myBurbank Talks
myBurbank Talks
The Week That Was and That Will Be - April 29* (*April 30)
Join Craig Sherwood, Ross Benson and Craig Durling as we explore the trials and triumphs of our Burbank community, from the significant impact of tenant rights and evictions to the celebration of a cherished baseball coach's two-decade legacy. Imagine the patience required to sift through the maze of local government housing regulations and city council meetings—a dedication we not only reflect on but deeply respect. Get ready to unravel the implications of city council's current stances on development projects and firearm retail businesses, as well as the myths and realities surrounding Section 8 housing.
The complexities of local development take center stage as we examine the fallout from community resistance, the transformation of projects under SB 35, and the vital importance of public development meetings. Also in the spotlight: the success of Burbank's drug take-back event and its wider environmental significance. Then, step into our worlds for a moment, as the hosts share their exasperation with city council meeting schedules and our admiration for the Burbank animal shelter's collaboration with Pasadena Humane Society.
Switching gears, we navigate the electrified terrain of vehicle rebate programs, pondering the potential influence on our infrastructure and the readiness of our power grid for an EV future. Later, we arm you with insights to shield against the rising tide of scams, especially those targeting utilities. Finally, we'll give you a snapshot of the upcoming Fire Service Day—expect dynamic photography, impressive displays, and the delightful mingling of local services. Tune in, engage, and maybe even walk away with more than just newfound knowledge.
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 Schubert here with you once again, along with, of course, ross Benson. Tally-ho, ro-lo-lo, let's do a show, and once again we're coming. Remotely is Craig Derling.
Speaker 1:Hello from my subterranean bunker.
Speaker 2:Oh, craig, I see you got some. Uh, you got a little bit of fire equipment behind you.
Speaker 1:this time I do In honor of the upcoming fire service day on the 11th, and I wonder if we should make this a contest If anybody out there can figure out where this picture of Los Angeles County Fire Department apparatus was taken. Yeah, move your dome a little bit.
Speaker 2:There you go. Yeah, there's a very interesting picture there, so I'll tell you what let's see. If any of our viewers can tell us where that picture was taken, we'll give you a hint it's somewhere in LA County.
Speaker 1:It is. Those are LA County Fire Department rigs. So Did they win anything? In fact, you know what we toss a prize in for that.
Speaker 2:We'll give out a $25 gift card for Hill Street Cafe. Oh great, I know where it was. I know where it was. Employees are exempted.
Speaker 1:Oh.
Speaker 3:You need a paycheck for that. Now we've never. You, you know a lot of people don't know. You know I've shot for burbank. I used to shoot for la county. I was one of the whatever they call them semi-directors or whatever the volunteer photo program and you were the head of the volunteer program.
Speaker 1:That's why you shot that little quick background technically I still am, but they've, uh, they've, tabled the program for a bit, but um, yeah no, that was a in combination with a uh, maybe another hint a brush fire drill that I was covering for the department um so you had to hold back where that was.
Speaker 3:So that was good, I know I know, but we'll, uh, we'll leave it.
Speaker 1:There'll be in it, we'll be back, we'll be back and I'll give the whole story, uh, next week wow, let's go and move into this week's show.
Speaker 2:Well, that's uh you know we're talking about 25 gift cards for hill street cafe which we're going to give out. If send an email and just say and say in the head of the word of the week no, the head of the location what do you call?
Speaker 1:the location for the photo. The photo? No, no, no, what?
Speaker 2:do you call the line, the subject line? Put the word photo in there and we'll know you're writing in about the photo and if you First one to send it in. The first one to send it in will get a $25 Hill Street card.
Speaker 1:We'll really know if people are watching us live.
Speaker 2:That's how we'll find out who's watching live.
Speaker 3:Also I wonder if any county firemen would be watching us If they are, they might not have been at this location.
Speaker 2:Well, they should know the location.
Speaker 1:If any of them are watching, that's our thanks for them watching. But you know, maybe even a bonus or no extra credit. But if you can tell me the station number, Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Speaker 2:There's only one station number. I know offhand.
Speaker 3:Station 51.
Speaker 2:Station 51 at Universal City, right and you know, recently AMG 365.
Speaker 3:I listen to LA County all the time. I cannot believe how busy that station is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 3900, universal, the whole Universal property and every time there's a fire they send Agent Squad 51 and, of course, burbank Right. So last week's winner of our gift card for coming up with the word community, which I thought was a good word, thomas Huber. Thomas Huber, you are the winner of last week's gift card for Hill Street Cafe. I don't believe you sent an address in with your email. So please send us an email address and we're going to be glad to send you out that $25 gift card to Hill Street Cafe, which is one of the best restaurants around that people just really don't know enough about.
Speaker 1:It's out on the edges of the city there. And thank you, congratulations and thanks for listening and sending in your email. If you don't send us your mailing address, then we just have to arrange a time where we can meet you there for lunch and you can buy us lunch there. You go With your card.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. For those listening today on Tuesday, I'll throw it out there. Today is our last day of voting for my Burbank's best. It closes at midnight tonight, on April 30th.
Speaker 3:So if you're listening to this after April, 30th tough taco.
Speaker 2:Well wait, it's Taco Tuesday. It is Taco Tuesday If you're listening to it after this and you have a taco it's going to be a tough taco, but you know what we don't?
Speaker 3:we don't see the the votes and all I do is we an email that somebody's vote.
Speaker 2:well, yeah, I only macaroni, I actually do see the votes well, you do, and and I and I don't manipulate them in any way, because I think it's up to the people to vote the way they want to vote and I will say this we have a record amount of votes this year. I mean, without a doubt, a record amount of votes, and I think we have like 160 categories and I think close to a hundred of them were within five votes. The winner was, you know, within five votes, so getting a lot of votes.
Speaker 1:I was perusing the list and you know it's not on there of current events in the city and this podcast best gun store. And you probably won't see that, but true, true not true, even though there are many that may not be there for the next time we do surveys.
Speaker 2:We can only hope.
Speaker 2:Um, so now also, we had a couple of technical problems on Monday, so that's why our show did not get produced on Monday. We're on Tuesday instead. But we still thought it was important to get the show out this week because we we have had we've never missed a week yet since we've started doing our show and we set everything up, and we set everything up, and we set everything up, yes, believe it or not, plus our list of stuff going on. It takes a while to script this out. By the way, just so you guys know, I spent about two to three hours putting this list together.
Speaker 1:Every stutter, every slur, every mistake is highly scripted people.
Speaker 3:You thought this was improvised yes. Well now people know why I interject stuff because I don't put it in the meeting. And people kind of wonder.
Speaker 1:Well, you don't show up for dress rehearsal.
Speaker 2:You're supposed to dress for rehearsal too, not, oops?
Speaker 1:Yes, and please dress for the show. Oh my goodness.
Speaker 2:Already going down a rabbit hole at six and a half minutes. Well, there was no council meeting tonight, so that's another reason. It probably didn't matter much. But let's go back to last week, Last week's council meeting. I think it went nine hours and 45 minutes.
