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August 18, 2011· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

Some things to talk about

By Linda

Since Jeff is off lounging by the pool, I thought I’d compile a brief list of things to talk about for all of you whiling away the hours now that the kids are back in school and summer is winding down.

  • How about that gross 5″ x 8″ picture on the front page of today’s Signal showing a West Ranch High student eating a burrito?  I wonder how many people were put off their breakfast gazing at that.  If you aren’t among the fortunate print subscribers, follow this link and click on the fifth image:  Yuk 
  • How many DUI’s should someone be allowed before they have to surrender their driver’s license permanently?  Dennis Keene of Agua Dulce, who ran over his neighbor and killed her on Saturday, while he was under the influence, has now been charged with murder.  Keene has one past conviction of hit and run as well as two prior DUI convictions.  Signal
  • Is anyone really worried about West Nile virus?  Every year we read that West Nile has been found in the SCV.  Indeed, my husband and I found a dead crow in our neighborhood a few years back, which was later found to have the virus.  And yet in spite of the dire predictions, cases of this dreaded bug are minimal.  (Signal)  Is it a plot by big pharma to get us to buy chemical repellants? 
  • How is the new city library system working out for everyone?  There have been a couple of letters to the editor recently complaining about the dysfunctional inter-library loan procedure, and plenty of complaints in the comments to those letters as well.  (Signal)
  • What sort of animal is this?  Fox News reported on an interesting possibility.  Check out the picture:  Chupcabra.

Comments (54)

  1. LarMccAugust 18, 2011 at 9:55 am
    I am surprised the signal did not turn off commenting on the burrito picture. It was strangely homo-erotic and ripe for fun commenting. Then again, maybe I am just too juvenile.
  2. MikeAugust 18, 2011 at 10:03 am
    I think our justice system is incredibly soft of alcohol/vehicle related offenses. But I think the more effective solution is not in taking away the right to drive, but the right to drink. His priors (if they tell the whole story) were a long time ago. This certainly has a bearing on the severity of the charge, but if he’s had a clean record for 10 years, it’s a murkier picture. p.s. it’s DUIs, not DUI’s
  3. harryhoudiniAugust 18, 2011 at 3:19 pm
    I think the punishments our entire justice system hands out for violent and dangerous crimes is entirely too soft and the enforcement of the more “victimless” crimes has entirely way too much time and money spent on it. Watching a new “cops” show called Vegas Strip the one officer talked about their prostitution enforcement and how “they keep arresting them one night and they are back out the next” and sometimes they will “arrest girls 3 times a week”. All I could think was wow, excellent use of time and resources. Not to say that any crime should be allowed or tolerated but we keep having to “add X more police to the streets” so maybe the numbers aren’t the problem. I think I liken it to a corporation run horribly wrong (which seem to be most that I have worked for) where money has to be spent, budgets have to be used, or they are lost. If you can’t spend the money you projected then obviously you either can’t project correctly or you aren’t spending on the needed items, right? Not to mention the “jail-tels” we run now. Makes me sick watching the TV shows about inmates who have essentially all of the amenities that they can afford. Stores that are provided by the facility where they can buy chips, candy, etc. We no longer run “correctional facilities” nor do we “rehabilitate” we simply house, make comfortable, provide free room/board/meals and a private gym. No wonder recurrence is as prevalent as it is.
  4. AlpinerAugust 18, 2011 at 6:37 pm
    Do you really believe that any of these crimes are victimless?
  5. harryhoudiniAugust 18, 2011 at 8:09 pm
    “Victimless” was in quotes for a reason. I’m sure someone is affected by almost every action taken in the world… butterflies and such. But there are many low level, petty, non-voilent crimes that get way too much attention versus the more hardcore crimes/criminals.
  6. Saugus DadAugust 18, 2011 at 10:50 am
    I think its funny that schools continue to serve burrito’s, pizza etc. but a kid cannot buy a coke or pepsi because they are deemed “unhealthy”
  7. Timothy Myers SRAugust 18, 2011 at 11:35 am
    SD: Remember that this was a weekend event and the five foot burritos (I salivate just thinking about it) were provided by a local restaurant.
