by Made By Us and the New-York Historical Society, encouraging people—especially young people—to reflect on the country’s past and imagine its future.

“The project is actually a part of national activations happening across the country where we’re asking young people specifically, but anyone of all ages, what their wish for America is for the 250th,” said Sophia Alvarez, a Youth250 Bureau member and Program Coordinator at Japanese American National Museum.

Alvarez represented the initiative at the museum, where visitors filled out colorful cards expressing their hopes for the nation.

“My wish for America: to learn from the past, make progress towards a safe and inclusive future,” one participant wrote.

Others shared simple but powerful aspirations.

“Freedom and peace and love for all.”

“I wish for health.”

“Love for everyone.”

Many focused on the nation’s founding ideals and the desire to see them applied more broadly.

“I wish the U.S. will follow the principles that our nation was built upon for all,” one visitor wrote.

Another added, “I wish for liberty, justice, healthcare, education, safety, and justice for all.”

The display also highlighted concerns about economic challenges facing many Americans.

“Bring down inflation to make things more affordable for people who are struggling,” one participant wrote.

Others emphasized diversity and belonging.

“I wish for all cultures to be welcome and celebrated equally,” another visitor shared.

Children contributed their own heartfelt messages. One note addressed directly to the country read:

“Dear America, I hope you stay healthy for eternity and live a good life.”

The project extends beyond the museum walls through a digital platform, where people across the country can submit their wishes online at OnOur250th.org.

For many participants, the exercise was about more than simply sharing hopes—it was about encouraging civic engagement and helping young people understand their role in shaping the nation’s future.

“My wish for America is to help people in need and to help make the world a better place—not just in America, but globally,” one participant said.

Alvarez believes that empowering young people is one of the initiative’s most important goals.

“I think the priority of this is, again, like I said, we’re asking people of all ages, but primarily young people because they’re going to be the ones who are leaders of this country in 5, 10, 15, 20 years,” she said.

“And so we want young people to start realizing, ‘Hey, you have a right and responsibility to be helping, be out in the communities, to shape the America you want to see.’”

As America celebrates 250th in 2026, organizers hope the growing collection of wishes will serve as both a reflection of the nation today and a roadmap for the future Americans hope to build together.

The museum hosted its second Nikkei Children’s Book Festival, a day devoted to children’s literature, Japanese American identity and the stories families pass from one generation to the next.

“This is our Nikkei Children’s Book Festival,” said Joy Yamaguchi, director of public programs at JANM. “It’s our second time that we’ve done this event, but it’s just our day celebrating all things children’s literature and the Japanese American community.”

The festival brought together families, authors and community partners, including the Los Angeles County Library and Discover Nikkei. Tables were filled with books, crafts and activities. Children flipped through stories about family, sports, identity and the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans.

Yamaguchi said the festival is part of a larger effort to make Japanese American stories visible to children who might not otherwise encounter them in school or at home.

“There weren’t a lot of stories about Japanese Americans, about Asian Americans, even about people of color or any other kind of marginalized identities,” Yamaguchi said. “A lot of our authors are really working to make sure that those stories are being told now.”

For Russell and Joyce Chung, the event was more than a family outing. They brought their granddaughter Olivia to the museum to help connect her with a history that shaped their family.

“My wife, her family was interned,” Russell Chung said. “And so to bring our granddaughter here to share that story, I think it’s very important.”

Joyce Chung said the visit was meaningful because of her family’s direct connection to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Some images in the museum, the couple said, came from her family.

“Sometimes we’re not going to be here forever,” Russell Chung said. “But if you have something that is going to provide the memories and the history, what the truth is, it’s extremely important.”

Joyce Chung said her parents rarely spoke about what happened. Her father served in the military while her mother’s family was incarcerated. She said the silence around that history made events like the festival even more important for younger generations.

“When you think about it, it was such a horrific time in history, but it wasn’t really that long ago,” Russell Chung said. “It’s sad what you see today, and you go, are we going backwards? We’re supposed to step forward.”

Yamaguchi said picture books can help children approach painful history through emotion before policy. She recalled one child asking whether a character in a book ever saw his dog again after being sent to camp.

“It’s such a heartbreaking question because the answer is no,” Yamaguchi said. “He didn’t ever see his dog again.”

For Yamaguchi, that question showed how children understand separation and loss even when they are too young to grasp the full history.

“They could say, what is this expression that’s on this face? How are they feeling?” she said. “And being able to talk about that maybe instead of a fact or a history lesson.”

The festival also included authors writing new stories for children who have long been underrepresented in books. One children’s book author said representation was central to his work.

“One of the main things I feel like is for representation, Japanese American representation, which is important, and girl power,” he said. “I wanted to also show that girls do sports and can also be graceful.”

Around the festival, families moved between tables, activities and conversations. Some children paused over books. Others held hands with grandparents or leaned into adults reading aloud. The moments were small, but the purpose was larger: to give children a way into stories that many families once carried quietly.

Yamaguchi said the museum’s work continues even as JANM’s galleries are closed forrenovation. Public programs are still being held, and the museum plans to reopen at the end of the year with a new core exhibition.

For the children at the festival, history arrived through pages, pictures and family voices. For their parents and grandparents, the books offered a way to begin conversations that silence once made difficult.

Satrapi transformed a deeply personal story into a global conversation about identity, exile, war and freedom. Through her groundbreaking graphic novel and its award-winning animated film adaptation, she helped readers and viewers understand political upheaval through the eyes of a child.

Published in 2000, Persepolis follows Satrapi’s experiences growing up in Tehran during the Iranian Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War. The memoir chronicles her childhood, separation from family, life in exile and search for identity while navigating dramatic political and cultural change.

The story resonated far beyond Iran.

The animated film adaptation, released in 2007, earned international acclaim, winning the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature.

For Satrapi, however, the story was never just about politics. It was about people.

“And really, if there is one message in this movie, it is the humanistic message that human beings anywhere are the same, and they have the right, the right to live,” Satrapi said in a previous interview.

That message continues to reach new generations.

One 15-year-old reader who first encountered Persepolis in school said the book and film changed her understanding of Iran and the experiences of immigrants.

“I didn’t know a lot about the Iranian Revolution,” she said. “While reading the book and watching the movie, it made me realize that someone can go through so much and still have a different understanding of the world at a really young age.”

She said Satrapi’s story offered a perspective rarely found in textbooks.

“It changed me and my friends’ perspectives on immigrants and how they deal with things today,” she said.

Grief Was a Theme in Life and Art

Satrapi’s family said she died of heartbreak following the loss of her husband, whom she often described as the love of her life.

The artist did not keep her grief private. In the months after his death, she wrote openly about her sadness, sharing with followers the emotional toll of losing a partner after years together.

For many readers, the revelation felt consistent with the themes that defined her work.

While Persepolis is remembered as a memoir about revolution and political change, it is also a story about loss: the loss of innocence, the loss of home, and the pain of separation from loved ones.

Those experiences resonate deeply within immigrant communities, where grief is often intertwined with displacement. The longing for family members left behind, the inability to return home, and the feeling of belonging to more than one place can create a sorrow that lasts for decades.

Satrapi understood that pain intimately and never shied away from expressing it.

Instead, she turned it into art.

Her illustrations, writing and films gave shape to emotions that many people struggle to describe, allowing readers around the world to see themselves in her story.

For artists working in graphic novels and visual storytelling, Satrapi’s influence was equally profound.

Sequential Artist and Filmmaker Roger Kupelian said Persepolis helped redefine what a graphic novel could be.

“What was inspirational about it is she told a story that was very much her own story,” Kupelian said. “She owned it. The authenticity of what she did was what made it resonate.”

Unlike many graphic novels centered on fictional heroes, Persepolis used a simple black-and-white visual style to tell a deeply personal and often painful story. Kupelian said that authenticity inspired countless artists to use graphic novels to explore their own experiences.

“She’s definitely one of the more influential graphic novel artists to come out in the last few decades,” he said. “It opened up for other artists to say, ‘I can also tell a very personal story using a very personal kind of art.’”

Throughout her life, Satrapi remained outspoken about human rights and political freedom. Living in exile, she frequently criticized Iran’s government and became a prominent supporter of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement that emerged following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022.

Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, died after being detained by morality police for allegedly violating the country’s mandatory dress code.

Yet Satrapi often argued that meaningful change requires reflection rather than retaliation.

“You cannot answer to the stupidity by stupidity. You cannot answer to the violence by violence,” she said. “It’s extremely important to take a step back and look at the thing.”

Her passing leaves a void not only in the world of literature and film but also among those who saw art as a tool for social understanding.

“Anytime you have a voice like this taken away, it is a loss,” Kupelian said. “Not only on an art form, but also politically, in bringing light to a certain subject.”

At a time when political divisions, war and displacement continue to shape lives around the world, Satrapi’s work remains a reminder of the power of storytelling to build empathy.

Through Persepolis, she invited audiences to look beyond headlines and ideology and see the human beings living through history.

Her legacy is not simply that she documented a revolution. It is that she made readers feel what it was like to live through one.

And in doing so, she reminded the world to see people before politics.

Yet even while working long hours as a cab driver, Alvandi never abandoned his passion for art.

“This is 60 years,” Alvandi said, reflecting on a creative journey that began decades ago.

