News & General Info

Monday, May 25, 2009

Two sequels battle for the top spot at the holiday Box Office

  “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” had to slug it out with another new film, “Terminator Salvation,” for the top spot at the Memorial Day holiday weekend Box Office. “Terminator Salvation” got off to a fast start with screenings on Thursday, while the second “Night at the Museum” movie opened on Friday.  Still, the family-friendly fantasy clobbered the […]
Sunday, May 24, 2009

Welcome home Atlantis!

   Photo: Carla Thomas/NASA Bad weather in Florida continued today, so the space shuttle Atlantis dropped out of the sky and landed at Edwards Air Force Base here in California at 8:39 a.m. Pacific Time. The crew of Atlantis carried out an extensive and complex upgrade of the Hubble Space Telescope during a 13-day journey. Later, Commander Scott Altman spoke for his six-member crew: “We’re all thrilled to have […]
Saturday, May 23, 2009

Mixed blessings on this Memorial Day holiday weekend

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank The economy is still struggling. Job layoffs by the thousands continue. Gasoline prices at the pumps are up. On Thursday, May 21, I paid $2.60 a gallon at a gas station in Burbank. A month ago at the same station, I paid $2.30 a gallon.  And food prices are still outrageously high; why is that […]
Friday, May 22, 2009

President Obama speaks at the U.S. Naval Academy graduation

   Photo: Lawrence Jackson/White House — President Obama shares a fistbump with a proud young graduating Midshipman at the U.S. Navy Academy commencement today. President Obama kicked off the long Memorial Day holiday weekend today with a speech to the graduating class of 2009 at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland: “After an era when so many institutions and individuals acted […]
Friday, May 22, 2009

More controversy in Burbank

  Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank City Council  (from left to right) Dr. David Gordon, Dave Golonski, Anja Reinke, Jess Talamantes and seated, council member/Mayor Gary Bric Suspicions are growing that something troubling is brewing behind the scenes in Burbank that involves the police department and legal matters. Officials are trying to keep it hush-hush, but all that has done is fuel […]
Thursday, May 21, 2009

President Obama does a phone chat with space shuttle crew

Photo: Pete Souza/White House Talking about a long distance call. President Obama chatted with the crew on board the space shuttle Atlantis late yesterday. The crew got Wednesday off to rest and relax, after completing five spacewalks and numerous repairs and upgrades on the Hubble Space Telescope. This is the fifth and final tune-up for Hubble. The president spoke with […]
Wednesday, May 20, 2009

California voters turn thumbs down on five budget propositions

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank Polling Place/Joaquin Miller Elementary School California voters didn’t just reject five of the propositions championed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and other legislators as fixes for the financially-strapped state budget, they slammed them to the mat in yesterday’s special election. Propositions 1A through 1E were soundly defeated by huge margins. STATEWIDE RESULTS Proposition 1A  “Rainy Day” Budget […]
Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Actor Tony Curtis gets a new tell-all book deal

Even decades later, the movie comedy “Some Like It Hot” (1959), directed by the legendary Billy Wilder, is still very funny. It’s a true classic that stands up against the changing times and culture. The film stars Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as two musicians on the run from gangsters who disguise themselves as women and join an all female band. […]