Speaker 2:Gravy I thought that was a typo. Why not have a meeting two weeks in a row and have two meetings about four to five hours each, instead of one meeting at nine and a half hours long? That you're paying all these people overtime for, and city staff who's working on salary but have to report the next morning at 9 am?
Speaker 3:Holy cow, I mean you got to Well I will say for them they did change the consent agenda to be right off the top. So a lot of those city staffers didn't have to stay, except for the housing people and you know Patrick Prescott, but the fire chief and the police chief, there was nothing that they had to. Well, the gun store isn't. Well, the police had probably a captain there.
Speaker 2:Yeah for the gun store.
Speaker 1:But still I wasn't able to watch it.
Speaker 2:What took up the bulk of the time. We'll talk about that. We had the. They brought back and discussed landlord tenants and once again, there's no good guys on this, there's no bad guys on this. Both sides have equally good arguments. I'm not sure rent control is the answer because of everything, but I think Burbank's putting in some. You know. Basically what they decided to do and they went on a 4-1 vote, with Councilmember Mullen's dissenting was to put together an ordinance that if the termination of the tenancy is based on a substantial remodel just cause eviction, the owner shall provide relocation assistance equal to the amount of three months' rent that was in effect when the notice of termination was issued. And then any owner's failure to comply with regulations on substantial relocation and relocation assistance pursuant to ordinance shall render notice of termination of tenancy void and shall be an affirmative defense of an unlawful detainer action. I love when the city attorney writes these things out, don't you? You know what? I don't speak attorney, I speak English.
Speaker 3:I just fell asleep on the second paragraph.
Speaker 1:I remember an unlawful detainer from the academy, yeah.
Speaker 2:So basically what they're saying is that if a landlord and these corporations come in they buy a building or anything else and they say you know what, everybody out, we're going to renovate this building. Well, if they do that, they have to give the tenant three months of rent money to relocate, which I think is fair. Ross, I see you had that look.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm biting at the bit.
Speaker 1:Go ahead. You could have benefited from this right.
Speaker 3:Exactly, I have been evicted For exactly that reason. Exactly. And the guy you know, my guy that lived above me 29 years and we lost quite a bit of money. I lost a security deposit, I lost, hired a Burbank attorney and he ripped me off of $1,500. And the guy above me for $1,500 to tell us, oh, just go to court and accept what they give you.
Speaker 1:You know and you want to name that attorney no probably won't make my birds best, really Well, we could make that a contest.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly Recently I was told that he is now on the board of the chamber of commerce.
Speaker 2:Oh boy.
Speaker 3:I'm thinning it out there I gotta be careful.
Speaker 2:If people want to know who it is, they'll have to do the research, but they can find out now.
Speaker 3:Right, and you know they, I. If people want to know who it is, they'll have to do the research. But they can't find out now. Right, and you know I think I don't know if you said it a minute ago that meeting was nine hours and 45 minutes. I stayed awake for the whole frigging meeting.
Speaker 1:You've never, stayed awake that long.
Speaker 3:You were so correct. How many times have I fallen asleep the first 50 minutes of a TV show? But you know what? Like you said, there's no good guys and bad guys. You know, we have a couple of bad apples that have moved into town, some developers, some apartment owners.
Speaker 2:Not moved into town, they bought into town. Yeah, they don't live here.
Speaker 3:Right and they're being. You know, when you're a tenant, I can tell you. You know, when you have a mortgage versus paying rent and you have to worry about that all the time, of a landlord putting a notice on your door, or you come home and something's taped to your door and you go. Oh no, I mean your heart stops and I feel for a lot of these tenants that just know of it, these tenants that just know of it. And then what got me is when I went to court, the guy that there's this guy that 1-800-EVICT now or something he's the one council talked about, he's the one that was representing my landlord and one of his employees used to be a Burbank City employee in the parks department comes up to me, says oh, I know you blah, blah, blah and then I still get evicted. I know you blah, blah, blah and then I still get evicted. I know you screw you. Yeah, it's just.
Speaker 1:It's like they don't care about the people in the buildings, they just care about the building.
Speaker 3:Yep.
Speaker 2:Well, it's not a good situation, but I think they have to bring this back now and vote on it, and so I think something's going to put in. It's not going to be rent control, because I think the state kind of already sets rent control at, I think, 6% a year or something.
Speaker 3:Well, didn't I hear that during the meeting? They said there, you know, some of that is done by the state.
Speaker 2:Right, the state's put in. You know already put in precautions.
Speaker 3:But all these other things.
Speaker 2:Right, but things such as the no-fault eviction, that is something that's not covered by the state and saying it should have been covered by the state, but Burbank will cover that. Now the reason I was not there that night is I was given the down low that the Burbank Burroughs game baseball game. They were going to honor Bob Hart before the game for 20 years as a coach and all the services given there. So I decided that I would go and support him and he didn't know about it and they had a nice little ceremony for him, that the city gave him a proclamation and a lot of people were there. His entire family was there to celebrate with him.
Speaker 3:Bob didn't know about it. Neither did we, because I don't see it written in our show notes. Well, that's because you weren't there either I caught you, no, no, no, I caught you on this one.
Speaker 2:Because you weren't there either, so that's why I didn't figure you'd want to talk about it, but anyhow, Bob has. Before he came in, there was a coach every year and they hadn't won a league game in probably four or five years. And it was right after the time when Freddie Sanchez had been there and Freddie Sanchez was the MVP there, when they didn't win a league game.
Speaker 3:I mean, that's how bad, they were Freddie Sanchez. Not everybody is a ball player, Well not a ball player fan.
Speaker 2:Freddie Sanchez, a graduate of Burbank High, went on to Glendale College, went on to NAIA school and then was drafted, played for the Pittsburgh Pirates where he later became a National League batting champion, but he played for Burbank High. So that was before Bob got there. But since Bob's been there it's completely turned around and Bob puts the player development over wins and losses. I don't want to say the wins and losses. Losses don't matter because they do, and he does care about winning and losing. That's not the point. But he understands what we all do is that the chances of these players going to play either D1 or get drafted and play Major League Baseball are very, very tiny. Major League Baseball are very, very tiny.
Speaker 2:I coached 40 years and was lucky enough to get four kids up to the Major League level, and it wasn't me, it was because they had talent, it wasn't because I was a great coach or anything else. Even when I was at Burroughs we had a couple guys go to D1. But it's so hard to get anybody above high school level. Most of them will go to a JC or a Division II or III school. But the thing is, is that having them develop as men with responsibility, teamwork, all the things that you know are involved, and Bob reads Kidsburn anybody I know.
Speaker 3:Well, if I recall right, I've talked to Bob many, many times and kudos, kudos, kudos to Bob Hart. He takes some mentors to the top degree. I mean some of the things that he does. You know, every year I cover the Memorial and Veterans Day ceremonies. His baseball team is there. He invites the members of our armed services to baseball games and honors them at games. And you know Bob has his prior history. He dealt with some bad kids. He knows he worked in the juvenile probation department.
Speaker 2:You know he dealt with some bad kids. He knows he worked in the juvenile probation department, you know.
