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September 13, 2010· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

September 13, 2010 – Daily Brief

By Jeff — Jeff Wilson

  • It’s possible that various explosives -from simple flares all the way to land mines- still litter the Whittaker Bermite site in the center of the City decades after the munitions and rocket fuel manufacturer ceased operations. Money quote: :Asked to explain “energetic material,” Racca said: “Something that could just go ‘boom.’” SIGNAL
  • Packed City Council agenda for September 14: some of the more interesting items include voting on $20,000 for a 1/2 acre community garden in Central Park and West Creek/Tesoro Del Valle Annexation, which was supposed to be discussed on August 24 but got pushed to tomorrow. COUNCIL AGENDA
  • Speaking of Council meetings, the new Save our Libraries facebook group is asking supporters to show up at tomorrow’s Council meeting and protest the City’s decision to seize the libraries. The group wants the Council to “re-do their vote” and says that the 1999 analysis done by City Hall (the one staff and Council held up to say that this was not a rushed decision) “showed that the City
    would not have access to $2 million parcel tax reserved for LA County libraries if the Santa Clarita libraries were no longer part of the LA County library system.” PDF
  • A natural gas pipeline similar to the one that exploded and destroyed a San Bruno, CA neighborhood lies under the Santa Clarita Valley, according to the Associated Press. The pipeline, built by Mobile Oil in the early 90s, stretches from Torrance all the way to Lebec. AP
  • Speaking of Annexation, the Tesoro HOA has set up an anti-annexation website. Dave Bossert explains. Hey one more reason to annex is that you will have access to our libraries. Right?
  • Do you remember the strange case of a career female LAPD Narco detective who walked into the SCV Sheriff’s Station lobby and committed suicide? It happened in July 2009; there were rumors of an affair or love triangle, but local media didn’t probe and the Sheriff’s Station kept quiet too. The story back then was that she just walked in, placed some personal items on the desk and shot herself. Now we learn much more: the LASD has awarded a Deputy who prevented the woman from possibly shooting other Sheriff’ Station personnel. Deputy Mark Wood hurdled over the counter at the station, giving personnel time to hide before the woman shot herself. KHTS
  • Over 1,300 people participate in River Rally this year, which took place in the Santa Clara River bed in Canyon Country SIGNAL
  • SCV’s Dirty little chloride secret: You know the whole controversy over the potential chloride fine and the $210 million treatment plant we’re supposed to build? Well it’s not new; we’ve been polluting the river with excessive amounts of chloride since 2003 and everyone -the City, Six Flags, Valencia Water, CLWA- have been fined by the regional water quality control board. It’s a little hard to claim we’re victims of an out-of-control state bureaucracy when we’ve been getting caught over and over again for years, isn’t it? SIGNAL
  • Tip-off leads Deputies to a convicted sex offender who was hoarding weapons in SCV, Green Valley and Castaic. Lots and lots of weapons. SIGNAL.COM
  • Of course the November 2 midterms are getting the majority of attention, but there’s also a secret election going on: an election and lobbying to determine who will re-draw state congressional and legislative districts for the next ten years. LA TIMES
  • Mayor Weste’s September message says the City is working on a “Climate Action Plan in an effort to develop strategies to achieve emission reductions per State law.” LINK I wonder if that has anything to do with the forthcoming OVOV Community meeting, which will take place October 5. Recall that the City and County got slapped down hard by Jerry Brown’s office over OVOV’s failure to comply with AB 32.
