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September 6, 2011· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

September 6, 2011 – Daily Brief

By Jeff — Jeff Wilson

  • A brush fire in Agua Dulce is threatening Vazquez Rocks. The fire, which started when a candle fell over inside a trailer and lit curtains on fire, was 30% contained as of last night SCV NEWS, FOX 11
  • August Economic Report: Tax revenues up, film permits u p, but median home & condo values down, and commercial real estate is still in the tank in SCV SIGNAL
  • The City wouldn’t go on record about it (or perhaps the Signal didn’t try), but there is dispute about the recent Allstate report that Santa Clarita drivers are, well, pretty awful. In an article at the Signal it’s hinted that the Allstate report included areas outside the City of Santa Clarita’s boundaries. The Allstate report mentioned the City of Santa Clarita by name and included its population (roughly 167,000) but it’s unknown if the report included unincorporated county areas SIGNAL
  • Great article on the underground water sources the SCV depends on and how perchlorate, the toxic rocket byproduct from Whittaker, spreads throughout SIGNAL
  • Interesting article on Canyon Country resident Joseph McDivitt, a 94 year old World War II veteran who negotiated the surrender of a German military unit in WWII, forestalling the bloody invasion of a Swiss town. McDivitt has been awarded honorary Swiss citizenship for his actions 60+ years ago SIGNAL
  • Tammy Marashlian takes a look at the SCV elementary schools that didn’t make the No Child Left Behind cut SIGNAL
  • And the API record for SCV charter schools is a mixed bag SIGNAL
  • Austerity Wins: Californians apparently want less state and federal spending, thinking that if we cut spending, prosperity will result according to a new LA TIMES poll
  • Interesting Bloomberg interview with Buck McKeon on defense cuts. McKeon says the US has a “special role” in the world and that means defense shouldn’t be cut BLOOMBERG
  • Dave Bossert remembers where he was on 9/11. An east coast native, he had a sister who lived in Manhattan on that day. WRB
  • Speaking of 9/11, there is a remembrance ceremony next Sunday at Canyons PAC LINK
  • SCV Historians teaming up to create another SCV history book, this one about “SCV Legends.” When I was a teen we used the word “Legendary” many times to describe the actions of popular people, but to be an SCV Legend will require a much higher bar, methinks. My nomination? Tiburcio Vasquez, king of all SCV Legends, for his legendary banditry exploits, womanizing prowess, and his epic hanging death before a mob in San Jose. LEGENDARY
  • Signal LTE writer vainly hopes SCV will get an “art house theater” like Laemmle so that SCVers will have more options than just the latest smutty Will Ferrel comedy. I gave up on this dream years ago. Netflix dude.  SIGNAL
  • Anger over McKeon’s lukewarm response to Senator Barbara Boxer’s CEMEX legislation SIGNAL LTE
  • Lori Rivas systematically dismantles the Ministry of Truth’s City of Santa Clarita’s dishonest history of the library debate. Quote of the week: “Support AB 438, or oppose it, but do not publish some creative writing about how things went down in Santa Clarita. You got your libraries. Give us our history.” Oh Snap! SIGNAL

