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January 11, 2012 – Daily Brief *

By Jeff — Jeff Wilson

  • One 19 year old is dead and one is critically injured after a high speed crash in Sand Canyon last night. Witnesses say they saw a Ford Mustang “driving southbound on Sand Canyon Road at extremely high speeds” just moments before the driver lost control and slammed into a tree. His passenger was ejected and killed, the driver is in critical condition SCVNEWS
  • City Council unanimously endorses legislative plan to forestall dissolution of redevelopment agencies, at least until April 15 rather than February 1. Also, Newhall gets some sweet new regulations, Worksource center gets hired by COC, and McLean and Weste possibly support a plastic bag ban? SIGNAL, I HEART SCV
  • I haven’t been able to listen to it yet, but I hear Warren Olney’s Which Way LA? program on redevelopment was good. I think redevelopment has been used to positive effect in the SCV, but as Ender pointed out, it’s been abused elsewhere. WHICH WAY LA
  • Commercial vacancy rates dipped in Q3 2011 as did industrial. But retail space remains at 7.4% vacant. Also, median home values declined from $390k in October 2010 to $365k in October 2011. SCVEDC Report
  • Judge refuses to order new trial for Edward Contreras, the man convicted in 1995 of murdering and dismembering his friend in Santa Clarita then helping to dispose of the remains in Bouquet Canyon. Contreras was helped by the Innocence Project LA TIMES, KHTS, SIGNAL
  • Rationing Education: Community College task force recommends sweeping overhaul of the California community college system, requiring students to track their progress with score cards, and taking away priority registration and fee waivers from students who fail to pass classes. A COC Dean says the reforms change the mission of the California community college system, which is about equal access, but California’s community college Chancellor times are tight and priorities have to be set. SIGNAL
  • State nominates Stevenson Ranch Elementary School for National Blue Ribbon Award. A state education official says that Stevenson Ranch -consistently the top performing school in the SCV- is in the top five elementary schools in the state KHTS
  • Lynne Plambeck and others were at the County Hall of Administration yesterday to fight changes to the Board of Supes’ public comments rules. They succeeded, for now, according to the DAILY NEWS
  • If Cameron Smyth wants to run for State Senate in the newly-created 27th District, he may have some GOP competition: former Assemblyman Bob Hertzberg of Sherman Oaks says he’s very interested in running for the seat. Of course Tony Strickland has to announce a run for Congress first SACBEE
  • Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line: Mitt Romney wins New Hampshire by 17 over Ron Paul and the rest of the fractured field. The SCV is totally Mitt-Country, I can’t imagine a happier outcome SCVers NY TIMES
  • State Republicans, smelling blood in the water, move to kill high speed rail. Cameron Smyth says he used to support the project but it’s taken too long to get off the ground and suffers from poor planning SCVNEWS But if it does somehow survive, it looks like routing HSR through the Grapevine is dead SIGNAL
  • * Jon Hatami gives shout outs to the Daily Brief. Right back at you, thanks for reading! FACEBOOK
  • Jonathan Kraut’s column on the surprise visit by local GOP heavyweights to what is usually rinky-dink Dem club meetings is a good one this week SIGNAL
  • Really Patricia? blogger says Patricia McKeon’s facebook posts follow and are eerily similar to Scott Wilk’s facebook posts RP BLOG
  • 2012 Detroit Auto Show pictures LA TIMES
  • Cool aerial shot of the new Newhall library CITY BRIEFS
  • I think I’ve read this one before but it’s worth another read, John Boston’s long experience with Tarzan books and the SCV, including run-ins with the Newhall library and the president of what is now the Master’s College WRB

Comments (81)

  1. mikecJanuary 11, 2012 at 7:56 am
    Jeff, Bob Hertzberg aka “huggy bear” because he loves to give hugs is a Democrat…
  2. RNDDUDEJanuary 11, 2012 at 8:16 am
    In regards to John Boston’s entire Tarzan collection being summarily tossed into the trash… Ahhh….religious tolerance, isn’t it great?
