Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank Mayor Gary Bric read a statement at last night’s council meeting.

Finally, after weeks and months of mostly silence or as some folks have described it stonewalling, the Burbank City Council spoke out last night about the controversial and very messy situation surrounding the police department. Back on May 13, I wrote a post about the alleged problems in the BPD and called on the city council to not… ” wait until it all explodes into a full blown controversy, but step forward now and explain the situation to residents.” Mayor Gary Bric and city council members Anja Reinke, David Gordon, Jess Talamantes, and Dave Golonski did not heed that advice from me and other citizens, but remained tight-lipped about the situation.

So after seven lawsuits have been filed by former or present members of the Burbank Police force, including a former Deputy Police Chief, and persistent rumors about investigations by outside agencies like the FBI, the city council is going public about the growing scandal.

At the beginning of Tuesday night’s city council meeting, Mayor Bric announced he would read something  ”very important” … ”a statement” he says the council members agreed to earlier in the evening, in closed session.  Here is the full text of that statement, which is now posted on the city Burbank website.

Statement from Mayor Gary Bric
Burbank City Council Meeting
September 29, 2009 

There has been a lot of press recently regarding issues at the Burbank Police Department and I’m sure the community is concerned and wants to make sure that these issues are being appropriately dealt with. There have been a number of lawsuits and claims filed that contain multiple allegations of improper conduct ranging from wrongful termination, discrimination and retaliation to abuse of force and various forms of covering up such activities. These are all very serious allegations and I think it is clear to everyone that the police department is facing some major challenges. All of these allegations have arisen from sources within the department or from former members of the department.

 As a result of allegations prior to these lawsuits, a number of investigations have been initiated both by the department and by outside entities at the invitation of and with the cooperation of the city. These investigations began long before the filing of the lawsuits and claims mentioned above. Chief Stehr requested the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department come in and perform an independent investigation. The city also began an independent investigation using an outside attorney and an outside investigator, both of whom report directly to the City Attorney and City Manager’s office. Your Burbank City Council has met with the outside attorney in order to confirm that there are no limitations on the scope of the investigation and to indicate that any signs of lack of cooperation by anyone within the city are to be brought to the Council’s attention. The Sheriff’s department requested that the city hold off commencing its investigation until the Sheriff’s investigation was completed. In addition to these investigations, the FBI has been conducting their own investigation into these matters and we are cooperating with their inquiries to the city. It is our understanding that when the Sheriff’s investigation is complete, it will be forwarded by the Sheriff’s department to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office. The city’s investigation is now ongoing and includes all of the issues raised by the lawsuits and claims that have been filed and will also include any additional issues that may arise in the future.

While we cannot legally share the details of any of these investigations, we felt it was important to share with you that the issues in the Burbank Police Department are being taken very seriously and investigated by outside independent agencies. These investigations have been taking what seems like a very long time, but the investigators know the seriousness of the allegations and are making sure they do a complete and thorough job. We are frustrated that we cannot share more detailed information with you, but the integrity of the investigations and strict legal rules governing the privacy of police officers that may be under investigation prevent us from making any further comments.

While we know the entire community is disappointed to know that there are issues within the police department, please rest assured that the City Council is taking every step possible to make sure all of the issues are identified and that steps are taken to make sure that any problems that are identified are dealt with in a manner that insures they are never repeated. This may mean some severe consequences for any persons involved in misconduct, but we believe the integrity of our police department is extremely important to this community and is our paramount concern.

With our firm commitment to discover and correct any misdeeds within the police department, I can assure you the majority of the men and women in our police department are not involved in these issues and we would be remiss if we didn’t recognize the excellent job they do protecting the safety of our community during these difficult times.

End of statement

In the past, city council members have reluctantly acknowledge some “lawsuits” and “investigations,” but in this statement for the first time, there is public disclosure of the involvement of the FBI. The investigations are said to be looking into conspiracy charges and a pattern of corruption as well.

Recently, the call for leadership and action from the mayor and city council has become loud and demanding from Burbank residents. Now that those city officials have taken action, will it ease public fears, anxiety, and bolster confidence in the city leaders’ abilities to handle the police scandal and all of its ramifications?  At this point, we will have to just take the mayor’s suggestion, from last night’s council meeting, to ”stay tuned” and see what happens.

The family friendly flick, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” continued to shine at movie theaters over the weekend. The 3-D animation raked in around $24.6 million to hold on to the number one spot at the domestic Box Office for the second straight week.