While waiting for customers between fares, he found a way to keep his dream alive. Armed with nothing more than a pen and paper, he filled idle moments with sketches and drawings.

“When I was waiting for the customers in the taxi, I didn’t waste the time,” Alvandi said. “I started to do [art].”

What began as simple doodles on the backs of trip logs gradually evolved into a remarkable body of work. Over the years, Alvandi created more than 200 intricate and deeply personal pieces, documenting his imagination, experiences, and artistic vision.

“When I find pen and paper, I started to do that,” he said.

For years, however, much of his artwork remained unseen. The collection was tucked away—quite literally in the trunk of his taxi—hidden from the public and even from many who knew him.

It was only after his daughter encouraged him to share his work that Alvandi began exhibiting his art. Today, his collection has become a source of inspiration for audiences across the country.

His exhibition, “Collections of a Cab Driver,” serves as both an artistic showcase and a visual diary of a working man’s journey. Through his drawings, Alvandi tells a story of perseverance, sacrifice, and the enduring power of creativity.

His work has been exhibited in Miami, New York, and throughout California. Most recently, it was featured at the Center for Armenian Arts.

For Stephan Partamian, founder of the Center for Armenian Arts, Alvandi’s story is as remarkable as the artwork itself.

“In Sarkis’s case, it is his age,” Partamian said. “At the age of 80, he is pursuing becoming an artist.”

Partamian says the mission of the Center for Armenian Arts is to provide a platform for Armenian artists and encourage them to continue creating regardless of where they are in life.

“At the Center for Armenian Arts, we present Armenian artists,” Partamian said. “The purpose is to encourage creation. As artists, they have to create.”

Alvandi’s journey resonates far beyond the art world. His story reflects the experiences of countless immigrants who put their dreams on hold while building a life for their families. It is also a reminder that passions do not expire with age.

At 80 years old, Sarkis Alvandi is finally receiving recognition for a talent he quietly nurtured for decades between taxi fares.

His story offers a simple but powerful message: no matter your circumstances, it is never too late to pursue your dreams.

The latest exhibition, “Dreams Gather Here,” by artist Rachel Hakimian Emenaker, invites viewers into a world shaped by migration, cultural inheritance and diasporic memory.

Emenaker’s work blends influences from her upbringing in both Suriname and Moscow, Russia, merging traditional craft practices with contemporary art.

“I draw deeply from where I grew up, so I grew up in a country called Suriname, as well as in Moscow, Russia, and so I try to meld the both practices I grew up alongside,” Emenaker said. “Things such as Batik, or what would be considered craft practices in a Western vocabulary with contemporary art.”

The exhibition explores diaspora as a shared emotional and physical space — one where dreams, histories and identities travel across borders and generations.

“I was thinking of this idea for a diasporic architecture where so many people from different places have come with their dreams, with their hopes, and also left their dreams behind to come here for various reasons,” Emenaker said. “I thought about this gathering place and this melding of both dreams for the future to come, dreams that have been left behind, as well as dreams that we’ve inherited.”

According to Ara Oshagan, curator of ReflectSpace, the gallery has served as a platform for socially engaged exhibitions since opening in 2017. Over the years, the space has hosted more than 50 exhibitions focused on issues ranging from diaspora and displacement to civil rights, cultural memory and identity.

Oshagan said he first encountered Emenaker’s work at one of her gallery openings and immediately recognized how strongly it aligned with ReflectSpace’s mission.

“I think the unique thing about Rachel’s work is that she has this idea of diasporic architecture,” Oshagan said. “What do the spaces that diasporic people walk through, and exist in and live in look like? She goes back to the past, the present and looks into the future and creates these landscapes that are here and not here at the same time.”

Several pieces in the exhibition feature iconic Armenian-owned restaurants in Los Angeles, including Zankou Chicken and Falafel Arax. Through these familiar community spaces, the exhibition highlights how food becomes a vessel for preserving identity, memory and cultural continuity within diaspora communities.

“Falafel Arax and Zankou Chicken are both from Lebanon, so there’s this trajectory,” Oshagan explained. “Of course they are from Western Armenia, displaced during the genocide, so restaurants themselves have this history of displacement and movement across generations.”

Oshagan said ReflectSpace intentionally centers exhibitions that reflect the diversity of Glendale and the broader Los Angeles region. Past exhibitions have explored topics including Korean history, slavery, Indigenous rights, LGBTQ experiences, the Holocaust and Japanese internment.

“Over the last nine years, we’ve addressed all these different issues that impact not only our local community, but our region as well as the nation,” Oshagan said.

For Emenaker, Glendale represents a unique convergence of diasporic experiences and cultural histories.

“There have been so many waves, and ongoing waves that have come in here, and each one has brought their unique stories, their own unique culture,” she said. “The Armenian diaspora is so vast, there’s so many different pockets and traditions and ways of seeing and ways of living, and it’s very special to see all of that converge in one area.”

Rousey returned to mixed martial arts Saturday, May 16, at Intuit Dome in Inglewood and defeated Gina Carano with the same move that once made her the most feared woman in combat sports. She took Carano down, trapped her arm and forced the tap.

The armbar came fast. The larger meaning came later, in the numbers, the reaction and the strange quiet that follows a career finally ending.

A Record Night on Netflix

The fight headlined Most Valuable Promotions’ first MMA event on Netflix. It drew a peak global audience of nearly 17 million viewers, according to Netflix and MVP. It averaged 12.4 million live viewers worldwide. In the United States, the main event peaked at 11.6 million viewers, topping the previous U.S. MMA television record of 8.8 million viewers for UFC on Fox in 2011, according to Reuters.

For people who do not follow the sport, MMA combines boxing, wrestling, judo, jiu-jitsu and other fighting styles. It rewards strength, timing, endurance and nerve. It also rewards attention.

That made Saturday night more than a comeback fight.

Rousey carried an old argument back into the cage with her. Women have spent years proving they can sell tickets, carry pay-per-view cards and hold the attention of casual viewers. Rousey helped settle that debate once before. Saturday night gave her one more answer.

She won quickly, with the old move, in front of millions, and left before the sport could ask for more.

Two Pioneers Meet in The Cage

Rousey beat Carano in a featherweight bout that brought together two women from different chapters of the same story. Carano helped make women’s fighting visible before the UFC embraced it. Rousey made it impossible to ignore. Carano had not fought in 17 years. Rousey had not fought in mixed martial arts in nearly a decade, according to The Associated Press.

Then the cage door closed. The clock started. The crowd barely had time to settle in.

Seventeen seconds later, it ended.

“There’s no way I could’ve ended it better than this,” Rousey said after the fight, according to Reuters. She also called it “a storybook ending.”

That kind of phrase can feel too neat in a sport built on damage. Fighting rarely gives clean exits.

Rousey found one anyway.

Rewriting The Final Image

Her first MMA run ended with two brutal losses. Holly Holm knocked her out in 2015. Amanda Nunes stopped her in 48 seconds in 2016. For years, those images followed her. The head kick. The punches. The silence after the noise.

That is the cruel part of fighting. A career can last years. The public memory often keeps one frame.

The sport kept moving during her years away. New champions rose. New personalities took over.

New audiences found the UFC and other promotions through streaming, social media and crossover events. Rousey returned to a different landscape and still made the room turn toward her.

Rousey changed the frame Saturday night.

After the fight, Rousey made clear this marked the end. In a statement cited by MMA Fighting, she wrote that she had been “procrastinating admitting that it’s really over.”

A Legacy Beyond the Record

Rousey leaves with a professional MMA record of 13 wins and two losses. She also leaves with a legacy that reaches beyond the record.

She won a bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Olympics, becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in the sport. She became Strikeforce champion. She became the UFC’s first women’s bantamweight champion. She became the first woman inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Those milestones tell the public story. The private work happened in gyms, on mats, in repetitions and in the discipline of a fighter who built her identity around finishing.

Rousey arrived when women in combat sports still had to answer questions men rarely faced.

Could they draw? Could they headline? Could viewers care?

A generation of fighters answered those questions in blood, sweat and ratings. Rousey supplied some of the loudest answers.

An Armenian American Connection

Her story also carries a local and Armenian American layer. Her connection comes through training, coaching and advocacy.

She trained for years with Edmond Tarverdyan, an Armenian American coach at Glendale Fighting Club. She also had ties to Hayastan MMA Academy in North Hollywood, founded by Armenian American grappling coach Gokor Chivichyan. Sports Illustrated reported in 2015 that Tarverdyan is of Armenian descent and that Rousey traveled to Armenia with him for the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

That visit mattered. Rousey lent her celebrity to a cause Armenians had carried for generations. She called attention to genocide recognition at a time when the word still carried political weight.

The Washington Post reported that her visit included urging leaders to use the word “genocide” to describe the killings of 1915.

For many Armenian fans, that gave Rousey a place beyond the cage. She stood near a wound that did not belong to her. That kind of gesture lasts in a community.

A Business Result With Cultural Weight

Saturday night carried several stories at once. A comeback. A retirement. A streaming milestone. A women’s sports argument settled again in public. A fighter taking back her final scene.

Carano’s presence added its own symbolism. She represented the earlier era, when women’s MMA had visibility without the full machinery of the UFC behind it. Rousey represented the breakthrough. Together, they gave Netflix and MVP a main event built on nostalgia, history and curiosity.