  3. NateJanuary 11, 2012 at 8:46 am
    “Witnesses say they saw a Ford Mustang “driving southbound on Sand Canyon Road ” Wait? Was the Ford Mustang driving itself? #smirk
  4. JeffJanuary 11, 2012 at 8:59 am
    Touche. Was this a car accident Nate?
  5. NateJanuary 11, 2012 at 9:29 am
    It is an accident as much as this guy was accidently bit by an alligator… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZhHHVsAnI4&feature=related
  6. lvogelJanuary 11, 2012 at 11:03 am
    Though I know you two (Jeff and Nate) are referring back to the incident where two women were hit crossing a street, with a baby and stroller in tow, I ‘m finding your posts insensitive regarding this horrible crash in which one 19 year old was killed and the other in critical condition. My first thought (having sons in that same age group) was that I hope it’s not someone my family knows and my heart goes out to the families who must now deal with the death of their child. Don’t want to be judgmental, but I must voice my opinion in this case. There may be a complete topic about this young mans stupidity for speeding and there will be many opinions, but please try to remember that this was a tragic event that occured.
  7. JeffJanuary 11, 2012 at 11:38 am
    You’re right we should be sensitive to it. It’s just hard to read about tragic events…there are several of them every year. If it’s not speeding teens in a car, it’s 20 somethings on a motorcycle. I’ve lived in a few places in my life and this town is the only one I’ve lived in that has a memorial grove for young people who have died in car crashes. Wasted potential, wasted lives all because of speeding and carelessness. If anyone should be reprimanded about this, it’s all of us for shrugging our shoulders until the next young life is snuffed out.
  8. ThomasJanuary 11, 2012 at 12:01 pm
    Tragic as it may be, hopefully he is charged with murder or manslaughter in this case. The driver was at fault and his actions caused the death of his passenger.
  9. lvogelJanuary 11, 2012 at 12:07 pm
    That’s if he makes it, Thomas.
  10. lvogelJanuary 11, 2012 at 12:06 pm
    I agree wholeheartedly, Jeff. I’m getting tired of hearing about all these kids and young adults that are meeting early deaths due to reckless behavior. As a parent, it’s something (especially living here in the SVC) that I worry about. However, I have to trust that the young men I raised will use their common sense and watch for the other driver.
  11. PetzJanuary 11, 2012 at 12:08 pm
    In all fairness the schools really try to get the point across with the every fifteen minutes program. Insurance companies give youth discounts for watching safety videos. Most parents try to keep their childeren safe ….but in the end, these young adults make life/death decisions by themselves.
  12. JeffJanuary 11, 2012 at 12:33 pm
    Why not put speed bumps on Sand Canyon and Bouquet canyon? They’re already on Placerita Canyon (at least the residential part).
  13. NateJanuary 11, 2012 at 1:34 pm
    Then when someone hits one and looses control you will be angry at the city.
  14. brookJanuary 11, 2012 at 1:36 pm
    Speed bumps? Definitely not the answer. Allegedly he was speeding and he crashed. This happens everywhere. How often do you see an unofficial memorial of where someone died in a car, a picture on a street corner, flowers on a fence post everywhere in the country. People of all shapes, sizes and ages. He was 19, plenty old enough to know he was driving unsafe, it comes down to individuals need to be more responsible. And sticking blame to people, institutions, parents, etc. is just trying to shove blame somewhere else. Putting speed bumps, lowering speeds isn’t the answer…if someone wants to speed he/she will find the place to do it. They will drive past that speed bump, stop sign, detour, to take that fast car flat out. It’s a tragedy but we are free to live our lives. The fact is some people decide to live irresponsibly and this time it killed. It can make you angry, it can make you sad. Have those emotions and move on and instead affect the people you can through your better example of being a responsible citizen. Again it’s a tragedy and I hope those reading about it think twice the next time they drive recklessly.
