myBurbank Talks
The Week That Was and That Will Be - June 17
Ever wonder how a community can come together through the power of art and humor? This week's "myBurbank Talks" kicks off with an exciting preview of the upcoming Elephant Walk exhibit, featuring 26 artistic elephants set to color our city starting July 1st. We then dive into the quirky world of social media, sharing a chuckle over a LinkedIn notification that hilariously congratulates Ross Benson on 51 years at myBurbank. Plus, you'll get the latest scoop on our word of the week contest and how Robert Poyer won a $25 gift card to Hill Street Cafe.
Heartfelt memories take center stage as we remember two beloved community figures. Mike, renowned for his impeccable lawn and firewood service, an LA County Firefighter, who tragically lost his life in the line of duty. Their stories serve as a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by our neighbors and first responders. Shifting to lighter topics, Ross beams with pride as he shares touching Father's Day reflections about his son Matt, a gaffer who has had the honor of working on major events with President Biden and former President Obama.
Our community spirit shines brightly as we discuss local happenings and challenges. From the bustling Burbank Cultural Market to the energetic Go Skate Day, there's something for everyone. We tackle the complex issue of homelessness and the frustrating funding disparities affecting our city. Not to be missed are our safety tips on fireworks and insights on the upcoming town hall event "Burbank Bites Back," addressing the struggles of local restaurant owners in today's digital age. Join us for a vibrant mix of stories, tributes, and local insights that embody the essence of Burbank.
Ever wonder how a community can come together through the power of art and humor? This week's "myBurbank Talks" kicks off with an exciting preview of the upcoming Elephant Walk exhibit, featuring 26 artistic elephants set to color our city starting July 1st. We then dive into the quirky world of social media, sharing a chuckle over a LinkedIn notification that hilariously congratulates Ross Benson on 51 years at myBurbank. Plus, you'll get the latest scoop on our word of the week contest and how Robert Poyer won a $25 gift card to Hill Street Cafe.
Heartfelt memories take center stage as we remember two beloved community figures. Mike, renowned for his impeccable lawn and firewood service, an LA County Firefighter, who tragically lost his life in the line of duty. Their stories serve as a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by our neighbors and first responders. Shifting to lighter topics, Ross beams with pride as he shares touching Father's Day reflections about his son Matt, a gaffer who has had the honor of working on major events with President Biden and former President Obama.
Our community spirit shines brightly as we discuss local happenings and challenges. From the bustling Burbank Cultural Market to the energetic Go Skate Day, there's something for everyone. We tackle the complex issue of homelessness and the frustrating funding disparities affecting our city. Not to be missed are our safety tips on fireworks and insights on the upcoming town hall event "Burbank Bites Back," addressing the struggles of local restaurant owners in today's digital age. Join us for a vibrant mix of stories, tributes, and local insights that embody the essence of Burbank.
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 once again, along with in the studio Ross Benson.
Speaker 3:Hey there, tally-ho, let's go with a show that will roll More and more words that rhyme.
Speaker 2:And of course through the magic of Zoom, Zoom, Zoom is Craig Durling. He's getting chased, Are you?
Speaker 1:getting chased With a preview from the upcoming Elephant Walk exhibit starting on July 1st, where I get one more show between now and then. But here's some more elephants for you. They're elephantastic.
Speaker 2:Well, we have 26 in the show, so that's a oh, here's some more elephants for you.
Speaker 1:They're elephantastic. Well, we have 26 in the show, so that's a uh.
Speaker 3:Oh, there's three of them they're making their way over there. It's gonna be ikea I think it's gonna be interesting.
Speaker 1:You know these, these artists, you know it's just different, it's just you know well, I'm hoping to get to ikea to see them all together rather than hunting, hunting them down around the city. They're all going to be there for a period of time at ikea, right? I?
Speaker 3:sure heck hope you don't have to go in the store and try to find your way to every elephant.
Speaker 2:I think the event is in one of the parking lots, according to the press briefing you know, what I hate about social media is that you get these notifications all the time. I got a notification today from LinkedIn that said congratulate Ross Benson on his 51 years at MyBurbank.
Speaker 3:Wow.
Speaker 2:That's a long time. Wow, we've been doing this show that long, I guess. So Somehow you've entered into LinkedIn and you've been in MyBurbank 51 years.
Speaker 1:Well, Burbank has belonged to Ross Benson for more than 51 years. I'll tell you that.
Speaker 2:So I thought it was kind of like okay, did I have hair back then, I don't know. 51.
Speaker 3:You're the one who put it in. No, I did. I've never. I'm not on LinkedIn.
Speaker 2:Well, somebody put you on LinkedIn, then because?
Speaker 1:I like how people assume you're on different platforms. I was at a conference in vegas last week and talking with a another professional and he goes what's your, uh, your name? Okay, yeah, yep, yep, yep, this. And he puts it in his phone and he shows me. He turns around, shows me a list of of not non-matches and I'm like I'm not finding you in here. I'm like I've never given you my phone number. You wouldn't be in your phone. What are you? What are you looking me up at linkedin?
Speaker 2:like I'm not on linkedin, yeah I'm not that's why you're not here I think I have a linkedin account. It's to get a job or something. You know, I'm not looking for a job right now it's.
Speaker 1:It's kind of becoming uh kind of a social network for professionals now. Uh, it's it. It faded out for a while, some time ago, but there's been a resurgence in LinkedIn, for it's like an online resume.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly that's why I never use it.
Speaker 1:But it's a way for people to reach out, contact each other, and it's kind of like a Rolodex now a digital Rolodex, I guess. So it's having a bit of a resurgence.
Speaker 2:They don't want to use a facebook or instagram, or, or myspace or anything else, you know it's going away.
Speaker 1:Anyway, this is. I mean there's some some diehards still using it, but I'll try to contact people through we're off on a tangent here but uh, through facebook, but so many people don't even check it anymore no, I I put our shows on our my burbank facebook page, but I don't look at any of the many people don't even check it anymore.
Speaker 2:No, I put our shows on my Burbank Facebook page, but I don't look at any of the comments. I don't look at any of the stories and I have a person I haven't looked at that in probably a year. I couldn't care less about it.
Speaker 3:Who owns LinkedIn? It's got to be owned by one of these big.
Speaker 1:You're going to make me Google it. I'm the only one in front of a computer, so yeah, you are, but isn't it owned by, isn't?
Speaker 3:where did they get their fax?
Speaker 1:Microsoft. They've owned it since 2016, so so.
Speaker 2:Microsoft thinks you've worked for my brain for 51 years.
Speaker 3:Thank you. Now I know why I'm getting bills from them every other day. You owe on your Microsoft account.
Speaker 2:Well, let's get back to the show here, because people have we started yet. Let's get back to the show here, because people have we started yet?
Speaker 1:Let's get started. People here are dying to hear last week's winner, and that was have you played the owner? Are they open already?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think we have, and last week's winner of the word, which was flag for Flag Day, the word of the week was Robert Poyer, so congratulations, robert. He sent his address in. In fact, I mailed the gift card out today, excellent.
Speaker 1:Congratulations, robert. Thanks for playing, thanks for listening and we'll have a and thanks for staying up that late.
Speaker 2:And also or just listening that long actually. And also he wins a $25 gift card to Hill Street Cafe on Green Oak here in.
Speaker 4:Burbank.
Speaker 1:Big winner.
Speaker 2:And keep listening, because we will have another word of the week sometime in this show that you can also win that 25 gift card you know it's funny.
Speaker 3:I talk to people all over burbank and quite a few of them say you know that hill street cafe is pretty darn good. You don't never crowd, you don't have to wait 20 minutes to get a seat it's funny.
Speaker 2:Everybody says it's pretty good and yet there's never a crowd there. So i'm'm not sure everybody's there, but I'm glad.
Speaker 1:Well, it's a good-sized place. There's a lot of seating there, but great food. Everybody should check it out, regardless of whether they win the gift card or not. But listen up toward the later part of this show for this week's Word of the Week, and you'll get instructions at that time.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Well. Last week was a very quiet week. Actually the last week the council was dark. Last week no meeting and Wednesday I have a, in fact Ross go ahead. I have a note from here for Wednesday last week.
