Image not recoveredmckeon-threats.jpg
(Re: the above, technically I think Aladdin is Persian, not Arab, but such nuance isn't necessary when it comes to talking terrorism, so I think the helpful identification chart above should be of some assistance to border guards. As for Speedy Gonzalez, there can be no doubt where he is from).
- In perhaps the gaffe to end all SCV political gaffes, Congressman McKeon warned last week that there "are people" who can't tell the difference between Mexicans and Arabs, and that a smart and enterprising Arab terrorist, for instance, could slip past all our border protections and strike directly at the homeland if pretended to be Mexican enough. Scary stuff. Everyone and their mother has a piece on this, with BuzzFeed breaking the story, HuffPo and the THE HILL following up, and our own Mike D. spreading the news locally, commenting that the remark strikes him as "an old politician bumbling & stumbling into retirement." SCVTALK
- Lee Rogers, McKeon's only announced opponent in 2014, quickly condemned McKeon's talk as "insensitive" to both Latinos and those of Arab descent. He also posted the the comments en espanol for good measure. FACEBOOK
- To be fair to Congressman McKeon, his larger point was in the context of the (dead again/live again) immigration bill, making its way through the byzantine federal legislature. McKeon favors what detractors would call amnesty and what proponents would call a path to citizenship, along the lines of what President Obama and Republicans in the Senate have supported. More reaction on the gaffe from Ray's FACEBOOK LTE PAGE
- Where did the summer go? It's back to school week in the SCV, and so expect lots of traffic, angst, excitement, happiness, and tears among parents and children as another school year kicks off this week. Buttleman at the SIGNAL has a piece on personnel changes at the districts, Money says passage of Prop 30 has essentially saved SCV K-6 school districts this year though Marc Winger of NSD says no one is really sure from Sacramento on down how it's all going to work out this year(SIGNAL), while Hart faces a budget cut of $2.7 million, and finally, Petz has a rant asking why California doesn't have a sales tax holiday for back to school spending.
- As noted by Ray Kutylo at his Facebook LTE page, folks seem pretty satisfied with the way local districts are being run, all the way from Hart to COC's to the elementary school districts. Few challengers filed, meaning that the Hart Board -including Joe Messina- will run unopposed this year, as will Castaic District board members and Acton/Agua Dulce board members. NSD has one challenger, while Saugus has two facing off against three incumbents. On the NCWD water board, the three incumbents will run for their seats against one challenger, Carl Puckett. SIGNAL
- I've seen this movie before: Albert Einstein director Jeffrey Shapiro has managed to upset another municipality, the City of Thousand Oaks, for trying to open a high school in an industrial area in TO against the City of TO's wishes and ahead of the Conejo Valley Unified School District's plans to use the same site for a continuation school. The City of Thousand Oaks say they were only informed of Einstein's intentions through happenstance (sounds familiar) while Shapiro's spin is that he doesn't want his students to get lost "in the bureaucracy of municipal codes and government codes." That is to say screw building standards, let's house students in any old structure with four walls and a ceiling I guess. TO ACORN
- Sad: Friday afternoon fire in Newhall home kills two dogs and two cats, but residents escape unharmed. Cause of the fire is under investigation. SCVNEWS
- Three young black men, ages 17-19, allegedly carjacked a 56 year old Canyon Country man on Saturday at 12:50am near Jakes Way, and took off in his 2009 Lincoln MKX. They made it out of the SCV but were stopped by the LAPD and tried to run, but were captured. KHTS, SIGNAL
- Firefighters make quick work out of a blaze in San Francisquito Canyon, which flared up Friday and was named the "Bee Fire" before being put down this weekend. Neat pictures video at SCVNEWS
- Bats with rabies, squirrels with the plague, and coyotes so smart they've lived here for 1 million years. What else is scary about the wildlife in the SCV? How about mosquitoes with the West Nile virus and a bunch of dead birds? VECTOR CONTROL via SCVNEWS
- Smart policy: Almost half of the fines made against the SCV sanitation district last year will be used to fund the building of permeable parking lots, which let rain water soak into the water table under ground. The City smartly saw the fine coming and designed a project to get the money nad will use it to build permeable ("giant Rice Krispies squares made of concrete is how Holt describes the tech") lots at the McBean park 'n ride and for the expanded lot at Valencia Library. SIGNAL
- Speaking of water, the Whittaker Bermite Community Advisory Group sent a letter to the State Department of Public Health about perchlorate contamination in our wells and aquifers spreading westward. The letter says the wells aren't being tested frequently enough and that CLWA has been wrong about the spread of the contaminant, which has been found to cause thyroid cancer. Letter at the BEACON
- Great Editorial by the Signal this weekend, citing our new favorite boogeywoman, Fran Diamond, who threatened last week that she'd get the AG involved against the stubborn SCV for its recalcitrance on the chloride matter. The Signal Editorial board, which has a love-hate relationship with science, wants some indisputable scientific studies to be performed before a decision is made, else Creekside says, this is just about some vague political power crushing the SCV unfairly for downstream interests. SIGNAL
- Steve Lunetta with a somewhat funny piece about a mythical City of Santa Clarita Department of Dumb Ideas, where such things as the Newhall Roundabout, back-in parking, and Decoro striping are dreamed up. When Lunetta runs into a fictional City staff member and asks why dumb ideas like those are implemented, the City staff guy responds that well, most residents are simply commuters who rest their heads in the SCV at night, and don't really think of this place as a City. At least that much is accurate. I don't think the round-about is a dumb idea at all. SIGNAL
- Bossert: Dave Bossert celebrates 8 years of blogging this week and the forthcoming publication of his first book, ttitled "Remembering Roy E. Disney : Memories and Photos of a Storied Life." Congrats on the publication Dave! Writing a book -on some subject- is on my bucket list. BEACON
Comments (5)