Photo: Melanie Sochan/The Saginaw News

“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” continued to outshine the competition at the Box Office over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The latest installment of the romantic fantasy series raked in an estimated $42.5 million to hold onto the title of number one movie in the U.S for a second straight week.

Female moviegoers are credited with keeping “New Moon” and the second place finisher “The Blind Side ” in the top spots.  ”The Blind Side,” a sports drama, earned around $40.1 million. In third, the disaster blockbuster “2012″ with about $18 million, bringing its three week domestic total to nearly $139 million.

“Old Dogs” is the only new flick that managed to crack the top five. The comedy landed in fourth with  $16.8 million. The film stars John Travolta and Robin Williams as a couple of friends who have their lives turned upside down when they become caregivers for a set of 7-year-old twins.  Among the supporting cast, Travolta’s wife, Kelly Preston, daughter, Ella Bleu Travolta, and the late actor/comic, Bernie Mac.

In the fifth slot, Disney’s  “A Christmas Carol” with an estimated $16 million. 

Black Friday is the official kick-off for the holiday shopping season. Thousands of sleep deprived, but eager bargain hunters stormed the stores, malls, and outlet centers before dawn today — traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year. Cash registers were ringing all day long and into the evening giving the appearance of strong Black Friday sales. Nevertheless, it’s going to take a few days before retailers know if this is going to be a jolly season for them.

At this early stage, there is one clear gift winner: The Twilight Saga. At the top of the list of a lot of die hard fans of teenager Bella Swan and her vampire lover, Edward Cullen, are the Barbie dolls created in the image of the fictional couple. The limited edition dolls went on sale this month.

Meanwhile, the second movie based on the “Twilight” novels blew-up gigantic at the Box Office last week. “New Moon” made $143 million in this country alone last weekend and earned an estimated $40-50 million more by the end of the day on Thanksgiving.

Now moviegoers and book lovers are making the dash to find the Bella and Edward dolls. I have seen some for sale online for around $25 each, but who knows what the price of the dolls will be in a couple of weeks if demand outpaces the supply. Besides the collector dolls and the movie tickets, ”Twilight” inspired jewelry, calendars, board games, and clothes are being snatched up by fans as well. Oh, and “Twilight” books are still hot sellers as well. Author Stephenie Meyer’s “The Twilight Saga Collection” — which has been in the top 100 for more than a year—  is in the top 10 on both the Barnes & Noble and Amazon websites today.

Official White House Photo/Peter Souza — Yesterday President Obama, First Lady Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha helped distribute food for Thanksgiving to the needy at Martha’s Table, a food pantry in Washington, D.C.

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
Thursday, November 26, 2009

For centuries, in peace and in war, in prosperity and in adversity, Americans have paused at this time of year to gather with loved ones and give thanks for life’s blessings. This week, we carry on this distinctly American tradition.  All across our country, folks are coming together to spend time with family, to catch up with old friends, to cook and enjoy a big dinner – and maybe to watch a little football in between.

As always, we give thanks for the kindness of loved ones, for the joys of the previous year, and for the pride we feel in our communities and country. We keep in our thoughts and prayers the many families marking this Thanksgiving with an empty seat – saved for a son or daughter, or husband or wife, stationed in harm’s way. And we say a special thanks for the sacrifices those men and women in uniform are making for our safety and freedom, and for all those Americans who enrich the lives of our communities through acts of kindness, generosity and service.

But as much as we all have to be thankful for, we also know that this year millions of Americans are facing very difficult economic times. Many have lost jobs in this recession – the worst in generations. Many more are struggling to afford health care premiums and house payments, let alone to save for an education or retirement. Too many are wondering if the dream of a middle class life – that American Dream – is slipping away.  It’s the worry I hear from folks across the country; good, hard-working people doing the best they can for their families – but fearing that their best just isn’t good enough. These are not strangers.  They are our family, our friends, and our neighbors. Their struggles must be our concern.

That’s why we passed the Recovery Act that cut taxes for 95 percent of working people and for small businesses – and that extended unemployment benefits and health coverage for millions of Americans who lost their jobs in this turmoil.  That’s why we are reforming the health care system so that middle-class families have affordable insurance that cannot be denied because of a pre-existing condition or taken away because you happen to get sick. We’ve worked to stem the tide of foreclosures and to stop the decline in home values. We’re making it easier to save for retirement and more affordable to send a son or daughter to college.

The investments we have made and tough steps we have taken have helped break the back of the recession, and now our economy is finally growing again.  But as I said when I took office, job recovery from this crisis would not come easily or quickly. Though the job losses we were experiencing earlier this year have slowed dramatically, we’re still not creating enough new jobs each month to make up for the ones we’re losing.  And no matter what the economists say, for families and communities across the country, this recession will not end until we completely turn that tide.

So we’ve made progress. But we cannot rest – and my administration will not rest – until we have revived this economy and rebuilt it stronger than before; until we are creating jobs and opportunities for middle class families; until we have moved beyond the cycles of boom and bust – of reckless risk and speculation – that led us to so much crisis and pain these past few years.

