myBurbank Talks
myBurbank Talks
The Week That Was and That Will Be - November 25, 2024
What crucial decisions are shaping the future of Burbank, and how will they affect you? Tune into this episode of myBurbank Talks to uncover the latest city council happenings, from the extension of an urgency ordinance for the Rancho neighborhood to the bold introduction of a parking meter program in downtown Burbank. We'll also unpack why the temporary suspension of parking requirements for outdoor dining has the community buzzing and delve into the political shake-up with former Mayor Nick Schultz stepping down for a new role in the California Assembly. Discover the vibrant energy of the "Holiday in the Park" event that drew an impressive crowd of up to 40,000 attendees, complete with booths, a car show, and a showcase of community spirit.
As we gear up for a lighter week due to the Thanksgiving holiday, we'll explore the key topics slated for the upcoming City Council meeting, including the much-debated parking meters and the impactful Burbank Water and Power Street Lighting Master Plan. The conversation doesn't stop there, as we also touch on the potential 40-unit multifamily project and the Rancho Neighborhood's reactions. On a lighter note, we reflect on the importance of family and gratitude during Thanksgiving and encourage you to support local merchants on Black Friday. Amidst these discussions, we'll also address our concern about the rising cost of attending professional sports events and its impact on the community. Don't miss out on this comprehensive episode that promises to keep you informed and engaged with all things Burbank.
My Burbank Talks presents another edition of the Week that Was and the Week that Will Be a weekly podcast featuring highlights and commentary on local events and issues taking place right here in Burbank. Now let's see what's on today's agenda as we join our program.
Speaker 2:Thank you, thank you, thank you, please sit down, sit down. Hello, burbank, craig Short here with you once again for another the Week that Was and the Week that Will Be, and hopefully a short broadcast tonight with the holiday week. But remember, as always, we have a humble request that you like this video and please subscribe to the channel so YouTube continues to recommend this video to others like yourself, and also think about a channel membership to support us here at my Burbank. Last week's Word of the Week winner was Mike Lopez. A little ta-da for you. There you go, of course. The word was Magnolia, in celebration of Magnolia Park, mike won a $25 gift card to a local Burbank restaurant and all he had to do was send it in email with a single word in the subject line and his address. How easy can that be? As always, there will be another Word of the Week later in the show, so please listen and send it in to us for your chance to win that $25 gift card.
Speaker 2:So last Monday we taped our Ask the Mayor show, which came out on Tuesday, and Mayor Nick Schultz gave us a lot of good information, as always. If you have time to take a listen to it, because, while he is not the mayor anymore, he still has some great information and insight into the latest council meeting. Information and insight into the latest council meeting. So on tuesday uh, the city council meeting on tuesday night. First they extended their extension of an urgency ordinance for the rancher neighborhood. But there's all kinds of questions that even though they extended for a year and all the protections are going to end within possibly four to six months. I think I heard for the one year extension that doesn't mean much. There are all kinds of state laws about to be invoked and who knows what's going to happen with that whole situation. I have a feeling that Rancho Pupar are going to have some headaches ahead.
Speaker 2:The council also went ahead with the parking meter program for downtown Burbank, so expect to see those meters coming in the next few months there. This is a pilot project, as always, and anything else you might see will work for other areas of the city also. So time will tell. The council also approved the temporary suspension of city code parking requirements for outdoor seating areas for restaurants. They'll come back with more substantial rules at a later time, but it appears that outdoor dining will continue to break for many years to come, which is also great news for the restaurant owners as well as the customers and, in some cases, their four-legged friends. The council also looked at a potential citywide minimum wage and paid parental leave ordinance, but it really did not seem like it had much traction. They will look into it further, but I can't really see this going anywhere, especially with the state proposition being voted down. In all honesty, fast food workers are now at $20 per hour, which I think is great, and while restaurant workers make a minimum wage, they also receive tips which give somewhere between $30 and $100 an hour, depending on how Gucci the restaurant is.
Speaker 2:On Thursday, some big news Mayor Nick Schultz announced he was stepping down from the city council as of today. He was nice enough to sit down with us for a complete podcast to tell us all about his next adventure in the California Assembly. It is interesting to note that, by state law, all assembly members must be sworn in on December 2nd, which is why he had to leave early. This only gives him a couple of weeks to put his entire staff together and get used to his new digs up in Sacramento. Vice Mayor Nicky Perez will assume the duties of mayor for the next couple of weeks until the reorganization meeting and the council will only have four members. Until then, I do not anticipate any problems or situations until the reorganization meeting, when Chris Rezati will be sworn in as the fifth member of the council. The police collection met on Wednesday and we did not have their agenda last week for the meeting, but that's okay. Nothing happened and our secret police had nothing to report. Hard to believe.
