Start the Presses: Notes on our part of the world

By Dan Evans

Oct. 3, 2015 2:15 PM PT

I want to remind everyone that the Burbank Community Advisory Board will be having its meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. This meeting will be held at the Burbank Bar and Grille on San Fernando Boulevard downtown and is open to all.

However, please email me — dan.evans@latimes.com — if you’re coming so I have enough food to go around. As we did before, I’m going to ask attendees what they like about the paper, what they don’t like and changes they’d like to see.

I expect the meeting will last about two hours. These meetings have led to marked improvements, and I’m always pleasantly surprised by the thoughtfulness and insight that comes from our readers. Please come by if you can.

The crime spike in Glendale continues unabated, with two more violent deaths on the city’s tab this year. Police believe 57-year-old Glendale resident Alex Littlejohn stabbed Minas Arutyunyan in an unprovoked attack near the Glendale Courthouse.

The 30-year-old Sunland resident was able to fight back, killing Littlejohn in the process, but sadly succumbed to his own injuries. The Jewel City is usually bereft of homicides, as 2014 had zero such cases and 2013 had but one.

This year, however, Glendale has had four. According to police statistics, crime is up compared to last year in pretty much every category.

There is a tiny bit of a bright spot, however. After AB 109 was passed — which dramatically reduced the number of people in state prisons — many local law enforcement types said the move would cause a jump in the crime rate.

But a report released by the Public Policy Institute of California said there was no connection between the law and the uptick in violent crime in many cities. The increase in the number of car thefts in Glendale and elsewhere, however, can be directly tied to the law.

The upshot? Just be careful out there. And lock your car.

On a more cheery note, today marks the 38th installment of the Oktoberfest in Montrose. As in years past, Honolulu Avenue will be closed off, and German beer, food and events will take over from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Event organizers say as many as 20,000 people may pack the streets, so be prepared for the crowds.

And finally, Glendale’s Rose Float saga has moved into a new stage. After a century of uninterrupted float entries, the Jewel City failed to join the parade on Jan. 1 of this year. City officials, who had helped fund the float — sometimes completely — in years past told disappointed organizers they would receive no money for the 2015 float.

But this year officials changed their minds, fronting the Glendale Rose Float Assn. $200,000 to make the 2016 float a reality. The catch? The association has to raise at least $50,000 on its own to repay the city. If they fail, the city has more than hinted it will get out of the Rose Parade business altogether.

Though the frame for the 2016 float is finished — with a successful test run made down Raymond Avenue in Pasadena — the Glendale group has only raised $8,000 so far. I know they’re trying, having seen members plying passersby for donations at Cruise Night, but it’s a hard road.

So, if you like seeing your city have a float in the parade, now’s the time to step up. Go to glendalerosefloat.com to help.

DAN EVANS is the editor. He can be reached at (818) 637-3234 or dan.evans@latimes.com.