Daily Brief – December 17, 2007 — The SCV Talk Archive

The President of the US has his Daily Brief, but only SCVTalk's Daily Brief is free and available to all. Dig in on this 8th Day of Christmas.

News

McKeon: New Cemex Deal by January: Rep. Buck McKeon told reporters Friday that his office was busy drafting new Cemex legislation that should make Santa Clarita, Victorville, and Cemex "very happy." Debate and a PR battle over the controversial Soledad Canyon "Megamine" has been sidelined since February, and McKeon expexts to introduce a bill addressing the issue "before the end of January." No specifics on the legislation yet. Stephen Peeples reports
Water softeners on their way out: The SCV Sanitation district hopes to encourage home owners to give up their salt-based water softeners with a rebate program. Only 1 out of 11 SCV residents use salt-based water softeners, but the devices increase the amount of chloride in water for growers in the Santa Clara river valley. Signal writer Jim Holt says some homeowners will receive a cash rebate to remove their water softeners. Link
Papers Please! Today's the day to file if you want to run for City Council. Two seats are up for a vote in the April 8, 2008 election, and if you want to have Councilmember attached to your name, you'll need 20-30 fellow SClaritans to nominate you, $1,000 for a ballot statement (in English), and a statement of Economic Interest "disclosing investments and interests in real property." Carol Rock has more
Mudslide Maps available: The US Geologic Survey has released mudslide maps that "estimate the size of potential debris flow" in "areas that could be affected when rainfall begins on recently-burned areas," Karen Elowitt reported in Sunday's Signal. The City says the maps will assist first responders. Link
Wildlife: There's been another sighting of a mountain lion in the Sand Canyon area. A resident there reported that a mountain lion was checking out some ducks at a neighbor's property, but workers nearby were able to scare off the cat. Meanwhile, our neighbors to the north have had two literal run-ins with wild life. Near Frasier Park on December 1, a 7 foot black bear was hit and killed by a vehicle, and then on the same day, someone hit and killed a 300 lb wild boar. No humans were injured in those accidents.
More Regional: The Sunday Times Real Estate section had a brief and interesting article on Santa Paula, our neighbor to the west along the scenic 126 corridor. Lemons and Oil

Opinion

Sunday Signal: Those clamoring for more conservative voices in the Signal's opinion pages have to be happy after Sunday's paper, which featured Andre Hollings spreading fear and hysteria over the illegal alien menace in Newhall. Hollings says residents of Newhall, which he calls "Santa Clarita's own sanctuary city", don't have the peace of mind that Stevenson Ranch or Valencia residents have and that women in the SCV's oldest community are scared to go on walks or jogs in the morning. And Roger Gitlin, a teacher at a boy's camp, also penned a column with an anecdote about abstinence-only sex education. He asks readers to urge Assemblyman Cam Smyth to change state law regarding abstinence education.
Signal on City-hood: Citing the relentless competition between the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster, the Signal says the best option for the SCV is an "all-inclusive Santa Clarita Valley city." "While we cherish the separate areas of the SCV and the heritage of each, there's no denying that this valley is growing together as one urban-suburban complex," the Signal said. "Maintaining a single municipal government here will improve the quality of life in the SCV in innumerable ways." Look for this debate to heat up in 2008 as two west-side incorporation studies finally get released and the city moves to annex the Hasley Hills and other areas (Plum Canyon too?).
Ryan Metlen joins Signal: The Cal Arts grad who drew that controversial cartoon of a demonic Bush and Cheney pouring a toxic "faith mixture" into the heads of zombie-like followers is joining the Signal as its Sunday Editorial cartoonist. Metlen, 30, has a BFA from Cal Arts, and his work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and elsewhere. Do we have a new Randy Wicks on our hands? He's certainly got talent.
Happy Birthday Santa Clarita! I Heart SCV was "overtaken by an urge to take a metered tone in an ode to the City of Santa Clarita."

Comments (1)

PaulineHarteDecember 17 at 10:58 AM PT
I don't know who Andre Hollings is, but his ridiculous blatherings regarding the "illegal alien menace" in Newhall would be funny if not so WRONG. I live in Newhall (Happy Valley) and this "illegal alien menace" BS from Mr. Hollings is garbage. I walk my dog in Newhall, attend Canyon Theatre in Newhall, and I shop in Newhall, and I have never had a problem with Mr. Hollings' so-called "illegal alien menace." Newsflash for Mr. Hollings - Newhall residents live here with the same "peace of mind" that anyone living in Stevenson Ranch or Valencia or any other part of this valley enjoy. We moved FROM Valencia to live in this area because Newhall is a lovely, peaceful community, and after all the years we have lived here, Newhall is still the lovely, peaceful community we originally deemed it to be. I would like to remind Mr. Hollings of the many burglaries in Stevonson Ranch/Westridge areas, some rape incidents, a lot of car window bashings, even some murder and mayhem. Sometimes, when I read what is going on in other parts of this valley, I feel quite lucky to be living in such a peaceful community like Newhall and that is an opinion shared by all my neighbors. Fact is, there are bad people doing bad things everywhere, and quite often they cannot be attributed to Mr. Hollings' "illegal alien menace." As for those women who "are scared to go on walks and jogs in the morning" in Newhall because of the "illegal alien menace," (rolling eyes here) they need to remember, along with Mr. Hollings, that an employee of Mama Mia's Restaurant in Stevenson Ranch was murdered at around the same time in the early morning hours that I and a friend were walking (safely) through the streets of our Newhall neighborhood. And we passed many other people out for their own early excursions, and many were solo-walking/jogging ladies looking not a bit fearful. I must wonder if Mr. Hollings would consider the gardeners we smile at and say hi to on our early morning outings part of his "illegal alien menace" - and go figure, we always get a warm smile and greeting right back.