Speaker 2:He knows how kids carry themselves and he, I tell you what, if you're lying, he's got you. He can tell a mile away if you're not truthful. So and that's why you know, when we did start doing our coaches corner which, by the way we'll we'll come back as soon as the baseball season ends I picked him as a co-host because I just think he there's more to him than just being a jock or being an athlete or just talking sports. He understands the makeup of a person and I think that's important. So that's why he's our co-host on Coach's Corner.
Speaker 3:Well, you know what? We got five pages to go.
Speaker 1:Do I need to bring back the rabbit hole pen?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean I, can you know what?
Speaker 3:That was a very good, good, good Okay.
Speaker 2:Considering we got one page with nothing on it I'm looking at, but let's finish up with that council meeting.
Speaker 1:Let's finish the city council meeting Nine hours. People City Council.
Speaker 3:Nine hours. People wonder.
Speaker 2:Well, they also did say about retail firearm businesses and they directed staff to proceed exploring, incentivizing the transition of interested firearm retail businesses and determining the level of financial resources required. Which basically means they've heard someone want to leave the business or go out of business, whatever, and they're going to ask them what's it going to ask him?
Speaker 1:you know, what's it going to take financially for us to either buy your business or buy you out or whatever it's going to be Early retirement, but we talked about this last week and that was basically that there was a proposal for this. Now the city council has looked at that and said yes, go ahead.
Speaker 2:And follow up on that. Yeah, follow up and see what the financial resources are going to entail. But here's the one problem. I have still seen nothing that says, let's say they buy five stores out or down to eight or nine stores, well, what's to stop five or six more stores from coming in and starting business? I mean, until we get a moratorium not a moratorium but an ordinance about how many we're allowed to have total in Burbank. I don't see why we're doing this.
Speaker 3:Well think about it.
Speaker 1:Like I said last week, they're putting the cart before the horse on this. They're not ready for what the results are going to happen if they start buying these places out. But is that part of the whole proposal is to look at that as well?
Speaker 2:I'm just going to what I saw in the city. Now, you ross, you ross, you watched entire meeting, so what'd they say about that?
Speaker 3:I did and basically it was just a report. I had never, in listening to the whole firearms thing since day one, ever heard them talk about. You know the incentives to buy a store out, and if that store does get bought out, I can't see again scratching my bald head. Why would you buy a store out and then just let somebody else open? Keep the same store?
Speaker 1:I would think well, but now does the? Is the city gonna now own these stores, these properties?
Speaker 3:well see, that's what kind of leads you to the question. You know where we were citing. Where was the gun store that that decided to retire after many? What 50?
Speaker 2:or 90 years, I think it was Culver.
Speaker 3:City? I think yeah, and the city. You know. I guarantee they got best top dollar for their business. I think they gave them fair market value. Okay, that's still now fair market value.
Speaker 2:It was a family-owned business and they'd been there for many, many years and decided that Martin B Redding. Yeah.
Speaker 1:A famous store.
Speaker 2:And they just decided that they wanted to work with the city and they said, okay, a fair price, and we'll take it, and probably another week in a park there, who knows.
Speaker 3:Well, so this goes to show us. We have said it on this show many times this is going to be a long drawn out. It's not an ordinance or a law.
Speaker 2:Well, it can't be that long drawn out, because an emergency ordinance is going to expire later this year.
Speaker 3:We have seen on other ordinances. You know they will come up with something. They're not just going to throw something together.
Speaker 2:I understand, but they have to have an ordinance together this year because they can't extend it again. So they've already extended it once. Can't do that again. So they've already extended it once. Can't do that again, so they will. But I hear it's going to be probably around August or September before they come back with it. So but hopefully they're going to limit the amount of gun stores in Burbank, say, no more than five, no more than six. They're going to limit where they can be.
Speaker 1:I'm sure there's enough attorneys involved where you've got to be working on that.
Speaker 2:I assume We'll move on to Thursday. Thursday there was a public meeting over at the Windmista Library. In fact, we have a video of the entire meeting up on our YouTube page if you'd like to gander at it and watch what happened. But they had a meeting about the development over at Pass and watch what happened. But they had a meeting about the development over at Pass and Riverside Drive.
Speaker 3:Now, Craig, you were there. Were there 50, 75 people in there. The place was full. Okay, most chairs were filled. I watched our video and I was amazed. But also, didn't they put a notice on your door last week when I walked in?
Speaker 2:Yeah, not One of the neighbors is walking around putting it on people's doors.
Speaker 3:Well, everywhere around here. So no wonder they got a good turnout. But you know what? You were there.
Speaker 2:Well, I think people are fearful and the things they complain about are things that you know the NIMBY approach to a lot of things. Development's going to happen, you know, but people are upset. Well, you're going to put like five or six, seven low housing, you know, in here and they actually told people what the formula was going to be. And right now people make between $50,000 and $80,000 a year. But they also said people were saying why can't you make the whole thing like that? Well, you know what. Hey, here's why can't you do the whole thing like that? Well, you know what? Here's a newsflash Developers develop to make money. Developers don't do it as a that's the way. You have public housing and you have private housing.
Speaker 3:I got a quick question. Craig and I were driving earlier and low costs for when they put these in. Is that section eight? No, okay. No, there's your answer. 8? No, okay.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 3:There's your answer, Craig Durling. I sit corrected.
Speaker 2:I'm sure they can work out something with Section 8, but what it is is that it's for like 40 or 50 years that the unit can only be, and they have a formula that the LA County has a formula.
Speaker 3:Right, I remember them talking about it.
Speaker 2:But right now it's between $15, 80,000 a year. If you're in that, if that's what your yearly salary is, then they've been priced a unit for that type of thing.
Speaker 3:So it's well. You know, I remember when marathon communications came to us breaking this story that they wanted to build there, and I remember saying to you the neighborhood's going to go ape shit, literally when they see a seven-story building. You know, and what they originally were going to put there was a market and all sorts of other things. That developer has sat and met with how many of the residents besides at this meeting? This is a required meeting, but he's taken the market out, he's changed things.
Speaker 2:Well, he's taken the market out, but he's not taking the retail out. He's just changing it to restaurants.
Speaker 3:But Well, he's taking the market out, but he's not taking the retail out, he's just changing it to restaurants. But still the number of people in that. That's a residential neighborhood to me you know. And read the story, or look at the video that we did, because the pictures are there. It's on our front page on my Burbank. Look at that seven-story building. Would you want to live on National and have the people looking in?
Speaker 2:your background or Evergreen. Yeah, I mean, it's a. The height is a concern. There's no doubt about that. I mean, you know what? Chop off two stories and charge more for the ones you're going to charge for. Then you still make your money. You just don't have to go as high and make people you know uncomfortable.
Speaker 3:But I think I I was glad to see how many people were in that room, because how many times do we say on this show you hear people go to city council and say, when did this all happen? When who made these decisions? And it was nice to see. But most of those I only heard, I think, five people that got up and said they were in support of that building. You know what you and I we remember when Sorrentino's was on that corner, when Sony was there. It's going to change. We need more housing in Burbank. Same thing with up the street at Lakeside Car Wash. You know that project is being held for I don't know how long it's like the IKEA project Stagnant.