Speaker 3:I saw somewhere one of those, uh, so I think, uh, eric anderson, I think we're friends on something and uh, he designed, uh, this year's 2025 rose float. It has officially started construction. Now people kind of probably wonder you know what, what? What are we in June? But the chassis, there's a car under there. Years ago it used to be a Corvair, because they didn't have to have a radiator Corvairs were water-cooled or air-cooled.
Speaker 1:Well, they don't go fast enough on the parade route to air-cool.
Speaker 3:No, but you know what that used to be a problem of? Uh, the, the vehicle that the floats are built on, that they'd overheat, right, you know. So, um and um, I'm gonna. Mr derling, what is the name of? Uh, this year's float?
Speaker 1:oh, you're punting. Well, the initial working title, uh, for the for the burbank float for next year was Prehistoric One, but the final name was just released and it's Having a Lava Fun Now, if you want me to talk about where that comes from, Well, yeah, please do.
Speaker 1:What was the theme? The theme of the parade in 2025 is uh, best day ever, right, so having a lot of fun. Burbank's uh submission here. Uh the contest winner. There's a contest every year. People submit their ideas and eric anderson uh his idea, his design, won this year and it's kind of a prehistoric theme. It's in their words. It's a whimsical tribute to the fun, loving, youthful spirit and all of us represented by a host of the world's most popular dinosaurs, all in their peak of childlike cuteness, and the artist's rendering of the float looks fantastic. There are dinosaurs cute and ugly. There's a big dinosaur in a puddle. There's a volcano going off. There are pterodactyls flying around. What?
Speaker 3:the wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What is a pterodactyl?
Speaker 1:those are the flying ones, the flying dinosaurs yeah, we had those we had those well, they're going to be on the float, oh, but I can't wait to see the finished product. But they do start this early because it takes a long time to design these. They have to go through a judging process and stuff like that, and they have to acquire all the organic ingredients to put these floats together. So there is a lot of fabrication, a lot of custom build work that goes into these floats. So they'll be working on it from from now until January 1st.
Speaker 2:I guarantee it. I wonder why they spelled lava LVA.
Speaker 1:They don't.
Speaker 2:I'm looking at the notes. Right here it says LVA.
Speaker 3:I thought we changed it, isn't it?
Speaker 1:Oh that's not we spent five minutes before the show correcting that spelling to L A.
Speaker 2:V A. Yeah, I was going to say I always knew lava there.
Speaker 1:You need to come to rehearsal, Mr Sherwood.
Speaker 2:Well, no, I just. Okay, I'll get into that.
Speaker 3:No he just wants to point out that I made a type of drop. No.
Speaker 2:I did not know you made an error. I thought that's the way it was. They had it down Well it is weird.
Speaker 3:It is weird. I want to hear.
Speaker 1:All the dinosaurs are having a lot of fun they're having a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:Yes, they are.
Speaker 1:And the lava is introduced by the volcano.
Speaker 2:I wonder if they understand that lava probably killed them all.
Speaker 1:Well, that's an interesting thing because I initially, when I looked at the theme, I said well, this doesn't appear to be the best day ever for the dinosaurs because you've got this volcano going off. And is this the day that they all went extinct? That would be a terrible day for the dinosaurs. But now, after reading the explanation, it makes total sense now.
Speaker 3:Well, you know what? The day of the parade. I'm going to wait for Bob Eubanks and Stephanie Edwards to say the Burbank name. By the way, if anybody's interested, you can go to BurbankRoseFloatcom or they have a page on Facebook If you want to get involved.
Speaker 1:They got weekend work parties going already and you can follow along through the progress of the build and there are usually days you can go down there and observe for a little bit toward the end of the process. It's kind of a top secret situation down there, very secure, but you can get sneak peeks along the way for sure, perfectrosefloatcom.
Speaker 3:My daughter-in-law's mother was just in town for a couple of days and she told me that is on her bucket list is to come out in December and January to work. She's a big floral person and loves flowers and loves gardening and she this is on her bucket list to come work on the Burbank.
Speaker 1:Rose float. Well, we know why she really wants to come to Southern California in the winter because it gets pretty cold up there in Canada.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, moving on.
Speaker 2:Well, moving, on Thursday we my break, we published an obituary. On Thursday we my break, we published an obituary. And Ross, why don't you? I did not know the gentleman, but you said you did. You did know it was in your, in your class.
Speaker 3:You said, or a class of 73, mike Delbarian. A lot of people, a lot of people in this town knew Mike. You drive around and you see lawn signs that said Mike's Lawn and Firewood Service. He kept his lawn. He lived over on Jeffries. His lawn was gorgeous. You would not find a blade of grass out of the. You know it was just cut perfect. He has a couple of houses over there, a lot of people in town. He also sold firewood. So Mike was quite well known. He was a borough supporter, played in 73. Then he went on to Cal I think Valley and somewhere else. But Mike passed away at the age of 59. Very unexpected and they're going to have a memorial service. The obit is in my Burbank.
Speaker 2:It'll probably be more, maybe 69?, I don't think 59.
Speaker 3:But you're right, I don't even know how old I am. You're right.
Speaker 1:You don't have that many fingers or toes.
Speaker 2:The dinosaurs never knew their age either.
Speaker 3:Wow, you know you're right 59. I'm you know.
Speaker 1:69, right 59, I'm you know 69, I give up how old am I I've lost it. I don't mean to laugh during this uh part of the show, but it's the meds I'm on.
Speaker 3:Sorry, mike, for your loss, uh for your family your wife joy and your daughter megan and um, if you want to read the obit, like I said, there will be a memorial service, calvary bible uh church down on maine, I believe uh first week. It's in the obit.
Speaker 2:Um, quite well known, he, mike, was a big guy in town and we hate to see uh people are dying off the well well, moving on with our heavy hearts right now and and boy, I hope, I hope we're not depressing everybody on our show today, but Friday there was another unexpected death, this time of a Los Angeles County firefighter. I see, ross, you've got some notes down here, so why don't you go ahead and tell us about it?
Speaker 3:Well, you know we turned on middle of the day. You know we monitor a lot of channels, monitor county fire and city fire and so forth, and there was a firefighter killed in the line of duty and I might hopefully I don't goof up his name, I've written it down here three times Andrew Pontius, a 19-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. They went on a routine call for LA County, which was a front loader, a tractor that had caught fire at a cement quarry, and something unusual happened. Something exploded, killing this firefighter. Now firefighters go to work every single day. They never know what type of fire they're going on. When that bell goes off, you respond on it. I know Craig Durling has been at how many car fires, how many truck fires. Here's another example why.
Speaker 2:Well, they take every precaution too. They're not just running in there blindly and just doing it. They were taking all the precautions and, like you said, something very unexpected happened. It's worth noting that this was also kind of a unique vehicle. I mean, they were taking all the precautions and, like you said, something very unexpected happened.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's worth noting that this was also kind of a unique vehicle to be called a vehicle fire. You know they go day in and day out. They respond to car fires, truck fires on the freeways and roadways. So they get fairly not routine, but they get familiar with those vehicles and the different hazards involved with them, this being a skip loader or tractor, a very large commercial industrial vehicle. It can have propane tanks, cng tanks, the tires are extremely large. On this it's unclear to me exactly what type of explosion occurred that took Andrew's life and injured another firefighter nearby, but I don't want to speculate on that. But this was kind of a unique vehicle that they probably don't work with every day.
Speaker 3:Well, and saying that, being a fire photographer, craig, you've chased how many fires. When we go on calls, you know everybody is warned Firefighters every day. They share information and they go on this call With the cars that we have today, with these bumpers that have explosives in them. If you hit the car in front of you, how they work, your airbag is fired off Bumpers, airbags, air curtains, everywhere, seatbelt pretensioners.
Speaker 1:Those can cause issues.
Speaker 2:How about electric vehicles by themselves? Absolutely. That's a whole new can of worms now.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So when you think about it, you know, and I know there was a procession, I kind of monitored it from the site out in Lake Los Angeles all the way. I think they said 56 miles and they proceeded Went right through Burbank.
