What a day it was yesterday. Outraged seniors, protests over school cuts, ethics policy panned but passed, and a new development named Cleanfield (are they serious or just being ironic??) Oh and don’t forget Mariah Carey!
News
- SunCal to fill SCV Donut Hole: The developer behind such projects as the stalled NorthLake development and Castaic High School says it wants to build some 3,500 homes on 996 acres on the so-called Whittaker-Bermite property, a vacant chunk of land separating Valencia/Saugus from Canyon Country that was the site of a weapons manufacturer. The project, dubbed Cleanfield Santa Clarita, could break ground in 2011 and the first homes could go on sale in 2013. Said City Planner Lisa Webber of the proposal: “Overall, the city is encouraged that the process is moving forward there will be a productive re-use” of the land. No word on whether the company plans to build a Nuke ‘em High School on the site. Katie Geyer has a report, as does the Daily News.
- 500 Claritans take on the Governor over school budget cuts: Parents, students, employees and administrators of every single school district in the SCV rallied in front of City Hall yesterday to protest the Governor’s plans to “slash $4.8 billion in education funding statewide,” according to Parimal Rohit at The Signal. As has been reported, that would equal around $25 million cut from SCV schools. No word on whether other elected officials attended *cough Cam Smyth cough* but the boards of the districts did. Rohit’s report.
- Ethics code adopted: Prior to the council meeting, the city staff floated its proposed ethics policy, a document which unified policies, principles and philosophy from several different places in the organization. But the code fell short according to some in that it had no clear procedure in the event of a real or imagined ethics breach. Bruce McFarland wanted a full-blown ethics commission, something the city was clearly not ready to do. Debate over the policy was on the table last night at the Council meeting and the Council adopted the policy unanimously. Jon Dell has an ok report, but I Heart’s analysis is best.
- Seniors protest TCU closure: Some 30 seniors met at City Hall to protest the imminent closure of the Transitional Care Unit at Henry Mayo and asked that the City do something. There was some glimmer of hope though for seniors who want TCU-style care in the SCV; G&H Healthcare announced that they were in escrow on an old hospital building in Saugus. That may not come online in time for many seniors though. At the Council Meeting later, seniors also spoke about the matter and though the City said they have no jurisdiction over the hospital’s affairs, Mayor Bob Kellar said he would send a letter to Mayo protesting the closure. On the plus side, starting June 5, Henry Mayo will have an additional 27 “general surgical beds” for use by all patients. Lots of coverage on this one: Signal, KHTS, I Heart
- More Council Business: As expected, the City Council approved “an ordinance to send an application to annex 1,400 acres of Castaic” into the City of Santa Clarita. The application for the Hasley Hills neighborhood and much of the Valencia Commerce Center will be in the hands of LAFCO by June. Also, scores of Newhall residents turned out at the meeting to protest the Avenue, a 37 acre mixed-use high density project that developers hope to build on the vacant mule ranch farm wedged betwixt Interstate 5 and Calgrove. Katie Geyer has both those stories plus some details on the ethics debate while Jon Dell focuses on the Avenue project.
- Secret Service busts So Cal money counterfeiting ring: A 44 year old Lawndale man used a computer scanner, an inkjet printer, and hair spray to create convincing but fake $20 bills. He printed some $7 million worth over the last two years. He, and a number of people who bought the funny money from him, were arrested yesterday. The Times has the interesting story.
Misc
- Mariah Carey wedding reception at Magic Mountain: TMZ claims that the pop star and her groom “rented out Six Flags Magic Mountain for the night” of their wedding. The park supposedly shut down at 6pm and Mariah Carey rolled up at about 8pm. Rumored guests included Will Smith and Stevie Wonder. Link
- Barack Obama is to Laurie Ender as Hillary Clinton is to… Tim Myers connects the dots between the national election and our own City Council election here.
- Signal: support workforce housing: In an Op/Ed today (rare for Wednesday), The Signal says it was great that the valley’s business/government leaders met recently to discuss the creation of affordable housing for the 15 percent of SCV workers who can’t afford to call the SCV home. Of the inevitable NIMBYism that will come when affordable housing units are built, The Signal says “This kind of development also needs support from the public, some of whom may still perceive such housing as rows of shacks used by migrant workers. It’s not like that today and updating the public perception is one of the keys to countering NIMBYism and winning community support.” Wisdom from The Signal