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May 20, 2011· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

May 20, 2011 – Daily Brief

By Jeff — Jeff Wilson

  • Hart District/Facilities Foundation in land swap scheme to avoid paying property taxes. What’s $200,000 among friends? SIGNAL
  • Hart District approves purchase agreement for Romero Canyon site, what will likely be the future home of Castaic High SIGNAL
  • One of the reasons to live in older, established neighborhoods is that, once a neighborhood is built out, it’s really unlikely things will change to the extent that you will regret living where you do. So it’s with a fair amount of discomfort that I read of the City’s new Lyons Avenue Corridor plan in which straight-as-an-arrow Lyons Ave will be “assessed on a parcel-by-parcel basis based on building type and use, circulation and density.” KHTS Lyons Corridor site
  • A female driver of a Honda crashed her car into the Southland Regional Association of Realtors yesterday. She was dazed and confused but not injured, nor was anyone in the office injured. There’s a joke somewhere in here about the SCV’s two primary industries (home and car sales) crashing together in such a tangible way but I’m not going there SIGNAL
  • The 28 year old man who crashed and died mysteriously on Sierra Highway last weekend was the father of two children, one of whom is a student at Santa Clarita Elementary school. The family lost their father and their only car in the crash, so students and teachers are trying to help them out with donations SIGNAL
  • The City says it will make new library cards available in June. The cards will feature 10 different designs highlighting life in the SCV. You’ll need photo ID to pick up the cards which will be available at three different locations starting June 13 SIGNAL
  • Reminder: Amgen Tour of California coming to SCV on Sunday and there will be road closures, so don’t say we didn’t warn you. Authors of complaint LTEs will be held up on this site with derision and scorn CITY BRIEFS
  • Ewww: 40 years ago this week, the SCV was hit by a plague of “cinch bugs” which got into everything from women’s hair to pancakes. Nasty. JOHN BOSTON TIME RANGER
  • Creekside food truck/classic car show was a “model of public/private partnership” and a great event for the City, the Signal says, adding that it hopes the event returns next year. Too bad that Newhall Land couldn’t trouble themselves to purchase artwork they used from a local photographer SIGNAL
  • LTE writer says the redistricting commission should just program a computer to do the task of redistricting the state and keep politics out of it. Kind of reminds you of the debate over college football’s BCS ranking huh? SIGNAL

Comments (33)

  1. TaTonkaMay 20, 2011 at 7:36 am
    “You know, cinch bugs, you know, manganese. A lot of people don’t even know what that means,”
  2. spineflower2May 20, 2011 at 12:48 pm
    A hint for those who didn’t get it… http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qmIkUnp9vcE/RrHYW72s4pI/AAAAAAAAAK8/cuQcAUU8HEg/s1600-h/caddyshack3.jpg
  3. TimBen BoydstonMay 20, 2011 at 7:57 am
    The “update” to the Lyons corridor will be used to change the zoning to increase the density and build more on “underutilized” properties, ie The Post Office and the Caston’s center. It will encourage multi-story buildings and mixed use properties, which will be justified by saying that they are “smart growth”. By adding residentail and office space to the retail, the fantasy that people will live and work in the same place and throw away the car because they will be able to walk everywhere will be touted. The reality is that Lyons Avenue, which already has heavy traffic will become a parking lot. If the residents in the neighborhoods along the corridor want to retain any of the character that now exsists, they should be getting together now, or they will be living in the SFV North in a few years.
  4. Bill ReynoldsMay 20, 2011 at 8:39 am
    Can’t you just see it now… back-in parking along Lyons! Yipee!
  5. MikeMay 20, 2011 at 8:40 am
    If there’s anywhere in the city that can shoulder some high density development well, it’s Lyons. It’s relatively straight, goes right to the freeway, tons of in and out points and it is already a very walkable neighborhood – the most walkable in the city, by a long shot. I get Jeff’s beef, being acclimated to the way things are, but thinking of the big picture, Lyons is ripe for some tuning, and it has plenty of room to grow. The post office/Caston’s center is as under-utilized as they come. No need for air quotes.
