Hopefuls

CITY HALL — City Council candidate Garen Yegparian leads in the money race by more than $10,000 after the first campaign expenditure filing deadline, according to filings released Friday. Yegparian culled $20,232 from about 600 donors in the filing period covering Feb. 8 to March 28. He collected 109 campaign contributions of $50 or more. “All along, I have wanted to run a good campaign, a professional campaign, and the reality is that takes money,” Yegparian said.

Armenian American voters have become a key focus for the two candidates running in the June 8 special runoff election for state Assembly, with both attending major community events and winning over key representatives for endorsements. With Glendale school board member Nayiri Nahabedian — the top Armenian American candidate in the April 13 primary — out of the contest, Republican Sunder Ramani, a small-business owner and past president of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce, and Democrat Mike Gatto, an attorney and former district director for Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks)

Claudia Peschiutta BURBANK -- One of the men vying for the local state Senate seat is running a few steps ahead of his opponents. Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-La Crescenta) has some key advantages over his opponents in the 21st state Senate District race -- more money, greater name recognition and a Democratic predecessor. But his Republican challenger, South Pasadena City Councilman Paul Zee, is putting up a good fight in his effort to replace state Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank)

BURBANK ? On a night when millions of Americans were waiting to find out who would win this year's "American Idol" competition, a handful of residents turned out at Burbank's Buena Vista Library to educate themselves about the candidates vying against each other in a very different type of contest. Keith S. Parker of the UCLA Government and Community Relations Department thanked the more than 50 people attending his university's candidates' forum for the 43rd Assembly District and shunning the popular talent show's finale.

Deborah Meron After 10 years of development, the Burbank Civic Plaza was christened Friday by city officials, business owners and residents, who hoped that the plaza would be an engine for growth downtown. Built across from City Hall, the Civic Plaza, 250 E. Olive Ave., is at "one of the best sites in the city," said Chuck Cusumano, co-director of the Burbank-based Cusumano Real Estate Group, which developed the site. The four-story building will provide 60,000 square feet of office space and 6,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor.

Travelers at Bob Hope Airport can expect to see a new batch of aviation artwork coming this fall, as the airfield announced on Monday the winners of its “2013 Tower Banner Student Art Contest.” For the sixth year, the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority invited high school students from the three cities that over see the airfield to submit a piece of aviation-themed artwork - with the winners getting to see their piece enlarged to...

Family members of Bob Hope unveiled a bronze relief sculpture Tuesday at the airport that bears his name. Siblings Linda and Kelly Hope, along with Don Wiegand, the St. Louis-based sculptor who created the bas relief, uncovered the 425-pound sculpture to celebrate the life of comedian Bob Hope. Because her father traveled the world, Linda Hope said it was fitting to display his likeness at the entrance of his namesake airport. Still, his son, Kelly Hope, said the size and scale of the sculpture would likely have made his father pause.

Many in the Pacific League figured that Arcadia High would pose the biggest obstacle in Burroughs’ attempt to win a league championship in boys’ tennis this season. In their first meeting of the year March 9 — which happened to be the league opener for both squads — the Indians had to come on late to earn a two-point victory at home. In their second matchup Tuesday, Burroughs had a chance to clinch at least a share of the league crown with a win at Arcadia.

Claudia Peschiutta LOS ANGELES -- Democratic Party officials say they are ready to regain control of the House of Representatives from Republicans in November, and are confident state Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) is among those who will help them win the few seats they need to do so. Schiff has a good chance of taking the 27th Congressional District seat away from Rep. James Rogan (R-Burbank), Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee leaders told reporters during a news conference at Staples Center during the Democratic National Convention.

Robert Blechl BURBANK -- Local church leaders may have different views about whether Easter in the year 2000 carries special significance for worshipers, but they agree on one thing: the observance of Jesus Christ's resurrection will be on of the most important spiritual days of the year for their congregants. Father Ron Raab of St. Francis Xavier Church said Easter lay at the core of all Christian denominations. "Many people think Christmas is the most important feast of the Christian faith, but it's not," Raab said.