Nbc Studios

A 40-year-old woman was arrested Wednesday after allegedly blowing through a red light in front of NBC studios and crashing into an SUV, sending two of its passengers to the hospital with serious injuries, police said. Maritza Luciano, of Burbank, was driving a Jaguar eastbound on Olive Avenue just after 8 p.m. when she allegedly ran a red light at Alameda Avenue and collided with a Ford Explorer. Two passengers in the SUV were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. One of them, a 79-year-old woman, suffered lacerations to her mouth and complained of chest pain.

The city of Burbank has come in for some serious dissing since news broke that "The Tonight Show" may leave NBC studios at Olive and Alameda avenues in search of an edgier, fresher vibe in New York City. The old "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" slam about "beautiful downtown Burbank" was trotted out of deep storage. A great town to have a toothache (the city founder was a dentist). Home to studio "factories. " Burbank Mayor Dave Golonski, a City Council member for 19 years, may have the last laugh.

Lolita Harper MEDIA DISTRICT WEST -- Three men from Mexico, who police say are connected to a rash of auto burglaries around NBC Studios, Disneyland and other tourist spots, pleaded not guilty to burglary charges Thursday in Burbank Municipal Court. Augustine Roselli, 31, Juan Jasso, 32, and Jose Lopez, 23, were arrested Tuesday after a full-time police surveillance team -- set up around NBC Studios -- allegedly caught the men breaking into a rental car on California Street, Burbank Police Sgt. Bill Taylor said.

Jackson Bell NBC, looking to maintain its prime-time dominance, has hired FX network executive Kevin Reilly to be president of prime-time development, it was announced this week. Reilly, 40, will return to NBC Studios, where he had a hand in developing such hits as "ER," and "Homicide: Life on the Street." As president of entertainment at FX, Reilly was responsible for developing "The Shield," an award-winning drama series, and "Lucky," a critically acclaimed original comedy series.

Karen S. Kim MEDIA DISTRICT WEST -- Burbank residents could have a new place to have steak come the fall. Arnie Morton's of Chicago, The Steakhouse -- an upscale restaurant with locations in the United States, Hong Kong and Canada -- is slated to be a tenant of Burbank's Pinnacle project. The Pinnacle is an almost-completed office, retail and restaurant complex at 3400 W. Olive Ave., near NBC studios. The restaurant will cover 8,300 square feet on the first floor of the six-story Pinnacle building and will cost $1.3 million to construct.

Mark R. Madler The NBC Studios were never in "beautiful downtown Burbank," but that never stopped Tonight Show host Johnny Carson's good-natured ribbing of the city from where he broadcast. Carson died Sunday at his home in Malibu. He was 79. When Carson stepped down as the king of late-night talk shows in 1992, the city did its part to recognize how he brought Burbank to the world by renaming a park next to the studios in his honor. "That's why we name things for people," said Michael Hastings, who was mayor at the time of the park dedication in April 1992.

Lolita Harper MEDIA DISTRICT WEST -- Shelley Shinnick, a 28-year-old elementary school teacher, camped out in front of the NBC studios with 11 of her friends for four days and three nights. They weathered the daytime sun and evening chill to get tickets to a live performance by 'N Sync on "The Tonight Show" Wednesday afternoon. The dedicated group of fans came to Burbank straight from Las Vegas, where they had been for two other 'N Sync concerts.

Casting call for 'Last Comic Standing' MEDIA DISTRICT WEST -- NBC is holding auditions for its new reality series, "Last Comic Standing." People 18 and older can audition by performing three minutes of material. They cannot have appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" or "The Late Show with David Letterman" or have a network development deal. Reservations for the auditions are not required. The casting call is at 10 a.m. today at NBC Studios, 3000 W. Alameda Ave. Teen animation festival scheduled MEDIA DISTRICT WEST -- Teens can attend the library's annual Japanese Animation Festival.

NBC auditions for talented seniors MEDIA DISTRICT -- NBC is looking for performers to audition for their program "Second Chance: The Search for America's Most Talented Senior." Casting directors for the new series are looking for people 50 and older who can sing, dance or perform in a novelty act. Candidates should come dressed to perform on camera, and bring a recent photo ID and a copy of their birth certificate. Auditions are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 22 at NBC Studios, 3000 W. Alameda Ave., at the Bob Hope Drive entrance.