  • Incredible, well-written, rich story about an old red barn on a family’s property in Newhall. Pat Saletore of the SCV Historical Society would like to disassemble and move the barn -Saugus Train station style- to Heritage Junction. The barn, built in the 20s, is thought to have been a place where criminals were tied up while early SCVers waited for the LAPD to come and pick them up. SIGNAL
  • Signal publishes story about SCV schools possibly getting $10 million in Federal aid. But I think they missed the real interesting nugget in the story: Saugus Union School District is experiencing “a surge in student enrollment.” That’s certainly a change from other districts; what’s behind the increased number of kids at SUSD schools? SIGNAL
  • Speaking of school Funding, SCV Family blogs about what programs have been lost in the last few years due to the budget cuts SCVFAMILY.COM
  • Buck McKeon sticking by his canard that US Military personnel should be surveyed before Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed, even after a Federal court ruled the 17 year old policy to be unconstitutional AP
  • No wonder Buck McKeon was a founding member of the House’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Caucus (or the Killbot Caucus, as I like to call it.) Southern California’s “fast growing drone industry is helping to bring in the big bucks.” LA TIMES
  • I like Cesar Milan, the once illegal-immigrant who walked across the border then worked his way up to being a dog trainer for the stars before getting his own TV show and ultimately adopting the SCV as his base of operations, but he sounds a little quacky in an interview with a Canadian mag. Here, I’ll quote: “I want to be the most influential human on the planet, not just with people, with my kids, with myself.” His publicist then broke in and stopped the interview. SOME CANADIAN MAG
  • Five evangelical pastors pen LTE condemning that Florida pastor who wanted to burn the Koran. “We are embarrassed by his actions, and sincerely hope that the local and international Muslim community will see them for what they are: a publicity-seeking provocation by an unreasonable man of no standing in the Christian community.”, they write. SIGNAL
  • Mom writes touching LTE about what it feels like to be an empty-nester. Hey you did good Mom, why don’t you take a cruise and enjoy life now? SIGNAL
  • Interesting Time Ranger last week: In pre-European times, the SCV was a veritable forest of oak trees. In Depression-era times, FDR’s WPA program allocated $70,000 to build Newhall Elementary’s auditorium (which still stands today, a monument to Art Deco influences). And there’s a bit about the two rival newspapers that once tried but failed to unseat the Signal: the SCV Sentinel and Santa Clarita Citizen WRB
  • Numbers man Myers explains what standard deviation is and applies it to our high scoring local school districts. The higher the variability in a District’s scores, the more spread between schools within that district. Good stuff SIGNAL

Comments

11 · as published
  1. ToddSeptember 13, 2010 at 8:10 am
    Shame on KHTS for their outright plagiarism. Its one thing to reprint a press relase… but to attach someone’s name who added one sentence and changed a couple of phrases around??? Garbage. The story on Deputy Wood was straight up 99.999% lifted from Sgt. Darren Harris’ press release which was distributed via Nixle. Check and compare for yourself. @ local.nixle.com/alert/3422251/
  2. gregory molineriSeptember 13, 2010 at 11:11 am
    As a Christian, I appreciate the open letter from local pastors seeking to distance our faith from the divisive book burning proposed by the pastor in Florida. There is nothing in the New Testament or in the actions of Christ himself that promote such an action. That being said, I have deep concerns about the silence of moderate muslims to speak out against the many hostile words and actions of so many who follow their “religion of peace.” The following video is a chilling example of what is planned and prayed for by a significant contingent of Islam’s disciples: http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=0861ff3eabea1ceb73e4 While every religion has its extremists, I don’t recall members of the Christian faith (or any other) ever preaching and praising the virtues of mass murder with such consistency. When they do, they are shut down by the true followers of their faith, as has just happened with the crazy man in Florida. It seems that Islam today will never peacefully accept a religion outside of itself, whether Christianity, Judaism, or any other. So how much tolerance should we stand for as a matter of public policy?
  3. Tim MyersSeptember 13, 2010 at 11:44 am
    Greg: After 9/11 Ann (is that an Adam’s Apple?) Coulter made public speeches stated the US should invade Muslim countries and forcibly convert them to Christianity. There are also modern voices of Islam, like Jihad Turk of the LA Muslim Center, who constantly denounce violence and issue fatwas against terrorism, but they can’t get any air time.
  4. Whiskey Tango FoxtrotSeptember 13, 2010 at 12:33 pm
    I am forced to defend Coulter which I am not well rehearsed in as her style of point making is not my cup of tea. Her point of “invading Islamic countries” so shocked the average liberal that her point was lost on them – it was HYPERBOLE to point out what radical Muslims (our enemy) believe: non – Muslims who refuse conversion are to be killed. If you wish to regard her statement over this issue literally – that is your choice to make.