Most Valuable Promotions, co-founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, now has a combat sports result that reaches beyond one fight card. Reuters reported that Bidarian said the event’s success has drawn interest from investors, partners and fighters as the company considers its MMA future with Netflix.

That is the business side. Streaming platforms want live sports because live sports still make people gather at the same time. Combat sports adds spectacle, conflict and urgency.

For Rousey, the last image now looks different: one more takedown, one more armbar and one last night with millions watching.

Ronnie Gharibian says Glendale needs housing.

But he says the city should not rush into projects simply to satisfy the state.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, the Glendale City Council candidate said the city should use “common sense logic” as it responds to state housing mandates, budget pressure and growing concerns over traffic safety.

“Housing is not necessarily it’s needed now,” Gharibian said. “We always need housing. Shelter is one of the most important issues that humans, we have.”

Gharibian is running for Glendale City Council. In the interview, he directed voters to RonnieForGlendale.com for more information about his campaign. His campaign message, as presented in the interview, centers on careful planning, public safety, budget review, new revenue and practical solutions for traffic and housing.

Gharibian said California’s housing pressure comes from a broader shortage, not just a Glendale problem. He said low interest rates during the pandemic, fewer people selling homes and growing rental needs all play a role.

But he said Glendale still needs to decide where housing belongs.

“We have to use common sense logic,” Gharibian said. “It’s like art.”

He said larger buildings should conform to the neighborhoods around them. He said the city should not place what he called an “eyesore building” in the middle of a single family residential area.

“You can’t put an eyesore building in middle of a single family residence,” Gharibian said. “That doesn’t make sense.”

Gharibian said Glendale should ask the state for more time to study sites before moving forward with major housing projects.

“Give us time,” Gharibian said. “Let’s take our study, let’s do our research, let’s find location that is conforming to what you want us to do.”

He said the city should consider whether housing can be spread across several smaller sites instead of concentrated into one large project. He pointed to the former Sears site downtown as an example of a large project that may fit the surrounding area better than it would in a residential neighborhood.

“At least it’s in a location that it handles the type of the property,” Gharibian said.

But he said other sites need more scrutiny. He mentioned areas near Glendale College and said some locations do not make sense for large housing projects because they sit in residential neighborhoods.

“We need it, but we need to study where,” Gharibian said. “It has to be conforming to the area.”

Gharibian said housing also carries costs beyond construction. More residents require more service from police, fire and infrastructure. He said those impacts need to shape city decisions.

“That’s a different problem, that’s a budget issue,” he said.

On the budget, Gharibian said Glendale should protect police and fire funding. He called those departments the city’s most important services and said they help define Glendale’s quality of life.

“Glendale Police and Fire, it’s our biggest expense we have,” Gharibian said. “But at the same time, it’s also the most important and most valuable thing we have.”

He said Glendale’s safety separates it from many other cities in Los Angeles County.

“If we didn’t have the Glendale Police and fire, the safety, the way we have, Glendale wouldn’t be Glendale,” he said.

Gharibian said cutting public safety spending could change the city’s character.

“Cutting that budget, I would say it would be very dangerous to touch,” he said.

But he said the city should review contracts more aggressively. Gharibian said many city expenses come through third-party contracts that may renew without enough scrutiny.

“My first thing, once I’m elected, is bring all the contracts in,” Gharibian said. “I don’t care, it’s being expired six months from now or three years from now. Bring it in.”

He said the city should review whether it can seek new bids and get better pricing before contracts renew.

“Can we put more RFPs out there, be able to get it cheaper and better?” Gharibian said.

Still, Gharibian said cuts alone will not fix the city’s budget problem. He compared the city budget to a household budget and said reducing one bill does not solve a bigger income problem.

“If your income is less, you have more expenses, you cut the cable bill, that’s not going to fix your problem,” Gharibian said.

He said Glendale needs more revenue, but not by raising taxes on residents.

“More revenue doesn’t mean taxes,” Gharibian said.

Gharibian pointed to the Americana at Brand as an example of outside spending that benefits the city through sales tax. He said Glendale cannot simply duplicate the Americana, but it can look for similar revenue through restaurants, events and attractions that bring people in from outside the city.

“Americana is bringing in outside money,” Gharibian said.

He mentioned examples in other cities, including the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the Hollywood Bowl and Starlight Bowl in Burbank, as types of attractions that generate outside revenue.

“These are extra revenues the cities can bring in from outside money,” he said.

Gharibian said Glendale needs leaders who can plan years ahead, not just react to each budget cycle.

“City cannot live paycheck to paycheck,” Gharibian said. “You have to plan 10 years ahead.”

On transportation, Gharibian said safety should come first, especially for pedestrians.

“Safety obviously is first,” Gharibian said. “Especially pedestrians crossing the streets.”

But he questioned whether narrowing traffic lanes will solve speeding or safety problems. He said drivers may simply move onto other streets, creating new danger in residential areas.

“Narrowing down the lane to force the driver to slow down, that’s not going to work,” Gharibian said. “The drivers will find other ways, other streets that makes it even more dangerous.”

He said reducing lanes on major corridors could push drivers to streets such as Kenneth Road, where more pedestrians may face risk.

“So you have to be careful what the consequences are,” Gharibian said.

Gharibian said the city should plan ahead before making major street changes. He said speed cameras, police presence in known speeding areas and public education can all help.

“Police force has to be more present on the areas that we know speeding is there,” Gharibian said.

He also suggested using crashed cars as visual reminders to discourage reckless driving.

“Remind them, educate them,” Gharibian said. “Educating is the best way.”

Gharibian said the same idea applies beyond traffic. He said residents need more information about housing, budgets and public safety so they can better understand city decisions.

“People have to be engaged,” he said. “They have to be educated.”

At the end of the interview, Gharibian directed voters to RonnieForGlendale.com and said he is available to speak with residents.

“I’m available for anyone, anytime,” Gharibian said.

Candidate profile

Ronnie Gharibian
Race: Glendale City Council.
Background: Gharibian is running for Glendale City Council and directed voters in the Inclusive Voices Media interview to RonnieForGlendale.com for more information about his campaign. In the interview, he emphasized planning, public safety, business activity, contracts, revenue and traffic safety.
Key campaign themes: Careful housing placement, neighborhood compatibility, police and fire funding, contract review, new revenue without new taxes, long-term budget planning, pedestrian safety and traffic education.
Campaign website: RonnieForGlendale.com.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.

All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.

The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Gevork Gevorkian says Glendale needs more housing.

But he says it needs a plan first.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, the Glendale City Council candidate said the city must add housing without damaging the character that makes people want to live there.

“We need properly planned,” Gevorkian said. “Because we all understand that the city is growing, and we need more housing to have affordability here in the city.”

Gevorkian is running for Glendale City Council as a housing advocate. In the interview, he said he owns an architectural business and has experience in planning and development. He also described himself as a former army surgeon from Artsakh and said that experience shapes how he views public safety spending.

His campaign message centers on housing affordability, infrastructure, public safety, better planning, faster permits and support for local businesses.

Gevorkian said Glendale needs housing so young people and middle class families can stay in the city.

“Our younger generation can stay, can afford to stay here in Glendale, and they don’t leave Glendale,” Gevorkian said.

But he warned that growth cannot come at the cost of Glendale’s identity.

“If we destroy the character of Glendale, we all will leave Glendale,” Gevorkian said. “So we need to protect the character of Glendale.”

Gevorkian said the city should place larger housing projects in areas that can handle them. He pointed to downtown Glendale, the Civic Center area and the San Fernando corridor near train stations as places where more housing could work.

He also said Glendale should prepare for SB 79, the state law that could allow more housing near some transit stops. Gevorkian said most candidates oppose the law, but he believes the city now needs to manage it carefully instead of pretending it can stop it.

“It’s too late,” Gevorkian said. “We don’t have the time to oppose it. We need to properly manage to get the benefits from the SB 79.”

He said every policy has tradeoffs, and the city’s job is to protect neighborhoods while using the parts of the law that could help Glendale.

“Nothing in the world has just bad sides,” Gevorkian said. “You have good sides and the bad sides.”

Gevorkian said he has spoken with residents in single family neighborhoods who worry about nine story apartment buildings on smaller streets. He said those concerns make sense because emergency vehicles need room to respond.

“In these small streets, we can’t have a nine story apartment building,” Gevorkian said. “During an emergency, our firefighters, our police officers, they are not going to be able to come and save you.”

Gevorkian said Glendale also needs housing for the middle class. He said the city has programs for low income residents and wealthy residents can afford Glendale, but many middle class families have fewer options.

“We don’t have anything managed for the middle class,” Gevorkian said. “That’s one of my main concerns.”

On the budget, Gevorkian said the city should not cut police or fire funding.

He said his experience in Artsakh taught him the importance of protecting the people who protect the public.

“As a former army surgeon from Artsakh, where I served, this was a 30, 35 years war area,” Gevorkian said. “I know firsthand that you can’t reduce the budget from those people who are protecting you in the city.”

He said that means police and fire should remain protected from cuts.

“You can’t cut the budget of your heroes,” Gevorkian said.

Gevorkian said the city should first look for misspending. He pointed to the North Brand Boulevard bike lane project as one example. He said the project cost about $2 million, including roughly half a million dollars for design.