Five cars broken into near NBC MEDIA DISTRICT WEST -- Five cars were burglarized on the street outside NBC Studios in one day, and police suspect the culprits are an organized group of thieves who have ripped off hundreds of tourists at the studio. The cars, which were broken into Wednesday afternoon, belonged to tourists and were parked on a street outside the studio, police said. The Orange County-based group believed to be behind the thefts target tourists at a variety of popular venues throughout the county, police said.

The city of Burbank has come in for some serious dissing since news broke that "The Tonight Show" may leave NBC studios at Olive and Alameda avenues in search of an edgier, fresher vibe in New York City. The old "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" slam about "beautiful downtown Burbank" was trotted out of deep storage. A great town to have a toothache (the city founder was a dentist). Home to studio "factories. " Burbank Mayor Dave Golonski, a City Council member for 19 years, may have the last laugh.

A 40-year-old woman was arrested Wednesday after allegedly blowing through a red light in front of NBC studios and crashing into an SUV, sending two of its passengers to the hospital with serious injuries, police said. Maritza Luciano, of Burbank, was driving a Jaguar eastbound on Olive Avenue just after 8 p.m. when she allegedly ran a red light at Alameda Avenue and collided with a Ford Explorer. Two passengers in the SUV were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. One of them, a 79-year-old woman, suffered lacerations to her mouth and complained of chest pain.

As my first year in SoCal comes to a close, the check boxes on my Burbank Bucket List are nearly filled. “Summit a Verdugo peak,” “learn kung fu,” and “meet the swordplay guy” are all checked. “Learn to ride a horse,” “sing at Dimples” and “drive the boot-mobile at Victor's Shoe Repair” are still empty. I'll get on them ASAP, but first I had another Burbank mainstay to check out: “The Tonight Show.” Though Gary Owens first announced his broadcast on “Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In” from “beautiful downtown Burbank,” it was Johnny Carson's use of this dubious descriptor that introduced me to the land I'd eventually call home.

The Green Lantern is coming, but the news crews are leaving. Warner Bros. Studios will bring workers with subsidiary DC Entertainment from New York to Burbank over the next 16 months. DC Entertainment is the movie and game arm of DC Comics, publisher of comics and graphic novels with characters including the Green Lantern, Batman, Wonder Woman and Alfred E. Neumann of Mad magazine. Meanwhile, NBC has announced that the news staff of KNBC and NBC News' Los Angeles operation will leave Burbank for Universal City in 2012.

N ot long ago, after a late dinner in Van Nuys for the first time in years, I had occasion to drive back into Burbank via the Ventura (134) Freeway. I exited at Buena Vista and, as one must do, I turned left on Bob Hope Drive and proceeded north past Johnny Carson Park between Providence St. Joseph Medical Center and the old NBC studios. Suddenly, approaching Alameda, I thought every cop in town was behind me flashing their bright lights into my car. Oh no! Was it something I said in one of my columns?

MEDIA DISTRICT ? The national media is rife with hacks who endorse President Obama?s socialist agenda by committing sins of omission and co-mission, a large group of protesters said this weekend outside NBC Studios in Burbank. Each with their own issue, though most fell under the umbrella of massive government spending, ?Can You Hear Us Now? demonstrators also stood their ground Saturday outside CNN in Atlanta and affiliate stations of NBC, ABC and CBS across the nation. The 145 local protesters criticized what they view as unscrupulous cheerleading of the Obama administration.

The city was abuzz with enthusiasm Thursday as President Barack Obama swooped in for a taping of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” becoming the first sitting president to visit the set in “Beautiful Downtown Burbank.” Locals mixed with audience members and protesters outside NBC-TV Studios on West Alameda Avenue, all eager to catch a glimpse of the 44th president — or at least get a look at his motorcade. Burbank resident Cherri Michailov, despite protest from Emerson Elementary School officials, pulled her adopted son from class to be there.

BURBANK — Jay Leno, host of NBC’s “Tonight Show,” returned to the air Wednesday night after a two-month hiatus, and a line of guests waited for the show outside in the shadow of hundreds of Writers Guild of America strikers. Outside of all three entrances to NBC Studios — on California Street, Alameda Avenue and Bob Hope Drive — picketers marched across driveways and sidewalks. The guild began striking against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on Nov. 5 hoping to secure higher DVD residuals and a better pay structure for projects appearing on new media outlets, such as the Internet.

BURBANK — Politics collided with Hollywood as Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards joined striking writers on the picket lines Friday in front of NBC studios. “We want to make sure everyone in the union has a fair chance,” he said to 600 picket-waving strikers and supporters. “Your brothers and sisters across all unions are in unison with you. “Unions are the only way to ensure that huge corporate conglomerates don’t take over America.