  5. SFC PerezSeptember 14, 2010 at 8:06 am
    The problem WTF is not just with Coulter, Palin, Gingrich, or the protest over the ISLAMIC CENTER near Ground Zero. The problem is the xenophobia that is spreading across America and causing protests against masjids(better description than mosques) in Kentucky where the Muslim community has lived for over a decade or down the street in wine sippin’ Temecula. I dont remember there being such pressure on Catholics in this country to influence their Irish brethren to stop terrorist attacks against our allies Great Britain.
  6. Your Web GuruSeptember 13, 2010 at 3:47 pm
    The Tangle video shows one crazy man’s rant about destroying America and is not indicative of every person who follows the Islamic faith. Again it has to be repeated, we are at war with Al-Qaeda and not Islam. Al Qaeda is a transnational, non-state, Wahhabist, insurgent organization. Wahhabism is essentially an extreme, traditional form of Islam. To us, they ARE crazy…which isn’t a problem in of itself except that they want us dead. THEY are the ones we need to parlay our anger towards, not the general moderate Islamic population who does not follow the Wahabbist doctrine. I’ve seen that argument lately: “Where are the moderate Muslims? Why aren’t they condemning these violent acts?” That’s Fox “News” speak at its finest. For the past nine years moderate Muslims have had to defend themselves at every turn, every time they are in front of the camera. How many times do Muslims have to say “We’re a peaceful relgion and do not condone the actions of the Taliban or Al-Qaeda” on television before you get it? Do you expect them to take up signs and protest like jackasses the way we do just to prove a point? Even if they did, someone would find some idiotic way to still make them our enemy. This past Saturday the Los Angeles Islamic Center hosted an open food bank and free medical clinic for anyone in need. If that’s some sort of diabolical plot to preach hatred and violence, I somehow missed the point. Kudos to the churches who read blessings from the Q’uran this weekend, and kudos to those who stood against hatred and bigotry. And you know what? God damn those who still try to find an enemy in the hearts of peaceful people everywhere who stand with us. Your narrow-minded bigotry only makes things worse.
  7. gregory molineriSeptember 13, 2010 at 5:18 pm
    Web Guru, you may be surprised to hear that I agree with much of what you’ve said, as I did with your post of a few days ago where you shared similar views. I will say that you lose me when you start telling me who God will damn… every man in history who has usurped God’s sovereignty in this way has only (in your words) “made things worse.” I have traveled extensively in the middle east and I know that the vast majority of people there are peaceful. American’s could learn a lot by traveling there and learning the depth of joy that can still be found in the absence of possessions – and oftentimes hope. Here’s what I see as a problem: Christianity is further and further removed from our country because today’s “new” wisdom deems it is intrusive, pervasive, and primitive. With our failing moral compass, “new” visionaries of unity and tolerance and peace tell us that we must welcome any and all people and views, and that we must make every accommodation for them. Islam is just one issue within this discussion but it’s a good one because Islam itself is a complete religious and political system that is only made whole when religion and law are bound together (definition: Sharia Law). As more cases are tried in our courts, our tolerance (based on Christian principle) will always lose out to a system that by definition will continue to demand deeper penetration into our educational, legislative and judicial systems. This is already being proven out in other countries around the world, particularly in Europe. My question remains one of policy not bigotry: how much do we tolerate in a free society when we all want to remain free? As a Christian, my faith demands that I pray to God and live at peace with those who demand that crosses be removed from the courthouses of my country. Until Muslims demand the same selflessness from their leaders -especially in a country not their own- theirs will not be viewed as a true religion of peace.