Speaker 2:On Friday it was holiday in the park. What an amazing night. Estimates were between 35,000 and 40,000 people jammed in Magnolia between Buena Vista and Hugger Way to see the over 60 booths that were set up at the amazing car show. Of course, viper Bank was there and we had a booth and we actually did a podcast of different people who stopped by. Make sure you give that a listen, because it's a very strange podcast, if I say so myself, with some dignitaries as well as some people as young kids who could only giggle. We took everybody, so I hope you get a giggle out of that. We had a lot of our new Burbank merch for sale and we appreciate everybody who picked something up. We were putting together an online store that you can go to anytime. Our hot seller was the new my Burbank Calendar for 2025 and we will continue to have those for a limited time.
Speaker 2:Finally, not only do we want to thank you, I want to thank you. I want to thank my three captains from the varsity baseball team at Burbank High for giving me an amazing assist on that night, but also the people who came up to me and thanked my Burbank for the coverage we gave of the city. Sometimes you sit behind a computer or sit behind a microphone and you don't realize that people are actually getting some good information from us. We do try, just like I appreciate everybody who listens to this show on a weekly basis. Many people told me they listen to this show in their cars going to and from work, and some put it on their YouTube channel in the background and listen to it. Either way, it is very much appreciated. So, once again, it is very much appreciated. So, once again, it was a great event.
Speaker 2:I'm sure the merchants did well. I'm sure everybody there had a great time. I heard of no problems whatsoever. It was packed. It was absolutely packed there. Everywhere I looked I could see wall-to-wall people. So great job for making, showing up and coming out there. Great job to all the merchants. Great job to the Magnolia Park committee who organized the entire thing, and, like Vice Mayor Nikki Prinsen On our podcast, we need to have more events like this in Burbank. So who knows what the future holds? Okay, after a quick word From our sponsor. So who knows what the future holds? Okay, after a quick word from our sponsor, which is a commercial. We will return Back in a second.
Speaker 3:Enjoying the show right now, Thinking you may want to do your own podcast. Myburberrytalks 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 arrested, please drop us an email at studiorentalsatmyburbankcom. That's studiorentalsatmyburbankcom, and we will get back to you.
Speaker 2:Now back to our show. Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you everybody. Once again, craig Schroeder with you, and we're for the week that will be so, starting on Monday. Monday's a quiet day for meetings, as it always is last Monday of the month. Too bad, they can't put a couple of those meetings, that bunch, upon other Mondays, on this Monday. But that's only my opinion and my wish, which sure doesn't mean a whole lot.
Speaker 2:On Tuesday the City Council will meet. As we said before. It will only have a four-member council with now Intramayor Nikki Perez running the meeting, and they'll be approving the parking meters now as part of the consent agenda. Also, the consent agenda is approval of the Burbank Water and Power Street Lighting Master Plan. Here's a fun fact for you there are 9,451 lights in the city of Burbank. That Water and Power is responsible for. A lot of lights is a streamlined ministerial design review of the 40-unit multifamily residential project in 910 South Mariposa Street, which is a SB35 project.
Speaker 2:You know that the Rancho people will be there in force and even though we went and did a podcast using a staff report, I had calls from people saying that the information was wrong. Once again, the Rancho Neighborhood is going to be disappointed, but there's little the City Council can do about it without denying the project and losing another half million dollars in a lawsuit, like they did with Pickwick. So we'll see how wrong their staff report really is and we'll see if they make their points and if the city council listens to them. I don't know. One of the last things on that agenda is to fill two vacancies on the Burbank Culture Arts Commission. I really think a policy change needs to be made where these items are put at the beginning of the meeting, because if people want to address the council, they're going to have to sit there for hours waiting for all the other agenda items to go by before they can introduce themselves to the council, if that's what they wish. If that was part of the early agenda, these people could make their comments at council and let them be voted on and let them get on with their lives, instead of having to sit there and wait for three or four hours. Just my observation. That's about it for meetings this week, because of course the rest of the week is part of the holiday week Wednesday. Wednesday, of course, is get-out-of-town day and I'm sure Burbank Airport is going to be the parking lot. So do yourself a favor and if you're going to fly, just leave a couple hours early and relax. Last minute Louie Going to do nothing but stress you out, trust me. Thursday, of course Thursday is Thanksgiving. There we go. And of course, when you hear that Beautiful little alert, that can only mean one thing and that is the word of the week, which is Thanksgiving, there you go. So If you made it this far through the show, send an email to contest At myburncom. Put the word Thanksgiving in the subject line and send me your address and we'll put you to running for this week's $25 gift card. So good luck.
