ANYWHERE FOR VOTES RUSSIANS LEARNING LOCAL POLITICS.Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer PALMDALE - Five young Russian political leaders are in the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley as part of a Rotary International program to introduce foreign politicians to small-town government. Created by Congress and the Rotary Club, the program provides six days of tours of small U.S. towns where the visitors learn about aspects of local government ranging from budget decisions to filling City Council seats. ``This program is designed to show our guests another way of government,'' said Edd Freeman, Rotary Club committee chairman. ``They're all young enough that they can take these ideas back and implement them in their own towns.'' The Russian guests range in age from 23 to 30, and all have held or now hold some type of political office. Alekey Vladimirovich Vasilyev, 24, is an attorney in the International Lawyers Association in St. Petersburg. Tatyana Anatolyevna Yevseyeva, 30, is a deputy in the Kemerovo City People's Deputies Council, and she is running for mayor. Inna Vladimirovna Chernovol, 24, is a public prosecutor in the St. Petersburg Office of Public Prosecutor. Vladimir Aleksandrovich Tishinskiy, 28, is a deputy chairman in the Krasnodar Association for Protection of Human Rights and a member of Amnesty International Amnesty International (AI,) human-rights organization founded in 1961 by Englishman Peter Benenson; it campaigns internationally against the detention of prisoners of conscience, for the fair trial of political prisoners, to abolish the death penalty and torture of . Mariya Vyacheslavovna Kalitina, 23, is an intern in the Monterey Institute of International Studies The Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) is a graduate school in Monterey, California, United States, that specializes in programs in international relations, international business, and translation and interpretation. and functioned as the group's interpreter. On Thursday, the five toured Palmdale and Lancaster city halls, where, with the aid of their interpreter, they asked about council elections, budget development and monetary benefits for political leaders after they leave office. One asked Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford how many nationalities are represented within Palmdale's population and how high racial tensions are. Ledford guessed that Palmdale's inhabitants
The game is based loosely on the concepts from SameGame. and their ancestors emigrated from hundreds of nations and cultures. ``We don't have a lot of problems within our community,'' Ledford said. ``We do celebrate our heritage and culture, but overall we are Americans, and that's what makes up the Antelope Valley.'' The five took turns posing for photos in the mayor's office. They were each given a shirt bearing the Palmdale city logo. They spent three days in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. before visiting Palmdale. ``Since we have more agriculture up here, we wanted to bring them here to see how a more-agricultural community operates,'' said Freeman. They were so engrossed en·gross tr.v. en·grossed, en·gross·ing, en·gross·es 1. To occupy exclusively; absorb: A great novel engrosses the reader. See Synonyms at monopolize. 2. in discussion that they were almost late heading for their appointments in Lancaster. ``It's a magnificent resort place but it's a bit hot,'' Yevseyeva, who comes from Siberia, said through the interpreter when she was asked about her impressions of the Antelope Valley. ``Sometimes the scenery can be a bit monotonous, but the population makes it much brighter,'' she added. The group will spend today touring Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. , the NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. Dryden Flight Research Center The Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC), located inside Edwards Air Force Base, is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. On March 26, 1976 it was named in honor of the late Hugh L. , the Exotic Feline Breeding Compound and the Willow Springs Raceway Willow Springs International Motorsports Park is located near Rosamond and Lancaster, California, and is about an hour north of Los Angeles. It is a historic race track, in existence more than fifty years, with the first race in 1953. The main track is a challenging 2. in Rosamond. Before returning to their host families, the five will visit a Palmdale night spot. Today they will tour the Scattaglia Farms and Farmers Market in Littlerock and the Calandri Farms and vegetable-processing plant in Lancaster, and they will see a JetHawks baseball game Noun 1. baseball game - a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs; "he played baseball in high school"; "there was a baseball game on every empty lot"; "there was a desire for National League . CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) Others await turns Thursday while their interpreter snaps a Russian local politician's photo in the Palmdale mayor's office. (2 -- ran in SAC edition only) Edd Freeman, left, chairman of a tour for local political leaders from Russia, leads the visitors from Palmdale City Hall. (3 -- ran in Business section only) Through an interpreter, right, Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford, left, talks with local Russian government leaders, visiting City Hall on Thursday for a look at local democracy. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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