Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 25, 2012

5

AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY

Mountain Views News Saturday, February 25, 2012

FRASER FAMILY DANCE GROUP HAS SECURED 210 1ST PLACE AWARDS

AT 10 COMPETITIONS IN 2 YEARS

The Fraser Family Dance Group continue to astound ballroom 
dance judges as they win a total of 30 1st place awards in International 
Latin at the California Open Dancesport Championships 
Feb. 16 – Feb. 19 in Irvine. Thus far the family has secured 
over 210 1st place awards at 10 competitions within two years. 
Up next is the San Francisco Open Dancesport Championships 
March 23 – March 25. 

Kari, Grace and Holden started dance lessons as a family activity 
in 2009 and began competing nationally by 2010. Kari is a 
former N.Y. actress (Kari Gibson), who initially portrayed Dixie 
Cooney on the ABC daytime soap All My Children. Grace 
is a 14-year-old freshman at Pasadena’s Mayfield Senior School. 
Holden is a 6th grader at Clairbourn School in Pasadena and he’s 
11 years old.

The Fraser’s dance instructors are Boris Rudenko and Ekaterina 
Fedosova. In 2009 they ranked 2nd in the U.S. for Ballroom 
Sport Dance Pair. During the competition phase Kari and Grace 
dance with Boris and Holden dances with Ekaterina. 

The Fraser’s have also enlisted Paul Killick as their private coach. 
A former professional ballroom dancer, Killick and his dance 
partners were finalists in all major world competitions. One of 
his dance partners was Dancing With The Stars dance pro and 
celebrity, Karina Smirnoff. 

The family trains at various ballrooms in Glendale, Eagle Rock 
and the Westmor Dance Studio in downtown Los Angeles. For 
upcoming competitions they practice two to three hours a day 
five days a week. During non-competition dates they practice 1 
½ hours four days a week. It’s a balancing act between the children’s 
homework and dance practice, but the Fraser family loves 
dancing and spending time together. 

When the Fraser’s began competing nationally they never knew 
they were part of a wonderful family legacy. As a young man 
their grandfather, Albert “Scotty” Fraser won several awards in 
international smooth dancing and competed throughout Scotland. 
Today “Scotty” is 85-years-old and lives in Westbury, Long 
Island with his 75-year-old wife, Beverly.

“Scotty’s son, Bruce Fraser, Kari’s husband and Grace and Holden’s father seemed to inherit the dance gene. As a junior in high school Bruce spent one semester abroad in Linz, Austria. He 
was exceptionally talented and served as an example to the other students on how to properly dance the Waltz. Bruce attended Columbia University and Harvard Law School and today he’s 
a partner at Sidley Austin LLP in downtown Los Angeles. 

The ballroom dance circuit has been a blessing for the Fraser Family Dance Group. Grace would like to one day compete at the Blackpool Dance Festival, the world’s first and most prestigious 
ballroom dance competition held every May in Blackpool, England. An avid fan of Dancing With the Stars she would also like to be on the show and teach children ballroom dancing. 
Holden is 11-years-old and still has his future ahead of him. Kari will always be a ballroom dancer but also loves being an actress and hopes to return to television. 


ASSEMBLYMEMBER PORTANTINO ANNOUNCES 
AUDIT REFORM MEASURE (AB 1887)


PET OF THE WEEK: STOKER: Animal ID #4395131

Meet a unique and charming individual, the 
very handsome Stoker (A4395131). Stoker is 
a bouncy one-year-old black and brown male 
Shorthaired Chihuahua puppy who was found in 
Covina and brought to the Baldwin Park Animal 
Care Center on February 10th. Weighing sixteen 
pounds, Stoker walks okay on the leash, is well 
socialized and is most likely housebroken. This 
playful puppy is great with kids and loves other 
dogs. Stoker is full of puppy energy. Wiggly and 
enthusiastic, he adores playing with toys and is 
curious and alert to his surroundings. Stoker will 
be a great indoor pet for an active family in any 
living situation, and would make an ideal running 
or hiking buddy. To watch a video of Stoker please 
visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot9tz0eYQv0

To meet Stoker in person, please see him at the 
Baldwin Park Shelter, located at 4275 N. Elton, 
Baldwin Park, CA 91706 (Phone: 626-430-2378 
or 626-962-3577). He is currently available now. 
For any inquiries about Stoker, please reference 
his animal ID number: A4395131. The shelter is 
open seven days a week, 12 pm-7 pm Monday-
Thursday and 10am-5pm Friday-Sunday. This 
is a high-intake shelter with a great need for 
adoptions. For more information about Stoker 
or the adoption process, contact United Hope 
for Animals Volunteer Adoption Coordinator 
Samantha at samanthasayon@gmail.com or 661-
309-2674. To learn more about United Hope 
for Animals’ partnership with the Baldwin Park 
Shelter through its Shelter Support Program, as 
well as the many dogs of all breeds, ages, and 
sizes available for adoption in local shelters, visit 
http://www.unitedhope4animals.org/about-us/
shelter-support-program/.

Sacramento – In his continuing 
efforts to provide 
accountability in state government, 
Assemblymember 
Anthony Portantino (D-La 
Cañada Flintridge) today 
introduced a bill to ensure 
transparency in legislative 
budgets and auditing.

AB 1887 calls on the State 
Controller to conduct a 
comprehensive and systematic 
audit of the state Legislature’s 
finances for a period 
of two years (2012-13 and 
2013-14). In following years, 
the Joint Rules Committee 
would hire an independent 
contractor to perform the 
audits but under guidelines 
set by the Controller. Under 
current law, the Joint 
Rules Committee chooses 
the auditor and sets the parameters 
for the audit. And, 
the Assembly does not even 
follow its own rules by not 
doing annual performance 
audits.

AB 1887 requires that the 
Assembly and Senate return 
any unused funds to 
the General Fund at the end 
of the legislative year. Those 
surplus monies would then 
be earmarked, subject to allocation 
by the Legislature, 
for the Student Aid Commission 
for use in the Cal 
Grant program.

AB 1887 provides that line 
item monies allocated to the 
Senate and Assembly cannot 
be diverted to other agencies 
or programs unless such diversion 
is approved by a vote 
of the legislature and the signature 
of the Governor

“It’s time to bring in an independent 
agency to allow 
for much-needed transparency 
and accountability in 
the Legislature,” explained 
Assemblymember Portantino. 
“This bill will require 
complete disclosure of the 
expenditure of monies allocated 
to both house of the 
Legislature in the annual 
budget. And at the end of 
the year, any surplus goes to 
help maintain Cal Grants for 
needy college students. Accountability 
and preparing 
our next work force should 
be top priorities of the 
Legislature.”

During the 2011-12 fiscal 
year, the State Assembly and 
State Senate were allocated 
more than a quarter-billion-
dollars to run the state 
Legislature ($109,350,000 
Senate and $146,716,000 
Assembly). Existing state 
law allows these funds to 
carry over from one year to 
the next where they remain 
in the Senate and Assembly 
Operating Fund. The 
Assembly has been transferring 
15% of its total appropriation 
to various state 
agencies - $52 million over 
the past three years.

Portantino concluded: “This 
practice has led to large surpluses 
at a time when the 
state is facing huge budget 
shortfalls resulting in cuts 
to school funding, increased 
tuition at colleges and universities 
and decreases in 
support for aged, blind and 
disabled Californians. If 
the Legislature appropriates 
more money than it 
needs, let’s help solve this 
problem by setting a specific 
agenda for using that 
surplus and putting in place 
strict accountability and 
transparency.”