News, entertainment, opinion, and whatever sparks interest in Burbank the Media City

Navigation

Fronnie Lewis - Editor

Tag Archives | investigations

Golden Arches logo McDonald's

Burbank Police confront gunman at McDonald’s

By on Friday, June 24, 2016

An investigation underway in Burbank today following an officer involved shooting at a McDonald’s restaurant early this morning. The incident began around midnight at the McDonald’s at 2565 Hollywood Way near the Hollywood Burbank Airport. Officers reportedly responded to a call of “a man causing a disturbance.” “As the officers arrived, they were advised the suspect told McDonald’s employees that he was armed with a gun. The first responding officers evacuated the employees, who were the only people inside. The officers confirmed the suspect was armed with... Read More →

0 comments

Tags: , , ,

Orlando victims remembered as shooting probe continues

By on Monday, June 13, 2016

Orland victims remembered as mass shooting probe continues today. The names of the victims of America’s worst mass shooting are being released. Profiles of the victims here and here. The investigation continues today at the crime scene, the Florida nightclub Pulse. Gunman, Omar Mateen, barged into the well-known gay club early Sunday morning and began shooting. After several hours, authorities gained control of the scene. Later, authorities revealed that 53 victims were injured and 50, including the shooter, were dead. Today it’s being reported that as he prepared to... Read More →

0 comments

Tags: , , , , ,

Photo: FLLewis/Media City G -- Burbank Police and Fire Headquarters at Third Street and Orange Grove Avenue in downtown Burbank

Envelope with suspicious powder mailed to Burbank Police

By on Friday, December 18, 2015

Some drama at Burbank Police headquarters in Downtown Burbank today. An employee opened an envelope addressed to the department at around 2:30 p.m. this afternoon and “noticed a white powder inside,” according to a news release. The administrative offices of the BPD building were cordoned off and the Burbank Fire Department reportedly responded with a hazmat team. A Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department hazmat team rolled to the scene as well. The release states the white “… powder was deemed safe and not hazardous at about 5 p.m. this evening.” Meanwhile, a... Read More →

2 comments

Tags: , ,

Joan Rivers publicity photo

Joan Rivers’ cause of death revealed

By on Thursday, October 16, 2014

Legendary comedienne, Joan Rivers, died of brain damage caused by lack of oxygen a result  of “a predictable complication of medical therapy.” according to a report released today by New York medical examiner’s office. On August 28, Rivers entered Manhattan’s Yorkville Endoscopy clinic. The medical examiner’s report says the entertainer underwent a laryngoscopy  and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with propofol sedation to investigate voice and stomach reflux issues. CNN reports the names of the doctors who performed the procedures are not mentioned  in the medical report. Earlier reports suggested one of... Read More →

0 comments

Tags: , , ,

Joan Rivers publicity photo

Web Buzz: Update on Joan Rivers’ death controversy

By on Thursday, September 18, 2014

The web has been buzzing for days with wild reports about circumstances surrounding the shocking death of legendary comic, Joan Rivers, last month. Now some of the big media players have followed up on those reports, one of them is CNN.  Not only is CNN reporting that Rivers’ personal physician was there during the comedienne’s scheduled endoscopy for a throat ailment, but it has identified that doctor as Manhattan’s Dr. Gwen Korovin — considered the nose, ear, and throat doctor to the stars. Also,... Read More →

0 comments

Tags: , , ,

Photo: FLLewis / Media City G -- Memorial atJohn Burroughs High in Burbank Saturday, September 13, for three teenagers killed in a traffic accident yesterday morning.

Mourning in Burbank for three young accident victims

By on Saturday, September 13, 2014

The crowds from the candlelight vigil last night were gone from the steps of John Burroughs High School on Clark Avenue in Burbank this morning. However, some of the candles were still burning for truck accident victims and Burroughs graduates, Jake Gnasso, Ian Bulbenko, and April Townsend. Every now and then someone would stop at the memorial to read the notes or to grieve for the three young lives lost. Gnasso, Bulbenko, Towsend and two other Burroughs grads were riding in a pickup truck when it... Read More →

