SCV Talk · Archive
Nine years of the Valley’s town square · 2006–2015
SCV Talk
October 18, 2010· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

October 18, 2010 – Daily Brief

By Jeff — Jeff Wilson

  • Library construction bids opened back up; companies that want to build our new Newhall Library have 30 days to complete the bidding process, this time without the errors (hopefully) SIGNAL
  • Woman mysteriously drives car into gulch on Northbound I-5 near McBean Parkway and dies Sunday morning KHTS
  • The County DA’s office has closed without action a complaint against Frank Ferry regarding his now infamous letter to Kevin Korenthal’s employer. As a matter of fact, the DA has closed a number of complaints against elected City officials according to the SIGNAL
  • Signal refuses to endorse Meg Whitman or Jerry Brown, saying they’re both rotten candidates. Meg is “heartless” and Jerry is “spineless.” SIGNAL
  • Buck McKeon was in Las Vegas this weekend -not to gamble, no!- but to campaign door-to-door for Tea Party favorite Sharon Angle and against fellow LDSer Senator Harry Reid LAS VEGAS SUN
  • A bureaucratic mess: It’s hard to say how or who will deliver water services to future Tesoro del Valle-area homes SIGNAL
  • Alan Mootnick way up Bouquet Canyon way held his Breakfast with the Gibbons even this weekend and he talked to the LA Times about his plans to move out of the SCV to Ventura. Mootnick says the economy has slowed development in the area, buying him time, but he still needs half a million dollars to move his gibbons to a more suitable climate LA TIMES
  • The Wild Beast, CalArts new reconfigurable classroom/amphitheater/rehearsal space, gets a glowing review in the LA Times. The Beast will be open for public concerts starting this week LA TIMES
  • Stonefire Grill, a popular SCV “fast-casual diner,” is becoming the first American restaurant chain to use Canadian beef, eh. SOME CATTLEMAN WEBSITE
  • Kevin Korenthal pens “closing argument” in his race to replace Ed Colley for the CLWA board KHTS
  • Valencia High running back runs for over 400 yards in a victory over West Ranch KHTS
  • Realtor Leah Pollack writes op/ed in defense of City library takeover, and her argument is a more persuasive one than the City made, even though it depends heavily on Marsha McLean’s “cracks are forming people!” argument SIGNAL
  • Tim Myers’ entertaining tale of how he’s gone from being a registered Roosevelt Democrat to a Republican to Green Party SIGNAL
  • Even Dave Bossert was happy about Saturday’s Gourmet Food Truck festival, though he has some suggestions for next year’s event. Do we really have to wait until next year? How about next month? WRB
  • I’ve been meaning to write about this for awhile, but SCV Family has beat me to it: Lazy Dog cafe has banned dogs from its premises after a woman complained to the health department. SCV FAMILY

Comments (31)

  1. cashOctober 18, 2010 at 10:37 am
    Lazy Dog cafe has banned dogs. As they should have without a complaint.
  2. Josh PremakoOctober 18, 2010 at 11:25 am
    If you don’t like the idea of pets (or Petz. Sorry, I couldn’t resist), outside, at a pet-friendly restaurant chain, then don’t eat there. I’m tired of the whiners winning. It’s the same reason smoking bans in restaurants/bars/etc irk me. Not because I want to smoke indoors or breathe in someone else’s smoke. I don’t. But if a private business wants to allow it, indoors, fine. Let them. I’ll just decide to go somewhere else.
  3. OlenkaOctober 18, 2010 at 11:27 am
    Co-sign.
  4. cashOctober 18, 2010 at 11:47 am
    The name Lazy Dog has nothing whatever to do with wanting Dogs at the restaurant.
  5. Your Web GuruOctober 18, 2010 at 12:13 pm
    I agree with you on the dog issue, but not on the smoking issue. Second hand smoke is proven to be a health risk. It not only potentially affects health of the patrons, but the employees as well. The indoor smoking ban came about in part by employees who complained about health issues due to the constant exposure to second hand smoke. The potential for legal recourse and health-related lawsuits helped give rise to the law that is now in effect. Some dogs on the other hand are occasionally proven to be ill-behaved in public, which might have led to the issues surrounding their ban at the Lazy Dog Cafe (If anyone has any detailed info regarding the ban, I’d love to hear it). It is too bad about the Lazy Dog, though, because it is fun to be able to bring your pets with you on such an outing, and we have very few (if any) restaurants in this valley that cater to our four-legged children.
