Valley fever, real estate and the SCV, and furniture stores packing it up, all ahead in today’s Brief.

News

• Santa Clarita’s own plague: High winds, wildfires, a lack of rain, housing construction and “soil disruption” are some of the reasons cases of Valley Fever are thought to be on the rise in the SCV. Most people recover quickly from the fungus and become immune to it, but some ethnic groups and young people are more likely to become seriously ill. Seven cases were reported at Henry Mayo Hospital in 2007, but the hospital says it’s not the only facility to treat the fungus. Karen Elowitt has more in today’s Signal.
• 8 Year old Burglar at 2am?? A group of boys ranging in age from 8 to 13 allegedly burgled a house in Canyon Country on Saturday morning at 1:50am, according to the Signal. The boys allegedly yanked “a video game, cell phone, wallet, some checkbooks, keys, credit cards and a purse” but the spree ended when the boys awoke a woman living at the home. She called the fuzz who were able to round up the kids, arrest them, charge them with burglary and release them to parents. That, plus a few other strange burglary cases -including an attempted theft of $3,300 worth of merchandise at Macy’s- are detailed in Tammy Marshlian’s article.
• As housing goes, so goes the furniture industry: You’ve seen the “Going out of business” signs all around town (and in the case of one ridiculous business, on the tops of four cars). Bombay, Levitz, Homemakers Furniture are all having fire sales before they shut down for good. Pat Aidem at the Daily News did some research and found that the slowdown in the real estate sector is to blame. Choice quote: “When people had a lot of equity in their homes, they were sprucing them up. The way the market is now, as flat as it is, people are being very particular with how they are spending their money.”
• Anti-Climactic end to Council Filings: The filing period for those seeking a seat on Santa Clarita’s City Council ends tomorrow, and it appears that all five candidates have submitted their paperwork. Planning Commish Diane Trautman and Parks Commish Laurie Ender visited City Hall on Friday to file their papers. Councilmember TimBen Boydston, who’s promise not to seek reelection in 2008 was the reason he was selected to replace Cameron Smyth, did not file papers by the “incumbent deadline”, despite one local blogger’s predictions. So for those of you keeping score, we’ve got five “establishment candidates” to pick from for two spots on the council: two former cops, a former TV producer turned parks commish, a water board member, and a planning commissioner. Let the games and mailers begin; the election is on April 8.
  
• Bridgeport Homeowners have killed coots before: Those duck-like birds who visit the lakes around Bridgeport have annoyed some homeowners there for years. In 2004, the Bridgeport HOA killed 27 coots after receiving a permit. The HOA is again seeking such a permit, which would allow the group to kill birds “with a shotgun using nontoxic bullets or…sedation followed by euthanasia.” Environmentalists protested on Friday outside the development. Katie Geyer has more.
• Speaking of Council Candidates: Remember Dwight McDonald, a former CHP officer who unsuccessfully ran for City Council in 2006? Recall that in March 2007, McDonald allegedly hit a jogger in Valencia with his car, left the scene, and came back with a 2×4 or other “wooden plank” and (again allegedly) took a few swings at the jogger. His trial started on January 7, and Karen Elowitt played catch-up with an article in Saturday’s paper. McDonald’s defense begins today. Not online.
  

Other City Business:

• I Spy a CPK: Posted on the City’s website is the staff report for a California Pizza Kitchen, one of a few new restaurants slated for an expanded Westfield Town Center. The report details the architecture and location of the restaurant and has some elevation drawings and maps. Santa Clarita’s first CPK will be 6,100 sq. ft. with 218 seats and a 400 sq. ft. outdoor dining area. Staff will ask the Planning commission to determine whether the architecture is acceptable. Hat tip to SantaClaritaRealEstateForum.com for the find. Link
• Unincorporated developments: Tomorrow a City Council Sub Committee will receive a “preview of the upcoming Planning Commission study session on development in the unincorporated areas.” That’s a fancy way of saying that it’s that time of the year again to review developments outside of Santa Clarita’s boundaries. I’m told the meeting is routine, though it comes just one week after the Regional Planning Commission approved the first phase of Newhall Ranch. Agenda
• Lobbyist Website is a goldmine: Kudos to the City’s IT/Web design staff who’ve built a rich and very interesting website detailing the lobbyists who have registered under the city’s new program. There’s only five lobbyist names on the site, but it shows exactly who each of them is working for. All the big players are there: Mayo Hospital, Moteverde, Newhall Land, Westfield, G&L, and much more. Indispensable resource for city watchers. Hurray for openness and full disclosure in local government.

Opinion, Miscellaneous:

• Signal says “Relax” Sunday’s Signal editorial says people ought to chill out and stop worrying about the real estate market so much. “So are we to believe that the real estate sky is falling on the SCV? Of course not. People are still buying and selling property those sales simply are not happening as quickly as they used to,” the editorial says, noting that now is a good time for buyers. I’m sure the Signal thinks it’s a good time for real estate ads too.
• In case you missed it: I also had a column in Sunday’s Signal, detailing Newhall Land’s next master planned community.
• Volunteers needed: There are some 20,000 veterans who live in the Santa Clarita Valley, and COC is looking for volunteers to interview them. It’s all part of a Library of Congress project named “Veterans History Project” and is designed to “provide first-hand accounts of those who served in WW1, WW2, the Cold War, Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf war or the current…conflicts.” COC’s PR person, Stephanie Corral, has more details at ValleyNews.com
• COC Class Blogs on Journalism/Internets: As part of their class on Media and Society, dozens of COC students have started blogs about journalism and blogging. In their first assignment, the students are apparently asked whether blogs are reliable and credible and what impact, if any, they have on traditional print journalism. There’s quite the range of opinions on the issue, with one student saying that blogs are credible, while another thinks they have no impact on print journalism at all. This isn’t just academic for those of us in Santa Clarita, our community of 250,000 people served by one tiny newspaper and an ever-increasing number of blogs.