- The I-5 HOV/Toll lane project was green-lighted last night at the Metro's board member. Our supposed representative -and chair of the Metro board- refused to vote, with his spokesman saying he was "conflicted" on the proposal to essentially lease public infrastructure to a private company. The HOV/Toll lane will, if approved by the state, stretch from Parker road to I-5 & the 14 and could cost anywhere from 25cents a mile to $1.40 per mile, plus $30 for a transponder device. SIGNAL
- Re: the above, an astute analysis of the deal by way of the LTE section of the SIGNAL
- Re: re: the above: But look at it this way: while rich folks whiz by you and the giant trucks on the I-5's remaining 4 free lanes, maybe you won't mind so much because you'll be relaxing/sleeping in you driverless car. But that too will lead to more congestion, or so argues an economist in today's NY TIMES
- Also at last night's Metro board meeting, Board members suspended a $3 monthly maintenance fee for transponder devices drivers purchase to use toll lanes on the 110 freeway. See, not only do you have to buy a transponder to use the toll lane ($40) and pay up to $1.40 per mile depending on the time of day, you have to pay Metro $3 a month for maintenance of the transponder device you bought. Unsurprisingly, the toll lane program on the 110 so far shows "traffic in the former carpool-only lanes declined and congestion in free lanes increased," says the LA TIMES
- Excellent report on the chloride situation from Perry Smith at KHTS, who talked to water engineers, CLWA authorities and even the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board, the organization that's mandated the SCV reduce chloride in our wastewater. KHTS
- Ridiculous: The County registrar is recommending to the Supervisors that Santa Clarita school board elections not be moved to even-numbered years, when more people vote. He cites the county's "Ink-a-vote" voting card as the reason, "a ballot that is a modified version of old IBM punch cards," saying there's simply no room left on the cards for Saugus' or Newhall's board election. Good report by Leon Worden at SCVNEWS
- Karen Jonas has a good report about the oil pipeline that runs through central Valencia. THe City council approved a new franchise agreement with the pipeline owner on Tuesday night. BEACON
- Fat times are here again? March real estate numbers in the SCV were so bright the Signal has two articles about them today and so does the Daily News. Bob Khalasa of the SoCal Regional Real Estate group says home sales in the SCV increased 11.1 percent last month while condo sales increased 42 percent. And median price for a single family home increased 11% from one year ago to $20k. What is nice to hear is that foreclosure and short sales are on the decline; 61% of sales last month were standard, notes Jana Adkins at the SIGNAL. The Daily News says supply is tight and demand high, so that means it's a seller's market. DAILY NEWS
- Quallion, a company that makes advanced lithium ion batteries for satellites and other devices, is opening a $10 million facility in Santa Clarita that could employ as many as 30 people.KPCC Buck McKeon was at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the plant earlier this week PR
- State Senator Steve Knight is pushing an odd bill that would allow people who own beer "growlers" to refill them "at the location of their choosing." I thought a growler was a keg, but it's not. "More than half of Americans now live within 10 miles of a craft brewer," says Knight, proving you can make statistics up about anything. KHTS
- The SCV homeless shelter reports that fewer homeless people spent nights at the shelter during the 2012-2013 cold season. But some nights they were over capacity. A board member of the group says some of the homeless included young men fresh out of the service, and seniors as old as 81. SIGNAL
- LDS/BSA/LGBT/WTF?!? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints said yesterday it supports the Boy Scouts of America's proposal to allow gay kids to be Scouts. The LDS church and BSA have strong ties going back a century, and the Scouts have been steadfast in their policies against gays so this marks a big change. But they still won't allow gay Scout masters. LA TIMES
- Three people, including one Valencia woman, convicted of $1.5 million in Medicare fraud and could face up to 10 years in prison. SIGNAL
- If you have some old bottles of Percocet or Vicodin laying around, go drop them off at the "National Pharmaceuticals Take Back Day" at the LASD Sheriff's Station. No questions asked. SIGNAL
- More lane closures on the 5 Freeway start next week as CalTrans builds out truck lanes PRESS RELEASE
Nine years of the Valley’s town square · 2006–2015
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