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Tamala Takahashi Newsletter — September 7, 2026
🌟 From the Dais with Mayor Tamala Takahashi | September 7, 2026
Happy Labor Day, Burbank,
City Hall is closed today, and I hope your calendar is too. Whether you are grilling with neighbors or happily buried under a blanket with a good book (zero judgment from this proud homebody), today is for rest, and for gratitude to the people whose work keeps this city humming: the crews, the counter staff, the librarians, and the planners who spent Wednesday evening walking residents through Downtown maps at the Community Services Building. Council was dark this week and stays dark tomorrow, but Burbank did not stand still, and neither does this edition. Here is the rundown.
🏛️ Council Corner
🔹 No votes to report: Council was dark on September 1, and we are dark again tomorrow, September 8. Two quiet Tuesdays in a row is rare, and it does not mean the work stops. These are the weeks for catching up on staff reports, committee homework, and the inbox that grows during meeting season. If you wrote to me recently, this is when the replies happen.
🔹 Circle Tuesday, September 15: Council returns with an evening I have been looking forward to. It opens with a study session on our Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan and the 2024 emissions inventory, includes a proclamation for Fire Prevention Week, and carries two transportation items on the consent calendar. I unpack the big ones below. Agendas can shift, so always check the posted version before the meeting.
🚌 Transportation Updates
🔹 A new front door for Burbank travelers: The new terminal at Hollywood Burbank Airport is nearly ready for its ribbon cutting and opening, as myBurbank reported this week. Replacing a terminal that has served since the earliest days of commercial aviation with a modern building designed to today's safety standards has been one of our region's biggest undertakings, and it is finally on approach. I will share opening details here as soon as they are official.
👉 Read myBurbank's airport story
🔹 Two street items, one vote away: Next Tuesday's consent calendar includes accepting the $1,584,000 federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant and awarding the Phase 3 contract for signal improvements along the I-5 corridor. I previewed both in late August, so here is the practical part: consent items pass in a single vote unless someone asks to pull one for discussion. If you have thoughts on either, eComment is open before the meeting, and yes, I read them.
👉 View meeting agendas and eComment
🌿 Environment & Sustainability
🔹 Our climate report card is due: The September 15 study session covers how our Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan is actually performing, anchored by the 2024 emissions inventory. In plain English: an inventory tallies the climate pollution generated across Burbank, from buildings and vehicles to energy and waste, and measures it against our targets. It shows us what is working and what needs a push. I want your questions in the room with me, so tell me: what would you ask staff about our climate progress? Reply and I will bring the best ones on the 15th.
🔹 An open seat at the sustainability table: The City is looking to fill a vacancy on the Sustainable Burbank Commission. I serve as Council liaison to this commission, and I can vouch that it is a working body, not a ceremonial one. If you have energy for climate policy, water, waste reduction, or urban greening, this is one of the most direct ways a resident can shape it.
👉 See the Sustainable Burbank Commission vacancy notice
🏘️ Housing & Downtown's Future
🔹 The open houses wrapped; your comments carry on: The second and final open house on the Draft Downtown Specific Plan took place Wednesday evening, September 2, at the Community Services Building. Thank you to everyone who showed up across both sessions to study the maps, ask the hard questions, and leave feedback. All of that input now goes back to our planning team as the draft moves toward formal hearings. If you missed both dates, you have not missed your moment: the draft remains available for review, and written comments still count.
👉 Review the draft Downtown plan
💼 Economic Development & Local Business
🔹 Palm Paseo construction begins Wednesday: Work on the Palm Paseo Beautification Project in Downtown Burbank starts September 9, bringing new landscaping and trees, shade, seating, upgraded lighting, bike racks, and public art to the walkway near the Orange Grove parking structure. Crews will work weekday mornings from 7 to 11 a.m., a schedule chosen specifically to spare the lunch rush, and every business along the Paseo stays open throughout. Construction pauses for the holiday season in mid-November and the project is expected to finish in summer 2027.