Speaker 3:Went right through Burbank. I talked to people that were. Burbank Fire Department set up their large truck on the Magnolia Bridge and put up their huge flag. Burbank Police Department was at attention with police cars and so forth on the Burbank Bridge. I was listening to the procession. When they came through town they had a county helicopter overhead and I think the procession was, they said, miles, miles long of fellow people.
Speaker 1:It's worth noting how many non-public safety people came out to pay their respects along the route as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I think it should be noted that these guys go to work every single day, right Like our, our local police department, every police officer out there, and you don't know what your day is going to entail, or you know, and this is just another one. So when you see a fireman or policeman, you thank them for putting their life on the line, you know. So that was a sad day. I don't know if there has been a funeral. I don't think so. A lot of things like that take some time, but I know it will be a big one. I know Burbank will participate.
Speaker 1:Hey, you know, just real quick. I want to bring something up that just came to mind is, after these firefighters unfortunately went down, the job continues, the fire doesn't stop, the work doesn't stop, the calls don't stop coming in. So if you notice throughout the day that fire burned for quite some time, so when that hose line went down somebody had to pick that hose line up and keep addressing the fire. You know it's when some a big event you think a big event like that that the fire department closes down, everything stops to deal with that, right? No, those calls keep coming in. The 911 calls keep coming in, the barking dog calls keep coming in. So the work continues, even throughout the terrible event like this.
Speaker 3:And you know it. It reminds us even now that was la county. There's a brotherhood of law enforcement and fire.
Speaker 1:It doesn't matter what patch you wear exactly, you're out there doing service anybody would have gladly gotten in line, you know to, to pick up that hose yeah, so I there.
Speaker 3:There will be LA County sheriffs handling the investigation. I guarantee, with quite a few other CalOcean and so forth, they'll find out what caused it, because these firemen need to train again. They'll go on another fire like this and that's what's the line, craig, they use.
Speaker 1:This will not have happened in vain. Oh yeah, this will be uh many lessons uh to to carry, to carry forward for for ever, basically, with these types of vehicles. So I'm sure they'll they're going to learn a lot uh and take a lot of information from this event.
Speaker 3:Well, and people don't realize. You know, um, they say there's a slogan police and fire. Realize, you know? They say there's a slogan police and fire. You train, as if your life depends on it. And that means every day Very well.
Speaker 3:When you see the firemen going, driving back to a station, they're not going to go back and lay in their lazy chair, they go back to train. They train and train and train how to climb a ladder. You know, think about it. I was a fireman, an industrial fireman for some time at Warner Brothers. You know, think, at three o'clock in the morning a fireman gets woken up, responds to a call, climbs on a roof with flames coming through it and puts his life on the line. Would you want to do that? That's why it's so hard for these guys. You know they pick the best. This gentleman, 19-year career, 19 years and nothing ever happened to him before. And boom, this tragic accident. Our hearts go out to LA County, all law enforcement.
Speaker 1:First responders everywhere.
Speaker 3:A tip of the cap, exactly.
Speaker 2:Well, let's get on to a little more pleasant for the last part of the cap, exactly. Well, let's get on to something a little more pleasant for the last part of the week, and that was, of course, father's Day festivities. Now, dodger here did for me what he usually does, which is lay down and sleep.
Speaker 3:What he's doing right now. He's on camera and he's snoring.
Speaker 1:I mean he was noting that Dodger's a dog, for that's true. Not be aware, wow don't tell him that.
Speaker 2:Uh, but ross, you're the only of the three of us who is a father, so how was your father's day and what would you do?
Speaker 3:got to sleep in my son, uh, matt, everybody probably heard that. Uh, president biden was in town, former President Obama. They were at a very large fundraiser and my son was a gaffer on the show down at the Peacock Theater I think it's down at that whole, you know all those theaters down there he was the gaffer. He said what a show. You know he looks at it the technical. But as I was sharing with Craig Durling, my son said the Secret Service. My son was blown away. I mean, these guys are we talk about law enforcement.
Speaker 1:Watch your terminology there. Secret Service did not blow your son away. No, no, no, no.
Speaker 3:But they are so precise, they, but they are so precise they impressed him. Oh, they impressed him. They were up in the catwalks that you know they have parts that work, the lights up in the catwalks and matt escorted the agent up there and, you know, during the show nobody could be up there and they had snipers up there and everything. And everywhere the president walks, it is so and they look at their watch. There's a board in the back says where he'll be standing at what time.
Speaker 1:If it's a photo, and there's probably a lot they don't want him to share.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, exactly right yeah, and it's like the photographers.
Speaker 2:It says they'll shoot six pictures, you know, and that's it at least the nice thing is you don't have to worry about Joe Biden running around the stage or something. Well, maybe off the stage.
Speaker 1:But I wanted to clarify everybody out there that Matt being the gaffer does not mean he's the one there making gaffes. Believe that to President Biden.
Speaker 2:He does not need any help doing that on his own. Trust us, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, gaffer, if you're wondering, in the field gaffer's in charge of all the lighting, electrical and um. At the end of the day they loaded out how they did it. I mean he said it was a quick, what they call load out all the lights, all the equipment and the agent in charge came up to matt, shook his hand and said you run a very good ship on this show. Thank you very much, and that kind of impressed my son well, matt is a consummate pro, very talented and so and he and me a full circle.
Speaker 2:This made for a good father's day for you well, yeah you know, you're gonna laugh you get to see matt on father's day did you see?
Speaker 3:I didn't. Uh, I didn't get to see him. We did talk. We always talk. Every single day we talk. He tells me about his shows. He's on now. He's already flown back to Milwaukee for getting ready for a convention.
Speaker 2:Oh, I hear that's a terrible city.
Speaker 3:Well, he's.
Speaker 2:That's what the guy in charge says. That's what the guy in charge said Terrible power tools.
Speaker 2:Yeah, right, but he's back there getting ready for the next convention. It's a long. Milwaukee does not have any five star hotels. It's very strange because I once during the summers, I used to go and spend time with the St Louis Cardinals when I had one of my players playing with them and so I would stay at the team hotel and one of the places we stayed was Milwaukee. And he goes. Jeff said to me he goes. Sorry about this, they got yeah, sorry about this, they got my. Really sorry about this, but this is the best hotel to have in Milwaukee. It's not five-star and their contract says they're supposed to stay in five-star hotels in every city they stay in.
Speaker 1:They have a lot of breweries though, don't they?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, they have a lot of breweries there.
Speaker 1:It's nice that I enjoyed my time there, you know, because it was in August, so it was great weather. We saw Lambeau Field they named places where they make beer after a baseball team. That was pretty cool.
Speaker 2:It wasn't the other way around. You don't think, huh?
Speaker 1:Well, he did oh maybe I don't know, we texted today and I said how are your accommodations?
Speaker 3:He's sleeping in a dorm, apparently one of the colleges. It's empty during the summer and that's where they're putting up the whole crew. I said how's your bed? He said it'll do. He said I just came back from Target with $300 with the stuff to make my room look nice and comfortable, so how long is he going to be?
Speaker 1:there Five weeks. Oh geez, yeah, he better make it comfy then.
Speaker 3:And they're sending him home, or he's coming home somewhere in the middle and then he's taking the family back there for a cud the last week.
Speaker 1:Well, as everybody out there listening and watching can tell, ross takes a lot of pride as he should in his son, matt, and hearing of Matt's successes and ongoing successes makes for a great Father's Day.
Speaker 2:You're very true know I try to do my best. Hewell hauser that's my up there, that's my remember.
Speaker 3:It's emmy award winning matt benson that's right that he has walked away with an award and it just. You know, when you get asked to do a job with you know I said how did it feel to be in the same room, you know, so close to the president you've been like that before oh, I have been to the white house a lot I.
Speaker 2:I thought I was with um uh ford over at lakeside one time. You know, just feet away from him, you know and you're starstruck for a second.
Speaker 1:Then you realize he's just a man very true and you know I've had the honor of participating in the protection of three presidents.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's, isn't it?
Speaker 1:you know, and it didn't lose any of them.
Speaker 3:Thank goodness Austin fan would be busy, but I will say that, uh, yeah, I'm real proud of Matt and, um, you know him gone for he gets picked for the op shows. I mean well, he makes the top money too. He's doing rather well.
