myBurbank Talks
myBurbank Talks
The Week That Was and That Will Be - May 20
Step into the bustling heart of Burbank with us, where the thrum of local happenings and the pulse of community spirit intertwine. From the vibrant reflections on Fire Service Day to the hushed council chambers, we traverse a landscape rich with stories. Savour the tales of live broadcasting's unpredictable nature and join in the laughter as we recall our youngest guest's memorable debut, all while the tantalizing aroma of Hill Street Cafe's signature dishes wafts through the conversation.
Switching gears, we peel back the layers of police fleet cars, exploring the complex dance of technology and practicality in law enforcement's transition to greener pastures. Discover the challenges and innovations shaping our officers' routines, from the energy demands of essential electronics to the revolution of remote report filing. The episode is peppered with anticipation for police department festivities, inviting you to mark your calendars for graduations and the acclaimed National Night Out.
Amidst the narrative patchwork, our hosts Ross, Craig, and Craig weave a tapestry of local lore that is as enlightening as it is entertaining. Community updates spring to life with discussions on housing initiatives and balancing parklands while we pay homage to our veterans with poignant Memorial Day tributes. This episode is not merely a listen; it's an experience of Burbank's dynamic heartbeat, etched with laughter, anecdotes, and the essence of a town that never ceases to surprise.
From deep in the Burbank Media District. It's time for another edition of my Burbank Talks, presented by the staff of my Burbank. Now let's see what's on today's agenda as we join our program.
Speaker 2:Hello Burbank, Craig Sherwood here with you, along with, of course, in the studio, Ross Benson.
Speaker 3:Hallie ho rally roll. Let's do a show, let's go.
Speaker 2:As to a convalescing at home, but via the Magic of Zoom.
Speaker 1:Craig Durling. I hate that word, convalescing, but sorry about any traffic noise. I'm here Broadcasting from the 3rd Street overpass In downtown LA, so you just have to bear with it I guess.
Speaker 2:Those cars look like they're moving very slowly behind you. Either that or really fast Ah they could be Zoom, zoom. Those cars look like they're moving very slowly behind you. Either of that, or really fast. Ah, they could be Zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom. Well, ross, good week last week. Let's start off with last week's winner. The word was, which I kept mispronouncing over and over again as Europea. I think it was Europea, you were saying Europea.
Speaker 1:I think it was Europea, you were saying Europea Instead of Europa, as I gently corrected you throughout the podcast, you know where I was getting Europea from.
Speaker 2:It was from Battlestar Galactica. You probably didn't see the show, but that was one of their planets I had there, so somehow, but it wasn't the word of the week. Yes, it was a ropa and we had a winner. Somebody actually sent it and they spelled it correctly and that was Brett Lewis. So Brett Lewis.
Speaker 3:Congratulations, Brett Lewis.
Speaker 2:We appreciate you listening as always, and please put a note. There was no address, so please send the address to us and we will get out that $25 gift card to Hill Street Cafe.
Speaker 3:Hey Brett, I can really recommend. Their salad dressing is homemade. All their soups are homemade. You know what? Order a salad for your salad dressing.
Speaker 1:Have them put a salad under the dressing and it'll be great. It's a great combination.
Speaker 2:Lettuce and salad dressing really go together.
Speaker 1:I've heard and feel free, because it's apparently becoming a thing which we love is send us a picture of your food.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's true, your food will not send us a picture of you.
Speaker 1:Right and don't just have the salad dressing. We encourage you to put a salad under it. Absolutely. Thank you, Brett, for listening and for participating, Absolutely.
Speaker 2:We will have another Word of the Week later in the show, so stand by and listen up. It's going to be buried deep, deep, very, very.
Speaker 1:It's going to stay up Very deep, but you can't miss it. If you stay up late enough to hear it, you won't miss it. It may even wake you up.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's if you're listening live. If you're listening on the replay, it's whenever you listen. Well, anyhow, let's get back to last week here.
Speaker 3:Tally-ho last week. That was just last week.
Speaker 2:Last week yeah, it was the week that was Wasn't it really quiet? For some reason it was kind of a slow week. Actually, tuesday the council was dark, actually the council was dark. So actually the council chambers were dark because the council wasn't there, so they don't turn the lights on, so it was dark, you know, I'm trying to think where was I ran into?
Speaker 3:I see I run into our council members all the time. I totally hope you didn't hurt one of them, and I forget what day of the week was it, nikki Perez. I run into one of them. I don't know where, but okay.
Speaker 2:Well, we had Nikkiy on the the um fire day podcast, which is now up, by the way, in case you must to watch it. Yeah, you know that was uh.
Speaker 3:We might as well promo that uh fire service day, which was, uh, what a week ago, a week ago.
Speaker 1:We're still coming down from uh, from that, all the feedback we're getting. It's great now tell.
Speaker 3:Come on, tell the truth, greg. You're still uh in pain from standing on that concrete floor for how many hours, but the bagels were fresh and good.
Speaker 1:So we got there early to set up, so it was probably seven, seven and a half hours, but well worth it, well worth we had our youngest ever guest on the podcast.
Speaker 2:I saw them Three. No, you're not.
Speaker 3:No there was just one of them. There was a six-year-old girl.
Speaker 2:Oh, maybe I blinked. Yeah, yeah, we had a six-year-old girl. She didn't say much, but she put the headphones.
Speaker 1:I said you want to be on, that's on. So I said you know what? I have nobody else to interview, why not you? So grab anybody.
Speaker 3:Just so people know when they see that video. We were having little technical problems. It was hard to get set up. It's weird when you go remote and you're expecting everything to just work like it does in the studio. But the audio was fantastic, and then there were some great pictures. Yeah, austin Gephardt, then there were some great pictures.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Austin Gephardt.
Speaker 2:And I got to shout some great video also that we put in the background. So now we have to look at our ugly mugs the whole time, like on this show. Yeah.
Speaker 1:We have enough gremlins when we go live from the studio. Forget about it when we take it.
Speaker 2:You forgot to tell me don't bring the gremlins. Well, but I, you know, midnight, the stuff that we learned, because I thought there always something was wrong.
Speaker 3:Mr murphy does follow us, that's for sure, but it was a great day we had we still had a lot of fun and, like ashley said at one time, that was the biggest damn crowd that I've ever seen. You you know. Can you imagine you know them doing that once a month at a fire station? Firemen would not be able to handle it.
Speaker 1:Firehouses are usually-. Do you think it had something to do with that? Wasn't the farmer's market right around the corner?
Speaker 3:Yes, always is.
Speaker 2:Do you think it?
Speaker 1:had something to do with that, but.
Speaker 2:I don't think that many families go to farmer's market.
Speaker 1:Do you think we had a ton of?
Speaker 3:families. The people walking in with flowers went to the farmer's market because Mother's Day was the next day, but it was funny. I did see a couple people walking around with dozens of eggs, and that's what they all go to the farmer's market for.
Speaker 2:Do we have a?
Speaker 3:rooster or something that we could throw in there. Of course we do just for you.
Speaker 2:Oh, what happened to my rooster? How about a turkey? Did a turkey lay his eggs? Oh, they lay to my rooster how about a turkey.
Speaker 2:Did a turkey lay eggs? Oh, they laid eggs. Okay, all right. So what happened there? So let's move on to Wednesday. Wednesday, we had the police commission meeting, greg, your most favorite commission. Well, yeah, as I call it, the Burbank PR department, and I'm going to make one comment. You know, I did the story on Burbank's crime mecca, which I thought was received very well. In fact, on our website it's been read over 45,000 times, 45,000 times.
Speaker 1:I'm amazed. Not the Empire Center, not the whole city.
Speaker 2:Right. So I thought, yeah, I put a lot of work and effort into it. We did a little video. The video's been watched over a thousand times, but the police commission didn't really say a word about it except, well, do people feel safe there? And it had nothing to do with people feeling safe. The whole article was about pying up resources, putting in a substation and making officers more available on the streets instead of being at the end parts. That was the entire, so they didn't get the point. But then why would I expect them to get the point Anyhow, ross?
Speaker 3:why don't you talk? But I was surprised why?
Speaker 2:don't you talk about the meeting and I'll keep my big yap shut.
Speaker 3:They have a substantial agenda for their meeting, though, so they went through a lot of stuff and a couple of the you know that you got to remember I think it was that morning they had coffee with a cop at nordstrom rack and they talked to people out there about how safe you feel coming here. And they did feel safe and that's a big thing. Burbank police want people not burbank people not to be scared to go to the empire center. Most of these crimes that you recorded were petty thefts or grand thefts from the stores. They weren't armed robberies, property crimes.
Speaker 2:Property crimes. Thank you. Retail crimes.
Speaker 3:So it's safe to go to the Empire Center. We never said it wasn't, and it's just unfortunate that today's society and I think all shopping centers are probably just as bad.
Speaker 2:I'm just upset that he missed the point, that's all.
Speaker 1:But the people that shop at those stores? They hear crime, they're thinking safety, they're not thinking about property crimes and thefts how they affect the businesses and the economy. They're thinking their personal safety. So it's understandable that the customers that are at the Empire Center would worry about their personal safety. That's understandable.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Channel 5 was out there and they talked to people and they said that you know, I'm always looking out, I'm always. You know, Some people didn't feel that safe, but you should be anyway, you should be alerted. At any time you're in a shopping center. You should be.