“We lost $2 million over there,” Gevorkian said. “The half million of it was just a design.”

As the owner of an architectural business, Gevorkian said the design cost did not make sense to him.

“I would love to see a design that costs half a million, just for a street,” he said. “It’s not a building, it’s not a high riser.”

Gevorkian also questioned whether the city reused designs when it considered other street projects. He said Glendale should review spending more carefully before cutting core services or raising taxes.

“At the first, we cut the misspendings, then we will not have the deficit,” Gevorkian said.

He said Glendale also needs more revenue. But he said the city can raise revenue by helping businesses open faster, not by raising taxes.

“Businesses are leaving Glendale right now because of the high sales tax,” Gevorkian said.

He said the city’s permitting process takes too long and discourages new businesses from coming to Glendale. He compared Glendale’s process with Los Angeles and said business permits can take years in Glendale.

“Why does it take two months over there and two years here?” Gevorkian said.

He said faster permits would help attract businesses and bring more tax revenue into the city.

“When we expedite the permitting process, a lot of new businesses will join the city,” Gevorkian said. “Then we can collect more taxes without raising taxes.”

On transportation, Gevorkian said Glendale needs better planning before it removes lanes for bicycles or buses.

He said reckless driving creates danger for pedestrians and cyclists. He said the city should not place bike lanes in areas where drivers already speed or behave dangerously without first addressing safety.

“If you face the reckless driving on this street, and you bring somebody with a bicycle over there, you’re bringing danger to this person’s life,” Gevorkian said.

Gevorkian said the question is not whether bike lanes should exist. The question is where they make sense.

“Let’s plan properly where to put these bicycle lanes,” he said.

He also raised concerns about bus lanes. Gevorkian said the city needs stronger bus infrastructure before removing car lanes for dedicated bus lanes.

“If we remove just a lane to add buses there, so it means we remove a lane from the cars,” Gevorkian said. “But because we don’t have buses, we’re just having an empty lane over there.”

He said Glendale should first expand bus service and show people that buses can become a useful way to travel.

“Let’s at the first grow the infrastructure for the buses,” Gevorkian said. “Have more buses, teach the people that we can travel with the buses as well.”

Gevorkian said the city should protect buses only after it builds a system people use.

“If we don’t have a bus, who are we protecting?” he said.

Gevorkian ended the interview by directing voters to his campaign website and Instagram account. He said he hopes to earn support in the June 2 election.

“I hope to earn your support during this race,” Gevorkian said.

Candidate profile

Gevork Gevorkian
Race: Glendale City Council.
Background: Gevorkian identifies himself as a housing advocate. In the Inclusive Voices Media interview, he said he owns an architectural business and has experience with planning and development. He also described himself as a former army surgeon from Artsakh.
Key campaign themes: Housing affordability, middle class housing, protection of neighborhood character, infrastructure planning, public safety, faster permits, business growth, cutting misspending and safer transportation planning.
Campaign website: ElectGevork.com.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.

All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.

The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Elen Asatryan says Glendale cannot cut its way into a stronger future.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, the Glendale City Council member and former mayor said the city needs to protect core services, generate new revenue and push back where it can against state housing mandates that she called “heavy handed.”

Asatryan said she shares residents’ concerns about growth, traffic, neighborhood character and infrastructure.

“I share the same concerns as our residents,” Asatryan said. “You have seen that time and again when these items have come up on the dais.”

Asatryan is running for another term on the Glendale City Council. Her campaign biography describes her as a councilwoman, former mayor, human and civil rights advocate, community organizer and businesswoman. She has focused much of her public work on civic engagement, women and girls, public safety, immigrant communities, parks, youth programs and stronger communication between City Hall and residents.

In the interview, Asatryan said Glendale cannot simply stop state housing mandates. But she said the city can work with other cities and state lawmakers to seek changes.

“We can’t stop the mandates,” Asatryan said. “We can group with other cities to be able to advocate for amendments to some of these very heavy handed mandates that are coming down from Sacramento.”

Asatryan said Glendale now faces a requirement for about 13,000 new housing units. She called that number “absolutely bonkers.”

But she said the real question is where that housing goes.

“It’s really important for us to look at the land that we have in the city of Glendale,” Asatryan said.

She pointed to the San Fernando Corridor as one area where the city can look for housing opportunities. She said housing should go in places where infrastructure can support it, rather than forcing all growth into downtown or pushing density into single-family neighborhoods.

“One of the things that I championed during my tenure was looking at the San Fernando Corridor,” Asatryan said.

Asatryan said she remains proud of Glendale’s record on affordable housing. But she said new housing brings real costs that the state does not always address.

She said the city must pay for police officers, dispatchers, roadwork, utilities and traffic needs when thousands of new residents move in.

“I have grave concerns about how we fund the rest of the things that come with added housing,” Asatryan said. “That includes our public safety, that includes our infrastructure, that includes our power grid.”

She pointed to a Central Avenue project as an example. Asatryan said the council opposed the project, but state rules limited the city’s ability to shape or reject it.

“We as a council voted against it, knowing that we couldn’t,” Asatryan said. “We were basically a rubber stamp for Sacramento.”

She said the frustration came from having a project before the council without the power to demand community-serving changes.

“Why is it in front of me if I can’t vote no?” Asatryan said.

Asatryan said she wanted the ability to require features such as green space or a grocery store on the ground floor, so residents could meet daily needs without getting into a car.

“It’s not that I don’t want the housing,” she said. “But if we can’t dictate what that project looks like at the heart of our city,” the city loses one of its most important planning tools.

On the budget, Asatryan said she voted against last year’s budget because she does not believe cuts and taxes should serve as the first response to budget pressure.

“I was the only council member that voted against the budget last year,” Asatryan said. “Because I think cuts and adding taxes are the lazy way of budgeting.”

Asatryan said she has brought forward at least 10 to 12 revenue-generating ideas during her time on the council. She said those ideas have not moved quickly enough.

She pointed to a public-private partnership for electric vehicle chargers as one example. She also said she met with the president of the California Bears about a possible ice hockey and ice skating facility in Glendale.

Asatryan said a similar facility in Pasadena generates about $1.5 million for that city.

“They were looking at doing two sheets,” Asatryan said. “It’s been sitting there for two years without it being brought to a vote.”

She said Glendale needs to move faster on projects that can bring in money without cutting services or adding taxes.

“I believe in revenue generation,” Asatryan said. “I believe in being creative in how we generate revenue.”

Asatryan said she would not support cuts to public safety, permitting or communication with residents.

“I am not willing to make cuts to public safety,” Asatryan said. “I’m not willing to make cuts to anything that impacts permitting. I’m not interested in anything that impacts communication to residents.”

She also said Glendale invests nothing in programming specifically for women and girls within a $1.27 billion budget. She called that unacceptable.

“We also make $0 investments in women and girls programming in a $1.27 billion budget,” Asatryan said. “That is insane to me.”

Asatryan connected that concern directly to public safety. She said Glendale police received more than 635 domestic violence calls last year.

“That is 635 too many calls,” Asatryan said.

She said the city can continue to send officers to respond after violence happens, or it can invest in resources that help families leave dangerous situations earlier.

“This is not a women and girls issue,” Asatryan said. “This is a public safety issue that has generational impact.”

Asatryan said she also wants to protect parks, arts, green spaces and libraries because they shape daily life in Glendale.

“Those are the things that people love about Glendale,” she said.

She also defended festivals and community events, saying they bring people together and help local businesses.

“It’s not just great for the soul,” Asatryan said. “It brings community together, but it also an indirect source of revenue for the city.”

She said visitors who come to Glendale for family-friendly events also spend money at coffee shops, restaurants and stores.

Transportation came next.

Asatryan said she has pushed for better public transportation and a review of current transit routes and schedules. She said Glendale must improve mobility for drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists and businesses while recognizing that street design affects safety.

“Public transportation is something that I’ve been pushing for for the last three and a half years,” Asatryan said.

She said Glendale has a strong public safety record overall, but a serious traffic and pedestrian safety problem.

“We’re one of the safest cities in the nation, and that doesn’t happen by accident,” Asatryan said. “We’re also one of the worst cities when it comes to pedestrian and traffic safety.”

She said Glendale needs to look at how it engineers streets, times signals and designs crosswalks.

“How we engineer our streets moving forward is going to be really important,” Asatryan said.

She also said education plays a role, along with smaller changes such as traffic signals and crosswalk lighting.

Asatryan closed the interview by directing voters to her social media accounts and campaign website, ElectElen.com. She said she hopes to earn voters’ support again.

“I hope to earn your vote and your support again,” Asatryan said.

Candidate profile

Elen Asatryan
Race: Glendale City Council.
Current role: Glendale City Council member and former mayor.
Background: Asatryan’s campaign biography describes her as a human and civil rights advocate, community organizer and businesswoman. Her public service work has focused on civic engagement, women and girls, youth programs, public safety, parks, immigrant communities and resident communication.
Key campaign themes: Revenue generation, affordable housing, public safety, women and girls programming, domestic violence prevention, parks, arts, libraries, community events, improved public transportation and safer streets.
Campaign website: ElectElen.com.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.

All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.

The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Evelina Sarian says Glendale should stop acting like it has no power.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, the Glendale City Council candidate said the city should take a stronger position against state housing pressure, rethink transportation planning and focus city spending on safety, security and basic needs.

