SCV Talk · Archive
Nine years of the Valley’s town square · 2006–2015
SCV Talk
July 31, 2013· santaclarita.com · SantaClarita.com (SCVTalk 5.0) · Wayback capture

July 31, 2013 – Daily Brief

By Jeff Wilson

  • Billy's, the venerable old town Newhall skate/ski/wake/snowboard shop that's closing, gets another look today from Jana Adkins. The owner partially blames the City's Old Town Newhall redevelopment for hurting his business, but also says the market has changed as everyone can buy things online now. SIGNAL
  • Wilk's town hall on Obamacare was a big success, with over 70 people turning out to hear about it, debate it, and discuss it. Audience reaction was predictably negative, but Wilk says that now it's law, he's dedicated to seeing it function as well as possible. I have a buddy whose wife is about to get birth and is looking forward to getting her breast pump rental reduced as a result of the law. And then my mom, a nurse, hates it and feels that her workload has doubled. SIGNAL
  • Re: the above, Petz has an interesting take on how the law is very harsh on smokers. FACEBOOK
  • OMG: Former LASD Deputy turned loud-mouthed but good-natured street preacher Tony Miano (whose blog I used to follow and trade blows with) has been arrested in London for preaching the gospel and relaying his "love" for homosexuals by reading from 1 Thessalonians. A woman got upset and said he was performing hate speech, so the cops detained him, wanted to fine him, threatened to try him, but ultimately let him go. Miano, still being Miano, even in London, though I wish it'd have been from a soap box in front of Hyde Park, as is traditional in London. Mariuz at KHTS
  • On a much more serious LASD note, the Palmdale LASD Deputy who was arrested yesterday for allegedly soliciting bribes and using his authority to get sexual favors from at least one woman does live in Valencia.  The guy could face life in prison if convicted. SIGNAL
  • Another Thursday in Newhall, another event. "Car Slam" returns tomorrow evening and celebrates via art the automobile. Okay KHTS via SCVNEWS Well just to be sure Valencia is not forgotten, the City is soliciting bids and ideas for an art piece for the library there. CITY PR
  • Saugus is the next big thing: An LTE writer goes to the trouble of mailing a letter to the Signal thanking the City for the stone "welcome to Saugus" sign they erected a few months back, which, when you think about it, is really the only notable thing about Saugus.  PROUD SAUGUSIAN
  • With no resolution in site, I think mining will begin within a year or two in Soledad Canyon, but Andy Fried, one of the many activists who have fought the mine for a decade, is more optimistic. SCVNEWS


Comments (16)

  1. valleynewsgalWednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 11:34 am
    The owners of Billy's have bitched about redevelopment since the beginning. Sometimes businesses just have to take responsibility for their own success (or failure) and do what they need to do to stay out there. Change happens everywhere and the renewal of Old Town has been very positive for that part of town. There is probably more credibility to the claim that people buy things online. I don't like to see anyone lose business, but to take a parting shot at the City is just cheap and unnecessary.
  2. Timothy Myers, Sr.Wednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 1:20 pm
    People are pre-programmed to blame external factors when a business fails, and it is true sometimes. Remember Buck's bizarre explanation on the failure of Howard & Phyl's related directly to Clinton administration trade policies with Japan (?)
  3. ToddWednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 5:32 pm
    I'm surprised Billy's lasted as long as they did. My shop that I patronized as a kid, Fast Lane in Burbank, closed up a few years ago. They recognized that the margins were dwindling and that the big stores like Sport Chalet, coupled with internet sales were going to drive them out. So they sold off everything and retired to Laguna Beach IIRC. It has (IMHO) nothing to do with the redevelopment/reinvigoration or Old Town. If nothing else, it probably kept them going this long. The world is different now. I can get anything Billy's had online for much cheaper. As a man of larger stature, Billys never had my size anyway...
  4. MikeWednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 11:36 am
    Only thing in Saugus? Clearly you haven't taken to greatest of all low-impact leisure activities, frisbee golf. And it's not just the rock. It's the mulch around the rock. And the calming buzz of low-flying high-tension power lines. Or the ubiquitous regular power lines. Saugus is electric!
  5. MikeWednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 11:40 am
    And to snub Rita's? For shame. You are clearly "carrying Slurpee" for 7-Eleven. "If that makes me a Slurper, then I'm a proud Slurper. Damn right I am." -Mayor who doesn't want to see the land of Rita's get their own councilperson
  6. 4eyedsueWednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 3:07 pm
    Saugus has a very high concentration of 7-11s too. Driving down Bouquet in the 91350 you can hit a Slurpee every 3 minutes.
  7. MikeWednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 3:42 pm
    That's so true. We have 3x as any Slurpee machines as Newhall or Valencia.
  8. SamWednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 7:02 pm
    The placement of the Saugus rock was done for the new Valencia developments off of Soledad. I live in Saugus (Circle J Ranch) and I wonder where I live at now.
  9. TootsieWednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 12:01 pm
    Anyone know what the police activity on the 5 northbound between Calgrove and Lyons was yesterday between 2-3pm? I've scoured the internet and can't find anything. I was hoping you had some inside scoop. As I approached the 14/5 northbound split, several police (not sheriffs but police which I almost never see) and CHP flew by in the carpool lane, with full press sirens and lights. Things came to a screeching halt just before Calgrove so I exited, but not before I caught a glimpse of a barricade of CHP/police cars holding back the northbound traffic and several more police cars just further north, surrounding a dark SUV. Anyone?
  10. ToddWednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 5:33 pm
    http://cad.chp.ca.gov is your friend in times like that.
  11. evitalc31Wednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 12:12 pm
    I agree with you, valleynewsgal. Change happens. My question is did they ever bother selling online?
  12. JoshPremakoWednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 1:33 pm
    Can we talk about how a Zankou Chicken would be an ideal business to take over Billy's space?
  13. ToddWednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 5:35 pm
    Ugh. No. Too much garlic. I can always tell when my wife has had Zankou for lunch. When I can smell her when I walk in the house... And she's upstairs. In the bathtub. With the door closed. And candles burning. OK maybe not that extreme... but they use some POTENT stuff.
  14. NFICWednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 2:30 pm
    I can understand the comment in the Billys article about Senses and other City events being held down at the south end of Main Street. I patronize Thai Pepper which is just south of Billys. The Senses and other Main Street events don't help them draw much of a crowd. It would be nice to see this event shifted between ends of Old Town to balance things out for the merchants.
  15. evitalc31Wednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 2:39 pm
    It is a lot of work to keep a business successful and you do have to roll with the changes: online sales, social network pages, sending out emails about in store and online sales, etc. If a location slowly changes and isn't the best site, then moving is also an option. There are so many things to do to keep a business afloat.
  16. LynnVWednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 5:19 pm
    I'm surprised Mr. Miano didn't know the laws in Europe prior to standing on that corner and 'preaching' to the good people of London; or did he?

Preserved as part of the SCV Talk Archive. Text is presented as originally published; presentation has been standardised for readability. The original capture is available at the Internet Archive.

Support