Speaker 1:He's got bills to pay. Matt, he's got bills to pay. Well, that wraps up a relatively quiet and somewhat solemn week.
Speaker 2:We're a little bit off the topic to a point of Burbank, but I think it's still relevant material that people should find interesting.
Speaker 3:Well, it's funny because you're in the show notes or you wrote to us. Not a lot went on this week, so if you have to do any, fill well there's enough stuff going on in Burbank.
Speaker 2:If it were you two, I knew you'd have no problem. Okay, well, that's it for the week that was. We'll take a quick commercial break and be back with the week that shall be.
Speaker 4:Enjoying the show right now, thinking you may want to do your own podcast. Vibrate 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. And we can edit your productions to make you look and sound your very best. If you are interested, please drop us an email at studiorentalsatmyburbankcom. That's studiorentalsatmyburbankcom, and we will get back to you. Now back to our show.
Speaker 2:All right, Burbank, we are back with you again for the week that will be.
Speaker 3:That would mean Monday 6th 17th.
Speaker 1:That'd be the 17th to the day of recording.
Speaker 3:We're back on schedule.
Speaker 2:Back on schedule. Well, interesting here. First thing I see is a note you left for us here, ross, and something I did not know which I'm really glad you put on here, and that's about the people changing over the airport, including a new fire chief, with Tom Lenehan now exiting the chief's position in the fire department. So why don't you give us a rundown on what you got here?
Speaker 3:Well, I read the agenda for the commission, the airport commission, and apparently at today's meeting they introduced a new deputy police chief, neal Gallucci, who previously was the chief in Carlsbad. He will answer to the director of safety services, who we all know, probably the top cop in town edson varna, great guy, still the cop, the top cop in town former burbank police officer and he was just um.
Speaker 3:What they have done is, um, as I understand he's in charge of, he's the director of safety services, which oversees fire, oversees the whole airport. When those big C-130s land, he's out there with the FBI.
Speaker 2:Well, it's Osprey.
Speaker 1:Well, he's primarily the police chief, but because he wears a police uniform but he's in charge of all safety services at the airport.
Speaker 2:Kind of like. Isn't the county sheriff more than just he's a?
Speaker 1:Well, in many counties they're also the county coroner.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, he also gets five pips, though the sheriff gets five pips for the county where other chiefs don't get four pips.
Speaker 1:Right, what's a pip?
Speaker 2:A little star that goes in the collar.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay. Well, in some LA County has its own well, here's a rabbit hole but has its own coroner. But in counties that don't have them, the sheriff is usually also the coroner. But I digress.
Speaker 3:So I guess, as I understand today catching a little bit of the meeting and looking at the notes in the city manager's file is, with the new terminal there's a lot of safety concerns and that's what Deputy Police Chief Neil Gallucci is going to be working on, kind of freeze up Ed doing everything at the airport. But also, like you said, tom Linehan, who we've known. He was a Burbank firefighter and then moved up to the rank of fire chief battalion chief fire chief. He retired at Burbank aer and then moved up to the rank of fire chief battalion chief fire chief. He retired at Burbank a couple years ago, went to work as a fire chief at the Burbank airport. A lot of people don't understand. They have their own police force there, they have their own fire department over there and it's actually not the Hollywood Burbank police department.
Speaker 2:It's the Hollywood Burbank Glendale Airport Authority Fire Department.
Speaker 3:Right, I think that's what it says on their patch, if I'm right. Yes.
Speaker 2:But people don't realize that it's not the cities that own the airport, the airport authorities, who they actually do work for.
Speaker 3:Right, but, craig Durling, don't they get paid by an outside company? That, if I recall, and I. But there's also, I guess, tom retired as fire chief and the airport has a new fire chief replacing Tom Linehan, who Louis Panka, who has been with the airport fire department for 10 years. He previously was a battalion chief in Tucson, arizona, and they were both introduced today at the commission meeting. It kind of looks like the Louis Banka, who is a new chief out there, probably has quite a bit of experience at the airport. He's been with them for 10 years, so it's nice to see somebody move up the rank. The airport has we listen to it on the radio they have please fire every time there's a first aid.
Speaker 2:They don't go encrypted. Thank you, okay, let's move on here. Okay, tuesday is us, tomorrow already, and guess what the council's doing? They're dark again. What?
Speaker 1:They're dark. I was all excited for this one.
Speaker 3:Two weeks in a row, holy macaroni Dark again.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm going to pass out on my calendar again. I have so many X's on my calendar.
Speaker 3:Well, I noticed the electrical rates are going up. Are they trying to save power in the council chambers?
Speaker 1:No, Is it actually dark when they don't meet? Do they turn the lights?
Speaker 2:on. No, it's dark okay.
Speaker 1:Dark, it's dark. Okay, all right.
Speaker 2:And then, Rosh, you have another note of a passing here for tomorrow. I hope this has already happened and we're not trying to predict the future.
Speaker 3:Oh, this was just an insert, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it didn't happen. Oh my gosh, Somebody call her quick. Well, some people might remember.
Speaker 3:I'm so sorry, I'm laughing.
Speaker 1:It's bad.
Speaker 3:I forget her maiden name, but Marsha Bell, who was our library services director for many, many years, passed away recently. She was married to the former police chief, Glenn Bell, who passed away in 2019. Another legend.
Speaker 2:Yes, he was yeah.
Speaker 3:And they met on the job. It was funny, they used to. You know, she was library services director and he was a police chief and those Tuesday nights, I guess, were rendezvous or whatever, and she threw the book at him.
Speaker 2:A police chief and librarian walking to a bar.
Speaker 3:Sorry, I couldn't not. That was too good, craig, that was just. That was perfect. I know they moved up to Big Bear. Glen Bell had a house up there and loved it, and I guess they moved out to some beach community and, um, they were longtime burbank civil servants. So, uh, it's uh unfortunate, but we're all getting there and marsha bell passed away and she's now, as they say, joined glenn up in whatever two burbank legends and local government for sure.
Speaker 2:That'd be Valhalla, wouldn't it?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I guess, so I love this next one. Okay, I got a question for you.
Speaker 1:When you get to turn up the fun.
Speaker 2:here I saw this on the city calendar and it's called Burbank Bites Back Ouch and it's on Tuesday morning from 10 to 1130 at the Chamber of Commerce. It's a town hall that is dedicated to the heart and soul of Burbank, its restaurants, and the mayor, nick Schultz, will be there, industry experts and fellow restaurateurs for a critical town hall meeting to voice concerns and challenges operating in today's digital world. So it sounds like all the all the restaurant owners are going to get there and and talk restaurant and talking about you know how things work in, probably with delivery and you know door dash and all those things and well, I was told today.
Speaker 3:I asked because the chamber isn't that huge if you've got every restaurant owner in there but they're bringing in some experts. That know Restaurants have gotten hit hard. You know, with this now minimum wage that you have to pay waiters and waitresses and everything.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, but I've got to tell you what. I went to Wendy's the other day. I got the Wendy's combo meal and I got some chicken nuggets for Dodger and it was $31. Holy and I go okay, you're bringing everybody $20 an hour. Now I get that, but $31 for what was probably a $12 meal before.
Speaker 1:That's because the state wants to punish everyone.
Speaker 2:Oh man, I just see the. You know, I mean fast food is now expensive food.
Speaker 3:Well, talking to somebody today that knows a couple of these restaurant owners want to help out the smaller. You know, and they're. They're not only getting hit with costs but you know, july 1st that law, the you know July 1st that law that Burbank passed about you know, recyclables and all that. So apparently they're getting together. They have the Nucleus you know owners of some and they're bringing in some pros to help.
Speaker 1:Chamber isn't that big but I guess they're going gonna see what they can do to help out the restaurants well, it's important to note, if you're listening to this podcast on tuesday morning, this, the meeting we're talking about, is right now. Yes, it's, it's tuesday morning, the 18th, from 10 to 11 am. So jump in the car and go, if you, if you want to get there you made me have to think.
Speaker 3:There I'm thinking wait a minute.