“I feel Sacramento is playing a trick on us with developers and trying to flood Glendale people with Sacramento money to move their agenda forward,” Sarian said. “And I’m completely against that.”

Sarian is running for Glendale City Council on a platform she describes as focused on a safer, stronger and family-friendly Glendale. Her campaign materials emphasize public safety, local control, traffic concerns, small business needs and preserving the city’s character.

In the interview, Sarian said Glendale should grow on its own terms. She said she opposes state pressure to build large apartment projects that she believes do not fit the city.

“Our city is beautiful city, and it needs to grow organically and needs housing where we actually need it,” Sarian said. “Not to be pressured to build Eastern Bloc-style high-rises.”

Sarian said she is running to challenge state mandates and push back on Sacramento.

“I’m running to stand up to Sacramento,” she said.

Asked how Glendale could respond when the state controls much of the housing process, Sarian said the city should negotiate more aggressively. She said her business experience taught her that government decisions can change if city leaders take a stronger position.

“I’ve been in a business world for a very long time, and I believe in negotiations,” Sarian said. “I believe that you can negotiate a lot of things.”

She rejected what she called a victim mentality at City Hall.

“You need to be a little proactive, not just be like, oh, well, we’re victims,” Sarian said. “I don’t accept that victim mentality, and I’m not going to succumb to it.”

On the budget, Sarian said Glendale should both cut unnecessary spending and bring in new revenue. She said the city should start by eliminating what she called pet projects.

“Let’s eliminate pet projects,” Sarian said.

She pointed to the Brand Boulevard bike lane project as an example. Sarian owns Gravel, a business on Brand Boulevard, and said the project hurt the area.

“My store, Gravel, is right on Brand, and they put those lanes,” Sarian said.

She also criticized ideas she said lack practical planning, including community gardens near freeways. She said city projects should not sound good in theory but fail in real life.

“Unnecessary pet projects that are just philosophically seem right, but don’t make sense in actual world,” Sarian said. “We need to cut those.”

Sarian said her top spending priorities would center on safety and security. She said Glendale should support police and fire services, reduce reckless driving and take stronger steps to prevent fire hazards.

“We need to support our policemen, we need to support our fire,” Sarian said. “We need to create initiatives that prevent reckless driving on our streets.”

Transportation gave Sarian another opening to argue for local solutions over big regional projects.

She said bike lanes do not make sense in congested areas because they create more traffic pressure. She said Glendale should instead expand local transit options that help residents move within the city.

“Bike lanes, no, in the congestion areas,” Sarian said. “It creates more congestions, that’s a no.”

Sarian said the city should explore smaller clean-air vehicles, including electric or hydrogen-powered minibuses. She said she got the idea from older Glendale residents who told her the Beeline helps but does not reach enough smaller streets.

“We can do mini vents that go in a lot more streets and provide help with elderly,” Sarian said.

Sarian said Glendale should focus first on the needs of people who already live in the city before building transportation systems that bring more pressure from outside.

“I think promoting transportation within Glendale, making it more robust public transportation,” Sarian said. “Let’s look inside and clean our house.”

She said the planned bus rapid transit line could bring new complications, including more pressure for dense housing. She said the city should try to delay it or find smarter ways to respond to it.

“Maybe we need to have smarter ways to deal with it,” Sarian said.

Asked who should get top consideration in transportation planning, Sarian said bicyclists should not come first. She described Glendale as a family-friendly, driver-oriented city and said city planning should reflect how people actually live.

“How many bicyclists you’ve seen in Glendale?” Sarian said. “So, bicyclist is not your priority, definitely not.”

She said families, older adults and shoppers need realistic transportation options.

“How can you put your child, your grandma on the bicycle and take them to shop to grocery store?” Sarian said.

Sarian said she supports smaller buses and more neighborhood coverage, especially for people who want to park once and move around downtown Glendale without repeatedly driving.

“I would prefer to drive my car somewhere and then use public transportation within at least Glendale downtown,” she said.

She said hydrogen-powered transit could give the city a cleaner option without relying on bike lanes as the answer to every traffic problem.

“It’s only a messiah that’s going to come and save us. It’s not true,” Sarian said.

At the end of the interview, Sarian said voters should think about what kind of city they want Glendale to become.

“You have to imagine what city you want to live in and choose candidates according to your vision of the future of the city,” she said.

She directed residents to her campaign Instagram account, Vote for Evelina, and said voters can contact her campaign there.

Candidate profile

Evelina Sarian
Race: Glendale City Council.
Background: Sarian is a Glendale business owner. In the Inclusive Voices Media interview, she identified Gravel on Brand Boulevard as her store and spoke about her experience in business and negotiations. Her campaign materials describe her as focused on a safer, stronger and family-friendly Glendale.
Key campaign themes: Public safety, local control, opposition to dense state-driven housing mandates, cutting pet projects, reckless driving enforcement, fire prevention, small business concerns and stronger local transportation within Glendale.
Campaign contact: Vote for Evelina on Instagram.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Box 1: Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.

All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.

The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Vrej Agajanian says Glendale needs more affordable housing.

He also says City Hall needs to stop spending money on projects that do not solve basic problems.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, the Glendale City Council candidate and former council member said housing should remain one of the city’s top priorities. But he said the city must also review its budget, cut waste and avoid spending money simply because outside funds become available.

“Housing is very important issue, very difficult issue,” Agajanian said.

Agajanian served on the Glendale City Council from 2017 to 2022. In the interview, he said housing became a priority for him when he first joined the council.

“When I got elected in 2017, the very first thing I did, I pushed to create housing units,” Agajanian said.

He said that work helped create hundreds of affordable units. He said Glendale created 577 affordable housing units, followed by another 69. He said he also wanted to create another 289 units before he left office in 2022.

Agajanian said he wants to return to the council and continue that work.

“Housing is the most important issue that I will be concentrated on,” he said.

For Agajanian, the issue reaches beyond construction numbers. He said rising housing costs push families out of Glendale. That separates grandparents from grandchildren and weakens the family networks that give the city much of its character.

“Residents of Glendale, they’re leaving this city, which it hurts me,” Agajanian said.

He said many young people leave for nearby communities because they cannot find housing they can afford in Glendale. That changes daily life for families who want to stay close.

“The family grows larger, the youngsters, they have to leave,” he said.

Agajanian said the city still has to respond to state housing requirements. He said California requires Glendale to create the conditions for more than 13,000 housing units, even if the city does not have to build every unit itself.

He said Glendale must remain focused on affordable housing, especially for residents who want to stay in the city but cannot keep up with rising costs.

“When I go back, I definitely have to pay attention to create more affordable housing,” Agajanian said.

On the city budget, Agajanian said Glendale should cut waste before raising fees or using reserves.

He said he has experience managing major projects. He described himself as a licensed professional engineer in California and said he worked as project engineer on the San Diego Naval Medical Center. He also said he runs two TV stations.

Agajanian said that experience shapes how he looks at the city budget.

“The first thing you look back to see where you’re going to cut,” he said. “If then still after cut things we shouldn’t spend on, then you go and raise the fees.”

He said City Hall too often looks first at fee increases instead of spending reductions.

“First show me where you will cut before you raise the fees,” Agajanian said.

Agajanian said he does not want the city to use reserves before cutting unnecessary spending.

“I do not like to touch the reserve before you do the cuts,” he said.

He also questioned how the city has explained its deficit. He said officials first discussed a $37 million deficit, then later reduced the figure to about $19 million or $20 million.

“That’s not true, things are not okay,” Agajanian said.

When asked where he would cut, Agajanian said the city has many projects that exist only to make Glendale “look good.” He said he would review the budget closely and identify spending that does not meet a real need.

“There are projects in Glendale to look good,” Agajanian said. “We have to go through the budget and see where we are wasting money.”

Agajanian said he would not list every project during the interview because the list is too long. But he said his previous council experience gives him a clear sense of where to look.

“I was there five years and four months, so I’m very familiar,” he said.

Transportation gave Agajanian another example of what he called poor decision-making.

He said the planned bus rapid transit route through Glendale has already moved too far forward for candidates to promise they can stop it entirely.

“The train is gone, and you can’t touch much,” Agajanian said.

He said the line will run through Glenoaks, Central and Broadway toward Pasadena. He said the city may still have room to adjust smaller pieces of the project, but he warned against promising residents that Glendale can simply stop it.

“There are minor things they can adjust,” he said.

Agajanian also criticized some bicycle lane decisions. He said Glendale has bike lanes in places where he rarely sees bicycles, and he said some designs create problems for drivers and emergency vehicles.

“We have bicycle lanes everywhere, and you don’t see bicycle,” he said.

He pointed to the North Brand Boulevard bike lane project. Agajanian said the city reduced Brand from two lanes to one lane to create space for bicycle travel. He said that created problems for the fire department.

“The fire department said this is wrong, but they didn’t listen to it,” Agajanian said.

He said the city later removed the bike lane and restored two lanes. He criticized the city for taking state money for a project he believes did not make sense.

“You don’t have to take the money of the state, because they offer you to improve your traffic system,” Agajanian said.

He said local leaders should reject outside funding if the project does not work for Glendale.

“You have to be reasonable,” he said. “If you can’t use it reasonably, don’t take the state’s money.”

