Just a quick one today– a couple readers have mentioned something interesting that we overlooked.
For a number of weeks now, Mayor Gary Bric has been running ads in the Burbank Leader that locate his business in Burbank. He always cites his zip code, too– something that other ads don’t do.
You know why? Because his business is NOT in Burbank. Bric claims he has a “Burbank address,” but that’s not so. It’s a Sun valley address in Los Angeles that– because of a mistake made 45 years ago– is serviced out of the 91505 branch post office on Hollywood Way.
Bric and other businesses over there have been exploiting this mistake for years, getting the best of both worlds– a “Burbank” locale, but without any of the Burbank restrictions or fees. They all think that a mere citation of their zip code gives them the excuse to claim a Burbank location.
Here’s where the Leader comes in. Not only should they correct this practice, but they also have no business allowing Bric’s Sun Valley restaurant to compete in their annual “Best of Burbank” contests. It’s unfair to our local establishments here, and the paper does not allow other surrounding businesses to do the same.
Burbank should remain in Burbank, right?
** UPDATE #1 **
We’ve learned that we’re about 15 years behind on this story. Burbank merchants have been grumbling for years that certain out-of-town stores have been allowed to compete in the Leader’s Best of Burbank contest, including Bric. They don’t think it’s fair, and we don’t either.
To get Bric off the hook a little, he’s not the only Sun Valley merchant who plays the Burbank name game. Woodbury University (nee College) has been doing it for years, too. They claim a Glenoaks address in Burbank, but the official city map we’ve looked at (from 2001) shows that only a tiny part of their most eastern parking lot is located in the city. The rest of their campus– like 90 percent of it– is in Los Angeles.
While it’s possible that Burbank has annexed Woodbury, we can’t find a record of it right now, and it would have been fairly recently. The same might have been true of the Cabrini Estates. But there’s no doubt that Burbank still needs to annex that 3/4 square-mile spic of land where Bric has his restaurant– that is, if he wants to be a real Burbank businessman.
Until then, the Leader’s on the hook over this. They shouldn’t let it continue.
** UPDATE #2 **
All of these Sun Valley outfits– and many Cabrini residents– have a long history of this name game activity. But the mere citation of an old, incorrect zip code does not give anyone over there the right to imply that they are a Burbank location, or especially state as such in writing. Lately there’s been much confusion over this point, but the fact remains that Bric and the others clearly say that they are located in Burbank.
If they do it in black and white then there’s nothing to defend them on– so why does anyone even try do so? If people in Burbank can’t even get to such basic brass tack understandings as this, then it’s no wonder we have so many problems. Is there something in the water?
Burbank, California 