Fuel

Street closures in Burbank that were prompted by a 150-gallon diesel spill this morning have reopened and traffic is "returning to normal," according to police. Burbank police closed streets around Alameda at Buena Vista Street just before 8 a.m. to clean up the spill. Los Angeles County HazMat crews were called in to assist after authorities discovered that about 36 gallons of fuel had entered the county storm drain system, creating the threat of fire or an explosion. At about 6:45 a.m., a truck was delivering fuel to a Los Angeles fire station when its “mechanical drive shaft broke, causing damage to the off load pipe that unloads fuel from the truck,” Burbank Police Sgt. Darin Ryburn said.

Street closures in Burbank that were prompted by a diesel spill this morning will likely remain in place for most of the day after officials discovered that fuel had entered the storm drain. Burbank police closed streets around Alameda at Buena Vista Street just before 8 a.m. to clean up the 150-gallon spill, but Los Angeles County HazMat crews have since been called in to assist after it breached the county storm drain system. [Updated 12:35 p.m.: At about 6:45 a.m., a truck was delivering fuel to a Los Angeles fire station when its “mechanical drive shaft broke, causing damage to the off load pipe that unloads fuel from the truck,” Burbank Police Sgt. Darin Ryburn said.

On location shoots in Los Angeles climbed 16% last week, led by a surge in feature film activity, according to the latest data from FilmL.A. Inc., which handles film permits for the city and unincorporated areas of the county. Feature films generated 176 production days, up 47% over the same period a year earlier, and continuing double-digit percentage growth so far this quarter. Films currently shooting in L.A. include "The Gangster Squad," "Dark Knight Rises" and "Magic Mike," the latest film from director Steven Soderbergh.

Darleene Barrientos An 11-year-old Glendale boy was recovering from severe burns Monday after a match he was playing with ignited a few ounces of fuel used for his radio-controlled car and exploded in his face. The boy, a Balboa Elementary School sixth-grader, was apparently playing with a match that burned close to his fingers Saturday evening and he dropped it, igniting the vapors of some fuel in an aluminum can that had been cut in half to hold the liquid.

Every year, our environment becomes more and more polluted from unnecessary and unwanted car exhaust. I find this to be a major problem because if this continues to escalate, our planet may become no more than a large spherical ball of dust and smog. I, along with many other people, believe that there is an easy solution to reduce the amount of air pollution from exhaust. The answer to our prayers is hybrid cars. These uniquely built vehicles are original, up-to-date, amazingly environmentally friendly, extremely fuel efficient and, if I do say so myself, are pretty good-looking cars.

Darleene Barrientos With his pink cheeks and bright red Hawaiian shirt, 11-year-old Arnold Abelyan looks like he just returned from a tropical vacation. Instead, Arnold tells it like it is -- the blotchy, healing pink skin on his forehead, cheeks and nose, along with the scab on his right ear and his singed hair, eyebrows and eyelashes, are the result of playing with matches. Arnold was doing that near his front porch on March 13, just after pouring some fuel into an aluminum can with its top cut off. He planned to transfer the fuel to his remote-control car, but the match burned too close to his fingers, and he dropped it. The match ignited the vapors of the fuel, which exploded in his face.

Many experts predict the coming of a recession quite soon. Recession and depressed economy always remind me of President Jimmy Carter. He was a nice guy with good intentions. I wonder if he was the right man in the wrong times. He had a lot to deal with, including but not limited to a slumping economy, high gas prices, the anti-American revolution in Iran, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan as well as below-par American vehicles. At least the American car industry has dusted itself off and is providing a stiff competition for the foreign automakers.

Color run was unnecessary The article published Wednesday (?Grads honor fallen officer?) about the color run by recent sheriff?s academy graduates fails to mention the total number of Glendale Police Department personnel and equipment tied down in support of this tribute to Officer Charles Lazzaretto. This is just another example of the continuing poor management and squandering of our scarce law enforcement assets by Police Department management. By my count, there were several officers and several police vehicles that escorted the runners.

LA CANADA -   With no easy games in the Mission League in boys' basketball, St. Francis High came into Monday's league matchup with Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in sixth place. But three of the Golden Knights' losses in league were by a combined total of eight points, and if the ball had bounced a little differently they could be sitting in third place. However, with finishing among the top teams in league already extinguished, St. Francis looked to make it a season sweep against the last-place Knights.