  8. SFC PerezSeptember 13, 2010 at 10:31 pm
    Ok, I am personally sick and tired of the default blame being placed on Muslims that we do not condemn the murderous terrorists. That is nothing but a shift and distract tactic used so often in defense law and debates. The reality is EVERY major reputable Islamic organization both here in America and overseas condemned the attacks on 9-11. Problem is you can talk until you are blue in the face but if the other party is not listening, the message will never get through. Coulter is nothing more then a conservative version of Jerry Springer who uses shock messages to attract attention and gain popularity, nothing more then a female version of Mancow Muller. Greg, I also agree with the majority of your comments. I would go even further and say that as a Muslim who has also traveled that region, I am appalled at how the Muslims there are acting the exact same of the hate groups here if not much worse. I am the type of person who is going to call it down the middle if even that testimony is against myself. Now with that being said, the majority of Muslims who have immigrated here have done so for the same reason the Pilgrims had, religious and personal freedoms. They dont want to live under these dictators and oppressors that rule throughout those countries, i.e. Egypt who receives 3 billion a year from the US and has a president who stands unchallenged in every election not because he is a great leader but rather a thug. Like I offered to WTF, I am willing to meet with anyone who stands so opposed to Muslims being a part of this Nation’s fabric so they can actually sit back and say, “Wow, I met a Muslim and he actually didnt try to make jihad on me like I thought they all wanted to.” By the way, Sharia seems to be such a scary word nowadays but do people realize that a Muslim doing prayer everyday, not drinking, and being considerate are all major aspects of what “Islamic Law” really are? And unlike superstitions being told, Islam CANNOT be forced or coerced of anyone. Little things Im sure most ppl dont know, kinda like the cool cartoon clips on Saturday mornings back in the day.
  9. navigatorSeptember 13, 2010 at 12:15 pm
    That was a great article about the barn in Newhall. Unfortunately there were many factors regarding the disassembly and reassembly of the barn. If the owners wait for the Society to get enough money together to put together the infrastructure necessary for the barn they won’t have a need to move it. Unless the County, the Society and countless donors and volunteers can all come together on the matter it won’t happen. I leave Tim to give us the chances of that happening.
  10. gregory molineriSeptember 13, 2010 at 12:20 pm
    Ann Coulter is hardly a serious spokesperson for national policy and she’s certainly not a mouthpiece for the Christian faith. Like Hanity and Limbaugh, Coulter is an American entertainer and talking head, not a leader of Christian faith and principle. I have heard Turk condemn violence and I know the press prefers their stories with more blood in the water. But a real united front against extremism by all major muslim leaders would itself be newsworthy. As it is, we hear concerns that their faith will be misunderstood or that their rights are being infringed upon, yet very little outcry and outrage over the extremism that is destroying their faith’s supposedly peaceful intent. They too have a responsibility here.
  11. SFC PerezSeptember 13, 2010 at 10:42 pm
    Thank you for illustrating our responsibility Greg but a couple of problems with that analysis: 1) We do not have a structured leadership similar to Catholics with the Vatican in that one command from the person in charge may rectify the problem. The closest you get may be Al-Azhar and they have condemned violence on every front. The last command and control you had in that arena were the Ottomans and they were pretty corrupt. 2) What we as Muslims do or say here in America is not always accepted overseas. Some view as us “Others” which is highly disappointing and frustrating. We can only semi-control the message that is going on within these borders and it doesnt help matters when you are busy dealing with the extremists, a large population that is still reeling from colonization on many levels, and your own countrymen and women who protest you like the plague. 3) Imam Rauf in NYC believes in Sufism, a belief in Islam which may be comparable to pacifists or peaceniks in this country. But instead of being supported, you have FOX News labeling him as a supporter of Hamas and Iran when he is the farthest things from that accusation. Guys like him should be supported and in doing such you start to choke out the extremist power base. In Somalia the Sufi finally took up arms against the terrorist groups there and are making headway. Now just watch someone undersell them to continue the trend of violence as opposed to supporting the correct group. All in all, I dont want to place too much faith in the media here in America or overseas since they all lie to further their viewership and LOVE to turn ppl against each other. If we all took the time to communicate with each other better, there might not be so many assumptions and hatred running rampant in the world today.
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