August 27, 2008 – Daily Brief — The SCV Talk Archive

Power line furor: Scores of residents, reporters, and attorneys staged a press conference and media event on Tuesday to show their anger over 200+ foot tall electrical power towers recently built through North Valencia and the Belcaro adult community. The event, organized in part by lobbyist Scott Wilk, also involved another local power-broker, attorney Hunt Braly, who has been hired by one of the residents to fight Edison. Meanwhile, Mayor Bob Kellar wrote a letter to Edison (with a space for Supervisor Antonovich’s signature) in which he said that Santa Clarita already has “an inordinate amount of transmission lines” and requesting that Edison remove the new towers. One woman at the event told the Signal that “no one would buy [her] house.” It’s a terrible situation all around for those homeowners, I think, but who didn’t see this coming? SCVTalk blogger Chris Austin covered this issue (and sounded the alarm) way back in February 2007, when she found CPUC documents on the proposed 220 foot towers, its route and posted contact information for CPUC decision makers.
Authorities still searching for body of Piru drowning victim: Lake Piru’s water offers only six inches of visibility, and despite hours of searching by skilled Ventura County divers, authorities still can’t locate the body of drowning victim Anatoly Smolyansky, who disappeared in the water after rescuing his daughter on Monday evening. Ventura County Star reports.
City Council meeting: Belcaro residents made their voices heard at last night’s city council meeting, expressing outrage over the new power lines in their community, the city debated an historical preservation ordinance, the council finally took “definitive action” on the Benz road traffic issue, though it didn’t adopt the staff’s plan, and former Councilmember TimBen Boydston called the city on discrepancies he and others found on park acres per person, an allegation Councilwoman McLean disputed. Multiple reports to read if you want to dig into the council meeting- Good, Better, Best
Little businesses made of ticky tack: Talk about what could go wrong did go wrong! A chain reaction accident in Saugus started with a man falling asleep at the wheel and ended with the roof of a Starbucks and Taco Shop collapsing in on the two businesses. It all started when a 21 year old male apparently fell asleep behind the wheel, hit a fire hydrant on Bouquet Canyon, which caused water to cascade “onto the roof shared by Starbucks and Chronic Tonic” the weight of which, after 30 minutes, “collapsed the roof and flooded both businesses.” Brian Charles reports with pictures.
Poverty rates decrease in Los Angeles County: From 2000 to 2007, the percentage of LA County residents living in poverty dropped “significantly” from 17.9% to 14.7% thanks to a relatively healthy economy, an aging population, and relative stability in the immigrant community. The data, released by the Census Bureau, does not reflect the “sharp economic downturn” or the housing criss of 2008, but LA County and Southern California in general did much better than the rest of the country. Times reports.
Governor relents, will sign high speed rail bond bill: For weeks, Governor Schwarzenegger has refused to sign bills as the budget crisis continues, but he did a 180 yesterday on four important bills, one of which was a $9.9 billion bond measure that’s supposed to go on November’s ballot. The bond would raise money for the proposed California High Speed Rail system, which boosters say could someday take a man from LA to Sacramento in about 2.5 hours. The rail system, if built, would pass through but not stop in Santa Clarita. SacBee
Cigarette store busted: Deputies served a search warrant on a Newhall cigarette store after receiving tips and complaints and found “methamphetamine, a video slot machine, and drug paraphenalia.” The business’ owner was arrested. Link
AP Article on down payment loophole: Apparently a loophole in an Federal Housing Administration program that allows home buyers to buy new homes even if they can’t scrape together a down payment will end in a few weeks, and home builders are working like mad to sell new homes before the end of the program. The article mentions a Lennar property in Santa Clarita called Esperto, where the developer has tried to sell six homes by discounting prices $7,500, requiring no closing costs, and no down payment. The program is for first time home buyers only. Link
Remembering Deputy Jake: On August 31, 2001, a shootout erupted in Stevenson Ranch after SCV Sheriff’s deputies and ATF officers served a warrant on a house of a suspected gun nut. The shootout lasted for a few hours and claimed the life of Deputy Hagop “Jake” Kuredjian, a 17 year veteran of the LASD and a Deputy stationed in Santa Clarita. The SCV Sheriff’s station has created a special memorial web page for Deputy Jake on the eve of the 8th anniversary of the incident and has a message from Sheriff Lee Baca as well. Kuredjian was one of two SCV Sheriff’s Deputies killed in the line of duty in the 2000s; the other was Deputy David March, who was shot and killed by a gang member during a traffic stop in Los Angeles County in 2004. Link
Brain Drain at Daily News: LA Observed has been keeping tabs on the Daily News, which once covered Santa Clarita pretty thoroughly, but now is a shell of its former self. The paper has lost several reporters and editors in the last several months, including one-time SCV Journalist Alex Dobuzinskis and Washington correspondent Lisa Friedman (the only journalist who ever cared to cover what McKeon was up to while in DC). Now another editor is leaving, though the paper has hired new talent in recent months. Link
Harlem Globe Trotters in town: The famous basketball team came out to North Park Elementary school yesterday to talk to kids about character. Sharon Cotal reports.
Voters try to rig Signal “SCV Rock Star” online contest: The Signal says today that “some of the artists and bands entered in The Signal’s online SCV Rockstar contest…have attempted to increase their votes by creating automated scripts that generate bogus email addresses to register and vote.” Basically, it sounds like band members figured out how to game the Signal’s online voting system. I haven’t spent much time covering the Signal’s contest-mania (mainly cause I find it silly but whatever) but scores of bands have entered into the contest, which offers recording time at a studio, a pro-photo session, and a music video as prizes. Juding was set to end this week I think ahead of a “SCV Rock Star Night” on September 19, but thanks to the cheating, the Signal has “all voting numbers to zero” and extended the voting time to September 7. Link
Gary Horton on less fortunate among us: A touching and sad column in Today’s Signal from local columnist Gary Horton.