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August 26, 2013· santaclarita.com · SantaClarita.com (SCVTalk 5.0) · Wayback capture

August 26, 2013 – Daily Brief

By Jeff Wilson

  • Council race: As Mike repoted a couple of weeks ago, Laurene Weste, City Councilwoman, colorful dresser, and P-Canyon land-owner, has raised far more than any other Council candidate thus far with some $18,276 for her reelection bid. But surprisingly, the person who raised the second most is Al Ferdman, chair of the Canyon Country Advisory Commitee. Ferdman has generated $7,357 in loans and "non-monetary donations." That puts him ahead of Marsha McLean who has only raised $3,400. Other candidates haven't raised anything or haven't reported it yet. MONEY@THE SIGNAL
  • Kutylo speculates that there's no grass-roots support for the incumbents, that few have shown up to $500  a plate fundraisers for the incumbents. FACEBOOK
  • Speaking of the Council, Karen Jonas has two good reports on the two largest agenda items for tomorrow night's return of the City Council: $5 million transfer from the old Newhall Redevelopment agency to the City in order to "move forward with plans to build affordable housing in the downtown Newhall area." JONAS @ The BEACON. Also on the agenda: Central Park expansion, phase 3. BEACON
  • Kellar appreciative of water czar Sam Unger's detailed and readable response on the chloride mater, but he still doesn't think the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board has demonstrated the "science" well enough. Jim Holt has two pieces today: Kellar's reaction to the letter, and another report on chloride limits around the state. HOLT @ THE SIGNAL, SIGNAL 2
  • Nice bit of original reporting from Smith:  I had no idea that the SCV Sheriff's station receives so many reports from residents about missing persons....indeed they do. An average of 1 per day, according to Perry Smith, who says that the LASD station received 368 reports of missing persons last year, 257 of which were juveniles (that's 69%). The number of missing people reports are about evenly divided among males & females, and sometimes the same person goes missing multiple times. Deputies know to ask parents for social media clues when a juvenile is reported missing and the station says they take all reports seriously, though parents don't often close out missing persons calls if their child comes home. I'd be curious how we compare to other communities; do cities our size have about the same number of missing persons reported every year? If so, are nearly 70% of missing persons juvenile? If not, why are SCV teens running away so much? SMITH @ KHTS
  • Another summer day, another child drowned: This time in Castaic lake. No word on the age of the child or whether s/he survived. SIGNAL
  • Canyon Country man agrees to meet potential car buyer in strip mall parking lot, supposed buyer asks to take a test spin in the man's Honda CR-V, and the "buyer" never returns with the car. "It's not wise to let someone you just met take your car without you being in it," says a Deputy investigating the case with a "The More you Know" quote. SIGNAL
  • Speaking of thieves, how low do you have to be in life to go to the Newhall County Water District headquarters building (LEED-certified by the way), pry open the payment box customers drop their checks into, and steel them? Could you even cash them? Well someone did that two weeks ago at NCWD CRIME BLOTTER NEWHALL ZONE
  • Sad: I wasn't much of a fan of her pieces on local charity dinners, but I'm still sad to see tha Michele Buttelman, a great local writer, was laid off by Creekside, at least according to Ray Kutylo. But she's not just disappearing into the night like so many other great Signal alums; rather she's going to start a blog & and community calendar at a new site called EverythingSCV.com. Good luck! FACEBOOK, EVERYTHINGSCV.COM
  • New SCV-based celebrity: Great piece yesterday from the Signal's Kirsten Quinn on Erin Murphy, the 49 year old actress who starred as Tabitha Montgomery, daughter of Elizabeth Murphy on the popular 60s/70s tv show Bewitched. Murphy and her husband have apparently moved to the SCV, bought a ranch up San Francisquito way, and routinely host TV/Film productions at their ranch. She also raises alpacas...yes, alpacas, and knows all about the qualities of their wool fur. She's quite fetching at age 49, works with autism charities, and has dogs. She's pretty down to earth for being a celebrity, saying her SCV Ranch & the SCV "has it all," and remarking that her day-to-day routine at the ranch involves "shoveling horse poop in the morning" and transitions to an evening on the red carpet. Someone  cast a spell on me to rid me of this feeling I'm having....I'm quite smitten. SIGNAL, WIKIPEDIA BIO