In second place, the new Bruce Willis film, “Surrogates” with around $15 million. A bigger opening was expected for this picture, which has an impressive promotional campaign and interesting story line.  The action/thriller is about a futuristic world where human contact takes place mainly through surrogate robots. “Surrogates” may have suffered due to a recent string of sci-fi films at theaters.  

Another new movie, the re-make of the 1980′s musical “Fame” followed in third with around $10 million. Matt Damon’s “The Informant!” came in fourth with an estimated $6.9 million and rounding out the top five, Tyler Perry’s melodrama ”I Can Do Bad All By Myself” with around $4.7 million.

Photo:  FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank Police Vehicle

The legal problems for the city of Burbank and its embattled police department got a whole lot worse this past week. On Tuesday, well-respected Ex-Deputy Police Chief Bill Taylor filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging that he was demoted to captain for drawing attention to several serious incidents in the department, including discrimination against a group of minority officers. Taylor joins four Burbank police officers, a lieutenant, and a former detective, in suing the city for alleged misconduct and unfair treatment in the BPD.

The filing of the Taylor lawsuit comes as no surprise. Rumors about it have been making the rounds in the city for weeks now. Nevertheless, the filing of the suit in Los Angeles Superior Court amounts to a legal bomb blowing up in Burbank. I have a copy of the lawsuit, so here are the major incidents cited by Taylor, which he says cost him his position as Deputy Police Chief.

FIRST INCIDENT

“During March 2009, a sworn employee of the Burbank Police Department was accused of sexually harassing numerous females at the Burbank Animal Shelter. The employee was accused of inappropriate sexual comments and gestures. When Claimant (Taylor) was notified of the allegations of sexual harassment, he recommended to Chief of Police Tim Stehr that the employee be placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. Chief of Police Stehr became agitated and demanded that the employee not be placed on administrative leave for a long period of time and ultimately directed Claimant (Taylor) to bring the employee back to work prematurely before sufficient investigation had been undertaken. Claimant (Taylor) informed the City Manager (Mike Flad) about this incident and that it was handled inappropriately on or about April or May 2009.”

The suit alleges, “… Chief Stehr’s motivation to retaliate against Plaintiff (Taylor) arises from his own personal experiences being subjected to discipline for having sexual intercourse in a police vehicle while on duty. Consequently, Stehr minimized complaints of sexual misconduct and frowned upon Plaintiff (Taylor) for reporting it and taking the issue seriously.”

SECOND INCIDENT

“Claimant (Taylor) repeatedly complained from April 2008 through April 2009, to Stehr that minority (African-American and Hispanic) probationary police officers were being singled out by the Patrol Captain (Pat Lynch) at the time, and some of his staff, for termination on account of their race. Claimant  (Taylor) was able to stop the terminations by refusing to support the record that had been unjustly prepared to support the potential terminations.”

“On or about April or May 2009, Claimant (Taylor) informed the City Manager (Flad) that some department personnel were attempting to unfairly terminate probationary minority officers.”

THIRD INCIDENT

“In or about January 2007, an IA investigation had been initiated based upon an allegation that a lieutenant, while he held the rank of sergeant, had used excessive force against a suspect. The investigation was conducted, interviews were taken, and evidence was gathered. In or around 2007 all of the documents, flash drive and interview tapes pertaining to the case that were stored in a locked office in the Burbank Police Department were stolen. The theft could have only been committed by an employee of the Burbank Police Department. In a memo to Stehr dated November 19, 2007, Claimant (Taylor) requested that an outside agency be contacted and brought into the Burbank Police Department to investigate what appeared to be a burglary within the Department by Department employees. In the memo, Claimant (Taylor) specifically requested that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Burbank City Attorney’s office become involved. Claimant’s (Taylor’s) request to bring in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was angrily denied. On or about April or May 2009, Claimant (Taylor) informed the City Manager (Flad) about the 2007 burglary and the Chief’s failure to take appropriate action.”

These allegations are explosive because they show a direct link to one of the most powerful officials in Burbank city government, City Manager Mike Flad. If indeed Flad had knowledge of these incidents and his actions were as described in the lawsuit, well, the city manager should find himself on the hot seat answering some pretty tough questions. Also, if Flad knew about these incidents in the Burbank Police Department, were other city hall officials aware of them as well? 

Also in my opinion, if Taylor’s allegations are true, his reactions to these incidents should have earned him a promotion and not demotion.    

Frequently, Taylor has been described as the moral compass of the Burbank P.D.  Stripping Taylor of his Deputy Police Chief position and knocking him down to captain sends a disturbing message. It says the Burbank Police Department is adrift in troubled waters without sufficient direction and guidance. A situation that could prove to be very costly for the city and its citizens.

