The sun is literally a giant fiery ball of orange peaking up over the hazy eastern sky as I write this. That’s the real reason I do the Daily Brief- the peace and quiet of the pre-dawn morning is a great way to start the day.
News
- That’s Library, not Libary Part 1:The great ancient city of Alexandria in Egypt had its famous library, and now Santa Clarita is one step closer to building its own in Old Town Newhall after the City Council unanimously approved the hiring of an architecture firm to manage the design of the project at last night’s Council meeting. Okay so no one thinks the library will be on par with the famous Alexandrian one, but the project has the potential to be a great civic monument and educational facility that anchors Old Town Newhall’s Main Street. City Councilwoman Laurie Ender was “really excited” about the project, stating that “the library will bring people to downtown Newhall.” Not everyone shared the Council’s views however: Former City Councilman TimBen Boydston -himself a business owner on Main Street- said that the city ought to abide by the Redevelopment study it paid for; particularly, the City should rebuild the streetscape on Main Street before proceeding with the library. To that, Councilwoman McLean said that the “Library will bring more business to business owners than the trees,” on the streetscape while City Manager Ken Pulskamp feared that rebuilding Main Street now might be a waste if new development comes into the area. “We don’t want to put in new streetscape, then a year later, rip it out,” he said.
- That’s Library, not Libary Part 2: LPA Inc, the Architecture group that won the $320,000 contract to sketch out a design for the library, ran through a quick presentation during the council meeting detailing the firm’s work on other library projects across the state. Some ideas were tossed out: Our new library could have an SCV history walk, the firm could build in so-called “garden parking” that can be easily transformed into public space for civic events, there also might be a plaza, and integrating the old Hart Theater and Newhall Jailhouse into the landscape might be possible. The firm said they had studied the five different architectural styles found in Old Town Newhall (Detailed in the specific plan), so I spoke with Richard D’Amato, the LPA rep, about how his firm would select an architectural style. He said it can be difficult to get community consensus on architecture and noted that some of his firm’s projects had to manage up to seven different architectural styles. LPA will hold community meetings in the weeks and months ahead to get feedback from residents on what they’d like to see in the new library; stay tuned I’ll cover those meetings. In the meantime, check out LPA’s website for its library portfolio.
- Demand for food pantries “at an all-time high”: Up to 73 families a day are requesting food items from the Santa Clarita Valley food pantry as gas prices impact poorer residents pocketbooks, the Signal reports today. Belinda Crawford, director of the Newhall non-profit pantry, says that sometimes the 21st century equivalent of soup lines form outside her building before the pantry opens. And over in Canyon Country, the Hunger Defense Fund has been serving meals to 150-175 families a week. Meanwhile, stocks at both places are down and residents are encouraged to donate. Katie Geyer has the story.
- NCWD may ban home car washes: CLWA may not think there’s a need to enact mandatory water conservation measures, but NCWD, one of the agencie’s water retailers, apparently does. Jim Holt reports today that the District may consider banning car washes at home at a mid-July meeting after Governor Schwarzenegger declared a state-wide drought earlier this month. Though the article focuses specifically on car washes, other conservation measures are mentioned such as not watering your lawn (or the concrete next to it) during the day. Link
- Now transit commuters face the gas price pinch: Aside from the giant SCV stomper trucks, most of us aren’t affected by the cost of diesel, at least directly, but that may be coming to an end according to the Daily News. The paper reports that Metrolink and some LA area transit agencies are pondering big fare hikes in light of soaring diesel costs. Metrolink -which has seen a 16.6% jump in ridership this year- has also seen its fuel costs rise from 5% of its operating budget to over 12% in the last year. The train service, which has three stops in the SCV, will jack its fares up 5.5% starting next week. Locally, I’m not aware of any fee hikes for Santa Clarita Transit users or commuters, but in a recent article Transit boss Jeff O’Keefe also remarked on the impact of fuel costs. Link
- Peddling ordinance one step closer to completion: The change to the ordinance got a “second reading” last night and may be adopted by the City next month. Among other things, the ordinance would ban street cart vendors, “pop-up vendors” on holidays, fruit and produce trucks (though roach coaches are apparently okay), and others. I’ll miss you Mr. Mexican man with the ice cream cart on a hot summer day! Link
- Famous Hiker calls PCT his home: Great Column One story in today LA Times on the life of George Woodward, better known to his fellow hikers as “Billy Goat.” The 69 year old Nevada resident has hiked over 32,000 miles during his life throughout America, including treks across the Appalachian mountains, the Rocky Mountains and our own Pacific Crest Trail. Billy Goat is the “heart and soul” of the PCT, says one fellow hiker. Hey did you know the PCT -which stretches from Mexico to Canada- runs just north of the SCV through Bouquet Canyon? I occasionally run into PCT hikers who stop in Santa Clarita to rest. Anyway, here’s the story.
