Business

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Photo Gallery: Changes at the former NBC Studios lot

Have you noticed, the NBC signs and its legendary peacock logo are disappearing from the  Burbank site at Alameda and Olive Avenues? The replacement, signage for The Burbank Studios. Worthe Real Estate Group bought the historic 34-acre lot in 2008,  for an undisclosed price.  The real estate developer has big, big plans for the lot. Check out the developer’s website for […]
Monday, February 18, 2013

Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss dies

A lot of sadness in Laker land tonight, as folks come to terms with the passing, earlier today, of team owner, Dr. Jerry Buss. At the age of 80 and reportedly after a long battle with cancer, Buss died this morning at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. He was the majority owner of the Lakers and is given credit for being […]
Tuesday, February 12, 2013

What’s hot for Valentine’s Day 2013

Valentine’s Day is shaping up to be a money maker for florists if what I discovered at a couple of Burbank florists is any indicator. When I dropped by Samuel’s Florist on West Olive Avenue last Saturday, owner/floral designer, Donna Smith, was busy creating Valentine’s Day arrangements with shop floral designer, Karla Comayagua. Smith is surprised at how many customers […]
Friday, January 4, 2013

Talk of the Town: Who will buy the Burbank Leader?

  The Tribune company, the owner of the Los Angeles Times and the Burbank Leader, emerged from a lengthy and expensive bankruptcy on December 31, 2012 — and now there is even more talk about selling assets — especially the newspapers.The Tribune has new owners and a new board of directors. The Tribune has in its financial portfolio eight major […]
Sunday, December 16, 2012

Casablanca piano sells for just over $600, 000

Sam’s piano in the movie classic “Casablanca” sold for $602, 500 last Friday according to Reuters. The 58-key upright hit the auction block for between $800, 000 and $1.2 million. The selling price fell short of Sotheby’s estimate, but still a huge gain over the previous purchase, which was $154, 000 back in 1988. The reason: this piano has been […]
Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The Los Angeles Times and Burbank Leader going up for sale?

The Los Angeles Times and its Times Community Newspapers, which include The Burbank Leader, are facing an uncertain future as 2012 wraps up. There’s a report out that the owners of the newspapers’ parent company, the Tribune Company, are quietly seeking advice from bankers about launching a fire sale after December 31, when the company is expected to emerge from […]
Friday, December 7, 2012

Award Season: Oscar maker layoffs, Writers Guild and Grammy nominations

Oscar maker to axe  a lot of workers It’s not going to be a ho, ho, jolly holiday season for some employees of the company that makes Oscar. The Wrap is reporting today that R.S. Owens, a Chicago-based company, will be laying off almost 100 workers by December 17. That’s more than a third of the staff. R.S. Owens is […]
Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Disney makes major deal with Netflix

Netflix, the popular online movie service, has scored a huge deal with the Walt Disney Company. In a news release today, Disney announced a “… new multi-year licensing agreement that will make Netflix the exclusive U.S. subscription television service for first-run live-action and animated feature films from The Walt Disney Studios.”  The deal begins with 2013 direct-to-video releases and 2016 big […]
Thursday, November 15, 2012

IKEA moving forward with new store in Burbank

While the debate continues over the future and price tag for the present IKEA Burbank site, the Swedish home furnishing retailer is moving forward with plans to build another store in B-town. Today IKEA issued a statement announcing it is submitting plans to the City of Burbank for a new store because it has outgrown “the current location.” Meanwhile, the […]