Local News in Brief : Burbank Finds Firm to Run Amphitheater

The Burbank City Council has tentatively approved an agreement with a Santa Monica concert promotion and booking firm to run the troubled Starlight Amphitheatre.

Parks and Recreation Director Richard I. Inga said he is confident that the firm, World Entertainment Services, will be able to turn the city-owned Starlight around. World Entertainment Services has the financial resources and entertainment industry contacts that would help in booking artists to perform at the 6,000-capacity outdoor theater, he said.

The Starlight’s previous operator, Tim Pinch, was fired by the council when city officials alleged that he had not presented “broad and varied entertainment” during the three years he managed the Starlight.

Under the terms of the agreement, World Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of the Weintraub Entertainment Group, will take over the Starlight on a two-year “trial basis.”