Comments

18 · as published
  1. Damage IncSeptember 6, 2011 at 9:40 am
    “A brush fire in Agua Dulce is threatening Vazquez Rocks.” Good thing rocks aren’t that flammable…
  2. Phil EllisSeptember 6, 2011 at 12:39 pm
    Have you ever seen lava?
  3. Coastal SageSeptember 6, 2011 at 6:06 pm
    People who live around the park call their neighborhood Vaszuez Rocks, by the way.
  4. spineflower2September 6, 2011 at 10:18 pm
    Lava is melted rock, not burning rock.
  5. Lori RivasSeptember 6, 2011 at 9:45 am
    Fully footnoted version of my column is available at SaveSantaClaritaLibraries.wordpress.com. Thanks, Jeff. That was my husband’s favorite line, too.
  6. Coastal SageSeptember 6, 2011 at 6:01 pm
    “Ministry of Trust” gets a prize, especially since I’ve been subjected to an outrageous rash of b.s. from one of those Ministers of Trust, concerning Whittaker Bermite, since early 2011. Eye blinking while holding one’s body ramrod stiff, and telling half truths, non-truths, and legal nonsense is just so convincing. If the comrade political officers from PRAVDA of old visited Santa Clarita, they’d be laughing hysterically at those who get paid to be part of “the Ministry”.
  7. Cheryl PhillipsSeptember 6, 2011 at 9:05 pm
    Thanks for your great article on Sunday, Lori. As a Librarian I get pretty excited when people do the research and actually give me the links where I can read the facts for myself. I’m just plain proud to know you, girl! Tomorrow AB438! Here’s to protecting all future California libraries.
  8. WalkerSeptember 6, 2011 at 11:03 am
    For the record – The library is driving me crazy again. We get ‘late’ reminders for every single book we borrow…..even well after they’ve been returned. They clear up eventually, but it’s annoying as heck to have to keep our own records of what we’ve returned (we borrow a ton) so that we can cross reference their incorrect ‘materials due’ emails.
  9. CCSeptember 6, 2011 at 12:24 pm
    Oh for crying out loud! The City spends more time worrying about negative press than actually making improvements to avoid negative press. As for the library, do you have to give them an email address?
  10. Phil EllisSeptember 6, 2011 at 12:41 pm
    No you don’t. I had to add mine as I prefer e-mail rather than phone notices.
  11. Phil EllisSeptember 6, 2011 at 12:40 pm
    I have received one renewal notice but no late notices.
  12. Cheryl PhillipsSeptember 6, 2011 at 8:31 pm
    In the last week I was sent a book instead of my ordered audiobook, and two days later got a 2nd copy of a book I had already picked up a few days prior. It’s only been 2 month but since I don’t see any evaluation tools in place, and am pretty sure our “Library Advisory Board” is not keeping any kind of evaluation records, I will continue to record my experiences so we have concrete examples of how LSSI is meeting our City Council’s expectations.
  13. Coastal SageSeptember 6, 2011 at 6:05 pm
    Walter, try asking for a receipt when you return your library materials. That will drive the company’s employees crazy, and if they refuse then you will have two issues to complain about if you got to the “Public Comments” part of a City Council meeting. The notices you receive can bring serious trouble down the line if they are not cleared up, since many libraries send non-returned book reimbursement demands to collection agencies, so don’t just blow them off.
  14. WalkerSeptember 6, 2011 at 6:50 pm
    I don’t think you need to provide an email, but you can. You could w/the county system, too. It’s really handy for handling your account. They’ll (both systems) email you when your hold materials have arrived, a few days before your books are due, and when your books are overdue. I’ve never requested a receipt when I drop off books, LOL, but maybe I should start! My kids like to put them in the bins outside (and actually, I’m not even sure where you return books ‘in person’ at the CC branch which we’ve been trying to use more often, but I should find out.) It’s not the end of the world, its just annoying. I’m having to make lists of the titles we return so that I can cross reference against the books they claim we’re not returning. Just yesterday I got a ‘due materials’ email that included books we had returned DAYS earlier (I had assumed maybe they were just a day or so slow in processing, but this lead me to believe it for sure is some sort of processing issue).
  15. AlpinerSeptember 6, 2011 at 12:07 pm
    Okay, it is off topic, but has anyone else seen this? Pretty funny… http://www.thrillist.com/home-gadgets/los-angeles/1932-zombie-killing-games_art
  16. 4eyedsueSeptember 6, 2011 at 10:07 pm
    How about this zombie game. I am in no way endorsing violence against the tea party…and I only chuckled a little bit at the Michele Bachmann zombie. http://teapartyzombiesmustdie.com/
  17. kevitivitySeptember 6, 2011 at 2:58 pm
    A Laemmle theater would be nice (used to live two blocks away from the Pasadena location), but what I really want is an Arclight!
  18. Cheryl PhillipsSeptember 6, 2011 at 8:41 pm
    I’m with you but I want both. I have an entire group of friends that regularly go to the Valley to see REAL MOVIES. We go to Sherman Oaks Arclight and Encino Town Center Lammle. In fact I just won two tickets to the Arclight on Patti Rasmussen’s new blog – http://cinderelliesister.wordpress.com/ . Give it a look see. You might just WIN something!
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