  15. ToddJanuary 11, 2012 at 1:38 pm
    Sand Canyon you can’t because I believe its classified as a secondary arterial, if not a primary arterial. As such, certain rules have to be in play for the ingress and egress of emergency vehicles (aka no speed bumps). Same for Bouquet. Placerita, that ended once the road got closed. Really, its not the answer. Enforcement is. But since its the no-man’s-land of Santa Clarita, its hardly ever looked at.
  16. JeffJanuary 11, 2012 at 4:00 pm
    Here’s the answer to making our streets safer and reducing young person negligence. From a Signal commenter: “After doing some research, it seems as though there have been many accidents involving that same tree previously. The tree is just too close to the street (along with at least one other one along Sand Canyon). Why don’t they just take them out? They are obviously a danger…” Let’s remove big, stately, beautiful oak trees so we can drive faster. If something is being crashed into a lot, obviously it’s the fault of the inanimate object with roots in the ground. I love you Nate but we’ll never agree on this. I thought cycling would add to your perspective on the risk we face on streets vis a vis mad SCV drivers, but if you honestly think there’s nothing we can do to make streets safer for all users, then I yield to your judgment.
  17. NateJanuary 11, 2012 at 5:12 pm
    That isn’t what I am saying. I will agree with you people drive “entitled” as if driving a car is their God given right protected in the constitution signed by Jesus himself. There is a serious lack of respect across the board for the powerful vehicle everyone is so flippantly wielding. I have zero sympathy for someone like this driver that put everyone in this city at risk because he wanted to hotrod it and show off. That said these types of thing are never going to be abolished. This problem has been with us as long as humans have been driving cars. There are many things we can do; we could start with more traffic enforcement which unfortunately doesn’t play well with many peoplewhen they are paying $300-400 because they needed to save a few minutes. They are the ones the yell at the cop, “Don’t you have a crime to stop somewhere?” I did see something last week while car shopping with a friend that could help with this problem. Right now, some cars are able to be put a car in Valet mode which locks parts of the car and also controls how fast the car can go while in Valet Mode. I think something like that could be instituted by Car Manufactures or even after market that would limit the speed of a car for parents. This would help with High School kids but this guy was 19, I doubt that would have helped. Where we disagree is your harsh attitude towards people who make a mistake behind the wheel. You unreasonable demand perfection from the 280,000 people in this valley. And if someone should be human and make an excuse you want them throw in jail. I think it is a little ridiculous.
  18. NateJanuary 11, 2012 at 1:33 pm
    Jeff: The core of why we disagree on this subject is because you believe government can solve this problem. America has an attitude problem that can’t be fixed with voting the right person into office, passing some law. Our entire country from the Rich to the Poor has an entitlement “ME FIRST” mentality. Personally, I feel the same way about these young people as did the 26 year old who died on his mother’s porch of a heroin overdose. They made their choices in a game that is for keeps. This isn’t some video game where you can catch a mushroom and get an extra life. To be honest, I feel bad for the families of these people but that isn’t going to stop me from telling my nieces and nephew’s cautionary tales of what happens when you play with fire, or when you stick your hand in the Alligator’s mouth.
  19. mikeJanuary 11, 2012 at 1:41 pm
    These drivers in the Canyons aren’t just rolling dice with their own lives, but yours and mine. The government can do plenty to curb it, it’s a matter of a which point it goes too far or the price is too high. Locally, it’s a far more significant public safety problem than heroin, massage parlors and murder combined.
  20. NateJanuary 11, 2012 at 1:53 pm
    I would agree with you on that, but traffic enforcement isn’t a sexy platform otherwise you would be hearing Juking Jon yapping about it.