  8. Need for Involved CitizenryAugust 18, 2011 at 12:30 pm
    The event was Tuesday night at the old Do It Center resturant. I was there. I think Margaritas? provided the food. Hart won by about 10 seconds over Canyon.
  9. AlpinerAugust 18, 2011 at 6:38 pm
    Or heaven forbid you bring cup cakes for the entire class…
  10. 4eyedsueAugust 18, 2011 at 8:53 pm
    store bought, gluten free, sugar free, low fat, organic cupcakes…mmmm!
  11. rnddudeAugust 18, 2011 at 11:27 am
    Taking away someone’s license does not prevent them from driving, all they need is a vehicle and keys to start it. There are already many, many people driving about without a legal license.
  12. AlpinerAugust 18, 2011 at 6:39 pm
    I like Mike’s idea of not being able to buy liquor.
  13. MikeAugust 19, 2011 at 8:08 am
    Not just ability to purchase, but for people convicted of serious alcohol-related infractions, I don’t think a long-term monitoring bracelet is too much to ask. Of course driving sanctions ought to be a part of it, but I really think the more logical consequence is to forbid that person from doing that which made their activity so dangerous. Not to mention, a drunk person is actually more likely to die walking home drunk than driving home drunk.
  14. LindaAugust 18, 2011 at 6:45 pm
    You’re right. We need more creative ways to keep them off the road. Maybe we should poke their eyes out. Okay, maybe that’s excessive…. how about making it a crime to sell, rent or loan a car to someone without a valid license and insurance?
  15. Lori RivasAugust 18, 2011 at 11:34 am
    A few thoughts on the libraries: if, in fact, City employees are “volunteering” at the libraries, during work hours, is this, really, volunteering? Or, is this just a (temporary?) re-assignment of duties, because, presumably, the employees are on the clock, and being paid for their regular job. If so, then these wages should be pro-rated, and included in the cost of running the libraries. “During library card registration, three-quarters of the city staff helped us tag materials or hand out library cards so we could be ready for July 1.” – Ed Kieczykowski, http://hometownstation.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25665:kieczykowski-library-clarita-2011-08-11-18-46&catid=26:local-news&Itemid=97 I don’t have a problem with shuffling job responsibilities. I mean, if people are being paid, and there are not enough regular duties to perform, heck yeah, ask them to help with the libraries. But just be honest about it, and say the libraries did not have enough paid staff/community volunteers for particular duties, and calculate the cost. Secondly, if the library volunteers are not, truly, being fingerprinted and having a background check before working with children, all I can say is, wow. That is a huge oversight, and God protect the kids. On the other hand, if the City employee “volunteers” are not being fingerprinted, an argument can be made that the City has already, presumably, done some kind of background check as part of City employment. My concern would be community volunteers not being checked.
  16. Timothy Myers SRAugust 18, 2011 at 11:44 am
    Surprised that I am saying this but it is time to let the library thing go. The City has the libraries now and the service is 60 to 80 percent of what the County provided so there you have it. There are no serious candidates against the incumbents in 2012 so the complainers at this point are just complaining for the sake of complaining. The financial play “may” provide the money for the new Newhall Library and that was the entire purpose.
  17. Lori RivasAugust 18, 2011 at 11:54 am
    I get what you are saying. The deed is done. There is no longer a battle to preserve the system we had, or to debate the merits of the process. However, like any public service, I think it is important to point out what things are working/not working, and advocate to improve service. I have asked several people to run for City Council. I wish someone would. I, perhaps, wrongly assume that sitting on the City Council is like a full-time job, with the meeting and public appearance requirements, plus all the research to educate yourself on issues and things coming up for a vote. Is this a faulty assumption? In any case, holding elected officials accountable always has merit.
  18. AlpinerAugust 18, 2011 at 6:41 pm
    What was needed was a viable city council candidate. The only way things change is when incumbents fear that they may lose their seats.