Next week, I’ll be meeting with owners of large and small businesses, labor leaders, and non-for-profits from across the country, to talk about the additional steps we can take to help spur job creation. I will work with the Congress to enact them quickly. And it is my fervent hope – and my heartfelt expectation – that next Thanksgiving we will be able to celebrate the fact that many of those who have lost their jobs are back at work, and that as a nation we will have come through these difficult storms stronger and wiser and grateful to have reached a brighter day.

Thank you, God bless you, and from my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank

Looking for bargains this Thanksgiving week? Head for the malls or shopping centers, but don’t expect to find great deals at the local gasoline pumps.  If you’re hitting the road for Thanksgiving take along some extra cash or plan on swiping your credit card a few times, because the trip is going to cost ya!

Last night, I bought almost 7 gallons of regular at the Conoco Phillips 76 station at Alameda Avenue and Victory Boulevard in Burbank for about 20 bucks. The price per gallon: $2.89 . A check of the AAA Fuel Gauge Report shows the average price in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area stands at $2.95 today. This time last year, the average here in the Southland was $2.18 per gallon, a bargain considering the pump prices now.

Statewide, the average is $2.93, according to the survey. Nationwide, the average price of regular is hovering around $2.63 a gallon: last year at this time, $1.90!  Makes you want to bail from the Golden State and move to the South or the East Coast? Not really, especially when you look at the kind of weather we’re having and compare it with temperatures in those sections of the country.

Still, I can’t get over how high gas prices are, particularly in California and in the Southland. This time last year, the prices at the pumps along Glenoaks Boulevard near Olive Avenue in Burbank were around $2.55 a gallon. At least 50 cents a gallon more than the national average at the time, but less than what motorists are paying now.

Photos from November 2008:  FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank

It seems that whenever gas prices and the unemployment figures are jacked up, the public’s view of the economy plummets. Right now, grim reminders like fuel prices and jobless rates make it hard for the average person to buy into optimistic reports that say the recession is over.

Yet, I believe when most of us sit down to dinner with family and friends this Thursday, we will find plenty of other things to be grateful for — and for a lot of us that means sending up a prayer of thanks to a higher power.  

We knew it was going to be big, but I don’t think anyone predicted it would be like out-of-this world huge! The fantasy/romance, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” made an astronomical figure — an estimated $140 million this weekend — to easily become the number one movie in the country!!

This is the second in the “Twilight” saga of two young lovers, teenager Bella Swan and vampire Edward Cullen, based on a series of bestselling novels by Stephenie Meyers. In “New Moon” it becomes a love triangle when Bella gets close to Jacob Black, played by Taylor Lautner,  who happens to be a werewolf.  Kristen Stewart stars as Bella and Robert Pattinson is Edward. 

Female fans demonstrated their power at the Box Office by propelling “New Moon” into the third best opening ever, behind “Spider-Man 3″ and “The Dark Knight.” However, “New Moon” took down Batman for the best ever Friday run with a whopping $72.7 million. “The Dark Knight” had held that record with a haul of $67.2 million on its first Friday.

Also, female ticket buyers apparently produced a boffo weekend for the new film “The Blind Side”, which debuted in second place with an estimated $34.5 million. This is a sports drama based on the real-life story of NFL player Michael Oher and it stars Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, and Quinton Aaron.

Last week’s top film, the disaster thriller “2012″, slid into third with about $26.5 million. A new animated flick, “Planet 51″ landed in fourth with a debut of around $12.6 million. “Planet 51″ stars Dwayne Johnson, Gary Oldman, John Cleese, and Jessica Biel in a story about a NASA astronaut who lands on a distance planet that looks very much like America did in the 1950s, except all the people are green!

Rounding out the top five, Disney’s “A Christmas Carol” with $12.2 million, bringing its three week total to nearly $80 million.  

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Attorney Solomon E. Gresen speaks to the media outside Burbank city hall on November 3, 2009.

Encino Attorney Solomon E. Gresen represents Burbank Police Lieutenant Omar Rodriquez and several of the other eight present or former BPD officers suing the city and the department. The Burbank Leader  reports BPD Detective Angelo Dahlia alleges in his lawsuit that he saw Lieutenant Rodriquez threaten a witness. According to the Leader, Dahlia characterized Rodriquez as having “…a reputation for corrupt and illegal practices.”  

Today, Gresen slammed those allegations as “categorically untrue.” Here’s Gresen’s statement. 

Statement of Solomon E. Gresen, Attorney for Burbank Police

Lieutenant Omar Rodriguez in “Rodriguez, et al. v. City of Burbank”

 As outlined in his 63 page complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on May 28^th of this year, Lieutenant Rodriguez has alleged that throughout his 22 year career at the Burbank Police Department he has been subjected to race-based harassment and promotional discrimination and retaliated against for his efforts to increase opportunities for minorities. 

