BeaconMediaNews.com
6 | may 19, 2014 - may 25, 2014
Rep. Schiff presses Erdogan, Gul and other top Turkish Officials on the Armenian Genocide As part of a Congressional Delegation to the Middle East and Asia focused on terrorism, homeland security and the war in Syria, Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) had separate meetings with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, President Abdullah Gul and other Turkish high government officials. In his meeting with the Prime Minister, Schiff challenged the notion expressed by Erdogan in a recent interview that because there are Armenian survivors still living in Turkey, there could have been no genocide. This is the equivalent, Schiff argued, of saying that because some Jews in Europe escaped death, there was no Holocaust. Schiff also questioned whether it was possible to have the open discourse in Turkey about the events of 19151923 that Erdogan called for in his statement of April 23rd, if Turkish professors,
historians, journalists and ordinary citizens still faced demotion, intimidation, potential prosecution or violence for expressing the conviction that the Armenian Genocide is a historic fact. In his meeting with President Gul, Schiff said that he wanted to speak for the many tens of thousands of his constituents of Armenian descent who may never get the chance to address the President directly. “You will not find one of my 80,000 Armenian constituents untouched by the Genocide,” he said. “Each of them has lost a parent or grandparent, their cousins, brothers or sisters, or their entire family. Their pain is real, their wounds are open, this is no distant relic of the past. To say, as you and the Prime Minister have, that yes, Armenians suffered but so too did Turks during World War I, is akin to saying that the Germans also suffered dur-
ing World War II. It is true that many German civilians died, many noncombatants, but that does not negate the Holocaust any more than the fact that many Turks died could negate the Genocide. To propose, as you have, that a historic commission be established to ascertain the facts of the Genocide is not unlike suggesting that a commission needs to be established to determine whether the Holocaust took place.” Schiff also raised the issue of Kessab, and his concern over the forced evacuation of the historic Armenian community there and the wellbeing of those residents who are now refugees in Turkey. He also urged Turkey to decouple the blockade of Armenia from resolution of the issues concerning Nagorno Karabagh, so that an end can be brough about to Armenia’s economic isolation and a normalization of trade relations.
Smart Women Smart Money
By Emmy Hernandez Certified Financial Planner® Practitioner Attorney at Law Planning for the future seems to be in the air. Perhaps the recent tax season has started folks thinking about protecting their family’s legacy. I’ve received several inquiries of late regarding estate planning – the advantages of living trusts in particular. Allow me to share some estate planning basics: A living trust is a legal document that is separate from a will. With a living trust, your assets are put into the trust, administered for your benefit during your lifetime, and then transferred to your beneficiaries when you pass. Most people name themselves as the trustees in charge of managing their
trust's assets. This way, even though your assets have been put into the trust, you can remain in control of your property during your lifetime. A living trust can be the most important part of your estate plan. A living trust agreement: • Gives the trustee the legal right to manage and control the assets held in your trust. • Instructs the trustee to manage the trust's assets for your benefit during your lifetime. • Names the beneficiaries who are to receive your trust's assets when you die. • Gives guidance and certain powers and authority to the trustee to manage and distribute your trust's assets. If you are the trustee of your own trust and you become incapacitated, your chosen successor trustee would manage the trust's assets for you. However, if your assets were not in a living trust, there could be dispute over who manages your property. Without a living trust, your estate could be subject to probate. Probate is a court-supervised process for transferring assets to beneficiaries. A petition would be filed with the court, notices given and a hearing would
be held. Probate can take more time to complete than distribution through a living trust. Additionally, assets tied up in probate may not be as readily accessible to the beneficiaries as those held in a living trust. The cost of probate is often greater than the cost of managing and distributing comparable assets held in a living trust. Living trusts aren’t a clear benefit to everyone. Young married couples without significant assets and without children may not benefit from having a living trust. Older couples with significant assets and specific wishes for their disbursement may benefit more from living trusts. I will hold a special workshop on Saturday May 31st to offer more in depth education on estate planning and living trusts. This is a free event open to the public. I hope you’ll join me at 10 am in the Fireside Room at the San Marino Center located at 1800 Huntington Drive in San Marino. Please call my office at 626-9438833 to reserve your seats. Securities and advisory services offered through NATIONAL PLANNING CORP (NPC) member FINRA, SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser. EH Financial Group, Inc. and NPC are separate entities and unrelated companies.
Rosemead Boulevard Continued from page 1
for everyone. It’s a great project.” But the project did come with a hefty bill, Cayir said. “Construction cost us approximately $16 million, but there were other additions related to utilities and other services, so it was a $20 million project overall,” he said. However, he added the city of Temple City was not on the hook for the vast majority of the project. “Most of it was actually outside funds from state and federal agencies,” he said. “The city was very proud to be pursuing (these funds) from different funding sources.” Cayir also said that the current street “will last our lifetime” and was reconstructed for a number of reasons. “One is to improve the street,” he said. “Not just for cars, but for pedestrians who can use the streets, walk on the sidewalk and can enjoy the art work and the scenery. We have lots of trees and art work by the sidewalk. And
-Photo by Jerry Jambazian
more importantly, we have bike lanes and a median separating bikes from the traffic. They’re very friendly and safe bike lanes, too.” Fernando Vizcarra, a member of the Temple City city council, said he’s “extremely proud” of the finished project.
“We and the contractors did an outstanding job,” Vizcarra said. “It’s beautiful. It has brought a whole new look to Temple City.” (Shel Segal can be reached at ssegal@beaconmedianews.com. He can be followed via Twitter @segallanded.)