May 1, 2009 – Daily Brief — The SCV Talk Archive

New Weekly Paper for SCV: In case you missed this SCVTalk.com exclusive story, I reported yesterday that the Santa Clarita Valley Indepedent will hit newsracks near you in Mid May. The 30-40 page tabloid-style paper will feature news, entertainment, sports and opinion. Jay Harn and two other investors are behind the new paper.
Alcohol Beverage Control, Deputies, and Bob Kellar shut down purveyor of vice: A Newhall shop called the “Smoke-n-Cerveza” had its license to sell alcohol revoked yesterday after a month long investigation revealed that the shop owners “operated illegal slot machines, allowed patrons to illegally consume alcohol on the premises and sold methamphetamine within the store.” Damn, now what am I going to do on my Friday nights? The shop actually closed a few months ago, its owners charged with possession and “misdemeanor gaming,” but Councilman Bob “Law ‘n Order” Kellar showed up with the cops to slap a big sticker on the window and get his picture taken. Signal
Landsource doesn’t have to sell Newhall Ranch: How did I miss this? Last Friday, the Delaware-based judge in the Landsource BK case gave permission to Landsource to sell some properties in Riverside County but, notably, did not force Landsource to sell “prized Newhall Land and Farming assets located in the Santa Clarita Valley,” according to Builder Online. That’s some fancy lawyering right there. Later that weekend, NLF’s Marlee Lauffer went on the offensive, sending out the briefing book about Newhall Ranch; then on Monday the state posted the EIS/EIR docs.
California population growth slows, SCV too: California’s population grew by only 1.1 percent last year, to 38.3 million, the state Department of Finance says. Santa Clarita’s growth has also slowed, to .6% growth in 2008. As of 1/1/2009 the state says Santa Clarita has a population of 177,150. Daily News
Still no swine flu in SCV, stop the run on area pharmacies please: KHTS says there are “no suspected or confirmed cases of swine flu in the Santa Clarita Valley” so that’s good news. Meanwhile I went to a Vons yesterday and noticed that all the cheap face masks were sold out and those hand cleansers were nearly sold out too. I bought two of the latter before someone else got them.
Elementary district preparing “for the worst”: Should the May 19 propositions fail to pass, Newhall School Districts says it may make “deep cuts to support personnel and maintenance crews” the Signal says. Our local Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, as well as Sens. Runner and Strickland, have come out against those propositions by the way. Runner has started a coalition against the measures, and Smyth is busy writing legislation that allows students in the military to wear their uniforms when they graduate.
In Memoriam of the Valencia Bear: No, not that one, this one. The bear that wandered onto the freeway and was killed by a motorist was likely out of food in the mountains due to the recent fires, says a parks expert interviewed by The Signal’s Brian Charles.
CA Political blog calls it, McKeon safe in 2010: Despite the fact that CA-25 went for Obama in 2008 and Democratic registrations are way up compared to Republican registrations, CA-25 is safe for McKeon because “the Democratic Party infrastructure just seems to be lacking out there…There is certainly a profile of a Democratic candidate that could attract serious votes out here. But that person does not yet exist,” the Calitics blog says. Lazy Dems, get off your butts and DO SOMETHING. Can we have a real Congressional race at least one time in my life in this District? I’m tired of living vicariously through other Districts.
Politics and Comic Books, match made in heaven? The award-winning Brave New World comic book store in Newhall will host an artist who has created three comic books starring Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama. Link
Only squares will avoid tomorrow’s blockbuster Astronomy Day event at Valencia Library: My good friend Steve Petzold and all his smart space-buddies in the Local Group Astronomy Club work hard every year to put on a great day of activities during Astronomy day. Here’s an official flyer for the event which includes presentations about Galileo, a DVD on the telescope, and, of course, telescope viewing in the evening. Best free edutainment in town, don’t miss it!