Meanwhile late yesterday, a statement slamming the lawsuit and Captain Taylor was posted on the Burbank city website:  ”…The City intends to vigorously defend this case and seek all available and appropriate sanctions, including court costs and attorney’s fees, against Mr. Taylor for filing this false and frivolous lawsuit and defaming the reputations of the City and Police Department.” 

Photo: Megan Lewis/Reuters/Files — November 17, 1996 Sydney, Australia

Some dedicated Michael Jackson fans are already lined up at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles for tickets to the screening of a documentary about the late entertainer. What is truly  amazing is that some of those fans got in line yesterday, but the tickets for the advance showings of “This is It” don’t go on sale until sometime after 12:01 a.m. this Sunday morning!

The first 500 ticket hopefuls will reportedly get commemorative tickets designed by Jackson for his London concerts. The popstar was rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for those performances when he died suddenly on June 25, 2009. An overdose of prescription drugs reportedly played a large part in Jackson’s death, however, a criminal investigation continues into the circumstances and events surrounding the tragedy.

The “This Is It” documentary contains behind-the-scenes footage of Jackson preparing for what he had hoped would be the kick-off for a comeback tour. Around three thousand tickets will be available for the the advance L.A. screening on October 27. “This Is It” will be in theaters nationwide for a two week run starting October 28.  

Also, we’re not going to have to wait that long to hear a new Jackson single called,”This Is It.”  A version of the song will reportedly hit radio airwaves on October 12. The single will be one of two versions of the song on the “This Is It” disc album set for release worldwide on October 26, to coincide with the appearance of the Jackson doc in theaters. 

Superstar Barbra Streisand is holding a major auction at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard, in Beverly Hills next month. The ”Collection of Barbra Streisand“ is over 500 items include fine paintings, antiques, and memorabilia from the entertainer’s career as a singer, actress, producer, and director. Among the highlights, costumes from Streisand films like, “Funny Lady,” “Yentl,” “Prince of Tides,” and “Meet The Fockers.”

The auction is Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18. All funds raised will go to the Barbra Streisand Foundation, which supports human rights and humanitarian causes around the globe. For more on the auction and the assortment of items up for bid go to the website of Julien’s Auctions.  

The animated family flick, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” led the pack of new films and other contenders at the Box Office over the weekend. Based on the classic children’s book of the same title, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” is the whimsical tale of a town where food falls from the sky like rain. Character voices include Bill Hader, Anna Faris, and James Caan. The 3-D animation pulled in the biggest share of the movie audience, raking in around $30 million to become the number one film in the country.

In second place, “The Informant!,” the new Matt Damon comedy about a corporate whistleblower managed only a modest debut of an estimated $10.5 million. Last week’s number one domestic film, Tyler Perry’s comedy-drama, ”I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” came in third with about $10 million.

A new romantic drama, “Love Happens” attracted enough ticket buyers to land in fourth with somewhere around $8.4 million. A pretty low key opening considering the film stars Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart. Megan Fox’s new R-rated dark comedy/horror film didn’t fare much better, it came in fifth with an estimated $6.8 million. Clearly, moviegoers were not impressed with star power this weekend.

Some grim economic news out today from the federal government about the number of Americans out of work. The federal data shows the unemployment rate continues to rise despite reports from some experts that the recovery from this dreaded recession is underway.

The California jobless rate rose from 11.9% to a record high of 12.2% in August, according to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics. The golden state is not so bright for more than 12,000 of its workers who lost their jobs last month and thousands of job seekers who were looking and didn’t find work.

In Michigan unemployment jumped to 15.2%, the highest in the country. Nationally, the unemployment rate creeped up from 9.4% to 9.7%. Here locally, in the Los Angeles/Long Beach/Glendale area, the rate hit 12.3%. A radio announcer reacted to the new stats today by saying, “If you’re unemployed, the rate is 100%.” Grim, but true.  

Photo: Keith James/ freelance photographer

Cleveland Cavaliers Superstar, LeBron James has signed on to take his game to the big screen. 24-year-old James will star in a comedy called, “Fantasy Basketball Camp” set to go before the cameras next summer, according to Daily Variety.

James’ role in the film will not be much of a stretch, he’ll be playing himself. The story reportedly revolves around five guys who get to head off to Vegas to live out their fantasies at the LeBron James Adult Basketball Camp. This is a co-venture between Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment.

Meanwhile, James is busy with some other entertainment projects.  Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times reported James is on tour promoting his new book/memoir called “Shooting Stars” and a related documentary titled, “More Than A Game.”  Both projects deal with James’ tough childhood and close bond with four long-time friends. The documentary is due to hit theaters October 2.

