Nation

MorrowFor all of us who grumble that movies offer up little of value, "Good Night and Good Luck" is here. You may have to hunt for a theater to see it, in spite of the film grossing a staggering $38,000 per screen early on. But when you do find a screening, it will be like finding a polished diamond in a mountain of slag. To call this film a George Clooney spectacular might be misleading. We have come to expect extravagance from this "s" word, something this film is not. It is spare and smoky (both literally and figuratively)

In the opening and closing scenes of the movie "Saving Private Ryan," Ryan visits the grave of the officer who risked his life to save Ryan from death while fighting the Nazis during World War II. "I hope that, at least, in your eyes, I've earned what all of you have done for me," he says as he reflects many years earlier. It's a question that everyone should ask on Monday ? Memorial Day. We may not all agree with this nation's wars. But the sacrifices service men and women have made, and continue to make on behalf of a nation, must never be forgotten.

"As commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense, that always will our nation remember the character of the onslaught against us." -- Franklin Roosevelt, Dec. 8, 1941. The Empire of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, changed our nation and the world. Yet 64 years later, it seems we are struggling with the lessons from the day that "will live infamy." On that day, our nation was unprepared for the attacks that killed more than 2,000 Americans.

Fitting time for a Fourth of July “This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and prosper.” Franklin D. Roosevelt, March 4, 1933 It is not going to be easy to forget the 233rd birthday of America in the year 2009! America is sick. She will only regain her health when all of us, together, decide she should, because this is not 1933.

Marcus LoVett Jr., one of the most highly touted sophomore boys' basketball players in the country , has left Providence High, head of school Joe Sciuto said Friday in a statement. Earlier this month, LoVett, the reigning All-Area Boys' Basketball Player of the Year and Burbank Leader Male Athlete of the Year, left the team and didn't compete for the Pioneers in Wednesday's 72-66 loss to Lancaster Desert Christian in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division V-AA playoffs.

As the clock’s hands inched closer to 7 p.m. on Friday evening, photographer Cynthia Alarcon’s eyes darted around the Burbank Creative Arts Center giving everything a final visual nod of approval. In just moments the doors of the gallery would open to unveil her “One Woman’s Journey” exhibit that photographically documents her travels and experiences over the past two decades. The reception, staged to celebrate the opening of Alarcon’s retrospective, was not just a beginning, but also a culmination of a 20-year journey and a yearlong period of reflection.

Reforming America's immigration laws to allow undocumented immigrants to apply for citizenship has long been seen as a cause championed by liberals. But now a group that's not exactly known for liberal ideas has joined the call to relax immigration laws: the Southern Baptist Convention. The convention is joining with other evangelical groups to spend $250,000 on a media campaign to support a bill that would allow America's 11 million unauthorized immigrants to apply for citizenship.

Keeping up with area athletes competing in college . Western Nelson (Burroughs High, 2009) Cal State San Marcos men's cross-country : The former Indians standout earned All-America honors and helped the Cougars to a second-place finish at the 2011 National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics National Championships on Nov. 19. The Cougars came into the race at Fort Vancouver, Wash. as the No. 8 team, but finished the season at No. 2 after the runner-up finish. San Marcos returned to the podium for the first time since a fourth-place place finish in 2003.

I regard Burbank as a cutting-edge and progressive city. However, I was extremely disheartened to find that the city is behind the curve in the national effort to ban the sale of puppies and kittens in pet stores. Puppies for sale in pet stores usually come from puppy mills, which breed dogs for profit only, keeping puppies and dogs in cruel and inhumane conditions. These puppies are often abused and quite ill. People looking for a lovable companion will find an abundance of loving puppies and dogs in the Burbank and Los Angeles animal shelters, desperately waiting for a home.

Becca Murray got her first taste of collegiate national championship competition as a freshman last season at Texas A&M University. However, as some her teammates were busy winning a title at the Varsity Equestrian National Championships, Murray wasn't chosen as one of the Aggies' riders and didn't get the opportunity to compete. "Even though I didn't compete last year, it was kind of nice to be able to just watch everybody and see what happens at the competition," said Murray, a 2009 Burbank High graduate.

Look no further than John Burroughs High School to find the national grand champions of all high school choirs in the United States. After months - and for some students, years - of work, two choir teams at John Burroughs High School secured the greatest prizes in the high school show choir world when they performed before 4,800 people and several judges at the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago on April 27. When the Powerhouse team of 52 students took...