Speaker 3:But I will say that a lot of Burbank residents before that Walmart went in. They were, they knew it was going to happen. They did. It happens at all the Walmarts across the United States. Why should Burbank be any different?
Speaker 1:Well, and look at the top three stores. If you saw the story, craig's story Walmart, target, nordstrom, rack yeah, these are all kind of discount type stores along the lines of Walmart. So you know, I'm not saying to expect it, but for some reason they seem to be magnets.
Speaker 2:And also kind of where the Empire Center is located, right by a major freeway, so you can grab your stuff, jump in the car, you're on a freeway and you're out of the city already.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Even more so now. It used to be a little harder to get on the freeway from there.
Speaker 3:So, moving on, there were a couple of things that they did bring up that I thought I found kind of interesting. They talked about the police cars and Lieutenant Mark Stull, who is the expert on fleet cars and the computers in them and so forth, and technology, on fleet cars and the computers in them and so forth and technology. I did learn that I guess they tried hybrid cars. Forget it for police work. That's not going to work. They don't plan on going to.
Speaker 2:I didn't hear what he said, so would one of the reasons be they need a lot of electronics in the car, and that brings the battery way too fast.
Speaker 3:Apparently everything in the car doesn't, you know, as long as gas powered and all that. And then a lot of people ask. You know, a couple of commissioners ask why do you leave them running? And you know they got to be able to go. And if they turn them off for more than I think they said 20 minutes the computers take a lot longer to read and if you're responding to a call, none of your electronics work.
Speaker 1:Yeah, plus your… and everything can drain the battery and then you can't start the car. Which really feeds the argument against these electronic vehicles for public safety vehicles is they need an engine to run all the electronics in these things, because the light bar needs to be on the whole time, you know, for safety reasons and the other thing, like they said that, electric cars, how he kind of explains shift work Cars.
Speaker 3:These cars are used 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365. One shift comes in, you have to have cars for another shift to go out. If you have a car that has been in a crash, you have to. You know they don't have spare cars laying around, but the one thing that kind of got me is when I was saying you can't wait 10 hours for it to charge for the next shift either.
Speaker 1:No, what if you get in a pursuit or you're at a crime scene where you're going to? You know, stop and for for a recharge in the middle of it?
Speaker 3:no, it's not practical so and then I thought it was interesting. You know the lifespan of police cars. Burbank has taken them way beyond what they're supposed to and they stay with Ford Chevys because that's what City Yards, because they were talking about Dodge Durangos. I guess CHP has gone to them, but Burbank wants to stay and I guess they're now looking at Tahos. Craig probably remembers the Caprices and Mark Stoll is over 6'0" and you can't get into a Chevy Caprice comfortably when you're 6'4" and that's a problem.
Speaker 1:I guess the Crown Victorias were more popular for taller guys because they were higher profile inside but narrower, where the Chevys were wider but shorter.
Speaker 2:Did they?
Speaker 1:ever use Malibus. Oh ago, burbank back in the day used to use dob. Uh, dodds diplomats I just saw.
Speaker 2:I just saw that sheriff just just now continue, discontinued their malibu line, oh after 50 years, but even long.
Speaker 1:Agencies tried the ford taurus and stuff like that along the way, these more compact vehicles, but there just wasn't enough room in them for officers with all their gear and the radios, and that was the other point. They end up coming back to these kind of standards all the time and they're kind of people don't understand the amount of equipment.
Speaker 3:You know you remember craig probably both craigs remember 272 east olive. They ran out of space in that building. Same thing with police cars. They can't just carry their tennis racket with them and save their. You know they got a barrage of gear now they're 40s. They're you know the shotgun. I mean protective stuff.
Speaker 1:Hasmats, defibrillators for state kits, yeah, computers, tactical gear.
Speaker 2:They don't have computers back in the day Now. Tactical gear they don't have computers back in the day Now that's.
Speaker 1:you know the MDTs are and half the trunk is taken up by by electronic equipment and that's what they said inside.
Speaker 3:They've now gone to, I guess, the tough book. I'm not a big computer but um a laptop and you can drop those from a three story building Right.
Speaker 1:That's common, but you can also. If one goes down, you know IT can just switch out the laptop in the dock, versus having to take the car down because the computer in it.
Speaker 3:And I also learned that Burbank PD has gone to a whole new reporting system, that now these officers can do their report on that computer. They don't have to go into the station. But if they do it out in the field, how goes via wi-fi through, you know, and how they can download their reports and everything is different. So that was kind of interesting.
Speaker 3:And then the only other thing I did pick up, I hope they don't use the city wi-fi system because it sucks no, but uh, the chief did say a couple of things coming up they're going to do. Uh, they have a couple of graduations to it rio hondo, one at uh laso academy graduate academy graduations. Um a couple other events. Oh, national night out. Don't blink, it's going to be right in front of us, here we'll talk about down the line.
Speaker 2:When is that is?
Speaker 3:that already coming up again.
Speaker 1:Yeah, august, again, yeah, right august second, I mean it's every year, but I feel like they just did it Right.
Speaker 2:I feel like I just did it Still over two months away.
Speaker 3:so so it was. They did get. But you know one thing I took away and I did call one of our commissioners A couple of those people have personal agendas and I'm tired of listening to them wanting reports and in fact at one time they had asked for something and Captain Cremins got up and said no, we're not going to do that Because you have no use of the outcome and the results. No use for any of those reports basically, well, but what you know? Why are they asking?
Speaker 2:I mean, and then they asked the MET team Wait, wait, wait, wait Ross.
Speaker 3:Wait, you're starting to sound like me now. Well, listen to this meeting. They had the mental health team up there, right, they want to know some of the. They don't stop people because people just I don't get where these civilians come in. I'm a civilian and I probably know more than them, and it's just, I've got a suggestion.
Speaker 2:Well, they want to feel self-important. If you want to be a police commissioner, why not go research what the police department does on your own? Go to the department for a couple of days, ask your questions, become informed. To the department for a couple days, ask your questions, become informed. Then make decisions based on that. You know they ask questions that most of us already know the answers to.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and don't just sit at your high table and summon others to come give you all your answers.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and maybe they I don't want to use the word get off on that, but you know they request these reports that these officers have to prepare. They had again. You know Sergeant Turner was up there again talking about some stuff, and then the mental health and then they had some. Why, yeah?
Speaker 2:Why I don't?
Speaker 3:know so, and Wednesday I guess I missed it, it was at the end of the meeting it was National what's it called? Craig Law Enforcement Memorial Day.
Speaker 1:National National Police Week.
Speaker 3:Right and the memorial falls within that. Yeah, and Wednesday was the day and they didn't start the meeting with a moment of silence. That kind of bothered me a little, but I do know. And again, they didn't promote it. Burbank had the unity ride bike riders. They had six or eight officers that participated in that they don't know what's going on.
Speaker 2:Well, it's funny it's.
Speaker 1:It's because this stuff is all over the. So the department's social media. So are they not even following the social media from the department they're supposed to be, mr durling, to be honest, I think a couple of those commissioners do not know what social media is.
Speaker 3:It's not um my space anymore, but I think that's what they're maybe looking at. So, moving on, we uh had another graduation, that's enough for the burbank public relations commission.
Speaker 2:I mean, now you're getting you're getting me frustrated. You guys are contagious, I'm telling you you know, when you watch it long enough, it's just you. You ask yourself why, okay, so uh, the leadership, graduate leadership, burbank had their graduation. I think, ross, you stopped by there, didn't you?
Speaker 3:yeah, I did. Um, it was at woodbury and they had a class oh, I don't know how many, and you know they're. They're. What was the theme? Something, something for Paws. You were there, cause for Paws, cause for Paws and they, you know it's a class project and every year they come up with a different class project to benefit Burbank. Well, this one is to benefit the four-legged friends of ours over at the animal shelter. They did not have a dog run. It was a storage area for crates and dog cages and so forth. They put in, I believe, a 70 foot dog run. So, and the reason? And think about it, it's common sense. If dogs get to run around, they don't bark as much, they don't. They are better to socialize all right, you gotta work off that energy.
Speaker 2:We're gonna talk about this all for two coming up on. They don't bark as much they are better to socialize.
Speaker 3:Right, you've got to work off that energy. We're going to talk about this coming up on Tuesday, why?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, that's right, the ribbon cutting. Let's talk about that for next week. You know what we are busy next week? Go ahead and talk. Let's finish it up now. Absolutely, you started on it. Let's go.
Speaker 3:They were. They were looking to raise $48,000 of all private funds to do these projects. It was a dog run and also I was told by an animal shelter employee, people are bringing in 5 and 6 dogs to turn in daily. Burbank is maxed out in dog space, you know what my question is are they Burbank residents?
Speaker 2:yes, well, burbank is yes, oh, really.
Speaker 3:Well, burbank is a non-kill animal shelter.
Speaker 2:I understand that, but yes, If they're coming from North Hollywood or Southern. Valley because they don't want to take it to an LA shelter.
