Was that just the absolute worst basketball game you’ve ever seen? How could our mighty Lakers lose by almost 40 points…to the Celtics no less?!?
News
- Teen had cocaine: The unnamed teenage boy who was involved with the former Golden Valley High counselor had some cocaine on him the night the two tried to check into a San Fernando Valley Hotel. He was also arrested, according to the Signal. Wow, they were really going to have a good time.
- Bear struck and killed on 14 Freeway: Authorities don’t know if it was the same bear spotted in Saugus on Friday and Sunday, but a bear somehow did end up in the carpool lane of the 14 freeway near Sand Canyon Road where it was struck by a Palmdale motorist and died at around midnight on Monday. The motorist suffered minor cuts. Link
- Santa Clarita women get hitched: A 59 year old Santa Clarita woman and her 61 year old partner were one of the first same sex couples to be married in California this week, the Times reports. Cindy Gise, a retired teacher, met her wife at a Cal State Northridge sorority over 40 years ago (back when it was Valley State) and were married yesterday at a court house in Norwalk. The Times has a picture of the happy couple with a protester standing behind them, and LA Observed covered their marriage too. Overall, some 648 marriage licenses were issued yesterday in LA County, a 387% increase over a typical day. Even George Takei, Sulu on “Star Trek” got married. Congrats!
- A Decade + in prison for mother/son burglary duo: The mom gets 13 years, 8 months while the son, who actually did the breaking/entering, gets 10 years 8 months in state prison. Maybe the court took pity on him after he was shot three times by heroic Canyon Country homeowner Nadine Teter, who stopped the would-be robber in his tracks in the backyard of her house back in October 2006. Parimal Rohit has the complete story.
- CNN ponders the future of the suburbs: According to one expert, younger people don’t dream of buying a single family detached home in the burbs, these days, they’d rather live in “walkable urban communities.” That, plus increasingly high gas prices and the foreclosure crisis, could doom the American suburb, which has been the dominant living environment for Americans since the 1940s. That’s if you believe this CNN article, though it feels a bit hyped up to me. The writer goes so far as to predict that someday, suburbs like Santa Clarita will suffer as young professionals move to the city and poor city dwellers move to the suburbs. That’s the way it works in Europe btw, suburbs there are slums. Link
- Robbery at Valencia gas station: Wow, you don’t hear of crimes like this very much in North Valencia: just after midnight on Tuesday morning, a 17 year old boy was assaulted and robbed at the Mobil Gas station on Decoro Drive and McBean Parkway. The teen suffered minor injuries and a cut lip. The fuzz thinks the assailants were members of the Newhall 13 gang (They’re still in business?). Link
- Nearly 100 horses found starving in Pearlblossom: Geez, what is it with the Antelope Valley and supposed animal sanctuaries? Dave Bossert has the County’s press release.
- Gonna be hot today: I’m starting to rethink this whole “bike to work everyday” thing; Signal says it will be 102 today. Actually, check that, I still have a blast on my bike everyday, even when it’s scorching outside. The secret is to bring a sweat rag, deodorant, and a pair of shorts with you. It’s the only way to survive the summer in the SCV on a bicycle and still look halfway presentable at work.
Misc
- Cam Smyth preaches the GOP small government message: Our Assemblyman seems to have a fondness for writing op/eds in the Ventura County Star, not the Santa Clarita Signal. Today’s focuses on how much Californians pay in taxes and Republican plans to balance the budget (cutting line by line), but he still wants to work with Democrats. Link
- NatGeo photog specializes in fires: Interesting blog post on the Photoshelter.com website: A National Geographic photographer named Mark Thiessen worked his butt off last year documenting California’s extraordinary wildfire season. The interview contains several pictures Thiessen took of fires (including one in the SCV), and they are stunning. Link
- Parimal Rohit, Signal Journalist, Constitutional Scholar: The crime beat reporter finds a loophole in the Constitution that may, just may, allow Bill Clinton to become President again, if Hillary is somehow elected.
- Two Good pieces in the Signal Op/Ed section: I liked Gary Horton’s column on Barack Obama, Gas prices, peak oil, and more, and Carole Lutness sounds entirely reasonable in her advocacy for a plastic bag ban or tax at grocery stores (the ChiComs decided to do it, can’t we top them?).
- I Heart’s July InsideSCV column: The blogger turned magazine columnist takes a look at the challenges to the City’s revenue stream and discusses -in typical hilarious fashion- how Claritans can help turn the city’s budget around. Link