  • Buck McKeon thinks Chelsea nee Bradley Manning got too light of a sentence (35 years) for his role in leaking confidential cables and other materials to media site WikiLeaks. McKeo even compares him to real spies like the FBI's Walker & Robert Hanssen, who were actually active spies for the Soviet Union & Russia. PRESS RELEASE
  • Whoa: Lady Ducayne raves about a new food truck that's going to visit our town regularly called Don Chow. Don Chow makes chimales, which I had never heard of, but which Lady Ducayne defines as Chinese tamales. The truck fuses Chinese & Mexican food and its byline is "Where Chino Meets Latino." Neat. LADY DUCAYNE
  • Another week, another crazy Messina piece: Joe Messina says he's been wrong about religious persecution in the United States. In reality, the organized persecutors aren't going after Jews and their "yarmulkes" or Muslims and their hijabs or other religious people, but only Christians. Yes, the United States is now actively hostile to Christianity in Joe's mind. REAL SIDE
  • Came across my screen: A health insurance company in the SFV is advertising in the SCV to hire 50 people as "Obama Care Health Specialists" to sell insurance to people as the ACA & California Health Exchanges get off the ground in 2014. Fifty jobs! Potential employees are encouraged to apply; they won't need to cold call anyone and they can earn commissions & residual income for selling health plans to new Obamacare beneficiaries. Crazy that our new nationalized/socialized health care system, as McKeon liked to call it, is actually creating jobs in the private sector, isn't it?  JOB POSTING
  • Our own Mike Devlin on the history and incorrect naming of Bouquet Canyon. Great and fun piece of SCV history. SCVTALK


Comments (28)

  1. Kevin D. KorenthalMonday, August 26th, 2013 at 11:11 am
    If these Obamacare Sales People are anything like the Census workers that kicked out 2 of my sprinkler heads when I refused to elaborate on the information I provided on the form mailed to each home in the last census, they had better stay away from my house. We're all set until the insurance that Obama said I could keep no longer qualifies under Obamacare.
  2. R ValenciaMonday, August 26th, 2013 at 11:15 am
    To paraphrase Karl Marx in the 21st Century, "Smart Phones are the opiates of the masses."
  3. InkGigoloMonday, August 26th, 2013 at 1:13 pm
    Watch out Joe! Christians are down to 78% or so of the US population! Time to circle the Pews (Reports) against those pesky viral Non-C's! Hide yo wife! Hide yo Daughter! I honestly have nothing against Christians (some of my best friends and relatives are Christians), but does anyone take this guys seriously? He's like the Miley Cyrus of Rush Limbaughs.
  4. Kevin D. KorenthalMonday, August 26th, 2013 at 2:15 pm
    I fail to see how the percentage of Christian population has anything to do with the topic. Is waging war against a particular belief system in any way in line with the values set forth in the founding of this nation? You do not create parity for one group by attacking another. Very timely to mention of Miley Cyrus since the deviation for higher morals (as practiced in many religions but namely Judeo-Christian) is what has produced this obscene and disturbed young woman. In other words, the nihilist, sectarian direction is resulting in a continued plummet in the morality of the nation. If you are happy with this after last night's VMA's count yourself in the minority.
  5. Kevin D. KorenthalMonday, August 26th, 2013 at 2:19 pm
    Last night's VMA's may actually be further motivation for citizens to stand up and demand that Big Media unbundle cable channels so that subscribers can decide for themselves what media orgs they want to watch and support. http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/t
  6. JackHererMonday, August 26th, 2013 at 2:34 pm
    Do you need a lesson in setting up your favorites list? Mine doesn't have any religion, MTV, Fox (news) or QVC. Call Buck for any government help in not having to pay for what you don't want to watch. Good luck!
