Burbank City Hall

Ryan Carter BURBANK -- Pet photographs are being accepted now from owners of pets adopted at the Burbank Animal Shelter for the city's Pets of Burbank 2002 calendar. Pets and owners must live in Burbank, and pets must have been adopted from the Burbank Animal Shelter. Some of the entries will be included in the calendar. To enter, send in by Nov. 5 your name, the pet's name, the date the pet was adopted, a description of the animal, name of persons in photo with pet, address and phone number to Burbank Public Information Office, Burbank City Hall, 275 E. Olive Ave., Burbank, CA 91502.

New Burbank Unified School District Board of Education members will be installed at the board's regular meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday. The meeting will be in council chambers at Burbank City Hall, 275 E. Olive Ave., and will be televised on Charter Cable Channel 6. City Clerk Margarita Campos will administer the oaths of office to Ted Bunch, Dave Kemp and Paul Krekorian. The new members will join existing board members Trish Burnett and Connie Lackey. Once new members are sworn in, the board will elect its president, vice president and clerk.

Local residents and businesses are being urged to boost Burbank's holiday spirit by entering the city's 18th annual Holiday Decorating Contest. Entry forms, which have been delivered in all the city's utility bills and are available at libraries and in the City Clerk's office, must be submitted by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12. Entries also can be submitted on a plain sheet of paper with the entrant's name, address, phone number and category and mailed to Civic Pride, Public Information Office, Burbank City Hall, 275 E. Olive Ave., Burbank, CA 91502.

Gary Moskowitz CIVIC CENTER -- The school board will hear a report on Burbank Unified's 2000-01 annual financial report Thursday. The Burbank Unified School District's Board of Education will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday at Burbank City Hall, 275 E. Olive Ave. in Burbank. Caroline Brumm, coordinator of student and program evaluation for the district, will report on the development of alternative schools' accountability models for the Community Day School and Monterey High School.

Karen S. Kim MEDIA DISTRICT NORTH -- This month is Plant-a-Tree Month, and Burbank residents are asked to pitch in their dollars to "green" a city park. Sponsored by the Burbank Civic Pride Committee, the event will raise funds toward purchasing new trees for Robert E. Lundigan Park at 2701 Thornton Ave. Residents are asked to make donations of at least $10 to the committee's effort. Donors who make their contributions before March 21 will be awarded certificates at a culmination ceremony on March 29. The ceremony will be at 2 p.m. March 29 at Lundigan Park.

NEWS Dividing up the spoils The City Council has $4 million in surplus funds to be divided between a new central library and traffic and street improvements. See Page A6 ENJOY! Success on and off the stage Couple celebrate the success of their marriage and theater's longevity by opening a new play. See Enjoy!, Page A11 HOLIDAY CLOSURES Burbank City Hall will be closed Monday in observance of Presidents Day. Regular trash pick-up is scheduled.

League of Women Voters forum The League of Women Voters Glendale-Burbank will host a candidate forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the City Council Chambers at Burbank City Hall, 275 E. Olive Ave. The April 13 special election will fill the vacant seat for the 43rd Assembly District. The forum is open to the public and will be recorded and televised live on Burbank TV6. The league is soliciting questions from the public for candidates. To submit questions, call (818) 247-2407, or visit lwvglendaleburbank.

A future Walmart in Burbank dominated the public discourse in 2011, sparking protests at City Hall, new Facebook pages opposing the retailer's move into the city and divided opinions among residents - and it's only just begun. Walmart is scheduled to open near the Empire Center in early 2013, according to spokesman Steve Restivo.  The mega-retailer's sometimes rocky road to Burbank started in early July when news broke that the Walmart Real Estate Business Trust had purchased 12 acres where a 120,000-square-foot Great Indoors store was located.

As Burbank begins its centennial festivities, we need to remember that what we're really celebrating is 100 years of self government. And the "kick-off" event is the election for City Council and Burbank Unified School District Board of Education on Feb. 22. As part of this election, the League of Women Voters Glendale/Burbank will be presenting a candidate forum at 7 p.m. Jan. 19 in the City Council chambers. Timed to occur just before the all mail-in ballots go into the mail, and rebroadcast on Burbank TV6 and streamed on the Burbank TV website, it gives all our citizens many opportunities to watch the forum and make an informed judgment on how they want to vote.

To explore the outer limits of open government, look no further than Burbank City Hall, where there are things under lock and key that even City Council members aren't privileged to see. So powerful are state laws preventing disclosure of police personnel records that it appears only a handful of people are able to view the complete findings of a recent probe into allegations of misconduct at the Burbank Police Department. And even though it was the council who in January authorized the $200,000 needed for former San Luis Obispo Police Chief James Gardiner to conduct his investigation, they're not on that exclusive list.

Candidates in the April 13 special primary election to fill a vacancy in the 43rd Assembly District will head to Burbank City Hall at 7 tonight for a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Glendale/Burbank. The following are brief descriptions of each of the four candidates, three of whom have never served in public office. If no candidate receives more than 50% of votes, the election will proceed to a runoff contest June 8 between the top vote-getters from each party.

League of Women Voters forum The League of Women Voters Glendale-Burbank will host a candidate forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the City Council Chambers at Burbank City Hall, 275 E. Olive Ave. The April 13 special election will fill the vacant seat for the 43rd Assembly District. The forum is open to the public and will be recorded and televised live on Burbank TV6. The league is soliciting questions from the public for candidates. To submit questions, call (818) 247-2407, or visit lwvglendaleburbank.

TODAY Shakespeare At Play, based in Burbank, will have a Bingo Fundraiser at 7 p.m. at Hamburger Mary’s, 8288 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. The suggested donation for 10 rounds of bingo is $20. For more information, call (818) 566-1925. FRIDAY “A Christmas Carol,” a musical adaptation of the holiday tale by Charles Dickens, opens at Glendale Centre Theatre, 324 N. Orange St., Glendale. Mario Di Gregario stars as Ebenezer Scrooge.

When Hernando Cervantes emigrated from Barranquilla, Colombia, to Burbank eight years ago, the 39-year-old architect-turned- construction project manager said he couldn’t name a single city leader, let alone a department or social-service program. “When you come, you can’t afford the time to study,” Cervantes said. “We have a lot of miscommunication in the community.” Three years ago, Cervantes began taking English classes at Burbank Adult School, eventually joining the school’s Advisory Committee.