Speaker 3:What they'll do is they'll put them in the cage at night. So what are they going to do? Take the dog and drop it in.
Speaker 3:North Hollywood. So think about it, but they'll be rich and no kill used to do that with people back in the day. Well, so that. And they put in another um, oh, I don't know what they're calling visitation area, so they can do two adoptions at one time, so they can get more families in to look at more dogs, get them out. So, and what was really nice, they raised you. I. We all questioned this during one of our podcasts. How are they going to? Two weeks ago?
Speaker 2:come up with 48,000?.
Speaker 3:They raised over $60,000 in their campaign.
Speaker 2:I got to be honest with you, though, when people say they need donations to help animals out. I think a lot of people give donations out for animals. I think you have a lot of I know if for animals. I think I think you have a lot of. I mean, I know if I would have gone, I would have given more than that I had to, because you know animals.
Speaker 3:They need us to protect them it's amazing how people are attracted to animals and what you can do for them. Because they can't speak, they can't, you know, they get a bum rap sometimes and well, yeah, I know he's off, I can't go to him. Oh well, we can fix that, so it's very successful.
Speaker 2:The other nice thing Now we got him on camera. They, as they say, let sleeping dogs lie. Well, he's a sleeping dog and he's lying.
Speaker 3:Mary Alvord and Sue Jardino's have been Greg. What was that called Facilitators?
Speaker 2:Facilitators yes.
Speaker 3:Well, Craig Durling and I couldn't think One could say it that way. Yes, we couldn't think of that the other day.
Speaker 2:Teachers, we. What are you talking French now we?
Speaker 3:drove almost all the way from the 101 and the 405 back to Burbank. How many?
Speaker 1:different words did I come up with?
Speaker 3:And then I had to stop. We stopped. That would have worked.
Speaker 1:And you said ultimately I don't know it starts with an S, so I come up with S words that might fit. And 10 minutes later you say oh, facilitators.
Speaker 3:I'm on drugs sometimes. You know it's S-F-F-S-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F.
Speaker 1:That should have been the word of the week.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no one could have spelled it then.
Speaker 3:So they retired and they had a champagne reception afterwards. A ton of people up at Woodbury in the auditorium, sue and Mary did the closing announcement and this was one of their best classes, they felt, because the project they chose and they both love animals. And then they introduced a new chair of leadership burbank, which is tina trina pitchford, who will take care in volpe's place, uh, as the chair of leadership burbank, and they're have a reception coming up for new new people and tuesday you're right, they're doing the ribbon cutting a real quick, short one are one.
Speaker 2:Are we just going to get it? Why don't you tell me all next week, while we're at it? Well, no.
Speaker 3:That's it Well, today's Monday, but tomorrow is actually ribbon cutting and maybe we'll get some footage, a sneak peek into next week. There you go, so moving on. What happened on?
Speaker 2:Well, I had last week, I know Lynn Lipinski, our great writer, did a story on one of the synagogues here in Burbank that had a Holocaust survivor come, I think, talk, and they did a program about that which she covered.
Speaker 3:Well, I happen to know that synagogue quite well because my granddaughters have gone there. My daughter-in-law is very involved in the and so is my son. Um, that event had a lot of people there. Lynn wrote about it. Um, lauron, her kids, her grandmother is a holocaust survivor, so they got to speak and, like Lynn wrote, it's unfortunate that the sign of the times is they had to have law enforcement there, security, to just protect the place. In her article that's where somebody did some graffiti so forth some months ago. But it was a very well-attended event by Burbank Human Rights Commission or Rights, that's who. It is Marcia, she was the chairman of that, that's who put it on, and I know Laurent is on the board and so is Suzanne Wirtz. So I want to read that article and what it was. I think Suzanne.
Speaker 2:Wirtz is the one who told us about it and Lynn went and covered it. So, thank you, Lynn, and we're glad we got to cover that.
Speaker 1:And they can see that story where.
Speaker 2:It's on myburbankcom.
Speaker 3:That's wwwmyburbankcom and www stands for World Wide Web. Now do you have to put small M-Y and then capital B, or can you do it all lowercase?
Speaker 2:Well, if you don't know that, but after 12 years of doing it, then I'm worried about you a little bit.
Speaker 1:But if you're going to it online. It's not case sensitive. No, nothing you want, but if you want to keep the brand, if you're writing stories or letters?
Speaker 3:Do you have to do the com anymore?
Speaker 2:I don't think so. I think well, I don't know, we don't own net.
Speaker 3:But I thought you don't have to do. You can put in, you know.
Speaker 1:Do you guys never go to the site or?
Speaker 2:do you have a bookmark, it's bookmark. It never leaves my mind.
Speaker 1:But it auto-populates on mine, now my, it populates my burbankcom wow, look at that.
Speaker 2:That's why every, every computer should be done by microsoft and every other and apple.
Speaker 1:They should just have it all apple, it's all apple. Craig, that means you.
Speaker 2:It just means that I go to it all the time exactly, yeah, well, fan, you know I think that's a kind of about it for last. Not a whole lot last week. That's kind of it for last week, um.
Speaker 1:We've got a busy next week.
Speaker 2:Yes, we do. We're going to get into a lot this coming week, some major council decisions about ready to be made, so we will be with you in one second after we do our quick commercial.
Speaker 4:Enjoying the show right now, thinking you may want to do your own podcast. Viber Ray Talks is renting out our podcast studio on an hourly rate. You can do audio podcasts or both audio and video, and even bring in guests to talk with. We will help you get set up on podcast platforms and start a YouTube channel, and we can edit your productions to make you look and sound your very best. If you are arrested, please drop us an email at studiorentalsatmyburbankcom. That's studiorentalsatmyburbankcom, and we will get back to you. Now back to our show.
Speaker 3:Wait, that guy didn't say www. No, he didn't.
Speaker 2:And you don't have me on camera either.
Speaker 3:Oh, there you go.
Speaker 2:Okay. Well, we're back everybody with the week. That will be Craig Sherwood here with you, along with Ross Benson.
Speaker 3:So for coming up on Monday. I got a question, Craig, Can I?
Speaker 2:introduce Craig Durling first. Oh yeah, please do, and we have Craig Durling via Zoom.
Speaker 1:I thought you forgot about me.
Speaker 2:I'm out here in the cold, with the wind whipping through downtown LA. Maybe you have to get off that third street bridge. It's got to you know, it's just like a wind tunnel down here.
Speaker 1:I can imagine.
Speaker 3:Well, I don't know. There we go. I was locked up. I got a question for the first of the week which one of you are going to be first in the Verdugo Park pool? You? The polar bear swim, isn't it cannonball? So yeah, verdugo park pool opens for the summer. Wait in their songs. What's that song? Come on, mr derling, you are our music. Start a question. Start a question yeah, I would something for the summer. Do do something for the summer, uh there's summertime.
Speaker 2:There's a. There's a lot of songs out there that goes out for the summer. There's summertime. There's a lot of songs out there. School's out for the summer.
Speaker 3:There you go. Okay, that's this week.
Speaker 2:That's not for pools opening, though that's schools out for school ends Anyhow.
Speaker 1:I'm sure there's a song about the Verdugo pool opening.
Speaker 2:There's got to be.
Speaker 3:Well, Craig Sherwood says he's going to break out that new swimsuit and go put his feet in the shallow end. Oh, dear.
Speaker 1:It's going to be like the Caddyshack scene at the pool.
Speaker 2:Hey, he's going to have his flippers on and goggles. My Speedo is very attractive.
Speaker 1:I can't answer that.
Speaker 3:Oh, you can't either. Right, there you go.
Speaker 2:Now you had to bring it up. Now you're stuck with it you know you hear that sound.
Speaker 1:It's a sound of people leaving the podcast.
Speaker 3:You know my big fear about going over there and you'll never see me in a public pool like that. They got that slide that you go through the. You know you go in. I am scared to death of getting stuck in that kind of thing. Ross Benson, the human cork. Well, I remember one day as a joke, I went to McDonald's out in their little playground and I went out into that thing and my hips got stuck and it was like do I go down or do I go?
Speaker 1:back. The worst part is when you're wearing shorts and you just squeak your way all the way down, and when you hit the bottom you uh, kind of like a fire pole, there you go.
Speaker 4:Wrong tube.
Speaker 2:Anyhow Um Redigo Park Pool.
Speaker 1:Pool's open, everybody Go enjoy.
Speaker 3:There's a song. Redigo Pool's open for the summer. Oh, I'm not a singer.
Speaker 2:Do I have to get the rights for that now? Okay, also, monday, sustainable Brewing Commission was going to meet at 5 o'clock at the Community Services Building. Now, that is Craig's favorite. Well, because you know what they do, things Starting with, they're going to send a letter to the city council. Hey, police commission, there's something new and different. They send letters to the city council on their position on the bus rapid transit plan. Now, as much as I like the commission, I do not like their recommendation. They want to see a dedicated lane on Olive Boo, because it's going to save bus riders a minute and a half of time, do?
Speaker 1:you have a boo sound effect.
Speaker 2:No, but we forgot to talk about that in the pre-meeting.
Speaker 3:We should have. That would have been a good one.
Speaker 1:That would have been perfect For a city that doesn't see a whole lot of people riding its free bus, or almost free bus.
