“Scrappy” is how a friend once described Newhall, and indeed that was the case at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. Dig in to today’s Brief.
News
- Newhall Hardware: Dozens of supporters wearing “Save Newhall Hardware” t-shirts and hats showed up at last night’s City Council meeting hoping to persuade the city to do something -anything- to save the iconic 60 year old store on Main Street. Newhall Hardware’s closure wasn’t technically on the agenda, but much of the council meeting was devoted to it anyway. One resident said the city ought to be able “to do something without setting an inappropriate precedent,” but City Manager Ken Pulskamp said that while the City shares in the “grief” over NH’s closure that the city simply “cannot provide assistance to keep its doors open.” Pulskamp explained that various options had been explored, including CDBG grants, redevelopment options, and other legal avenues but that financial assistance to the store would amount to “inappropriate gifts.” Four of the five City Councilmembers then weighed in, asking that “no stone should be left unturned” in helping Newhall Hardware. Councilmember Boydston*, who’s comments were interrupted briefly by an elderly man who shouted “Declare it a landmark!” said he knew what could be done to save Newhall Hardware. “The couple of hundred thousand people who live in this valley can shop there,” he said. Pulskamp was directed by the council to meet with Vic Sweany, owner of Newhall Hardware. Question: Has anyone asked Sweany if he’d like to keep Newhall Hardware open?
- Martial Arts Museum closes doors after eight months: The museum, somewhat of an interesting oddity in Old Town Newhall, is shutting its doors and relocating elsewhere “citing dwindling funds and a misunderstanding over funding with the City of Santa Clarita,” Karen Elowitt at the Signal reports today. At issue is some $40,000 in city funds the owner of the museum thought would be available, though the city says the museum was never promised the money. The museum played host to a number of school children, but also offered some sushi and other Asian foods classes.
- Tresierras Threatens legal action over Newhall redevelopment: Art Tresierras, part of the family that owns the Main Street Latino grocer Tresierras, said that the City’s Redevelopment activities in Newhall threatened his business. Specifically, he said it was wrong for the city to divert traffic onto Railroad Avenue and then cite Main Street businesses for placing signs that would be visible to motorists on Railroad. He vaguely threatened some legal action. Those comments led to an impassioned defense of the city’s efforts in Newhall by City Manager Ken Pulskamp. When it comes to Old Town Newhall “the city has put its wallet where its mouth is,” Pulskamp said, citing Railroad realignment, the Newhall Metrolink Station, the new community center, and several other improvements. Meanwhile, the grocery store building Tresierras was supposed to move into on San Fernando Road (Newhall Ave) sits vacant more than a year after it was built.
- Challengers file papers: A Barstow Democrat named Jacquese Conaway filed papers this week to run for Congressman Buck McKeon’s seat representing California’s 25th District. Conaway is the second Barstow-based challenger to McKeon in recent years; in 2006 a 29 year old Harvard educated man named Robert Rodriguez lost by double digits to McKeon after campaigning heavily in the Antelope Valley and Santa Clarita. Not much is known about Conaway at this point. And on the state Assembly side, local liberal activist Carole Lutness will try to unseat freshman Assemblyman Cameron Smyth from his seat in California’s 38th Assembly District. There’s also a 30 year old “Party of Socialism and Liberation” candidate who hopes to beat longtime incumbent Supervisor Antonovich for the County’s 5th District. More in Parimal Rohit’s report in today’s Signal.
- San Fernando Road banished from SCV: There’s one less monument to the Catholic Saint in Santa Clarita: at Tuesday night’s council meeting, councilmembers voted 3-2 to change the name of San Fernando Road to Railroad Avenue. That despite some protests and even a brief history lesson from no less an authority than Leon Worden. One business owner on SFR said that he opposed the name change because “Railroad Avenue sounds like something in the City of Irwindale,” or other industrial areas. So now it’s official: From Highway 14 to Lyons Avenue, SFR will be known as Newhall Avenue; from Lyons to Magic Mountain Parkway, SFR becomes Railroad Avenue. TimBen Boydston and Frank Ferry dissented.
