Monday, November 9, 2009
Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove —Burbank Police Chief Tim Stehr I don’t know if he was pushed or he volunteered, but Burbank Police Chief Tim Stehr is heading for the door. The announcement appeared a short while ago on the Burbank city website. It comes almost a week after that volatile council meeting where Councilman David Gordon called for an […]
Saturday, November 7, 2009
White House file Photo/Chuck Kennedy — 11/06/09 The investigation continues today into that deadly mass shooting on the U.S. Army base, Fort Hood, last Thursday. Military officials say 13 people were killed and more than two dozen others injured. The rampage ended when the alleged gunman, Army Major Nidal M. Hasan, was severely wounded. While the suspected shooter and many of the victims recover in the hospital, investigators are trying to piece […]
Friday, November 6, 2009
Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank City Councilman David Gordon and Vice-Mayor/Council Member Anja Reinke at the Tuesday November 3, 2009, council meeting. Reverberations from last Tuesday’s Burbank City Council meeting are still shaking the town and probably will continue to do so for some time. That should really come as no surprise to anyone who was there or watched it […]
Friday, October 30, 2009
Photo 11/01/09: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove —Burbank Police and Fire Headquarters where the flags are flying at half-staff in remembrance of Sgt. Neil Thomas Gunn, Sr. The Burbank Police Department has taken some pretty big hits lately from lawsuits, investigations, low morale, scandal and now the apparent suicide of one of its patrol officers. According to a press release put out by […]
Monday, October 26, 2009
Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove. (From left to right) Commissioner James Etter’s empty chair, Chairman Robert Frutos, Commissioner Claudia Bonis, and Commissioner /Vice-Chairman Nathan Rubinfeld at the October 14 police commission meeting. There’s a good chance James Etter’s chair will be vacant at this Wednesday’s special Burbank Police Commission Meeting. Commissioner Etter walked out of the police commission meeting on October 14, after complaining […]
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Photos: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Mayor/Councilman Gary Bric & Vice-Mayor/Council Member Anja Reinke Last Tuesday’s Burbank city council meeting provided a lot of reasons for folks to get riled up. At the top of the list, the city council’s 3-1 approval of that hotly-debated new film permit ordinance. Gary Bric, Anja Reinke, and Jess Talamantes voted for it. Dr. David Gordon was the […]
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank Police and Fire Headquarters at Third Street & Orange Grove Avenue. Burbank Police Commission meetings at police headquarters are getting more and more interesting. Last night’s meeting brimmed with drama including verbal fireworks and one commissioner abruptly walking out in a huff. The way I see it, these are the growing pains of commissioners who are struggling to break out of an […]
Friday, October 9, 2009
Photo: file picture of the White House A few minutes ago, I got an e-mail from President Barack Obama about the Nobel Peace Prize. I’m on an e-mail list handled by the Democratic National Committee. Here is the president’s e-mail, which is similar in tone and text to his comments earlier at the White House. This morning, Michelle and I […]
Friday, October 9, 2009
Here we go again, another President Obama controversy. This morning, the Norwegian Nobel Committee surprised many by announcing Obama had won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. Obama has been in office less than a year and while dealing with huge domestic problems, he’s managed to confront some major global issues as well. The Nobel Committee noted Obama’s international impact in its […]
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Photo: Burbank City Councilman Dave Golonski from Burbank city website Burbank City Councilman Dave Golonski is not happy with the way the Burbank Leader newspaper reported on that statement read by Mayor Gary Bric at last Tuesday’s city council meeting. The much-talked-about and reported-on statement is the first official public reaction from the entire city council to a slew of police lawsuits […]
Friday, October 2, 2009
Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove —Burbank Police and Fire Headquarters. In a recent Los Angeles Times story about the FBI probe and those lawsuits filed by former and current members of the Burbank Police Force, Burbank City Attorney Dennis Barlow had very little to say. City Attorney Barlow is quoted as saying he “… was unable to comment on the FBI investigation or […]
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank Mayor Gary Bric read a statement at last night’s council meeting. Finally, after weeks and months of mostly silence or as some folks have described it stonewalling, the Burbank City Council spoke out last night about the controversial and very messy situation surrounding the police department. Back on May 13, I wrote a post about the alleged problems in the BPD and called on the city […]