Citys

It was extremely disappointing to read your critique of the Burbank city clerk's office regarding the February election (“ City revises vote-count plan for April election ,” March 16). For years, this office has done incredible work for the citizens of Burbank, properly placing the highest priority on the accuracy of our election results. They have been very proactive in working with the post office to be sure that the maximum amount of ballots can be delivered on a timely basis to their office.

Dave Golonski has been our councilperson for the past 20 years. During that time Burbank has flourished while other cities have floundered. Golonski has been a leader and innovator on the council. He has put forth ideas that have benefited our community, including infrastructure enhancements, creative financing plans and projects to benefit our children. He has led the way for controlled growth, limiting airport expansion and large multi-family projects while helping bring in business and retail establishments that have helped keep Burbank progressing.

After last year's hiatus due to budget cuts, the Easter Egg-Stravaganza is returning to Burbank this month, despite concerns from city officials that time and funding constraints could compromise the quality of the event. Noting that the holiday celebration has been “overwhelmingly well-received” in the past, the Burbank City Council Tuesday pushed for its rebirth and expressed confidence that officials could pull off a scaled-back version in just two weeks. The event is scheduled for 9 a.m., March 30. Two years ago, roughly 1,600 parents and children flocked to McCambridge Park for egg hunts, carnival games and visits with the Easter Bunny, leaving the city's tab at roughly $14,000.

In my mind, it is necessary to unseat City Council members Dave Golonski and Jess Talamantes to have a fair, democratic-way attitude on the council. As I see it, there will be no change in action as the three powerhouse council members can override any action to be taken by the other two council members. To have a fruitful gain, we need David Gordon and David Nos to be seated next to Robert Frutos. Only then will we capitalize on a grass-roots change in the Burbank council chamber in a democratic way. With an action vote, Burbank voters will be deleting the scripted, toxic powerhouse of three.

A former Burbank police officer has filed a federal lawsuit against the city alleging that he was wrongfully terminated in retaliation for suing the city four years ago for racial discrimination and harassment. The lawsuit was filed last week in U.S. District Court by Elfego Rodriguez, who was one of five officers who sued the city for racial discrimination and harassment in 2009. Rodriguez was ultimately dropped from the joint lawsuit by a judge. It marks the latest lawsuit filed by former and current police officers that center on discrimination and wrongful termination.

Last season, the Providence High girls' basketball team went into the CIF State Basketball Championships with wide-eyed wonder. The Pioneers program had never participated in state competition and the team ventured blindly into uncharted territory. But Providence made it seem like it had been there before, defeating Rock Academy, 68-35, and then Orangewood Academy, 44-34, before advancing to the regional semifinals. In the game, Providence saw its season come to an end with a 64-28 loss to Mission Prep.

It's crunch time for the four City Council hopefuls, who have less than a month to knock on as many doors and raise as much money for their campaigns as possible before ballots are mailed out for the April 9 general election. The stakes were raised for the three incumbents after challenger Robert Frutos won one of three seats outright in the primary on Tuesday, leaving just two remaining seats. As of last week, the incumbents had raised roughly an equal amount of money - David Gordon and Dave Golonski were hovering around $8,500; Jess Talamantes was slightly higher at $9,150.

A brush fire is threatening homes along the Cahuenga Pass. The fire broke out around 2:30 p.m. Thursday near Universal City off the 101 Freeway. [Updated 4:30 p.m.: Los Angeles firefighters put out a brush fire that for a time threatened homes Thursday along the Cahuenga Pass. ] TV footage showed firefighters battling the fire, which was burning near some hillside homes. They were being aided by a lack of strong winds. Continue reading > > -- Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times

Robert Frutos claimed enough votes after Tuesday's primary to clinch a seat on the City Council, bypassing the need to compete in the April 9 general election and forcing the three incumbents into a match up in which only two seats remain. With all 42 precincts reporting by 12:45 a.m. Wednesday, Frutos claimed 53% of the vote. It was sweet revenge for a candidate who just two years ago lost the same race by 86 votes. Reached by phone, earlier in the evening, Frutos said he was “very honored and blessed people have confidence in my candidacy.” Incumbents David Gordon and Jess Talamantes rounded out the top three, with 4,670 and 4,319 votes, respectively.

With just eight out of 42 precincts reporting in the Burbank primary election, City Council challenger Robert Frutos has the early lead, but the results could change significantly as new reports start coming in. As of 10:55 p.m., Frutos led the six candidate field with 1,076 votes. Incumbents Jess Talamentes and David Gordon rounded out the top three, with 988 and 980 votes, respectively, city officials reported. Incumbent Dave Golonski came in at No. 4 with 725 votes. Dave Nos and Juan Gullien Jr. rounded out the field fifth and sixth place, respectively.