Featured Articles from the Burbank Leader

A 45-year-old Sun Valley woman on Tuesday intentionally spilled Slurpee mix on the floor inside a 7-Eleven, allegedly punched the worker who tried to stop her and then hid atop a nearby roof, Burbank police said. Brenda Lara was arrested on suspicion of battery following the bizarre series of events, which began about 5:10 p.m. at the convenience store in the 600 block of North Glenoaks Boulevard, according to Burbank Sgt. Darin Ryburn. The convenience store worker confronted Lara as she allowed the Slurpee mix to just spill on the floor, he said.

Marcus LoVett Jr., one of the most highly touted sophomore boys' basketball players in the country , has left Providence High, head of school Joe Sciuto said Friday in a statement. Earlier this month, LoVett, the reigning All-Area Boys' Basketball Player of the Year and Burbank Leader Male Athlete of the Year, left the team and didn't compete for the Pioneers in Wednesday's 72-66 loss to Lancaster Desert Christian in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division V-AA playoffs.

A 26-year-old Los Angeles man accused of stabbing to death his girlfriend's son - an 11-year-old student at David Starr Jordan Middle School - pleaded not guilty this week to murder and child abuse charges, officials said. The man, Rineson Adams, was charged with one count each of premeditated murder and child abuse - according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint - and entered his plea on Tuesday. The boy, Jai Lewis, was stabbed multiple times in the chest and neck at around 9 a.m. on Memorial Day at his mother's home in the 200 block of South Carondelet Street in the Westlake District of Los Angeles, police and coroner's officials said.

Burbank Unified officials have postponed a decision to start charging the local chapter of the Boys & Girls Club tens of thousands of dollars for using school facilities after dozens of people came out to oppose the proposal. Burbank Unified has for years looked the other way when it came to collecting fees from the Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and the Greater East Valley to use school facilities, but a recent proposal sought to charge the nonprofit $88,500 in rental and maintenance costs to use 11 sites in 2013-14.

Members of the Burbank Civitan Club once again rolled out the green carpet to members, guests and local dignitaries as they staged their annual St. Patrick's Day Champagne Brunch at the Castaway this past Sunday. A Burbank tradition, once celebrated at the now-gone Genio's Restaurant, this year saw over 250 Civitans and their supporters gather for the 41st time to honor the patron saint of Ireland, while also tipping their green derby hats to the organization's 57th year of service to the community.

As the clock’s hands inched closer to 7 p.m. on Friday evening, photographer Cynthia Alarcon’s eyes darted around the Burbank Creative Arts Center giving everything a final visual nod of approval. In just moments the doors of the gallery would open to unveil her “One Woman’s Journey” exhibit that photographically documents her travels and experiences over the past two decades. The reception, staged to celebrate the opening of Alarcon’s retrospective, was not just a beginning, but also a culmination of a 20-year journey and a yearlong period of reflection.

Finding a quality left-handed relief pitcher is a rare commodity in major league baseball these days. Thus, former Burroughs High baseball star Mike Magnante has enjoyed success and a fine career as a pitcher for 10 years with four major-league clubs. Late Tuesday, Magnante, 37, was designated for assignment by the Oakland Athletics, just days before he was due to be eligible to receive his major-league pension. Players must have at least 10 years of major-league service to earn a pension.

DOWNTOWN — Residents can now track crimes occurring throughout the city on the Burbank Police Department's new online crime-mapping site. The department launched the mapping system this week, which twice a day updates real-time data about burglaries, robberies, homicides and other crimes. The searchable database, crimemapping.com, includes the time, date, offense and location of the incident, which is automatically extracted from the Police Department's catalog. "It's a way for our citizens to go online and get really up-to-date information about crime in the city of Burbank," Police Chief Scott LaChasse said.

Joyce Rudolph The competition was stiff during the first Tennis Ball dinner dance. But no one was near a court. Instead, a superb array of silent auction gifts kept guests running back and forth to the bidding sheets during the fundraiser for the Family Service Agency, now known as Families First in Burbank. City Manager Mary Alvord was mistress of ceremonies and welcomed the more than 200 guests to the Oct. 8 event at The Castaway. A steak-and-salmon dinner was served and dance music was provided by the band Orange Colored Sky. Mayor Marsha Ramos presented Kermit Floyd, president of the board of directors, with a Mayor's Commendation for his financial guidance of the agency.

In response to the three articles in the Leader regarding the shooting of a dog by Officer Anthony Valento, it is unfortunate that the Leader must resort to innuendo-laden articles to sell newspapers. While the shooting of the animal was, indeed, unfortunate, the portrayal of the animal as a friendly family pet and "hero" belies the fact the animal exited the owner's house and bolted across the front lawn onto the sidewalk, mere feet from where Officer Valento was standing on the parkway.

Rudy Droguett has risked his life for the love of his art. The artist, who is in his 70s, has traveled to Africa twice to take pictures of wild animals, which he later uses as subjects in his scratchboard etchings. He's come close to losing his life, he said. During one trip to Kenya, the vehicle he was riding in had a flat tire. There was a lion lying under a tree nearby watching the entourage. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Droguett got out of the vehicle to take a picture.

A 49-year-old Burbank man was arrested after his neighbors caught him slashing their car tires on camera, police said. The man, Garry Keshishyan, was arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism after security footage allegedly showed him slashing tires on two cars parked outside the victims' home in the 800 block of South Bel Aire Drive shortly after noon, according to Burbank Police Lt. Eddie Ruiz. It wasn't the first time the victims, both 32 years old, had their tires slashed, police said.

There was no doubt that the Bellarmine-Jefferson High softball team was the class of the Santa Cruz League this past season. The Guards captured their fourth straight league championship, going undefeated with an 8-0 record. The closest game the Guards experienced in league play was a 5-1 victory over St. Matthias. The other games weren't even close. That success carried over into the playoffs. The Guards capped their season June 1 by defeating Mary Star of the Sea, 8-4, in the CIF Southern Section Division VI championship, giving the program its first title.