Flags

Ryan Carter BURBANK -- Police are searching for someone who stole several American flags this week and vandalized others. On Wednesday and Thursday, police received at least six complaints of thefts and at least one report from a witness who saw someone take a flag from a front yard and tear it up, Burbank Police Lt. Kevin Krafft said. Many of the reports came from neighborhoods above Glenoaks Boulevard, between Olive Avenue and the Glendale border, Krafft said.

NORTH HOLLYWOOD ? A troop of Boy Scouts, military veterans and Burbank community members traversed Valhalla Memorial Park, posting small American flags on the headstones of deceased service men and women. The ceremony ushered in the Memorial Day weekend for Burbank, said Burbank Troop 201 Assistant Scoutmaster Harold Schierholt. "Every year we come to Valhalla to celebrate the beginning of Memorial Day, to honor the soldiers who paid the ultimate prices for our country," he said.

Ryan Carter BURBANK -- Police are investigating a series of thefts of American flags from businesses and homes throughout the city, police said. Between Sept. 14 and 18, at least six flags were stolen from the 3800 block of West Burbank Boulevard, the 200 block of North 1st Street and the 1400 block North Evergreen Street, said Burbank Police Sgt. Bill Taylor. Why the flags were taken is not known, Taylor said, adding the thefts could be because people wanted the symbols for themselves or by people upset by the recent wave of patriotism that has draped the nation and the city.

How soon we forget -- it is seven months since Sept. 11, the day of America's awakening. Today, as I drove to L.A. for morning meetings, I counted seven cars with flags of remembrance in a half-hour drive. In the parking structure that holds over 1,000 cars, I noted a total of 14 cars out of approximately 700 with flags. On my trip home from L.A. there were no cars with flags to be seen in my half-hour drive. How soon we forget here in California, as it is "not in my backyard."

Burbank residents sought out different ways to react to Tuesday's terrorist activities at the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon. Some attended prayer vigils, some stocked up on supplies at the local surplus store and others took part in moments of silence for the thousands who have perished. Many residents have taken comfort in hanging American flags outside their homes and around the city. The 14 or more houses along the 1200 block of North Lima Street in Burbank were lined with American flags, and neighbors shared concerns with each other about the tragic events that occurred this week.

Molly Shore MAGNOLIA PARK -- Walt Disney Elementary School resembled a miniature United Nations Tuesday night when children and adults joined in the school's 11th annual Multicultural Night. The event is the school's largest during the year, Principal Linda Reksten said. The event celebrates the diversity of world cultures as participants show up in ethnic costumes and families bring foods of their native lands for a giant potluck dinner. Music teacher Robyn Kreisberg directed the entertainment portion of the evening.

Laura Sturza Rabbi Paula Reimers and her former Temple Emanu El congregants are not unique in ending their relationship because of ideological differences. But in her case, Reimers did not welcome the change. Her last day was July 31, when her contract ended. "I loved that congregation," Reimers said. "I served for seven years, and I really cared about them." As a result of Reimers having spoken against human-rights violations in Israel and elsewhere, members of the temple's board of directors let her know she should "stay away from politics," Temple President Rachel Robbins said.

The City Council voted to approve a resolution to allocate $207,000 toward youth task force programs. The programs include the Police Youth Rewards Program, Teens in Action Media Communications Team and high school as well as middle school counseling. What it Means The funds will be allocated to fund the youth task force programs. Vote 4-1 The council directed staff to return with additional information concerning the use of temporary real estate open house flags and pennants on private residential properties.

Volunteers needed to deliver holiday cheer Volunteers are needed to help the Burbank Coordinating Council?s annual Holiday Basket Program, which provides nonperishable food items, gifts and toys for lower-income families. Volunteers will be assembling the baskets from 1 to 8 p.m. Friday and delivering them from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Washington Elementary School, 2322 N. Lincoln St., Burbank. The entrance is through the gate on Lincoln Street. For more information, call Janet Diel at (818)

Good morning, readers. Today is Monday, November 5. The calendar may say November, but today's weather says otherwise. Record-breaking temperatures are expecting to hit the region this evening, with daytime highs expected to reach into the mid-90s throughout the San Fernando Valley. Los Angeles Times Authorities have issued a red flag warning for Los Angeles and Ventura Counties , citing the high temperatures, low humidity and dry vegetation as a risk for wildfires.