James has been a hoop shooting sensation on the NBA court since being drafted by the Cavaliers at the young age of 18.  Last spring, LeBron was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the 2008-2009 season.

Photo: Fred Prouser/Reuters/Los Angeles Times — Actor Patrick Swayze poses with his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 18, 1997

Fans are dropping by the Hollywood Walk of Fame star of Entertainer Patrick Swayze today, sharing memories and leaving behind flowers, candles, and other tributes. Swayze died yesterday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. The actor, dancer, and singer was only 57.

Swayze appeared in a number of films like”The Outsiders” (1983),  ”Road House” (1989) and “Point Break”(1991), but a little musicial love story called,”Dirty Dancing” (1987) made him a star. My favorite Swayze film is the romantic thriller, “Ghost” (1990). Swayze was terrific as a dead investment banker who comes back to Earth to protect his lady love, played by Demi Moore. The handsome actor was named People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” in 1991.

Earlier this year, Swayze stared as an undercover FBI agent in the cable TV series, “The Beast.”  The show was canceled in June when Swayze became too ill to work. Swayze is survived by his wife of 30 years, Lisa.

Writer/director/actor Tyler Perry is still on an incredible roll at the Box Office. This weekend his latest film, “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” left the competition in the dust. This is the fifth Perry film in the past five years to debut at the top of the Box Office.

The numbers are not spectacular, but a win is a win. “I Can Do Bad All By Myself” claimed the prize as the number one movie in the country with an estimated haul of $24 million.

“I Can Do Bad All By Myself” is based on one of Perry’s stage play about a hard-living nightclub singer who learns the importance of faith and family.  The film stars Taraji P. Henson, Mary J. Blige, Gladys Knight, Adam Rodriguez, Brian J. White, and Perry, in drag once again, as the sharp tongued gun-toting granny, “Madea.”

Far behind in second place,”9″, the new animated sci-fi picture about a post-apocalyptic world by director Tim Burton with around $10.8 million. In third, the World War II Nazi drama, “Inglourious  Basterds” took in about $6.5 million, followed by the Sandra Bullock romantic/comedy, “All About Steve” in fourth with $5.8 million and rounding out the top five, the horror thriller “The Final Destination 3-D” with $5.5 million.

Photo: NASA/Tom Tschida

A two week journey in space came to an end for the crew of Discovery yesterday when the space shuttle landed at Edwards Air Force Base in the California desert at 5:53 PDT. Discovery announced its arrival with two thunderous sonic booms over the Southland shortly before the picture perfect landing.

During the trip, the seven member crew delivered supplies and research materials to the International Space Station. Discovery was due to land in Florida, but unstable weather conditions forced a change of plans to Edwards Air Force Base where the skies were sunny and clear.

Next space shuttle to be rolled out on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida is Atlantis, scheduled to blast off in mid-November.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank

Burbank officials have hammered residents with new water restrictions, penalties, and higher rates recently. We’re in a water crisis they insist. Well, you’d think if the shortage is as serious as they say, the first order of business would be to make the city as water efficient as possible. There are indications this has not been a high priority or the job was left incomplete.  Besides the repeated sprinkler problem/flooding at the Burbank jail mentioned in an earlier post on this blog, now the city has been caught on video wasting precious water in the downtown area.

The video was shot along a section of San Fernando Boulevard near Olive Avenue by concerned citizen Mike Nolan. The amateur video shows sprinklers drenching giant planters to the point that streams of water run down the sidewalk and into the street in the early morning hours. The same video was shown during the first public comment period at the Burbank City Council meeting, last Tuesday, September 8. Earlier that afternoon, the video was posted on Youtube and a link to it popped up in a comment section on this blog.

At times a certain council member has been arrogant, condescending, and down right rude when some citizens (including Burbank Police Commissioner James Etter at the September 1, 2009 council meeting)  have complained about the water restrictions or expressed doubts about a water shortage. There was none of that following the showing of the water wasting video, which was a relief. Council member Jess Talamantes thanked Nolan for the video saying it “…exposed a lot of waste….” Councilman Dave Golonski admitted it’s the city’s “…responsibility to conserve water…” and called for some kind of plan to be carried out to check the efficency of the public watering systems. Council member Anja Reinke suggested the city should be using drought-resistent plants.

