California Governor signs state budget with $3 million for Armenian American Museum

June 28, 2017 By administrator

Photo: Getty Images

California Governor Jerry Brown signed the 2017-2018 state budget Tuesday with $3 million earmarked for the Armenian American Museum. The new funding will be dispersed over the next 3 years at $1 million per year. The approval brings the State’s total funding commitment for the Museum to $4 million.

“We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with our State of California leaders to build a historic cultural and educational center that will honor the rich history and celebrate the diverse cultures who call our great state home,” stated Museum Governing Board Co-Chair Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian.

“We would like to express our special thanks to Senator Anthony J. Portantino, Senate Pro Tem Kevin de León, and Budget Subcommittee Chair Richard Roth for leading the efforts to prioritize the funding in the 2017-2018 state budget,” stated Museum Governing Board Co-Chair Archbishop Hovnan Derderian.

The $3 million funding request was initiated in the State Senate by Senator Anthony J. Portantino with the support of Senate Pro Tem Kevin de León and Budget Subcommittee Chair Richard Roth. Upon the approval by the Senate Budget Subcommittee and Budget Conference Committee, the new funding for the Armenian American Museum was included in the 2017-2018 state budget proposal approved by the State Legislature on June 15.

“There is a long history of California supporting laudable museum projects around the state,” stated Senator Anthony J. Portantino. “I wanted to make sure that the Armenian American Museum garners equal and fair support.”

“It was an honor to work with my colleagues in the California legislature to secure $3 million dollars in funding for the Armenian American Museum,” stated Senate Pro Tem Kevin de León. “I am proud to stand in solidarity with the Armenian community.”

Last year, Governor Brown approved the 2016-2017 state budget with $1 million for the Armenian American Museum, an initiative led by Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian and supported by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate Pro Tem Kevin de León. Governor Brown’s January budget proposal released earlier this year suspended the previously approved $1 million for the Museum. State Legislators called for the restoration of the funds and advocated for additional funding in the 2017-2018 state budget.

“The Armenian American Museum in Glendale has the potential to serve as a beacon of hope for countless visitors through its work to embrace our diversity, educate, and empower all who step through its doors,” wrote Assemblymember Laura Friedman in a letter in March urging the Governor to reinstate the $1 million for the Museum. Friedman’s support for building the Museum in Glendale began as a Glendale City Councilmember and she has continued to advocate for the project in the State Assembly as one of her top priorities.

Ultimately, Governor Brown’s May Revise budget proposal reinstated the initial $1 million and the 2017-2018 budget signed by Governor Brown today commits an additional $3 million for the Armenian American Museum.

“The State of California’s investment in the Armenian American Museum lays the foundation for a momentous project that will serve generations to come,” stated Museum Governing Board Co-Chair Bishop Mikael Mouradian.

Museum officials continue to work closely with the City of Glendale on developing the project’s concept design, traffic, parking, economic, and environmental studies in preparation for the upcoming ground lease agreement consideration by the Glendale City Council.

“We are looking forward to working with our City of Glendale partners to build an iconic center in the heart of Glendale’s Arts and Entertainment District,” stated Museum Governing Board Co-Chair Reverend Berdj Djambazian.

The Museum’s concept design by Alajajian Marcoosi Architects was unveiled in December 2017. The video of the concept design can be viewed at www.ArmenianAmericanMuseum.org.

The Armenian American Museum is a developing project in Glendale, CA, with a mission to promote understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Armenian American experience. When completed, it will serve as a cultural campus that enriches the community, educates the public on the Armenian American story, and empowers individuals to embrace cultural diversity and speak out against prejudice.

Early Warning Signs of Turkey’s Troubles with Trump

July 6, 2016 By administrator

HARUT SASSOUNIAN 400 BY HARUT SASSOUNIAN

The Republican and Democratic Parties will be holding their conventions later this month to select Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton respectively as their presidential nominees.

For loyal party members, the choice is very clear: vote for your party’s candidate. Yet, millions of other voters have a more difficult task in making up their minds. Unhappy with both major parties, some are contemplating to vote for an independent candidate, while others are considering to sit out the election altogether.

Armenian-American voters are also uncertain about their choice. In Mrs. Clinton’s case, many are highly disappointed at her failure to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide when she was Secretary of State, calling it “a matter of historical debate,” despite her multiple promises to recognize the Genocide as U.S. Senator and presidential candidate eight years ago.

