Burbank

Burbank youth came out in force to spend part of their summer at ShowCamp. This past Friday night the kids showed off their talents with the play "Wonka!"

An 82-year-old Valley Village man was arrested Tuesday morning on suspicion of selling cocaine in a parking lot on Riverside Drive, police said. The man, Jack Murphy, was released on $50,000 bail after he was arrested at 9:30 a.m. when Burbank police reported seeing a "hand-to-hand" narcotics deal in the parking lot on 4300 Riverside Drive. Police also arrested a woman, 54-year-old Korey Janke of Burbank, at the scene for allegedly possessing cocaine. She was released on $10,000 bail, according to police.

A 20-year-old Burbank man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of stabbing his girlfriend in the stomach and arm after she tried to break up with him in Glendale, police said. Luis Garate, an alleged gang member, was taken into custody in Burbank on suspicion of attempted murder and inflicting corporal injury on a spouse, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. He was being held Monday in lieu of $531,000 bail. Garate's girlfriend, who authorities did not identify, remained hospitalized Monday at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, where she was being treated for her injuries, Lorenz said.

I spotted this gem of a statement/protest by an anonymous artist near the corner of Chandler and Victory boulevards in Burbank. Made me laugh, I have to admit. And, just so you know I'm not glorifying graffiti. it's in chalk. I checked. 

 At least 15 people in Burbank have been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol within the last week, police reported today.   “That's amazing in one week's time,” Burbank Police Lt. John Dilbert said of the DUIs logged between Aug. 2 and Aug. 8.   The summer weather, students anticipating the start of the school year and the upcoming Labor Day holiday likely contributed to the unusually high number, he added.   There was also an increase in traffic accidents, he said.

A flock of wild, squawking parrots has decided to nest in Burbank, residents say. At sunrise and sunset, about 100 of them swoop along a path roughly following Verdugo Avenue, creating quite a disturbance. "It's like this noise," said Burbank resident Cindy Brown. "It feels like this roar that just comes overhead. " Though the birds make a lot of noise, experts say they disperse into smaller groups later in the day and at night, when they're fairly quiet. Pockets of the colorful birds can be found throughout Southern California.

The city attorney for Thousand Oaks has been tapped for the chief legal spot in Burbank, city officials confirmed Thursday. Amy Albano will officially begin Oct. 17 if the City Council votes to confirm her to the job, as expected. She will replace City Atty. Dennis Barlow, who is retiring after close to 14 years of service. He announced his retirement in January. Albano joined the city of Thousand Oaks in 2005 after 14 years in the city of Ventura, also as a city attorney.

With aviation as its theme this year, Burbank on Parade kicked off Saturday with a flyover by five helicopters followed by other fliers, marching bands and flight-themed floats. The rain that hit the L.A. area Friday had moved on, and the almost 100 parade entries traveled down Olive Avenue under sunny skies. One of the most popular entries came near the end of the parade, with about 25 vintage cars from the Road Kings club. Ashley Nesbit said the cars are always her favorite part, along with the Burbank/Burroughs Alumni Band.

Burbank firefighters extinguished a blaze Thursday that was confined to within the exterior walls of a home. Responding to reports of smoke at 6:40 p.m. in a house on the 200 block of North Niagara Street, firefighters used rotary saws to cut into the home's exterior, where the found the fire traveling up through the walls. There were no immediate reports of injuries, and the cause of the fire remained under investigation. -- Ross A. Benson, for Times Community News

A crash Wednesday afternoon on Alameda Street near Victory Boulevard damaged two parked cars and knocked down a utility pole.  Antoinette Schwartz of Burbank was parked on the side of the road when she witnessed the crash.  "I would have been right there if I hadn't stopped to answer my phone," she said. 

A 20-year-old Burbank man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of stabbing his girlfriend in the stomach and arm after she tried to break up with him in Glendale, police said. Luis Garate, an alleged gang member, was taken into custody in Burbank on suspicion of attempted murder and inflicting corporal injury on a spouse, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. He was being held Monday in lieu of $531,000 bail. Garate's girlfriend, who authorities did not identify, remained hospitalized Monday at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, where she was being treated for her injuries, Lorenz said.