Speaker 2:Besides spending the time with your family, it's also a time of reflection. I would personally like to give my sincerest thank you to all those who listen to this show, watch or listen to other podcasts, subscribe to my newsletter or just read the my website on a regular basis, and my utmost thanks goes to our sponsors, our amazing advertisers, who support free speech in Burbank with our website. Without these people and businesses, we could not have our writers and photographers out there covering events and bringing you all the local news. I would sincerely appreciate it if, when you visit one of our advertisers or businesses, that you thank them for supporting my Burbank Friday. Of course Friday is Black Friday. I'm sure all the merchants at Magnolia really hope that you come back and visit them. After all the amazing deals you saw at Holiday in the Park, they could really use your business. Don't make Holiday in the Park just a one-time thing. Take a look at those businesses, take a look at what they have. I'm sure they'll have Black Friday deals. Get in there, spend your money.
Speaker 2:That only leaves one thing, and one thing only, and that's Craig's comment. My only comment is a very brief one and it's really not a Burbank comment, but it does affect Burbank people, and that's the cost of professional sports. Last night, the Rams and Philadelphia. They played and the Dodgers had their season, the Lakers are in their season, and it is amazing when every week at the council meetings, every week, you're all around town here. Well, I can't afford my rent, I can't afford to live in the city town, I hear well, I can't afford my rent, I can't afford to live in the city, I can't afford this, I can't afford that, and I get that. Those are all real concerns. Nobody's you know, nobody's complaining just to complain.
Speaker 2:But then I look at what it costs a family of four to go to a professional game, a Laker game, a Laker game, a Dodger game, a Ram game. You're looking for not great tickets or just decent tickets, being around $200 a piece. You have to also look at the Ram games. They're charging over $100 to park in their lot, $100 just to park your car for four hours. Tell me that's not price gouging. So you look at a family of four who like to go to a professional game and that's going to cost way over $1,000 for one game. Every $1,000 to $1,500. You take the food, you take everything else going on. That's a lot of money for one game. But you look at these games the Rams 60,000, 70,000 people. The Dodgers 50,000 every night. The Lakers 18,000 people. So somewhere these people have the money to do this stuff.
Speaker 2:It sounds on one side all I hear is nobody has money and on the other side, where do people get the money to spend this kind of money? Are they going to debt? If you've got a kid or a couple kids and they really want to go see a Dodger game, they want to go really see a Ram game, you really can't deny them year after year and you finally take them to a game. But do you have to go into debt to take them to a game? Nowadays, come on Dodgers Rams $100 to park your car. Are you kidding me? That's just greedy. I know a Dodger stadium. The Dodgers lease the entire land that they use for $1 a year. That's what they leased in front of the city of Los Angeles. They had a 99 year lease for $1 a year, so that parking lot is 100% profit for them. So, yeah, you feel ripped off on things. Now, hopefully the city of los angeles gets smart and when the lease is up after 99 years which is coming up another 20 years, I think it's 99 years but when the lease comes up, well, they can negotiate a new lease. And you know what? I hope they get a little more than a dollar a year because they you know one thing to try to lure a professional team los angeles. Now they're here and they're not going anywhere.
Speaker 2:So but my point is, the cost of professional sports is getting out of hand. I think you should spend two or $3,000 in an amazing television entertainment system. Put that in your house and there you go. You don't need to go to games. You really don't need to go at that kind of money and then long run you'll save yourself a lot of money. You don't need to go to games, you really don't need to go at that kind of money and then longer you'll save yourself a lot of money.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I don't know what the answer is. You know, I appreciate the LA teams really have to spend a lot of money to get the best players, because LA kind of demands that I get that. But I don't think other teams successful teams throughout the NFL, the NBA and MLB are all charging that kind of money for tickets, for parking, for food, for everything else. I think they look at their socioeconomic status in the community and they price it accordingly. I just think in LA you know what Everybody here's got money. We'll just gouge people Anyhow.
Speaker 2:I could rant all day about this, you know, but I just hate seeing people taken advantage of. So that's my comment Take it or leave it for what it is. I know it's not a Burbank comment, but people from Burbank do go to the professional games. People in Burbank do have financial problems and I think it's kind of relevant. Anyhow, as always, we have that humble request that you like this video and please subscribe to the channel so YouTube continues to recommend this video To others like yourself. And also think about a channel membership To support us here at MyBurbank. Once again, this is Craig Sherwood saying Thank you for listening. Have a great Thanksgiving and also think about a channel membership to support us here at MyBurbank. Once again, this is Craig Sherwood saying thank you for listening. Have a great Thanksgiving and we will talk to you next week.
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