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July 16, 2012· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

July 16, 2012 Daily Brief – “Summer of Our Discontent” Edition

By Timothy Myers SR. — Tim Myers

  • More detailed story from the SIGNAL on the case of Cecelia Gallardo, local chamber and charity circuit phenom who ran three local businesses and allegedly engaged in a real estate Ponzi scheme in 2007 and 2008.  Her Linked In account has been deactivated, but it showed a mysterious Associate’s degree from COC.
  • Whitney Canyon pot bust on national forest land nets 6,600 mature plants.  SIGNAL  No word on the disposition of the three tons of Cheetos that also MUST have resided on the farm.
  • SIGNAL reports that local high school student recently found dead of “accidental” causes (probable code for a fatal reaction to opiates) was Nareg Nazarian.  Two common strands seem to emerge in the recent, more publicized deaths.   First, all the victims are male.  Second, many victims attended Bowman High School, the continuation school for the Hart District.  I am sure that Bowman is not causing the addiction and deaths, but attendance at Bowman generally (though not always) indicates expulsion from at least two local comprehensive high schools and is a marker for a generally troubled life.
  • Motorcycle blood bath continues, with another fatality on Soledad Canyon Road.  SIGNAL  I would absolutely forbid our sons from buying a motorcycle.  I don’t have to worry about our daughters because females have more sense.
  • SIGNAL weighs in with a very clinical account of the City Council commission confirmation debacle.  Something new I believe.  Article quotes TBB as stating that he will nominate two new people for confirmation on August 28, but is he limited to the pool of applicants that currently exist?
  • In one for America’s Dumbest Criminals cousins in Gorman end up with more or less reciprocal assault charges within 24 hours.  SCVNEWS  I think you’d want to stay away from that Thanksgiving Dinner!
  • Harry Bell funeral held at Eternal Valley.  SIGNAL
  • Summer is usually a dead time for LTE’s but we have seen them popping of late.  Don Gately asserts that the new library should have been built in the northern part of the City while managing to slip in a fairly racist comment about a majority of non-English speakers near the new library.  David Larson bemoans the lack of a mob of good Samaritans at the scene of a bike/car accident near the mall but a commenter rightly points out that a mob a lookie loos interferes with emergency personnel.  Annette Lucas weighs in on the unfairness of the commissioner confirmation process.  Another letter from NOT ANNETTE LUCAS bemoans speeding and deaths on Soledad Canyon Road.  Interesting but especially for the comment regarding the need for “fixing” red light timing and everything will be fine.

Comments (61)

  1. Whiskey Tango FoxtrotJuly 16, 2012 at 2:53 AM PT
    Your supposition on the unfortunate death of the young man from Bowman is premature, insensitive, and quite possibly inaccurate. In short, you have no flippin idea what you are talking about. Before declaring that this kid probably died of a heroin overdose, why not wait for the facts to come out first. What if this (God forbid) was one of your kids? Would you want some blogger running his mouth like you did here? Wise up.
  2. Timothy Myers SRJuly 16, 2012 at 3:50 AM PT
    WTF: Wait for the facts to come out? 90% certainty that there will be NO further information on this story, which in and of itself is a tell about what occurred.
  3. PattyJuly 16, 2012 at 4:01 AM PT
    How horribly insensitive – as well as a risk of violating libel laws. Until you have and official cause of death from an official source, you keep quiet.
  4. Timothy Myers SRJuly 16, 2012 at 5:58 AM PT
    Patty: Take a look at the decision in Flynn v. Higham before doing your amateur law practice. http://www.lawlink.com/research/caselevel3/60321
  5. PattyJuly 16, 2012 at 8:35 AM PT
    “The dead have no cause of action for defamation under the common law, and neither do their survivors, unless the words independently reflect upon and defame the survivors.” I would say your words if proven untrue would independently reflect upon and defame the parents. And why do you assume I’m an “amateur? Regardless, social media are subject to solid journalistic rules. One does his or her audience a disservice by printing assumptions (not to mention maligning a schools that has countless success stories.) Much better to wait for the public record that includes result of tox studies if you feel your commentary is important. It’s what non-amateurs do.
