Monday, June 23, 2014

Talk of the Town: Burbank City Council, utility rate hikes, and labor costs

The Burbank City Council will again be crunching budget numbers tonight during a special city council meeting. At the June 10 meeting, the council majority shocked the over-confident staff by not approving utility rate increases for electric, water, refuse, and sewer. The vote was 3-2 with council members Emily Gabel-Luddy and Gary Bric voting for the rate increases.  Council member […]
Friday, June 13, 2014

City Buzz: Burbank City Council moves to clean-up “police mess”

The Burbank City Council took a dramatic and pivotal step  this week toward cleaning up the infamous “police mess.” On Tuesday during the city council meeting, City Attorney, Amy Albano, reported out on discussions and actions taken during closed session. During the behind-closed-doors meeting before the city council meeting, Albano says the council members reviewed the latest development in the […]
Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Bill to protect victims of college violence clears state Assembly

A  state bill, which would force colleges to report certain violent crimes to local authorities, cleared an important hurdle today. The California Assembly passed AB 1433 by an overwhelming vote of 74-0. The legislation, authored by local Assemblyman Mike Gatto, would require colleges  to report attacks like sexual assaults, particularly rape, and hate crimes to police, unless the victim asked […]
Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Updated: FBI and U.S. Justice Dept. decline to file charges in BPD probe

After extensive investigations into the now infamous 2007 Porto’s Bakery robbery in Burbank, the FBI and the U.S. Department have declined to file charges against any police personnel. In 2009, The Feds began looking into allegations of excessive force and civil rights violation by Burbank police involved in the investigation of that robbery. Late yesterday, Burbank Police Chief, Scott LaChasse, […]
Thursday, May 1, 2014

Updated:City Buzz: Burbank City Council selects new mayor

Finally, after eight years of being on the Burbank City Council, Dr. David Gordon, was selected as mayor during the council reorganization meeting this morning. Even though the mayoral position is pretty much a ceremonial one, there are perks that go along with the job. Maybe that explains why certain council members fight like heck to keep the position among […]
Friday, April 4, 2014

Reminder: Burbank Water and Power town hall meetings

Do you think utility users, who do not have solar systems, should subsidize those who do? What about the rates charged by Burbank Water and Power? Some feel they are too high, especially for a “community-owned” utility. Just some of the topics that will most likely come up at tomorrow’s Burbank Water and Power town hall meeting from 10:30 a.m- noon […]
Thursday, March 27, 2014

City Buzz: First official Burbank City Council candidate for 2015

Burbank has been buzzing for some time about the two city council seats on next year’s election ballot. Several potential candidates have been talking about launching campaigns in 2015 for city council, however, none had officially announced until today. Burbank Planning Board member/small business owner, Chris Rizzotti, officially announced his candidacy for the city council on MyBurbank today. In his announcement, […]
Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Local Olympian Kate Hansen honored in Sacramento

Southland 2014 Olympian, Kate Hansen, was honored during the “Woman of the Year”  awards ceremony in the Assembly Chambers of the State Capitol in Sacramento yesterday. Hansen was among 80 recipients who were recognized for making  “… a great contribution to California and who have inspired women and girls in California and beyond,” according to a news release. Assemblyman Gatto nominated […]
Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Burbank events: March 4-8, 2014

March 4, 2014 — Burbank City Council hosting a Town Hall Meeting at John Muir Middle School on Tuesday. The Town Hall meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium at Muir Middle School 1111 North Kenneth Road. Along with the city council, City Manager, Mark Scott, and other city staff will be there to answer questions and discuss issues of […]
Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Walmart still planning a mega store in Burbank

The Great Indoors site at the Empire Center in Burbank is still vacant and probably will be that way for a while. That doesn’t mean the world’s largest retailer, Walmart, has lost interest in constructing a proposed 143,000 square foot supercenter at 1301 North Victory Place. Not hardly. On November 5, 2013, the Burbank City Council voted 3-2 not to […]