  6. ChristineMay 20, 2011 at 9:24 am
    What I particularly appreciated in the Planning Dept’s intro to the Corridor Plan was this sentence: “As part of this process, City staff will be collecting excessive field data of the current environment which will be useful as a plan is developed. ” Perhaps the writer meant “extensive.” Anybody recall how much hoopla the 4-story building created when it was approved by the County just prior to Cityhood? Or the Firestone franchise that proposed to take out a mature Valley oak? I’m unfortunately too much of a newcomer to recall when Lyons was a 2-lane street complete with mature oaks along its central axis – but I’ve heard the stories.
  7. Bill ReynoldsMay 20, 2011 at 10:04 am
    I clearly recall Master Blogger Jeffrey freaking out over that new Walgreens at Lyons and Old Orchard so it’s humorous seeing his reaction here but yet he is swooning over Newhall’s upgrade.
  8. lstaedtlerMay 22, 2011 at 3:33 pm
    You’re misunderstood. Low-density sprawl is the reason why the San Fernando Valley is the way it is today. We can not follow the same path and the 1950s ideology of development. Studies indicate mixed-use higher density leads to increased quality of life, health, reduced traffic, and increased sense of community. Low density sprawl consumes much more space and destorys ore natural landscape. Higher denisty with mixed-use is able to house the same number of people in a more compact space thus leaving more of the natural landscape in place.
  9. FredMay 20, 2011 at 8:09 am
    Does anyone know if we are able to retain our original library card so we can have the best of both worlds? Or will we be required to trade them in?
  10. MikeMay 20, 2011 at 8:35 am
    Oddly ecumenical of you, Fred. My understanding is yes, for the time being, city dwellers can go to the county libraries and county dwellers can go to the city libraries.
  11. Cheryl PhillipsMay 20, 2011 at 9:09 am
    All the County Library will ask of you is that you change your home library by June 18th when they will vacate the Newhall, Valencia and Joanne Darcy Libraries. Depending on your location the three closest County libraries are Castaic, Sylmar and Acton Agua Dulce branches. Items can also be returned to the Bookmobile that visits Stevenson Ranch. Friday 10:00 a.m. – 12 noon Richard Rioux Park (weekly) 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 26233 W. Faulkner Dr. Stevenson Ranch, CA So, yes, you can continue to use your LA County library card at all County libraries and continue to use their online catalog for interlibrary loans, and, yes, you can apply and receive a City of Santa Clarita library card and access their interlibrary loan online catalog – Inland Library System. In this system you will be accessing the collections of the Inyo, Riverside and San Bernardino County libraries. From what we’ve been told books from these counties will be driven to Santa Clarita 6 days a week.
  12. PetzMay 20, 2011 at 9:23 am
    Petz ordered his Santa Clarita card this morning online.
  13. PetzMay 20, 2011 at 9:28 am
    Petz just wants to go on the record opposing Obama’s support for the Philistines. When you do not support Israel, you call out the wrath of God upon yourself. This country cannot wait until 2012 for change at the top. A horrific foreign policy meant to undermine our friends and subsidize the enemies of western civilization. Liberals, will always be liberal first.
  14. Bill ReynoldsMay 20, 2011 at 9:58 am
    Ben Stein’s observation: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/15/sunday/main20063017.shtml
  15. Bill ReynoldsMay 20, 2011 at 10:07 am
    This just in: http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/johnransom/2011/05/20/obama,_your_jimmy_carter_is_showing/page/full/
  16. Bill ReynoldsMay 20, 2011 at 10:18 am
    And, for the record… President B. Hussein just had his lunch handed to him by Big Ben! Ha!
  17. Coastal SageMay 20, 2011 at 11:23 am
    Hey Petz, there are lots of “liberals” or “progressive Democrats” who are also “pro-Israel” in their views. There’s a word rodef from the Babylonian Talmud which tends to inform people’s views on this issue.
  18. NateMay 20, 2011 at 4:18 pm
    Please educated on your racist terms for Jewish people…
  19. Coastal SageMay 20, 2011 at 6:31 pm
    Hey Nate, it’s ridiculous claim I’m racist towards Jews or Israel when 25% of my family were killed by the Nazis in Aktion Reinhardt and at Belzek and Maidanek. Look it up.
