News
- Man arrested for attempted murder in Canyon Country: John Naglich, 49, is alleged to have hit and choked his 52 year old girlfriend. During the altercation, the victim blacked out, and when she awoke, Naglich was allegedly attempting to break her neck. She was able to get out of her house and a neighbor called 911. Katie Geyer has the story.
- Black man assaulted, Deputies allege hate crime: One man was arrested and authorities are looking for three more men after the suspects allegedly attacked a black man on Saturday night. The victim, 26 years old, was sitting in a car with a girl when one of the suspects approached him, had words with him, and then punched him in the face. The victim managed to get out of the car (as did his passenger), but then the three suspects “got a hammer and a bat and smashed all the windows and quarter panels” of the victim’s car. One white man, 21 year old Cameron Campbell, has been arrested and the fuzz is investigating this as a “hate crime.” Link
- Negative Equity in California real estate market: The LA Times Land blog has a summary of a Zillow.com report that details the amount of “underwater” homes cross referenced with the year they were purchased. Underwater homes are properties that are worth less than what is owed to the bank. The long and short of it is that if you bought a home in 2003, it’s not likely to be underwater, but 71% of homes purchased in 2006 are likely underwater (at least in the greater LA area). Link
- Property tax increase possible: The Torrance Daily Breeze reports that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors may hike property taxes “to help stem a massive deficit in the health services department.” Specifically, the supes might vote to increase the Assessment of Measure B, a 2002 measure. The average homeowner might pay some $55 more per year.
- And more on the MTA tax: It’s still possible that the half cent MTA transit tax might go to voters on this November’s consolidated ballot; the Daily News says the LA County Board of Supes “is expected to reverse its decision and vote to put the measure on a consolidated Nov 4 ballot.” Now the tax faces hurdles in Sacramento though. So has Antonovich changed his mind about the tax? No; matter of fact he introduced a motion opposing the tax, remarking in a press release that “The Antelope and Santa Clarita Valleys will more than double in population over the life of this sales tax measure, yet receive only 5% of the total project funding.” The tax may raise up to $40 billion over the next 30 years.
- COC Prof reflects on situation in Georgia: Kevin Anthony spent some time in the Black Sea nation this spring, and left behind many friends and students he’s worried about as the Russian army continues its military action in Georgia, a former Soviet state. “We knew in May that the Russians were coming, and that it possibly might even happen while I was there,” he told Sharon Cotal at the Signal.
- Neat web tool simulates quake damage, casualties: The Internet Loss Estimation Tool (InLET for short) uses soil data, USGS info, census data, and other geological information to estimate the effects of an earthquake on California. With the tool, earthquake planners can run simulations on quakes, even selecting different epicenters and the system will spit out data on how many buildings are damaged, how many casualties occurred, and where the shaking is felt. A guy who works for Microsoft even used the tool to simulate an earthquake in Santa Clarita.
- 51 Most Influential: I was wondering if the Signal would put together a fourth annual “Santa Clarita’s 51 Most Influential” special this year, and it appears they will. In a quarter page sized ad in today’s Signal, the paper says the special supplement will appear on Sunday, August 24 and says it will be seen by some 39,000 readers, which I suppose is their Sunday circulation figure. So who’s going to be Number 1 most Influential this year? The City Council is usually in the top 10 somewhere, along with Ken Pulskamp, and of course the Captains and Lieutenants of SCV Business Inc always make a showing, as well as the champion volunteers. Media figures are not allowed, so I don’t think we can lobby for I Heart. So take your pick.
- George Runner on same-sex marriage proposition wording: The conservative State Senator takes issue with Jerry Brown’s efforts to re-word the proposition that would outlaw same sex marriages in California. Link
- Jon Dell evangelizes bicycling gospel: The KHTS reporter posted an editorial yesterday on how great it is to ride a bicycle in Santa Clarita. “Santa Clarita has been somewhat forward thinking when it comes to public mobility. For years they have been building bicycle paths, lanes and trails to offer an alternative for those who want to travel around town under their own power.” He says that in comparison to mass transit, bicycles allow people to “go where we want, when we want,” and says that the trail and path systems are so good, you can ride from Newhall to McBean & Decoro without leaving a path. He’s right on all counts of course, although I wish we could get some more bike lanes in Newhall along major roads. Speaking of riding, I went for a 25 mile ride yesterday. Started off in Newhall, rode up Soledad, then down Sand Canyon (what a swank beautiful part of town), then rocketed down Placerita Canyon which was incredibly fun and dangerous. Thank you to the motorists who gave me a wide berth.