LA CRESCENTA - Taking a brief break from spring practice sessions, a quartet of area high school football teams looked for early indications to determine how their respective skill position units would respond facing live competition. For the most part, Crescenta Valley, Hoover, Burroughs and Burbank had mixed results during the first day of the annual Gordy Warnock Passing Tournament at Crescenta Valley on Friday afternoon. Crescenta Valley and Hoover each split their two games, while Burroughs and Burbank dropped both of their contests.

The quality of life may be improving in Burbank and Glendale, but for the agencies that serve the poor and needy, life is about to get a little harder. That's because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development this year used updated census figures in deciding how much grant money to dole out to cities for social service programs. Those figures show fewer people living below the poverty line in Burbank and Glendale, and less overcrowding. According to the federal government's formula, fewer poor people means less funding, even if local service providers say the need is still great.

BASEBALL Crescenta Valley 12, Muir 0 (five innings): For the first time since 2008, the Falcons can call themselves Pacific League champions. On the strength of Tuesday's road win, coupled with Arcadia's 4-2 loss to Burroughs, the Falcons (19-7, 11-2) clinched a share of the league crown heading into Friday's finale against three-time defending champion Arcadia. But, it wasn't exactly the approach Falcons Coach Phil Torres wanted, especially after losing, 5-2, to red-hot Pasadena on Monday.

While there wasn't much suspense in determining which boys' golf teams from the Pacific League would qualify for the playoffs, Crescenta Valley High, Burroughs and Burbank enter the postseason with varying goals. They will look to achieve them at the CIF Southern Section Northern Team Divisional, which will begin at 1 p.m. Monday at Soule Park Golf Course in Ojai. Crescenta Valley, Burroughs and Burbank will be joined by league champion Arcadia in the 19-team event. The top three teams from the seven divisionals will move on to the CIF Team Championship Final, which will take place at 8 a.m. Thursday at Rancho San Marcos Golf Club in Santa Barbara.

The Burbank City Council this morning appointed Dave Golonski to his fourth term as mayor during its annual reorganization ceremony. He replaces Jess Talamantes, who has held the position since May 2011. Councilwoman Emily Gabel-Luddy was selected by her peers to be vice mayor, a position that typically leads to the mayorship. Both appointments were made on a 4-1 vote, with Councilman David Gordon -- who has long been kept out of the mayorship position -- dissenting. Bric declined a nomination for the vice mayor position, citing concerns about the ability to run his business and take on the extra duties.

BURBANK - Burbank High pitcher Daniel Starkand and his counterpart at Crescenta Valley, Kyle Murray, battled in a valiant head-to-head tie baseball game through seven innings Friday. Unfortunately for the two hurlers, neither was around to garner a decision when the game was finally decided in the 10th inning. Both Starkand and Murray pitched well and gave way to relievers after the Bulldogs and Falcons were knotted at 1 through regulation. Despite having its chances to win the contest in regulation and in extra innings, Burbank wasn't able to cash in on its opportunities.

LA CRESCENTA - In its bid to climb back into the Pacific League title chase, the Crescenta Valley High softball team took a giant step with a 6-3 victory over Burbank, one of two teams along with Burroughs that the Falcons trailed going into Friday's games. The most telling tally behind the final score was the error count, 4-2, in favor of host Crescenta Valley, which did surrender an unearned run in the top of the second, but overall fared much better in the field that the Bulldogs.

BASEBALL Burbank 5, Glendale 1: A day after defeating Pasadena, the Nitros dropped a Pacific League home contest Wednesday afternoon. Senior Rafael Ruiz knocked in the lone run for the Nitros (4-8, 2-6) in the seventh with a bases-loaded grounder to short. Pitcher Dillion Howard (0-1) picked up the tough-luck defeat, allowing three unearned runs over four innings before being replaced by sophomore Brandon Keene, who surrendered two runs in three innings of work.

This post has been updated. See below. Burbank police are warning people to stay away from the area of Lake Street and Olive Avenue because of initial reports of fires, possibly from a transformer blowing. Police said a fires were reported in the 100 and 300 blocks of South Lake. [Update: 6:00 p.m. The fires were put out and Police Sgt. Darin Ryburn said streets will probably remain closed for about another hour. ] Fire crews are on the scene, but information on how serious the damage is -- or what caused the transformers to blow -- was not immediately available.