Burbank Water and Power has been nationally recognized for its Green Home House Call program, which provides water-saving and energy-efficient products to roughly 850 Burbank homes a year - for free. The Washington D.C.-based American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy called the three-year-old program “exemplary” and noteworthy for its “effectiveness and innovation” in bringing energy efficiency to homes and businesses, officials said. “These programs are delivering energy savings that are critical in helping customers reduce their energy costs, plus they make an important environmental contribution by reducing pollution from the use of fossil fuels,” Dan York, the council's utilities program director, said in a statement.

I regard Burbank as a cutting-edge and progressive city. However, I was extremely disheartened to find that the city is behind the curve in the national effort to ban the sale of puppies and kittens in pet stores. Puppies for sale in pet stores usually come from puppy mills, which breed dogs for profit only, keeping puppies and dogs in cruel and inhumane conditions. These puppies are often abused and quite ill. People looking for a lovable companion will find an abundance of loving puppies and dogs in the Burbank and Los Angeles animal shelters, desperately waiting for a home.

In a highly anticipated matchup, two of the top sophomores in the nation--Marcus LoVett Jr. of Providence and Aaron Holiday of Campbell Hall-- squared off in a nonleague game on Wednesday . LoVett won the personal battle, dropping 47 points, more than half his team's total, while Holiday finished with 40 after fouling out with three minutes left in the game. Campbell Hall secured final bragging rights, however, surviving a torrid run by the Pioneers late in regulation to earn a 91-86 overtime victory.

A massive manhunt for a missing FBI agent, the surprise departure of the city's chief executive, a National Teacher of the Year, tragic suicide and long-sought closure for the family of a murdered Burbank police officer. The year 2012 was full of twists and turns, surprise and tragedy. Here's a look back at some of the top stories that reverberated throughout the community, and far beyond. Burbank woman electrocuted trying to help motorist in crash A 40-year-old Burbank woman was one of two Good Samaritans who were electrocuted to death Aug. 22 after trying to help a motorist trapped inside his vehicle after a crash in Valley Village.

A massive manhunt for a missing FBI agent, the surprise departure of the city's chief executive, a National Teacher of the Year, tragic suicide and long-sought closure for the family of a murdered Burbank police officer. The year 2012 was full of twists and turns, surprise and tragedy. Here's a look back at some of the top stories that reverberated throughout the community, and far beyond. Woman electrocuted trying to help motorist A 40-year-old Burbank woman was one of two Good Samaritans who were electrocuted Aug. 22 after trying to help a motorist trapped inside his vehicle after a crash in Valley Village.

Burbank residents Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo were catapulted onto the national stage Friday when the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would rule on constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, the voter-approved same-sex marriage ban that the couple sued to overturn. For most of the day, Katami and Zarrillo, together nearly 12 years, were on a circuit of media interviews and conference calls as the nation learned that the Supreme Court had decided, for the first time, to weigh in on same-sex marriage.

Good morning, readers. Today is Monday, October 22. Woodbury University in Burbank is now under new leadership. Luis Calingo was officially installed as president of the university during an inauguration ceremony Saturday . Calingo replaces Kenneth Nielsen, who served as president for 16 years. Burbank Leader A San Fernando Valley-based filmmaker is gaining national attention for one of her films.  Ava DuVernay's latest film, “Middle of Nowhere,” has expanded to theaters across the country after an endorsement from Oprah Winfrey . Washington Times According to a new report, Bob Hope Airport in Burbank managed to inch ahead of budget projections for the fiscal year 2012 despite a drop in parking revenue and the loss of major air carrier American Airlines.

Terry Cannon grew up in Detroit rooting for his hometown Tigers. Cannon is the executive director of the Baseball Reliquary, a Pasadena-based nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through the context of baseball history. Cannon has been the curator of a number of baseball-themed exhibitions that have been displayed at the Burbank Central Library. The latest display, "Bad Moon Rising: Baseball and the Summer of '68," which runs through Sept.

Thousands of Burbank residents on Tuesday turned out for National Night Out events across the city - part of a nationwide effort to encourage neighborhoods to band together in the fight against crime. At the main event on the Chandler Bikeway, police and parks officials brought everything from games to the mounted patrol to entertain residents as 18 other National Night Out parties took place throughout Burbank. Police use the citywide events to encourage residents to sign up for neighborhood watch programs and, as Sgt. Darin Ryburn said before the event, “for all of us, as officers, to reach out to the community.