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October 3, 2011· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

October 3, 2011 – Daily Brief

By Jeff — Jeff Wilson

  • SCV population to increase by 171 people per week for the next few weeks. Oh. Did I mention that’s 171 inmates per week headed for Pitchess? SIGNAL
  • CEMEX will move forward with their Soledad Canyon gravel mining operation if there’s no Congressionally-approved land swap deal by the end of 2011 according to the Signal. That’s not the only bad news: chances are poor for a Boxer bill to pass the Senate unless there’s a companion bill in the House, which Buck McKeon is refusing to sponsor due to the GOP ban on earmarks. Thanks Buck indeed. SIGNAL
  • Tomorrow will be a big day for proponents and opponents of Newhall Ranch. The first phase of the project -Landmark Village with 1,444 residential units- will go before the County Board of Supes. SIGNAL
  • If you’re opposed to Newhall Ranch and want more details, the local chapter of the Sierra Club has some more information and talking points you can view here SCVTALK
  • The SCV Economic Development Corp is preparing to market the new, expanded Enterprise Zone that includes both City and County territories. The EDC says that although the expanded EZ hasn’t been officially approved, once approved it will back-date to January 1, 2011. SCVNEWS
  • Signal & WRB Team Up: Over at the Beacon, Dave Bossert has two bits of news. First the Signal has ended its search for a publisher and has given the job to Interim Publisher Morris Thomas. He’s the guy who usually fills in after a Signal publisher is fired until a new one is hired by Morris Media (yes it happens that often). Secondly, Bossert says the Signal will include a special section on west side news, dubbed “West Side Story” and will include posts from the Beacon in it. WRB
  • The former City building inspector who was charged with accepting bribes has plead not guilty to seven counts of felony bribery SIGNAL
  • Great profile of a Hollywood film technician turned Marine who now hunts Taliban in Afghanistan. Jake Miller, 24, of Newhall and a Canyon High Graduate, talks to the Signal’s new guy, Ray Bowden, about his experience leading fire team patrols in Helmand province. SIGNAL
  • Lyons Avenue Corridor Plan take 2: The City will hold a second Lyons Avenue Corridor plan on October 13 from 6 to 8pm at the Old Orchard Clubhouse. At the meeting City planners will “share results from the last public outreach meeting” and answer questions. I missed it back in July but on their website, the City posted which buildings residents of Newhall liked and disliked the most. CORRIDOR PLAN
  • Interesting article about how two local utilities (Burbank and Glendale) are trying to meet state-mandated goals of using renewable energy resources. Burbank is the recipient of methane gas produced from a landfill in the SCV (perhaps Chiquita?) LEADER
  • Tammy Marashlian write about the Hart District’s excellent program to help special-ed students find local jobs SIGNAL
  • Local tea party leader says he once had a sit down with McKeon’s chieft of staff and told him what’s what concerning which candidates get Tea Party support: “He patiently explained to me how we needed to put up more liberal candidates in some areas so that we could win those seats to ensure a larger voting bloc in the house … blah, blah, blah.  I chuckled and told him, “That’s not the way it works anymore.  Here’s how it works.  You put up conservative candidates and we will vote for them and they will win.  You put up RJINO’s and we will not vote for them and you will lose.” He also says the Tea Party is using the GOP, not the other way around. TEA PARTY
  • LTE writer says that we ought to abolish the minimum wage. But then what would we pay Signal journalists? LTE
  • LTE writer says we need to stop worrying about UN control, Soviety-style politburos, and the loss of SCV Sovereignty. That’s just what a UN-stooge would say, isn’t it? Let’s get him! LTE
  • Neat: Man organizes flash mob to propose to his girlfriend at Downtown Disney LATIMES
  • Myers: Teens in the SCV are ok. It’s the 20 somethings we have to worry about  SIGNAL

Comments (27)

  1. PetzOctober 3, 2011 at 10:20 am
    Newhall Land will need that sand and gravel from CEMEX for the new development. Building green means sourcing locally.
  2. Your Web GuruOctober 3, 2011 at 11:19 am
    That’s easy for you to say. You don’t live in that part of Canyon Country.