  19. Lori RivasAugust 18, 2011 at 6:48 pm
    Agreed. So, who can we lean on to run?
  20. LindaAugust 18, 2011 at 6:49 pm
    I nominate you, Lori!
  21. Lori RivasAugust 18, 2011 at 7:02 pm
    Thank you, Linda. I am flattered and humbled. Maybe in 10 years, when my youngest is an adult, but right now, homeschooling my kids is my #1 priority, and consumes nearly all my time.
  22. Lori RivasAugust 18, 2011 at 7:03 pm
    Plus, I need time to figure out how to tap that union bank account….
  23. ToddAugust 19, 2011 at 7:08 am
    I KNEW IT!!!!
  24. mystery1August 20, 2011 at 12:12 pm
    I agree that the library issue is “done”, and we all may as well live with the mess the city created. I have, in vain, tried to use the “wonderful, new and improved system” to no avail. Absolutely not ONE book or dvd I have wanted is available, period. I’m not talking about obscure items that only I want. There are 3 books coming out this month by well know authors. When I contacted someone at the library, I was told “there has to be a certain number of people who request them before they can be ordered”. Hmmmmm, so guess what? The county system has all 3 books on order, plus the 2 dvd’s I wanted. As I stated in a prior post, I now take a drive every couple of weeks from Valencia to Castaic to pick up my items. Maybe I should send my gas bills to the city council, LOL.
  25. SplashGuardAugust 18, 2011 at 5:24 pm
    The situation with the City Libraries must be really bad with those complaining about it outnumbering the regular City apologists in the Signal’s LTE. That has got to be a statistically significant number. Please, how many times have we heard that we voted for these people, and therefore we have to live with their decisions? Okay. But we have to watch how their decisions come out. In this case it looks expensive for the taxpayer, and not so good for the public that uses the libraries. We don’t have to re-elect them, and the libraries are a reason to remember why not to elect them again. So it is not time to let the library thing go. It’s time to hang on to it, and ask any challengers that might pop up, what they would do to make sure decisions this bad don’t happen again. And ask the incumbent, exactly what “research” her ad hoc committee actually did…or didn’t do. Laurie? We still can’t hear you.
  26. PetzAugust 18, 2011 at 6:07 pm
    Petz did read Lori Rivas piece in The Signal encouraging dumpster diving in our recyclable cans and he disagrees with her profusely.
  27. LindaAugust 18, 2011 at 6:51 pm
    Would Jesus turn someone away from his recyclables bin?
  28. Lori RivasAugust 18, 2011 at 6:56 pm
    With which part did you disagree? That recycling earns a neglible amount of money for the City? That repurposing waste is a time honored sign of frugality? That individuals can provide for themselves from our waste? That the Supreme Court has ruled that once your trash hits the curb, anyone can legally access it? That the crumbs that fall from your table should not be shared with the poor?
  29. PetzAugust 18, 2011 at 7:47 pm
    Lori writes well and makes a decent persuasive argument for her position, Petz was not convinced. One must not think with their heart, that is the root cause of liberalism.
  30. spineflower2August 18, 2011 at 8:00 pm
    …and not thinking with your heart is the root of evil.
  31. NateAugust 18, 2011 at 8:01 pm
    ALL Political idealist think with their heart… American political parties resemble religious sects more then political organizations. It is a shame people love their political party more then AMERICA. The founders would be ashamed.
  32. Lori RivasAugust 18, 2011 at 8:07 pm
    That is a non-response, Petz, though I thank you for the writing compliment.
  33. AnAtheistAugust 19, 2011 at 8:33 am
    Yep. For those that “In God We Trust” —(without the quotes)— thinking with their hearts is apparently not the right thing to do, at least according to the Petz that Petz was talking to. Thinking rationally will stop liberalism dead in its tracks because the rule will be whatever costs less in taxes is good. So much for the liberalism that brought (bought with stolen tax dollars?) libraries, public schools, homeless shelters, and pauper graves. I do not want to start the religious to start fighting among themselves, but I have to ask. Is selfish rationalism a tenet for most religions? That seems it should be a dogmatic position for the political not the religious.