Speaker 3:Well, and that's the thing you know, this one that you. So there will be a lot more coming out, but it was nice to hear the developer.
Speaker 2:Well, this has to go in front of the planning board before it even goes to the city council. So I mean they have to do a CUP, which is a conditional use permit for some of the things they want to do there.
Speaker 3:You mean like a dog grooming place, like the place up on First Street that had to get a use?
Speaker 2:Well, no, this would be work, I'm sure, for a parking thing, and the developer said on this, he's going to provide more parking than is required.
Speaker 3:And he pointed out he has not asked for one variance. He has not asked for any trades because he's listened to the people that live around there. This is not going to go up next week.
Speaker 2:Well, if he listens to people, then it won't be seven stories, that's right. It'll be a.
Speaker 1:Kinko's.
Speaker 2:So I mean I think this entire area should be limited to no more than four stories. If I had my personal say, I think four stories is enough for.
Speaker 3:I think and I recall quite well when they put in the two towers on Alameda the Disney building, which was 19, and then the other one, that's 32. Right Now, owned by. Worth Well, yeah, it wasn't at the time. But the neighbors, the shadow effect. I remember the meetings that people went to city council and said who approved this? You will never see a high rise in Burbank again after those two.
Speaker 2:I also remember there's also a glare problem. The sun was hitting those buildings and doing a glare problem and they had to change the windows because of what was going on with the sun.
Speaker 3:I'm glad people are getting involved. I know some of these people. Um, you know they have their mindset that they're not going to get it approved. Folks like craig said the developer is in the business of making money. He lives in the neighborhood well, no, his spokesman.
Speaker 2:Does his lawyer right? Well, his lawyer, but he also knows what goes.
Speaker 3:You know, he seems like he's really, but some developers are like that.
Speaker 2:I mean I think he's going to try, I think I mean it's going to happen and I think we don't work against work with him, because I think if everybody works together maybe we'll get a decent project out of it and we'll always see other projects in the city where they get they fight, fight, fight, fight and then the developer goes okay, you know what, I'm gonna reclassify this property as something else and there's nothing you can do about it now.
Speaker 2:Yes, so you know, careful, what you wish for a side note to that is that my understanding and I do not know the full once again, not a lawyer, nor do I play one on on television but the SB9 was shot down by the California courts and it does not apply to incorporated cities like Burbank. Now, if that is what the case is, I'm not exactly sure if that's exactly what the ruling is, but if that's what it was, that means the projects that got an empire would not have been approved.
Speaker 3:Yeah, what. 120 units with seven parking spaces 140 units with seven parking spaces. Yeah, I mean, come on folks.
Speaker 2:Because it's already started. Now they can't stop it, right, but at least we can't. We'll get another three of those, if I recall right, didn't that?
Speaker 3:And I'm not sure about that still control back to the cities on some of the things.
Speaker 2:That's what I believe it still wouldn't have stopped things like the Pickwick Project and like that, because SB 35 is still in effect. But you know, this guy on Pass and Riverside, if he got enough, you know blowback, he'd say you know I'm going to make this a full SB 35 project. And now you guys guess what? Now you have no input.
Speaker 1:You have no input, you're screwed. You have no input. Now they have to concede nothing.
Speaker 2:That's what happened to the Rancho people with the Mariposa project. He changed it to an SP-35 project and now it went to housing, and now they got screwed.
Speaker 3:You remember again that same. A different developer came to us, we printed that and people were no same developer. No, no, no no.
Speaker 2:I mean not as the Riverside Pass project.
Speaker 3:Mariposo is a Right right, but I remember when he brought that to us and we broke that story. Yeah, and the Rancho people said not in my backyard.
Speaker 2:It was a very green office type building that would have, only you know, not been working 24 hours a day and all that stuff, and it was a very he kind of said you guys want to screw with me?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's now an SB 35 project, you have no input.
Speaker 2:Now you've got people driving in and out of thing, day in and day out, and morning, noon and night.
Speaker 3:So, but so I keep jumping cameras and I apologize, my finger got crazy there. It was a long meeting, a lot went on, and then the next day, you know, or on Thursday, that public development meeting people. You need to. You know, I know people have busy schedules, but you got to pay attention and go to these meetings, if not at least watch our video. It's not that we want the hits, we want you to be aware of what's going on in the community. You might live on the hill, but you know what there's projects going on up there. So it was a real done, a real well done video. Um, but, like I said, you get to hear people, but you know it's an unedited video.
Speaker 2:Also, I didn't just put into the parts that and take out parts it's. You know it's the entire meeting, from start to finish, you know, and there's no cuts in it. And, by the way, please subscribe to our youtube channel. We, we need subscribers, that's so moving so moving along, I know. Last thing I have last week is we had the drug take back event on the weekend.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I guess Saturday was also the proms for our local high schools and I was asked to shoot some pictures of some local kids and I went to Johnny Carson Park and, wow, you remember the chili cook-offs? That's how many people were in that. It's always that way. Yeah, I couldn't believe it, it's always full you know, and these kids have their own.
Speaker 3:I'm looking for a nice background, no power lines. These kids, they just want to climb on each other and, you know, show off their fancy dresses. So I got the pictures and got out of there. But you're right, we did. We did have a drug take-back event and didn't you say to me that you did some studying? Burbank was one of the largest cities.
Speaker 2:No. Dea sent out a release and said Burbank was like number three.
Speaker 1:Last time they did this in the amount taken back or the amount that they took in. Yeah, wow.
Speaker 3:Well, you know I wasn't feeling well and I didn't get by there. I still have a bag for the next time. They do it. They do it twice a year, but maybe we'll get a report. You know, I don't know if we'll get it from Burbank PD.
Speaker 2:Burbank PD never sent any stuff out. It was always the DEA that sent all the stuff to me.
Speaker 3:Well, I remember when I shot pictures, pictures I used to ask for could I get how many pounds so they weigh that? And it's. You know, they did a good job.
Speaker 2:It's something, again, not every city does well, I thought I think the reason they do the dea goes to certain areas and they never want to decide where it gets done at well, you know what's funny is they?
Speaker 1:usually grant funding and stuff that pays right, that's not for events like that.
Speaker 2:They're just using it because they want to do it in the Burbank area and use Burbank PD Like they use the fire department training center for hazardous waste.
Speaker 3:Well, you know it's funny, Not a lot of people know that they have incinerators still out at Olive View Medical Center and I remember every year or every time they did these drug take back, they would burn all this stuff out there. That's the only way they found and I remember LA City Fire or county going because it just puts out black smoke. Well, I don't know if they still do it that way, but for years that's how I knew it was a drug take back day.
Speaker 1:But you can't burn wood at a fire training center. I don't think you can burn narcotics in the middle of a city.
Speaker 2:And is that putting any kind of a? I mean, when they burn, does that put out any kind of? Does the deer and bears in the woods get higher?
Speaker 3:No, but think about it, AQMD. That's why fire department can't burn new training drills anymore. You have to get permission from AQMD.