  21. MikeJanuary 12, 2012 at 8:53 am
    The “people are going to do it anyway” and the “people are going to find a way to do it” and the “it’s been going on forever” arguments are tired when it involves something where it has been demonstrated that we can indeed curb its incidence. Reminds me of the “kids are gonna smoke” argument. True, to a certain extent, but make the dangers widely known, pass a law here and there, maybe add a tax, and you see a huge decline in how many people smoke, with a significant disparity between states that have been more aggressive and those who haven’t. Likewise, and more to this point, traffic fatalities are down by an insane degree over time. On a per-mile basis, it was literally twice as dangerous as recently at 1986, and four times as dangerous as recently as 1969. and nearly 20 times more dangerous in 1921.
  22. NateJanuary 12, 2012 at 9:32 am
    Much of that is attributed to safer cars…
  23. The Venturan formerly known as NDJanuary 12, 2012 at 10:06 am
    Why were they safer? Because of the invisible hand of the free market?
  24. MikeJanuary 12, 2012 at 10:27 am
    Collisions are down a full 33% per mile traveled since 1990, which is huge.
  25. PetzJanuary 11, 2012 at 12:04 pm
    Remids me of how close I came to losing my son on Bouquet. A nightmare for the parents and family. I’ve lost count of how many youth died this year.
  26. ThomasJanuary 11, 2012 at 2:16 pm
    I think it is the first one this year.
  27. CCJanuary 11, 2012 at 2:37 pm
    Sigh, I wish it were more rare, but unfortunately, I fear it won’t be the last.
  28. IHeartSCVJanuary 11, 2012 at 8:56 am
    1. The “Really Patricia?” post is lame. He provides literally one example of McKeon and Wilk talking about the same thing–the budget–in all likelihood because it’s the biggest issue in California politics right now. 2. As someone whose name includes a dated idiom (“I Heart [X]“), I am unusually tolerant of them, but really, the “Really [X]?” thing is really old and really tired. 3. New candidate pool, please.
  29. AlpinerJanuary 11, 2012 at 9:00 am
    SCV is Mitt Romney country? Really? Personally I think no one has really made up their mind yet. The only thing the SCV GOP is united on right now is that Obama Must Go!!!!
  30. RemStarJanuary 11, 2012 at 9:26 am
    Like you, Alpiner, I long for the days when we were: plunging deeper into a pointless war; deregulating the financial industry so Wall Street bankers could make more money taking greater risks that would imperil our economy; growing the federal deficit by cutting taxes for the super wealth; spending a trillion dollars to bail out the financial industry; and shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs a month. The new healthcare law must be repealed because I want my insurance company to be able to drop me if I get cancer. Gosh darn it, I want the clock turned back to 2008. I want another chance to elect John McCain and Sarah Palin. It has been a living nightmare since we elected that Kenyan Muslim Hawaiian Indonesian Chicagoan with the crazy Christian minister and the unrepentant domestic terrorist friend. “Hope” isn’t what we hoped, so I hope for a return to despair. Mitt Romney is just the man for that job.
  31. Phil EllisJanuary 11, 2012 at 10:11 am
    Longing for the days of financial deregualtion – you want to go back to Clinton’s presidency?
  32. RemStarJanuary 11, 2012 at 10:58 am
    You are correct, sir! It was Bill Clinton who signed the “Financial Services Modernization Act”. Overall Clinton was a terrible president. I’m no fan of President Obama, but I don’t Blame him for the state of our nation. We are where we are mostly because of Clinton, Bush and Greenspan.
  33. AlpinerJanuary 11, 2012 at 1:12 pm
    It is over three years into the Obama Administration and you are still blaming Bush? Yeah right…
  34. NateJanuary 11, 2012 at 1:39 pm
    Yeah 16 years of bad policy erased in 3 years? Obama isn’t hard enough and Republican haven’t learned a thing they are still clinging to their religions that tax cuts create jobs and stimulate the economy. Even economists from the Reagan White House admit that was made up. It is time to get real and take responsibility. Everyone shares in the blame for this mess, so everyone is going to need to pitch in to fix it.