  6. MikeOctober 18, 2010 at 12:17 pm
    I agree. Second hand smoke is an occupational hazard. It doesn’t belong in the workplace.
  7. Josh PremakoOctober 18, 2010 at 1:18 pm
    Ok, i got on a bit of a rant. I still believe in the rights of private business owners to run their businesses how they want, and the rights of employees and/or patrons to not work or frequent establishments that have standards they disagree with. But i digress…
  8. Mike MOctober 18, 2010 at 12:27 pm
    Actually, it has everything to do with dogs in the restaurant. The restaurant concept included having a dog-friendly patio, and they should have that right if they want. As long as the dogs are outside and not coming in thru the dining room (ortho kitchen, of course) I don’t see what the problem is.
  9. cashOctober 18, 2010 at 12:32 pm
    Not really, locals just assummed the name indicated they were dog friendly. Well, now the place is established, they put a stop to the health risk. Dogs are great, but they are still dogs.
  10. cashOctober 18, 2010 at 12:37 pm
    Pictures of your dog are fine.
  11. gregOctober 18, 2010 at 1:19 pm
    Actually, Valencia is the only location where you cant bring your dog to the patio. The Los Angeles County Health Department did not allow it. All of the other locations allow dogs on the patio because they’re mostly in Orange and Riverside Counties and dont have the same restriction
  12. Josh PremakoOctober 18, 2010 at 1:15 pm
    Hey Cash, having interviewed Lazy Dog founder Chris Simms, I can tell you that being dog-friendly is very much part of their business culture.
  13. BrookOctober 18, 2010 at 1:36 pm
    I had heard earlier this year there was the risk of the dog-friendly patio being closed to dogs – something related to complaints. Specifically about little dog owners feeding their dogs on the table (as in the dog was physically on the table – come on people!). Its too bad that has now finally happened, I don’t have a dog, but it was cool place to hang out for happy hour – complete with dogs lounging around (on the ground) happy too!
  14. damageincOctober 18, 2010 at 9:55 pm
    Like people complaining about dogs inside petsmart.
  15. cashOctober 19, 2010 at 8:16 am
    Dog friendly and allowing dogs in the restaurant are two different issues. Nothing on there website indicates bringing your dog to dine is fine. Please show me if this is not correct. pictures are encouraged. Besides if the health department was not willing to support dogs in the restaurant, there must be a good reason.
  16. BrookOctober 19, 2010 at 10:25 am
    I don’t carry around photos of Lazy Dog patio dog signs on my camera [I know shocking!] – but when I was there I remember there being a sign on the patio for dog owners, and I remembered it specifically because it was so unique that there was even a sign and wanted to tell my dog owner friends about it. Here is a sign someone posted on flickr with the notice to dog owners on a patio door http://www.flickr.com/photos/nikoriana/4207779862/
  17. cashOctober 19, 2010 at 8:25 am
    Lazy Dog Cafe is a sports bar, grill, and restaurant chain in California. In 2006, the restaurant chain had a revenue of $5 million.[1] The restaurant’s name was originally going to be Rocky Mountain Cafe. However, Lazy Dog Cafe received its unique name because Chris Simms, its founder, believed that the restaurant was “too serious” and wanted to make it more “kid-friendly”. The restaurant’s seats have dog prints so that “kids would feel welcome”.[2] In August 2003,[3] a new restaurant was opened by Chris Simms in Westminster, California.[1] It is decorated with photographs and drawings of hounds. The restaurant has an “eclectic” menu, including pizza and Kung Pao chicken.[4] Lazy Dog Cafe also has locations throughout California in Westminster, Torrance, Orange County,[5] Thousand Oaks, Valencia, Irvine, and one opening in Temecula in June of 2010
  18. damageincOctober 18, 2010 at 9:54 pm
    They are a chain, whose one distinguishing quality and marketing point is pet friendly dog restaurant. Where is the free market in this?
  19. navigatorOctober 19, 2010 at 12:08 pm
    You tell em Josh! Bring the dogs back to Lazy Dog!
  20. Bill ReynoldsOctober 18, 2010 at 11:53 am
    FYI: Lazy dogs are welcomed at Newhall’s Way Station (my very favorite local breakfast joint); I saw two of them laying there on the floor last saturday morning.