  3. PetzOctober 3, 2011 at 11:41 am
    No, but I use the Cross Valley Connector, and so will those trucks. Can we adapt and mitigate the negatives to make a positive ? Aggregate is a God given resource and we should use it to better our lives on Earth. My neighbor is a self employed dirt hauler and I want him employed in the valley. How much traffic will Disney add to the Newhall Corridor? Let us not discriminate against “Mexican” companies.
  4. BertaOctober 3, 2011 at 12:13 pm
    Petz I would not care if CEMEX were a Santa Clarita company. It still is too big a mine for a populated area. A large scale mining operation as proposed would create too much more truck traffic on our already gridlocked roadways, create even more dust, killer fine particulates in the air we breathe, additional noise, even worse eroded roads and streets, more pitted and cracked windshields from flying gravel, more health issues for those with asthma or compromised immune systems, more problems for nearby schools and residents, etc. All for a measly handful of local jobs, not worth it. Just ask Irwindale how much they love having a gravel mine in their community and how much it costs them to repair roads etc every year. No thanks. It is the wrong size project for a densely populated area, Petz.
  5. PetzOctober 3, 2011 at 1:04 pm
    This is a property rights issue. CEMEX bought and has the right to mine aggreagate. Our city has wasted 10 million dollars suing them for right that they have. Why didn’t the city use Open Space money to purchase the land from CEMEX ???? If you don’t fight for private property rights then you are a slave to the state. Shocking to have a TEA Party person believe otherwise. The negative impact can be mitigated.
  6. JeffOctober 3, 2011 at 1:06 pm
    At least Petz is consistent. A few years ago I was at a tea party rally where the driver of a huge stomper truck gunned his engine, producing a noxious blue cloud of exhaust that wafted over me and two older Tea Party women. They yelled at the guy to get a smog check and got really pissed at me when I suggested that laws requiring smog checks harm our freedom to pollute. Petz wouldn’t have said that.
  7. mikeOctober 3, 2011 at 1:24 pm
    I was about to say the same thing. I disagree with Petz in the SCV and beyond, but he is a conservative through and through. For so many SCV conservatives, when it’s the local government, they want a command economy with tight, “job-killing” governmental regulations on businesses and land use.
  8. VenturanOctober 3, 2011 at 2:59 pm
    I’d like to hear how Petz reconciles his views on property rights with his views on light pollution.
  9. PetzOctober 3, 2011 at 3:34 pm
    Efficiency and conservation. When the public is educated and are given an affordable alternative they make the correct choice.
  10. VenturanOctober 3, 2011 at 3:40 pm
    Do you feel there should be ordinances limiting the amount of unnatural light affecting visibility of the night sky? Inquiring stargazers adjacent the Auto Center want to know.
  11. BertaOctober 3, 2011 at 1:21 pm
    Petz it is shocking that you are so misinformed on this issue. The City of Santa Clarita (we) bought the property from Ben & Diane Curtis of Curtis Sand & Gravel and WE own the surface (land), the Federal Government owns the mineral rights beneath the surface, and the FEDERAL BLM granted the mining rights to CEMEX. So, it is NOT a property rights issue since WE OWN THE LAND. It is another stupid decision by our Federal Government to sell the mining rights and allow a huge mega mine to operate in a heavily populated area. In the old days, whoever owned the land also owned mineral rights, but no more. Moreover, we in the City get nearly nothing for our trouble; most of the money for the mineral rights goes to the Fed, State, and County of LA. Therefore, it is actually one more failure of our Federal Government to protect us local residents from the hazards posed by this proposed mega mine in our backyard. Got it Petz?
  12. PetzOctober 4, 2011 at 2:32 am
    The fact that mineral right are private property rights seems to escape the lovely Berta and the good folks who agree with her. Clearly, the city was wasted millions of dollars in another effort to falllow the land. This is no different that the government setting aside land to prevent oil, gas and coal production. How can someone oppose the misuse of emminent domain and not see the injustice that has been done to CEMEX? If the good folks of Santa Clarita do not want this in the community, than let us negotiate directly with CEMEX to purchase the right for fair market value. At this point it certainly appears to be the only viable option.