 “The current lawsuit brought by Angelo Dahlia is the latest incident in a long string of retaliatory conduct against Lt. Rodriguez, and seems designed specifically to discredit Lt. Rodriguez and to detract from the claims of Rodriguez and Officers Steve Karagiosian, Jamal Childs, Elfago Rodriguez, Cindy Guillen-Gomez and Christopher Dunn.” said Solomon Gresen, attorney for Lt. Rodriguez inn his lawsuit against the City of Burbank.  The allegations concerning Lt. Rodriguez contained in Dahlia’s lawsuit are categorically untrue. 

 As alleged in his complaint, on April 15, 2009 Lt. Rodriguez was placed on administrative leave only two hours after he formally complained about retaliatory action taken against a fellow senior police officer who joined with Rodriguez in opposing the department’s systemic discrimination. The next day Rodriguez was demoted from his administrative position and reassigned to the patrol division.

 The complaint also describes a system and practice where the BPD has actively engaged in discriminatory hiring and promotionalpractices designed to maximize opportunities for white male, heterosexualofficers, at the expense of women and minorities.  The BPD has tolerated the use of offensive racial, ethnic and sexual preference slurs including but not limited to “nigger,” “beaner,” “fag,” “dyke,” “wet back,” “towel head” and other similarly objectionable terms. Further the BPD has consistently refused to take disciplinary or corrective action against the above described activities despite the repeated efforts by Lt. Rodriguez and others to bring significant evidence of harassment, discrimination and retaliation to the attention of the BPD’s senior leadership.

 The complaint goes on to say that over the course of his career, Lt. Rodriguez has suffered and documented multiple examples of unfair and illegal discrimination against him based on his Cuban/Hispanic heritage. Notwithstanding multiple obstacles unfairly placed in his path, in 2006 Lt. Rodriguez became the first non-Caucasian officer promoted above the rank of Sergeant since the City of Burbank incorporated in 1911. Over this entire 98 year period, not a single African-American has ever been promoted by the BPD above the rank of “Police Officer”. BPD has never had a single African-American Detective, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Deputy Chief or Chief. 

File Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank Police and Fire Headquarters at North Third Street and Orange Grove Avenue.

The number of present or former Burbank Police Officers suing the city and some department brass jumped to eight this week, and there are indications that total will go even higher. The latest lawsuit was filed by BPD Detective Angelo Dahlia on Tuesday in federal court, according to the Burbank Leader.

The story was up on the Leader website at 5:26 p.m. last night. A terse statement on the Dahlia suit appeared on the Burbank city website a short time later at 6:15 p.m. Here’s the statement.

Statement on Lawsuit Filed by Detective Angelo Dahlia

BURBANK, Calif. (November 19, 2009) – The City has been named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Burbank Police Detective Angelo Dahlia.

These are a new set of allegations related to cases already being investigated. As with all serious charges, it is important for the investigations to be completed.

Earlier this year, the City hired an outside attorney and investigator to conduct an independent investigation into allegations ranging from wrongful termination, discrimination and retaliation to abuse of force.

In addition, Police Chief Tim Stehr requested the LA County Sheriff’s Department conduct its own investigation.

As these important inquiries continue, the City’s top priority remains the safety of our citizens.

###

This statement is extremely sketchy with very few facts relevant to the Dahlia case. What are Detective Dahlia’s allegations and charges? The Burbank statement was either hastily prepared by someone who FORGOT to include important facts or perhaps the purpose of the statement is not to inform, but a flimsy attempt at some sort of damage control.  

Ironically last Tuesday, November 17, the city council voted to install a new policy providing some type of screening for news releases on sensitive issues before they’re made public. This was in reaction to a controversy stirred up over the tone and language in some recent releases dealing with the investigations and lawsuits, particularly the statement issued after the suit filed by Ex-Deputy Police Chief Bill Taylor last September.

In a letter to the city council dated November 2, 2009, Former Burbank Mayor Marsha Ramos joined the outcry over the Taylor statement: “The press release stated that Mr. Taylor ‘refused to cooperate’ in the City’s attempt to investigate. Yet, I know that Mr. Taylor made several attempts to cooperate and bring forward for further discussion some very serious concerns.”

As for the Dahlia lawsuit, the Leader is reporting the BPD detective “alleges that high-ranking members of the department investigating the 2007 robbery of Porto’s Bakery assaulted and beat witnesses and suspects ‘under the color of authority.’ ” 

So the city of Burbank and the BPD are facing another potentially multi-million dollar lawsuit/ settlement. And we haven’t heard from the attorneys for Sergeant Neil T. Gunn’s family. Relatives have already accused the city and the BPD of having a hand in Sgt. Gunn’s suicide last month; a lawsuit is reportedly in the works.

I can’t help but wonder, if Police Chief Tim Stehr had taken complaints and concerns last spring from the Burbank Police Officer’s Association seriously enough and taken action to solve some of the department’s problems, Burbank might not be facing all these lawsuits and maybe, just maybe, a certain police officer might still be alive.