  7. Kevin D. KorenthalMonday, August 26th, 2013 at 2:46 pm
    I don't receive any cable into my home because paying the $150 a month for the package that includes channels I'd like to have means I have to pay for channels, like MTV, that I will not support financially. I am old enough to remember the day that MTV went on the air. A revolution in culture and music began that day that has now been made the victim of the moral relativity of a nihilist movement within the Democrat Party. It's a crying shame that I will always be a season behind in most quality television shows (if I can access them at all) because MTV has to act like a pimp attempting to force it's whores like that spoiled sex-pot into my home where my children can stumble upon it. Not me. You go a head and let society feed that crap to your kids.
  8. JackHererMonday, August 26th, 2013 at 3:01 pm
    I don't even watch network TV. I stick with Discovery, Science, History and SyFy. I gave up MTV when rap started to take over. On the bright side it's football season! Yay!
  9. ReaderMamaMonday, August 26th, 2013 at 3:59 pm
    Your attraction to Erin Murphy has scrambled your brains, Jeff. Or maybe it's fatherhood. Erin Murphy played Tabitha Stephens (not Tabitha Montgomery). Elizabeth Montgomery (not Elizabeth Murphy) played Samantha Stephens, mother of Tabitha. It was nice to read the story though. Bewitched was one of my favorite shows growing up and I still enjoy catching an occasional rerun. Murphy has turned out pretty well for a child star.
  10. LarMccMonday, August 26th, 2013 at 10:48 pm
    Jeff is right on this one. She is a looker.
  11. IHeartSCVMonday, August 26th, 2013 at 7:13 pm
    Do my eyes deceive me or does that really say "Mr. SCV by John Boston", the newest addition to the blogs? Everyone knows Paul De La Cerda was named Mr. SCV a few years ago, and he has the sash to prove it (link below, photo 3), so I think the title may be contested. Title disputes aside, I am excited. http://www.signalscv.com/archives/1508/
  12. JoshPremakoTuesday, August 27th, 2013 at 8:09 am
    I believe Mr. Boston has the license plate to prove it.
  13. SCVMMonday, August 26th, 2013 at 9:45 pm
    Hey Jeff your being smitten by Item 10 might explain your spelling error in Item 8. It's steal, not "steel." I love these dailies!
  14. LarMccMonday, August 26th, 2013 at 10:54 pm
    So, let me get this straight. We are now looking at low income housing to be built in the old town area? I guess this will develop a great customer base for the so-called arts district the city has built. I know that people struggling to make ends meet will have disposable income to spend on tchotchkes, knick knacks and $10 beers at The Refinery. The city is either delusional, wants the area to fail or simply does not care.
  15. ToddTuesday, August 27th, 2013 at 2:05 am
    A.) The Beacon article was so poorly written I can't make heads nor tails of it. Its really, really poorly done. B.) Nowhere in the article, nor the staff report does it say the housing would be built in Old Town. In fact, all this is really is a money transfer to have available for future projects. Bad reporting by the Beacon, bad of Jeff to quote them, because they're wrong. An affordable housing development in these areas accomplishes many things, not least of which is taking dilapidated and unsafe buildings and building new homes for families to restart their lives in a productive environment. Thereby in turn spurring increased interest and development in the area and reversing the trend of allowing properties to fall into disrepair and instead inspiring owners to keep up their properties and realize the potential of the neighborhood. From my knowledge the project can be built anywhere in the Newhall Redevelopment Area, which stretches down Lyons to the 5 and all the way down Newhall to the 14, east into the very low income neighborhoods around Race and Park. Funny thing about that area... its already pretty dirt poor, comparatively. Did you know that the area just west of old town is among the lowest median income households in the SCV, with 46% of the households below the poverty level Median income only $12K??? OK thats an extreme and small sample, however surrounding areas within the RDA are around 35-40K where the hood around Hart High is $80K and your own hood Larry is $90k. Quite a difference.
  16. JoshPremakoTuesday, August 27th, 2013 at 8:14 am
    Why does affordable housing always get referred to as “low income” housing by people that have an issue with it? “Affordable” doesn’t necessarily mean ZOMG Section 8 Welfare Moocher Status. It may just mean housing that’s more within reach than a $1,500/month 1-bedroom at the Madison.
  17. ToddTuesday, August 27th, 2013 at 9:34 am
    Truth. "Affordable" can be a whole bunch of things. Again, the staff report is silent on exactly what will be built or who it will target. Its just a money transfer... It does allude to a "low or moderate-income."
