Charities

With one of their busiest weekends of the year only days away, the John Burroughs High School cheerleaders are polishing their jumps, sharpening their claps and synchronizing their steps. On Friday, the squad is scheduled to perform at a charity basketball game between the school’s faculty and the L.A. Breakers, a team comprising players shorter than 5 feet tall. The next day, the girls will travel to the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, where they will compete in a statewide cheerleading competition.

More than 100 philanthro- pists put on their poker faces to play Texas Hold ’Em at a Boys & Girls Club of Burbank benefit Friday night. “It’s a really popular one for us,” said Shanna Warren, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club. The event consists of several rounds of Texas Hold ’Em, with players’ buy-in money donated to the club. Last year’s event raised about $6,000, but fewer people attended, Warren said. She expected the event to raise around $15,000 this year.

Food, fun and fantastic cars from every era made for a family-style good time Aug. 18 at the Burbank Masonic Lodge 406’s first Charity Car Show. The lodge parking lot featured more than 40 sparkling classic cars with proud owners in tow to answer participants’ questions about the beauties. Lodge member Paul McKenna , who submitted his classic Corvette, enjoyed the day with family and friends. “It’s really a great event for the whole family,” he said.

At 10 years old, painter Valerie Schwade is making a name for herself in the local art world. The Glendale resident's works have been featured as prizes in fundraisers for New Horizons and Holy Family Church in Glendale and Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. Valerie's artistic ability is incredible for her age, said Linda Gaul, manager of senior care services at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center and Providence Holy Cross Medical Center. "She's done some wonderful still-lifes," Gaul said.

BURBANK — Burbank Community Foundation board members are objecting to a city proposal to take over management of the group because it would make their meetings subject to the Brown Act, among other things. Under the terms of the Brown Act all city business must be open to the public, City Manager Mary Alvord said. In other words, if the foundation were to be placed under the city's umbrella, no committee discussions could be private in nature. On Sept. 26, the City Council approved a city staff recommendation to give Community Development Department staffers the duties of an executive director of the six-year-old nonprofit organization, green-lighting negotiations between the foundation and city staff to work out the details of the proposal.

Duck season starts on Friday — but don't dust off that shotgun. On Friday the Kiwanis Club of Glendale is hosting its second annual Incredible Duck Splash fundraiser, where entrants adopt rubber ducks to participate in a race on Oct. 21. This year, the club hopes to raise $200,000 from the event. The official opening of the "2006 Duck Season" will take place at 12:30 p.m. Friday at the fountain of the Glendale City Center Plaza on Brand Boulevard. At the event, people can adopt ducks, listen to presentations and participate in the raffle.

GLENDALE ? A 22-year-old Glendale woman was sentenced to six months in a halfway house and community service Monday for posing as an American Red Cross volunteer and pocketing money under the guise of helping Hurricane Katrina victims, wire reports said. U.S. District Court Judge George King sentenced Gina Liz Nicholas to a term in the halfway house, after which she will remain on probation for 30 months, pay a $1,000 fine and get psychological therapy, reports said. She will perform 20 hours of community service every week, the judge ordered.

organs Candles glowed and carolers sang at the recent Le Bal de Nöel dinner dance gala of the Burbank Chapter of National Charity League. A well-decorated Oakmont Country Club in Glendale was the setting for this year's fundraiser, going on its 47th year, where everyone attending enjoyed a lovely holiday party while they raised funds for local charities. Guests at the Bal were greeted by co-chairwomen, Valerie Nelson and Pam Stumbaugh, both of Glendale. President Nancy Korb introduced special guests, including Barbara Howell, executive director of Burbank Temporary Aid Center.

A Burbank man and a Glendale woman were charged in federal court Monday with false impersonation of American Red Cross members to solicit money under false pretenses. Tino Lee,44, of Burbank, and Gina Liz Nicholas, 22, of Glendale, were charged by the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles for impersonating American Red Cross volunteers taking donations for Hurricane Katrina relief outside an electronics store in Burbank. Lee and Nicholas were taken into federal custody on Monday morning by FBI agents at the Burbank Police Department jail, where they had been held since their arrest Thursday night at the Empire Center shopping center.

Before there was hip-hop, there was car-hop, a style of service that has all but disappeared, with one happy exception. Every Friday and Saturday night, you can find it at Bob's Big Boy restaurant In Toluca Lake. The place is swell. Teeny boppers and hep cats, squares and swing daddies can all be found there enjoying the same diner fare that Bob's has been dishing out since 1949. The building has been preserved in its original form earning it recognition as a Historical Place of Interest.