No surprise, the city moved quickly to try to correct this public relations nightmare. Tuesday evening, Nolan says he took a stroll along San Fernando Boulevard and discovered the gushing sprinklers in those planters had been replaced with much smaller ones. Perhaps this will solve one public water wasting problem, but are there others around the city? On this controversial and sensitive issue, the city of Burbank should be out front leading the way on conservation and not be a water waster.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank

I have some mixed feelings on this Labor Day. Nationally, unemployment is at a 26-year high of 9.7%.  In California, the jobless rate has soared to 11.9%. There is evidence the recession-battered economy is making a slow recovery, an encouraging sign.

Still with so many people out of work it’s hard to cheer the upturn in the economy. I may not be cheering, but I’m hopeful. And that is as good as it gets for me on Labor Day 2009.   

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove

Most visitors to cemeteries come bearing flowers and mementos not rakes, shovels, and cleaning supplies. At Grand View Memorial Park in Glendale, there is a hardy group of visitors who regularly arrive at the struggling cemetery ready to put in several hours of serious work; from clearing weeds and debris to cleaning tombstones and grave markers.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove

Grand View will be open tomorrow, Sunday, September 6, from noon to 4 p.m., and if you drop by you’ll probably see some of these dedicated visitors hard at work, no matter how hot and dry the weather conditions. Grand View, a landmark in the local Burbank/Glendale community, has been in legal limbo for several years. Most of the problems for the 125-year-old cemetery began in 2005 when a state investigator discovered thousands of human remains that had been mishandled.

The cemetery is no longer a lush green resting place with rose gardens and an abundance of shady trees. It is in desperate need of care, therefore, a crew of visitors/volunteers pitch in when and where they can.

Grand View is open only on certain days by order of Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr. Later this month, Grand View will be open on September 20, and next month, on October 4 and 18. Grand View is located at 1341 Glenwood Road in Glendale.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank 

We’re deep in the heat of a Southern California summer with temperatures  reaching over 100 degrees on many days. So what does the Burbank City Council do?  Last Tuesday, they voted to slap stiffer restrictions on water use. Hopefully, the council will reconsider this decision when the issue comes back for a final review. 

At this week’s city council meeting, Dr. David Gordon was the only council member to speak out strongly about the timing of the new restrictions and the impact on the public. Dr. Gordon voted “no.”  However, the rest of the city council, Mayor Gary Bric, Vice-Mayor Anja Reinke, and Council member Dave Golonski voted “yes.”  Councilman Jess Talamantes  was not present.

The  new restrictions would bump Burbank up to stage two of its Sustainable Water Use Ordinance. This would mean residents could turn on their yard sprinklers 15 minutes per station, only on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. There is much debate about whether this is adequate to keep lawns green, trees and other vegetation thriving.  Earlier, when Burbank water rates were jacked up, some residents decided just to let their lawns go brown.

Burbank Water and Power has more on the new restrictions and the reported water supply crisis on its website.

You know, I think it’s clear to everyone that our yards need more water in the blustering heat of the summer than during the winter when the temperatures are much cooler and we get rain. So why don’t city officials and Burbank Water and Power experts cut residents some slack when they need the water the most —in the summer???

Also, I gotta wonder if the city is cutting back on watering public lawns and vegetation? You would think this would be the FIRST step in reducing the city’s water use. At city council meetings, some citizens have pointed out that certain city lawns have the appearance of being soaked with water despite the new restrictions.

In a related case, I’ve heard that a faulty sprinkler system flooded the Burbank city jail not once, but three times in the past month. Each time, 800 gallons or so of water was lost. Apparently the problem has been fixed, but geeh, it took a while. If the city is cracking down on residents to conserve water, the least it can do is lead by example in this matter. 

The final numbers are in for last weekend’s Box Office, and “The Final Destination 3-D” came out on top as the number one film in the country. This fourth installment of the honor/thriller franchise scored $27,408 million in its domestic debut. “The Final Destination” plot revolves around premonition and a grim series of deaths. Not a happy subject, but fans of the movies keep coming back for more.

The Nazi World War II flick, “Inglourious Basterds” fought its way to second place with $19,303.  In third, the debut of “Halloween ll” with $16,349 million. This fright film was supposed to challenge “The Final Destination,” however, it did not turn out to be much of a battle.

“District 9″ followed in fourth with $10,270 million and “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” rounded out the top five with $7,715 million.

Meanwhile, Variety’s website is reporting that summer 2009 has become the highest grossing domestic Box Office ever! Variety is making the call even before the lucrative Labor Day holiday weekend.  As of Sunday, Variety reports the domestic Box Office stands at $4.17 billion, a new record. Hmm, despite grumbling from the big studios it really doesn’t seem like they’re suffering during the recession.

The previous record holder, the summer of 2007, came in at $4.16 billion.