Speaker 2:I don't know that we need to punish everybody else so we can go faster.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean buses just sit there in traffic, make smog. You might not have smelled that bus go by, but that was the sound of a bus.
Speaker 2:Bus just drove on by. But they also are in support of a bus station on the Olive Overpass, which I think the city council also is although the city council is not in favor of having a dedicated bus lane. But at least they're making their opinion felt and they're sending a letter to the city council. They're also going to send another letter to the city council because they would like to request funding for an Earth Day event and they'd like to ask they're trying to ask the council to fund $12,000 for their event. So once again they're out doing something, asking for money at least, and of course their subcommittees will all report out. So that's on Monday. Let's move on to Tuesday. Now, that's on Monday. Let's move on to Tuesday. Now we have a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Animal Shelter at 9 am for Leadership Burbank's project that Ross has talked all about. Rewind your tape and go back and listen to his entire explanation of that. The only thing that I can say.
Speaker 3:I gotta add if you've ever been in the animal shelter parking lot, I think there's six parking spaces. It's tight so they recommend to park on lake street and I believe they're going to shuttle the bus or something, unless I was going to say I wouldn't dare anybody to try to walk you think they're going to shuttle somebody?
Speaker 2:well, you're going to use one of those burbank limousines, I mean burbank buses I have nobody else in them you got to remember, they have shelter vans.
Speaker 3:Oh, do they animal shelter vans?
Speaker 1:and I wouldn't, I wouldn't challenge one of those buses to make the turn into the driveway and out of it and yeah negotiate that anyway, but but that's nine o'clock at the animal shelter right, nine o'clock.
Speaker 3:Yep, we will be done and out of there, because a lot of people have somewhere to go.
Speaker 2:Well, the city council is going to meet and one of the things they're going to do is they're going to accept some grants. They're accepting grants in the total of $130,000.
Speaker 3:I thought you were going to say Johnny Grant, amy Grant, oh excuse me. Hugh Grant, hugh Grant, oh excuse me, hugh Grant. Hugh.
Speaker 2:Grant. Bpd and BFD are getting grants. $31,000 is going to be given to police departments field deployment capabilities with mobile incident command cases. They're going to get $49,000. We'll continue to support our software solutions aimed at optimizing data. I'm going to get $49,000. We'll continue to support software solutions aimed at optimizing data. I'm going to tell you what. After all that crime data I got, I'm very thankful for it. I'm glad they're getting that money for it. $32,000 is being allocated to provide officers with crisis negotiation and tactical training. I'm not sure what they spend the money on, but it's going to be on tactical training. I'm not sure how they what they spend the money on, but it's going to be on tactical training.
Speaker 1:Training, Now that police officers are commissioned with being, you know, counselors out there in the field they might as well receive some specialty training.
Speaker 2:I guess they pay the person to talk to them. I guess I'm not sure what they're going to do. It's like going to any training. Training's not free. 16,000 will be used toward the purchase of 14 tactical helmets specifically tailored for tactical operations.
Speaker 1:I was wondering who those were for. Is it 14? Is it for the SWAT team SRT.
Speaker 3:It does not say Come on, it's for the command staff, for the sergeants, for the lieutenants, so they can oversee.
Speaker 2:When you saw all that stuff going at ucla and everywhere else, you know those guys well, it was funny. 14 is an interesting number that's very specific I found it interesting that it looked like the sheriff's deputies were far more outfitted than the lapd people were well, sheriff's has always been that way.
Speaker 1:sheriff's gets all the a ton of federal grant money for because they have a huge research and training department. So they get all the latest equipment, all the newest stuff from the feds, a lot of money to try it. So Sheriff's department, historically, is very well equipped Well you can see that.
Speaker 3:Well, you look at Burbank in case something crazy goes on. Who do you call? Not Ghostbusters, they call LA County First. They'll call Area C, but you're right, right.
Speaker 1:A good portion of that is LA County sheriffs, right yeah. Now the fire department is big for mutual aid.
Speaker 2:The fire department is also going to receive $130,000 in grant funds. It will be used towards expensive aid to courses for hazardous materials, technician and specialist training, chemical biology, radiology, nuclear and explosive training, weapons of mass destruction training and an assistant safety officer training. Now I, I for all those things, but I gotta tell you what, when burbank police have having to deal with weapons of mass destruction and nuclear bombs, um, that's like telling me, telling you back in when I was in, you know, fifth grade okay, on fridays, when that air raid siren goes off and a nuclear bomb is going to explode, go under your desk and hide there and you'll be fine.
Speaker 1:Well, we're also talking about the fire department, not the police department that's true, and fire department is tasked with responding to hazardous materials.
Speaker 2:That's exactly, but they're not going to deal with weapons of mass destruction. They won't know until they get there, you know what you cannot say, that you cannot Today. You cannot say that the fire department has to be prepared.
Speaker 3:I'm not saying they won't find them, but they're not going to deal with them but still they have to be prepared before you're not going to go to an incident. Go, wait a minute. We gotta go online and order from amazon 13 masks, this, that and everything nuclear bomb. They ain't gonna need a mask. You don't know what you're talking about.
Speaker 1:If the bomb goes off. Craig, yes, but they have, might need to identify it. They need to do evacuations.
Speaker 2:I get all that Right so you misspoke. I don't agree. I don't think you do perimeter on a nuclear bomb. You just say goodbye.
Speaker 1:You're wrong, but okay.
Speaker 3:They have a responsibility to the citizens.
Speaker 2:They're the first responders, I understand, but I don't think they're going to actually deal with the devices themselves.
Speaker 1:It's going to start somewhere.
Speaker 2:Well, sometimes we just can all disagree. That's the great thing about our show we all respect each other and we all can disagree sometimes. Burbank Municipal Code establishing regulations and development standards for firearm and ammunition retail uses. So here it is, people. It's taken them two years and here comes what Burbank's going to do about the gun stores. Now, I'm sorry, ross, excuse me for a second. I'm going to stand in my little soapbox here.
Speaker 2:I first wrote about this story in May of 2022. I detailed that there were 14 gun stores retail gun shops in Burbank. I gave their addresses, I did a map, I showed that the 14 gun stores were in a five and a half square mile area Burbank, making it the most dense area of gun stores in the entire world. And I just said you know why do we have all the? And then the city council took it up, starting in July, and put a more 21 gun stores and everything else July and put a more 21 gun stores and everything else.
Speaker 2:Now we get to this point and they have a really great ordinance they're going to put together, but there is nowhere in the ordinance about saying how many gun stores can be in Burbank. And my entire point, and I actually have an editorial coming out this week that says why do we need more than five? I have no problem with gun stores, I have no problem with gun ownership, I have no problem with any of that. But having 14 in a five and a half square mile area to me is absolutely ludicrous. Okay, I'm going to jump in here because Give me one more second here.
Speaker 2:My what I think is you can't tell the 14 to go out of business. You've got to let them stay in business. Legally you can't, you know, and that's fine. But when they close, when they close, I think then nobody can open a new business until you get down to, let's say, four, and they had four. Now we can add one more, go back to five again. So that's my thing.
Speaker 2:And also in this ordinance they do not say if the 500-foot buffers they want to put in are by street map locations or by as the crow flies locations or by as the crow flies, which I also showed in my story that by California law you're not supposed to have retailers within a thousand feet of schools. But yet they are not in a thousand feet if you go by directions on a street map, but they are as the crow flies and that's illustrated. So all I'm saying is why can't, if we can limit and say no cannabis stores, we can say no Uber scooters in Burbank, we can say the things that we don't allow as businesses. Why can't we do that with gun stores? Okay, that's it, let me hold on. I'm off the soapbox, ross, all yours.
Speaker 3:Okay, I've done. I've asked a couple of political people, meaning our city council and some city employees. They were not tasked with limiting the number of gun stores. They were tasked with changing the zoning that gun stores and where they can be and so forth. Apparently it's taken them a long time because they have to. They've had to do a ton of research. There are new lawsuits occurring in every state in the United States that our city attorney he is here to protect the citizens of Burbank the city council Agreed and he has had to do the research and the things that they can and he's not going to go up with something where there's been lawsuits that cities and states have lost, you know.
Speaker 3:So apparently this ordinance has done exactly what they were tasked to do and that is redo the zoning laws again. Nothing to do with how many gun stores, but where schools are and so forth. Now they have to take into account. You know, like you said, they can't close gun stores down. No, I agree, I said to a couple of the council people that I talked to. You know we have. You go on the other side of the airport. There are I don't know how many CBD stores, you know, and pot stores, not in Burbank, but you know they're in.
Speaker 3:LA that's for sure. Yeah, they're in Northern Hollywood, that's right. Los Angeles and Burbank again, like you say, we don't have tattoo parlors, right? We don't have where you turn tattoo parlors, right? We don't have um oh, where you turn, uh, um shops in you know um pawn shops no pawn shops we don't have any pornographic, no stores like that and no scooters.
Speaker 3:And nothing says no, there are scooters. They've limited the scooters. There's scooters all up and down magnolia, not the ones you can rent. Yes, you can Go into Magnolia Park and they're on corners Only one or two. But Burbank has limited what is allowed in the city.