  35. AlpinerJanuary 11, 2012 at 1:56 pm
    I think the majority of Americans would take those prior 16 years over what we have now any day.
  36. CCJanuary 11, 2012 at 1:58 pm
    I would like an endless bank account too, but eventually the Piper wants his due. This economy got here from the excesses of the last 16 years+ Wishing for endless gluttony doesn’t fix the problem.
  37. NateJanuary 11, 2012 at 2:03 pm
    Yeah so would I… who doesn’t love a credit spending spree. 2008 the bill came.
  38. NateJanuary 11, 2012 at 2:05 pm
    CC it started with Raygun who tripled the National Debt under his watch.
  39. CCJanuary 11, 2012 at 1:56 pm
    I agree Nate. It isn’t as though the one guy in office is making all the decisions. We have 3 branches of the govenment that are constantly rotating. It’s going to hurt for a long time. Get used to it. When times are good, put some money away because hard times always come back. But they won’t listen.
  40. JeffJanuary 11, 2012 at 9:28 am
    Alpiner: Demonstrably so. In 2008, SCVers in 8 zip codes donated $99,000 to the Obama campaign, but only $46,000 to the McCain campaign. Romney -who bowed out in Spring 2008- earned $120,000 from SCVers in all 8 zip codes. This was during the primary! True Romney made two visits in that cycle whereas in this cycle only his son has stepped into our fair valley, but still, there’s no denying that the SCV is Mitt-friendly http://scvtalk.com/v2a/?p=595
  41. ToddJanuary 11, 2012 at 11:17 am
    IIRC, Santa Clarita was one of the hotbeds for fundraising on Prop 8, wasn’t it? Just take a look @ http://www.eightmaps.com/ and see how many contributions came in… wow!
  42. mikeJanuary 11, 2012 at 12:17 pm
    that’s wild. It seems that every other name I click on is a parent or sibling of a Mormon kid I went to high school with. Best name: Richard Rich of Newhall.
  43. ToddJanuary 11, 2012 at 1:39 pm
    Thats my point.
  44. JeffJanuary 11, 2012 at 12:35 pm
    Yeah we pointed that out at the time too. Back then local Mormons/religious types were holding rallies almost every weekday on major intersections around the SCV. Tragic, but only God knows how many breeder marriages were destroyed in the brief period when Prop 8 was overturned and The Gays!!1! were allowed to get married in California.
  45. AlpinerJanuary 11, 2012 at 1:15 pm
    Did not say SCV was not Mitt friendly, just think this Valley really has not made up its mind yet. By the way, I guarantee you the SCV will not pony up any of those 2008 numbers for Obama in 2012.
  46. JeffJanuary 11, 2012 at 3:50 pm
    I think the entire SCV should incorporate and form one of those shadowy super PACs then pool $10 together from everyone, then vote on whom to endorse (or whom to slime) in the general election. If we raised $2.5 million, we could run some 30 second commercials during prime time! Think about how much fun Myers would have with that
  47. mikeJanuary 11, 2012 at 9:32 am
    1.) Yeah, I have to agree. A couple great posts lately, but this is a stretch, to say the least. 2.) True 3.) While I was puzzled by Paul Strickland’s ambition for this seat from the beginning, I’m surprised he’s been falling well short of my low expectations.
  48. PackfanJanuary 11, 2012 at 9:19 am
    How many of you understand the European system of government? Willard is betting that Americans are ignorant, uneducated and will believe any old thing! Be afraid of Europe, while they are running for Dictator here. Have you heard the things they THINK they can do by themselves? Only a dictator could do these things. Stock up on your european government questions and let’s all play, Stump the liars! Make them back up their bs with facts. BTW, Willard wants the biggest baddest military in the world. What do we have now? Who is going to pay for this? Tax increases on the rich? Bwa ha ha ha!
  49. CCJanuary 11, 2012 at 9:28 am
    did you fall asleep last night with the TV on?
  50. NateJanuary 11, 2012 at 1:41 pm
    Go Pack Go!
