News
- Against the Sharks we need every man we got: A fight between two men escalated into a brawl that resulted in at least three stabbing victims early on Thursday morning at the Greens, a popular golf and bar spot in Valencia. None of the stabbings of the men were life threatening. Sheriff's Deputies are looking for others involved in the fights, including one white man and five Latinos. Jon Dell has the best coverage.
- Crime on the rise? It didn't take long for the Signal to read the tea leaves and ask the inevitable question about whether crime is on the rise in the SCV following several stabbings, two murders, and other violence. Karen Elowitt takes a look at the issue in today's paper and found that crime rates today aren't much different than they were last year. A Sheriff's spokeswoman says the recent violent incidents aren't connected, while the City's Gail Ortiz attributes perception of higher crime to better reporting by the Sheriff's station.
- Mind your city business: Next Tuesday's Council meeting is the last one in 2007, and while it won't exactly be an action-packed thrill-ride, there's a couple of interesting items on the agenda. Up first is a proposed purchase of a property on the corner of San Fernando Road/Main Street and Lyons Avenue in connection with the redevelopment of Old Town Newhall. 24533 San Fernando Road may be purchased for $1,730,000 to "assist in implementing the redesign of San Fernando Road, including the installation of proposed public buildings." The lobbyist registration ordinance is once-again on the agenda, and this time the proposed ordinance that would require lobbysists to pay a fee and forbid former city employees from lobbying the city for a year may actually be adopted and become law. Finally, the council will consider purchasing some 140 acres of land in Placerita Canyon near the Nature Center. It's unclear if the $2,500,000 purchase is part of the city's shiny new Open Space Preservation District, but the agenda says the City has been in neogitations for this property since September. Get all the juice here
- Josh "Love Grips" Premako should like this: Both KHTS and the Daily News have taken note of Sierra Vista Junior High's fancy new PE classes. The class features interactive physical games, big flat screen TVs, exercise bikes and more. "For most of us, the old-style PE met the needs of a select few. Everyone else was often left with a lifetime of bad memories and demeaning experiences," a PE administrator told Jon Dell at KHTS. Feel guilty by clicking KHTS,, or the Daily News
- Is that the best you got Alaska? Light but steady rain and cold winds hit the SCV yesterday evening, and so far, according to SantaClaritaWeather.com's gauges in Saugus, the SCV has received about eight tenths of an inch of rain. Showers should continue throughout today and possibly into Saturday, and officials are still worried about burn areas. Times has more
- By the Numbers: The SCV Real Estate forum has listing inventory numbers, while Linda Slocum takes a look at "Short sales" (preforeclosure) numbers which are "definitely on the rise" in some parts of the SCV. Also, on this date in 1967, the first home in Valencia was sold. John Boston says in his Time Ranger column today that 89 homes were sold in Valencia during this month in '67, and the principal "occupation of the bread winner was 'engineer'." Houses at the time cost between $21,500 to $30,000 and the average age of parents who moved here was 38 years old.
- Remembering Pearl Harbor: A Pearl Harbor veteran who shot at Japanese planes on December 7, 1941 off the deck of the USS California will speak before 6th graders at Newhall Elementary School today. Joe Ceo is 87 years old now and one of only a dozen or so Pearl Harbor vets still alive in the San Fernando Valley. Dennis McCarthy, the Daily News' columnist, has a piece on that, while the Signal today published a written memoir of that day from a man who joined the Army Air Corps after the shock of Pearl Harbor.
- Hart vs St. Bonnie : Game time The Daily News has an excellent round-up of tomorrow's championship game between the St. Bonaventure Seraphs and the Hart Indians. And, over at KHTS, writer "Q Cho" has some interesting stats on the match as well. Meanwhile, Andrew Barlam over at the Signal asked Saugus High football coach Jason Bornn who he thought would win tomorrow's game at the Home Depot Center in Carson: "St. Bonaventure is like a kid on a high-powered, really fast motorcycle. He's not very experienced at riding it, but it's a powerful bike. They're going against that guy on a Harley who has been riding their bike for years, perfecting everything about it." Nice analogy Coach. It's unclear if you can watch the game live on television, but SCVTV.com says they will broadcast the game on Channel 20 at 9pm tomorrow night. GO INDIANS!
- Bowl Games big money generator: We always try to point out great examples of journalism in our local media, even if it's not directly SCV related. Parimal Rohit at the Signal has one such article today on the Bowl Championship Series. "Financial incentives are a big reason why bowl games exist," Rohit writes, detailing several contests throughout the country that yield big money for cities, teams, and schools.