Speaker 2:I think those are the ones that come in from North Hollywood.
Speaker 3:No, those are here in Burbank. Burbank has allowed two companies to come in the city with minimum money.
Speaker 2:I can correct on that one.
Speaker 3:I'm in Magnolia Park a lot and they're all over. What about Airbnbs?
Speaker 2:You can't do it, but they're doing it. I didn't say they're not doing it. I said can you do that?
Speaker 3:Well, and I would think that eventually and again I don't know when the city council will revisit this exact topic to do, because my question was if a store closes and they've had apparently a couple people go to them and ask the city, what will you give me to close?
Speaker 1:yeah, well, but if I can add a little something here, please, um, a lot of what we're discussing it you mentioned articulated ross. You're talking about we don't have this, we don't have this, we don't have cannabis stores, we don't have this. When you're when you're drafting a, an ordinance, it's very it's easier to completely prohibit something than it is to arbitrarily come up with a limit of something. Right, there has to be a legal basis for that limit. So if they say there can only be five gun stores, okay, well, where's the legal basis for that number? It's going to be the automatic argument from the other side. So when you're talking about coming up with an ordinance, it's a lot more complicated to limit something than to completely prohibit something, which would be impossible for them to do at this point.
Speaker 2:All I know and I really, really, really hope it doesn't happen. But when the moratorium is over and they pass the ordinance, I would hate to see three new gun stores open up on industrial areas in Burbank and add three more gun stores. I would really hate to see that happen.
Speaker 1:I don't know if it's going to happen. There's got to be a smart way to go about this, and it's kind of weird trying to follow their path through this, but I have to kind of assume that they're going in the right direction.
Speaker 3:Well, I believe you know we watch this for how long now. And it started off with, you know, our city attorney and then somebody from community development and that committee is now grown. I think I've heard of 15 to 18 members that are involved to write this ordinance. Not just. I mean, there was a city attorney dedicated just to this, you know, and doing the research and everything else. And again, like I said, they don't want to put their foot out there and get sued. You know, they know what they're up against. So apparently they wrote this ordinance. That will work.
Speaker 2:I guarantee you this You're going to get 10 people up at the public comments saying you're taking away my Second Amendment rights and they're not, and they're not. But you're always going to have that, you know, and I just want to go up there and slap those people.
Speaker 1:There was a day in Burbank not long ago that you had FFLs, or Federal Firearms Licensees, selling guns out of their garage. You know, forget the storefronts. We're just talking about storefronts, I believe. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Actual stores you can go, go brick and mortars you can walk into, I think, one of these, one of these locations the guy worked out of his house happened to be next, right next, to one of our one of our writers one of our writers and uh yeah, when the list went out and said look at the address and go, wait a minute, that's our next door neighbor.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but again she said they said they nobody's ever gone to the house. You know, the guy ships stuff from there, a lot of ups and fedex probably but I think it's I think los angeles county or there's some.
Speaker 1:I'm going back in my rolodex a bit here, but I think there's a requirement within la county that you have to have a storefront or at least an address that you'll sell stuff out of. So you can sell somebody a gun, but you have to meet them at this storefront to do the transfer or stuff like that, something weird like that. Different counties have different regulations.
Speaker 3:Well, craig Durling, don't you remember? I remember you and I went to a gentleman's house in Burbank that used to sell to quite a few Burbank police officers and to everybody law enforcement and it was out of his house and it was kind of weird.
Speaker 1:But you go into his garage and it was like, wow, well, I knew another one that sold out of his, out of his house, but he had an address in Simi Valley where he had rented space in in the guy's closet or something because he had to have technically a storefront. It was a gun store in Simi Valley because he had to have this business address associated with it. I don't know if that's still the case, those stories may be outdated at this point.
Speaker 3:What really gets me is what is this all about? You remember this was all brought on by a couple, you know, by several of the shootings and so forth. Nothing that's ever happened here no what.
Speaker 2:There was only one of the mass shooters who bought their gun in burbank right um, and they used it in santa barbara.
Speaker 1:It wasn't used here but I think what it all did is it shined a light on oh my gosh, there are 14 gun stores within let me take, let me take so many. What are we doing?
Speaker 2:When I used to coach at Burroughs and I used to drive down Magnolia a lot, I used to say, wow, look at all these guys. It used to just dawn on me, wow, look at all the gun stores. And that's where I first got the inkling that wow, we have a lot of guns, how many do we have? And I sent a thing into the city and said how many do we have? And they sent me back the list. I go wow. And I started mapping it out and I go wow. So that's how I kind of came up upon the whole thing, just because driving around town and driving down Magnolia, because they seemed to all levitate toward Magnolia for some reason. And then, right about then also is when Gun World was relocating, so that was also became a more popular, you know.
Speaker 3:And it's funny because I drove by yesterday where they moved out of. They're both for rent, for lease, and they've had something in there right after they closed. They were using one for a warehouse but the other two empty stores on Magnolia now.
Speaker 2:I will say this if you have a store and you want to make sure you have some good security, that's the place to move in. Those places have all kinds of games.
Speaker 3:I don't know. They went in through the roof once or twice. I remember they went in through a wall. You can't get into Gun World.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, so watch Tuesday's meeting, see what you think.
Speaker 3:You know what we should have probably prefaced it. You know what we should have probably prefaced it? Tuesday night's meeting is going to be one of the longest damn meetings you'll ever see. They might go past 2-3 because, on top of this gun, they got to finish the budget. But they can always put that off.
Speaker 2:They can always put that off.
Speaker 3:No, the budget, you have dates.
Speaker 2:The budget has to go into effect by July 1st, right you?
Speaker 3:still have June to come. They still have work to do on it. I'm just saying it's not but they won't.
Speaker 2:You and I know they will go till 3 in the morning probably Don't have three meetings a month, only have two, because you want to just go as long as you can Anyhow. So my whole thing is we don't need to have any gun stores. But that's me, that's how I feel, that's my opinion and this is where I get to talk.
Speaker 1:Valid opinion.
Speaker 2:My opinion and I'm welcome to it. Yep, okay, so yeah, the budget review continues after the gun ordinance.
Speaker 3:There was something else on the agenda. I saw that was great. Well, there were a few things there were there were like six or seven other things.
Speaker 2:Most of them were on the consent agenda.
Speaker 3:One or two had lengthy reports. I saw and it was like, wow, yeah, well, we'll see. Keep your no-dos up.
Speaker 2:I feel bad for all those employees who have to sit there for that whole meeting and then be back to work at 9 o'clock the next morning.
Speaker 1:Just to start work on the next meeting.
Speaker 3:Actually no, they have staff. Yeah, the next morning that way everything is fresh from the night before.
Speaker 2:So Wednesday we're going to have the is the deadline to submit your survey with the city for the parks master plan. So they're working on a master plan for all the parks, how they use them, how they what people want to see in the parks, and Wednesday's the last day you can submit your survey. Go to the city's website and find the survey there. That was the meeting that I went to, wasn't it? Yeah, they've had outreach meetings also.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they've had three.
Speaker 2:So if you want to catch up, and by the way, I looked to see if they had a video of that and they didn't.
Speaker 3:Yes, they do every if you go to. Yes, I watched it. My personally I watched it okay at the first one. They recorded it at the second one and the third one because I was there at the third one.
Speaker 2:I went to try to find it.
Speaker 3:I couldn't find it yeah, this company that they hired and you can. Where's the where the videos? I don't have it on the top of my head, but I do remember. I'll find it and we'll put it up in this notes, Because they said if you're not here, you can watch the previous videos and find out everything that we're talking about. You could and then take the survey.
Speaker 2:Parkland's important in Burbank and there's not that much of it and we have continued continuing to expand our our population. So open places is important. You know we're talking about wildwood canyon and, of course, verdugo, all of the cambridge we're talking. Uh, you know all the small little parks too and well, you know everybody wants more soccer fields.
Speaker 3:Where are you going to put them folks? You know we got to, we got to add takes up a lot, a lot of folks. You know we got to add how many.
Speaker 1:Takes up a lot of space soccer fields.
Speaker 3:And we got to put in more housing to meet the state requirements. What are you going to do? Cover the freeway and make a soccer field? No, but.
Speaker 2:I think what you should do is make these big, huge apartment buildings. Put soccer fields on the roof, On the roof.
Speaker 4:We wouldn't be the first city to do it.
Speaker 2:Actually, look at Burbank High. They didn't have enough room to put tennis courts, so they built a parking structure and they put the tennis courts on top.
Speaker 3:And when you lose your balls, they're down in the parking garage.
Speaker 2:Let's see so. Also, on Wednesday 3 to 5 pm we're going to have the grand opening celebration for Burbank Housing Corporation's Niagara ADU project at 2219 and 2221 Niagara Street. So I guess they're doing some ADUs for housing. I'm not sure if it's going to be Section 8, if it's going to be Voucher, if it's going to be Burbank Housing, yes, if it's going to be.
Speaker 3:Section 8, if it's going to be voucher, if it's going to be bank housing, yes, but there will be a little celebration there and tours.
Speaker 2:I think we have Lynn going there to cover it.
Speaker 3:And I'll be covering it also.
