- County planners say there’s not enough data on water supplies in places like west Castaic and Agua Dulce and other parts of the SCV not served by Castaic Lake Water Agency. Money quote: “It may be somewhat surprising, but since these areas are not served by the (CLWA) … there isn’t really conclusive data about what the groundwater resources are in those areas. It is an unknown.” Without real knowledge of water supplies, development could be hampered, a fact of life which probably makes many residents happy.
- State toxic control department says a portion of the old Whittaker-Bermite site could be cleaned up and ready for use by March of 2011. SIGNAL
- Don Ricketts, the lawyer representing the Save Our Library non-profit group, has prepared a brief he hopes people will use at the City’s first Public Library Advisory Committee meeting tonight. The brief invites the 37 committee members to challenge the City and LSSI on a whole range of issues, including the original decision to secede from COLA and privatize the system. The Library Committee, which will function more like a focus group lead by an LSSI facilitator, meets tonight at 6pm. BRIEF, CITY CALENDAR
- Speaking of Libraries, COLA Librarian Margaret Donellan Todd spoke with KPCC’s Patt Morrison yesterday. They touched on Santa Clarita’s separation from the system. Todd says she’s concerned that some cities “are falling for a siren song” sung by a company that doesn’t have to report profits, salaries and other data. She also addressed the COLA system’s budget woes, digital downloads, and more KPCC
- And finally, the Signal has issued a correction to their story yesterday about the County accepting $1.2 million in funds from the City for the completion of the Canyon Country library. The Signal now says that only $622,000 is required and the City has the option to purchase some $400k plus worth of furniture and materials. That still doesn’t explain the original county press release which said the City would be required to pay $1.2 million, twice what was approved at Council last week SIGNAL
- The Ferry family blog that occasionally posts updates on Frank Ferry’s condition had this to say yesterday: “Frank is beginning to take a turn for the better. However, he still has a long road ahead of him. Today, Dec.7th, he remains in an induced coma. His blood pressure is stable and his kidneys are slowly beginning to function. A machine is helping him with 40% of his breathing. When he wakes up , he recognizes people” So that’s definitely good news. KHTS also says he’s showing signs of improvement.
- Planning commissioner suggests periodic “checkpoint” reviews of OVOV plan after it goes into effect. Also, KHTS complaints about traffic are as common in the SCV as complaints about the weather. I thought I addressed traffic whining earlier this year.
- Saugus School District superintendent, Judy Fish, is retiring after 11 years. SIGNAL
- Meanwhile, McGrath Elementary, nestled in the hills above Newhall, gets nominated for a blue ribbon for excellence despite the transient nature and socioeconomic status of its student body. Given what McGrath has to work with, I’d say they’re the best elementary school in the SCV. KHTS
- Ignore all the press releases about Buck McKeon taking over the House Armed Services Committee. What you need to read is this excellent profile of Buck McKeon in Mother Jones magazine. McKeon is poised to become the “most influential Republican on national security issues,” and will clash with Dems, the White House, and other Republicans over detainee policy (“an advocate of detaining terror suspects indefinitely without charge or trial”), the war in A-stan, and Pentagon spending, respectively. Overall, MJ likens his philosophy to a “Cold War on Terror,” which is a great mix of euphemisms and kind of poetic. MOTHER JONES
- Governor-elect Jerry Brown may ask voters to pay more taxes in a special election next year, according to the Times. Brown wants to “rip off the budget band-aid” and either make huge cuts (to the tune of $28 billion) or ask voters to pay more in taxes. LA TIMES
- Lynne Plambeck explains why she’s happy with the County’s plastic bag ban. This stat is startling: “Just think — the Santa Clarita Valley has approximately 60,000 families. If each family uses five bags a week, that’s 300,000 bags a week, or 15.6 million bags a year — from our community alone.” SIGNAL
- God I love the Signal. John Boston has a lede from the paper on December 9, 1950, 60 years ago today: “A floating lottery racket, run by Chinamen, was knocked over at the Agua Dulce Dude Ranch by the vice squad.” How excellent is that lede? JOHN BOSTON
- Some kind person has mashed up great holiday lights in the SCV onto a Google map. CLICKY (ht: Gangfang)
A decade of the Valley’s town square · 2006–2015
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51 · as published