Speaker 1:I can do math pretty quick. Sometimes did I miss.
Speaker 3:Did I miss something? Uh, what's wednesday, craig? Well, it's juneteenth day.
Speaker 2:I beg your pardon, it's prince spaghetti day what it's a boston reference oh okay, boston, that's why the river heads.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, you know those boston people I'm sorry, I didn didn't mean to snipe.
Speaker 2:Juneteenth it was Apples. How about damn Apples? What did Matt Damon say on that?
Speaker 1:thing that is not Boston.
Speaker 2:Well, that's what I heard in the movie, and he said they're supposed to be the Boston Kings.
Speaker 1:You like Apples? Yeah Well, how about them apples?
Speaker 3:I have been around Mr Derling when he comes back from visiting his hometown. He has that.
Speaker 2:That's. That's swang Boston talk.
Speaker 1:Well, the Celt can drag it. Congratulations to the Boston Celtics. They won the championship tonight.
Speaker 3:Oh, that had to get in here.
Speaker 1:I had to get that in there, even though I don't really follow basketball much anymore. They are my hometown team, but I've always joked that if I go, I've lived in California for 30 years now and I can go back home and spend two days with my family and I'm talking like Cliffy from Cheers.
Speaker 2:There you go. Boston now has one more championship than the Lakers does. There's a 19th, I think. Is that?
Speaker 3:where June 19th came from.
Speaker 1:Wednesday the 19th is Juneteenth day.
Speaker 2:We should talk about Juneteenth, though Juneteenth is a very it's interesting that it's really we have it on the June 19th. I'm not sure if that was exactly the day it happened, but it was the fact that after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Papers, it didn't get to the people in Texas for a couple years. So while slaves had been freed, they hadn't been freed in Texas because nobody decided to go down there and tell them. So it was in, I guess, june, but I'm not sure if it was actually on June 19th, but I think that's maybe the day they picked, but that's when actually they found out that they were free and no longer somebody's property, which is a good thing. That's a little Juneteenth.
Speaker 3:And okay, it is official, the city hall will be closed.
Speaker 2:The hall's closed.
Speaker 3:All city offices are closed, except for your trash pickup, which will go like normal, just like Christmas Day. You have an emergency. Burbank Police and Fire will respond. Oh, they're not taking the day off, they'll be there, they're still working.
Speaker 1:And just to clarify, it is June 19th. Freedom finally came on June 19th 1865 okay, I remember that.
Speaker 2:Does it say when the declaration was signed by?
Speaker 1:the president out loud ah, I'm gonna make you look at those I'm the only one in the, in the studio, in the production here with google, I guess.
Speaker 2:But well, that's because you're the only one not in the studio that's true okay, I'll have to punt on that one.
Speaker 1:They look it up and we can put that in later. I'm derelict in my duties here.
Speaker 3:But now here's the big question what else was supposed to happen Wednesday?
Speaker 2:They actually canceled the police commission meeting because City Hall's closed. There's no worthless report.
Speaker 1:they can get Very true, there's no worthless report, they can get so very true. Wow, there's no worthless report, they can do nothing with yes, that's.
Speaker 2:That's kind of uh. So in other words, at the end of the day favorite commission at the end of the day, the same thing will have happened, as always happens, even if I have a meeting or not. Nothing, nothing happens.
Speaker 1:Well, I didn't note and file.
Speaker 3:Yes, let's resort back a little. Uh, last week. You know that all what's his name.
Speaker 2:Oh, what's his?
Speaker 3:name? Yeah, paul, whatever his name, kikorian guy oh boy. And we have dug up. You have dug up some more information that we're going to be reporting on soon that we can talk about that for a second.
Speaker 2:There's a lot more to it than Well. Yeah, you know, I wrote an editorial basically saying you know how dare you? Because very unprofessionally handled. All the man had to do was pick up a phone and call the mayor of our city.
Speaker 1:And still Can we do a quick update what we're.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, the context we're talking about Last Friday, walker Corian, who's the president of the LA city council and his district is North Hollywood, came across a video of a Burbank police officer letting out a homeless individual on the street who got out of his car and then fell down to the sidewalk and they drove off. Is it a good look? Absolutely not. Not a good look at all. But there's always context. And the problem is he just got on and called every news station up and said look at this video, look at how bad Burbank is. They've been doing this forever All these cities. They're homeless in our city.
Speaker 1:And who didn't he call?
Speaker 2:Yeah, he didn't call the mayor. He didn't call Justin Hess, our city manager. He didn't call our police chief, who used to be on his department in LA. He didn't call anybody. He could have called somebody and said, hey, I got a video that shows this, can you please look into this? And they would have said, hey, don't worry about it, okay, have your press conference. But they never had a chance. He just went right for grandstanding Anyhow. So I've been looking at this a little bit because there's a lot more. I went back first and I pulled the recordings and I heard that they responded to a call at St Joseph's Medical Center for a naked individual at the bus bench. When the first officer arrived, he actually found the man near the front of the hospital. They contacted him and said and tried to talk with him and he said look, he goes, I want to go to jail. And they go. Well, we can't take you to jail because you haven't done anything wrong.
Speaker 3:That's the second time he said that. First I'm.
Speaker 2:That's the second time. The first time he said that first. Okay, I'm paraphrasing the first time. So, anyhow, they said if we give you, you know, if you put on your clothes, we can give you a ride. He goes. Well, I want to ride to St Lentahunga, where I came from. That's where the paramedics brought me from St hospital. That's where I want to go back to. They go well, you know, we really can't go to St Antohanga, but how about if we take you to the red line station in North Hollywood?
Speaker 2:He said fine, he put his clothes on, they put him in the back of the police car. They handcuffed him for officer safety reasons and because that's the policy. He was not under arrest. On his way to the red line station going down Lancashire, he said stop, I want to go over there and get some coffee. So they stopped. They can't force him to go to the red line station. He was not under arrest. He wanted to stop and get out there. They said fine, they stopped, they got him out. They took the handcuffs off. He was standing up, fine. As soon as he went back in the car he just fell down to the sidewalk back in the car. He just fell down to the sidewalk Now and they left. Now once again, they left while he was laying down and, like I said, not a good look, but nothing devious about it either.
Speaker 2:So I looked into it a little more and the officer said when they left with the man that they were transporting one to the red line station. They said that on the radio Because their confirmation is where they're going to go. The only other thing I ever heard was 35 back in the city. So after they dropped him off, they returned to the city, but they didn't say where they dropped him off on the radio. That's probably something they need to look at, but that's not a big deal.
Speaker 2:So I started looking at it and my first question this Korean said oh, our staff? When we located the man, he had been seriously injured. He had a leg injury, maybe a broken leg. So I contacted their PR guy. I said OK, so what did your staff do for the man? Where is he now? What's going on? And all he would tell me was our staff found the man and we called the paramedics and he was taken to a hospital. Well, guess where? He was taken Right back to St Joe's. And then next day they got a call for somebody laying down the street at Parkside and Bob Hope Drive and guess what same man. So I'm looking into right now of where they what Burbank did for him. It said in the notes that they supplied him with a. I think they said a Coke and a something I can't remember what it was, but they supplied him with some food and then they transported him somewhere.
Speaker 3:To the station, if I recall.
Speaker 2:It doesn't say exactly in the CAD. I requested documents.
Speaker 2:Well, there's going to be a full report, yeah, but here's what's going on Every time LA has homeless people and their paramedics pick them up and they should and they bring them to St Joe's and then where do they go after? So basically, la is bringing them into Burbank to start with. And then number two I've talked to St Joe's our friend Michelle over there, who's a very nice person, and she says look, when there's somebody who's homeless and they need to be discharged, we have our people talk to them, they try to help them, they try to give them assistance in what they need, but she goes at the end of the day, we still can't force anybody to take assistance. So if they walk out, they still walk out, but it shows that LA paramedics are basically dropping people off in Burbank constantly. So I mean, once again, no easy answers.
