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- More on Council Meeting, Ferry/Boydston Fireworks: It’s nice to have Josh Premako at The Signal back writing stories and he’s got a good one today covering the City Council’s 3-2 approval of a Santa Clarita Arts Commission. Premako talked to Councilmember Ferry and former Councilmember TimBen Boydston, who runs Canyon Theater Guild and is an arts advocate. Turns out the two men, who clashed while they served on the council together (anyone remember Ferry channeling Biff Tannen and shouting: “GIVE ME A BREAK BOYDSTON!!!1!”?), shared words over the Arts Commission. Boydston used words like “blackmail and disturbing,” and Ferry jabbed back with “inappropriate and foolish” but you’ll have to read the article to see what, exactly, they were talking about.
- And yet more Council Meeting Coverage: Bear with me, we usually don’t have this much coverage of a rinky-dink Council meeting, but both I Heart’s summation and Dave Bossert’s impression (it was boring) of Tuesday night’s Council meeting are worth reading.
- Landsource and the quite literal Fire Sale of assets: So this is all hearsay and internet-based rumors, but over at the Implode-Explode real estate forum, poster “Aristotle” says there’s an intriguing battle going on in the Landsource Bankruptcy case between Landsource, the creditors who are owed money by Landsource, and, of all things, the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Aristotle claims that Landsource wants to transfer some land here in the SCV to the LACFD “free and clear,” but creditors “have vehemently objected because they are not receiving any compensation for the dollar value of their liens on the fire house site.” Aristotle says it’s alla vailable for reading at the now-familiar bankruptcy site, so you can check it out for yourself. He says local newspapers are missing out on this “interesting story.” I agree- I wish I didn’t have to post links to discussion forums.
- Office Vacancy rates rising, but prices going down: Grubb & Ellis reported yesterday that office vacancies jumped 2.5% at the end of 2008. That means 12.2% of all office space in Los Angeles County is vacant, but it also means rents will go down, in some places by as much as 30%. Back in December, the SCV Chamber predicted this trend, but I can’t find any numbers for office space in the SCV. Good thing we have all that medical office space coming online in the next few years huh? LA Times
- LA County to create predatory lending task force: The Daily News says there were only 3,151 foreclosures in 2006, but in 2008, there were 35,811 in Los Angeles County. Well, it turns out some of the same types of people who sold loans knowing borrowers couldn’t pay are now posing as “foreclosure consultants” and offering themselves as “saviors” to homeowners facing foreclosure. All that, The Daily News says, is the reason why the Board of Supervisors “launched an effort this week to attack predatory lending practices and aggressively prosecute real estate fraud.” Good report
- Runner takes flack over Jessica’s Law: State Senator George Runner worked hard to pass Jessica’s Law back in 2006, a law that prohibits convicted sex offenders from living near schools and requires them to report in. But a state panel says the law is ineffective, counterproductive, and expensive. Runner offered this as a defense to the LA Times, saying simply “I do believe the general public would say a child molester should not live across the street from a school.” Well duh! But he has more to say about this law in today’s good Signal article on the same matter.
- Newhall’s Main Street-scaping project: Santa Clarita City Briefs has a project description and one of those interesting but technical diagrams of what the new “streetscape” will look like.
- Oh Snap! Carl Goldman to be roasted: Carl Goldman, local proprietor and radio man of note, and driver of the KHTS novelty fire truck, will be roasted at a charity function at the Elks Lodge on January 24. Goldman and Bob Kellar were already going at it in this cute little article. The dinner benefits the Samuel Dixon Health Center, low-cost health clinics that operate in Newhall and Val Verde, among other places.
- Spotlight on Bowman High: The school takes in some of the more troubled students in the SCV and turns those lemons into lemonade, graduating 95% of them in 2006-07, according to Tammy Marashlian at The Signal. One of my own brothers went to Bowman, and today, he’s a fine young man working for a Hollywood outfit and jet-sets regularly to Cannes which is more than I can say for this Hart High grad! Thanks Bowman High!
- Anti Buck Blog: David Wisehart is a writer and he seems to be tired of having Congressman Howard “Buck” McKeon represent California’s 25th. So he’s started an interesting and well-written blog chronicling how the former banker/western wear proprietor/school board member/city council man votes in Congress and he’s been at it for a few months. Yesterday’s post focuses on McKeon’s no-vote on the comparitively cheap SCHIP program and Buck’s support for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout back in October. Stop-Buck.blogspot.com
- January Chamber Newsletter: CEO Larry Mankin says the SCV will not fall into a Depression in 09 and looks forward to the completion of the Cross Valley Connector, the mall expansion and the development of Henry Mayo’s Master Plan. He also wishes the home market would turn around since “new home construction and sales of existing homes is the number one industry in the Santa Clarita Valley.” There’s also a message from Planning Commissioner/Chamber Chairman Bill Kennedy, who offers this boilerplate as his number one goal for the Chamber in 2009: “Continue supporting local businesses and improving the value of the Chamber to its members.” All that and some more here in Valley Business News (PDF).
- Signal introduces SCV Raw: So The Signal must have noticed that SCVTV has been running a well designed site that allows businesses, organizations, and charities to post unfiltered news releases and has decided to do the same with a new section on their website. “SCV Raw” will allow the same groups to post news releases on the The-Signal.com, and it’s so raw that The Signal won’t even edit it.