→ 💬 My take: I spent years working alongside Magnolia Park merchants, so I know how stressful construction season feels when it is your storefront behind the temporary fencing. The fix is simple and delicious: keep eating, shopping, and gathering on the Paseo while the upgrades take shape.
👉 Read the Palm Paseo construction notice
🔹 Five weeks to State of the City: The Burbank Chamber posted a great reminder this week that early bird general admission is $150 and tables and sponsorships are still available for the annual State of the City Address & Luncheon on Thursday, October 15, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport. The theme is Better Together, and I am officially in drafting mode. So help me write it: what Burbank accomplishment from this past year deserves a shout-out from the podium? Send me your nominations.
👉 Reserve your State of the City seat
💚 Health & Wellbeing
🔹 Thursday is World Suicide Prevention Day: September 10 lands in the middle of National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and I want to keep the ask small and doable. First, save 988 in your phone tonight: the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential, and answers calls and texts 24 hours a day. Second, reach out this week to one person whose quiet you have noticed. You do not need perfect words. Showing up imperfectly beats staying away politely, every single time.
🧶 The Community Thread
🔹 Save September 19 for the Autumn Arts Festival: Announced Friday: our Parks and Recreation Department, the Cultural Arts Commission, and the Valley Cultural Foundation are throwing a free, family-friendly celebration at Johnny Carson Park on Saturday, September 19, from 4 to 7 p.m., featuring local artist booths, food trucks, and a live concert headlined by hometown rock band The Velvonics. No ticket is required, though an RSVP helps organizers plan. A park full of neighbors, art, and live music is my favorite kind of line item.
👉 Get Autumn Arts Festival details
🔹 Burbank High takes the Fringe: Our Burbank High drama students made history at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the largest arts festival in the world, representing our city on a truly global stage. To the students, teachers, and families who made it happen: you carried an enormous amount of hometown pride across an ocean. Bravo.
🔹 Arts around town: Rats by Sophie McNally is on view at Gallery 839 through September 28. The California Japanese Ceramic Arts Guild opened its exhibit at the Betsy Lueke Creative Arts Center on Friday, running through September 24. Pitch Puuurfect enters its final stretch at the Salit Conservatory, closing September 21, and Catch Me If You Can: The Musical opens at the Colony Theatre on September 17. Artists, mark one deadline: submissions for the Harvest Moon exhibit close Monday, September 14. And if shaping arts policy appeals to you even more than hanging a show, the Cultural Arts Commission has an open seat waiting.
👉 Browse the Burbank arts calendar
👉 See the Cultural Arts Commission vacancy notice
🗓️ Mark Your Calendar
🔹 Today, Monday, September 7: City offices are closed for Labor Day, with regular hours resuming tomorrow. Rest well. That is the whole point of the holiday.
🔹 Auction for Animals, September 11 to 13: The Volunteers of the Burbank Animal Shelter open their seventh annual online silent auction this Friday, September 11, at 8 a.m., with bidding through Sunday, September 13, at 6 p.m. More than 300 items donated by local businesses and neighbors are up for grabs, and every dollar supports the animals at our shelter. Your couch is a perfectly valid bidding location.
👉 Read the auction announcement
🔹 Time capsule ideas close September 25: The library's collection window for the 2026 time capsule has less than three weeks left. If an object, photo, or story says Burbank 2026 to you, now is the moment to suggest it.
👉 Visit the Burbank Public Library site
💡A Final Thought
September does not ease in; it accelerates. Between now and my next edition: shelter animals get an auction, the Palm Paseo gets its construction crews, and Thursday gives us all a reason to check on someone we love. The week after that, Council returns with climate data and street safety dollars, and then a park fills up with art and music. My hope is that you find your own way into at least one of these, whether that is a bid, a comment, a question for the dais, or a Saturday at Johnny Carson Park. Enjoy the rest of the holiday, Burbank. The work will be here tomorrow, and so will I.
Together, we're building a community and better future that works for everyone. Thank you for staying connected!
Tamala Takahashi
Mayor, City of Burbank
tamala.takahashi@mygovtools.org