  51. AlpinerJanuary 11, 2012 at 3:59 pm
    Who is Willard?
  52. PackfanJanuary 11, 2012 at 5:20 pm
    Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and politician. I guess he doesn’t like being called Willard. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f6/Willard_1971.jpg/220px-Willard_1971.jpg I wonder why?
  53. AlpinerJanuary 11, 2012 at 11:22 pm
    Come on, so who calls him Willard? That’s like calling Obama Hussein….give me a break…
  54. NateJanuary 12, 2012 at 8:57 am
    So you agree that is foolish? Because your GOP friends do that all the time on here and you didn’t say anything…
  55. CCJanuary 11, 2012 at 9:24 am
    When Mitt wins the nomination, will Petz say; “I am not representative of the Republican Party?” since he has doggedly avoided the best candidate because of his religious beliefs?
  56. PetzJanuary 11, 2012 at 12:14 pm
    Petz is a “values man” and does not debate theology. Actually married to a ex-Mormon, BYU graduate. The Mormons bring us a very nice bannana bread every Christmas. Romney’s faith has nothing to do with my choice of presidential candidate. Just wish Cain was still in the mix with the 9 9 9 plan.
  57. Jim FarleyJanuary 11, 2012 at 3:32 pm
    Dennis Prager interviewed Dick Morris today who said Cain is going to start a road tour to take the 9-9-9 out to the peoplee and keep the idea alive. While Cain is out of the race I believe his plan can still achieve a foothold.
  58. MikeJanuary 11, 2012 at 4:08 pm
    Jim, I’m really concentrating here, and I can’t come think of a worse prognosticator in the national punditocracy than Dick Morris.
  59. Jim FarleyJanuary 11, 2012 at 8:23 pm
    Mike, I only brought Morris up as that was my source today of learning about the 999 tour. The tour is a fact. My comment has nothing to do with my views of his predicting accuracy. While Morris always adds good perspective to the political battleground I do take his predictions with a grain of salt.
  60. MikeJanuary 12, 2012 at 9:22 am
    Morris almost always adds really poor perspective. He’s ultra-cynical and he’ll pitch any absurd line to get air time. On Herman Cain, his support and enthusiasm has nearly vanished. It happens to a lot of candidates, particularly when they leave under a cloud of scandal. In two years, people will struggle to remember his name.
  61. NateJanuary 12, 2012 at 8:58 am
    Cain was trying to get in a lot of ladies “mix”
  62. PetzJanuary 11, 2012 at 12:14 pm
    Petz is a “values man” and does not debate theology. Actually married to a ex-Mormon, BYU graduate. The Mormons bring us a very nice bannana bread every Christmas. Romney’s faith has nothing to do with my choice of presidential candidate. Just wish Cain was still in the mix with the 9 9 9 plan.
  63. ToddJanuary 11, 2012 at 10:14 pm
    Don’t you mean the 69-69-69 plan? Sorry, too easy.
  64. NateJanuary 12, 2012 at 8:59 am
    So Petz has “values”
  65. mikeJanuary 11, 2012 at 12:55 pm
    Jonathan Kraut’s column was outstanding. I really wish I could have seen it all in person. Everything else aside, in my limited experiences with Buck McKeon, two things are always true: he carries himself like a gentleman and he’s impeccably dressed. Best suit-wearer in SCV politics. Wilk wins in the business-casual department.
  66. Phil EllisJanuary 11, 2012 at 1:27 pm
    But Cameron has great legs and loves showing them off.
  67. JeffJanuary 11, 2012 at 3:52 pm
    Smyth does have the best looking family in the valley. Story book suburban family, straight out of central casting. George Runner, otoh, could only find parts to play during the Christmas season.
  68. ToddJanuary 11, 2012 at 4:37 pm
    Is it just me, or are they WAY TOO OLD to have kids that young?
  69. MikeJanuary 11, 2012 at 5:01 pm
    Smyth is 40, younger than Jay-Z.
