Local News in Brief : Cable TV Will Cover Municipal Elections

Burbank residents will get an unusual alternative to standard television fare Tuesday night: live and direct coverage of the municipal elections.

Starting at 5 p.m., viewers who subscribe to the Sammons Communications cable system will be able to see taped interviews with City Council and school board candidates on the public access channel. Election results will begin airing at 8 p.m.

The experiment is a forerunner of the cable system’s expected live coverage of City Council meetings later this year, said Larry Johnson, the city’s director of communications.

Sammons is providing all the equipment and technical personnel to the city free, he said. Jim Foy, who works in the KNBC news department, will provide updates and commentary, Johnson said.

Included in the coverage will be interviews with City Manager Bud Ovrom about the demise of the Towncenter shopping project and Burbank Airport officials.

A film made in 1950 called “Story of a City” will also be shown between results, Johnson said. The film “showed Burbank the way it used to be and instructed citizens on how to vote,” said Johnson. “It’s quite fascinating.