Speaker 1:Under the guise of them dropping them off at the hospital. Yes, so they have. That's their excuse.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but there's no follow-up, and when I asked the communications head what the follow-up was, he said oh, it's under HIPAA laws, I can't talk about it. In other words, they don't know what happened. They just wanted to have their story spin it their way, make Burbank the bad guy. They had no intention of helping this man in the long run or following up with him, make sure he has a place to live or anything else. They just wanted to sit there and burn Burbank.
Speaker 3:And that pissed me off. I'm sorry. It's real frustrating because what he tried to show that Burbank doesn't care about our homeless, and that is the farthest from the truth, absolutely. I just drove by yesterday. The old piano store that they are making into that place is huge A homeless, not, you know so they can get people back on their feet, people that are living in the cars. They're going to have a parking lot there. Look what they're doing at a fire station. 13 with Home LA, burbank is doing quite a bit. You don't drive a half a block out of Burbank. Well, let's get a little more into it then Well, yeah.
Speaker 1:How about we shine a light on Mr Kikorian's great success that is, the city of Los Angeles.
Speaker 2:Yeah, why don't you drive underpasses and look at all the people? You know it's funny. I don't see a lot of tents and problems in Toluca Lake, but I do see them in parts of North Hollywood that are not affluent.
Speaker 1:Well, look what Forest Lawn Drive looked like last year.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:And what it took to get that cleared up because it was out of sight, out of mind for Los Angeles. But we have actually to foreshadow. We have another event coming up we're going to talk about for a sec in a bit about Home, la Right, and I'll get in real fast.
Speaker 2:My story is just about done. I've been waiting to get a response from Burbank actually done. I've been waiting to get a response from Burbank actually to find out where the man was taken, because you never want to identify who the man was or what is anything about him personally. But I still want to do a follow-up. But here's the bottom line Burbank was duped six, seven years ago into voicing for this thing called Measure H.
Speaker 2:We were charged our sales tax went up one quarter of a cent. Well, that quarter of a cent has been bringing in millions and millions and millions of dollars into the county of Los Angeles for homeless and Burbank, I think, has seen I can't remember it was either 2% or 4% of all the money that they have collected from Burbank taxpayers has been returned to Burbank. All that money is going to Los Angeles and other cities to help the homeless. But we have to scrounge here to make the Hollywood Piano Place, to make the old Station 13. We're coming up with city funds to do it because we can't get the money that was put in by our citizens in sales tax and that alone. And how many programs are in LA that are just failing left and right, and yet we can't get any of that money.
Speaker 1:And doesn't LA get all of our rainwater?
Speaker 2:They get all of our rainwater too, and Burbank seems to be happy with that, though I'm not, but I've let that go. I just think I understand. There's another proposal coming up. They want to put in the ballot now Another homeless thing that Los Angeles will get all the money and Berwick will get nothing. So when it comes to fruition I'll let people know, but right now we've been ripped off.
Speaker 1:On Major H. What do you expect? Your editorial about the Krikorian thing?
Speaker 2:It should have come out on. Well, no, the editorial went out last week. The editorial went out last Monday, in fact, and the follow-up story was supposed to go out today, but I won't say who it was. Somebody did not get back to me today with the information I requested, so I don't want to put the story out.
Speaker 1:It should be out tomorrow, on Tuesday, yes, on myburbankcom.
Speaker 2:Yeah, more of a news story than an editorial this time it's more of a factual thing.
Speaker 1:Gotcha, and on Thursday, the 20th, we have one of our favorite recurring events in the city. Mr Burbank, would you like to tell us about it?
Speaker 3:It appeared on my calendar. It was not on the mayor's calendar. I noticed it's not on the city. I was reminded today to be there. It's a ribbon cutting at forward fighting club, the boxing club up on glen oaks, 539 north glen oaks. It's taking place at 5 30 uh, it's a chamber ribbon cutting.
Speaker 2:We're on Thursday. Everybody knows We've moved to Thursday.
Speaker 3:Oh yes, I'm sorry. Yes, this is happening on Thursday. I mentioned that.
Speaker 2:Okay, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:But if they really wanted to be on point with this, they would have the event at 5.39.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 1:That's the address.
Speaker 3:I'll repeat it again for you, ross, if you want. Thank you very much. I'm sitting here scratching my head, going what the hell is he referring to?
Speaker 2:539 well, I got. I got a few by the time they started anyways, but it would apply to be 539 all right, it may very well be.
Speaker 3:Here's some trivia for you. I read a report. I listened to the park and board meeting. They're talking about McCambridge Park. Here's a little trivia for you that you could ask your next-door neighbor. The McCambridge Park pool holds 397,000 gallons of water. Now isn't that a bit of some useful information.
Speaker 1:They couldn't make it $400,000? I guess not, couldn't round up. All right, you know. I had to forget a month of my childhood to make room for that new information.
Speaker 3:You know there's a little trivia for you. You know you said you had a slow show. I did some digging All right.
Speaker 1:So if you're in a local bar or eatery or whatever, you can ask everybody for the over-under on how many gallons of water in the Cambridge Park pool holes.
Speaker 2:Anybody that had 397 gallons of water at the Cambridge pool on their bingo card, congratulations.
Speaker 1:Win a chicken dinner.
Speaker 3:What's going on Friday? Well, it's go skate day.
Speaker 2:Oh great, somewhere I can break no no, so Valley Skate Park is having a go skate day where it's free to go skate there and um. That's over on um Plybourne and Edison Valley Skate Park, but not just skating.
Speaker 1:They're going to have food on um Clybourne and um.
Speaker 2:Edison that right next to the skate park, right yeah, so but not just skating.
Speaker 1:They're going to have food, games, music and much, much more much, much more.
Speaker 3:Well, you know I, I used to go to cover those because our good friend I got it. You know, I think I get three. Sifo used to be in charge of that skate park and he puts on, he gets prizes, he gets skateboards he gets, he used to, yeah, he used to get that stuff right, he doesn't work the city anymore, so he's not there well, but I, they, he, they still give away tons of stuff.
Speaker 3:I was there. They're cooking burgers and hot dogs and they got all the condiments to go with it and you know it's a great thing if your kid is into skating. If you haven't been out there, it's a great event for your kid to do.
Speaker 2:Well, let's move on to the weekend. Oh yeah, I guess Friday, saturday and Sunday would be the. It's a three-day weekend for this event, and we're talking about the Burbank Cultural Market. That's been going on for probably about a year now, hasn't it? Yeah, I think you should put on your calendar and and stop by some weekend now. Now are they ross, are they serving food there, and all that. Today we had a little controversy about that.
Speaker 2:We all know where you're going with that question well, I just I always want to know is is are they? Did they get that worked out?
Speaker 3:I'm not, I believe so. So, but it started off as a Friday night gig. Right, it got more and more popular. It got very popular. They're doing it on Saturday. They're doing it Saturday, sunday I believe they're not. I'm not sure how they're preparing the food. There was some food being offered there, but kind of the neat thing about that. Would you believe, the monies that they collect at that event, 10 of it is going to home, la to help our homeless.
Speaker 1:That was the tease I put out a little while ago. But look just to talk about the actual event for a second here. What it is? It occurs by the amc right correct on the pedestrian path they call the walkway right the walkway right palm walkway 25 local.
Speaker 3:Isn't it actually called the paseo? Called the paseo, if you ever go there and there's signs it says yeah it's, I don't know why, but it's called the paseo. Okay, well, I don't know where the.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry, craig go ahead we'll trust you with that I interrupted trying to explain what the event actually is, rather than the uh, how about the food? But it's 25 local and rotating vendors selling everything from jewelry to toys, to soaps, bath bombs bath bombs, not actual bombs candles, cakes, hot sauces, stuff like that. So it's not completely unlike the Jackalope Fair that occurs every year on San Fernando, but this event is going on Friday, saturday and Sundays. The hours as I see here Friday and Saturday from 5 pm to 9 pm and on Sundays from 3 pm to 8 pm. So in the afternoon, early evening, where people are probably walking around that area in the evening after a movie, before a movie, before or after dinner, probably walking around that area in the evening after a movie, before a movie, before or after dinner. But check it out because they do. All of the vendors chip in and donate a lot of their proceeds to Home. Again, la.
Speaker 3:And I'm just curious, Craig, what are some of the stuff they actually offer?
Speaker 1:You just said that, but what?
