Animals

For an animal whose primary goals in life were simply getting something to eat and maybe taking a snooze up a tree, a black bear now known as Meatball has shown an uncanny ability to influence his world and the people in it. When he started boldly roaming the hilly neighborhoods of Glendale, La Crescenta and Montrose, homeowners were initially charmed but then increasingly alarmed. When wildlife officials hit him with tranquilizer darts and relocated him deeper into the woods, he thwarted their efforts by finding his way back to suburbia.

Hollywood studios aren't known as easy places to work. But DreamWorks Animation once again has made Fortune magazine's list of the 100 best employers. The Glendale studio behind the " Shrek ," "Kung Fu Panda" and "Madagascar" movies ranked 12th in the 2013 list, just above Quicken Loans (which ranked 13th) and semiconductor company Qualcomm (11th). Google once again was ranked No. 1. DreamWorks, with 2,350 employees, was the only Hollywood studio to make the list, which will be released Thursday.

Committing to the genre after years of fits and starts, Warner Bros. on Monday said it will produce one  animated movie per year beginning in 2014. Every other major studio in Hollywood has established an animation strategy in the past few years, with some such as 20th Century Fox , Sony Pictures and Walt Disney Studios making the movies in-house and others like Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures relying on outside companies with which it makes deals. While animated franchises like "Toy Story," "Ice Age" and "Despicable Me" have been among the industry's most profitable, Warner's approach has been more cautious.

A deer was found dead at the Sports Complex in Glendale and authorities believe the animal was killed by an adult mountain lion and an offspring. Community Services and Park personnel found the deer's body this week at 2200 Fern Lane. Mountain lion footprints were found in the area. Glendale police suggest residents take steps to protect children and small pets from mountain lions in the area. Installing ample outdoor lighting, trimming bushes and providing shelter for animals are some way residents can avoid attracting deer or mountain lions, according to police.

DreamWorks Animation -- the Glendale studio that created the " Shrek " "Kung Fu Panda" and "Madagascar" movies -- on Sunday named former  J.C. Penney President Michael Francis to the newly created position of chief global brand officer. Calling it one of his most important executive appointments, DreamWorks Animation Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg said in an interview that Francis will play a pivotal role in helping the studio find new ways to build its branded characters around the world and across multiple outlets, including television, video games, books and theme parks.

A large black bear was spotted Sunday night digging through a trash bin in a Chevy Chase Canyon neighborhood, police said. The bear, which residents described as between 500 and 800 pounds, was sifting through an outdoor trash bin in the 3200 block of Cornwall Drive, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. Officials said the size of the bear, if accurate, is extremely rare. Glendale police who responded to the scene flashed their patrol car lights and used an air horn to scare the bear off into a nearby hillside and out of sight.

I am writing to alert the Glendale community about the cruel treatment of animals by the Ramos Circus. The animals are confined to very small enclosures where they must stand or sit tied all day and night. Many people have written to Glendale officials asking that they revoke the permit. The City Council and city officials have not revoked the permit nor even taken a stand. The schools should not accept free tickets from the Ramos Circus, as this demonstrates they support the circus.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on Thursday sent a letter calling on Glendale to revoke a permit for the Ramos Bros. Circus, which is scheduled to run through Tuesday. The smaller-scale operation doesn't have the big animal draws, such as elephants, but PETA pointed to the brief escape last week of a camel from the circus across from Glendale Community College in calling for immediate action. “The potentially fatal escape of a camel should serve as the straw that breaks the back of the Ramos Bros.' welcome in Glendale,” Delcianna Winders, PETA's foundation director of captive animal law enforcement, said in a statement.

Shares of DreamWorks Animation took a hit in the wake of a poor box office debut for "Rise of the Guardians. " DreamWorks' stock fell as much as 5.8% on Monday after some analysts warned that the Glendale-based studio could be forced to take a significant write-down on its latest computer animated movie .  The 3-D movie pulled in $32.6 million over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday period, marking a rare misfire for a studio that...

DreamWorks Animation reported a 24% jump in profits in the third quarter due to the box-office success of "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. " The Glendale-based animation studio posted net income of $24.4 million, or $0.29 a share, on revenues of $186.3 million, in the quarter ended Sept. 30. That compared with a profit of $19.7 million, or $0.23 per share, on revenues of $160.8 million during the same period in 2011. DreamWorks Animation Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg said the results stemmed from the "blockbuster international box office success" of " Madagascar 3: Europe 's Most Wanted," which he said was the fifth-highest-grossing film of the year on a global basis.