This senior priced out of state of...
This senior priced out of state of the city luncheon
Sometime in October, I received a notice that the Burbank Chamber
of Commerce was presenting “The State of the City Address and
Luncheon.” I thought it would be nice to attend, since I’m a senior
citizen and retired. However, when I called, I was told the cost
would be $50. Well, needless to say, I couldn’t afford that. I’m
wondering, was this a fund-raiser? It seems at that price it would
cut out a lot of people who might want to go and hear what our mayor,
Stacey Murphy, had to say. Maybe attendance only, without a lunch,
could be offered. Why include this information in the Burbank Water &
Power bill in the first place?
JAMES T. ROWAN
Burbank
Hold on a minute
Let me get this straight: A man with traces of alcohol in his
blood crosses the train tracks in Burbank, through lowered crossing
arms, flashing lights and blaring bells, only to be hit by a
Metrolink train and killed, and it’s Burbank’s fault, according to a
federal report?
Then a senior citizen runs his car through a farmers’ market in
Santa Monica, killing 10 and injuring scores more, and that accident
is blamed on “human error.” Can someone please, please explain this
to me?
HECTOR REYES
Burbank
Noise pollution becoming unbearable for some residents
There were some letters last month regarding the noise pollution
in Burbank. No one is more familiar with local noise pollution than I
am. I live across the street from a construction site in a
residential neighborhood. The noise and air pollution have taken over
the whole neighborhood.
When I heard they were going to tear down the quaint, charming
house and apartments across the street to put up a condominium, I was
incredibly disappointed. I don’t always think of progress as a good
thing. Part of Burbank’s charm is the old-fashioned, charismatic
buildings we have. If we keep tearing down these buildings in favor
of modern structures, pretty soon our charming city will look more
like a tacky imitation of Valencia than Burbank. Is that what we
want? Not me.
I was also concerned about the noise and the dirt, and rightly so.
Since the construction began, I have been abruptly awakened each
morning at 7 a.m. (including Saturdays) with sounds loud enough to
shake my apartment like an earthquake. This is hardly conducive to a
my work schedule, which sometimes requires me to work very late at
night. So basically I now walk around perpetually tired. There are
bulldozers, semitrucks, excavation machines, hornhonking, etc. It is
nonstop, intense noise eight hours a day. I can no longer even open a
window to get fresh air because of the ongoing activity outside, and
because air is polluted, as well.
There is a thick layer of dirt on everything now. I wash my car,
and when I get home it is filthy again within a couple of hours. The
worst part is breathing this unclean air. I suffer from asthma and
allergies anyway, but these health conditions have intensified
dramatically since the construction began a couple of months ago. I
used to use my inhaler about three times a week. Now I use it a few
times a day. And my allergies are as bad as they usually are in the
springtime. I’m going to have to buy an air purifier for my home. I
understand those cost quite a bit. No one will be reimbursing me for
this cost, or the cost of increased purchases of inhalers, allergy
medication, and car washes. This condominium I never even wanted here
is becoming pretty expensive.
The final inconvenience is trying to maneuver in and out of my
street now. I have difficulty many times just pulling out of my
driveway because there are trucks parked everywhere. This also
creates regular traffic jams for residents.
Overall, this construction has become disruptive to say the least.
But it looks like I only have two choices: learn to accept all of
this or move. Moving to another part of Burbank probably wouldn’t
help, though, considering I’m seeing construction like this all over
the city. Plus, moving is very expensive. So it looks like I, as well
as the rest of my neighbors, are stuck with the noise, dirt, and
inconvenience indefinitely.
CYNDI OATWAY
Burbank