Airport

Laura Sturza When the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority was formed 25 years ago, Glendale commissioner Carl Meseck took a seat at the table that he still occupies today. "We always had a very positive attitude about making it a very well-run and efficiently run airport," Meseck said. The Joint Powers Agreement was signed in June 1977, empowering the Airport Authority to govern the facility. The Airport Authority, which includes three commissioners from each of the three cities, owns and operates the airport.

Jackson Bell As a Burbank native, Mark Barton wants to keep his city beautiful. So Barton, a professional graphic designer, submitted a logo Monday for the recently renamed Bob Hope Airport. The facility was formerly the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport. His proposal, using patriotic colors, is a simple design of an airplane between the words "Bob Hope" and "Airport." "It is my responsibility as a resident to respond because I want what is best for the city and the airport happens to be in Burbank," Barton said.

Laura Sturza BURBANK -- Burbank officials are questioning the safety of a fuel tank installed and operational since Oct. 3 on the Los Angeles side of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport property. The Airport Authority had unanimously approved a lease, after the fact, with Southwest Airlines on Nov. 5 for the newly built, above-ground diesel fuel storage tank. The authority reported to the council Nov. 13 on its action. Burbank Mayor Bob Kramer questioned Airport Commissioner Charlie Lombardo about the tank's location when the commissioner delivered the Airport Authority's report to the council.

Mark R. Madler More than 100 acres of land adjacent to Bob Hope Airport remains on the selling block at the same time negotiations between the city and the Burbank-Glendale- Pasadena Airport Authority take place over the airport obtaining the land. Community activists banding under the name Burbank Voters and Taxpayers, however, believe the land is destined for an expanded or new terminal and will never be sold. The activists have latched onto what they believe was a failure in 2000 by the city and Airport Authority to have filed with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk a "Notice of Failure to Execute a Development Agreement" between the two bodies to develop the 139 acres the airport bought from Lockheed Martin Corp.

AIRPORT DISTRICT — Despite improving its customer satisfaction score, Bob Hope Airport slid three notches among small airports in overall ratings for accessibility, food and retail options and security services, according to a national passenger survey. Bob Hope ranked No. 15 among airports with fewer than 10 million annual passengers, down from 12th place in 2008, according to a J.D. Power and Associates survey released last week. Based on responses from more than 12,000 passengers who flew round-trip last year, the survey judged large, mid-sized and small airports on six factors: accessibility, check-in and baggage-check processes, baggage claim, terminal facilities, security check, and food and retail services.

Paul Clinton BURBANK -- The Burbank-Glendale-Airport Authority has canceled its Monday meeting. Authority spokesman Victor Gill announced the cancellation Thursday. The meeting had been scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Burbank Airport Skyroom, 2627 Hollywood Way. No make up date was announced. The authority also canceled a subcommittee session, set for 10:30 a.m. Monday. However, on Tuesday at 11 a.m., the Finance and Administration Committee is scheduled to meet to continue going through applications from Realtors to represent the airport in the sale of 81 acres of Lockheed Martin Corp.

Paul Clinton AIRPORT DISTRICT -- Burbank Airport is safe for jet landings, officials said in the aftermath of the crash of Southwest Airlines Flight 1455. Responding to a public outcry from airport activists, officials defended the facility and said the crash doesn't prove the airport is unsafe. "It's a freak thing," Burbank Airport Commissioner Charles Lombardo said. "Can you plan for every contingency imaginable? No." In the days following Sunday's crash -- in which a Boeing 737 jetliner skidded off the east-west runway, crashed through a blast fence and came to rest in the middle of Hollywood Way -- airport activists have raised questions about the length of the runway and the location of several fuel trucks on airport property.

Karen S. Kim BURBANK -- The Legal, Government and Environmental Affairs Committee of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport will meet at 8:30 a.m. today. The committee will discuss an environmental assessment for Caltrans' construction of an interchange at the intersection of Empire Avenue and the Golden State (5) Freeway. The proposed interchange will be built, in part, because of increased traffic projected by a 1994 Environmental Impact Report for a replacement terminal at the airport.

Mark R. Madler Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority members approved a development agreement Wednesday that outlines future projects at the Bob Hope Airport. Commissioner Carl Holden called the moment "bittersweet" because the airport has given up a lot, such as not planning for a new terminal building for 10 years, and hoped that for the seven-year duration of the agreement there is more trust from the community toward the commission.

Karen S. Kim AIRPORT DISTRICT -- Supporting airport officials' position that the need for a new terminal is imminent, a study conducted by a regional group of city governments estimated Thursday that Burbank's airport could host up to 9.4 million passengers in 2025. The estimate is double the 4.75 million passengers the airport hosted in 2000. The study was released by the Southern California Assn. of Governments, which represents 184 cities and six counties.