  20. yourwebguruMay 20, 2011 at 1:37 pm
    Israel’s existence was born largely in part to the terror activities of the IZL in the 40′s (Led by future Nobel Peace Price winner Menachim Begin) who bombed administration and police buildings, as well as killing 96 innocent people (and wounding hundreds more) in the King David Hotel blast of 1946. The Israelis also secretly collaborated with the French in the late 50s to build a nuclear weapons facility. When the US finally found out about it in 1963, the Israelis pulled a deceptive move by building fake walls and consoles to make the US inspectors believe they were merely building a power facility (Where do you think Saddam Hussein got his ideas from when he did the same thing in the 1990s?). By 1967, the Israelis had two nuclear bombs, one pointed at Egypt, the other at Jordan. I’m not making an anti-Israel statement, but merely historical statements of fact. Israel’s enemies have only followed their lead in getting what they want.
  21. Mr PerezMay 20, 2011 at 2:39 pm
    You are right on the money Guru in regards to IZL. The group Lehi aka Stern Gang though was much worse and as I learned in one of my early Criminal Justice classes on terrorism, they were actually one of the first designated terrorist groups in the modern ME. Lehi was horrible in the crimes they committed Britain to include assassination and corroborating with the Nazis. They were later honored by Israel, elected one of their own to Prime Minister(Shamir), and have a military award named after them. They remind me alot of groups like Hamas and the IRA that were murderous thugs but whose crimes were ignored because they were fighting for the “people.” Total hypocrisy and a double standard….SMH
  22. yourwebguruMay 20, 2011 at 3:05 pm
    And don’t even get me started on how Hamas actually began its existence as a creation of the Mossad (Israeli intelligence service) to provide a counterbalance and competitor to the PLO.
  23. Coastal SageMay 20, 2011 at 6:53 pm
    Mr. Perez: There were three separate Israeli groups involved in the formation of Israel: Haganah, Irgun and Lehi. For your information, Lehi was run by a group of crackpots, who did indeed try to interest the Nazis in helping them overthrow the British Mandate. Yitzi Shamir became Prime Minister long after the U.N. recognized Israel’s existence, and then only because of the then usual fractious Israeli politics which denied the major parties the Prime Minister post. I am well aware of this information because my husband’s cousin was a proud member of the Knesset between 1951 and 1987. The rest of your facts are selectively chosen, scrambled up, and an insult to the thousands of women and men who died to achieve the formation of the State of Israel. To you, I can only suggest that you study your history and your supposed enemies and terrorists more carefully.
  24. Mr PerezMay 22, 2011 at 10:28 pm
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehi_(group) If you clearly read my statement I never gave Lehi the credit for starting modern day Israel. A group comprised of thugs and criminals could never accomplish such a task, hence the reason Hamas has managed to set back the peace talks years. And the facts speak for themselves. There was an award named after them and even a stamp I believe which is an affront to those who peacefully ensured Israel was born. I think you are mixing up two comment blocks so I suggest you read over the two more carefully with an emphasis on the author, not that I disagree with Guru much in this. My view tends to be that the Palestinians and Israelis need to come to the realization neither side will advance with the continued separation and hatred amongst the two which is exacerbated by fake borders and egos. There needs to be a ONE state solution simply put. The PA is a failure and will never work. At least the Israeli govt is experienced at governing people and management of resources.
  25. Gail OrtizMay 20, 2011 at 9:34 am
    Cheryl is correct, you may still keep your County Library card to access the County libraries/materials, but you will need a new City of Santa Clarita Public Library card to check out materials at the City’s three libraries after July 1. You may complete your City library card application online at http://www.santaclaritalibrary.com . You will need to bring your photo identification to your home library after July 1 to receive your new library card. For those who would like to get their new library card prior to July 1, the City has set up time in June at three locations throughout the City. (visit http://www.santaclaritalibrary.com for those dates/times/places.) Also, there will be grand opening festivities at each of the three libraries as follows: Canyon Country library-July 1 at 10 a.m.; Newhall Library-July 1 at 2 p.m. and Valencia Library July 5 at 10 a.m. Finally, for those who would prefer to be mailed an application, call the City’s Library Hotline at 661.286.4055.