Speaker 2:One o'clock. We have the senior citizens are going to be meeting at one o'clock at Jodosson Center. They're going to get a report, a pedestrian collision report, and a senior disabled transportation update. Now I don't know what they're going to do with the pedestrian collision report, but you know what? Maybe they can send it to the police commission.
Speaker 1:Send that over to the police commission.
Speaker 3:I was going to say Wow, and Craig Durling, you don't qualify to get to that meeting because you're still on your little cart. And you're also not a senior citizen. Yeah, you're also not a senior, but I can park close, that's right.
Speaker 2:The Transportation Commission is going to meet later in the day at 5 o'clock at the Community Services Building and one of the things they're going to talk about, or have a report about, I guess, is LA County's Metro Go Pass and student transit options in Burbank. At the request of one of the commissioners, the staff will present information on the LA County Metro Go Pass program and other student transit options in Burbank, which I don't know of any other student besides all the ones that we have, such as you go to the bus stop and when the bus comes you get on it. I don't think there's anything specifically for students, like there is for senior citizens. What?
Speaker 3:did we have several years ago? We had Not Burbank Bus. No, it was called Go Something or yeah, and that was Not Burbank Bus, no, it was called Go Something-er. Yeah, and that was a very, very you know what?
Speaker 2:It was very popular after school because I know I worked in the schools and when there was times when school was over we'd get 100 kids waiting for this and then you'd get 20 into it. It had to loop all the way around, come back, pick up another 20, loop all the way around. But a lot of kids would use it to get to and from school, but then they didn't use it. Most of the other times In the evenings they didn't use it Right.
Speaker 3:you could use it to go to the parks. My son used it. I was working in Electronic City from school up on the hill and it would let them off right across from electronics. It was fantastic. And then you know the first thing they get rid of. Usually they say art programs and music programs. The transportation got rid of that for our kids.
Speaker 2:You know why Kids don't vote? Yeah, those kids could vote. You notice we didn't get rid of the senior citizens bus program.
Speaker 3:They vote. You are so correct, but that go-pass. I think the transportation commission has learned we've got to get better rapid transit. Well yeah.
Speaker 2:That's a whole podcast upon itself, literally.
Speaker 3:Don't even get me started on burbank limo, I mean burbank bus well, you know, they're for kids, for adults, for seniors there, and there's there's fees or passes that people aren't using yeah, that's true too, though, and you know I don't think a lot of burbank people you know we're here in burbank do they offer that here.
Speaker 2:Here's the thing, though. Let's say, they get the information, they do offer that and everything else. Well, great, they'll get a report on it, but how are they going to get the information out to all these households? Expect them. Oh, you need to watch the senior citizen meeting, or you need to watch the transportation meeting. That's not going to happen.
Speaker 3:You've got to get the word out to people some way. And what have we heard lately? We have people going up to city council meeting and go. You never told me.
Speaker 2:How do I?
Speaker 3:know, you know I will say I'm guilty of that. I qualify. I turned what? 60, what I don't know, 60-something, last week 68. And I qualify for all this stuff. Have I ever gone to jocelyn to sign in to get a card? You know where you can get discounts at things around town or for writing. Or I can get on the burbank bus and show that card. Save a dollar. You know, but still there's people that that dollar is real. You know when, when you live on a retirement and and you want to get around town to go get groceries.
Speaker 2:But still if you want to get around town to go get groceries. But still, If you want to get around and get trophies or groceries, you can't use that bus. It doesn't go to your grocery stores.
Speaker 3:Well, don't buy anything perishable.
Speaker 2:Yes, okay, okay. Now also on Wednesday, we start our graduation season. We have a gala season, now we have graduation season. We have a gala season, now we have graduation season. The Burbank Adult School graduation ceremony will be held at the Burbank Adult School Auditorium Makes sense.
Speaker 2:That's a good place to have it. I guess, yeah, why not? And then set your calendars, set your alarms, set everything you've got, because there's an event in Burbank on Wednesday night that you're going to want to make sure you don't miss, and that is Ross Benson, as part of a two-man and one-woman panel at the Boys and Girls Club at 630, talking about Burbank Arts, is going to present Burbank in Pictures. Ross, give us a rundown of that. Well, you know, I was asked by Adam.
Speaker 3:One of the art commissioners came up with this idea, and it's myself, bonnie Burrow and David.
Speaker 1:This idea, and it's myself, bonnie burrow and david laurel. We, uh, for me, I've covered burbank for 50 years.
Speaker 3:There is some photographic history right there I'll tell you well, and that's what you know, they went through some pictures that the library have and they, they looked and my pie line's on most of them. David Laurel has covered the society for many years and so he's covered a ton of the same faces.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a ton of gallows you go to also Right.
Speaker 3:And then Bonnie she worked for the leader after I did and covered a million assignments. So they came into my house and they got some pictures I've given them of some classic. I mean that I shot 40 years ago. I mean one of the pictures you didn't give them the Blood Guts and Gore book.
Speaker 2:Did you no Okay?
Speaker 3:Nope, they didn't get that. It's funny because I looked at their. If you go online to Burbank Arts and the brochure says they had a picture of the guy attempting to jump off the roof at NBC, I remember that because I was there, you were there, you shot it, yeah, and that's so long ago now, but I remember, you know, and they want people to ask questions. Most of these people that are coming, they've had over a hundred.
Speaker 2:What about your little famous picture, the one where they my baby rescue, baby rescue?
Speaker 3:Well, that'll be there. In fact, I gave him a copy of Life Magazine. That will be there, and Bonnie has some classics and David, like he said, I don't know what I'm going to do there but you know, the three of us, uh, we kind of get along and um it's, I think there's plenty of stories to tell. There you go, you know, and the door's open. I think six, 30, the event starts. It's going to go for on for an hour or two, if Ross is there.
Speaker 1:Right you talk about city council meetings going long If you three together, if Ross is going to be there telling stories.
Speaker 2:He better bring a midnight snack with you.
Speaker 3:Well, if they do, they better bring something for me. Oh no, I have something. The big hook. Oh, that's right. I'm doing the ribbon cutting right before this event. So I got to go from one to the other. I won't be in a tuxedo.
Speaker 1:Another picture to show.
Speaker 3:That's right. But they said if this goes, it might go round two. I mean, have another one if there's enough questions. So if you want to talk about Burbank in pictures, for well, for me, for the last 50 years you put the three of us together, you have over 100.
Speaker 1:Can anybody just walk in? Do you have to register? I think they're asking, or is it an admission?
Speaker 3:I think they want you to RSVP, just so they know how many chairs to set up.
Speaker 2:It's at the Boys and Girls Club. Where do they go to do that? Well, it's not on the city website, so I'm not sure where I think Burbank Arts, if you put in Burbank Arts.
Speaker 3:Okay, you know, craig, can you have a free computer to throw in Burbank Arts?
Speaker 1:I'm not doing much over here, so sure.
Speaker 3:Well, that's why I was thinking. I checked the city website.
Speaker 1:Burbank.
Speaker 2:Arts An education foundation. Maybe, I checked the city's website tonight to look for it.
Speaker 3:You're both talking I can't hear. Stand by. We're going to get the official Burbank Arts. I do know they have a website and I know this is their flyer.
Speaker 1:Um, what was the event called again?
Speaker 2:Uh Burbank in pictures Um.
Speaker 1:Burbank in Pizza Burbank Pickleball, oh yes.
Speaker 2:Burbank Pickleball. We do like Burbank.
Speaker 1:Pickleball Ah, burbank in. Look at this Burbank in Pictures with Ross Benson, bonnie Burrow and David Larell, may 22nd, 6.30 pm to 8 pm. Sure, free, it's going to be free. Doors open at 6.30. Boys and Girls Club. Looks like you can just show up. Just show up. Yeah, it's a free event. Oh, it does give an RSVP at eventbritecom and it's a very long, unreadable link.
Speaker 2:What's the?
Speaker 1:website. You're on it's burbankartscom, under events and you scroll down and the last part of the paragraph is the RSVP address. It's an Eventbrite address. If you have the Eventbrite app on your phone, you might even be able to bring up this event on your phone and go ahead and RSVP.
Speaker 3:So if you don't have anything to do Wednesday night, come talk to us or come to listen to us. It'll be kind of fun. You know I've said many times many 50 years ago my brother handed me an SRT-101 Monalta to shoot his wedding. He said here, shoot our wedding. Then he said you're going to be the official photographer and I basically said what into the camera do I look in? I did not take pictures.
Speaker 2:The stories are already starting.
Speaker 1:I was going to say we've already burned 15 minutes on this and Dirling doesn't have us down the rat hole.
Speaker 3:but you know, you look back, I'm letting you, I'm letting you roll on this one.
Speaker 1:This is your thing.
Speaker 3:You know, every time I took my finger and you touch your shutter and if you're a photographer, think about it you create history.
Speaker 1:I now get to look back Every frame is a story that's right.
Speaker 3:And I look back at pictures.
Speaker 1:I will say on the website, though, if you don't want to deal with that link, there is a QR code right there on the site for the event to RSVP. There you go Scan it and RSVP that way too.