Speaker 2:I'll give you an even more exact response. Back in the day, when we were doing baseball and it would rain and the infield would have puddles on it, well, we used to go out and just get gasoline and we threw it on the infield and we would burn the puddles off and it would dry the infield. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Where the hell did you? Who came up with that idea? That was done for years, really. And then around, yeah, around the 90s, all of a sudden fire departments started responding and saying you can't, and the AQMD started saying we're going to fine you if you do that again. You can't do that because it would put out the black smoke. And but I'll tell you what after about an hour of burning, that inch would be nice and dry and ready to go all right, we're going down rabbit holes.
Speaker 3:My years ago my brother bought a table, a ship hatch, and he wanted to make it look antiqued. And he had a bunsen burner and he's burning it. You know, two inches by two inches he's got really. He said I want to get this done quick, so he poured a can of gasoline on it. He lit. That I'll never forget. My brother was wearing a toupee at the time. We had a pool in my parents' backyard. The toupee went flying into the pool and then we heard sirens and it's like oh shit, they're coming.
Speaker 1:Somebody think a squirrel was on fire in the pool?
Speaker 3:well, it turned out that there was a plane crash at hollywood way in verdugo, and that's what they saw the smoke they were going to.
Speaker 1:But my brother thought he's going to jail for life for starting this fire so are we sure that this uh statute of limitations has expired on all these stories you're telling?
Speaker 3:My brother just moved out of state.
Speaker 1:Oh, so he's fleeing. He's a fugitive.
Speaker 2:And the coach I worked with who did this has passed away.
Speaker 3:So he's safe? Well, I never heard that. Now they didn't do that at like pro fields right Like Dodger Stadium.
Speaker 2:No, because they actually have good drainage systems. High school fields, you know it's, it's they have puddles, yeah, so wow Are we going to are we going to a commercial. It's time for commercial. I think we've got to get. We'll get into come up with some more stories. Yes, we do. Well, we'll take a break here and we'll be back with you in just a few minutes.
Speaker 4:Enjoying the show right now, thinking you may want to do your own podcast by Beret 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 studiorentals at myburbankcom. That's studiorentals at myburbankcom, and we will get back to you. Now back to our show. All right, chris.
Speaker 3:Wait a minute, I can't get my way. Okay, the false tooth is in. Did that commercial start saying are you enjoying the show? Our stories are off calendar today. People, you know we're doing this show a little different today, different hours. You got to be enjoying the show, Come on.
Speaker 2:All your money back. So once again, all of our meds are in full swing, you know, in the afternoon, like this so, craig, short, with you once again, along with ross benson, and of course we have on remote location, on a place that we're not telling you, until next week, craig derling. You gotta figure it out, hey, everybody let's get into um to this week, uh, so yesterday.
Speaker 3:What a boring week.
Speaker 2:Here we go. So one of my pet peeves is always let's have two meetings at the same time, let's have three meetings at the same time. So yesterday, how many meetings they had? None, what. Why wouldn't they take one of those other meetings and put them on a day when there's no meeting.
Speaker 1:They could have had a five and a half hour city council meeting. Yeah, I just.
Speaker 3:They could have had a five and a half hour city council meeting. Yeah, I just Wait. A minute Was Monday. Did the Dodgers play Well?
Speaker 2:the Dodgers played, the Dodgers did well.
Speaker 3:They did, they won, but why didn't they have a meeting? What's going on? I don't get it.
Speaker 1:Everybody was at the Dodgers game.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, why don't they schedule meetings out, so there's not more than one meeting in and you have a nine and a half hour meeting and, by the way, the city council meeting today.
Speaker 3:No meeting again they're exhausted so too exhausted looking at their schedule they're sleeping I just I don't get it.
Speaker 2:I don't get how they come up with this stuff and it's just say they do, and you and you've asked the mayor this on the show before and he said look into it. And you know what he looked into. I don't keep looked into and he looked into it and he doesn't set the schedule.
Speaker 1:He doesn't set the schedule right. No, but the guy who works for him does Good point.
Speaker 2:Yes, we need to get him on the show.
Speaker 1:Let's get an official statement from him.
Speaker 2:Yes, I will not be like other bodies and throw him under the bus.
Speaker 3:I will not do that 'll tell you that animal shows are on wednesdays.
Speaker 2:Up the business again yeah, but when do we have the lowest tomorrow? Well, tomorrow, for those listening today, and if you're not, it's wednesday, the on may 1st mayday, mayday um what else is too loud? There's an airport nearby isn't there a um, um, d-.
Speaker 3:You're thinking of D-Day?
Speaker 2:No, I think it is tomorrow the day that they have all the labor. People do their marches to celebrate being unions and stuff like that.
Speaker 3:Wait, isn't that on May 5th, or no, that's Cinco de Mayo, that's Cinco de.
Speaker 2:Mayo. Do you know what Cinco de Mayo is for?
Speaker 1:Uh-oh.
Speaker 2:Why do we celebrate Cinco de Mayo?
Speaker 3:Why do we celebrate Cinco de Mayo?
Speaker 2:Nobody knows, because we only do it here in the United States it was the day that a ship called De Mayo sank. Yes, Everybody says it's to celebrate Mexican independence. No, that's another time of the year.
Speaker 3:Is this like another Hallmark?
Speaker 2:This is something like they had a. The Mexican defeated the French in some battle or something, but here in Mexico they don't even celebrate particular Mario Day. The beer companies in America did what the greeting card companies did for Valentine's Day. It's another Hallmark holiday.
Speaker 1:Yes, it is, it's just like Valentine's Day and all that. But I just looked up May 1st is International Workers Day, also known as Labor Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day. It's a celebration of laborers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labor movement and occurs every year on the 1st of May or the 1st Monday of May, and I think they have a Thank you Wikipedia.
Speaker 2:Right, I think they have marches tomorrow. They always have marches planned for it.
Speaker 3:Well, you know what else happens in May, don't you? What'd you say? You know what else happens in May, don't you?
Speaker 2:The Indy 500?.
Speaker 3:No, you and I get older.
Speaker 2:We get older every day. You don't need a month for that. You can talk about yourself. You don't need to talk about.
Speaker 3:I know you don't celebrate birthdays.
Speaker 2:I don't celebrate anything I don't talk about. There are a lot of birthdays in May you won't see me on Facebook talking about my personal life.
Speaker 1:Don't celebrate your birth.
Speaker 3:Celebrate another day on the planet you know you just brought up a good point. You know what I saw yesterday on Facebook. What'd you see? Our city clerk has an official Facebook page as of yesterday and they are communicating back and forth with people and I didn't know that separate departments could do that, but she, they host their.
Speaker 2:Well, she's elected official, she can do what she wants to do. Well, they're doing it so you know what?
Speaker 1:Climbing out of the hole. We're still talking about animal shelter right.
Speaker 2:Well, they're having once again they're doing another of their vaccine days from 2 to 5 pm, low-cost vaccines. They've done that now every week.
Speaker 1:I'm not sure I'll even need a coupon.
