Community Chatter

Sunday, July 19, 2009

A magical opening for the new Harry Potter movie

Movie audiences can’t seem to get enough of those Harry Potter flicks. The latest, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” debuted at the top of the Box Office this weekend with a spectacular opening estimated to be at least $79 million. Since it hit movie screens on Wednesday, this sixth film in bestselling author J.K. Rowling’s fantasy-adventure series has earned somewhere around $159.7 million nationwide. The […]
Thursday, July 16, 2009

Burbank Police Commission gets down to business

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove The Burbank Police Commission’s July meeting yesterday at the Burbank Police and Fire Headquarters was very difference from the previous month. In June, the commission voted to adjourn before conducting any real business because of a cloud of uncertainty hanging over newly appointed commissioner, John Brady. In a controversial move, the Burbank City Council voted to remove Brady from […]
Sunday, July 12, 2009

“Bruno” sashays to the top of the weekend Box Office

Moviegoers were up for outrageous comedy this weekend, and the new film, “Bruno,” delivered.  “Bruno” laughed its way to an estimated $30.4 million opening to capture the title of the number one movie in the nation. “Bruno” is an R-rated comedy about a gay Austrian fashion journalist, played by Sacha Baron Cohen, who comes to America determined to become a superstar.  Once again, “Ice Age: […]
Saturday, July 11, 2009

Fire department cutbacks in Burbank

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove UPDATE: Daily minimum staffing for Burbank firefighters will be reduced from a high of 38 last year to 36 on Monday, July 13. This will not result in any layoffs.   Times are tough. The city of Burbank is tightening its financial belt. I understand all of that, still it doesn’t seem smart to cutback the fire […]
Thursday, July 9, 2009

Brush fire forces the evacuation of the Getty Center

Photo: Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times Today fire crews have the upper hand on a smoky brush blaze, which broke out near the Getty Center in West Los Angeles yesterday afternoon. The flames swept through the hillsides and canyons in the Sepulveda Pass. More than a thousand people were evacuated from the museum and nearby Mount St. Mary’s College. This morning, the brush […]
Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Box Office movies make a killing over the Fourth of July holiday weekend

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” won the neck-and-neck battle against newcomer “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” for the top spot at the domestic Box Office this past weekend. In the final numbers, “Transformers 2” grossed a huge $42.3 million to hold onto the title of the number one movie in the nation for the second straight week. “Transformers 2” is making truckloads of […]
Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy Fourth of July!

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank                                “The Star Spangled Banner” Fourth and Final Verse O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation! Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heaven-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must when our cause it […]
Friday, July 3, 2009

Burbank Mayor Gary Bric, his restaurant, & those trash talking e-mails

Photo: from city of Burbank website I don’t know if Burbank Mayor Gary Bric plays any street basketball, but it’s pretty clear he can trash talk. Earlier in the week, I popped over to Jim Carlile’s Burbank blog and discovered a post from last Tuesday, June 30 about some caustic e-mails he got from the mayor. The town is abuzz with chatter about these e-mail zingers. Mayor […]
Thursday, July 2, 2009

Coach Jose Sandoval enters a plea in a Burbank court

Photo courtesy Jose Sandoval — some of the players and coaching staff Burbank Volunteer Coach Jose Sandoval probably would have preferred to spend this morning out at a sunny park, teaching some local kids how to swing a bat or throw a baseball. Instead, Coach Sandoval was in Burbank Superior Court at 8:30 a.m. today, to face a charge of misdemeanor battery arising […]