  6. Timothy Myers SRJuly 16, 2012 at 8:50 AM PT
    Patty: Your assertion proves the point. If drug use by a child defames the parents, then we know why people are motivated to not bring this information to light, since there is the belief, which I would assert you subscribe to, of this doesn’t happen to “good” families. The fact is that teens have their own agency and can make their own poor choices even in the best of circumstances and with the best of parents. This is a warning to everyone.
  7. PattyJuly 16, 2012 at 12:04 PM PT
    The point is if you want to play journalist, play by the rules. Santa Clarita deserves better than assumptions. Wait till you have the facts.
  8. Coastal SageJuly 16, 2012 at 1:33 PM PT
    Tim, thanks for finding the Flynn case. We were talking about it at home tonight, because the NY Times has run stories that the late Joe Paterno’s family keeps threatening to sue Penn State for “defamation”, including alleged defamation in the report issued by former FBI Director Louis Freeh. (I read the Freeh report and its was a real barn burner.) I wonder if the law is the same in Pennsylvania? As the Flynn case indicates, family members cannot sue for defamation of a dead loved one.
  9. Timothy Myers SRJuly 17, 2012 at 2:00 AM PT
    CS: The not able to libel the dead actually has its roots in English common law, where you know the protections of free speech are not as robust as in the US. The Paterno family should just really shut up. If not, the attorneys that represent the post-1998 victims should go after the JoPa estate as well as the University to bankrupt those child rape apologists.
  10. PattyJuly 16, 2012 at 4:02 AM PT
    If you’re going to be a part of media – and social media fall under libel laws – you confirm the information yourself rather than relying on others to follow the story.
  11. Capt. GeneJuly 16, 2012 at 4:17 AM PT
    What do you expect? This is the same guy that thought it was “disturbing” for a father and his surviving children to attend a memorial service for his fallen hero son. Myers is beneath contempt.
  12. Coastal SageJuly 16, 2012 at 1:37 PM PT
    Patty did you go to one of California’s not-accredited-by-the-American-Bar-Association-law-schools, or did you not go to law school at all? In California, there is no cause of action for libel or slander of the dead, and under California’s anti-SLAPP statutes, and statutes protecting free speech in public forums, libel and slander of the living is generally going to be a lawsuit that a plaintiff loses.
  13. Eric HeilbrunJuly 16, 2012 at 4:58 AM PT
    Tim, whatever brownie points you think you deserve for demonstrating your “insightfulness” and “wisdom”, you more than lose for demonstrating insensitivity, and a lack of respect and consideration for the family. A young man has died and his family and friends are grieving. There is no glory in being able to say “I told you so”, should you be shown correct regarding the cause of death.
  14. Timothy Myers SRJuly 16, 2012 at 6:02 AM PT
    Eric: With all due “respect” this burying of the facts just extends this local massacre, and it is a massacre. The SCV is averaging about one of these per month over the last two years. This and motorcycle accidents is depopulating this demographic.
  15. Eric HeilbrunJuly 16, 2012 at 6:14 AM PT
    Tim, this is what the article said, “No cause of death was available Friday. An autopsy was pending, said coroner’s spokesman Ed Winter said. Nazarian’s body was found Thursday morning in a home on Pamplico Drive. Initial reports indicated the death was accidental.” Autopsy pending, initial reports accidental. Your assumption may prove to be correct, but until the facts are known, I wouldn’t categorize this as “burying the facts”. I think the reality is that toxicology tests tend to take a while for results, and by then The Signal will decide if they think this is newsworthy. I have been critical of The Signal at times, but it seems they reported the facts as known at the time this went to press.