  70. ToddJanuary 11, 2012 at 10:14 pm
    I meant Runner.
  71. MikeJanuary 11, 2012 at 4:35 pm
    All this time, I thought you were talking about Alan Cameron #slow
  72. Lori RivasJanuary 11, 2012 at 7:24 pm
    Buck wore jeans to Jonathon’s party. My husband remarked that he looked/acted like everyone’s favorite uncle – calm, smiley, friendly to all.
  73. JeffJanuary 11, 2012 at 5:34 pm
    Very sad update to the crash story. The family who lives near the tree where the crash happened has experienced this same type of incident 5 times. “There’s a dead man’s blood on the fence and ground, gloves, syringes, triage supplies they left behind. I understand that we have to give the families some space, but what about us? You have to think of the other side. We’re living a nightmare so soon after the other one. We know it’s going to happen again and again.” http://hometownstation.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27680:fatal-road-rage-clarita-2012-01-11-13-42&catid=26:local-news&Itemid=97 “I’m not asking people to help us (with the cause of lowering the speed limit and increasing safety along Sand Canyon), I’m asking them to help everyone.”
  74. aolstillexistsJanuary 11, 2012 at 5:41 pm
    Its unfortunate. But what can be done if people don’t abide by the laws?
  75. The Venturan formerly known as NDJanuary 11, 2012 at 9:36 pm
    Enforcement. It pays dividends.
  76. CCJanuary 11, 2012 at 6:11 pm
    It’s sad and unfortunate for these homeowners. Perhaps some extra patrols in the area will change the habits of the speeders. In the end, everyone has issues with where they live. I know that some people have put up cardboard cut-outs of cops with speed guns just to get them to slow down. No place is perfect.
  77. PetzJanuary 12, 2012 at 5:14 am
    The obvious solution is to cut the tree down. However, if it is a California Oak it is protected. Ever wonder why the city plants trees in the median where they pose a hazard and impair driver sight lines?
  78. PackfanJanuary 11, 2012 at 5:35 pm
    I just came accross this. GRAPHIC and IN POOR TASTE! (not blood and guts) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/11/afghanistan-marines-urinating-video_n_1200324.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl3%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D126791 How many will die in the retribution this is sure to generate? Anyone care to justify this? Buck? Anything?
  79. Mr PerezJanuary 12, 2012 at 10:03 pm
    Not only will it cause potential retribution(as did occur after the rape/murder in Iraq of an entire family) but it also a violation of almost every military value we are taught from Day 1 and on. Only a moron would defend this action but WE in the military will police our own and right the ship in the correct direction.
  80. PetzJanuary 12, 2012 at 5:25 am
    Anyone else notice that the city had “sunk” 48 million dollars into Newhall over the last five years creating 300 jobs. And this council wants to keep Santa’s bag full of cash by retaining redevelopment zones?Where is the leadership we need to say “NO MORE” ! Why aren’t these people held accountable? Oh, and the solar panels at Rio Norte Jumior High look atrocious.
  81. Eric HeilbrunJanuary 12, 2012 at 6:17 am
    The issue of accountability is a frustrating one, because frankly, it doesn’t exist. The only true measure of accountability is whether a member of the council retains their seat, or not. And as Tim has pointed out, the power of incumbency provides near 100% certainty of re-election. Incumbency breeds arrogance. And arrogance fosters an environment that stifles the will and the voice of the people (an attitude of “We know better”). So when incumbents are virtually assured of re-election despite actions opposed by their constituents, accountability really doesn’t exist. Incumbents will get the votes of the “indifferent majority”. Campaign funds and PAC money will buy mailers and signs…and in Santa Clarita, it’s the mailers and signs (and the endorsement of The Signal) that ultimately win elections . I hate to say it, but the voice of those that care (one way or the other) is greatly overshadowed by the voice of those that simply don’t know…hence the tremendous influence of the mailers and signs.

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