It's no secret the Flappers Comedy Club is nearing its opening date of Sept. 11. The 1920s-inspired marquee is up and turning quite a few heads on the corner of Magnolia Boulevard and First Street, according to partners of the new dining and comedy performance venue. "The signage is so large, people think we own the whole block," quipped Barbara Holliday, co-partner of the venture with Dave Reinitz. "It feels perfect. People are driving by commenting that we look old school — like we've been here forever.

Juan Gomez wiped sweat from his forehead in between planting scores of American flags Friday on the grassy area outside Burbank Community Day School. “I should be home eating, but I came out early to help out,” he said. He was one of eight students at 7:30 a.m. putting the finishing touches on a 9/11 memorial that students had been researching for two weeks. Thirty minutes later, the rest of his 45 schoolmates had arrived, and the students’ mural, six posters and about 1,000 U.S. flags dotted the exterior of Burbank Community Day School at the corner of San Fernando Boulevard and Santa Anita Avenue.

Boy Scout Troop 204 is the only troop in the Verdugo Hills Council that performs the Historic Flag Ceremony at patriotic events in the community. Members display five designs of the American flag that mark historic times in our country’s past. Troop 204 is made up of boys who live in Burbank and Glendale and is part of the Verdugo Hills Council Boy Scouts of America. The troop, which is sponsored by the Burbank Noon Kiwanis Club, has conducted the ceremony for events like the Noon Kiwanis’ Pause for the Pledge, an event that pays tribute to the Pledge of Allegiance on Flag Day, June 14. The Historic Flag Ceremony was created in 1971 by Burbank resident Sam Engel Sr., a member of the Boy Scouts for 67 years and former scoutmaster of Troop 204. A World War II veteran, Engel wrote the script for a ceremony to dedicate a new flag the troop purchased after two others were taken from an equipment room, one flag in 1969 and another in 1970, he said.

CITY HALL — Burbank Realtors, devastated by a waning supply of residential properties on the market, will get some help under an ordinance unanimously approved by the City Council last week and ratified Tuesday. With an eye toward the tumbling economy, city officials agreed to allow Realtors to place temporary open-house pennants on for-sale homes while conducting sales events along with an additional “for sale” sign from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays, and from noon to dusk weekends and holidays.

The City Council voted to approve a resolution to allocate $207,000 toward youth task force programs. The programs include the Police Youth Rewards Program, Teens in Action Media Communications Team and high school as well as middle school counseling. What it Means The funds will be allocated to fund the youth task force programs. Vote 4-1 The council directed staff to return with additional information concerning the use of temporary real estate open house flags and pennants on private residential properties.

Volunteers needed to deliver holiday cheer Volunteers are needed to help the Burbank Coordinating Council?s annual Holiday Basket Program, which provides nonperishable food items, gifts and toys for lower-income families. Volunteers will be assembling the baskets from 1 to 8 p.m. Friday and delivering them from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Washington Elementary School, 2322 N. Lincoln St., Burbank. The entrance is through the gate on Lincoln Street. For more information, call Janet Diel at (818)

BURBANK — At 4 p.m. on Thursday, more than 50 men, women and children stood in the Burbank Tennis Center with their hands over their hearts. As they recited the Pledge of Allegiance, they joined Americans all across the county who were observing Flag Day with the "Pause for Pledge of Allegiance" — when people in all of the nation's time zones salute the flag at the exact same time. As a part of the ceremony, Boy Scouts in uniform marched five flags out to the center of the assembly as a pre-recorded narrative traced the flag's evolution from its original design — the red cross of St. George and the white cross of St. Andrew juxtaposed over a red background — to the present-day banner of 13 stripes and 50 stars.

By a Joint Resolution on June 9, 1966, the Congress requested the president to issue annually a proclamation designating the week in which June 14 occurs as National Flag Week and calling upon citizens to display the flag during that week. On June 20, 1985, the 99th Congress passed and President Ronald Reagan signed Public Law 99-54 recognizing the Pause For the Pledge of Allegiance as part of National Flag Day activities. For the 11th successive year, individuals of all ages, race, religion, national origin, political and economic status alike gathered together on June 14 — Flag Day — at the Burbank Tennis Center at McCambridge Park to join the rest of our country in a national recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.