Retirement

With the bright blue door of his auto shop's office wide open, Antonios Papanikolaou leaned back in his chair. At 66, with more than 36 years of mechanical know-how and the struggle of immigration behind him, the Burbank business owner said he had no cause for worries and was ready to retire. "It's time," Papanikolaou said. "I've worked enough." The Greek-born Burbank resident will relinquish his post at 607 S. Victory Blvd. in Burbank at the end of this month to the owners of Glendale-based Commercial Automotive Corp.

Supt. Gregory Bowman, who has held the reins of the Burbank Unified School District for six years and been an educator for 44, announced this week that he will retire in June. It seems, on the face of it, like a sad time to end an illustrious career. Burbank Unified, like other districts throughout the state, has struggled with state budget woes in recent months, and the jury remains out on how much Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s planned midyear cuts will worsen things. Bowman, in his final months in Burbank, has often had to scrape to keep his district functioning as well as possible.

Negotiations drag over new contract as employees, city can't agree on upping the retirement benefit.DOWNTOWN BURBANK -- Frustrated over a lack of progress in negotiations for a new union contract, city employees crowded the City Council chambers Tuesday night in a show of solidarity. Getting a half-percent increase in retirement pensions in the new contract is a top priority for the employees who belong to the Burbank City Employees Assn., the Burbank Manager's Assn. and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local No. 18. Pension amounts are calculated at 2% of an employees annual salary at the time of retirement multiplied by the number of years they worked for the city.

RESOLUTION TO IMPLEMENT NEW RETIREMENT PROGRAM WHAT HAPPENED The school board at Thursday's meeting approved the implementation of an "alternative retirement" plan for part-time employees. WHAT IT MEANS Temporary employees of the school district can now pay into a new retirement plan instead of paying into Social Security. Their contributions are deducted from taxable earnings, and funds become available when their employment is terminated.

'Housewives' star visits cellphone store Eva Longoria of "Desperate Housewives" fame came to Burbank's Cingular Wireless store and accepted a check from the company for $250,000 on behalf of Padres Contra El Cancer. Longoria is the national spokesperson for the nonprofit that provides aid to Latino families whose children have cancer. Cingular conducted a six-week donation drive in its stores to collect the money. The company also hosted a bone-marrow drive that signed up 200 potential donors from the Latino community of Huntington Park to the National Bone Marrow Registry.

Jenna Bordelon BURBANK -- The final report is in, and barring a few reservations, the city management service office is recommending the City Council approve a new police department contract. Negotiations went on into the evening Wednesday, with the City Council scheduled to vote on the four-year agreement on Tuesday. Officers voted 111-9 at the end of October to ratify the contract, which encompasses a wide range of terms and conditions including a salary increase of 8.25% over the next three years.

Reader has questions for police about Gitana It sounds like Gitana's Restaurant has turned into a war zone. On the night of April 20, 50 people got into a slugfest. Another night, 20 people were in a brawl. Police say most of the incidents at Gitana involve intoxicated people getting into fights. Isn't there a law against serving people who have had too much to drink? Can't people be arrested for public drunkenness? Is the Police Department showing a new tolerance for such activities?

Irma Lemus HILLSIDE DISTRICT-- Protecting Social Security by getting rid of the political fighting was the focus of a Tuesday speech by Rep. James Rogan at the Castaway Restaurant. Speaking to a gathering of Burbank area service club members, Rogan said unless more attention is paid to preparing for the next generation of retirees, the Social Security system will crash. "It's time to stop treating Social Security like a political football and make sure people have money when they retire," Rogan said.

Longtime Burbank resident Joe Marra died of lung cancer on Dec. 27 at his home. He was 83. Born on Jan. 23, 1927, in New Haven, Conn., Marra lived in Burbank for the past 45 years. Marra served in the Navy during World War II and before his retirement worked for ABC television as an electro-mechanical design engineer. After retiring 25 years ago, he became a dedicated volunteer every day school was in session at Stevenson Elementary School, helping students with math. He was an avid cook, reader and conversationalist.

Laura Sturza In his first days as interim assistant city manager, former police chief Dave Newsham said he is busy "reading a mountain of paper, trying to get back up to speed" on the city's operations. Newsham was pulled from a retirement that had him and his wife Pat dividing their time between Burbank and Florida. He joins Interim City Manager Mary Alvord as she transitions to her new post. "I was a little surprised to get the call, but the reality is I know the people, I know the process, and I know Mary really well," Newsham said of his temporary job, which started Wednesday.