  18. JoshPremakoTuesday, August 27th, 2013 at 9:54 am
    Perhaps Newhall Land can build it, making it an island of Valencia in a sea of Newhall.
  19. MikeTuesday, August 27th, 2013 at 10:04 am
    Will they build it as promised?
  20. LarMccTuesday, August 27th, 2013 at 10:40 am
    I have worked in the 'affordable' housing industry in the past and I know all about it. The city has plans in the works to build low income (section 8) housing in the redevelopment zone. http://www.signalscv.com/archives/48481/ The study and blueprint for old town specified the need for housing that attracted moderate and upper income residents that would be needed to create a customer base critical to the areas success. Without this, the trendy arts district will still be thought of as being in the bad side of town.
  21. RemStarTuesday, August 27th, 2013 at 3:04 pm
    So, then, by that reasoning, affordable housing should be built only in neighborhoods that are solidly middle class (south Valencia) or upper middle class (north Valencia). Good idea. Let's do it.
  22. LarMccTuesday, August 27th, 2013 at 6:09 pm
    I thought you worked in the technology department Kevin. What I am saying is that the city continues to ignore a main component of the blue print for developing old town, that is, the addition of housing for middle and upper middle class residents. Without a customer base nearby, the city has to continue to fight to attract people in to an area that many view as unsavory.
  23. ToddTuesday, August 27th, 2013 at 4:00 pm
    You're aware that the article specifically calls for building a development way south on Newhall Ave of "Old Town" in the park and ride lot, right? A good mile between, Google has. Like I said, the Beacon "article" is misleading at best. It makes assumptions and leads to conclusions that are not based in any fact. We just cut the ribbon at an "affordable housing" complex last week down here in the 818 and its a thing of beauty that really improved the neighborhood. "Affordable housing" can do wonders to improve an area.
  24. LarMccTuesday, August 27th, 2013 at 6:17 pm
    I lived in a building that went 26% low income. Over time the building changed for the worse. You cannot paint everyone with one broad brush. In spite of the best efforts of management, a certain percentage caused enough problems that the good people moved out and eventually my company sold the building because it could not maintain the standards of the brand. I am sure the buildings can be nice enough, but it's not a place most of us want to live.
  25. RemStarWednesday, August 28th, 2013 at 8:46 am
    Should we dismiss Lar's "expert" opinions simply because he's a whiny paranoid know-it-all? No. That would be just as bad as dismissing as "undesirable" all people who happen to qualify for affordable housing.
  26. JoshPremakoWednesday, August 28th, 2013 at 12:39 pm
    Then don't live there. Not everyone can afford to live in the nicest, "safest" parts of the SCV (And I'm not implying anything about your socioeconomic status, as I don't know you). You stated that "You cannot paint everyone with a broad brush" but your comments here seem to imply just that: A view that "affordable housing" rhymes with "low-income problem people."
  27. LarMccWednesday, August 28th, 2013 at 3:31 pm
    As someone who lived at a building converted to accepting low income tenants and spending many years in the housing industry dealing with low income properties, I speak from experience. Again, not painting everyone with one broad brush. There were many good, nice people there but there also was an undesirable element that could not be kept out. But my issue is not with low income housing, the issue is that the city continues to ignore the need for a local customer base for Old Town, the need which is specified in the Downtown Newhall Area Specific Plan. Without this, the area will continue to serve the needs of the local people with laundromats, dollar stores and taco shops and will not be the arts mecca the city thinks they will somehow create. We know Kevin/Remstar will continue to beat the drum of his employer because he's drinking the city Kool Aid with the rest of them. I was doubtful the city's plan would ever work. Now that they have spent over $100 million in the area, it's too late to fight that. But I can speak up about what changes they need to make to stand a chance of working. If that makes me a know it all, well, then you can call me a proud know it all.
  28. SCVgirlWednesday, August 28th, 2013 at 4:02 pm
    I think we might have a higher than average missing juvenile rate because many kids go past curfew and their parents freak out in santa clarita more than parents of inner cities would if their kids were late. I know I have friends whose parents will think they've been kidnapped after midnight if they aren't home.

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