Speaker 2:are the kind of people who actually make this product. Well, they're artisans. Oh yeah, there you go artisanal products, we set you up by artisans.
Speaker 1:Well, he needed to, because I completely forgot my own cue on that one.
Speaker 2:Okay, there, there you go.
Speaker 1:But many of these products are actually handmade by local artisans. And what is that horn that woke everybody up at this late hour?
Speaker 2:Ross, what do we have there?
Speaker 3:What does?
Speaker 2:that mean.
Speaker 3:That is the word of the week.
Speaker 1:There we go. What's the word of the week?
Speaker 3:I'm not going to say it's artisan.
Speaker 1:Artisan.
Speaker 3:I'm looking at it.
Speaker 1:And what do they win? So now that you've heard the word of the week, just like our winner, we announced at the beginning of the show email that word artisan or artisans to contest at myburbankcom. And put your mailing address in the text of the email and we'll put you in the drawing to win the $25 gift card to the wonderful and local Hill Street Cafe.
Speaker 2:Over on Glen.
Speaker 3:Oaks and guess what I have found? I just was told July any day now there's a new restaurant opening up there called Slices. It's a real name, slices. It has nothing to do with the Slices. It's on Riverside Drive in Evergreen. This is a family-run operation. They have one out in Santa Clarita which I have been told is dynamite.
Speaker 2:When we get to that in July, let's bring it up on the show and we'll talk about it. But a lot of people you know, have not.
Speaker 3:When's the last time you went down downtown I mean all the new shops down there, uh, three days ago. Well, did you see the new apartments across the street and the pet store and the dry cleaner and the workout shop?
Speaker 1:I see a lot of things. Card is for hill street cafe a wonderful sponsor and a wonderful local restaurant.
Speaker 3:So there's a lot going on downtown, it's uh, you want to get out, get some exercise, go check it all out there we go now on Saturday.
Speaker 2:I think we're moving right to the 22nd of June we're moving on to what used to be called Civitan Day. Used to have a Civitan Day on one Saturday and then Porytail Jamboree on the second week, but our friends at Park and Recreation decided too much work. We used to have a Civitan day on one Saturday and the Porytail Jamboree on the second week, but our friends at Park and Recreation decided too much work for two different days, so they've put them all on one day now. So I think they call it the. Let's see here. I don't have the name for it, but it's the Civitan Jamboree. They put the two words together. It's the Civitan Jamboree now, and they used to have competitions back in the day.
Speaker 3:They still do.
Speaker 2:And I know I actually won a medal for hitting a ball. I came in second place for hitting a ball a certain distance, so I was very excited has it landed, yet no.
Speaker 1:It was a ball Still going. It was a ball, well, you know they do the awards.
Speaker 2:It was not in Colorado either, so it had nothing to do with it.
Speaker 3:All the kids that are in is that Little League and all the small teams, oh, half minor. They have a parade. It starts at John Burroughs High School, the parish in Clark. I used to, years ago, come down from Burbank High. I remember my son in the back of a truck when I was a kid.
Speaker 2:that's how it went for me too.
Speaker 3:You can't have kids in the back of trucks anymore, but now it's a walking parade. It comes from John Burroughs. It kicks off, I think, at about 830. All those kids in every team, and I don't know how many Sandoval Dodgers there are, but there are a lot they all walk down Clark, they all walk down Clark.
Speaker 3:The down clark they all walk down clark, the park and rec board and a lot of people. They end up at olive rec. They have a stage, they present all these team members, they do some big awards there and then they have competition base running pro for accuracy and they've cut down a lot of what they used to do oh yeah hitting and all these other things and they kind of uh, I used to the events take place at isaac park right isaac park, the main field.
Speaker 1:Goes till 1 pm, I believe.
Speaker 3:Right and they've now made it. You've got to remember Parks and Rec is part of the animal shelter. They're out there with dogs and animals that you can maybe adopt and there's other booths going on. It's called Civitan Day and we used to have a nonprofit in this community called the Civitans. They used to come and cook hot dogs every year. Well, last year they changed it because a lot of the members of Civitan I'll say Gary Bricks one of them he every year would go in the kitchen of Jocelyn there and they'd cook up hundreds of kosher hot dogs.
Speaker 2:I mean, I don't know if Well, back in the day, actually, there was a Snack bar, snack bar right next to the of kosher hot dogs. I mean, I don't know if, well, back in the day, there was a snack bar right next to the main grandstands, before they tore those down and they tore out the snack bar also.
Speaker 3:So last year they brought in a food truck Wienerschnitzel, I think it is, don't they sell hot dogs? Parked it on olives. The kids went up there and they're kind of known to make hot dogs and all the condiments, but the Civitan pays for that and they are the club that we have done articles in the past of Civitan members. There's several of them that have passed away, but I have shot their pictures for many years and they're the ones that support the money and help out. So it's a great day. Come on out to Olive Wreck, wear your SPF 35. For me it's SPF 135.
Speaker 1:But come on out this time of year. There's always something to do in town on the weekend right?
Speaker 3:Oh, definitely At this one. There's jump houses and bounce houses and other activities. So come see what your Parks and Rec Department's putting on 830 to 1, George Isaiah Park.
Speaker 1:Now, Mr Sherwood, please tell me we've reached that part.
Speaker 2:We've reached that part. Actually, the reason that people haven't even listened to the show, I don't understand anymore, and that would be.
Speaker 1:Ross's rant. Ross's rant. Ross's rant.
Speaker 4:I take a flame through into this place.
Speaker 2:We'll do that again. It got stepped on the whole way, so let me do that intro again for you. Ross, are you ready? People need to hear the whole intro. They have to suffer through this like the rest of us. Here we go. Ross's, rant, ross's.
Speaker 4:Rant.
Speaker 3:Ross's Rant.
Speaker 4:I'd take a flame through into this place. Watch out Doc.
Speaker 3:Alright, I got a couple of them. First of all, I gotta share some good news. I drove down Glen Oaks the other day and that weed that is at Scott and Glen Oaks that was taller than my granddaughter got cut down. I was blown away on a Sundayay. I don't know who did it not a city employee, not a, not a forestry person. Somebody went out there and cut it and cleaned it all up. I was shocked, but I'm hearing calls on the scanner.
Speaker 3:Everybody and you see it on social media was at a gunshot. Did we have gunshotsshots? Did we have? If you're around the border, I live up Glen Oaks and Scott area, I'll tell you, a sun Valley. Well, there's probably our gunshots there, but right now everybody's buying their fireworks and they're firing them off. My, my son lives, you know, midtown and they hear it from North Hollywood.
Speaker 3:Folks, don't panic. I know it's horrible for dogs. I know it's horrible for people that have PTSD. You know, don't go firing off your fireworks, you know. I think people are smart enough, and I'm going to let Craig talk about this, craig Durling, because we used to go downtown during some of these events and people would fire guns, you know. And yes, we want to celebrate July 4th. Take your show to a real show, you know, to a community show. How many fires did we have this weekend? How many they're fighting fires today? A brush is drier than dry can be. All it takes is one sparkler. I've shot pictures. I saw a shot picture of a kid that took a sparkler to his hand, you know, and it's just so dangerous, greg, how many times have you been downtown? That goes a little crazy.
Speaker 1:It gets crazy all the time. Any season, any holiday that has fireworks associated with it. Whether it's Fourth of July, which I know we're a couple weeks away, but we have entered that season You're probably already starting to hear fireworks go off in your neighborhood. New Year's Eve, we used to deploy under right before midnight under freeway overpasses, because we wouldn't get hit by the fallout of well errant fireworks but also falling bullets.
Speaker 3:Well, we had a friend, Jeff Miller, a good friend of ours who was under an underpass, standing talking to us, got hit in the leg and he said ouch and a bullet. We were under an underpass. The bullet came down, ricocheted off his bumper and hit his knee. Yeah, I remember that and it goes to show you, even if you're under pass, it's not safe.
Speaker 2:Whatever goes up must come down.
Speaker 1:You wouldn't think it would need to be said, but this is all illegal. Fireworks are illegal in Burbank. Shooting guns into the air is illegal in Burbank. It's illegal in LA City as well, but for some reason it turns into the Wild West on these holidays. But something to say about the fireworks. Yes, there are fire hazards, structures and brush.