- Newhall Elementary Auditorium a possible “jewel” for Old Town Newhall: The Superintendent of the Newhall School District will meet with “several art groups who have expressed an interest” in using the 60 year old Art Deco auditorium on Walnut Avenue next to Newhall Elementary school. Carol Rock -who btw sits on the Newhall Redevelopment committee- reports at KHTS.
- Open Space audit panel selected: No alarms and no surprises as the city council selected five members of the public to serve on the Financial Accountability and Audit Panel for the City’s Open Space District at last night’s meeting. Naturalist Wendy Langhans, accountant Calvin Hedman, former council candidate Henry Shultz, Canyon Country advocate Alan Ferdman, and LA Police service rep Spencer Leafdale will meet once a year to oversee the city’s use of money collected from SCV homeowners. The panel will have no power to select or approve lands purchased for open space. Notable quote: “We have several pearls in the Santa Clarita Valley. Let’s string them together to make a necklace,” Langhans said, in reference to several beautiful open spaces and parks like Towsley Canyon. Not selected was Open Space opponent Jim Farley and former Hart Superintendent Bob Lee.*
- TimBen’s Swan Song: Councilmember TimBen Boydston only has a few council meetings left, a fact he made known at last night’s meeting. He asked for and got approval to put a few items on the agenda before he leaves. In particular, he’d like to have the council take a fresh look at penalties and code enforcement for so-called “bandit” ad signs and he wants to see a safety report on Santa Clarita Transit’s contractor, France-based Veolia transport in the wake of a bus-auto accident two weeks ago that claimed the life of a 25 year old woman. He also met with residents of a street in Canyon Country who recently showed up en masse at a Council meeting to complain about speeding; Boydston would like to commission a poll of residents of the street to see if they would be in favor of more stop signs or perhaps a private gate.
My sloppy Daily Brief overfloweth:
- I Heart: The witty blogger’s nome de plume is particularly relevant on this eve of Valentine’s Day, so be sure to check out his take on last night’s Council meeting.
- Take a chill pill will ya? Did you see the fire in today’s LTE section in the Signal? Valencia resident Karen Sherlock wants everyone to know just how she feels about the recent Climate Change Conference held at COC. Calling environmentalists “eco-freaks,” “fanatics,” “eco-terrorists,” and other names, Sherlock questions why COC was allowed to get away with spreading an “anti-business, anti-capitalist Marxist agenda.” “Why are these eco-terrorists forcing and imposing their beliefs and opinions on the rest of us,” and “why are we not calling to account Dianne Van Hook and the others who are responsible for this outrage?”
- Dwight McDonald pays a visit: The former CHP officer and Council Candidate found this blog and had some words for the jogger he had a run-in with over a year ago. Yesterday’s Brief.
- Okay, Bridgeport isn’t as bad as I thought: Dawn Gamble is a Bridgeporter who loves the coots: “We love our lake area and all of the amazing beautiful, lovable waterfowl that it attracts,” she says in an LTE to the Signal with plenty of exclamation marks. “These cute little birds are only around for a few months out of the year and it angers us to think this is how my homeowners fees may be spent,” she remarks.
- A Sight for sore City Eyes: From my window in the SCVTalk command center orbiting high above the SCV, I spy five massive production trucks, two Star trailers, and dozens of grips, workers, producers, and possibly actors on a street in Newhall on this Wednesday morning. My bet is that CBS’ The Unit is back in action after the three month strike that all but crippled film, television and commercial production in Santa Clarita. Welcome back Hollywood!
- Get out there and vote, no excuses! The City has updated its VoteSantaClarita.com website that has all the details on our City Council election, scheduled for April 8. Link
* Full disclosure: TimBen Boydston’s Canyon Theater Guild is an SCVTalk advertiser, as is the organization Bob Lee founded, the SCV Facilities Foundation