Agajanian said the current council has made decisions that hurt the city. He said he wants to return to City Hall to reverse those mistakes.

“There are lots of projects like that that this current city council members ruined the city,” Agajanian said. “So, I have to go and correct it.”

At the end of the interview, Agajanian said he has worked in television for 26 years, seven days a week. He gave viewers his phone number and said his website would provide more information about his candidacy.

“I have been on TV for 26 years, seven days a week,” Agajanian said.

Candidate profile

Vrej Agajanian
Race: Glendale City Council.
Background: Agajanian served on the Glendale City Council from 2017 to 2022. In the Inclusive Voices Media interview, he described himself as a licensed professional engineer in California, a longtime television broadcaster and the operator of two TV stations. He said he worked as project engineer on the San Diego Naval Medical Center and has been on television for 26 years.
Key campaign themes: Affordable housing, budget cuts before fee increases, protecting city reserves, reviewing wasteful projects, practical transportation planning and correcting decisions he says damaged Glendale.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol
Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.
In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.
All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.
Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.
All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.
Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.
The interviews air in alphabetical order.
Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.
All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Dan Brotman says Glendale needs more housing.

Not because Sacramento says so.

Because people who work in Glendale should have a chance to live in Glendale. Because young people who grow up in the city should have a way to stay near their families. Because a city cannot call itself strong if the next generation has no path in.

“The important thing is to recognize that we need more housing,” Brotman said in an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian. “It’s not just the state pressuring us.”

Brotman is a Glendale City Council member and former mayor. His public biography describes him as a former economics professor, father of two and longtime public servant. He has a background in economics and finance, and his campaign identifies him as a council member focused on housing, climate, public safety, mobility and maintaining Glendale as a high-quality city.

In the interview, Brotman said he shares frustration with state housing rules that limit local control. But he said Glendale should work with lawmakers rather than spend city money on lawsuits he believes the city would likely lose.

“What the state has been doing is forcing us to do it in a one size fits all way,” Brotman said. “That’s what’s frustrating, taking away our local control.”

Brotman said some candidates want Glendale to sue the state over housing mandates. He rejected that approach.

“It’s a fool’s errand,” Brotman said. “Because we’ll just lose lots of money, we’ll lose those relationships.”

He said the better strategy is to keep lobbying Sacramento, especially as California prepares for a new governor and new state leaders. He said Glendale has already built housing and should make the case that it has acted responsibly.

“We’ve been good citizens,” Brotman said.

For Brotman, the question is not whether Glendale should grow. It is where and how.

He said denser housing makes sense downtown. He also said Glendale should encourage more mid-scale housing, including townhomes and courtyard apartments, along commercial corridors. In single-family neighborhoods, he said accessory dwelling units can add housing while fitting into the existing character of those areas.

“We want the right housing in the right place,” Brotman said.

He said Glendale also needs more ownership housing. Brotman said the average cost of a house in Glendale is about $1.4 million, making it difficult for young people to buy a home and build equity.

“How do young people get into home ownership and start to build equity?” Brotman said. “Those are things that are really important.”

Brotman tied housing growth to the city’s aging infrastructure. He said Glendale needs to invest in streets, sewers, water and energy systems. He also said climate change will make infrastructure planning more urgent as the city faces water supply challenges, extreme heat and aging roads.

“We have a lot of infrastructure investment that we have to do,” Brotman said.

On the budget, Brotman said he does not support hiring freezes, staff cuts or reductions to core services. He said Glendale has made major investments in police and fire, and he wants to protect those investments.

“I don’t believe in hiring freezes,” Brotman said. “I don’t believe in cuts to staff. I don’t want to see core services cut.”

Brotman said much of the city’s recent budget growth reflects public safety spending. He said Glendale filled fire department vacancies, filled police vacancies and added 20 new police officers to increase traffic enforcement and respond to crime.

“We’ve actually made big investments in public safety and police and fire,” Brotman said.

He said he would not reverse those investments.

“I’m not going to pull back on these investments,” Brotman said.

Brotman also said he opposes deferring maintenance and capital projects. He said delaying road repairs or infrastructure work may look like savings in the short term, but costs more later.

“That’s just a fake savings,” Brotman said. “I don’t want a city that’s deteriorating.”

He said Glendale should use technology to save money where it can. He pointed to the police department’s decision not to invest in a new helicopter because drone technology can provide some air support at a lower cost.

“There are things like that where we could save money without impacting quality of life,” Brotman said.

Still, Brotman said cost savings alone will not close Glendale’s budget gap. He said the city needs new revenue.

“We need new sources of revenue,” Brotman said.

He said the city is looking at freeway billboards, fees for delivery robots, digital kiosks, curbside electric vehicle charging and ways to generate revenue from underused parking lots. He said a new tax should remain a last resort, but the city cannot rule it out if the numbers do not work.

“That’s the last thing we want to do,” Brotman said. “But we can’t close that off, because we have to make the numbers work.”

Brotman said he does not want to balance the budget by lowering expectations for what Glendale should be.

“I don’t want to make the numbers work by downgrading the city,” he said.

On mobility, Brotman said Glendale has a serious pedestrian safety problem. He said the city ranks near the bottom among similarly sized California cities for pedestrian injuries and deaths, especially among older adults.

“We are one of the worst cities when it comes to pedestrian injuries and deaths,” Brotman said.

He said the city must slow down drivers and reduce reckless driving through both enforcement and street design.

“That is critically important,” Brotman said.

Brotman said Glendale also needs to give residents safe and convenient ways to get around without a car. He said younger people often want more options than previous generations did.

“They want to walk, they want to bike, they want to take transit,” Brotman said.

He acknowledged that safer street designs may require drivers to accept small delays. But he said that trade-off is worth it if the city truly cares about saving lives and reducing injuries.

“If we really care about safety, we’re going to have to do these things,” Brotman said. “It may take a minute longer to get where you’re going. I think that’s a worthwhile trade off.”

Brotman closed the interview by directing voters to his campaign website, DanForGlendale.com. He also gave out his personal cell phone number and said residents can text him first if they want to talk.

“I love talking to people one on one,” Brotman said.

Candidate profile

Dan Brotman
Race: Glendale City Council.
Current role: Glendale City Council member and former mayor.
Background: Brotman’s public biography describes him as a former economics professor, father of two and elected Glendale City Council member. He has a background in economics and finance.
Key campaign themes: More housing in appropriate locations, local control, public safety, infrastructure investment, safer streets, climate resilience, new revenue and protecting core city services.
Campaign website: DanForGlendale.com.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.

All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.

The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Beth Brooks says Glendale needs to stop spending money as if every project carries the same urgency.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, the Glendale City Council candidate said the city should fight state housing mandates, protect single-family neighborhoods and take a much harder look at how public money moves through City Hall.

Brooks described herself as a renter on a fixed income. She said that gives her a direct stake in the city’s housing debate.

“I’m a renter,” Brooks said. “I’m actually a fixed income renter, so I have that as an unusual qualification, I suppose.”

Brooks is running for Glendale City Council after becoming a frequent speaker at City Council meetings. Her biography describes her as a Glendale resident of more than 30 years, a retired marketing research professional, a Vassar College graduate and the mother of an adult daughter. She has said her campaign centers on data-driven decisions, quality of life and removing political pressure from local government.

During the interview, Brooks said housing policy should begin with people facing the most immediate need.

“I believe in two medical precepts: triage and the Hippocratic Oath,” Brooks said. “Triage means you take care of the sickest, you know, the people suffering the most.”

She said Glendale should focus first on people who need emergency housing help, including those at risk of homelessness and those relying on housing vouchers. Brooks also said the city should examine Section 8 housing more closely because she believes fraud exists in the system.

“You help those people first,” Brooks said. “You help the homeless, you help the struggling people first.”

But Brooks rejected the idea that Glendale should solve housing pressure by allowing more density in single-family neighborhoods.

“I actually believe that you have to protect single family neighborhoods,” Brooks said. “I think that the mandate is crazy. I really do.”

Brooks said she believes the state’s housing mandate relies on faulty data and ignores local realities. She said cities should join together to challenge Sacramento.

“I believe that the state can’t determine what a city should do,” Brooks said. “I believe that the city should fight back against this mandate.”

She also warned that campaign promises about affordable housing may not match the cost of construction. Brooks said new market-rate development can push rents higher, not lower, because building costs remain high.

“If you’re going to hear a candidate who’s going to promise you affordable housing, it’s like it’s not going to happen,” Brooks said.

Brooks said Glendale should make room for smaller housing types where construction costs less, including duplexes, triplexes and smaller buildings. She also said the city needs to protect smaller landlords, not just tenants.

“You also have to protect small landlords, mom and pop landlords,” Brooks said.

She said if small landlords cannot earn enough to keep their buildings, they may sell to corporate developers. She warned that could lead to mass evictions and greater pressure on renters.

“If he can’t make a profit, he’s going to sell the building,” Brooks said. “And if he sells the building, it’s going to go to a corporate developer.”

On the city budget, Brooks said Glendale spends too freely and fails to set clear priorities. She said she attends City Council meetings every week and has done so for nearly two years.

“I go every week,” Brooks said. “I’ve been going for almost two years, and I see what they spend money on, and they just waste money.”

Brooks criticized a recent decision involving water meters. She said the city spent $25 million on new water meters when she believes it could have spent far less on human meter readers.