  21. cashOctober 18, 2010 at 12:10 pm
    Leftover from Friday night at the VUE!
  22. navigatorOctober 19, 2010 at 12:08 pm
    Different dogs
  23. disgusted in SCVOctober 18, 2010 at 12:12 pm
    ■”The County DA’s office has closed without action a complaint against Frank Ferry regarding his now infamous letter to Kevin Korenthal’s employer. As a matter of fact, the DA has closed a number of complaints against elected City officials according to the SIGNAL.” It is impossible to express my complete and utter disgust with all the unethical and corrput behavior from Frank Frank Ferry. But I am equally disgusted with the D.A.’s office, and as a die-hard Republican, Steve Colley is not getting my vote this year. Steve Cooley will NEVER do a thing about corruption from any of our council members because Steve Cooley depends on SCV money from us local Republicans. There was a recent fundraiser for Cooley at Larry Rasmussin’s office in Center Point, with Larry’s secretary calling up all the “usual suspects” who support these fundraisers. Cooley has other fundraisers here as well, and he has come to depend on SCV for a considerable amount of money for his campaign chest. Steve also attends many SCV Republican events. OF COURSE Steve Cooley isn’t going to bite the hand that feeds him, and I think this is a situation that certainly needs some attention from media. Maybe one of those news channels that enjoys poking their noses into SCV’s less important issues needs to start sniffing around Cooley’s lack of interest in so many unethical acts from Frank Ferry, and Laurene Weste. Now, even as a die-hard Republican, I will not be voting for Steve Cooley. He has proven he is just another corrupt politician. When laws are enacted to insure political integrity, and those laws are broken, dirty politics is allowed to thrive. When Frank Ferry donated $12,000 to send out campaign mailers for Laurie Ender, that was an illegal campaign donation. Now apparently, thanks to Steve Cooley, we can all make campaign donations exactly like Frank Ferry! Why go to all the trouble of setting up a PAC, or why bother adhering to the set campaign limits, when Frank Ferry can get away with a donation of $12,000. If the law is irrelevant for a city council member, who takes an oath to uphold the law, why should we, the “little people” consider such laws relevant regarding our own campaign expenditures? Lesson learned! As for the disgusting smear campaign Frank Ferry waged against Kevin Korinthal, this just shows all of us what any challenger can expect from our dirty City Council. Not only can challengers be threatened and attacked by Frank Ferry, Frank can also attempt to take your job away from you by launching a smear campaign against you with your employers, ON CITY STATIONARY! And BTW, CLWA board members, it did not escape the notice of many people at the City’s State of the City Luncheon last week that you all were laughing up a storm when Kevin Korinthal got up to speak about the ugly, unethical behavior of Frank Ferry. I had to hand it to Kevin, that was a gutsy move, and I heard a few people commenting after the luncheon that Kevin had earned their respect. AND votes! Because CLWA board members were seen laughing about this disgusting behavior from Frank Ferry, I will no longer be voting for Bill Cooper, (shame on you Bill, I believed you were an honorable person) Jerry Gladbach, Peter Kouvanis, and R.J. Kelly . CLWA board member Ed Colley was also laughing with them about Frank Ferry’s attack on Kevin, but I never voted for Colley in the past because he is nothing more than a Frank Ferry wanna-be. So now we know. Our City Council can be just as dirty and unethical and low-down mean as they want to be, but because of his SCV ties to a sgnificant amount of SCV campaign money, Steve Cooley will just look the other way, EVEN if laws are broken. And that, Frank Ferry, Laurie Ender, Marsha McLean, and Laurene Weste , is your legacy. How sad and absolutely tragic that this does not bother any of you one little bit. Note that Councilman Bob Kellar’s name is not included in this vile list. Obviously, SCV needs two more like Bob Kellar. And Frank, (I know you are here) KNOW that you are reviled by the people of SCV. Even yesterday at a local SCV event, I heard quite a number of people openly discussing their disgust with you. You are a repulsive human being to a great many people, Frank. And that is why, Frank, that you almost lost your seat by just a few votes to a man that only had a few thousand dollars. David Gauny, PLEASE run again. This city proved in the last election that an incumbent as dishonest and dirty as Frank Ferry can only hide such horrible behavior for so long from the mostly uninformed masses. What is really scary, is that Frank Ferry is the principal of a high school! This dishonest, corrupt individual is in a position to influence young, impressionable minds, and that should make all of us very, very sick at heart.
