Buena Vista Street

BURBANK — High winds knocked out power to several areas of Burbank on Tuesday after an abrupt storm sent debris sliding into station transformers. Beginning at just after noon, service from three stations was disrupted as a result of palm tree fronds snapping off trees and interfering with distribution systems, said Greg Simay, assistant general manager of Burbank Water and Power. Some residences in the Media District, offices at NBC and the Disney Corp. and Providence St. Joseph's Medical Center were affected, he said.

Here we go again. I would like to see Kate Cannon's list of reasons Alameda Avenue and Main Street is a perfectly suitable site ("Driven out of town by backward thinking," Commentary, March 10). It is a T intersection and north has limited egress and ingress. The fact that "Whole Foods poured thousands" into the project, as Cannon says, is no reason to put anything anywhere. Money spent is no criteria for approval of a project. As far as "official studies" contradicting "fearful speculation about increased traffic," I was once able to get from Toluca Lake to Staples in about six minutes.

MAGNOLIA PARK — Residents opposed to a city proposal that would eliminate street parking near Verdugo Avenue and Buena Vista Street have rebuffed four alternative plans that aimed to quell community concerns while bringing Verdugo lane widths within state standards. The city's traffic department sent out letters to area residents in January notifying them about the planned removal of 100 to 150 feet of street parking on both sides of Verdugo to accommodate wider travel lanes.

Ebenezer Scrooge strolled down Magnolia Boulevard on Friday night with his top hat and cane in hand and greeted children in his crackly voice. Except Scrooge wasn't the grouch that he's known to be. He stopped to tell jokes and asked children what they wanted for Christmas during the Holiday in the Park Celebration and Open House at Magnolia Park. Hundreds came out to join in on the longtime Burbank tradition that stretched along Magnolia Boulevard, between Pass Avenue and Buena Vista Street.

TODAY Author John Dean will speak about his new book, "Conservatives without Conscience" at 7 p.m. in the Glendale Public Library auditorium, 222 E. Harvard St., Glendale. For more information, call (818) 548-2042. Burbank Center for the Retarded presents its annual holiday program at 7 p.m. at St. Francis Xavier Church's Holy Cross Hall, 3801 Scott Road, Burbank. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. for the silent auction, bake sale, boutique and raffle. All proceeds will benefit programs from children and adult with developmental disabilities.

Send DATEBOOK items to Burbank Leader, 111 W. Wilson Ave., Suite 200, Glendale, CA 91203 or fax to (818) 241-1975. Submissions must be received two weeks before publication. SATURDAY "Waiting for Lefty" by Clifford Odets continues at 8 p.m. today in the Glendale Community College Auditorium Mainstage Theatre. Melissa Randel is the director of the Theatre Arts Department production. The final performance at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $10, $6 students and seniors and $4 each for groups of 10 or more.

The Burbank Police were investigating an incident Tuesday in which a car was clipped by a Metrolink train at the Buena Vista Street and San Fernando Boulevard crossing. There were no injuries from the incident that happened just before 5 p.m., Burbank Police spokesman Sgt. Jay Jette said. "There wasn't even any bent metal; it was just a paint transfer," Jette said of the damage. The crossing was the site of a fatal collision Jan. 6 between a car and a Metrolink station in which an 76-year-old Glendale woman was killed.

Mayor Jef Vander Borght wants state to quicken pace of underpass project at San Fernando Boulevard and Buena Vista Street crossing.MEDIA DISTRICT NORTH -- City officials and an area lawmaker are urging Caltrans to speed up construction of an underpass at the San Fernando Boulevard and Buena Vista Street railroad crossing following a fatal Jan. 6 Metrolink collision at the intersection. Mayor Jef Vander Borght called Assemblyman Dario Frommer following the collision at the crossing, which killed 76-year-old Glendale resident Maureen Osborn after a Metrolink train slammed into her car. "It can be done ahead of schedule," Vander Borght said.

Metrolink train slams into vehicle at Buena Vista Street and San Fernando Road three years to the day of previous fatal accident.FOR THE RECORD A Saturday Page A1 story, "Collision kills woman," incorrectly reported that the Metrolink line opened in 1975. The story should have stated that it opened in 1992. . . . . . . . . . . . MEDIA DISTRICT NORTH -- A 76-year-old Burbank woman was killed Friday morning when a Metrolink train struck her car at the Buena Vista Street and San Fernando Road crossing.