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June 1, 2010· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

June 1, 2010 – Daily Brief

By Jeff — Jeff Wilson

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Bryan Herta's Indy car team car with the names of fallen SCV Soldiers and Marines on the wing. The vehicle raced in Sunday's Indy 500 (image courtesy of Petz)

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The graphic on the wing noting the Soldiers and Marines from SCV who have died in Iraq & Afghanistan (image courtesy of Petz)

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Pfc. Jake Suter arrives in Delaware on Memorial Day (AP)

  • Pfc. Jake W. Suter, only 18 and a 2009 graduate of West Ranch High School, died Friday while serving in Afghanistan. The Pentagon hasn’t announced the circumstances of his death yet, but his body was flown home on Memorial Day. His parents flew to Delaware to escort their son home. Jake’s father tells The Signal in an interview that Jake was a history buff and a writer and touched the lives of everyone he knew. He was on the ground in Afghanistan for five days when he died SIGNAL, FACEBOOK
  • Hundreds turn out for Memorial Day service at Eternal Valley SIGNAL
  • Big Picture photo blog shows you what’s going on in Afghanistan BIG PICTURE
  • At last week’s City Council meeting, Councilman Frank Ferry ranted about neighborhood groups and activists organizing against development projects in the SCV, calling them “developmental terrorists.” He said such groups were slandering honorable businesses and developers.  That kind of sentiment proved to be rich fodder for NotaFerryFan, who posted a video of Ferry shortly thereafter, and also made for a pretty compelling Signal article in which Natalie Everett talked with Ferry, TimBen Boydston, Cam Noltemeyer and others  about Ferry’s statements. SIGNAL
  • The annexation mailer and survey John B. received last week was one out of 800 sent to West Hills and West Creek residents, says The Signal. The City didn’t send the survey to Tesoro residents because they voted “overwhelmingly” to join the City last fall. Money quote: “We only want to annex people that want to come into the city,” Ortiz said. “If (residents) don’t want to pursue annexation, (the city) won’t.” Accusations of cherry picking begin in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 SIGNAL
  • Everything you need to know about the proposed chloride fee that will be discussed at the meeting this Wednesday SIGNAL
  • Surprised Santa Clarita woman learns her email has been hacked when she receives a message from herself saying that she’s stranded in Europe and needs $1,500 to get home. The thieves even used pictures from her email to set up a fraudulent Facebook account in order to fool her friends into handing over some cash DAILY NEWS On a related note: use STRONG PASSWORDS people. Use special characters and passwords with more than 10 characters.
  • Gun fire breaks out in Canyon Country apartment complex, but suspects scatter before Deputies arrive. No injuries KHTS
  • One week out and Meg Whitman has a comfortable 53-29 lead over Steve Poizner while Carly Fiorina is beating Tom Campbell and Chuck DeVore LA TIMES
  • At Magic Mountain, a new roller coaster themed after that really annoying, bald dancing guy on Six Flags commercials has been delayed until next year says the LA TIMES
  • County Supervisors will vote tonight on whether to cease doing business with Arizona businesses over Arizona’s controversial illegal immigrant law, the Signal says. Local conservative Roger Gitlin wants SCVers to go down to the Supervisor’s meeting SIGNAL, LA TIMES
  • 250 brave Santa Claritans biked to work for Bike to Work Day on May 20, says CITY BRIEFS. We can’t even get 1,000 people to try to bicycle to work one day out of the year?
  • Now that’s a sinkhole HUFF PO
  • Democrat and Progressive Voter Guide …. Conservative voter guide
  • Tim Myers predicts someday Hart high will have to close due to low enrollment and says that Castaic High School is probably unnecessary. SIGNAL
  • Signal editorial says it’s time to send legislators packing due to the state’s continued budget crisis. But by the fall, they’ll endorse the usual slate of Republican incumbents that represent Santa Clarita SIGNAL
  • Two readers push back against that unreasonable letter writer who advocated general, unrestrained coyote-cide in the SCV

Comments (22)