  24. cashOctober 18, 2010 at 12:50 pm
    Hang in there DISCV, one day there will be a slip that cannot be overlooked. Ferry’s huge hubris will one day overload his huge _ _ _!
  25. Coastal SageOctober 18, 2010 at 1:24 pm
    WOW DISCV is blunter than me.
  26. cashOctober 18, 2010 at 12:52 pm
    Oh, by the way, I understand there may be a letter sent to Ferry’s school PTA.
  27. damageincOctober 18, 2010 at 9:57 pm
    Two wrongs…?
  28. KevitivityOctober 18, 2010 at 1:15 pm
    The older I get, the more I realize we need more detached, cold blooded economists in politics – but all of those candidates are too smart to get into politics…
  29. Coastal SageOctober 18, 2010 at 2:56 pm
    This post is inspired by Disgusted in SCV’s candor. I’d like to report the inside nuances of what is going on between Castaic Lake Water Agency’s Manager, Dan Masnada, and Newhall County Water District, because The Signal will never report it. First see the story reported by The Signal: http://www.the-signal.com/section/36/article/35195/ Santa Clarita has 3 water “retailers” who sell water to the public: Newhall County Water District (a public agency with elected Directors); Valencia Water Company (owned by Newhall Land and “barely regulated” by the California Public Utilities Commission); and Santa Clarita Water Division (owned by Castaic Lake Water Agency aka CLWA). Each of those 3 water retailers obtains about 50% of its customers’ drinking water from ground water wells [whose overall production is declining due to contamination from Bermite, allegedly due to increased water usage upstream in Agua Dulce (a disputed fact), and from dry cycles in California's climate]. In Santa Clarita, the flow of underground water generally follows the flow of the Santa Clara River (east to west) and its tributaries: the South Branch of the Santa Clara River (south to north) and San Francisquito Creek (north to south). The more water wells drilled upstream to extract underground water, the less underground water is available for existing and new well user downstream. Theoretically, each of the 3 water retailers can drill new wells to extract more ground water to supply their customers. That’s where the conflict between Newhall County Water District and Valencia Water Company arises. The unbuilt phases of Tesoro de Valle are upstream of unbuilt Newhall Ranch. A bare majority (3/2) of Newhall County Water District’s Directors want to serve Tesoro de Valle’s future homeowners by having that developer finance the digging, construction and operation of ground water wells. The taking of MORE large quantities of ground water upstream from Newhall Ranch would mean that there would be significantly less ground water for Valencia Water Company to extract, by wells, to serve the future residents of Newhall Ranch, owned by VWC’s parent company Newhall Land. The conflict between the interests of those two water retailers is real, because large new housing developments cannot be built without a scientifically prepared “water supply assessment” proving long term availability of drinking water for a project. In the case of Tesoro del Valle, because they are asking Los Angeles County to approve amendments to previously approved project development approvals (e.g. lot or house size), under California law Tesoro del Valle’s developer has to re-prove to the Board of Supervisors that a reliable water supply is available for that project. That proof is made in the projects new Environmental Impact Report, or in a Subsequent EIR or Supplemental EIR. Meanwhile, Newhall Land is seeking further approvals from the Board of Supervisors for its Newhall Ranch project, which is supposed to be served water by Valencia Water Company obtained from ground water wells and recycled water. To the extent that Newhall County Water District reports to the County that it is going to serve well water to the future Tesoro del Valle residents, Valencia Water Company and Newhall Land will lose ground water it had counted on for its project. Castaic Lake Water Agency’s General Manager Dan Masnada used to work for Valencia Water Company. Castaic Lake Water Agency’s Board of Directors has historically been allied with Valencia Water Company’s interests. As a result, Dan Masnada has claimed that Newhall County Water District cannot serve well water to the future residents of Tesoro del Valle without CLWA’s consent, which Mr. Masnada indicates will not be given. The curious legal fact is that under the special law by which the Legislature created Castaic Lake Water Agency, the agency was NOT given the power to allocate the use of ground water under ordinary circumstances. As a result, Tesoro del Valle’s owners, and the 3/2 majority of Newhall County Water District’s Board, take the position that CLWA and Masnada have no legal authority, under the CLWA Act, or under general California water law, to tell them they cannot build new water wells to serve the future residents of