September 17, 2008 – Daily Brief — The SCV Talk Archive

Shocking murder in Valencia: Sometime yesterday morning or early afternoon, 55 year old Anthony Lombardi was stabbed multiple times in the chest in the driveway of his Valencia-area home resulting in his death. Three teenagers on their way home from a minimum day at Hart High discovered Lombardi “facing backwards” “half outside and half inside the driver’s door of his Honda Accord coupe,” at around 12:10pm according to the Signal. The students called 911 and Homicide Detectives eventually made it to the house, located on Undine road near the Vista Valencia golf course. Lombardi, who lived alone at the house, is said to have worked as an ATM repairman and raised pit bull dogs on the side. Neighbors described him as a quiet man, but at least one source (KHTS) says his daughter arrived on scene Tuesday and was distraught at the news of her father’s death. Neighbors of the victim told The Daily News that they did not think Anthony Lombardi was related to “the prominent Santa Clarita family of the same name that owns the popular Lombardi ranch on the outskirts of town.” Sheriff’s officials closed off the street in Valencia while investigating, telling ABC 7 news that “there may be blood evidence in the street” though they say no murder weapon was recovered. No motive or suspects so far. CBS2, NBC4, ABC7 with video report, Signal, Daily News, KHTS
Major accident clogs Highway 14, injures 4: A semi truck slammed into the back of an SUV Tuesday on northbound Highway 14 near Agua Dulce Canyon road, the Signal reports. The driver of the big rig lost control of his vehicle after the collision and plummeted “75 feet down the embankment” near the highway, where he got trapped in the cab of his vehicle for over an hour. Some 20 firefighters were involved in his rescue. Conflicting reports on the injuries: the Signal says two men in the SUV were injured, one critically, while CBS2 reports there were four total injuries, three of them critical.
YAMA: Yet another motorcycle accident, this time involving a 23 year old male who was seen “traveling at estimated speeds of 100 mph” just prior to slamming into the back of another vehicle on Newhall Ranch Road and Rye Canyon Monday night. The victim has suffered spinal cord injuries and a severely injured foot. The Sheriff’s press release shows obvious frustration at the amount of motorcycle accidents in the SCV: “Despite the numerous warnings and public safety campaigns launched by the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and the City of Santa Clarita about the dangers associated with reckless and inexperienced motorcycle riding, these sport bike riders just don’t seem to be getting the message.” Seven people have died on motorcycles in the SCV since February of 2007, and the Sheriff’s department says some 60 accidents have occurred in that same time frame, some 40% of which involved unlicensed motorcycle drivers. Link
Hasley Canyon Prep school must apply to County again: Upset residents of Hasley Canyon scored a victory this week as the operator of prep school was forced to re-apply to Los Angeles County authorities before he can open up his school in a house in the Canyon. Signal .edu report Sharon Cotal says “the county reneged on the agreement, saying the project was incorrectly approved.” Approval of the 125 student school came from the LA County Planning Commission back in May after only five months of review, a situation neighbors felt was not entirely on the up-and-up. The school’s operator, Terry Cranert, says he’s just trying to “bring an oasis of culture in an otherwise desert of ignorance” (rol) and will apply to open his school again. Neighbors say it’s a stupid place to build a school, noting that there is only one road in an out, and in the event of a fire, “we’re going to end up with dead kids up here.” Link
Trickle down economics indeed: AIG, one of the world’s largest insurers, holds the purse strings of insurance money being used to pay for the Whittaker-Bermite cleanup, the Signal’s Jim Holt reports. Holt says that if AIG goes bankrupt, its subsidiary company American International Specialty Lines Insurance Company, would lose control of its funds as trustees take over and “administer all claims against the company.” AISLIC has put up some $225 million of the $300 million needed to cleanup the Bermite property, the former site of a munitions manufacturer. However all this may not occur as the Federal Reserve agreed late yesterday to provide some $85 billion in loans to AIG, which the New York Times says was in an effort to stop a “chain reaction” that might have affected companies around the world.
Over half of SCV employees can’t afford to live here: That according to Signal reporter Tammy Marashlian, who was at a Workforce housing luncheon hosted by the Valley Industrial Association yesterday. Some 40,000 employees work in the Valencia Industrial Center, but over 50% of them can’t afford to live in the SCV. No clear solutions lie in the future, however, since the cost of housing is a function of supply and demand. Link
But that’s okay cause Santa Clarita is a finalist for another business friendly award: The City of Santa Clarita is a finalist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation’s “Business Friendly City” award, which recognizes cities that are “proactive in their efforts to retain and attract quality jobs and businesses in their communities.” Link
Valencia company says inhaled insulin product could be a “blockbuster”: MannKind Corporation has developed an inhaled insulin product that might make managing diabetes easier and more convenient, but Wall Street remains skeptical about the product, named Technosphere, amid fears that the FDA might place a “cancer advisory” on it. MannKind says it’s tested the inhaler and found “no elevated cancer risk” and says it could bring in $1 billion in annual sales. LA Times
Governor to veto just-passed state budget, legislators promise override: Governor Schwarzenegger says he’ll veto the just-passed budget and if the California state Legislature overrides him, he’ll veto “hundreds” of other bills that passed this year. The last veto of a CA state budget was in 1979, and the Times says Schwarzenegger’s threat is “certain to cause anxiety among thousands of healthcare clinics, day care centers, schools and others reliant on state money but unable to receive it in the absence of a budget.” That would include some agencies and schools right here in the SCV. Times report
New state law might delay and/or reduce foreclosure filings: Senate Bill 1137 requires lenders to “prove that they have attempted to communicate directly with delinquent borrowers about their financial situation and have considered potential arrangements to avoid foreclosure.” LA Land says the new law could radically reduce the number of foreclosure filings in September but ultimately might just delay foreclosures rather than stop them. Link
Famous CalArts animation instructor dies: Bob Winquist, 85, taught an entire generation of animators and artists, including the guy who wrote the stories behind Wall-E and Monsters Inc. He was around Hollywood so long that he remembers when the Gone with the Wind set burned and used to share with students stories about Marilyn Monroe. He also served as a ball-turret gunner on the bottom of a B-17 bomber in World War II. Obit
Jobs/Housing/Income balance totally out of whack: That’s what a Habitat for Humanity director writes of the economic situation in Los Angeles County, where he says that some “35 percent of LA’s full time workers make less than $25,000 a year, which is only slight more than the federal poverty guideline.” He says Habitat for Humanity is planning to build some affordable housing in Santa Clarita. Isn’t it sad when a charity organization that builds houses primarily in third-world countries has to build cheap housing so workers can afford it in our own backyard? Link
We had 8 years with the guy you’d like to have a beer with, now it’s time for someone smart: Gary Horton delivers a knock-out punch to the idea that our President should be a folksy, neighborly type instead of an ambitious, intelligent, and savvy “elitist” who can face the challenges our country has head on. “But until Monday, polling showed that most Americans want a president “just like themselves.” Someone they could BBQ with. Someone to chat with over the fence. Not exceptional, and not too intimidating. Imagine such a job posting in The Signal’s own Help Wanted section for such a position: “Wanted: Chief Executive for large multi-national entity with $3 trillion budget, millions of employees, and offices in every country throughout the world. The ideal candidate should have low to average educational achievement. Proven competency isn’t required. International exposure is discouraged. The ideal candidate must be like our average employee in ability and demeanor.” Nailed It
Could there be a Dodgers/Angels World Series? I’m not particularly a baseball fan, but this article on the possibility of a Dodgers/Angels World Series has even me excited. AP