Leadership Burbank class of 2009-10

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The Leadership Burbank Board of Directors recently announced 27 participants for the program’s class of 2009-10.

Leadership Burbank, a nonprofit organization that trains residents and individuals who work in the community, puts participants through a  nine-month program where they tackle issues facing the city.

Sue Georgino, a newly minted adjunct instructor for the department of organizational leadership, joins Don St. Clair, vice president of Woodbury University, Dr. Phyllis Cremer, associate vice president and adjunct instructor, and adjunct instructors Emma Misner and Mary Alvord.

The class of 2009-10:

Jacqueline Amaya-Garcia, Language Line Services

Judith Arandes, Burbank Housing Corporation

Cathleen Bambas, Providence High School

Ellen Burditt, Our Community-Families of Deafness

Who likes pancakes?

Burbank Unified School District’s annual pancake breakfast is scheduled for 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Friday at the Bret Harte Children’s Center on 1421 N. Ontario St.

Organizers raised more than $1,000 for First Response Backpack, a charity that provides wounded soldiers with items like clothing, shampoo and toothpaste.

Members of the Police and Fire departments as well as the entire community have been invited for orange juice, pancakes, sausage and Starbucks coffee, which was donated for the event.

Schwarzenegger on Obama’s speech to schoolchildren: ‘Good idea’

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger looks over the photography of Burroughs High School students before giving a speech on state and local prevention efforts on the H1N1 virus. (Roger Wilson/The Leader)

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s speech Tuesday at John Burroughs High School came just hours after President Obama implored students across the country to set goals and aim high.

And despite protests from several Republican leaders and conservative groups, who said the speech amounted to “indoctrination,” Schwarzenegger called it a “good idea” for the president to address the nation’s schoolchildren.

“I wish that when I was in Austria that I had presidents and political leaders come to our classroom and talk about what was the secret for their success and so on,” he said, calling Obama a “good example, I think, [of someone] who came from nothing and worked his way up … against all odds.”

Check out the Burbank Leader’s website for the full story.

A BUSD photo op with no camera

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Joan McCarthy, community outreach coordinator for the Walt Disney Co., brought a big check to the Burbank Unified School District Board of Education meeting Thursday, both physically and financially.

The company’s $50,000 donation was printed onto a large, photo-friendly check.

The only problem: no one had a camera.

McCarthy had given her presentation to the board, telling them how excited Disney was to offer the check to the district to fund a scoreboard at Memorial Field and Supt. Kevin Jolly had approached the podium to thank her and shake her hand.

Board President Dave Kemp did the same.

Slots open for School Facilities Oversight Committee

Melissa Pamperin, a fifth grade teacher at Walt Disney Elementary School in Burbank, works on math problems with her students. (Scott Smeltzer/The Leader)

The Burbank Unified School District is accepting applications to fill five expired terms on the School Facilities Oversight Committee.

The committee provides recommendations to the Board of Education regarding appropriation and spending for construction, modernization, and renovation of district facilities.

Those representing the following groups are asked to apply:  business organizations, senior citizens, parents, and those active in PTA and or school site councils.

The reopened application period runs from Aug. 7 through Sept. 18. Pick up your application at 1900 W. Olive Ave., or visit the website, www.burbankusd.org.

New turf excites school and city officials

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When city and school officials told us they’d be taking a stroll on the newly completed Burbank High School artificial turf field today, we followed along.

Unfortunately, the excited bunch wasn’t wearing cleats or playing capture the flag as they strode across the pitch because it isn’t yet ready for use.

There was some good news: the field is near complete after less than two months of work at the site.

And it’s really, really green.

GCC to add training program for green jobs

Glendale Community College officials are gearing up to offer a new training program in green technology education after receiving a $100,000 state grant to develop an online curriculum.

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Administrators will use the funds to craft online distance-learning courses that will help students prepare for jobs related to renewable energy technology as part of the state’s pilot program to put more people to work in what is expected to be a growing industry, President/Supt. Dawn Lindsay said Monday.

The college was one of just 10 institutions to receive a portion of the $500,000 doled out by the California Department of Education and the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office for green technology education.