  34. 4eyedsueAugust 19, 2011 at 9:27 am
    For the Muslims, the third pillar of Islam is charity. For the Jews and the Christians: Deuteronomy 15:7 says: If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Problem is- do we have to have a middle man? And if so, is it Church or Government?
  35. NateAugust 18, 2011 at 7:57 pm
    I don’t know of a civil recycling program that runs a profit… most, not all, but most recycling is a waste of time, money energy and effort. You should do more honest research…
  36. Lori RivasAugust 18, 2011 at 8:06 pm
    Is that for me, Nate? The more honest research thing? The only reason I researched how much $$$ the City makes on recycling is because I knew that people would counter my argument by saying taking recyclables steals $$$ from the City, and I wanted the hard numbers to demonstrate otherwise.
  37. NateAugust 19, 2011 at 9:45 am
    If I am not mistaken all municipals have to charge fees to cover recycling programs otherwise they run a loss. They don’t make buckets of money taking trash down to a recycling machine to get a fist full of nickels. Your reasoning that a scavenging regulation is to stop stealing is flawed. Do I want someone digging through my trash? NO! why? It is called ID theft and I am sure you have heard of it. Just a tad more critical thinking please…
  38. harryhoudiniAugust 19, 2011 at 9:52 am
    If you are relying on gov’t regulations to keep your trash from becoming fodder for identity theft then you are a more trusting individual than I.
  39. NateAugust 19, 2011 at 3:35 pm
    I don’t
  40. Lori RivasAugust 19, 2011 at 10:13 am
    Nate, drop the insults. You don’t have to agree with me, and I am sure there are flaws in my argument, but civil discussion is so much more pleasant and productive. Folks use several arguments to support anti-scavenging laws, and my goal was to expose the fallacy of those arguments, and strip the issue down to the roots, which, in my mind, is possessiveness. Again, the Supreme Court has stated in a majority opinion that anyone can access your trash when it hits the curb. If you are concerned about identity theft, then shred your documents. BTW, in the Greenwood v. California Supreme Court case, do you know how the police accessed Greenwood’s trash? It wasn’t the police, directly, who walked up to Greenwood’s curb, and dug in — the cops conspired with the waste hauler, ahead of time, to keep Greenwood’s trash separate, and then, later, pass on the trash to the police to rummage through. I don’t know of any municipalities that profit from recycling, at least, not in any substantial or obvious way.
  41. NateAugust 19, 2011 at 3:47 pm
    “and my goal was to expose the fallacy of those arguments” a bit ironic that your fallacies where much more glaring. Pointing out your petitio principii, isn’t at all an insult. Are you such a narcisit that your logic could never be questioned? Support your arguments better.
  42. Lori RivasAugust 19, 2011 at 3:55 pm
    Nate, this is no discussion. You said identity theft, I said Supreme Court opinion, you call me names. I *said* that I am sure my argument has fallacies. I am not fool-proof. Discuss the issue, or just disagree, but drop the name calling.
  43. NateAugust 19, 2011 at 6:13 pm
    Please point out where I “called names”… You seem more worried about your hurt feelings then discussing the “straw man” hit piece you threw out on TMS. Frankly you are way to sensitive to be writing such hit piece in the newspaper.
  44. AlpinerAugust 20, 2011 at 3:29 pm
    Not all honorable things are profitable. Recycling is an honorable. thing. I recycle, my church recycles. I believe in recycling, but know that it is a money loser. I absolutely have no problem with that.
  45. AnAtheistAugust 18, 2011 at 7:12 pm
    Well Petz, that’s an important position to make known. I will remember it if you run for City Council. I will also remember how important it was to you to have the quotation marks removed from “In God We Trust.” That and poor people stealing discarded aluminum cans are not trivial concerns. Glad to see you have the guts to step up and take a swipe, with profuse disagreement, at someone just a little too sympathetic to those who would support themselves in such an immoral way.