  26. TaTonkaMay 20, 2011 at 9:43 am
    RIP! Randy “Macho Man” Savage
  27. Mr PerezMay 20, 2011 at 9:47 am
    WHAT??!!
  28. TaTonkaMay 20, 2011 at 9:51 am
    Auto accident in FL this morning. He gave me lots of laughs
  29. Mr PerezMay 20, 2011 at 9:54 am
    He went to high school a few towns over from me, wow. I just read he supposedly suffered a heart attack which caused the car accident, sad it came down to that. One always assumed he would’ve went the route of Lex Luger with the “supplements” he bulked up with.
  30. Josh PremakoMay 20, 2011 at 10:38 am
    Jeff, has there been any word from said photographer regarding whether any contact has been made by Newhall Land? I noticed your blog post regarding the matter disappeared quickly. (Has the GOBN infiltrated SCVTalk HQ?!?!)
  31. JeffMay 20, 2011 at 10:42 am
    I removed it because I made some factually incorrect attributions. The basic facts of the story were correct, but the photographer wasn’t who I said it was, it was someone else. Rather than re-write it I just unposted it. I have no update
  32. Coastal SageMay 20, 2011 at 11:56 am
    Jeff asks: “Hart District/Facilities Foundation in land swap scheme to avoid paying property taxes. What’s $200,000 among friends?” The short history of the Santa Clarita Valley Facilities Foundation it was incorporated by the Hart District’s lawyer, Wendy Wiles, in a very clever plan hatched with former Superintendent Bob Lee. The Foundation would lease/option the Golden Valley High School site to the District, before the Foundation even owned the land. The District paid a $1 Million security deposit under its lease. The Foundation used the $1 Million to buy all of its Golden Valley land (far larger than the school site) and for operational seed money. The District then lent the Foundation approximately $15 Million dollars to develop all of the Golden Valley land, including that outside the school site. The District next got the State of California to pay well in excess of $16 Million for the District to acquire ownership of the 40 acre Golden Valley school site from the Foundation. The Foundation pocketed the “profit” from the land sale to the Hart District and sold off most of the rest of its land surrounding the high school for residential development, again putting the sales proceeds in the Foundation’s pocket. Bob Lee retired as Superintendent, and the one Hart Board member who was also a Foundation Board member resigned. There was a “tussle” between the Hart Board and the Foundation Board about who got to choose the Board of Directors members of the Foundation, but the corporate documents created by Lee and Wiles clearly stated that the Foundation Board, alone, got to choose their successors. For a while the Foundation’s income and expense statements were consolidated into the Hart District’s financial statement, so no one could figure out how much profit the Foundation was making on its land development activities. Later the Foundation’s income and expense and financial statements were de-consolidated, the Foundation kept appointing their own directors and the Foundation used the “profit” it had made on the Golden Valley projects to purchase other land, as listed in The Signal’s story today. There has been a 10 year history of quiet tension between the Hart Board and the Foundation Board. The tension has arisen, in some part, because of the public’s perception that since all of the “profit” made by the Foundation was originally derived from California taxpayer funds, that the Foundation’s assets should be under the control of elected officials, such as the Hart Board, or that ownership of the Foundation’s assets should simply be turned over to the Hart District. So now, from The Signal article, it appears that the Foundation is “land heavy and cash poor” and that turn over of ownership to the Hart District will happen as to some Foundation properties. None of the foregoing was found to be illegal, even though it was distasteful some. So Jeff, I think it’s fairer to say that ownership of all that land is being transferred to its rightful owner. The practical question, however, is why ALL of the Foundation’s properties are not being deeded over to the Hart District? I suspect the answer lies in an obligation to return title to, or the dollar value of, excess properties to the State of California, which in essence paid far more than “actual land acquisition and development costs” of the GVHS site when the District purchased it from the Foundation. In essence, that first school site development profit got the Foundation started in the real estate development business.
  33. TaTonkaMay 20, 2011 at 1:07 pm
    Peace based on illusions will crash eventually on the rocks of Middle East reality. Classic bitch slap

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