Speaker 3:So you know it's. It's the history of. Did I ever think I'd have every city council getting you know sworn in? Or did I have you know the high rises on on Alameda? I remember when they were apartment buildings. You know we live here in Burbank so I just was with Craig Durling last week, drove by Warner, the ranch Holy smokes, there's walls.
Speaker 2:Those sound stages are going to be tall.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you live on Verdugo, you can forget about seeing Mount Lee anymore. Yeah, no more.
Speaker 3:You know Burbank in pictures. You think about it. Um, a lot of people have always said to me do you remember shooting this or that? And it'll be fun. I'm looking forward to the event.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, there you go. Sounds like a great event. That's on Wednesday night. Let's move on to Thursday. The infrastructure oversight board will be undersided and canceled, and don't they go by the initials the IFO or the IS the I've never heard of it. Iob, when you listen to the.
Speaker 1:I'm just looking at the name.
Speaker 3:Thank you very much.
Speaker 1:Some of the F came.
Speaker 3:Yeah, IOB Fac facilitators yes, and see what happened all we found in f, the committee canceled the meeting, just for that there you go, just for that.
Speaker 2:That's for spite well, ross, we got a grand opening and ribbon cutting on uh, thursday. Uh, why don't you tell us about it? Oh boy, oh boy, wait, wait, we boy.
Speaker 3:Wait, wait, we have too many. You guys have a song for me for ribbon cuttings. Well, we did. Don't you remember when we used to talk, I'd go to ribbon cuttings.
Speaker 1:No, we'd just make fun of you behind your back from being a Mr Ribbon Cutting.
Speaker 3:There's a ribbon cutting. On what day?
Speaker 4:Thursday, thursday, same time as the girls' graduation the 23rd of May.
Speaker 3:And the old Cartoon Network building which is now the Hollywood Production Whoa.
Speaker 2:Whoa, whoa, wait a second. What, what, oh Wait, what's the name of the production? Hollywood Production, hollywood Hollywood Production Center, and what does this mean?
Speaker 1:That means Hollywood must be if you're still awake or driving must be the word of the week well, there you go.
Speaker 2:So if you are still listening and you're still conscious, right about now, go ahead and do your reward and send in a email to contest at my brubingcom. And put Hollywood in the subject line and include your address, please, and if you win we'll announce you on the store next week and send you a $25 gift card to Hill Street Cafe, where they have fabulous salad dressing.
Speaker 1:That'll get you, and salads to put under them. That'll get you a lot of good food at Hill Street.
Speaker 2:Well you know, there we go, so okay, so we have the Hollywood Production Center brand opening 300 North 3rd Street and I have been told I drove by today.
Speaker 3:They have refitted that whole building. The party's going to be up on the roof, which they have, which you can see the whole city from, but their turnkey offices and so forth. If you have a production company or you're designing something, you need to be in a production office with like-minded people and so forth If you'd like to be located in the media capital of the world, there is a place you can get a space.
Speaker 1:That's what I was going to ask is what they actually will do, what services they provide here. Are there actual studios there or just production offices?
Speaker 3:Well, if you weren't on your little scooter, we'll find out. I will find out come Thursday.
Speaker 2:They're going to have a grand opening, they're going to have tours and everything else.
Speaker 3:And they are also advertising on MyBurbain? Yes, they are. So you can. I think there is a QR code, if I recall, or you can look at they have a website which will take you to it. Click on the ad, it'll go right to their website. Yep, and you want to know about that. So, burbank, you know everybody worries. When Cartoon Network, that was a huge building, I remember when they were so large Huge the Black Diamond, they moved. They, huge, huge the Black Diamond, they moved. They bridged into the Black Diamond building. Well, when, not the iceberg building, no, that's where they moved to. Ah, there you go. That's why that building became empty. Ah, it's part of Warner Brothers, that's true. So how do you repurpose a building? Perfect reason for it, yeah, you know. And they apparently Hollywood Production. Oh, there we go. They also have a location in Hollywood, apparently, they have a couple actually yeah, they do.
Speaker 2:Well, we're still in graduation season, so at 6 o'clock is the Burroughs graduation and they're going to have it at Burroughs.
Speaker 3:And you know the reason. I can't fly across town. I don't have my helicopter this week. We're kind of warning you. If you have kids in school, you get it. If not, avoid Clark, avoid Verdugo. On Thursday, kids will be running in the street wearing gowns and caps. Parents are going to be looking for parking spaces. If you want to rent out your driveway and make extra money, this is the event to do it.
Speaker 2:So, yep, earl's graduation and there's later that night we have a big event over tequilas. Huh man, I'll tell you tequilas, yeah, just having a tequila food pairing event, something like eight courses, yeah, and what goes well, with the different flavors of tequila and everything, and more tequila, different flavors of tequila and everything, and uh more tequila more tequila tequila is going to have tequila tequila and I I will.
Speaker 3:That's a song, yeah, right, I think, so I will share that. Mr derling and I went there thursday night for taco street taco thursday. We had a great time.
Speaker 1:They have a musician, but they have live music every thursday and friday night there it was just great.
Speaker 3:I mean, there were a lot of families there. I recognized a lot of people. Uh, in fact I pointed out to patty, one of our tenant commissioners was there eating. She had never eaten there before somebody else came up to me. They lived two blocks from where viva's used to be. What is it now the new one? They wanted to check out tequila's. They said we'll be back here for sure. Tequila is really, really good and she's well they got mixed.
Speaker 2:Best mexican, best mexican food restaurant in burbank.
Speaker 1:Also, they are my brand and they are a loyal sponsor. A loyal sponsor, yes, and a great business, great local business. They do a lot of charity work, a lot of fundraisers there, very involved in the city. I would tell everybody go to their Instagram. Tequila's Burbank. On Instagram they have all the information because I believe for this tasting event they need RSVPs, but last I checked they had some availability, some spaces still available. But I would urge you to go to their Instagram and check on that.
Speaker 3:And I got to say you know, we had dinner there with Patty and Carlos, the owners. Patty turned to me and she says how do I get hold of the school superintendent? I want to offer our help to the Breadheart School or wherever the school district needs it because of the situation that occurred a couple weeks ago. Patty and Carlos don't live in Burbank. They have a business here, but they feel so committed to our city they want to offer whatever help they can do. It would be nice if we had a dozen other businesses do that.
Speaker 2:By the way, we don't have that on our notes, but on Wednesday they're having the preliminary hearing in that case too, so we will follow up on that. Well, let's move on to Friday.
Speaker 1:Just to explain, this was the unfortunate incident involving the Burbank longtime Burbank school teacher. Yeah, the kindergarten teacher Karen.
Speaker 3:Lombardo Yep.
Speaker 2:In fact, the state assembly yeah, the assembly recessed in her name this week, so and I will say I got a email from supervisor Catherine Barger.
Speaker 3:We ran an obit for a good friend of ours, michael McManus, who wrote Burbankia McDaniel.
Speaker 4:I'm sorry they also adjourned the supervisors meeting wrote.
Speaker 3:Burbankia, michael McDaniel. I'm sorry. They also adjourned the supervisors meeting and they are sending a certificate to his family. That's nice.
Speaker 2:So Michael was a very Well, they wrote three books, great books, and they'll always be here for the history of Burbank.
Speaker 3:And it's sad because his partner said he can't do anymore without Michael.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, that's Friday. We continue graduation season. Burbank High is going to have their graduation at 6pm at Burroughs.
Speaker 3:Do I get to say the same warning? I'd advise you to not drive down.
Speaker 1:That way they didn't have to print two different invitations.
Speaker 3:Well, craig, they can leave the chairs set up. That's astroturf, so they don't have to print two different invitations. Yes, well, craig, you're funny a lot. They can leave the chairs set up, that's astroturf, so they don't need to water the grass.
Speaker 2:I'm sure you don't have to worry about risers.
Speaker 3:They don't allow risers well, they don't allow risers, but they do change the flowers because the colors and everything.
Speaker 2:But yeah, both graduations are thursday and friday and, uh, we move on to the weekend and it's kind of a quiet weekend. But I will say this for next week, people, the city has scheduled eight different meetings in the first three days of the week next week.
Speaker 1:So use the weekend to rest up.
Speaker 2:Yes, because they can't just schedule one meeting a day. They've got to schedule eight. In three days, holy cow, anyhow. Well, in three days, holy cow, anyhow. Well, you know, go ahead. I was going to say that's, that's all I've got. I was going to move on to our, our, our next and most valuable segment of the show. Are you ready?
Speaker 1:Are you?
Speaker 2:ready.
Speaker 1:I can't wait, and I might even have my own little brief one to tag onto the end, but this is why I show up. Is, for this part, right? This?
Speaker 2:is it. And of course, he needs to go first because ratings this is where our ratings come from right here. That's right. I check the ratings very carefully.
Speaker 1:They don't stick around, for me, they stick around.
Speaker 2:It seems to be worth a weekend and, of course, this segment called.
Speaker 4:Ross's, rant, ross's, rant, ross's Rant. I'd take a flamethrower to this place. Watch out, doc.
Speaker 1:So hostile?
