- Hazards of Freeway adjacent businesses: Two men and a 10-12 year old boy robbed the Comfort Suites hotel on the Old Road & Pico yesterday evening. KHTS says one man was black, the other white, and the boy was black. The suspects used two "silver or chrome-colored handguns," got away with $350-400 in cash and drove off in a gold car. No one was injured. KHTS
- And at the Food 4 Less grocery store in Canyon Country, a man was robbed of $900 at gun point by two assailants in the parking lot. KHTS
- The LAPD chased a DUI suspect into the SCV Friday and arrested the passenger and driver after they crashed their car and ran into Placerita Canyon. Interesting that the LAPD made the arrests outside the City of LA. ABC 7
- The Signal's Perry Smith has an excellent overview of SCVi, the SCV's highest-profile -and probably most successful- public charter school. The photographs in the story alone shocked me with huge rooms full of students laying around while studying, but parents say the unorthodox methods work. The students take STAR tests and say they love the open facilitator/learner environment. More on this later today SIGNAL
- Interesting Signal article on Santa Clarita voter registration patterns, particularly the increase in Democratic and Decline-to-state registrations over the last 20 years. SIGNAL
- But conservatives & Republicans are probably the loudest, even if their numbers are declining. Count Sauguslavsky, John Boston's column, says that recently a man couldn't contain himself during a screening of the 2016 Obama's America movie and pulled a Joe Wilson, standing up and yelling "You big liar" at the screen. "Afterwards, several people came up to congratulate him." SAUGUSLAVSKY
- Newhall school district looking to install solar panel system & leased energy program just as the Hart District did SIGNAL
- Valencia High students roll out new anti-drug program. Last year some 191 students on the campus were caught intoxicated by either marijuana, "synthetic marijuana" or alcohol. The new Drug Free Youth in Town program aims to reduce that via pledges and random drug tests SIGNAL
- The City is rolling out a shopping benefits program for library card holders ahead of the Sept. 29 opening of the new Newhall Library. Dubbed Sign Up and Save, the program gives Santa Clarita library card holders discounts at some 61 local businesses. SIGNAL
- Friday was Assemblyman Cameron Smyth's last day in session as an Assemblyman. The 41 year old, three term Assemblyman and former Mayor told the Signal that he tried to make a difference as a relatively moderate member of the minority and said he's most proud of legislation against stalkers (in reaction to that memorable roaming pedophile who posted pictures of places in the SCV where children hang out) and legislation restoring funding to domestic violence programs. Will you miss Smyth? Was he effective in his role? SIGNAL
- The High Speed Rail closest to completion isn't the CA HSR link between north and south, it's the Xpress West high speed train between Vegas and Victorville according to the CAHSR Blog. Casino owners in Vegas are putting up big bucks ($1.5 billion) to kick-start the high speed system because they've looked at their customer's zip codes and realized 40% of them come from the Inland Empire. CAHSR BLOG
- Add non-city resident Dave Bossert to the chorus of voices who wanted the City of Santa Clarita "to carefully, thoroughly and professionally carry out a proper search for a new City Manager." But as readers have said, why bother with the expense when it was a foregone conclusion that Striplin would get the job? WRB
- Also, Dave Bossert announced today that he is re-naming the West Ranch Beacon the SCV Beacon as the Beacon "Has been serving the greater Santa Clarita Valley for several yeaers now and it seemed only right to have the masthead reflect that." Congrats on the change Dave. SCV BEACON
- Bill Reynolds, aka Not a Ferry Fan, mocks the fact that Lee Rogers is a physician in a new web video and doesn't even mention McKeon's failure to help the valley on Cemex. YOU TUBE
- The Signal says the state ought to reform CEQA and make it easier to develop in California. As evidence of a problem, they point to the 17 year process Newhall Land has gone through for Newhall Ranch. SIGNAL
- As for SCVTalk/Notes from Newhall, the move to blogger has paid off. Google has removed the "This site is potentially unsafe" designation from the site after I appealed to the big G. Still working on building an archive of the old site, however
-----------------