Have a Problem? Type a Note or Call Her, Olhasso Says

Editor's note: This is one in a series of Q &As with candidates for the March 8 La Cañada Flintridge City Council election.

Laura Olhasso has served on the for the past eight years. A government affairs consultant, Olhasso previously served as a member of the city’s planning commission and public works department. Laura, 58, has lived in LCF for 29 years. She and her husband Bill have been married for 32 years. They have two daughters.  In her spare time Laura enjoys reading, cooking and playing golf.

Question: Many would like to see a remapping of the school district to eliminate the Sagebrush issue, which, by law, forces some students on one side of the same street to attend schools in Glendale, while students across the street attend school in LCF. What would you like to see done to rectify this situation?

Answer: It is very sad that our school and city boundaries are not contiguous.  I have always been a proponent of changing that situation but, alas, the solution does not lie with the City Council.  While we have, and will continue to lend vocal support to any residents’ efforts to change the boundaries, the decision-makers are the school districts’ officials.  LCUSD must be willing to accept the students (which I believe they are) and Glendale USD officials must be willing to let them go. For all the years I have been involved, GUSD has not been willing to lose such a significant part of its school population.  Residents of the ‘sagebrush’ area really need to work with the school board members of GUSD to convince them to let LCF children attend our own schools. 

Question: If elected, what could you and the city council as a whole do to improve LCF schools in general?

Answer: As a former director of the LCF Education Foundation and an original trustee of its Endowment Fund, I know how important our schools are to our community.  The City of La Cañada Flintridge and the La Cañada Unified School District work closely together in a ‘Joint Use Committee’ to maximize ways we can cooperate together for the benefit of the community.  The city maintains the district’s playing fields for our youth sports; the city sponsors the evening hours at the LCHS library so that the community may take advantage of that state-of-the art facility; the city keeps open the Lanterman Auditorium so community groups can hold concerts and plays there.  In addition, the City Council supported individually and as a whole, the recent parcel tax election held by the district.  We constantly strive to find other ways we may work together for the benefit of all. 

Question: What do you most oppose about the extension of the 710 Freeway, assuming you oppose it.  If you support it, why?

Answer: I would be hard-pressed to choose among increased noise, increased traffic, or increased air pollution, which are why I most oppose the 710 tunnel.  Traffic studies show there will be an additional 30,000 vehicles per day coming through our town, with an additional 200 trucks per hour during peak traffic hours.  Health studies have proven that children exposed to diesel exhaust grow up with permanently damaged lungs.  We have ten schools within 500 yards of the 210 corridor.  The question is why would anyone living in LCF support such an expansion?

Question: What is your response to residents’ claims that the current city council has not been responsive to citizens’ concerns?

Answer: We are always looking for ways to facilitate open and responsive communication between City Hall and the public.  This is an ongoing challenge about which we are never complacent.  We will be considering a proposal to live stream our council meetings so we are no longer dependent on the cable system.  I am constantly at public events where people can find me to talk.  My phone number is, and always has been, in the phone book.  My city e-mail address comes directly to my personal e-mail.  If a resident has a problem I can help with, all they have to do is type a note or pick up the phone.