May 5, 2010· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

May 5, 2010 – Daily Brief, Spanglish spoken here edition

By Jeff — Jeff Wilson

Since the recession began, the City of Santa Clarita has seen its revenues drop by 15%, has thirty unfilled positions, and expects another $1.9 million in cuts next fiscal year. The budget cuts and hiring freeze aren’t going to stop them from handing out another $200,000 to local business interests, however, with Ken Pulskamp recommending the city “donate” the cash to the Santa Clarita Economic Development Corporation next fiscal year. Don’t you wish you could get on that gravy train? SIGNAL
Santa Clarita PAC filled to capacity as friends, family and colleagues remember Deputy Cameron Glover SIGNAL, KHTS
One of the prisoners who escaped from North County Correctional Facility last week has been found guilty of 15 counts of home-invasion robbery, assault with a firearm and false imprisonment. Winder Barrios faces 50 years in prison LA TIMES
The first phase of Edison’s Tehachapi Renewable Energy project, the same project responsible for the Darth Vader power towers in North Valencia, is complete. At build-out, it will be able to deliver 4.5 gigawatts of clean electricity, enough to power 3 million homes LA TIMES
The bomb threat at the Valencia Providence/Facey building was false. A mysterious man “with an accent” called the offices and told an employee and said that s/he should leave if they didn’t want to get hurt. The building was evacuated and the cavalry was called, but a searched revealed no threatening items, so the building opened back up SIGNAL
Hart Board Member, Dunamis President and local technology businessman Joe Messina says tomorrow’s Mayors Prayer Breakfast is “Christian in nature, but everyone is invited to it.” He denies that it’s “evangelical in nature. It’s truly, strictly a prayer breakfast” but I suppose it helps if you’re an authentic Trinitarian and/or subscribe to the Nicene creed. Join the SCV’s finest in “prayer for a time such as this” tomorrow AM at the Hyatt. Tix only $25 or $30 at the door. If you want to pray from home, that’s free. SIGNAL
Warm fuzzies for the potential new Hart District supe SIGNAL
Whoa! A 200 lb black bear decided to hang out in an Oxnard tree yesterday. The animal was tranquilized and taken down from the tree. Awesome pic at the LA TIMES
Speaking of cool animals, a Wire Fox Terrier was awarded an SPCA medal for defending its owners from a coyote attack TIMES
Good WAPO map of the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico
Stop Buck McKeon blogger profiles one of McKeon’s biggest donors and also reveals himself as an old-school labor Democrat STOP BUCK
Howard Jarvis Taxpayer PAC runs radio ad saying George Runner “welcomes the Tea Party movement” and believes that “when people are taxed too much, liberty is lost.” Runner is running for Tax Board of Equalization GEORGE RUNNER
CalArts’ “Wild Beast” indoor/outdoor performance center will open this weekend with a concert available to the public SIGNAL, CAL ARTS
Guy runs onto baseball field, gets tased, hilarity ensues YOU TUBE
Gary Horton has a decent column today reflecting on the true cost of oil and gasoline at the pump. I also recommend you listen to Warren Olney’s To the Point show from yesterday on that topic, the environment, alternate energy TO THE POINT