Speaker 3:You know what. I did a little research and on the city manager notes that I had followed up on two years since the police department, since the animal shelter, broke away from the Burbank Police Department and the transition had gone rather well. But a lot of the programs, unless you own pets or you go to the animal shelter that they're offering now one of them blew me away. If there are pets that have been at the Burbank shelter too long, burbank's a non-kill shelter. They will do anything and everything to get pets adopted. They send them to foster homes. You know they still public. Well, they're teaming up with Pasadena Humane Society and taking the dogs over there and taking some of you know vice versa, and taking the dogs over there and taking some of you know vice versa, just so they get different exposure in the different neighborhoods. So I thought that was pretty interesting.
Speaker 3:I do know I saw on, I think, facebook today, leadership Burbank Monday this week in their project $4,849,000 that they gave to the animal shelter, they paved some new dog runs that the dogs they hope to be able to expose. You know people, if you haven't been to the animal shelter, there's only one place that you can visit a dog and if there's multiple families, it's just gotten too crowded and they grew out of that place the week they moved in but they've moved storage around and, uh, putting up some new stuff. Um, a very interesting read to see about our animal shelter, because they now answer to the parks and rec department. They are doing a lot more public education. When the parks department has park events, they bring dogs and cats out to see if they can get adopted. So, and that's this low-cost vaccine is you know, they're getting funds for that. Burbank never did that before, so it's nice to see things have changed.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Well, let's see here. What else do we have? On Wednesday we have a civil service board is going to meet at 4.30 and they're going to talk about amendments to classification and recruitment reports. Same old, same old. The Youth Board is going to meet at 6 o'clock and this month they're going to the Community Services Building in their tour of the city locations, I guess.
Speaker 3:I looked at that quick and I said they're going to CBS. What are they doing on TV? Lcsb.
Speaker 2:I looked at the meetings from last month. Seven of their members are missing.
Speaker 1:How big is the board if seven could be missing?
Speaker 2:I think there are 15 on the board Holy moly. And to have seven missing, I just go. You know, let's get a little more commitment. So I don't know if that's a one-time offer, you know I more commitment from you know. So I don't know if that's a one-time offer, you know.
Speaker 3:I don't think you know. They had that long discussion at the last council meeting. When you're on a board, well I don't think. I wonder if that you know is the same.
Speaker 2:I don't think I know it wouldn't, because they're not appointed for four years. They're appointed for one year on that board only, and so I take it they consider eight a quorum to have a meeting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's 15 yeah, they'd have to have at least eight. Yes, more than half, yeah, um, I just wonder, though, how many of those people and I once again I may be talking totally out of turn, but I get to do that I hope that they're not on that board. To say they're on that board, it's good for their resume for college.
Speaker 1:Seems like a lot of people for a board.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just hope they're on that board because they really actually want to be able to do things and they do a lot of good things to help out. You know the egg roll and things like that. I just Wait, wait, wait.
Speaker 3:Egg roll. Do they have that with chop suey? Yes, they do. Or do they have that with sushi?
Speaker 2:When they call the egg roll the thing we can't. We're not going to call it Easter anymore. Oh, the egg-a-thon, you can't call it Easter. Maybe they have 15 members of the board, so seven cannot be there on any given day. Yeah, but I think if you're going to volunteer for a board like that, you need to show up. Oh, I get it.
Speaker 1:Maybe they're all kind of part-timers and have their roles and that's the way. They can not have everybody there all the time.
Speaker 2:That's true. Anyhow, what they are going to talk about tomorrow at their meeting is they want to talk about the Burbank High School care center needs. They're going to have Taylor Foxhall. Do you know Taylor Ross?
Speaker 3:I know Taylor quite well and he is one of the counselors up there Well, he's going to be from FSA and he'll be attending to discuss updates.
Speaker 2:The needs are needs for the wellness center. They need enhanced privacy within the wellness center and need enhanced privacy within the wellness center, and they proposed actually utilizing outdoor space for meetings and directing the funds towards signage. So I think they're. I have concerns about the wellness center at Burbank High School.
Speaker 3:Let me just you know I have been there. I was there for their opening. The wellness center at Burbank high is kind of outdoor, you know it's behind the, the outdoor patio near the cafeteria and it was a small 10 by 15 room that at the time it you know they needed somewhere for a center so they it was a not used room. But um, I know taylor real well. He's been one of the counselors there and fsa. They see a you're gonna laugh, you're not gonna laugh.
Speaker 3:But I hear the numbers up at the two high schools of the kids that are going in. You know, you you don't realize people don't think about it. We have a ton of kids that have family over. You know in the war-torn country that they're afraid to go to school and they're afraid of their families and stuff like that. And the counseling center is there for anybody and everybody. We did a care walk. Craig and I usually do it every year. That's what the funds go to, so kids don't have to pay. Any parent, any kid can go to the wellness center. So when they want to do better signage, you know five years ago nobody talked about mental health. It was a hidden subject. Today I talk about it all the time and it's to both schools. I talked to somebody that I know that had problems with their kid in elementary school and the counselors from FSA are helping them. So I can understand why they took them to the youth board and why they want to help out up at Burbank High's wellness center.
Speaker 2:Yep, so it sounds like they need help with that and hopefully they can get the help they need. And you know, just signage means that they maybe people don't realize it's even up there who might need it. So, um, anyhow, uh, moving on to thursday, water and power board meeting is going to be held at 5 pm. The water and power building and here's something I just once again water and power board is far beyond my needs of understanding. There's a lot more people than I am, no doubt about it. But one of the things that they were going to vote on is for commercial, I guess, commercial stuff, increase the equipment and installation rebate. Wait, wait, rebate. What was that? What's that horn mean?
Speaker 3:God, my stomach was regorgitating and I thought that's what that noise was.
Speaker 1:Why does that sound? Why do I hear that sound after you say rebate?
Speaker 2:It must be the word of the week, wow. So this week's word is rebate.
Speaker 1:And what do they? What do they do?
Speaker 2:now that we've identified the word of the week in the subject line I can remember what it's called now in the subject line of an email send us the the word rebate and we will uh put you in our drawing for next week's gift card for Hill Street Cafe, a $25 gift card. So please.
Speaker 1:And they would send an email to contest at myburbankcom. Yes, they do.
Speaker 2:Contest at myburbankcom, and the word is rebate.
Speaker 1:And if they want to include their mailing address, we can mail them the card.
Speaker 4:I can do that quicker and we can save another email for having to send it the next time.
Speaker 1:Yes, I can.
Speaker 2:By the way, we got a. I didn't, I got to find it. We got a nice little. I got an email from somebody who won one of our previous awards and she sent me a picture of the meal that she used. Oh, we got to get that.
Speaker 1:Got to post that We've got to post that.
Speaker 2:We'll talk about that next week and I'll find the picture to put on the air.
Speaker 1:Sounds good, sounds good.