  13. BertaOctober 4, 2011 at 8:33 am
    Petz it is highly usual that anyone calls me the “lovely Berta” particularly when disagreeing, so I thank you profusely for your genteel kindness. As to the City of Santa Clarita buying out the mining rights from CEMEX, I doubt that any city has the millions/billions of dollars it would take to buy out such a contract, which is why the proposed deal is beneficial for all parties involved. If S. 759 passes, the residents of the City of Santa Clarita are spared all of the negative impacts of a mega mine in a heavily populated suburban area, the Federal Government is spared the embarrassment and expense of multiple environmental and individual lawsuits, San Bernardino County gets to sell excess unused land, the City of Victorville has first choice to purchase said land and build an industrial park or something which will bring needed jobs to the area, CEMEX receives appropriate compensation via the proceeds of the sale of the aforementioned excess land. CEMEX then can purchase, if they choose, other suitable land in an area where the residents welcome a proposed mega mine or pocket the money. Win win. CEMEX additionally will save dollars on all the litigation expenses, provide a few more jobs in an area having very few such as Littlerock, not to mention the favorable public relations benefits of being regarded as a “good neighbor community business” instead of a foreign company without concern for the community’s interests. I am very disappointed in Buck McKeon for dropping the ball and playing partisan politics on this one.
  14. Coastal SageOctober 4, 2011 at 8:54 pm
    Hey Petz, all Cemex has is a lease to mine out BLM’s aggregate rock which is treated as “underground mineral rights”. All that the City bought are surface ownership rights…which could, of course, be destroyed by the mining. (That’s why it’s so very important never to buy a home or other property where someone else, including the Federal government, has the “right of surface entry” to remove oil, gas, rock, minerals or water. For example, there’s a popular tract in Canyon Country where someone else does have that right of surface entry.) The “legal question” of whether a California state agency like the City could have condemned, bought and paid for Cemex’s lease from the Federal government is a research quagmire. However, I’m pretty sure the City’s lawyer researched it, because she was very smart and thorough. (Probably why Ken didn’t want her to replace Carl Newton as City Attorney when he retired and probably why she bailed out from Burke Williams & Sorensen for greener pastures.) The other problem with this Cemex situation is that the Los Angeles County Counsel’s office “took a dive” in the Federal Court litigation, after he and the Board of Supervisors intentionally f’d up in the procedures under which the hearing for Cemex’s county permit was held. I was at the Board of Supervisors hearing that day, and it was like watching the White Sox throw the World Series. Very sophisticated. Petz, the “deal” which the City, Cemex, and BLM have worked out, and which Buck can’t be bothered to implement, Cemex would trade its rights to mine aggregate in Santa Clarita Valley (at a time when not much construction is going on and Cemex is not doing well financially) for the right to mine for uranium and rare earth elements on other Federal land. Apparently there’s a big market for “radioactives” right now. It’s a win/win for Santa Claritans and Cemex, and Buck’s failure to get the law implementing the settlement passed, in the last 7+ years, before this “no earmarks policy” went into effect, simply shows the GROTESQUE incompetence and laziness on the part of Congressman & Mrs. McKeon and his District staff.
  15. PackfanOctober 3, 2011 at 12:21 pm
    Buck would get rid of the mine if a defense contractor wanted it. Wouldn’t ya Buck?
  16. CCOctober 3, 2011 at 12:44 pm
    Buck is only interested in one thing. Keeping his cozy seat with his wife getting a fat paycheck on his payroll. Petz, are you really laying the mine at the green builders. Surely you’re smarter than that. As for the Disney site, there wouldn’t be a big impact other than to bring 2400 jobs to the area. That’s real jobs, not barrista jobs. Cemex is a huge problem for this whole area. You can get a supporter form for the land swap here: http://www.santa-clarita.com/index.aspx?page=813 THANKS BUCK!
  17. PetzOctober 3, 2011 at 1:06 pm
    If you want LEED certification then you must source supplies locally.
  18. Need for Involved CitizenryOctober 3, 2011 at 12:54 pm
    If Buck can’t get behind the Cemex Bill this time, he most certainly should be voted out. What is more important to him – keeping folks in his district happy or following the party line? If it is the latter, time for him to go.
  19. CCOctober 3, 2011 at 1:50 pm
    neither, he just wants to keep his job.