  16. PetzJuly 16, 2012 at 6:30 AM PT
    It certainly is no secret that the tragic death involved drug use. This information has been circulation among the students who knew “Nutmeg “and at his memorial service on Saturday evening. IMHO, soft pedaling the hard information is to put more children at risk. There is a huge problem in this valley and reporting “accidental deaths” is too comforting and cushy. Tim’s tone and the use of the word”opiates” may be unfortunate or technically incorrect….but we need to know the numbers of youth that are dying in this valley from drug abuse.
  17. mikeJuly 16, 2012 at 7:03 AM PT
    I couldn’t have said it better myself. Part of what makes kids susceptible to lethal drugs is that they don’t have a realistic understanding of how lethal certain drugs are. This is a horrible tragedy and unfortunately I know a few people who have grieved like his family is grieving. It’s awful. But education and awareness are incredibly potent tools to prevent future tragedies. I think Tim could have worded things in a way that’s more sensitive, but I think part of our role here is to point out the recurring euphemisms and subtext common in the otherwise clinical stories that follow deaths like this. Rather than have this death reported in some aggregate number a year or two from now, I think we’re better off with context and a stories to humanize this problem.
  18. Timothy Myers SRJuly 16, 2012 at 7:08 AM PT
    Petz: Happy to hear that his peers and other loved ones were not soft pedaling the situation at his Memorial. Very important that all of this gets exposed to save even one other.
  19. JeffJuly 16, 2012 at 7:59 AM PT
    Good point. Just today the NYT had a report out about how abuse of prescription painkillers has soared to become the number one most abused drug in the US. The stats were astonishing…whereas there are about 200,000+ daily heroin users in the US, some 7 million abuse prescription opiate pain killers. Those pills are powerful..I’ve taken them myself after breaking a leg and crashing a bike and I’ll just say I’m very glad they’re hard to get. They need to be even harder to get. Right now, today, you can search on Craigslist for them and find regional sellers of vicodin, oxycontin etc.
  20. Timothy Myers SRJuly 16, 2012 at 6:31 AM PT
    Eric: You are correct. Toxicology results take about six weeks, which mean that the Signal is very unlikely to report it because so much time has passed. Agree or disagree I think the public needs to know and discuss why otherwise healthy young men are dropping dead.
  21. Eric HeilbrunJuly 16, 2012 at 11:32 AM PT
    Tim; Nobody is arguing that we should sweep these matters under the rug, but you’re blog this morning did not speak of yet another tragic loss, did not hint that you actually had heard from family and friends about the circumstances. It came across as yet another attempt at a “successful Myers prediction”,and “what did you expect, he went to Bowman, home to kids with generally troubled lives”. I think we all agree that this is sad for the family and sad for our community. Some of us just think that a little display of compassion and empathy for the family would be in order. If you think there is more that we should be doing in our community to curtail drug abuse, why not use your Signal column?
  22. Capt. GeneJuly 16, 2012 at 7:54 AM PT
    “90% certainty that there will be NO further information on this story” All the more reason not to jump to conclusions. If no further facts become public then your take on what happened may be the only one people hear. The people that assume your version is based on some knowledge that you obviously do not possess will then be just as misinformed as you. Face it, if you want to present your opinion that’s fine, just make it clear that what your stating is an opinion and not a fact. You’re really lousy at this, when is Jeff going to take the keys away?
  23. SCVResJuly 16, 2012 at 1:16 PM PT
    I think Tim’s post here is repulsive. I don’t know what’s broken in this man but his posts over the years have gone from creepy to repugnant. He has all the answers and he loves to put people into the boxes he’s designated for them where he can dismiss them. Yuck
  24. ThomasJuly 17, 2012 at 12:11 AM PT
    Also hiding foul language under the disguise of WTF.
  25. mikeJuly 17, 2012 at 2:00 AM PT
    Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: WTF
  26. SCVResJuly 19, 2012 at 10:22 PM PT
    Why the Face
  27. blutoJuly 16, 2012 at 3:22 AM PT
    Would it be a true statement that more non-english speakers live in the southern portion of this valley than in the northern section? Sure it is! Why are you so sensitive just because someone points it out? If I were to say that there are more African/Americans in south-central L.A. than there are here would that make me a racist?