Speaker 2:Anyhow. So they want to increase rebate amounts for direct current for the fast chargers from $4,000 to $20,000 per port. We're not talking about a little increase, we're talking about a five times increase here. So from $4,000 to $20,000 per port if it's in a disadvantaged community. For other locations they want to increase. You know that's for a lower income area. Now, I don't know if lower income areas can afford electric cars to start with, but that's a whole other thing. Areas can afford electric cars to start with, but that's a whole other thing. And they also wanted to have fast charger equipment installation rebate from $1,800 to $10,000 in other areas. Increased utility infrastructure upgrade rebate amounts for DC fast chargers from $3,500 up to $20,000 per port in multifamily residences, publicly accessible locations oh, public accessible locations from 1,700 to $10,000. Um, and add a rebate of $3,500 per device for smart outlets at multifamily properties, municipal properties and commercial properties with employee parking. Wow, that was a mouthful. And they're going to have a cap on the rebate of $200,000 per customer.
Speaker 3:Well, it kind of gets me when you go through all that and you listen to the news, you listen to the problems with electric vehicles. The sales are down, some people can't charge here, can't charge there. I was sitting in a parking lot today which I saw a lady go up to the charging device and it didn't work. I don't know, I don't own an electric car, I don't think the three of us do, but I don't think it's all been perfected.
Speaker 2:No, I agree 100%. I think they haven't. I think they're once again putting the old donkey in front of the cart. And it's great Green energy. We want to do all these things, but if the infrastructure is not there and I heard today or yesterday that Tesla has now agreed to start letting other brands of cars use their charging stations- yeah, I picked that up and you know you go down 3rd Street up by the Colony Theater.
Speaker 3:There are 50 Tesla spots, you know. And also now up on San Fernando, across from the old Kmart, that half of that lot is now Tesla chargers.
Speaker 2:Well, I just think that I think they have not ever thought out this electric thing. I get it, I understand all the reasons why, but when you're talking about our power grid is not set up for everybody having an electric car and I'm sorry, whenever you're saving gas for not having an electric car, you're going to pay for it in electric bills, especially when it keeps going up 9% every year. How do you?
Speaker 1:think they're generating the electricity.
Speaker 3:I drive down Buena Vista 100 times a day and there's a couple of these in front of Buena Vista Library and I guess there's different rates at different times of the day that you can use those and it just kind of gets me. I mean it's a science in itself. It's right, like that lot up at Olive and Glen Oaks, you know when it's full, you know when the cheaper rate is, because there's always more cars in there charging.
Speaker 2:Well, it's just, I don't think they're. And once again you get an important building. Okay, so we have our new at Pass and Riverside. It's going to be 120 units. I'm not sure what the number is, but let's say it's 50 units. 50 units, each person has two cars. Are they going to have 100 electric chargers in that place ready for people to use? You know what I mean? I don't think so. That's not. I didn't set their plans.
Speaker 1:Were they setting like a percentage of the parking spaces, like they would disabled parking and stuff like that? No, they didn't.
Speaker 2:You know what? They did not even talk about that, nor did I look for it, but it's something I think I need to bring up and find out. You know you have the big development going on at Fry's coming up and once again that's going to be a lot of high-end housing. Are they going to have electric charges and do we have the power grid there to take care of it?
Speaker 3:Well, I remember that was a very big. They discuss that and that project. It's right, like the one on Front Street. They are pretty well, don't you remember Water and Power had closed that street for a long time so they could relay.
Speaker 2:Well, I know that the Ranch Lot Studios no longer called the Warner Brothers Ranch but the Ranch Lot Studios they're redoing. Is that perfect? Water? Water and Power is actually putting a new substation-type area in there to not only serve that entire facility but the surrounding neighborhood also.
Speaker 3:But, if you recall, worth paid the city $13 million for them to do it. He's not an electrician, he let the city do it and it had a power plant before.
Speaker 2:Right, but they're going to because all these new sound stages are going to rely upon green screen technologies and all kinds of video technology and they're going to need a lot more power than they have now.
Speaker 3:Well, I just noticed on page four of our show notes you had written here look at the amount of money at a rebate of up to $3,500 per device for smart outlets and multiple family properties and then implement a rebate cap $200,000 per customer. I mean, we're talking big bucks. That's a lot of chargers.
Speaker 1:But I'm glad they totally support the cap because otherwise it keeps somebody from putting one in every parking space.
Speaker 2:We'll figure out the. So $3,500 for 10. Okay, that'd be $35,000 for 10. So you're talking about $70,000 is $20,000. $140,000 is $40,000. So you're talking about probably about between $50,000 and $60,000 chargers for rebates.
Speaker 3:After that, no more rebate and by what year are we all supposed to be driving electric cars?
Speaker 2:so you know well I'm not, you can forget that right they're going to be. They aren't going to sell them.
Speaker 1:We have to drive them right you can, the people who, the people who took credit for that, or be well out of office by the time that date arrives.
Speaker 2:Yes, isn't that the truth? I get it. I understand green energy, planet saving, we're all for it. But you know what? We're all for it. You got to think about what's going to happen down the line.
Speaker 3:Okay, um, lastly, oh wait, wait, I I do, Now that I think about it. I didn't put it in the show notes. I'm sorry we have two jailers. Oh, that will do it.
Speaker 4:That will be graduating.
Speaker 3:Well, two jailers will be graduating from the LA County sheriffs whatever they. They graduating from the LA County Sheriff's, whatever they. There's a special name custody Custody Academy. Yeah, one of them was a cadet, so she started off here in Burbank as a cadet, not?
Speaker 1:to be confused with the Custard Academy. No it was more of a cooking school or a space cadet.
Speaker 3:So that will be going on on Thursday.
Speaker 1:Hopefully you never have the occasion to meet these people while they're at work.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's a job that we all support and do not want to participate with. We wish them well. Congratulations so this coming weekend. Guess what's back in town? It's the DIG event.
Speaker 1:D-D-D-D-Digg, whose letters don't stand for anything.
Speaker 2:Yes, it's the Digg event on all capital letters and it means absolutely nothing except Digg, and I've just looked at their website again to see if they've come up with something, and it's nope.
Speaker 1:I sent an email Just digging.
Speaker 2:I sent an email to Jonathan Jones, our incredible PIO, and I said it's all capital, so what does it stand for?
Speaker 1:He goes absolutely nothing, they just capitalize it. They do have an instructional video on their site how to dig.
Speaker 3:Some quick tips on how to pull weeds. You want to check it out? Where is that dig event?
Speaker 2:Well, I'll say this, can you dig it?
Speaker 4:No, that wasn't good Okay.
Speaker 2:I got to use my effect once. It wants to show anyhow, okay, but where it's going to be?
Speaker 3:at the don tuttle senior center and how many people in burbank know where the don tuttle senior center it's at 1731 north ontario street.
Speaker 2:Of course don't you know that it's duh right next to the fire department training tower there I and Northwest Park oh, I'm sorry, schaefer Field, now Northwest Park.
Speaker 1:The.
Speaker 2:Northwest Library.
Speaker 1:You guys go back way too far.
Speaker 3:I remember when we used that building for something that we did at the training center.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we used to use it for catering for all those people.
Speaker 1:Hang a left at that cornfield.
Speaker 2:Yes, so it's actually a nice little place.
Speaker 1:well, you know I agree, no, but nobody knows it's there. Guess what?