Speaker 3:Must be time for me to share my Ross's Rant. I hope you're ready. Well, I was just taking note. You know I can come up with a thousand things. I drive around this town and I see things and it just blows me away and I didn't write down and bring it with me what my top ross's rant were for today. But I don't know when we're doing next week's podcast because it falls on memorial day, the 27th. Well, we've done them on christmas, we've done one two years, but we do them after memorial day activities and yeah, all the events will be over.
Speaker 3:That's true, that's true and that's why I'm bringing it up now. I have attended in fact I shoot for the city the at the War Memorial up at McCambridge Park and they set up plenty of chairs. It's under the big trees, you really. You know they say between Memorial Day and Veterans Day why we go there. It's a great ceremony I highly recommend Come on by. Starts at 10, 1030. They do a flyby that our good friends, the kusumato company pays for. That air squadron comes by every year. Mickey dipalo puts on the event. This year we've lost a couple of the veteran that were on the committee. Um, one of the people that sang passed away and now mike mcdaniel away and he was on the committee Memorial Day. I know my good buddy Craig here. When he was down in Torrance he stayed there for a week for the Memorial Day or for the.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was just this week in the Armed Forces Day celebration.
Speaker 1:And you saw generals and oh, admirals, generals, secretaries of defense, it draws a big crowd. It's very highly attended by the military. This is the city of Torrance. It is the longest running, continuously running, armed Forces Day celebration anywhere in the country, sanctioned by all branches of the military. So it's a big deal and after COVID they were able to start it up again last year, I believe and it's a huge event, well attended, huge parade, static displays at the mall, flyovers it's a whole week of events really, including free concerts for the public from the military, bands, stuff like that. So, if you know and it's always this weekend, this past weekend, so, if you're ever looking into it, if you want to head down there, uh to torrance, uh, next year for it, it's, it's open to the public, everything's free well, burbank's uh memorial day ceremonies are at memorial uh cambridge park.
Speaker 3:Plenty of parking.
Speaker 2:We just had a dig event there last week and it all fixed up nice.
Speaker 3:It looks real good. I drove by there and that rose garden. But they do some ceremonies the Ceremony of the Rose, which is very touching. Only a couple hours. You know you could take the time out of your schedule. Come on by. We have a ton of military people there that you could personally thank for saving our country these days. Well, let's remember.
Speaker 2:Memorial Day is to celebrate those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Compared to Veterans Day, which is kind of for the people in present who are serving and have served. Yes, who have it, who are still with us. But Memorial Day we celebrate all those who've lost their life either in during the wars or later, you know, as they approached old age and you know, you know, my dad was a was a veteran Guadalcanal.
Speaker 1:Um so Well you get back to showing our support and our respect in person. Let's, let's get these, these events, uh, full. You know, let's attend these events in person and show, show where we're at and no people care.
Speaker 3:We all know Gary Brick. We've been to his restaurant. Gary lost his brother, you know.
Speaker 1:Well, there aren't many who haven't been been touched in one way or another, but unfortunately, so been touched in one way or another.
Speaker 3:But unfortunately so. You know, rass, I think the burbank band is their community band, community band, right, it's very. They play all the different all the different.
Speaker 2:Uh um songs from all the different services.
Speaker 3:What is that?
Speaker 1:uh, the the theme song from each branch of the military, and so forth and then usually I love that, I love when the bands start playing that medley of all the different armed services.
Speaker 2:Whenever it's their service, you see them stand right up. They are proud.
Speaker 1:That's great and you know, for years down at our event at Torrance I covered both concerts and it was always the great band of the Air Force of the West and all that. That was my favorite part of every performance and I think the audience's part is when they start playing the different branches and that particular flag drops down over the stage and they stand up and it's just, you see the pride, I get emotional, I get emotional.
Speaker 3:You see the pride they have, you know, and even now they do this ceremony every year and quite a bit of it is repeated. You know it's like when you hear songs from the different military branches and you see these guys stand that are so proud that they served and they should be you need to be proud of them.
Speaker 3:They close it out with taps and so forth and then following usually VFW on Magnolia has a barbecue everybody's invited to. So if you don't want to go over to Tommy's or Carl's Jr or whatever, if you don't have plans, go to VFW and you'll have a whole mess of military people there that you can personally and I'll tell you they've got a jar out there. The lunch is free, it's fully. I mean, they have quite a bit hamburgers, hot dogs, it works. So that's kind of my rant. I've had people come up to me and you guys make it sound kind of funny.
Speaker 2:They do say they listen for my rants sometimes when I bitch about the city, and they've even said that's why you put it last, because if we don't, then I bitch about the city, and they've even said that's why you?
Speaker 1:put it last, because if we don't, then every reason to turn the show off right away.
Speaker 2:So then they say oh, it's an exclamation point on the whole show.
Speaker 3:It's okay to use a couple of swear words every so on.
Speaker 1:And Craig didn't you?
Speaker 2:have something you want to throw in there too?
Speaker 1:I a little something. It might be very controversial, especially, uh, controversial, and on this show I can read a room um, since, uh you mr sherwood are basked in dodger blue, the room and your shirt.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's true, dog is named dodger and you got a living room full of them.
Speaker 1:He's on the move. That aside, no, there's nothing against. Uh, you by any means. But I'm a dodgers fan. I watch all the games. Enough with the bobble heads boy. In an age when we're trying to save plastics and we have to have soggy paper straws in our drinks, stuff like that, and we're inundated, the world is going to be just buried in bobble heads at some point. Enough enough. Half the game. They're talking about the bobble head from this guy. Guy's been playing in the big leagues for a month and a half and he's got a bobblehead coming out.
Speaker 2:Enough. Well, I'm going to tell you a little secret about that. You know what they do is they get the bobblehead sponsored. Now you see it with everybody. Now it's only for 40,000.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what it is. It's just a marketing tool.
Speaker 2:It's a marketing tool If they have it sponsored, let's say, by B of A or some corporation who pays for them? But here's what you don't realize Go to the Dodger website and look for ticket prices on bobblehead day, and it'll always be between 10 and 20% higher on that day only. So they're also overcharging, so they're not only for free they're making extra money on that.
Speaker 1:You're buying that bobblehead? Yeah, but I'm going to the game, but they're not only for free.
Speaker 2:They're making extra money on that. You're buying that bobblehead, yeah, and go into the game, but they're getting for free from that company, so they're just they're just raking in free money.
Speaker 1:That's why they keep rolling. But, but and I know people like to collect them you, you have a collection.
Speaker 2:I do have a collection, nothing against nothing.
Speaker 1:They have to go somewhere, I guess. If they, I mean if we can't have plastic straws and plastic forks and all this stuff, what's with this? We're covering the planet with these bobbleheads for crying out loud.
Speaker 3:So you guys are talking about.
Speaker 2:I'm going to put a straw in the damn thing so I can put it in my drink. And, by the way, that's just Dodger Stadium, every major league stadium, every team, but it just seems that you can't get through an inning without hearing about somebody's bobblehead.
Speaker 1:Hey, next week, next Tuesday. So you know the guy that cleans the toilets, it's bobblehead night, but let's say you know what.
Speaker 3:You guys keep saying bringing up that word. Dodger, did you hear the last two days who's put in a bid to buy TikTok? Frank McCourt, sure, we all recall We've made him rich too. He owns a parking lot.
Speaker 1:He does. Does he have a bobblehead? Probably?
Speaker 3:oh, I bet he, oh, he probably does, and I can't guarantee all those players love to hit it. But okay, talk about you know somebody that's.
Speaker 1:That's my rant.
Speaker 2:Enough with the bobbleheads okay, although my dog dodger will hopefully not be insulted by the Dodger bobblehead. You know what. We need a Dodger dog bobblehead now, no we don't.
Speaker 3:Now, this is pretty good.
Speaker 2:Not if we make it out of bone, where we can go and bury it somewhere.
Speaker 3:You know it's funny Dodger repositioned and he's looking me square in the eye going who's working the camera, the board today, and he is just looking at me. That is Dodger Dog and he is just centered on that camera.
Speaker 1:A Dodger can say goodnight for us all. I think that's a good thing.
Speaker 2:You want to say goodnight to first Dodger? I agree, okay.
Speaker 1:No, actually directly translated what he said.
Speaker 2:Well, I agree with you, craig no more bobbleheads. Okay, no. Actually directly translated what he said Well, I agree with you, craig no more bobbleheads. Yeah, hold on. We got four more seconds of Roger barking, can't?
Speaker 1:turn it off now Okay.
Speaker 2:Well, that's it for another week. Craig Sherwood, Ross Benson.
Speaker 3:And Ross Benson. I have a great week and don't forget your sunscreen if you're outside and for Craig Derling.
Speaker 2:You too, craig. Good night Burbank. We will talk to you next week and, once again, thank you so much for listening.
Speaker 1:My Burbank Talks would like to thank all of my Burbank's advertisers for their continued support. Burbank Water, power, cusimano Real Estate Group, ume Credit Union. Burbank's advertisers for their continued support. Burbank Water and Power, cusimano Real Estate Group, ume. Credit Union. Burbank Chamber of Commerce, gain Credit Union, providence, st Joseph Medical Center, community, chevrolet, media City Credit Union, ucla Health, tequila's, burbank, logix Credit Union, hill Street Cafe, pertain, escobar Wealth Management and the UPS Store on 3rd Street.