  1. Need for Involved CitizenryJune 1, 2010 at 7:56 am
    The Signal article on Developmental Terrorists was pretty funny. If the City Planning Commission and Council only allowed uses that were consistent with adjoining existing communities there would be no need for this approach. Until these entities can appreciate that they need to consider what potential neighbors have to say, this will continue to be a problem. Frank Ferry can look in the mirror for the root cause of this! Life for folks who live here is not about keeping the development and business community enamored with the City and Council.
  2. spineflower2June 1, 2010 at 8:05 am
    Myers’ propaganda saying we don’t need Castaic High School is a slap in the face to all voters duped into voting for the two bond measures on a promise of a Castaic High School. Half a billion local dollars. And for what, a better football team at a competing high school? What a selfish prick.
  3. Timothy MyersJune 1, 2010 at 1:17 pm
    Slap, slap, slap and slap!!!!
  4. Timothy MyersJune 1, 2010 at 4:00 pm
    Seriously, sports teams prowess is a fair indicator of all programs at a comprehensive high school, including academics, band etc. The lack of the critical mass of students to populate these programs ripples through everything.
  5. spineflower2June 1, 2010 at 8:08 am
    With his latest undemocratic rant, Ferry once again feels he doesn’t want to be bothered by those pesky constituents that clog his City Council meeting time. Once again he is whining that he must actually represent PEOPLE, not BUSINESSES in the SCV.
  6. lvogelJune 1, 2010 at 8:57 am
    The residents and citizens of this valley have EVERY RIGHT to speak up and stand up for what THEY feel is in their best interests! I am now even more sure that NOT voting for Ferry was the correct choice…even though he still sits and makes asinine comments about the citizens he supposedly is represents.
  7. Pauline HarteJune 1, 2010 at 8:19 am
    I only read part of this article, it was too upsetting. So to calm myself, I went off to the do-nut shop and ate 3 do-nuts – now I have 2 reasons to be sick!
  8. lvogelJune 1, 2010 at 8:51 am
    That sink hole is SICK!!! Being one who’s not fond of heights, I actually felt dizzy looking at the picture. Wonder how deep it is? It gobbled up a 3 story building, and the picture doesn’t show that building in the hole, so I’m think’n it’s pretty darn deep. WOW!
  9. AnnetteJune 1, 2010 at 9:27 am
    Frank is encouraging developers to sue residents, Why? It was city council that encoutaged us to meet with city staff to discuss our high density projects. We are simply following city council’s directions to get involved and express our concerns about oversized dvelopments near residential neighborhoods. I do not consider myself a terrorist, Period!
  10. Pauline HarteJune 1, 2010 at 9:29 am
    Since I go for weeks at a time without going on my computer, I apologize if I am posting something already discussed. Considering Mexico’s harsh stance on immigration, I find it SO beyond hypocritical of that country to criticize us. Mexico’s immigration laws regarding immigrants: in the country legally have the means to sustain themselves economically not destined to be burdens on society of economic and social benefit to society of good character and have no criminal records contributors to the general well-being of the nation The law also ensures that immigration authorities have a record of each foreign visitor foreign visitors do not violate their visa status foreign visitors are banned from interfering in the country’s internal politics foreign visitors who enter under false pretenses are imprisoned or deported foreign visitors violating the terms of their entry are imprisoned or deported those who aid in illegal immigration will be sent to prison
  11. MikeJune 1, 2010 at 10:04 am
    Yes, Mexico is a horrible country. That’s why people are leaving it. We’re supposed to be better.
  12. scv4meJune 1, 2010 at 10:37 am
    I think you missed the point. I didn’t get from anything here that we are supposed to imitate Mexico, just that a country like Mexico should strive to improve their own situation before attacking anyone else. Mexico’s abuses againt illegal immigrants does make the president of Mexico a hypocrite.
  13. mikeJune 1, 2010 at 1:47 pm
    It’s a red herring. I think we all agree that Mexico has no standing to criticize this law, considering its own policies.
  14. Madam_SJune 1, 2010 at 1:18 pm
    Actually, the summary above sounds exactly like our laws here in the US. That’s horrible? Also, please notice in the article below, the reason we shouldn’t do like Arizona is the same reason LAPD Chief Beck, AZ state Assn of Police Chiefs, and even Phoenix’s Chief oppose AZ SB1070: it discourages people from cooperating with the police, and therefore gives power to gangs and other violent criminals. Think of it as a choice: 1. Have local police chasing people they _guess_ might be illegal immigrants, or 2. Have those people help police catch thieves, rapists and murderers. Don’t police have enough problems already? Don’t expect them to fix our immigration problems.
  15. Pauline HarteJune 1, 2010 at 9:34 am
