Burbank Leader

Tammy Abbott was cool. Our paths crossed regularly at community events, and she was always good company (“Photographer Tammy Abbott loses battle with cancer,” Sept. 20). I can still see her scrambling about, draped in camera equipment that weighed more than she did, angling for the best shot. She had style and wore great shoes. The news of her passing is sad, and I extend my condolences to all who loved her. Suzy Jacobs Burbank

Tim Willert BURBANK -- The Burbank Leader and its sister papers, the Foothill Leader and the Glendale News-Press, captured nine first- and second-place awards at the 2000 Better Newspapers Contest sponsored by the California Newspaper Publishers Assn. The awards were handed out Saturday in Monterey by a blue-ribbon panel of newspaper judges from outside California. "I think it's a real credit to the editorial staff of the newspapers," said Tom Johnson, Times Community News general manager.

DOWNTOWN — A former editor for the Hollywood Reporter will take the helm at the Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader in April, roughly two months after Danette Goulet announced her intent to step down. Dan Evans, who most recently served as online news editor for the Hollywood Reporter, was announced as Goulet’s replacement in a staff meeting Monday and will take over as director of editorial for four Times Community News titles, including the Crescenta Valley Sun and La Cañada Valley Sun, April 1. Goulet will remain in her position during the transition.

BURBANK ? The Burbank Leader and Glendale News-Press walked away with a total of five awards from the 2005 California Newspaper Publishers Assn. Better Newspapers Contest. The Burbank Leader won four awards in the contest ? first place for Page Layout and Design of a Broadsheet newspaper as well as Sports Coverage for a weekly newspaper with a circulation between 11,001 and 25,000. The Leader won second place for both Local Spot News and Front Page Broadsheet Design for a weekly newspaper with a circulation between 11,001 and 25,000.

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Before zipping up the suitcase to go on that dream vacation this summer, don't forget to pack a copy of the Burbank Leader. As you travel around the globe, take a moment to share the memory with us by snapping a shot of you and your family and friends with the Burbank Leader in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Taj Mahal in India or wherever your heart takes you this vacation season. Send in your photo, a brief description of where you went and when, and the names of everyone in the picture, and we'll print submissions as soon as we can. Mail your photo and vacation tale to the Burbank Leader, 220 N. Glenoaks Blvd.

On Wednesday, you read about the top news stories of 2003. Many times, the most important or exciting stories are not accompanied by the most important or exciting photo- graphs. That's just the nature of the journalism business. So today, the Burbank Leader photography department, made up of Scott Roby, Roger Wilson and Dan Watson, offers what we believe are the best photos of the past year over these two pages. These few photos are just a small collect- ion of the people, places and events that shape Burbank.

Josh Kleinbaum Times Community News, a division of the Los Angeles Times, promoted its 2003 journalist of the year to managing editor of the Glendale News-Press, the Foothill Leader and Burbank Leader. Danette Goulet, 31, will oversee the newsroom operations of the three newspapers beginning Jan. 3, managing a staff of 21 reporters, editors and photographers. "I love a new challenge, and I look forward to helping the Glendale News-Press and the Burbank Leader be the strongest community papers in Southern California," Goulet said.

CORONADO -- For the second consecutive year, the Burbank Leader was honored with a general excellence award in the state's top journalism contest. The newspaper also was honored Saturday at a luncheon at the Hotel del Coronado in the California Newspaper Publishers Assn. 1999 Better Newspapers Contest with a first-place award to Will Rogers' for his columns and commentary, and a second-place award in the front page category. General excellence is considered the top prize a newspaper can win. The winner in the Leader's category was the Sonoma Index-Tribune.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the entire staff of the Burbank Leader for providing me with local news that specifically reflects the concerns and joys of my immediate community. Now that the paper arrives effortlessly with the L.A. Times it is all the more enjoyable. Speaking of enjoyable, my absolute favorite feature of the Burbank Leader is the Saturday Real Estate section. I love the layout, ease of description, size and information about home sales in my community.

