Sunday, December 16, 2012
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 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
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
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
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 […]
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
NBC Universal is showing signs of rising from the ratings cellar, but that has not stopped the cutbacks and layoffs by parent company, Comcast. (Disclosure: I am a former NBC employee). The Internet is buzzing with the latest reports of 500 employees getting the axe throughout the entertainment, news, and cable units. The first story I saw about this was […]
Sunday, November 11, 2012
After flirting with the $5 a gallon milestone , self-serve regular is back to being under $4 a gallon at some pump stations in Burbank. Yesterday, I gassed-up at the Shell station at Buena Vista Street and Magnolia Boulevard for $3.89 a gallon for self-serve regular. Back in early October, the price soared to 4.60 a gallon and above for […]
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Federal agents are now investigating that huge fire, which gutted the Wholesale Giant, Inc., a large tobacco and cigarette business at 4410 West Victory Boulevard, between Manning and Dymond Streets, early yesterday. The fire alarm sounded at 3:30 a.m. as flames raced through the structure which was packed with merchandise including flammable butane containers used to refill cigarette lighters. The […]
Monday, October 29, 2012
Hurricane Sandy’s hammering of the East Coast has prompted the cancellation of today’s taping of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in New York City and two other late night hosts, Jimmy Fallon and David Letterman, taped their shows without audiences today. Broadway shows, movie theaters, and TV and film productions have shut down due to Sandy as well. Details on deadline.com .