Speaker 2:right by it never see it, guess what it's come down to. We're about my favorite part, the only reason I stick around and there's like one thing left for us to talk about and that can be.
Speaker 1:you know, when Sherwood throws the script aside, the rundown aside, there's only one item left.
Speaker 2:And that is, and it can only be.
Speaker 4:Ross's Rant.
Speaker 3:Ross's Rant. Ross's Rant.
Speaker 4:I take a flamethrower to this place. Watch out, Doc.
Speaker 3:You know Ross's Rant this week I Sometimes you know when I say rant. I got to attend the Chamber of Commerce Earth Month event at the Ron Davis Eco Park, which is the oldest power plant in Burbank, where it was originally, and I was just really surprised they had talking about earth day and so forth all the programs that burbank water and power offers. You know how many rebates oh, what did you say?
Speaker 2:that word again? No, what do they offer?
Speaker 3:they offer. They have tons of rebates that I don't think burbank people take advantage of, because they were really trying talking and there were a lot of business companies there and representatives for companies here in Burbank too, they have incentive rebates. So I was the other thing that they're really trying to push right now how to help people pay their bills. You know, groceries are going up, gas is going up, everything's going up. Your power bill's going up, but it's. You know some of these people need help. They have over half a dozen different programs to help you pay your power bill and all you got to do is call that number I think it's 238-3700 and talk to any of the customer service people. They have people that have been trained on how to help people pay their bill and I just you know I don't think everybody takes advantage of it.
Speaker 3:The other thing that I think water and power people there's so many scams. Weren't you and I just talking? The other thing that, uh, I think, uh, water and power people there's so many scams, weren't you and I just talking the other day? How many scams are going on? I was told by a department water and power employee they're getting hit, with hundreds of people getting called in this city with phones that say that it's from burbank water and power. You know, and they're coming out with some new programs to tell people. They do it all the time. Burbank don't think you know. You're talking to somebody, confirm it. You can hang up and call Water and Power. You can. There's many ways, if it's after hours or whatever.
Speaker 2:Well, they're never going to call you to pay your bill. That's not going to happen. They don't. You don't pay your bill over the phone. They don't call you and say pay your bill or we're going to shut your power off. There's a lot of things they don't do.
Speaker 1:Never click a link in an email.
Speaker 2:Yes, that old rule, just like that, and it's very simple that they just don't. We have not caught up enforcement-wise with the technology. You can use VPNs on computers now so they can't trace you where your computer's from.
Speaker 1:They will always be a step ahead.
Speaker 2:That's the problem. And now they can spoof phones so that it says somebody else's name on the phone, or somebody you can say anything you can say, the White House you can say whatever they want it to say.
Speaker 3:Well, I just saw yesterday a report from the FBI that he was talking about all the different you know all over the world. You think you know somebody in the same town is calling. They're in Ecuador, they're in, you know Saudi Arabia, they're everywhere around the world and you don't know it. Don't fall for it, folks. Don't fall for it, folks. If Burbank Water and Power, if they come out and knock on your door, they will tell you, they'll give you notice prior to shutting your power off, but they will not just shut it off randomly, they won't do it remotely. You know and it's these scans, these spam and all the other stuff they were telling me that Water and Power, the customers are getting hit left and right.
Speaker 1:I wonder if we could get somebody from Water and Power or the police department to give us a few words on some of that that's going on in the little prevention.
Speaker 2:We're talking about that. That's maybe in the works soon.
Speaker 1:Good, very helpful and always changing too. There's always trends in these scams, like you said, you're right, and they're very good at it.
Speaker 3:There's always trends in these scams, like you said, you're right, and they're very good at it. They're new. There's new ones every day. You know and I you know, some of us have elderly parents still that are alive how easy they're looking at. You know you gave them a tablet. They believe people. They believe people. Well that's why they don't lock their doors.
Speaker 1:They trust people. My dad, I talk to my dad about this stuff all the time and he's gotten very savvy and he had to teach himself to not trust links in emails, these random phone calls that he gets and all that. So now he's kind of, unfortunately, changed the behavior to where he's more suspicious. You know you don't click when the gas company sends you an email. Don't click the link in the email. Go to their website. It's a long way and that way you know who you're communicating with. So not so much a rant this week, ross, but more of a public service announcement.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, and it's now. You give your relatives a smartphone. I have trouble operating my smartphone. Yet you know, an 80 or 90-year-old pushed this button. Oh great, my phone was just, you know, copied or whatever, and who it goes to. And even when you see this Norton stuff or this different, don't click on it, folks.
Speaker 2:Protect yourself. And this just in Norton's been hacked also.
Speaker 1:My dad has made a game out of emptying his junk mail bin. I told him how to dispose of junk mails and spam, so now he has fun doing it. Now, there you go.
Speaker 3:Well that was another week. That was the week that will be for April 29th.
Speaker 2:Now April 30thth well, you're right live in color we didn't change fashionably late this week but it's important to get the show out, so we'll be back. We'll be back next monday night with our regular show before we end the show.
Speaker 3:You got some stuff. You got the great video of the meeting. Ashley did a great.
Speaker 2:I don't know how great a video of the meeting is. It's just a video of the meeting.
Speaker 3:But it's informational Right. If people are at the gym walking on a treadmill, you can watch it for an hour and 42 minutes.
Speaker 2:Yes you can.
Speaker 3:I did in my office, please do?
Speaker 1:I didn't get anywhere. Everything's available at myburbankcom, where my Burbank on YouTube and the Twitter handle that they should go to is my Burbank News or. My Burbank.
Speaker 2:Sports.
Speaker 1:If they want sports, yeah, my.
Speaker 3:Burbank Sports has over 3,000 followers alone, you know, and the other one that I know we try not to jump too far ahead, but I will say we plan on being a fire service day. We're on the flyers that are out there. A lot of stuff is going to go on. We're going to do a live or we're going to do a podcast there. I don't know if it'll be live, but there will be car demos, there will be guys climbing up trucks, there will be tons of giveaways.
Speaker 1:And after Ross and I were in a meeting this afternoon, it sounds like we might be very busy on fire service day.
Speaker 3:Well, I'm convinced you heard us talk to Mr.
Speaker 1:Durling, you convinced me, I was volunteered for something.
Speaker 3:Yes, you were. Some of his fantastic pictures that he has taken. We're going to have some big displays from my Burbank and myself Craig's going to have some pictures there May 11th, 9 to 2,. The fire union, I hear, is cooking up some great grub that you can pay for and buy sandwiches. Farmer's Market is across the street. The Burbank PD is going to have everything except for horses I guess they don't have an equestrian unit but from everything, from motorcycles to the parking people, to the helicopter, to the command staff, maybe the helicopter, the SWAT team, that's right, and usually at least inside there's T-shirts usually available for sale or some hats and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:So always a great day, yep. But we'll have one more show between now and then, so we'll talk about it again. Yes, we will.
Speaker 3:So wrap us up there, Craig.
Speaker 2:That's about it. Well for Craig Durling and Ross Betts. This is Craig Sherwood saying we will talk to you again next week.
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 Chamber of Commerce, game 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 Third Street.