  28. Timothy Myers SRJuly 16, 2012 at 3:54 AM PT
    Bluto: The statement was “I suspect that half the people in the vicinity of the new library don’t even speak English and will make little use of the new library.” That is a pejorative. That is racist. The fact is that the people that Mr. Gately is referring to are smarter than him because they are bilingual.
  29. MrPerezJuly 16, 2012 at 11:17 AM PT
    Its not racist because Hispanic/Latin is not a race. The correct word to have used would be “prejudice(d)”
  30. mikeJuly 16, 2012 at 3:57 AM PT
    Depends what he means by “the vicinity”. If it means a 5-minute walk, maybe, though I’d guess he’s still wrong. If he means a 5-minute drive, then he’s certainly wrong. Or more to the point, if you group the people who live in this valley for whom the Newhall library will be their nearest library, it’s not true.
  31. Phil EllisJuly 16, 2012 at 4:00 AM PT
    I understand that the library will be stocking Spanish langauge books so this population will be served.
  32. kellyJuly 17, 2012 at 1:01 AM PT
    The Newhall library already stocks Spanish language books. Large print too.
  33. PetzJuly 16, 2012 at 3:30 AM PT
    We should all get down and our knees and pray for protection of our children in this valley. The constant death and continual mayhem is becoming intolerable. Many students attend Bowman and then transition back to the regular high schools. The youth of the Hart district needs Bowman for a backstop. Petz encourages all parents to attend a session or two at ACTION-Canyon High School Tuesday nights. Everyone can get some benefit from seeing the serious issues that young people are faced with and knowing the resource that is available.
  34. Timothy Myers SRJuly 16, 2012 at 3:56 AM PT
    Petz: The ACTION sessions have done an excellent job of letting people know that they are not alone. Too often these parents suffer in isolation because the facade looks like everyone else is living a perfect life.
  35. spineflower2July 16, 2012 at 3:58 AM PT
    So is Mickey Mouse getting high in Whitney Canyon? A little Acapulco Gold on the Golden Toke (oops, I mean Oak) movie ranch?
  36. Timothy Myers SRJuly 16, 2012 at 3:59 AM PT
    Mickey seems kind of uptight, but Goofy?
  37. spineflower2July 16, 2012 at 4:36 AM PT
    And don’t get me started about how laid-back Eeyore is…
  38. 4eyedsueJuly 16, 2012 at 4:49 AM PT
    Happy, Sleepy… and of course Dopey
  39. AlpinerJuly 16, 2012 at 5:30 AM PT
    Snow White….Sleeping Beauty….Ummmmmm….
  40. spineflower2July 16, 2012 at 4:54 AM PT
    If Munchy shows up, the verdict is clear…
  41. Phil EllisJuly 16, 2012 at 5:15 AM PT
    Don’t forget Daffy and his Looney pals
  42. AlpinerJuly 16, 2012 at 5:32 AM PT
    It is after 1 p.m. and nothing on The Signal’s or KHTS’s web site about the vandalism at Sierra Vista Junior High. Does anyone check first thing Monday morning for weekend crime at the Sheriff’s department anymore?
  43. PattyJuly 16, 2012 at 5:39 AM PT
    The number is 661 255 1121, if you want to make a call.
  44. Timothy Myers SRJuly 16, 2012 at 6:04 AM PT
    Alpiner: Back in the day Carol Chambers had multiple contacts at the Sheriff’s station so she was able to write up the news real time. Now I fear the Signal waits for the press release and the daily briefing.
  45. AlpinerJuly 16, 2012 at 7:39 AM PT
    My point being that this is bread and butter journalism that people are interested in and again, the Signal has dropped the ball. If I were the publisher I would nail the editor on this one.