After 32 years with the Burbank Fire Department, Ray Krakowski retired on Friday. Krakowski rose through the department's ranks after starting in 1980 as a firefighter and paramedic, and later being promoted to engineer, captain and battalion chief. He was named interim fire chief in 2009, and was appointed to the position permanently the following year. He recently sat as acting city manager until the arrival of Interim City Manager Ken Pulskamp on Dec. 3. Krakowski said his time in Burbank went by quickly.

Burbank Fire Chief Ray Krakowski will be retiring this month after 32 years with the department, officials said Monday. His last day with the city will be Dec. 28.  “I understand he has been of great value to the community and he will truly be missed,” said Ken Pulskamp on his first day of the job Monday as interim city manager. Krakowski had been serving as acting city manager for the last five weeks in between former City Manager Mike Flad's departure and Pulskamp's arrival.

Marcus LoVett Jr., the Providence High School's 5'10 sophomore shooting guard who led the nation in scoring among freshmen last season, has already caught the attention of college scouts and the national media , and in the Pioneers' 2012-13 season opener, he showed why. The reigning CIF Southern Section Division V-A, Liberty League and All-Area Player of the Year picked up right where he left off, scoring 37 points and added 10 steals, 6...

Following weeks of closed-door meetings, the Burbank City Council on Tuesday unanimously appointed Santa Clarita City Manager Ken Pulskamp as Burbank's interim city manager. He's slated to start on Dec. 3. The announcement follows City Manager Mike Flad's surprising decision last month to step down from his post. Though discussions to hire Pulskamp were secret, personnel decisions are legally shielded until being finalized. In an email he sent to city employees, Flad describes Pulskamp as a “seasoned and respected leader” and having the “knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to successfully lead the transition of our city.” Pulskamp announced his intent to retire from Santa Clarita in August - he's been its city manager since 2002.

Burbank Unified School Board President Debbie Kukta will be the city's next treasurer, while longtime Burbank resident and Glendale Community Relations Coordinator Zizette Mullins was named Burbank city clerk Thursday. Kukta and Mullins were both unanimously named to the interim positions during a special City Council meeting, necessitated by the retirements of City Clerk Margarita Campos and Treasurer Donna Anderson. Campos and Anderson, both of whom hold elected offices, announced their retirements with about a year left in their terms.

“I have had the opportunity to write several new chapters in the evolving Woodbury University history,” said the school's retiring president, Kenneth Nielsen. “The success the school has achieved (is) a result of the hard work, action, and vision of so many of my friends and colleagues.” Many of those friends and colleagues gathered at the Jonathan Club to pay tribute to Nielsen this past Saturday evening. After his 16 years at the helm of the Glenoaks Boulevard university, Nielsen announced he would be stepping down from the presidential post last year.

When the City Council convenes on June 28 to fill the vacated positions of city clerk and city treasurer, they'll have 17 applicants representing a wide swath of the local political sphere to choose from. The two spots are typically elected positions, but early retirement announcements by former City Clerk Margarita Campos and City Treasurer Donna Anderson prompted the City Council to decide to fill the positions before next year's regularly scheduled election. The 17 candidates each submitted a video presentation along with their applications - all of which are available on the city's website.

Former Deputy Police Chief William Taylor, who was awarded nearly $1.3 million in a discrimination lawsuit, is asking a judge to force the city to purge his personnel records of any reference to wrongdoing and that he be issued a retirement badge reflecting that he left the department in good standing. A jury ruled 9 to 3 that Taylor was demoted and eventually fired in retaliation for standing up for minority officers and raising concerns about internal problems within the department.

The Burbank City Council this week decided to appoint interim replacements for City Clerk Margarita Campos and City Treasurer Donna Anderson - both of whom plan to retire from their elected posts early - rather than hold a special election. Campos and Anderson, who each have held their elected positions for more than a decade, will be retiring on June 1 and July 7, respectively - roughly a year before their terms are set to end in May 2013. Campos, who has worked for the city in various capacities since 1974, said in an interview that the time was right for her to go. “The time comes in everybody's life when they need to make a decision in their personal life,” she said, adding that it was about priorities.

Dr. Martin Small was our family's vet for over 40 years. One day a cat jumped over the fence and almost scratched out our sheltie's eye. It was hanging by a thread. As a young couple we were struggling financially. My husband said, “If it will be more than $100, we will have to let her go.” Crying, I told this to Marty. He did surgery to save her eyesight, and lovingly nursed her back to health, including hospitalization, intravenous feedings, medications, etc. Three weeks later when we were able to take Blond Beauty home Marty gave us the bill totaling $99.99!