    “…..”The Mexican government should probably clean up its own house before looking at someone else’s,” said Melissa Vertíz, spokeswoman for the Fray Matías de Córdova Human Rights Center in Tapachula, Mexico…..” Activists blast Mexico’s immigration law By Chris Hawley, USA TODAY TULTITLN, Mexico — Arizona’s new law forcing local police to take a greater role in enforcing immigration law has caused a lot of criticism from Mexico, the largest single source of illegal immigrants in the United States. But in Mexico, illegal immigrants receive terrible treatment from corrupt Mexican authorities, say people involved in the system. And Mexico has a law that is no different from Arizona’s that empowers local police to check the immigration documents of people suspected of not being in the country legally. “There (in the United States), they’ll deport you,” Hector Vázquez, an illegal immigrant from Honduras, said as he rested in a makeshift camp with other migrants under a highway bridge in Tultitlán. “In Mexico they’ll probably let you go, but they’ll beat you up and steal everything you’ve got first.” Mexican authorities have harshly criticized Arizona’s SB1070, a law that requires local police to check the status of persons suspected of being illegal immigrants. The law provides that a check be done in connection with another law enforcement event, such as a traffic stop, and also permits Arizona citizens to file lawsuits against local authorities for not fully enforcing immigration laws. Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said the law “violates inalienable human rights” and Democrats in Congress applauded Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s criticisms of the law in a speech he gave on Capitol Hill last week. Yet Mexico’s Arizona-style law requires local police to check IDs. And Mexican police freely engage in racial profiling and routinely harass Central American migrants, say immigration activists. “The Mexican government should probably clean up its own house before looking at someone else’s,” said Melissa Vertíz, spokeswoman for the Fray Matías de Córdova Human Rights Center in Tapachula, Mexico. In one six-month period from September 2008 through February 2009, at least 9,758 migrants were kidnapped and held for ransom in Mexico — 91 of them with the direct participation of Mexican police, a report by the National Human Rights Commission said. Other migrants are routinely stopped and shaken down for bribes, it said. A separate survey conducted during one month in 2008 at 10 migrant shelters showed Mexican authorities were behind migrant attacks in 35 of 240 cases, or 15%. Most migrants in Mexico are Central Americans who are simply passing through on their way to the United States, human rights groups say. Others are Guatemalans who live and work along Mexico’s southern border, mainly as farm workers, as maids, or in bars and restaurants. The Central American migrants headed to the United States travel mainly on freight trains, stopping to rest and beg for food at rail crossings like the one in Tultitlán, an industrial suburb of Mexico City. On a recent afternoon, Victor Manuel Beltrán Rodríguez of Managua, Nicaragua, trudged between the cars at a stop light, his hand outstretched. “Can you give me a peso? I’m from Nicaragua,” he said. Every 10 cars or so, a motorist would roll down the window and hand him a few coins. In a half-hour he had collected 10 pesos, about 80 U.S. cents, enough for a taco. Beltrán Rodríguez had arrived in Mexico with 950 pesos, about $76, enough to last him to the U.S. border. But near Tierra Blanca, Veracruz, he says municipal police had detained him, driven him to a deserted road and taken his money. He had been surviving since then by begging. Abuses by Mexican authorities have persisted even as Mexico has relaxed its rules against illegal immigrants in recent years, according to the National Human Rights Commission. In 2008, Mexico softened the punishment for illegal immigrants, from a maximum 10 years in prison to a maximum fine of $461. Most detainees are taken to detention centers and put on buses for home. Mexican law calls for six to 12 years of prison and up to $46,000 in fines for anyone who shelters or transports illegal immigrants. The Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that the law applies only to people who do it for money. For years, the Mexican government has allowed charity groups to openly operate migrant shelters, where travelers can rest for a few days on their journey north. The government also has a special unit of immigration agents, known as Grupo Beta, who patrol the countryside in orange pickups, helping immigrants who are in trouble. At the same time, Article 67 of Mexico’s immigration law requires that all authorities “whether federal, local or municipal” demand to see visas if approached by a foreigner and to hand over migrants to immigration authorities. “In effect, this means that migrants who suffer crimes, including kidnapping, prefer not to report them to avoid … being detained by immigration authorities and returned to their country,” the National Human Rights Commission said in a report last year. As a result, the clause has strengthened gangs who abuse migrants, rights activists say. “That Article 67 is an obstacle that urgently has to be removed,” said Alberto Herrera, executive director of Amnesty International Mexico. “It has worsened this vicious cycle of abuse and impunity, and the same thing could happen (in Arizona).” A bill passed by the Mexican Senate on Oct. 6 would eliminate the ID requirement in Article 67 and replace it with language saying “No attention in matters of human rights or the provision of justice shall be denied or restricted on any level (of government) to foreigners who require it, regardless of their migration status.” The Mexican House of Representatives approved a similar measure on March 16, but added a clause requiring the government to set aside funds to take care of foreigners during times of disaster. The revised bill has been stuck in the Senate’s Population and Development Committee since then. To discourage migrants from speaking out about abuse, Mexican authorities often tell detainees they will have to stay longer in detention centers if they file a complaint, Vertíz said. A March 2007 order allows Mexican immigration agents to give “humanitarian visas” to migrants who have suffered crimes in Mexico. But the amnesty is not automatic, and most migrants don’t know to ask for it, the commission said.
