Drinking Water

Paul Clinton GLENDALE -- Asserting the agency's primary goal is to set an equitable rate structure for its member cities in the future, Metropolitan Water District officials said they have no objection to Burbank conducting an audit into the financing of its new headquarters. In an interview with the Leader, MWD spokesman Adan Ortega denied the water agency improperly borrowed money from a surplus fund to finance the $130-million building -- as Burbank officials have charged.

The business of recycling the mounds and mounds of trash in Burbank continues to exceed state and national averages as the city forges ahead on its push for zero waste. "Our overall recycle rate in the city is really very good," recycling coordinator Kreigh Hampel said. "We've got a really healthy recycling program here." Zero waste refers to the goal of reusing as much as waste possible. Burbank recycled 52% of its waste in 2006 and has operated at about a 60% overall average over the past several years, he said.

Former California State Assembly Majority Leader Dario Frommer joined the law firm Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP's California Government Practice Group at its Los Angeles office, the law firm's spokesperson said on Dec. 12. Frommer served three terms spanning six years in the state legislature representing the 43rd Assembly District. His last day in office was Nov. 30. The law firm's Government Practice Group represents clients in legislative, administrative, enforcement and contract matters concerning federal, state and local governments.

BURBANK — The Environmental Protection Agency has filed a complaint against a metal-processing company in Burbank, citing hazardous-waste violations at its facility on Spazier Avenue. The complaint alleges that by-products of metal plating work from All Metals Processing Co. are seeping through the inside walls of the facility into the ground within 10 feet of a nearby storm-water canal. The company offers plating services for metals, said EPA spokesman Dean Higuchi. "A lot of companies — whether they do metal plating or they process metals — do use hazardous materials that when they're spent and they're used, they then become classified as hazardous wastes," he said.

Molly Shore New signs posted in all Burbank schools warn of potentially hazardous effects from food and drinks served on campus, but district officials say the signs are more about complying with state law than about any real health concerns at local schools. The signs, which went up for the first time this year in all Burbank Unified schools, warn that "chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer, or birth defects or other reproductive harm, may be present in foods or beverages sold or served here."

Laura Sturza Months of knocking on doors paid off for architect Jef Vander Borght and environmental policy director Todd Campbell, who won seats on the Burbank City Council in Tuesday's election. "I'm extremely humbled," said Campbell, policy director for the Coalition for Clean Air. "I always thought that all of the candidates were very qualified." Incumbent Councilman Vander Borght, 51 made his first run for a council seat, having been appointed to the post by the council after former mayor Bob Kramer resigned in March 2002.

Paul Clinton CIVIC CENTER -- Burbank's crusade against the Metropolitan Water District kicked into high gear Monday when city officials grilled the agency's brass about their spending policies in a closed-door meeting at City Hall. Councilman Bob Kramer, who has been leading the charge, had previously asked MWD officials to attend a council meeting to explain how the agency paid for its $182-million headquarters building in downtown Los Angeles. He said he would ask the council to approve an independent audit of the MWD. During Monday's meeting, MWD General Manager Ron Gastelum agreed to Kramer's request to attend a council meeting to discuss the agency's finances but he defended its record in managing the public's money.

ON THE AGENDA The following items will be discussed at Tuesday’s Burbank City Council meeting: HYDROGEN FUELING STATION The council is considering approving an agreement between the city and Environmental Science Associates to upgrade Burbank’s hydrogen fueling station at the City Yard on Lake Street. The project would cost $100,500 and will be paid for by Chrysler Corp. and/or British Petroleum. WHAT TO EXPECT The station would upgrade the existing facility.

Jeff Klemzak of La Crescenta owns a roofing business. "The Pianist," Roman Polanski's tale of one man's journey through the Warsaw Ghetto during the Nazi occupation, is one of the finest films I've seen in quite some time. The story is told with a richness and depth that carries the viewer on an emotional see-saw, from the heights of superbly performed classical music to the depths of Nazi depravity. Adrien Brody plays Wladyslaw Szpilman, a famous concert pianist whose work was familiar to Polish listeners in the days just prior to World War II. Szpilman and his family are forced by the Nazis from their comfortable Warsaw home into spare and unheated quarters in the living hell of the newly created Jewish ghetto.

Buck Wargo and Paul Clinton BURBANK -- As state and federal water regulators begin drafting safety standards for a cancer-causing form of chromium found in Burbank wells, city officials are reassuring residents that it's still safe to drink the water. City water officials have long known about the presence of hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium 6, in city wells. However, by the time water reaches Burbank businesses and homes it has been diluted enough to meet health standards, Public Service Department Assistant Manager Fred Lantz said.