Motorcade

Ongoing coverage of the Burbank-area memorial for Michael Jackson from the Burbank Leader and Los Angeles Times. Look here for local impact, and to The Times for regional and international news. Additional updates available via Twitter. Michael Jackson fans flock to Burbank area memorial BURBANK – Hoards of fans surrounded the perimeter of the Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary in the Hollywood Hills this morning, waiting for a caravan of SUVs and limousines carrying the family of Michael Jackson.

Claudia Peschiutta I thought the power blue suit and a purposeful walk would make me blend in. I was wrong. To look like a White House press corps veteran, you need only carry a cheap paperback or a well-worn copy of that day's Washington Post and slump into any given seat. My lesson came during a recent evening spent following President Clinton around Washington, D.C. The moment I walked into the White House press office, it was obvious I was too enthusiastic to blend in with my more seasoned counterparts.

Jacqui Brown In a day-long mission, Marines descended upon the Curves Fitness Center in Burbank in what appeared to be a well-worn sleigh, a 1998 dusty green Humvee. Pfc. Miguel Martinez was behind the wheel, with Lance Cpl. Emilio Castaneda riding shotgun. The pair, dressed for battle, were given direct orders to pick up a huge arsenal of toys that had been collected at the fitness center for the Marines "Toys For Tots" toy drive. Kim Shreve, owner of the Alameda Avenue facility, and Bambi Wojciechowski, from the San Fernando Road Curves, decided to enjoy the event together and combine their gifts at the one location and were thrilled to see the huge vehicle filling with toys donated by club members and others who dropped things off. "We didn't count the gifts, but there were hundreds of them," Shreve said.

Burbank police recruit Robert Jacobson wanted to get up and out from behind his desk job and make a difference in someone’s life. Jacobson made the decision to alter his life forever, so he quit his job as a computer programmer and joined the police academy, he said. “I wanted to make a change,” the 28-year-old Granada Hills resident said. “I wanted something different.” Jacobson’s new life as a police officer will soon be realized.

When President George H.W. Bush wanted Chinese food, he did not have to travel far from the White House. His favorite restaurant was only a few miles away in a nondescript strip mall. Most restaurant reviewers in Washington, D.C., agreed that the food was OK but nothing you would consider “presidential.” I know a place in Burbank that would make “41” stop the motorcade. On your first glance, Sun Moon Garden does not seem that inviting. It is on San Fernando Boulevard inside a rather ordinary strip mall and across the street from a car wash.

Michael Jackson’s funeral Thursday at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park was, for all its anticipation, a relatively subdued affair — absent of the chaos that poured into streets for his Los Angeles memorial in July. The crowd that amassed outside the cemetery’s South Glendale Avenue wrought-iron gates was largely made up of local and international media, who were confined to the perimeter. The funeral service started an hour late, with the 26-vehicle Jackson motorcade arriving about 8:30 p.m. Dozens of fans carried signs and cheered as the motorcade passed Los Feliz Road and Glendale Avenue as Jackson’s music played in the background.

Dear Council Members, I am a senior at Providence High School who just returned from a trip to Washington, D.C. with the Close-Up program. I found the experience wonderful. I have never been what one would call a "serious student" of American history, or a staunch supporter of our government. I was not planning to register to vote once I turned 18. The idea of taking a weeklong trip to Washington sounded great because I got a week away from school, and a week away from my mother.

A motorcade of police motorcycles, custom Harley-Davidsons, a black limousine and an 18-wheel tractor-trailer wound its way through Burbank Tuesday, roaring into Valhalla Memorial Park Tuesday with two special symbols of remembrance. The first was an urn containing the remains of Vietnam veteran Paul Haug, Jr., who died in January. The second was a three-quarter-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The wall travels to 12 to 14 venues throughout the year, giving people nationwide the chance to see a representation of the wall without having to travel across the country, said funeral home manager Javier Fernandez, who is chairman of the event and former member of the Marine Corps.

Like characters from the pages of a history book, alumni from nearly every decade of Burbank High School’s 100-year span paraded down Third Street on Saturday as part of the campus’ centennial celebration. Prom queens of the 1940s resurrected their hand waves while perched atop classic convertibles, former cheerleaders brought back their synchronized pompom drills, and ex-sports stars — some of them in their 60s and 70s — ran down the street as they likely did when coming onto the field in their youth.

Ongoing coverage of the Burbank-area memorial for Michael Jackson from the Burbank Leader and Los Angeles Times. Look here for local impact, and to The Times for regional and international news. Additional updates available via Twitter. Michael Jackson fans flock to Burbank area memorial BURBANK – Hoards of fans surrounded the perimeter of the Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary in the Hollywood Hills this morning, waiting for a caravan of SUVs and limousines carrying the family of Michael Jackson.

Claudia Peschiutta I thought the power blue suit and a purposeful walk would make me blend in. I was wrong. To look like a White House press corps veteran, you need only carry a cheap paperback or a well-worn copy of that day's Washington Post and slump into any given seat. My lesson came during a recent evening spent following President Clinton around Washington, D.C. The moment I walked into the White House press office, it was obvious I was too enthusiastic to blend in with my more seasoned counterparts.