  46. harryhoudiniAugust 18, 2011 at 8:11 pm
    AMEN! (pun intended, fellow infidel)
  47. AlpinerAugust 20, 2011 at 3:31 pm
    Not all Christians believe as Petz does. He has a right to his opinion and so do I. See my post above.
  48. LarMccAugust 18, 2011 at 10:20 pm
    LarMcc would agree with Petz on this. There are a variety of reasons I am against this. I do not want homeless people or scavengers in my neighborhood. There is a very high rate of mental illness and/or alcohol and substance abuse amongst these folks. Not exactly the kind of people I want in my neighborhood. If I see it happening, I call the cops. I do not want to worry about what I threw away finding it’s way to someone elses hands or the potential for identity theft. Under todays system, the process is almost fully automated and no one comes near my trash. Yes it could still happen at the dump, but I would think the chances of this happening would be greatly reduced at this level. Finally it is my understanding that recyclables do provide revenue which offset trash fees. Some recyclables are more valuable than others and some (I believe) have no profit or even a cost to recycle them. This is a minor reason for me, my main concerns are with my first two points. Lori, I think you may have some stats on this? Also, the supreme court decision I think you are referring to (Greenwood vs. California) applied only to the government and their ability to go through your trash without a warrant. It said nothing about municipalities being able to restrict dumpster diving, which they can do legally.
  49. Lori RivasAugust 18, 2011 at 11:09 pm
    These are the numbers given to me by the City, as printed in my column: “In 2010, the City collected 17,222 tons of mixed recyclables from its curbside collection program. This garnered the City the princely sum of $94,721, which was placed in the City’s General Fund, having a total annual budget of 79 million dollars. In other words, the City earns a very negligible amount of money on recyclables. In fact, if scavengers were to pull every single recyclable out of curbside dumpsters, the City would lose only 0.1199% of the General Fund revenue.” Additionally, I asked that if, by magic, everyone in SCV turned in their own recycling, how would that effect our waste bill, and I was told that could not be determined, but that our waste bill is determined by contract, so as to not fluctuate with either the market, nor citizen participation. I tried to ask this question many times, in many ways, hoping to get some idea on how recycling affects our waste bill, and this was the most complete answer I received. Lastly, while the Supreme Court case was decided in favor of police rummaging through trash on the curb, that decision was based on the majority opinion that it is understood that once your trash hits the curb, *anyone* can access your trash. As a side note, I found some remarkable, charitable organizations that help the poor, using only items/food scavenged from trash, like this one: http://www.foodnotbombs.net/ There was another that stood out to me — a Christian charity, but I cannot seem to find the link right now. Reno had an organized protest to a similar ordinance: http://www.saverenodumpsterdiving.com/ And I thought this guy’s radio show was hilarious, warning, though, he uses plenty of foul language: http://santacruz.indymedia.org/newswire/display/18814/index.php Lastly, though scavenging is often quoted as a gateway crime, I could not find any statistics or evidence of this — just the oft repeated phrase. Wonder how/where the quote originated?
  50. WalkerAugust 18, 2011 at 8:18 pm
    The library thing. Yeah, they’re kind of sucking it up. I’ve been trying to get my hands on a edu journal and they’ve been completely unhelpful. I called….and was disconnected by the system twice before I decide just to try another branch. Spoke to two different people at the branch trying to figure out if ‘we’ have access through any of our supposedly wonderful online resources. Though it’s clear we have resource databases available, no one was even remotely familiar with the databases nor did they have a clue if the journal I was seeking (Harvard) was available through any of those sources. Eventually I gave up on phone communication and went in to the Valencia branch (that I had been unable to reach via phone). Turns out we (supposedly) don’t have access. Um, for reals?
  51. JimAugust 18, 2011 at 9:31 pm
    On the library website if you go to research/reference – news/periodicals – and try under General Onefile, there is access to the Harvard Educational Review, if that is what you were looking for. You just have to enter in your library card number on General Onefile.