  16. Silence DogoodJune 1, 2010 at 10:04 am
    “Without Freedom of Thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such Thing as publick Liberty, without Freedom of Speech; which is the Right of every Man, as far as by it, he does not hurt or controul the Right of another: And this is the only Check it ought to suffer, and the only Bounds it ought to know. “This sacred Privilege is so essential to free Goverments, that the Security of Property, and the Freedom of Speech always go together; and in those wretched Countries where a Man cannot call his Tongue his own, he can scarce call any Thing else his own. Whoever would overthrow the Liberty of a Nation, must begin by subduing the Freeness of Speech; a Thing terrible to Publick Traytors.” Quote from the London Journal in my letter of July 9, 1722 S.D.
  17. Linda StaedtlerJune 1, 2010 at 10:11 am
    I was looking in our City’s municipal code 17.15.030 and anytime a commercial building proposed anywhere in the City over 35 feet has to get a conditional use permit. Isnt the City just following their protocol? From what I gather on conditional use permits is that they are common everywhere and its a tool that cities use so that staff/commission/council has more input into the process. Granting them doesnt mean the City is turning their back on the General Plan. The City made a conscious decision to make developers get conditional use permits for any building over 35 feet for the City to review. I think a lot of people who are complaining do not know what the intent of a conditional use permit is. I’m not singling out one project in this post. Its just my general feeling on the matter.
  18. scv4meJune 1, 2010 at 11:10 am
    Linda Staedtler says: June 1, 2010 at 10:11 am From what I gather on conditional use permits is that they are common everywhere and its a tool that cities use so that staff/commission/council has more input into the process. And City Council is supposed to be for residents to have more input into the process, but now residents are called terrorists if they dare bring their concerns to City Council. Marsha McLean is so two-faced! She complained at the last Council meeting that she didn’t like residents complaining that City Council doesn’t listen to them, and she said Council does listen and does want to hear from residents. But today in the Signal Marsha is agreeing with Frank! Remember the project on Lyons in Newhall that Marsha opposed? It was a nice little office complex with a multi-use design (that this city encourages) and it included a few apartments. But Marsha said NO – because it was in HER backyard! Frank is now going to get revenge on this city for trying to give him the heave-ho and coming so close to ousting him. He’s already campaigning for his twin Laurie Ender by damning the residents of this city as terrorists. “…and in those wretched Countries where a Man cannot call his Tongue his own, he can scarce call any Thing else his own. Whoever would overthrow the Liberty of a Nation, must begin by subduing the Freeness of Speech; a Thing terrible to Publick Traytors…” GREAT WORDS, thanks Silence Dogood. These words need to be read at City Council. SCV’s City Council members need to be reminded that Freedom of Speech is not a terrorist act IN AMERICA! It is hard to believe that SCV has a City Council that equates Freedom of Speech with acts of terrorism. How low we have sunk as a city. Bring your concerns to SCV’s City Council and get yourself branded as a terrorist and an enemy of the state. Why would anyone want to annex into a city that has City Council members calling residents terrorists when residents bring their concerns to City Council. Yeah, annex into our city, and then when City Council tries to ruin your neighborhood with some super-sized, totally unsuitable project, you’d better SHUT THE HELL UP ABOUT IT! Only City Council members have a right to protect their neighborhoods from unsuitable developments, right Marsha?
  19. OlenkaJune 1, 2010 at 1:02 pm
    Jake W. Suter’s death breaks my heart.
  20. JayceJune 1, 2010 at 2:50 pm
    Hart High closeing down? Doubtful. Maybe they can get rid of some of those temporary(well not so temporary anymore) buildings then if they’ve lost so many students. RE: Carly F. That commercial annoys me where she touts how she came up and because ceo of HP. It should have continued and said then their stock went to crap and they fired my butt. I guess she knows what brings jobs though right. Thirdly… HI PAULINE!
  21. Timothy MyersJune 1, 2010 at 3:59 pm
    Barring some major unforeseen demographic shift, the opening of Castaic High School will lead to the reduction of Hart High School from a comprehensive high school to something like a continuation school within ten years. The school has lost 33% of its peak enrollment in a mere four years with no end in sight and will probably open with 1,500 to 1,600 students this fall.
  22. spineflower2June 2, 2010 at 9:52 pm
    Boo Hoo. Build Castaic High School NOW. Make it like Awesometown… BUILT AS PROMISED! Until it IS built, not one more penny for our schools. We were swindled out of half a billion dollars on the bond measure promises!

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