Community Chatter

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Sylmar fire causes power problems in the Southland

  Jay Clendenin / Los Angeles Times A firefighter battles to save a mobile home in Sylmar. The Burbank foothills in the San Fernando Valley have not been touched by the flames of the rampaging Sylmar wildfire, but my community is still affected. A short time ago, I got an e-mail alert from Burbank City Council Member, Marsha Ramos, about electrical power concerns. […]
Friday, November 7, 2008

Protests against ban on gay marriage

Barbara Davidson/ Los Angeles Times The anger over the passage of a bitterly fought California proposition denying marriage to gay couples has spilled into the streets of several communities in the Southland. Thousands of opponents of Proposition 8 began protesting Wednesday night, when it became clear the measure had passed 52 percent to 48 percent in Tuesday’s election. Last night, the marches were in West Hollywood […]
Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Poll workers: the ‘A Team’ on Election Day

FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove A poll worker guides a voter through the initial stages of voting, at a polling place in a Burbank neighborhood, during last February’s presidential primary. They are front and center at every polling place on Election Day. A volunteer army of poll workers. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder /County Clerk’s office reportedly has recruited and trained over 26 […]
Saturday, November 1, 2008

Early voting overwhelms Los Angeles County registrar’s office

  Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times They just kept coming by the hundreds and then by the thousands, lining up at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder County Clerk’s building at 12400 Imperial Highway in Norwalk. Despite the wait of several hours in many cases, voters swamped the registrar’s office every day this past week. In Los Angeles County, early voting began last […]
Friday, October 31, 2008

Obama winning presidential cookie poll

  Illinois Senator Barack Obama is not only the front runner in the major political polls, but he’s also          outselling his opponent, Arizona Senator John McCain, in a local presidential cookie poll. Super popular Porto’s Bakery & Cafe At Magnolia Boulevard and Hollywood Way in Burbank has been offering John McCain and Barack Obama cookies for several weeks. I dropped by the Cuban-style bakery […]
Wednesday, October 29, 2008

It’s Halloween Time!!!!

  FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove – Burbank In and around Burbank, many residents have been gearing up for Halloween for weeks now. Some of the home decorations were up as early as mid-September. Some are pretty elaborate with colored lights, gravestones lining the walkways, huge blow-up pumpkins and creepy characters. My favorite Halloween duo; a couple of homespun scarecrows. More and more adults are joining the […]
Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Political yard signs; the good and the bad

  FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove – Burbank The closer it gets to Election Day the more political yard signs I see in my Burbank neighborhood. The most popular are those for the presidential candidates. Barack Obama signs started popping up first, more than a month ago. Lately, the folks backing the John McCain/Sarah Palin ticket have put out yard signs to show their […]
Monday, October 27, 2008

Gas prices are dropping, but what about the cost of food?

FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove  —  Burbank Back in August, gas was selling at over $4 a gallon and many worried it was going to crack the $5 a gallon mark. Recently, I heard a radio news announcer say gas prices have “fallen off a cliff.”  True, the price of a gallon of gasoline is coming down at the pumps, but they need to […]