0 comments

Tags: , ,

Joan Rivers publicity photo

NY Police launch investigation into the death of Joan Rivers

By on Saturday, September 6, 2014

      New York Police have launched an investigation into the death of comedy icon, Joan Rivers, according to a report today on The Hollywood Reporter. The 81-year-old comic underwent a medical procedure on her throat at an outpatient clinic August 28.  During the procedure, Rivers went into cardiac arrest and was rushed to a hospital. Last Thursday she died after being taken off life support. After an autopsy, the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office announced yesterday that it could not determine the... Read More →

0 comments

Tags: , ,

CA.gov logo

California DMV investigating possible credit card data breach

By on Monday, March 24, 2014

The California DMV has one of th worst reputations for long lines and poor customer service. Now a possible credit card data hack may add to the image problems for that department, which handles transactions for more than 23 million drivers and registrations for at least 32 million vehicles. Now, the DMV has launched an investigation into security breach, which could involve millions of transactions. Over the weekend, the DMV posted a statement on its website stating it had been  alerted by law enforcement to a... Read More →

0 comments

Tags: , , , , ,

Employee arrested in Disneyland explosion

By on Wednesday, May 29, 2013

  A Disney employee reportedly is being held on a $1 million dollars bail today in connection with that dry-ice explosion near Mickey’s Toontown attraction, in the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim late yesterday. The dry-ice was apparently inside a bottle, which was tossed into a trash can. The blast was described as being small — no damages nor injuries. However the area was evacuated, but visitors were allowed back in after the initial investigation was completed last night. Today there are reports that Christian Barnes, a 22-year-old... Read More →

0 comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Photo: FLLewis/Media City G - Char Tabet Burbank School Board candidate sign on West Olive Avenue Burbank January 14, 2013

City Buzz: Wholesale Giant fire, campaign 2013, and the Burbank Leader

By on Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Mystery surrounding Burbank fire So what’s up with the Wholesale Giant fire investigation? You might remember, a big blaze destroyed Wholesale Giant Inc, a tobacco and cigarette business, at 4410 West Victory Boulevard. The structure was packed with merchandise. The fire raged for hours on the morning of November 9, 2012. The day after, I took the photo (above) of a Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent on scene. Burbank Fire Captain Peter Hendrickson told me the fire was “suspicious” and that’s why the Feds had been... Read More →

0 comments

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Burbank City Buzz

By on Monday, March 29, 2010

  Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank    Judgment in the Burbank PD For several days, I’ve been hearing about some ominous letters handed out to some members of the Burbank PD, the result of information gathered during those hush-hush investigations for alleged misconduct in the department. A source tells me that those who have received letters include Sergeant Chris Canales, Officer Nick Nichols, Detective Mike Reyes, Officer Elfuego Rodriguez, Lieutenant Omar Rodriguez, and Officer Tommy Perez. Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank Police and Fire Headquarters Apparently... Read More →

6 comments

Tags: , , , , , ,

Los Angeles Times does investigative story on the turmoil in the Burbank Police Department

By on Sunday, March 14, 2010

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Police and Fire Headquarters at 200 North Third Street in Burbank In the Los Angeles Times print edition and on its website today an extensive report about the troubled Burbank Police Department. The report covers quite a bit of territory from the allegations of suspect beatings, racial discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and those federal investigations into possible misconduct in the Burbank PD. The allegations, lawsuits, and scandal have taken a heavy toll on the department. The Times says, “The Burbank force has been so... Read More →

4 comments

Tags: , , , , , ,

Good and bad news for Burbank

By on Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Burbank has not escaped the bumps and bruises of the brutal recession, but yesterday it got some good news from one of the top financial agencies. Standard and Poor’s upgraded Burbank’s credit rating to “AAA,” the highest grade possible.   S&P credited the Media City with a strong local economy, steady tax base, low debt, high reserve balance, and attractive location in the Southland as reasons for the rate hike, according to a press release on the city’s website. Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — East Olive Avenue... Read More →

8 comments

Tags: , , , , ,

Consumer News: Safety concerns about a hot holiday toy & a Burbank hospital is under investigation

By on Tuesday, December 8, 2009

 Are Zhu Zhu pets safe? Zhu Zhu pets, the robotic hamsters that talk and move, are at the top of a lot of wish lists this holiday season. Recently, a California-based consumer watchdog group’s website reportedly sparked a controversy when it claimed there is a potentially harmful level of metal in the Mr. Squiggles model. Now, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has weighed in on the controversy, declaring Zhu Zhu pets are in line with toy standards. The latest on the story here. Providence St. Joseph Medical Center being investigated by the feds The U.S. Food and... Read More →

0 comments

Tags: , , , , , ,

Burbank gets sued by another one of its police officers

By on Friday, November 20, 2009

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... Read More →

13 comments

Tags: , , ,

UPDATED 11/11/09: Burbank Police Chief Tim Stehr to retire!