Speaker 1:So if you hear fireworks in your neighborhood go off, keep an eye on the brush around your home, the bushes, the roof sheds, things like that because some of these larger fireworks that people manage to get a hold of that debris can fall to the ground or land on a roof or blow in an open window and start a fire. So be diligent around your property when you hear fireworks going off, for sure. But take care of the critters, your four-legged friends, especially dogs. They're very sensitive to the booms and the noise of the fireworks and if you own a dog, I'm sure you already know how traumatized they are when this stuff goes on. So give them some extra special attention. So watch out for the furry friends, for sure. But yeah, and really I put this note in here in response to your rant about the fireworks, ross, which is good timing for the season we're entering now, but you know, they may very well the bangs you hear may very well, unfortunately, be gunshots. So don't look up, just be aware of your surroundings.
Speaker 3:And folks, when you think about it. Okay, you hear fireworks on your block. You look outside and somebody has set up whatever display in the middle of the street. It burns out. You call Burbank police to complain about it. By the time they get out there, they see the debris in the street. There's nobody around. It's kind of useless calling in unless you have pictures. And I'm not saying go out and get yourself in trouble. You know your neighbor's firing off, uh, you know whatever in the street, but setting it up, then do it right, or you see them setting it up, then do it Right.
Speaker 1:If you see them setting it up, I used to work a task force every year on 4th of July and New Year's, basically an arson and fireworks task force. We were all paired with members of the fire department and we would just chase call. We were dedicated to chasing fireworks calls and we confiscated pallets every year of illegal fireworks. Uh, and let's not even get into the injuries that occur every year, uh, adults and children losing fingers, hands, just you know, being disfigured by these fireworks. Parents, use some sense.
Speaker 3:Keep your kids away from this stuff you know and people don't understand. Okay, let's say you report fireworks. The Burbank Air Unit is going to fly all over Burbank. Their camera can see a mile away and they have a device on the helicopter called a floor-forward-looking ultra-red whatever Infrared Infrared. They can lock on a house a quarter mile away and lock into it and fly over it and get the address. So those officers know exactly where to go. I've heard it, I listened to them. It's. It's amazing how far away they can pinpoint this, their camera and think about it. Fireworks, very hot, those things cook at you know 12, 1300 degrees. So it's going to show up on their floor real easy. And then they're going to come over and you're going to get a knock on your door or whatever, and burbank will be uh, you know, talking to your kid or whatever.
Speaker 1:so parents, be responsible for your kids and I'll just take a couple of seconds to add a caveat to that, since we we mentioned that the police helicopters will be airborne in these nighttime hours for these kind of calls. The temptation is there, happens every time in these holidays. Don't point lasers at the helicopters or any aircraft. It's incredibly dangerous for those on the aircraft and the pilots. It blinds them. It's also very illegal, it's a felony, and they know where it's coming from and they'll pinpoint it. But don't point the lasers. People think it's harmless. It is not. I've been at the receiving end of those lasers inside a dark helicopter and it is not fun.
Speaker 3:Well, it's funny that you say that, craig, because I listened to the Burbank Tower and planes coming in on any of the runways. If they get hit by a laser, they report it that fast. The tower marks exactly where that plane was. They call the local air support police. Usually They'll go out and most people are dumb enough to repeat the exercise and and shine it up at the police helicopter and then they lock in on them and you're going to have officers jollies the first time doing it.
Speaker 1:They're probably dumb enough to get their jollies get doing it the second time exactly, exactly.
Speaker 3:And now there's these um lasers are brighter, they're colored, you know, because they use them for other events. There's construction ones. But don't be flying, don't be lighting them up the helicopter, because the eyesight to our pilots and observers that can put a helicopter down immediately.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, we'll have a couple more opportunities in the next couple shows here to get a little more in-depth on that, but we just wanted to to to start the topic.
Speaker 2:I'm not sure we'll get more in depth, we just did. But we can. We can try.
Speaker 3:Well, if you find fireworks, if your kid gets it from a friend you don't know what to do with it, you could take it, you can call the police and fire department. Every year every station collects fireworks and they take and they dispose of it properly. But if your kid brings some fireworks home, you find it in their room, take it away from them, take it to the fire department or call and say, hey, my kid got some fireworks, what do I do with it? And find out properly how to dispose of it.
Speaker 2:Because old fireworks is dangerous. Well, whoever listened to your rant last week and removed the weed, I hope they're listening to this because I'm going to tell you I'm driving around. For somebody who says I don't drive around, I do get around the corner of Hollywood Way and Clark, used to be a nursery there.
Speaker 3:Looks pretty bad, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:Oh no, it looks, if you like, weeds, because the entire lot that used to be a garden is weeds. The entire parkway on Clark and Hollywood Way is complete weeds that are six to eight feet. Not a weed, it's a weed family there.
Speaker 3:Well, see what gets me that is. You know the city made the deal with Los Angeles, as the farmers you know. Like they did over at Chandler, the city was going to put in a community farm there community garden and Dave Golonski was very involved with it. I remember him out there pulling weeds. I don't know what happened, because the city made the deal.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a lot. But what about the parkways? The parkways are an absolute eyesore, Bring in the goats.
Speaker 3:Well, no, it's funny you say that. Driving up Magnolia today I noticed the tree wells in front of a couple of the weeds are four feet high. The tree wells in front of a couple of the weeds are four feet high. Why can't we get the dig group on a weekend to borrow the weed eaters that our city forestry doesn't use and go just walk up?
Speaker 2:Magnolia and cut the weeds. All you do is just bring their hose.
Speaker 3:Bring the hose.
Speaker 1:Oh, the tool, the gardening implement.
Speaker 3:Oh, okay.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Anyhow, you know what, maybe that might be a good video to go do A video of all these weeds that are taking our landscape.
Speaker 1:We should embed with one of these a video crew from my Burbank with one of these dig events.
Speaker 3:You know we could. It's funny you say that because I know we had a lot of rain, and that's what they're going to say. We had a ton of rain and that's why we have a ton of weeds. But you know what I tell you I'm popping. You know I don't have the weeds in my house.
Speaker 2:Do you have those weeds in your house?
Speaker 3:No I don't.
Speaker 1:Do they only grow in certain places, or people take care of their properties?
Speaker 2:you'd think that maybe they'd plan for such an occasion.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's embarrassing and Clark is an embarrassing well, you better watch it, because people do listen to my rants and I have. I will say we'll see.
Speaker 1:Ross, I have a feeling whoever assassinated your weed, check your mailbox for the next couple of days.
Speaker 3:You might get a weed in the mail yeah, but what's really weird, that day that you, the two Craig's, helped me out and called the paramedics, I got a bill.
Speaker 1:I got a bill. Is that next week's rant?
Speaker 3:I'm gonna save it. Yeah, I got a bill. They didn't take me anywhere. And I got a bill. I got a bill. Is that next week's rant? I'm going to save it. Yeah, I got a bill. They didn't take me anywhere.
Speaker 1:And I got a bill we're going to talk about that. I can't wait for that one. I'm going to save that for next week's.
Speaker 3:There's a tease. We're going to talk about that for next week's show.
Speaker 2:Wow, I can hardly wait, that's uh.
Speaker 3:They didn't take me anywhere. I drove home. I didn't Somebody drove me home.
Speaker 1:Save it. Oh, I'm going to. That's a tease. We're teasing next week. That's a big one.
Speaker 2:All I can say is thank God for Medicare. Anyhow, I got Medicare. Well, that'll pay your bill. I mean, it won't come out of your pocket, that's what insurance store. But the point is, you got a bill.
Speaker 3:What I think is kind of funny. They mailed it to my address, didn't even give my address, they had all my information. Oh, you're in the system.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're right, you called them before. With that being said, mr Sherwood, my pillow awaits.
Speaker 2:For those listening in the morning, this is actually at night. Okay, that's all I've got From Zoomland with Craig Durling to Ross Benson. This is Craig Sherwood saying have a great week and we'll get with you again next week. Thanks again for listening.
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