- Climate change, rain patterns threaten unique California flora: A study by a professor at UC Berkeley says that drought, changing rain patterns, and global climate change might wipe out many California speices of flowers and even may impact the mighty Redwood trees. LA Times has a report.
- Landsource BK activity: It’s really difficult to interpret all the legal documents if you want to keep track of the evolving Landsource/Newhall Land bankruptcy story, but I can at least link to some of hte more interesting items and let you judge for yourself what’s going on. For one thing, lawyers for the City of Santa Clarita have asked the judge in the case to provide copies of “all notices and pleadings” to the City’s counsel. And a cryptic headline on a bankruptcy newsletter website suggests that CalPers is making a move in the case. I can’t read the newsletter because it costs $45 to see.
Other City Council Business
- Frank Ferry Looking Fly: Mayor Pro Tem, Alemany High principal, poacher of SCV football talent and general loud mouth Frank Ferry showed up at last night’s council meeting looking more dapper than usual. First off, he traded in his standard Mervyn’s Dockers & Light blue shirt for a much slicker looking black shirt and black sport coat. And he’s sporting a nice looking goattee for the summer months and some high quality eye-glass frames. That’s not the only reason I was impressed with Ferry last night; he also showed a lot of interest -indeed sympathy- for…
- Valle Del Oro residents plead for crime relief: Two women, one black and one Latino, went before the City Council last night to ask for help in combating crime in the Valle Del Oro neighborhood, a collection of higher-density apartment buildings off San Fernando road in South Newhall. The women said that crime was on the rise in their area and asked the city to improve street lighting, provide more access to “cultural” and youth resources, and strengthening of the “witness protection program.” One got the sense that these women were representing a lot more families in that area; indeed the Sheriff’s anti-gang task force, the city, and some residents of this area had met recently at a local elementary school to discuss crime. I don’t want to say it was refreshing to see them, but I was glad they were drawing attention to the problems in that area. We don’t hear enough from Latinos or other minorities living in poorer sections of the city, other issues tend to grab attention like the….
- Benz Road, now more dreadful than Mayo Expansion: There was a rare acknowledgment of fault by Frank Ferry on behalf of the entire City Council last night as Ferry admitted that city traffic engineers had warned the council about the possibility of stirring up a hornets nest in/around Benz Road if they tried to satisfy the few who were complaining. Specifically, I think Ferry was referring to the Benz road residents who have kept this issue alive for several years; Ferry seemed to think they were a minority, and by trying to find a solution to their complaints, the city council “created a public outcry. We have disrupted the rest of the neighborhood.” Pulskamp mentioned the results of the recent survey twice during his comments on the matter and said the city is working on a solution that may be ready in September.
- Budget passed: $165 million for FY 08-09 includes money for new cops, expansion for the sports complex (though they’re going to see where they’re at in six months before breaking the bank) and more arts programs. KHTS has details.
- Bob Kellar secretly an Obama supporter? The good Mayor, during one of his “Gee, I’ll tell you folks” moments last night, decried Washington partisanship in relation to the Cemex bill. “Whatever happened to passing a bill that benefits the citizens,” he cried out, noting how Democrats aren’t likely to support a Republican bill and Republicans aren’t likely to support a Democratic bill. He noted that our city council is largely non-partisan (cough hahahahaha) and just seemed distraught that so much partisanship goes on in Washington. You got the impression that the former LAPD cop wanted change in Washington. Well Mayor Kellar, there’s a guy who’s offering change in Washington, and his name is Barack Obama. Vote Obama and your stock will rise amongst me and all my post-partisan friends.
- Grumpy guy complains about bikes on sidewalks, other bike news: Some public speaker wants the Sheriff’s Department to actually enforce the ban on riding bicycles on sidewalks in Santa Clarita. Fine, and I agree, but just wait until someone gets killed riding on the McBean, Valencia Blvd, or one of the other three-lane
streetsfreeways in town. Even I, the daily bike commuter, will not share McBean with motorists; those people drive 50-60 mph and there’s very few lights to calm the traffic plus very little space on the right side of the road! The fact of the matter is that there’s still not enough bike lanes in town. In other bike news, the City adopted it’s Non Motorized Transportation plan, a broad plan that seeks to encourage the use of bicycles and your feet as alternate modes of transportation. That’s a subtle but important evolution from the idea of bicycling just being a recreational pursuit.
Misc:
- I Heart on Council: He deftly covers the ins-and-outs and the ups-and-downs of last night’s meeting here.
- OMG SNAKE! Awesome video of a Santa Clarita resident trapping and releasing a rattle snake he found near his house.
- Carl Boyer on County reform in today’s Signal: The Myth of Sisyphus comes to mind.