By on Monday, November 9, 2009

  Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove —Burbank Police Chief Tim Stehr I don’t know if he was pushed or he volunteered, but Burbank Police Chief Tim Stehr is heading for the door. The announcement appeared a short while ago on the Burbank city website. It comes almost a week after that volatile council meeting where Councilman David Gordon called for an emergency action to consider putting Chief Stehr on administrative leave. His fellow council members balked and refused to consider the motion. Last Friday afternoon, I published a post... Read More →

40 comments

Tags: , , , ,

Time for serious change in Burbank

By on Friday, November 6, 2009

  Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank City Councilman David Gordon and Vice-Mayor/Council Member Anja Reinke at the Tuesday November 3, 2009, council meeting. Reverberations from last Tuesday’s Burbank City Council meeting are still shaking the town and probably will continue to do so for some time. That should really come as no surprise to anyone who was there or watched it on TV. It was an explosive event with huge ramifications. Things really got cooking when Councilman David Gordon declared publicly what many in this city have been talking about... Read More →

14 comments

Tags: , , , ,

UPDATED 11/02/09: Tragedy strikes the Burbank Police Department

By on Friday, October 30, 2009

                                           Photo 11/01/09: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove —Burbank Police and Fire Headquarters where the flags are flying at half-staff in remembrance of Sgt. Neil Thomas Gunn, Sr. The Burbank Police Department has taken some pretty big hits lately from lawsuits, investigations, low morale, scandal and now the apparent suicide of one of its patrol officers. According to a press release put out by the Burbank PD, 50-year-old Neil T. Gunn died on a residential city street corner of a self-inflicted gunshot wound yesterday morning. It happened around 11:40 a.m. near the intersection... Read More →

29 comments

Tags: , , ,

Councilman criticizes Burbank Leader story

By on Saturday, October 3, 2009

                     Photo: Burbank City Councilman Dave Golonski from Burbank city website   Burbank City Councilman Dave Golonski is not happy with the way the Burbank Leader newspaper reported on that statement read by Mayor Gary Bric at last Tuesday’s city council meeting. The much-talked-about and reported-on statement is the first official public reaction from the entire city council to a slew of police lawsuits and a number of investigations going on in Burbank. The complete statement is posted on this blog. Today I was over on the Leader website... Read More →

58 comments

Tags: , , , , ,

A Burbank official goes on the attack over those police lawsuits

By on Friday, October 2, 2009

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove —Burbank Police and Fire Headquarters. In a recent Los Angeles Times story about the FBI probe and those lawsuits filed by former and current members of the Burbank Police Force, Burbank City Attorney Dennis Barlow had very little to say. City Attorney Barlow is quoted as saying he “… was unable to comment on the FBI investigation or the lawsuits against the city and Police Department, citing pending litigation.” Barlow may be mum, but another major player in the Burbank City Attorney’s Office has had... Read More →

13 comments

Tags: , , , , ,

Burbank City Council speaks out on those lawsuits and investigations

By on Wednesday, September 30, 2009

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... Read More →

34 comments

Tags: , , , , , ,

The Burbank City Council & a new legal claim against the city

By on Thursday, July 23, 2009

Photo:FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove At Burbank City Council meetings most of the face time goes to the council members and the staff. They’re the ones who are supposed to be handling city business, therefore, they get to do a lot of the talking. Still, I get a kick out of the public comment segments where we get a chance to hear what’s bugging some of the citizens of Burbank. At last Tuesday’s city council meeting, Mayor Gary Bric called up more than 15 people to the podium to speak for five minutes or less on city business during the... Read More →

137 comments

Tags: , , , ,