“That’s crazy,” Brooks said.

She said the city spends too much on what she called pet projects, contract overages and discretionary items. Brooks also criticized overtime spending and said the city should hire people at regular salaries rather than rely so heavily on overtime.

“They have a lot of overtime,” Brooks said. “They have 28% overtime, that’s crazy.”

Brooks said she wants to reset the budget around basic needs.

“I would take a sledgehammer to the budget,” Brooks said. “I would like a baseline budget where we only spend money on what we need.”

Her spending priorities include police, fire and road repairs. She said residents need safe streets, basic infrastructure and protection from rising utility costs.

“You have to have police and fire, that’s obvious,” Brooks said. “I believe that people need roads fixed.”

Brooks also said the city should rethink staffing and train employees to cover multiple roles where possible. She suggested the communications department could take on marketing tasks instead of the city spending more money elsewhere.

“Whatever you could do to not spend money, you have to make sure people are protected,” Brooks said.

Transportation came up as part of her budget answer. Brooks strongly criticized spending on bike lanes and said removing car lanes can create safety problems.

“The bike lane situation, if you’re going to discuss the bike lanes, is the biggest waste of money I have ever seen in my life,” Brooks said.

She said emergency vehicles need road space and residents need evacuation routes, especially in fire-prone areas.

“The police are not coming to your house when somebody’s breaking into your house on a bicycle,” Brooks said.

Brooks said the city should focus more on lowering utility bills for people who struggle most. She opposed some rebate programs and said money should go instead to lower-income utility customers.

“People need to have lower utility bills,” Brooks said. “People are suffering, people are really, really suffering.”

She described City Council service as more than an administrative role.

“It’s actually a moral job in many ways,” Brooks said. “This is a moral job.”

Brooks closed the interview by directing voters to her website, BethForGlendale.com. She said she also posts on Nextdoor, Instagram and Facebook, and said residents may see her walking in her neighborhood with her dog.

“I’m very opinionated,” Brooks said.

Candidate profile

Beth Brooks
Race: Glendale City Council.
Background: Brooks has lived in Glendale for more than 30 years. Her biography describes her as retired, a renter, a mother and a former marketing research professional with a bachelor’s degree in English from Vassar College.
Public role: Brooks says she attends Glendale City Council meetings regularly and became involved in local politics after a housing issue required help from the city.
Key campaign themes: Fighting state housing mandates, protecting single-family neighborhoods, cutting city spending, reducing waste, focusing on basic services, lowering utility costs and protecting quality of life.
Campaign website: BethForGlendale.com.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.

All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.

The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Dr. Carolyn Kaloostian says Glendale needs choices.

Choices in housing.

Choices in transportation.

Choices in how the city spends money.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, the Glendale City Council candidate said the city cannot ignore state housing mandates. But she said Glendale should meet those requirements in a way that protects neighborhoods, supports residents and keeps the city’s character intact.

“It is a serious issue here, and I think we need to have options,” Kaloostian said.

Kaloostian is a physician and professor at Keck Medicine of USC. She described her work in family medicine and geriatrics as a model for how she would approach city government. She said the job requires balance, options and attention to the whole person. She said she would bring the same approach to Glendale City Hall.

“As I do it in my practice in family medicine and geriatrics, it’s an art,” Kaloostian said. “You have to have options for the residents.”

Housing took up the first part of the interview.

Kaloostian said Glendale residents have a right to worry about traffic, infrastructure and the size of new developments. She said the city has seen too many large, high-density apartment projects with limited parking.

“What I’ve been seeing is we’re doing huge high-density housing apartments with not a lot of parking, and we have a right to be concerned about the infrastructure and the traffic,” Kaloostian said.

She said Glendale should look first at older apartment buildings that already have rent caps. Kaloostian said the city could encourage owners to renovate those buildings, modernize utilities and keep housing costs lower.

“My recommendation, and what I’ll support, is to really improve and incentivize the renovation of our older charming buildings, where they have rental caps,” Kaloostian said.

Kaloostian also pointed to adaptive reuse as another path. She said Glendale could convert underused commercial buildings into condominiums, especially as work patterns have changed since the pandemic.

“We can actually convert them to condominiums, and I think that would be great,” Kaloostian said.

She said that kind of housing could give residents a path to ownership. Kaloostian said she bought a small condo before later purchasing a home, and she wants more Glendale residents to have that same kind of entry point.

“My hope is we can provide equity to our residents,” Kaloostian said.

On state mandates, Kaloostian said the city has limited room to refuse what California requires. She said Glendale must comply or risk losing control over its own planning decisions.

“There’s very little you could do about what’s being mandated,” Kaloostian said. “Mandates are, we have to follow them.”

Still, she said compliance does not require a one-size-fits-all approach.

“We can’t just do the same cookie cutter, what everyone does,” Kaloostian said.

Budget pressure formed the second major part of the interview.

Kaloostian said Glendale needs a deeper review of how it spends public money. She said the city’s budget has grown from about $800 million to about $1.2 billion and said residents deserve a clearer explanation of where that money goes.

“We need to really look with a fine tooth comb, maybe with a forensic analysis,” Kaloostian said. “Where is this money going?”

Kaloostian said the city needs better auditing and more careful spending decisions before asking residents to pay more. She said she opposes new taxes.

“I’m against all new taxes,” Kaloostian said. “We need to build revenue.”

She said public safety would rank as one of her top priorities. She also said the fires in Altadena showed the importance of water security.

“After the fires, after what we saw in Altadena, we need to have water security,” Kaloostian said.

Kaloostian said Glendale has enough water but needs to capture it better. She said grants could help pay for that work. She also said water could become a revenue source if Glendale supplies neighboring cities.

“Glendale has plenty of water,” Kaloostian said. “We just need to capture it.”

On transportation, Kaloostian said Glendale should improve mobility but should not simply copy other cities. She said the city needs creative options that fit its own scale, charm and business districts.

“Just because a bus rapid transit is what other cities prefer doesn’t mean our city or town needs that,” Kaloostian said.

She floated the idea of a solar electric vintage trolley. She said a trolley could improve mobility while connecting business districts and supporting local commerce.

“How about a solar electric vintage trolley, which will connect not only help the mobility issue, but it will connect our business districts to each other,” Kaloostian said.

Kaloostian said the trolley concept could also serve older residents and families.

“Senior friendly, family friendly,” she said.

When asked whether pedestrians, bicyclists or drivers should receive top consideration, Kaloostian again returned to the idea of balance. She said city planning should not elevate one group at the expense of everyone else.

“There isn’t one priority,” Kaloostian said. “Everyone’s important.”

She compared the issue to medicine, saying a doctor cannot prioritize one part of the body while ignoring the rest.

“I don’t put your heart over your brain, over your skin or the acute issues that brought you in today,” Kaloostian said. “They’re all important.”

Kalustian also said she wants to support small businesses directly. She said she would donate her City Council salary and hopes other council members would consider contributing as well.

“I don’t want any city money,” Kaloostian said. “I want to make sure that we put that back into small businesses.”

She said that money could help businesses improve storefronts, add lighting and strengthen commercial corridors.

Kaloostian closed the interview by saying she wants her campaign and potential service on the council to reflect teamwork.

“I’m really hoping I’ll be one of your voices, one of your voices and votes for Glendale City Council,” Kaloostian said.

She directed voters to her campaign website, DrKForGlendale.com, and said she wants the city’s next decisions to come through collaboration.

“I really want to make sure that it’s a collaborative effort, whatever we do,” Kaloostian said.

Candidate profile

Dr. Carolyn Kalustian
Race: Glendale City Council.
Profession: Physician and professor at Keck Medicine of USC.
Public service approach: Kalustian says her background in family medicine and geriatrics shapes how she would approach city issues. She emphasizes balance, options, collaboration and practical solutions.
Key campaign themes: Housing options, adaptive reuse, renovation of older buildings, opposition to new taxes, stronger audits, public safety, water security, small business support and a mobility plan that fits Glendale.
Campaign website: DrKForGlendale.com.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.

All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.

The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Dr. Alex Balekian says Glendale needs to draw a sharper line between the housing Sacramento wants and the housing many local residents want.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, the Glendale City Council candidate said state housing mandates could threaten single-family neighborhoods, small businesses and local control unless the city pushes back.

“First, let’s discuss the kind of housing that the state wants, and then the kind of housing that people want, because those two are not the same thing,” Balekian said.

Balekian, a physician who asks voters to call him “Dr. Alex,” is running for Glendale City Council in the June 2, 2026, election. His campaign biography describes him as a lifelong Glendale resident who grew up in the city, attended local public schools and built his life and career there. His campaign also identifies him as a practicing doctor and former 2024 congressional candidate.

In the interview, Balekian said his campaign centers on three priorities: cracking down on reckless drivers, lowering electricity rates and limiting dense housing near single-family neighborhoods and small business parking lots.

“The three reasons that I’m running for city council are to crack down on reckless drivers, to lower electricity rates, and to limit dense housing away from single-family neighborhoods and away from small business parking lots,” Balekian said.

Housing dominated the first part of the interview.

Balekian said state leaders and real estate interests focus too much on unit counts. He argued that Glendale residents want more ownership opportunities, especially entry-level homes and condos that allow families to build equity.