  46. Scott BerryJuly 16, 2012 at 6:30 AM PT
    Thanks to everyone who came out to our Ice Cream Social event yesterday! We had a great time, met a lot of great Claritians and gave away a TON of ice cream.
  47. JayceJuly 18, 2012 at 6:38 AM PT
    LOL! Amazed at all the thumbs down for your post. I mean meeting friendly neighbors and ice cream. What’s wrong with that?
  48. lvogelJuly 18, 2012 at 7:28 AM PT
    Ice Cream ‘haters’!
  49. NicoleJuly 16, 2012 at 6:36 AM PT
    Please don’t run your mouth by shooting out assumptions. Wait for the information to come out. “Accidental” can very well mean when the family found him in the morning non responsive after a nights sleep and called 911, the dispatched probably asked what happened….not knowing what had happened, they probably responded that they don’t know. Children can pass away from undetected heart ailments, aneurysm’s and other medical issues. It’s always best to wait for facts before you throw out possibilities that may or may not be true. Parents lost their child and their pain is unimaginable for the rest of us. Show respect and honor this family.
  50. Timothy Myers SRJuly 16, 2012 at 7:43 AM PT
    Peers and family at the memorial service were upfront and candid about the drug related cause of death. Sorry to burst everyone’s bubble but bad, bad things are happening in Santa Clarita and, front the comments on this post, there is a knee jerk reaction to bury and submerge the badness, making it like it never even happened.
  51. LvogelJuly 16, 2012 at 8:01 AM PT
    Scott Berry, the ice cream was delicious (I especially liked the peach) and will be a regular customer when you open. Thank you for allowing us all to enjoy a scoop, or two, or three….
  52. Bill ReynoldsJuly 16, 2012 at 10:46 AM PT
    Excellent Letter to the Editor, Annette (your actual LTE); your last sentence is particularly salient (for those in Rio Linda… Salient = of notable significance).
  53. Bill ReynoldsJuly 16, 2012 at 10:50 AM PT
    NEWS ALERT! This just in: JD Kennedy is back with Congressman Buck McKeon. I am pleased to hear this news directly from JD and more delighted that he will NOT join the Maldonado/Haueter team.
  54. Bill ReynoldsJuly 16, 2012 at 1:40 PM PT
    Perhaps Master Blogger would consider conducting a poll on allowing Tim to continue posting daily briefs…….?
  55. Capt. GeneJuly 16, 2012 at 9:09 PM PT
    Excellent idea Mr. Reynolds, don’t hold your breath.
  56. JayceJuly 18, 2012 at 6:49 AM PT
    Yeah it should go something like this… Should Tim be allowed to continue daily briefs? a) of course, he’s a valuable member of the community b) yes and I have a right to not read anything he writes c) no we need to have more censorship like China
  57. SCV LoverJuly 16, 2012 at 1:56 PM PT
    If you were seriously offended by Tim’s post, maybe you should grow a pair and step out in the real world.
  58. Bill ReynoldsJuly 16, 2012 at 2:09 PM PT
    Maybe you should wise up, son.
  59. Bill ReynoldsJuly 16, 2012 at 2:10 PM PT
    How about growin’ a pair & using your real name…. sonny.
  60. jimJuly 16, 2012 at 2:55 PM PT
    We lose as many young men to automobile accidents in the scv as motorcycle accidents. Unsafe reckless speeding kills way too many drivers of both types of vehicles. I don’t know what the answer is but obviously we are not properly training these young drivers. I have safely driven motorcycles for most of my life and most riders I know are extremely defensive careful drivers. More law enforcement on the canyon roads and soledad would be helpful the the police and chp cannot be everywhere.
  61. Mike MJuly 17, 2012 at 8:15 AM PT
    Completely agree with Jim. I know it’s fun to bash on things because you don’t do them, but it’s not the USE of motorcycles that kills people – it’s the MISUSE. Now banning motorcycle use while hopped up on Monster Energy Drink, that’s something I could get behind…

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