Michael Hastings

BURROUGHS HIGH ? Jay Gudzin remembers when Burroughs High?s Memorial Field was a showplace for athletics. As a football player for the Indians, Gudzin was proud to play in a facility that not only had a rich history, but was an impressive venue. ?When I left Burroughs in 1973, Memorial Field was still in great shape,? Gudzin said. ?It had nice paint and nothing was falling apart. It was still a very nice stadium. ?But nothing has been done to the place since the 1950s.

These days, the lead news stories that proliferate in the print and electronic news media capture the profile of youth as dangerous and explosive. These negative stories are presented daily, one right after another. The question always seems to be, "What's wrong with those young people?" On Sunday, June 10, my wife, son and I attended the Burroughs, Burbank and Monterey high schools' baccalaureate celebration. Our daughter, Lauren, graduated from John Burroughs last week.

The Family Service Agency held its annual Recognition Dinner Saturday evening in the Provenience High School Gym. Hundreds attended the event, which was themed 'An Evening to Celebrate our City, Our Mayors.' Former Burbank High School Principal Bruce Osgood was given the  Mary Alice O'Connor Vision Award. Plenty of past mayors were on hand, such as Michael Hastings, Larry Stamper, Jef Vanderborght, Marsha Ramos, Todd Campbell, Anja Reinke, Dave Golonski, Stacy Murphy, and this years Centennial Mayor Jess Talamantes.  The evening started off with a silent auction of gift baskets and sports memorabilia and gift certificates.

The Burbank Neighbors for Peace and Justice will be tackling the Patriot Act this at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Chris Carson from the League of Women Voters and Jim Lafferty from the National Lawyers Guild will be giving speeches on the legislation. Community members are encouraged to come, ask questions and voice their opinions. The town-hall style meeting will be held in room 2 at McCambridge Park, 1515 N. Glenoaks Blvd. Temporary Aid Center seeks sponsors The Burbank Temporary Aid Center is seeking sponsorships for its glass donor wall at its new facility scheduled to open in March.

COMMUNITY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE The school board filled five vacancies on the Community Oversight Committee for the Expenditure of Bond Proceeds. James Casey, Michael Hastings, Loren Jonkey, Jess Talamantes and Chris Weerts will fill five expiring terms of office on the committee. WHAT IT MEANS The committee's job is to review school construction projects that will use bond proceeds. It oversees construction projects to ensure they are completed on schedule and within budget.

Ben Godar The City Council on Tuesday was expected to throw its support behind a plan to rename the Burbank- Glendale-Pasadena Airport for Bob Hope. The council was scheduled to recommend the name change and review letters that will likely be mailed to the Glendale and Pasadena city councils seeking their support in renaming the airport after the legendary entertainer. Former Burbank Mayor Michael Hastings proposed the change to the council July 29, two days after Hope died at his Toluca Lake home at the age of 100. The proposal is supported by Hope's daughter, Linda, and management at NBC Studios, which had a more than 50-year relationship with the entertainer, Hastings said.

For the ninth year, parishioners and supporters of the Saint Finbar Parish School gathered to bestow the Harvester of Faith Awards at their Harvest Ball fundraiser held at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center this past Friday evening. This annual event, that raises funds to help the families and children of Saint Finbar Parish School who are in need of tuition assistance, also recognizes individuals who have shown extraordinary leadership, inspiration, motivation, compassion and dedication to the school and the parish community.

“Whatever our vocation in life, we can sow the seeds of faith by how we conduct ourselves and by keeping God present in our daily lives,” said St. Finbar Parish's pastor, Father Albert Bahhuth. “Our honorees serve as great role models for us.” Those honorees - Auxiliary Bishop of the San Fernando Region, the Most Reverend Gerald Wilkerson and Dr. Raul Mena, who serves as the director of the Roy and Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center - were presented with 2012 Harvester of Faith Awards at the 10th annual Harvest Ball held at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center last week.

The strength, leadership and vision of Burbank women were honored and celebrated this weekend by the Family Service Agency of Burbank and the La Providencia Guild of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. The Family Service Agency presented the inaugural Mary Alice O’Connor Women of Vision Awards on Friday night at its annual fundraiser at The Castaway restaurant. The recipients were Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Senior Vice President of Studio and Production Affairs Lisa Rawlins ; Cartoon Network Director of Operations Zita Lefebvre ; Burbank City Manager Mary Alvord ; Burbank Police Commissioner Elise Sterns ; Burbank Redevelopment Agency Director Sue Georgino ; Dr. Julie Flad of Learning Architects Inc., and the Burbank Housing Corporation; Parks, Recreation and Community Services Deputy Director of Recreation Teri Stein ; Burbank Mayor Marsha Ramos ; and, posthumously, longtime Family Service Agency board member Julia Larsen . Vice Mayor Dave Golonski and his wife, Barbara Sykes , who coordinated the silent auction, the agency’s executive director, Lauire Bleick , and the organization’s board of directors Zita Lefebvre , the Rev. Ross Purdy , Janet Killian , Michael Wilford , Dave Augustine , Chris Glennon , Kermit Floyd , Randal Karraker , George Mauney , Scott Rife and Mary Alice O’Connor are credited with making...

AIRPORT DISTRICT — Executives at Bob Hope Airport are calling on commissioners to extend a long-term lease with its concessionaire, citing a potential drop in revenue among their reasons not to take new bids. Executive Director Dan Feger maintained that Paradies Shops, which has operated gift shops at the airport since 1994, has “done a very good job of providing concessions,” and that the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority has “a good deal right now.” He added that entering into a contract with at least one competing firm posed a possible conflict of interest.