Burbank Ca

In a case that exposed the hidden ties between middle-class drug users and gang violence, a former Burbank city councilwoman pleaded guilty Thursday to felony cocaine possession after a federal investigation connected her to guns, drugs and a violent street gang. Stacey Jo Murphy, 47, agreed to serve five years' probation and enter a drug diversion program as part of a plea agreement in the case, which also involved her longtime boyfriend, Scott Schaffer.

Sure, Burbank is the entertainment industry hub of Southern California. And the city's Bob Hope Airport is a hassle-free way to fly from here to there. But to those who yearn for a time before movies and aviation, the big draw is the leafy Rancho Equestrian neighborhood, where residents can park their mounts in their own backyards, a short trot from the studios.

A powerful Pacific storm finally abandoned Southern California on Tuesday afternoon, leaving behind a Burbank canyon awash with mud and water that cascaded down hillsides denuded during one of last month's wildfires. "We got evacuated in the fire. Then we had the rain and mud. The locusts come next," said Jack Gagne, 48, a "Tonight Show" cameraman who moved to Deer Creek canyon a year ago.

They had wrapped up three days in Ventura County on the front lines of a 24,175-acre fire when the visiting firefighters got the bad news. Instead of heading home, fire crews from Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Brea, Newport Beach and Fullerton were told Saturday to detour to Burbank to help fight a 1,100-acre wildfire there. There were groans from among some on the Brea Fire Department pumper truck. "We were released from the Topanga fire and on our way home," said firefighter Kyle Houk.

Two San Fernando Valley residents are scheduled to be arraigned in federal court Monday on charges of operating a Hurricane Katrina charity scam. Tino Lee, 44, of Burbank and Gina Liz Nicholas, 22, of Glendale were each charged Friday with one count of impersonating an American Red Cross worker to fraudulently collect money. A 14-year-old girl was also arrested and later released to her parents. She has not been charged with a crime.

A Burbank city councilwoman facing felony charges of cocaine possession and child endangerment resigned from the council Tuesday night. "The distractions caused by my personal issues should not be a factor that the council should have to deal with," Stacey Jo Murphy wrote in her letter of resignation, which was read aloud at Tuesday night's City Council meeting. Murphy, 47, a former mayor of Burbank, was arrested July 13 after her home was searched in an investigation of a street gang.

Burbank City Councilwoman Stacey Jo Murphy was charged Tuesday with cocaine possession and child endangerment after authorities allegedly linked her to a violent street gang. Murphy, 47, was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance and a misdemeanor count of child endangerment, Deputy Dist. Atty. Thomas Krag said. According to a criminal complaint filed in Superior Court, the child-endangerment charge involved a 12-year-old boy under Murphy's care.

An affiliate of Time Warner Inc. has agreed to lease an entire office building under construction in Burbank in a 15-year deal valued at more than $100 million. Warner Bros. Entertainment will move out of 150,000 square feet of space that the movie and television company leases in Glendale and owns at its crowded Burbank studio into the second phase of the Pinnacle, a 235,000-square-foot project being built at 3300 W. Olive Ave. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Sempra Energy was sued by the city of Burbank for failure to cover unpaid bills for energy the city sold during California's power crisis in 2000 and 2001. Sempra's trading unit owes the city $6.3 million for electricity sales to the California Independent System Operator and for subsequent expenses to recover the money, Burbank said in a suit filed in federal court in Los Angeles. A Sempra spokeswoman had no immediate comment.