Tesoro del Valle. [I will not comment on who is right legally, because my opinion doesn't matter. Only the Court of Appeals' opinion matters as to the scope of CLWA's powers.] As a “first result”, the time and place for Castaic Lake Water Agency to assert its right to decide who may build water wells in the Santa Clarita Valley, or to otherwise argue that there is not enough ground water to accommodate Tesoro del Valle, is in a fight over the water supply assessment in the Environmental Impact Report (or similar) for the amendments to the Tesoro del Valle project. (An old appellate court decision, coincidentally against Newhall County Water District, says that plaintiffs like CLWA or Newhall Land or the Sierra Club cannot attack the “water supply assessment” for NCWD in any other context.) There are two potential results from such an attack at the Board of Supervisors level: The County will decide that there is “not enough ground water” for more development at Tesoro del Valle, disapprove the amendments to the project, and Tesoro’s owners will have to sue the County. Alternatively, the County will decide that “there is enough ground water” for more development at Tesoro del Valle, and if Newhall Land doesn’t like that decision they will have to sue the County and prove their superior right to that ground water. In such a case by Newhall Land against the County, Castaic Lake Water Agency will be free to join in and assert that they get to decide which of the 3 water retailers can drill water wells, where they can be drilled when they can be drilled and how much ground water can be extracted from each new well on an annual basis. Quite obviously, CLWA and Newhall Land are hoping that the County will not put them to the test of proving their rights in court. The bottom line will be that if Newhall Land and CLWA do not challenge Tesoro del Valle’s water assessment, then the water wells at Tesoro can be drilled and Newhall Land will have to “subtract” that ground water used by NCWD/Tesoro from Valencia Water Company’s own future “water supply assessment”, potentially leaving Newhall Land short of drinking water to build out all of Newhall Ranch. Obviously, any other future developers of projects needing a Water Supply Assessment are simply “out of luck” in the review of their Environmental Impact Report hasn’t happened, or if a Subsequent EIR or Supplemental EIR is needed for project changes. However, the complicated situation does not end there. The 3 water retailers obtain the “other” roughly 50% of the water they sell from Castaic Lake Water Agency, which buys it from the “State Water Project”. (The quantity of water available to purchase from the State Water Project is also declining, due to drought in the Western Sierras, and due to Federal court decisions.) State Water Project Water is not supposed to be used for or sold to property owners outside the boundaries of Castaic Lake Water Agency’s service area. Under the Castaic Lake Water Agency Act, those boundaries cannot be changed without the Legislature enacting specific future legislation to change the boundaries. Given that State Water Project Water is in very short supply for current water users inside CLWA’s boundaries, if any of the water retailers start using State Water Project Water to serve customers outside the CLWA boundary, the “aggrieved parties” can bring legal action to stop those sales. Because actually available State Water Project Water has already been fully allocated for use at existing Santa Clarita Valley properties, according to the County’s preliminary land use approvals for Newhall Ranch, Valencia Water Company is not suppose
  30. townbeetOctober 18, 2010 at 3:32 pm
    ■Stonefire Grill, a popular SCV “fast-casual diner”- So according to that Cattleman’s website, the tri-tip cut is not very popular in Canada. I assume it will be cheaper for Stonefire to obtain their red meat from there. I am dissappointed and wonder how much more expensive would their tri-tip be if came from sustainable, humane sources instead of the Canadian CAFOs. The Canadian Cattleman’s feedlot guide http://www.canadiancattlemen.ca/feedlotguide/ shows pictures of their feedlots and what I see really makes this neighborhood restaurant untractive to me.
  31. S JOctober 19, 2010 at 12:12 am
    Not only did The Signal refuse to endorse Meg Whitman or Jerry Brown, U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock says he’s voting Libertarian and that “He believes that Republicans could pick up more than 70 seats in the House, but that that the huge Tea Party-driven sea change will end our state’s border — mainly because California Republicans don’t have any real principles.” http://www.calwatchdog.com/2010/10/15/mcclintock-no-whitman-fan/

Preserved as part of the SCV Talk Archive. Text is presented as originally published; presentation has been standardised for readability. The original capture is available at the Internet Archive.

Support