Image not recoveredcoffe.JPG
A soggy cold Daily Brief awaits you. (PS, there’s snow in them thar mountains!)
News
- Weekend Precipitation: The three-phased storm that pounded California this weekend dropped at least 3.54 inches in Newhall and 1.31 inches in Saugus as of Sunday morning, the Signal reported yesterday. Today’s paper says an additional .24 inches of rain fell on Sunday, but that may or may not include last night’s downpour. The rainfall may have played a part in the deaths of two motorists on local freeways over the weekend. Residents of burn areas were relieved that no major mudslides happened during the downpour. The NWS’ forecast calls for a 30 percent chance of showers before 10 am today and chilly temps all week.
- Council Meeting Preview: On Saturady, Signal reporter Katie Geyer penned a pair of articles on the big topics scheduled for Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. In the first, she covers the two Cemex “resolutions” offered to the city by Senator Dianne Feinstein, and in the second she speaks with City Manager Pulskamp and Tony Bell, Antonovich’s spokesperson, about the expansion of the Civic Center.
- Damage Control Part 2: Didja see this tiny story in Saturday’s Signal with the interesting lede “Size doesn’t matter, according to city and county officials?” The story was written in reaction to a Thursday Signal article in which residents were advised that Waste Management haulers wouldn’t pick up Christmas trees that were over 6 feet tall. But by Saturday, City Spokeswoman Gail Ortiz and Antonovich’s Spokesperson Tony Bell had both talked to the Signal and said that Waste Management would pick up any Christmas tree, regardless of size. For Bell, it’s the second time in the last few days in which he’s had to talk to the Signal about Waste Management following last week’s news that the trash hauler was jacking up rates for non-city residents.
- That’s Billion with a B: California media outlets are all anticipating Governor Schwarzenegger’s State of the State speech tomorrow in which the Governor will “discuss a wide variety of cuts to state services” in light of a $14 billion budget shortfall. Parimal Rohit in today’s Signal has a good article but it’s not online yet. When you read it, be sure to change million to billion in your mind. Daily News
- Religion and politics: Faith and religion have played a big part in the 2008 Presidential campaign. On Saturday, Daily News reporter Pat Aidem examined the issue and spoke with Buck McKeon, who is Mormon, about his endorsement of fellow LDS member Mitt Romney. “I like Mitt Romney’s line: People like Judeo-Christian values; they don’t particular care which brand. Theology, that should be kept out,” McKeon told her.
- Two from Antonovich: The Fifth District supervisor wants to see if there would be any demand for a Fly-Away style bus service from Santa Clarita to Palmdale Airport and says illegal aliens cost the county some $37 million in welfare for the month of November.
- Bottle Bombers: Two youths, wanted in connection with “exploding plastic bottle bombs in two different areas of Valencia.” No injuries apparently, but “deploying a destructive device” is a felony and can land a perp in prison for four years.
Opinion:
- Fish Wanted: Ron Bottorff, who’s in charge of the Friends of the Santa Clara River, had an interesting commentary in Thursday’s Signal about the “steelhead” fish, which locals used to fish for: “Pictures from the 1930s show happy fishermen holding bounteous catches of the local Southern California steelhead fish that used to frequent our river,” he writes, but says they are all gone now. He thinks reintroducing the fish to the river ought to be a priority for 2008.
- Signal New Years Resolutions: In 2007 the Signal published some 13,000 stories, 3,000 photos and 2,000 local letters and columns, and the paper plans on “doing even more in the coming year,” according to resolutions published in Sunday’s opinion page. There’s also some clues to the Signal’s new website, which should debut at the end of the month: “We do not want to give specifics yet, but we can say that our new site will feature video, unique directories and up-to-the-minute breaking news stories.” Creekside hopes to have “the best website in the SCV.” No telling yet what format the new website will take, my bet is that readers will be allowed to comment on stories. I predict The Signal will pull the plug on TITTS, it’s reader forum populated by partisan hacks.
- Illegals, Open Space, Homeless shelter: Ultra-conservative Roger Gitlin plans to attend next week’s “Meet the Candidates” forum in Canyon Country to ask prospective candidates Maria Gutzeit and Mayor Bob Kellar about a Santa Clarita police department, illegals on San Fernando road, the open space initiative and the city/county homeless shelter. Emotional fist-pounding expected. Not online.