Comments

16 · as published

julieMay 5, 2010 at 8:21 am
surprised you didn’t write about the fighter jets flying low over SCV twice last night — everyone was freaking out, didn’t know what it was, then we saw reports on Twitter of the same thing happening in Oregon and elsewhere in the country!
JeffMay 5, 2010 at 8:58 am
Oh my gosh, is that what it was? I was riding home from class and heard the deep roar of jet engines, totally different in character and loudness compared to commercial planes. I looked up but couldn’t see anything. This was at about 9pm. I wonder what was going on?
julieMay 5, 2010 at 11:19 am
there was NO coverage on it either! Very weird. Well, I guess there was this… http://disc.yourwebapps.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495;article=129868 if you’re into that kind of conspiracy theory stuff!
ToadlyMay 5, 2010 at 8:59 am
Facebook also lit up when it happened. Sorry I missed it.
Jim FarleyMay 5, 2010 at 10:25 am
Since it was dark I could make out the type but could clearly see the flame from an afterburner from the second jet. (Or the same jet making a second pass). It happened around 9:00 pm.
ReaderMamaMay 5, 2010 at 5:51 pm
We heard the jets as well and ran out of the house to look the second time it happened. It was disconcerting to say the least. We wondered if they were chasing a plane that had been taken over by terrorists or something. Speaking of UFO’s, we caught a bit of “Coast to Coast” one night wherein the guest was claiming that Obama would be making the announcement this year that we have made contact with aliens. Now that really would be something . . .
ScottMay 5, 2010 at 8:53 am
Just thought I’d mention that local athlete Jamie Shields is on fire right now! He has won 4 straight starts for the hottest team in baseball. He had 10 strikeouts last night, following up on his previous performance of 12 k’s. The doyers could use his help!
Timothy MyersMay 5, 2010 at 9:11 am
Los Doyers need more than Jamie Shields, bless their hearts.
ToddMay 5, 2010 at 9:00 am
4.5 gigawatts for 3 million homes, or roughly enough power for 3.5 flux capacators.
gary hortonMay 5, 2010 at 10:07 am
Just “decent”? Geesh.
Jim FarleyMay 5, 2010 at 10:33 am
Horton: Wind is just not going to be practical to meet all of our energy needs. I think most Americans would love to see us get off our oil dependance not only because of the costs of accidents but National security as well. We need to go nuclear and use more natural gas as a practical solution. There is no energy that comes without risk. Living in the modern world involves risk we did not have 200 years ago. Are we going to give up automobiles because of the 40k that loose their lives every year? No – we are going to continue to strive to make them safer, as we have done, and have greatly reduced deaths per miles driven over the years. At least for the short term we’re not going to wean ourselves off oil. That being said these accidents need to be investigated and everything done to prevent them in the future.
lvogelMay 5, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Has the ‘investigation’ into Deputy Glover’s accident, been completed yet? Is speed to blame? Was the other vehicle responsible? Will the signal ever print a ‘follow-up’ to this story? One other thing: though I did not attend Saturdays Tribut Festival at Central Park, I understand that the Sheriffs had a tent set up for donations for Officer Glover. Can someone please confirm this for me: For $25.00 you could get a wristband that allowed you all the beer you could drink…ALL DAY! Now I happen to be a beer lover. I enjoy a good pint now and again, however to be able to consume as much as you want between the hours of 11:00am to 10:00pm seems rather irresponsible. From what I was told about the festivities, the attendees were on the younger side and many were groupies of the bands performing, which tells me they traveled to this venue. Who was responsible for planning this particular event and why was the ‘promotion’ of alcohol added?
Kip RockfistMay 5, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Re: Tributefest Yes, $25 on top of your admission ticket allowed unlimited beverages. Food from the 10 or so food trucks was extra (and delicious). Bands were great. Weather was great. As a “young person” I’m glad to see this kind of event here in the SCV. The event was put on/promoted by http://www.drinkeatplay.com . As for the “responsibility” of the amount of pints one may consume in an 11-hour period…really?
lvogelMay 5, 2010 at 4:40 pm
Yes, really. Having been a ‘young’ person once and consuming unlimited amounts of alcohol, I can tell you that $25.00 for unlimited drinks is a dream. And yes, it can lead to problems. From the accounts I got, there were 2 fist fights and a person decided to urinate in front of others in open, even though there were many (available) Andy Gumps. I understand the drinking. I don’t have a problem with that, but when it’s made easy to consume A LOT, I have a problem with it. How many of those people drove our streets to get to their final destination?
ToddMay 5, 2010 at 8:14 pm
I can’t speak to this particular event, but at other festivals I’ve been to with the unlimited beer pass there are certainly a number of provisions that discourage a lack of responsibility. a.) Beer consumption is restricted to the beer garden. Can’t drink it anywhere outside of the little fenced off area. b.) HEAVY security presence at the beer garden. And they’re not afraid to bounce you and take your wristband if you’re drunk
lvogelMay 6, 2010 at 8:26 am
I too have been to events where ‘beer’ is the focus Todd, and you’re correct that the drinking is kept to a restricted area. You may consume that drink in that area and go out, but the actual consumption must be done within the restricted area. I am getting this information second hand (I know, I know,’HEARSAY’!), but apparently people were getting 2 at a time and drinkiing anywhere within the grassy park/concert area. My ‘witness’ was next to 2 younger women who lived down South and had numerous empty cups around them. If you are made to pay for your drinks (especially if you are young and broke!), chances are you won’t consume as much. As far as ‘security’, I was told except for the tent with Sheriffs collecting for the young deputy that died in the traffic collision, there was no crowd control to be seen. I asked who had been there on Saturday ; Kip Rockfist was the only one that so far indicated they were there.