Trump is also a puzzle for most Armenian-Americans. Those who are willing to ignore his controversial positions and base their vote purely on Armenian issues are not sure whether he is, in his own words, “friend or foe,” since Trump, a businessman, does not have a public record on most political issues, including Armenian ones.

It would be ideal to have a face to face meeting with the Republican candidate to find out first hand where he stands on issues of interest to Armenians. However, in the absence of such an opportunity, voters have to rely on few brief remarks he recently made on Turkey.

Last December, Trump criticized Turkey’s support for Islamist terrorists. He told Breitbart News Daily: “Turkey looks like they’re on the side of ISIS, more or less based on the oil.” He went on to say that he had a conflict of interest when talking about Turkey because of the Trump Towers in Istanbul. Although he does not own the building, he lends his name to the Turkish owners of the hotel and receives a lucrative branding fee. He has a similar arrangement with Trump International Hotel & Tower in Baku, Azerbaijan. Not to damage his business relationship, Trump quickly asserted in his interview: “I’ve gotten to know Turkey very well; they’re amazing people, they’re incredible people, they have a strong leader.”

Despite Trump’s kind words about Erdogan, the Turkish President attacked him two weeks ago, accusing him of being anti-Muslim and calling for the immediate removal of Trump’s name from the Istanbul Tower! Erdogan told a large group of Turkish businessmen that Trump “has no tolerance for Muslims living in the United States; and on top of that, they used a brand in Istanbul with his name. The ones who put that brand on their building should immediately remove it.” Erdogan also stated that he regretted attending the inauguration of Trump Towers in 2012 when he was Prime Minister: “I also made a mistake and opened the [Trump Towers].” The Turkish owner of the hotel announced that he was evaluating his business ties with Trump.

Bulent Kural, manager of the Trump Shopping Mall in Istanbul, was also critical of Trump: “We regret and condemn Trump’s discriminatory remarks. Such statements bear no value and are products of a mind that does not understand Islam, a peace religion. Our reaction has been directly expressed to the Trump family. We are reviewing the legal dimension of our relation with the Trump brand.”

The Republican candidate made another unscripted comment about Turkey during a speech in Denver on July 1. As he was naming several countries that are militarily defended at U.S. expense, someone from the audience shouted, “Turkey!” Trump interrupted his remarks and asked that man if he was a “friend or foe.” The Republican candidate then added: “And Turkey, by the way, should be fighting ISIS. I hope to see Turkey go out and fight ISIS, because ISIS has in a certain sense taken very serious advantages of Turkey. And they could wipe ISIS out by themselves. I would love to see that.”

It remains to be seen if President Erdogan would escalate his budding feud with Donald Trump by insisting on the removal of the latter’s name from the Istanbul Towers. Not surprisingly, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has so far ignored Trump’s negative comments on Islam, preferring to protect his own business interests in the Baku Trump Tower!

California Governor: Brown Signs Budget With $1 Million Earmark For Armenian American Museum

June 27, 2016 By administrator

Gov. Brown signs state budget

GLENDALE—The Armenian American Museum Governing Board said said that it commends California Governor Jerry Brown for including a $1 million earmark for the Museum in the 2016-2017 California State budget.

“The funding from the State of California at this early stage of the Museum project will give an important boost to securing the approvals and funding needed for the construction of the Armenian American Museum in Glendale,” explained Governing Board Co-Chair Archbishop Hovnan Derderian.

“We are grateful to Senate President Pro-Tempore Kevin De Leon and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon for including funding for the Armenian American Museum in the compromised Budget negotiated with the Governor,” stated Co-Chair Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian.

Archbishop Mardirossian and other representatives of the Museum met with Speaker Rendon (D—Paramount) and worked with Senate President Kevin de Leon (D—Los Angeles) to include the funding request submitted by Senator Carol Liu (D—Glendale) and Assembly Member Adrin Nazarian (D—Sherman Oaks).

Although the funding included in the compromised budget between the Legislature and the Governor is lower than the amount approved by the State Assembly, the Armenian American Museum’s Executive Committee Chair Berdj Karapetian described it as “a sizeable commitment by the State to make the Armenian American Museum a reality.” Karapetian additionally noted, “This is an important first step and we hope that more funding will be available as we move forward with this project.”

The Armenian American Museum is working closely with the City of Glendale to complete the due diligence requirements and feasibility studies for building the Museum in the Arts and Entertainment District of the City.

The mission of the Armenian American Museum is to promote understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Armenian American experience.