  20. WalkerOctober 3, 2011 at 10:17 pm
    Did we ever solve the weird hostage signs mystery? I saw one posted on the back of a utility truck today. Odd.
  21. PetzOctober 4, 2011 at 2:42 am
    Petz would follow model lighting ordinances like those for Borrego Springs. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/sep/04/borrego-leads-dark-sky-movement/
  22. VenturanOctober 4, 2011 at 6:20 am
    This is a global plot by the International Dark Sky Association–clearly a Star Trek front group–to subvert the US Constitution and undermine our God-given private property rights.
  23. Timothy Myers SROctober 4, 2011 at 7:55 am
    I think its all about that “One Galaxy” government of the United Federation of Planets!
  24. ToddOctober 4, 2011 at 1:36 pm
    Petsmart, (I keed….) On this I find kinship in you…. I’ve often said that the SCV should adopt light pollution standards, and do so quickly. The Plaza at Golden Valley (home to MY Target, Lowes, Chipotle, Panera and Habit, as well as my wife’s Golden Spoon), the park and ride at the top of Golden Valley at the 14, and the parking lot at GVHS are fine examples of light pollution. Try NOT seeing those places from miles across the valley at night. When I come home from seeing friends in Lancaster, I know I’m 15 minutes away when I can see those out on the 14.
  25. Coastal SageOctober 4, 2011 at 8:58 pm
    Hey Todd, next time you vote, just remember that Councilmembers Ferry, Kellar and McLean voted for the Golden Valley project.
  26. ToddOctober 4, 2011 at 9:04 pm
    Don’t you worry about that. I vote the “no-incumbent” ticket.
  27. Coastal SageOctober 4, 2011 at 9:24 pm
    RE: Landmark Village Signal story: http://www.the-signal.com/section/36/article/52094/ The Supes voted 3-0 for the 1,444 unit project on a “first reading”. Supervisors Yaroslavsky and Ridley-Thomas walked out and wouldn’t listen to Newhall Land’s presentation, or vote. Supervisor Antonovich walked out when one of his regular opponents from the San Gabriel Valley got up to criticize the project, so for a while the Supervisors didn’t even have a quorum for their hearing. Big Mike came back in for the vote. The ever fattening porcine Supervisor Gloria Molina, pro-Cemex, talked on her cel phone for the entire hearing (New issue for litigation, imagine a judge doing that!) and then voted for the project. Newhall Land aka Five Points had its capo de capi tutti Emile Haddad at the hearing, scowling at all his incompetent minions. Emile is a screamer. He loves to scream at and humiliate employees, even when things are not their fault, and even when people from outside the company are on a conference call. So it’s likely that Emile is not a happy camper, because he knows that no matter what the Board of Supervisors do, there will be at least 2 lawsuits to overturn the Supervisors decision and Army Corps of Engineers projects. Emile is the one who has to answer to whoever owns the company at the top of the Newhall Land pyramid these days. Back in 2009 Emile said in a press release to The Signal that it was 5 hedge funds (85%) and Lennar and him (15%). No way to tell who owns those interests in Newhall Land now. The “funny” part of the hearing was that the Clerk of the Board swore in all of the witnesses/speakers, that they were testifying under penalty of perjury. Dan Masnada (CLWA) and Keith Abercrombie (Valencia Water Co.) then testified that contaminated drinking water wells are not a problem for Santa Clarita. Lots of audience laughter on those statements. Later, before he walked out, Supervisor Antonovich admitted to Lynne Plambeck that he had not read any of the California Dept. of Health and California Dept. of Toxic Substances Control documentation concerning the drinking water well contamination in SCV. I guess he doesn’t read The Signal either! (One can assume the two other “yes” votes hadn’t read the CDH or CDTSC reports either.) The Daily News and L.A. Times were out in force with photographers, trying to make the Supes look bad, so it will be interesting to see how much coverage the matter gets. Interesting news stories out of San Fran: Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s nephew(s) are lobbyists for Lennar, and regularly grease the skids for Lennar with BLM and Army Corps of Engineers. I thought you Republicans would love that. A Democrat family which “influence peddles”? Oh, the shock of it!

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