  52. WalkerAugust 19, 2011 at 3:24 pm
    Awesome!!!! Thank you SOOOO MUCH!!!! That’s exactly what I’m looking for! I KNEW we just had to have access to it.
  53. Coastal SageAugust 19, 2011 at 11:58 am
    RE: West Nile Virus. Take the threat seriously. There’s a useful article in the Daily News today describing who is at risk, and hot to take precautions when outside. See: http://www.dailynews.com/health/ci_18704398 From personal experience, I can say that the Daily News story is true. In 2008, my brother in law “Larry” was bit by a mosquito while getting out of his car in his driveway in Houston. He thought nothing of it, because we all grew up in the mosquito infested parts of northern NY State and Canada, where mosquitoes and mosquito bites are common. However, the mosquito which bit my brother in law had West Nile Virus. In less than a week, Larry had all of the symptoms described in the Daily News article, and lapsed into a coma and nearly died. The coma lasted for close to 2 weeks, while Larry was hospitalized in the Houston Medical Center when Hurricane Ike hit. Larry was in a room with floor to ceiling glass windows, on a high floor. While Larry was unconscious as Hurricane Ike hit Houston after destroying much of Galveston my sister in law sat with him, in his room, to care for him in case insufficient hospital personnel could make it into work. She said it was the most terrifying experience in her life. So, as usual, a life changing illness for one person affects the quality of life of an entire family. When Larry finally started to awaken, he discovered that his entire right side was paralyzed from the arm-pit down. Despite physical therapy, and an unbelievably positive attitude, the paralysis never went away. Prior to contracting West Nile Virus, Larry was a Type II Diabetic, who had had one heart attack. The West Nile virus permanently compromised his immune system, allowing a “common” tropical fungus found in the Houston bayous and along the Mississippi River to become a systemic, constant infection which is completely drug resistant. So now John has been in a 3 year battle against the secondary fungal infection, which is so aggressive it attacked his pacemaker and formed a huge colony on the pace maker wire. He needed surgery to remove the pacemaker and the fungal colony, and got pneumonia during the course of his hospitalization at Houston’s “best” medical center. The West Nile Virus also attacked Larry’s muscles, so despite physical therapy he is substantially weaker in the parts of his body which are not paralyzed. He uses a wheel chair and scooter. However, in “transferring” Larry has fallen three times, breaking the paralyzed leg three times. Of course, the leg does not heal well because of the West Nile compromised bodily functions, and the fungal infection which the virus invited into his body. After the first leg break, the fungal infection grew under Larry’s cast, and now the skin on the paralyzed leg is a huge permanent raw wound which won’t heal despite daily medical care. After the second and third leg breaks, a cast couldn’t be worn, making it all the more painful while the bone healed. During the course of Larry’s medical treatment for West Nile Virus and the cascade of problems it created, in the waiting room of his “infectious disease specialist” Larry has gotten to know approximately 50 people who have also been infected with the virus. Some had no pre-existing medical conditions which would have been expected to make them susceptible to the virus’ more severe effects, but the “normal” people were badly infected and their immune systems were permanently degraded, and they are fighting off a raft of opportunistic infections as well as organ damage. However, the majority of West Nile Virus patients Larry meets in his doctor’s waiting room fit into two groups: Adults with pre-existing medical conditions and children with medical problems like asthma and diabetes. Some of the patient’s he’s gotten to know have died, including children. I am taking the time to write this little summary as a supplement to the Daily News story on West Nile Virus generally http://www.dailynews.com/health/ci_18704398 because I hope Santa Claritans will take this very dangerous virus seriously. Please tell everyone you know to take every mosquito seriously, as a potential source of life destroying illness or death, and to follow the precautions described in the Daily News article.
  54. LindaAugust 19, 2011 at 12:26 pm
    Holy mackerel, CS, what a horrific story! I was already a little paranoid about mosquito bites (I’ve been screened for West Nile twice) but after reading your account, I’m going to be a mess every time I get bitten…

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