“You have what people here on the ground want,” Balekian said. “People here on the ground want entry level homes, a condo that they can move into, something that they can own, something that will be able to be passed down to their children.”

Balekian said the city should look at areas outside established single-family neighborhoods for new housing. He pointed to the San Fernando corridor, from the Metrolink station north toward Golden Road, as a place where Glendale could support new condos without disrupting existing residential areas.

“There are a lot of opportunities, I think, to build condos there, develop entry-level affordable homes for people to purchase as their first home in an area where there is not an existing single family neighborhood that will be in danger,” Balekian said.

He strongly criticized SB 79, which he said could override local zoning near high-quality transit stops. He said the law puts “a target” on Glendale because of the planned Bus Rapid Transit line.

Balekian said the city should sue L.A. Metro to remove Glendale from the BRT plan, or at least prevent BRT stops from triggering state housing rules inside the city.

“I’m not saying don’t allow the bus to go through Glendale,” Balekian said. “I’m simply saying don’t allow it to stop in Glendale, so we can actually activate the Glendale B line to shuttle people to the nearest bus stop in Burbank and also in Eagle Rock, without putting a target on our backs.”

Balekian also said Glendale needs to make its own building rules easier to understand. He said local codes have become too complicated and discourage smaller builders from working in the city.

“What we really need to do is take that entire code, simplify it using AI, just make it very, very simple, get rid of all the repetitive, esoteric stuff,” Balekian said.

On the budget, Balekian said the city should start by reducing overtime. He said his professional experience managing physician groups and staffing a hospital gives him experience with workforce scheduling and cost control.

“I manage two physician groups, and I staff a hospital, and I make sure that we have the appropriate ratio of doctors to patients,” Balekian said.

He said overtime across city departments reflects inefficient staffing and deployment.

“All of these overtime expenses that we have, they are inefficient deployment of our existing workforce,” Balekian said.

Balekian said the city should review how employees are scheduled and whether departments can use staff more efficiently before cutting services. He described overtime reduction as “the lowest hanging fruit.”

He also tied budget decisions back to his housing and transit position. Balekian said Glendale could direct the City Attorney’s Office to challenge the BRT plan because the city did not agree to the project under the current housing rules.

“The goal posts have been moved since we agreed to it,” Balekian said.

Transportation brought Balekian back to one of his sharpest campaign themes: reckless driving.

He said Glendale should prioritize how people actually move through the city. He said many residents drive out of necessity, while he believes most people in Glendale bike for recreation.

“People in Glendale don’t bike to work, they bike for leisure,” Balekian said. “People drive out of necessity, so we need to prioritize necessity over leisure.”

Balekian said he does not oppose transit, but he opposes removing traffic lanes for dedicated bus lanes on corridors such as Glenoaks, Central and Broadway. He said reducing lanes would push cars into nearby neighborhoods and create new safety problems.

“If you replace the car lanes with bus lanes, you displace that traffic one block north and one block south,” Balekian said.

He said streets such as Glenwood Road could turn into cut-through routes, creating more danger for children and families.

Balekian said the city should first focus on dangerous drivers before expanding discussions about bike lanes or other street changes.

“We need to crack down on those reckless drivers,” Balekian said.

He called for motorcycle officers and larger fines for reckless driving.

“Once you get those reckless drivers to slow the hell down, then you can say, okay, more people are going to ride their bikes, more people are going to walk,” Balekian said.

Balekian ended the interview by directing voters to his campaign website, VoteDrAlex.com.

Candidate profile

Alex Balekian
Race: Glendale City Council.
Election: June 2, 2026.
Profession: Physician.
Background: Balekian’s campaign biography describes him as a lifelong Glendale resident who grew up in the city, attended local public schools and built his life and career there. His campaign also identifies him as a former 2024 congressional candidate.
Key campaign themes: Reckless driving, electricity rates, local control, opposition to dense housing near single-family neighborhoods and small business parking lots, and withdrawal from the BRT plan.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.

All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.

The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Alek Bartrosouf says Glendale can grow without losing itself.

The Glendale City Council candidate says the city needs more housing. But he says that housing should go where it makes the most sense: near transit, near jobs and in places where people can get around without relying on a car.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, Bartrosouf said Glendale must respond to state housing mandates while protecting quality of life for residents.

“We need to strike a balance,” Bartrosouf said. “We need to understand how state mandates affect our city, but also understanding that we do play a part in adding more housing per state laws and making sure that we’re doing it responsibly and doing it in a smart way.”

Bartrosouf is running for Glendale City Council in the June 2, 2026, municipal election. The city’s election page lists him as a qualified Glendale City Council candidate. Ballotpedia lists Bartrosouf as a nonpartisan candidate for Glendale City Council At-Large and identifies his profession as city planner.

Bartrosouf told Inclusive Voices Media he studied urban planning at UCLA and has worked as a planning professional for more than 10 years. He said that background shapes how he looks at land use, zoning and housing in Glendale.

“I’m an urban planner,” Bartrosouf said. “I studied urban planning at UCLA. I’ve been planning professional for over 10 years, so I know a little bit about land use, zoning, and housing issues here in Glendale.”

His campaign website describes his platform as focused on affordable housing, better infrastructure and transparent government. Ballotpedia says he graduated from Glendale Community College, UC Santa Cruz and UCLA, and that he completed its candidate survey in 2026.

On housing, Bartrosouf said Glendale should steer new development toward areas where residents have more transportation options. He pointed to downtown Glendale, the Metrolink station in South Glendale and the Tropico neighborhood as places where new residential units could make sense.

“I’d like to see more development in downtown Glendale, particularly near the Metrolink station in South Glendale, in the Tropico neighborhood,” Bartrosouf said.

He said that approach could help limit traffic and reduce pressure on city resources by placing housing where residents can walk, bike, take transit or make shorter trips.

“If we’re talking about concerns about congestion, concerns about strain on our resources, our limited resources here in Glendale, we want to focus that development in places where it makes the most sense,” Bartrosouf said.

On the city budget, Bartrosouf did not name specific programs he would cut. Instead, he said Glendale should open the process to more residents before making difficult decisions.

He said city budget sessions now happen during the day, when many residents cannot watch or participate. He said that limits public input on decisions that affect services, staffing and spending priorities.

“What I’d like to see moving forward is making sure that the community is brought into those discussions and is able to chime in and learn, you know, where is the money coming from? Where is the money going?” Bartrosouf said.

Bartrosouf said his campaign platform includes participatory budgeting, a process that gives residents a more direct role in shaping public spending priorities.

“I’m not here to declare very specific things that I think we can cut,” Bartrosouf said. “I think that’s a community decision that needs to be made out in the open in a transparent way.”

He said public safety remains a core priority. Bartrosouf said Glendale residents value the level of police and fire service the city provides, and he said that investment helps explain the city’s safety record.

“Police and fire, as has always been, a top priority,” Bartrosouf said. “Public safety is — people are very satisfied and happy with the quality of public safety that we provide to our residents.”

He said he wants to maintain public safety funding, and possibly expand it, while still confronting the city’s projected budget challenges.

Bartrosouf said Glendale faces a structural deficit in future years and must talk openly about reductions, services and revenue.

“We need to have those honest discussions about where we can find cost savings,” Bartrosouf said.

Transportation and street safety formed the center of Bartrosouf’s final answer. He said he has served two terms on Glendale’s Transportation and Parking Commission and took part in work around the city’s pedestrian master plan.

“As a transportation planner, I know all too well the safety issues of the city of Glendale,” Bartrosouf said.

Bartrosouf said Glendale has a serious pedestrian safety problem. He said cities of Glendale’s size in California rank Glendale worst for collisions involving older pedestrians.

“We rank the worst when it comes to collisions involving elderly pedestrians,” Bartrosouf said.

He said the city can use grant funding and outside money from state, county and Metro sources to make safety improvements. He also said Glendale needs more transportation choices as it grows.

“We owe it to ourselves to have a diverse set of options,” Bartrosouf said. “Options for people to get around, that includes walking, biking, taking transit, and for people to drive, obviously, as well.”

Bartrosouf said the city should not treat every street the same. He said planning decisions should depend on location and need. Downtown Glendale may call for more pedestrian-focused improvements, he said, while canyon areas may require stronger access for cars and emergency evacuations.

“I think it’s context specific,” Bartrosouf said. “I can’t speak in general terms.”

Still, he said safety should guide the city’s approach.

“There is an overarching theme, and has been confirmed through community surveys, that safety is the top priority for many Glendale residents,” Bartrosouf said.

Bartrosouf closed the interview by saying he wants a City Hall that works more openly with residents.

“I want to make sure that we are transparent and open and working with the community to make sure we’re addressing their needs,” Bartrosouf said.

Candidate profile box

Alek Bartrosouf
Race: Glendale City Council At-Large.
Election: June 2, 2026.
Profession: City planner.
Education: Glendale Community College, UC Santa Cruz and UCLA.
Campaign site: AlekForGlendale.com.
Key campaign themes: Affordable housing, safer streets, better infrastructure, participatory budgeting and transparent government.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.
Election status: Glendale’s election page lists Bartrosouf as a qualified candidate for City Council.

Box 1: Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment for all candidates, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview. All candidates received an invitation and had the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview ran 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means the interviews were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate received the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance. The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.