The Burbank Leader collected three first-place and two second-place awards in its weekly newspaper category on Saturday in the California Newspaper Publishers Assn.'s annual Better Newspaper Contest. The awards, presented in San Jose during a meeting of the nonprofit trade association, were among 16 collected on behalf of Times Community North by Editor Dan Evans. The paper earned a first-place award for its coverage of local government with articles written by former staff writer Gretchen Meier.

I read the Burbank Leader's final publication of the year and was disappointed and dismayed that there was not a single mention of Burbank's Centennial Year (“Smart meters, golf courses and bears, oh my!” Dec. 31). While smart meters, the golf course and underaged kids drinking were important stories, how could the significance of the city's centennial and the yearlong celebration get lost in a review of the past year? So many individuals and businesses stepped up, even as the city struggled financially, to ensure that a Centennial Celebration worthy of this community would take place.

I am one of the so-called “1%” who is opposed to Walmart moving into Burbank. For someone who doesn't even live in Burbank to call our concerns “common-sense-challenged” is incredibly offensive (“Ignore the 1% who hate Walmart,” Dec. 18). I am also bothered by those who say we who oppose Walmart can solve our issue by simply not shopping there. Clearly these people have not been really listening to what we have been saying. First of all, all Burbank residents who shop in the Empire Center, Costco, the businesses along Victory Place or in the Burbank Terrace shopping center will be affected by the increased traffic that will come to an already over-burdened intersection, as will anyone who has to commute through that area, or who enters or exits the Golden State (5)

Recently, my wife and I journeyed to the Sherman Oaks Galleria looking for furniture. Wow! What an experience! As soon as you leave Burbank, you enter into a totally third-world, decrepit part of North Hollywood. The streets are in dire need of repair, with rundown buildings and homeless derelicts all over the place. Nearing Sherman Oaks, the scene got better, but wait - you couldn't move. The traffic was horrendous, and it was like Times Square at the Galleria. It was a real nightmare.

Tammy Abbott was cool. Our paths crossed regularly at community events, and she was always good company (“Photographer Tammy Abbott loses battle with cancer,” Sept. 20). I can still see her scrambling about, draped in camera equipment that weighed more than she did, angling for the best shot. She had style and wore great shoes. The news of her passing is sad, and I extend my condolences to all who loved her. Suzy Jacobs Burbank

The Burbank City Council this week approved the payment of $39,218 to reimburse the Burbank Leader for court and outside attorney fees in its fight to obtain records on individual bonus payouts, according to attorneys for the paper. The action was not reported at the council's special meeting Thursday evening, and city officials declined to comment on the decision. Under the California Public Records Act, news organizations are able to collect court costs and reasonable attorney fees after prevailing in court.

My tenure here has been a whirlwind of change. Here's the latest: We will be launching the Sunday News-Press and Leader on Jan. 30. In the last two years, we've done quite a bit. We started a blog, The818Now.com , we redesigned the paper, upgraded and modernized our website, and on and on and on. Newspapers, and newspaper companies, can be very staid places. They can be institutions where things stay the same, changing and adapting only when forced. This is not one of those places.

Some people have noted, (mostly) kindly, that topics in this column vary widely. Sometimes it focuses on the newsroom, sometimes on happenings in our area, while other times it opines on life generally. This column is printed in both the Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader. These papers together serve four very distinct areas: Burbank, Montrose, La Crescenta and Glendale proper. I live in Burbank, and have for nearly six years, but it would not be fair or proper to write only about Burbank.

The Burbank Temporary Aid Center has named Will Rogers, former political columnist for The Burbank Leader, as the new chairman of the nonprofit's Board of Directors. The now actor and freelance writer said he has "big shoes to fill" in the wake of Michael Walbrecht, vice president of public affairs at Warner Bros., who will remain on the executive committee. "It's very intimidating to follow [Walbrecht's] two consecutive terms," Rogers said. "He is effective, well-connected, well-liked and I'm very worried about messing all of that up."

A bout a year ago, I wrote in this space about the wonders and occasional trials of cycling to work. I'm proud to say I'm still doing it, more frequently now that the air is warm and the sun sticks around later. The six miles between my home in Burbank and the Burbank Leader world headquarters in Glendale is flat and downright pleasant. The exercise puts me in a better mood once I get to work — something my reporters like — and allows me to blow off steam before getting home — something my wife loves.