Speaking to a group of seniors at the Adult Recreation Center about healthcare reform, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) on Monday also took the opportunity to join a growing chorus of elected officials calling for an investigation into what caused the record-breaking surge in fuel prices across the state. Her colleague in the U.S. Senate, Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission urging a probe into whether something other than supply and demand played a role into the price hikes.

A 24-year-old man was arrested Monday after he allegedly siphoned gas from seven vehicles at a park-and-ride lot in Glendale, police said. The man, George Zammar, was allegedly spotted under a truck by police officers about 9:43 p.m. near Wilson Avenue and Harvey Drive. Hoses were allegedly running from the gas tanks of a California Department of Transportation truck and an Enterprise van to a separate 10-gallon tank, police said. When confronted by officers, Zammar allegedly told them he ran out of gas and “was just trying to get home.” Police detected a strong odor of gasoline coming from a U-Haul truck that Zammar allegedly was living in. Inside the moving truck, officers found three large empty barrels, a TV, electrical tools, a make-shift bed and a generator.

Just one lane of the southbound Golden State (5) Freeway is open after a big rig spilled about 30 gallons of fuel, officials said. California Highway Patrol Officer Christian Cracraft said the No. 2, 3 and 4 lanes will remain closed indefinitely for the clean up. A Sigalert has been issued for the lane closures until at least 4:30 p.m. Dispatchers got the call about the spill, which occurred at the I-5 near Verdugo Avenue, at roughly 3:15...

Street closures in Burbank that were prompted by a 150-gallon diesel spill this morning have reopened and traffic is "returning to normal," according to police. Burbank police closed streets around Alameda at Buena Vista Street just before 8 a.m. to clean up the spill. Los Angeles County HazMat crews were called in to assist after authorities discovered that about 36 gallons of fuel had entered the county storm drain system, creating the threat of fire or an explosion. At about 6:45 a.m., a truck was delivering fuel to a Los Angeles fire station when its “mechanical drive shaft broke, causing damage to the off load pipe that unloads fuel from the truck,” Burbank Police Sgt. Darin Ryburn said.

Burbank police closed streets around Alameda at Buena Vista Street as crews clean a diesel fuel spill. A detour has been put in place as the Fire Department's HazMat crew responds to the spill. The streets closures include: the westbound Alameda at Buena Vista and southbound Frederic to Alameda, according to police. Authorities suggest drivers use Olive Avenue to the north or Riverside Drive to the south of Alameda. For northbound traffic, Burbank police suggest using Hollywood Way or Victory Boulevard.

Street closures in Burbank that were prompted by a diesel spill this morning will likely remain in place for most of the day after officials discovered that fuel had entered the storm drain. Burbank police closed streets around Alameda at Buena Vista Street just before 8 a.m. to clean up the 150-gallon spill, but Los Angeles County HazMat crews have since been called in to assist after it breached the county storm drain system. [Updated 12:35 p.m.: At about 6:45 a.m., a truck was delivering fuel to a Los Angeles fire station when its “mechanical drive shaft broke, causing damage to the off load pipe that unloads fuel from the truck,” Burbank Police Sgt. Darin Ryburn said.

Already a highly touted boys' basketball prospect when he arrived at Providence High as a freshman prior to the 2011-12 school year, Marcus LoVett Jr. could have sequestered himself in the Pioneers' gym and concentrated his athletic efforts solely on the hardwood. And why wouldn't he? Although just a freshman, LoVett was getting a lion's share of interest from major colleges who were interested in the basketball phenom. But LoVett wanted to immerse himself in the total Providence experience and not limit himself, so he laced up his shoes, put on a Pioneers uniform and made his athletic debut at the school - on the boys' cross-country team.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) was featured on the NPR program "All Things Considered" Tuesday morning making an impassioned plea for a specialized type of plutonium used for space exploration. The isotope, plutonium-238, is the main fuel for spacecrafts in the inky, cold vacuum of space. The United States, however, hasn't produce any of the stuff for decades. Restrarting the program is expensive, and no one wants to be stuck with the bill. From the piece :  The price to restart production is expected to be $75 million to $90 million over five years.

On location shoots in Los Angeles climbed 16% last week, led by a surge in feature film activity, according to the latest data from FilmL.A. Inc., which handles film permits for the city and unincorporated areas of the county. Feature films generated 176 production days, up 47% over the same period a year earlier, and continuing double-digit percentage growth so far this quarter. Films currently shooting in L.A. include "The Gangster Squad," "Dark Knight Rises" and "Magic Mike," the latest film from director Steven Soderbergh.