Mayday is an emergency code word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications. It derives from the French venez m’aider, meaning ‘come to my aid’/”come [to] help me.” It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency by many groups, such as police forces, pilots, the fire brigade, and transportation organizations. The call is always given three times in a row (”Mayday Mayday Mayday”) to prevent mistaking it for some similar-sounding phrase under noisy conditions, and to distinguish an actual mayday call from a message about a mayday call. From Wikipedia on Mayday (technically different than May Day, which is today, but an important term nonetheless, given the financial state of one of the SCV’s institutions).

News

•  More on Landsource, Newhall Ranch, and CalPERS: The S&P story on Tuesday that Landsource may declare bankruptcy in the coming weeks has led to a number of new stories that help explain Newhall Land’s stake in the matter as well as what may happen to the Newhall Ranch project. First up is a story from the Wall Street Journal that says CalPers’ $970 million investment last year in the LandSource entity has become a “rare misstep” for the public employee’s retirement fund, which manages some $224b for California public employees. The report describes the Newhall Ranch territory as “prime real estate” but says the land’s value has plummeted as demand from builders has stalled. That has one analyst thinking Newhall Ranch might be used for…get this…raising cattle, which would be a throwback to the original days of Newhall Land & Farming, would it not? Meanwhile, over on Creekside, Signal Editor Josh Premako spoke with Newhall Land VP of Communications Marlee Lauffer about the troubles at Landsource; Lauffer didn’t offer much though, simply saying that “There’s been lots of speculation” and that Newhall Land’s corporate parents are still in discussions with creditors. And on BigBuilderOnline.com, an industry magazine, a report was issued yesterday that discusses S&P’s report on Landsource and speculates that if Landsource does file for bankruptcy protection, “Lennar could lose access to the [Newhall Ranch] lots.” The article concludes saying that Landsource is the most visible “Joint venutre” in the housing industry and that its failure may be a “harbinger of things to come.” Finally, in The Signal today, Friends of the Santa Clara River President Ron Bottorf engages in a bit of wishful thinking by speculating that CalPers could end up owning the Newhall Ranch land. “Would CalPers consider selling at least the floodplain areas to a public entity,” he asks. It is all speculation like Lauffer said, so your guess is as good as mine.
• Could Rim of Valley corridor become a national park? That’s what opponents of a Congressional bill that is expected to be signed by President Bush are worried about, according to the Ventura County Star. The report quotes a land owner’s rights group as saying that property holders in the mountains west of Santa Clarita have no idea about the “train wreck” that is coming at them, should the bill to study the land be signed by President Bush. The possibility that the RoV Corridor could become a national park is barely mentioned in the article but it’s there; according to previous reports, the territory may be turned over to the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation conservation authority. VC Star has more.
• Los Angeles County has an unprecedented surge in senior population: Some 9,000 people in Los Angeles County turn 60 years old every day, and the county is home to more seniors than any other area in the United States, according to the Daily News.  That fact has led the County to organize an initiative “with nearly every [County] department aimed at improving services to seniors and making it easier for them to find and qualify for benefits.” As part of the iniative, the county may create a hotline to help seniors get access to county resources. No mention of Santa Clarita in the article, but our Senior population is significant, and last year much fuss was raised over increasing rents at some Senior apartment buildings in the SCV. Link
• City installs artificial turf in medians to save water: “Take a second glance at the impeccably-manicured grass on the street median in the middle of Magic Mountain Parkway in Valencia and you’ll see a pilot project that could mean converting all of the city’s street median mini-lawns to synthetic turf,” Katie Geyer reports in today’s Signal.  In another spot on Bouquet  and Valencia Blvd, the city installed some 2,000 sq. ft. of synthetic turf and says that  using the fake grass could save the city some 75,000 gallons of water per year. One wonders how the street maintenance & landscape crews will react to this; the city says it won’t have  to use them to mow the fake grass. Link
• Pair of Mountain lions spotted in Newhall: Two mountains lions were spotted next to “bones apparently belonging to small domestic animals” on a hillside near Oakriver Lane in Newhall (that’s south of Dockweiler, west of Sierra Highway) yesterday, according to the Sheriff’s Station. Fish and Game workers responded and chased the male cat deeper into the hillside; no word on what happened to the other mountain lion. SCV Deputies then door-knocked their way through the neighborhood to warn residents of the sighting. I especially like the description of the “bones belonging to small domestic animals;” one wonders how many missing dog & cat posters are in that area of Newhall right now. Link
• Runner anti-crime initiative may cost state money it doesn’t have: At least that’s what some critics of Senator George Runner’s anti-gang and -crime initiative are claiming after Runner was able to get enough signatures to qualify the measure for the November Ballot. The measure would require gang members to register with local municipalities and would even let local agencies monitor gangs with GPS. On the flip side, the measure would guarantee police funding as well. All this would be paid for with the existing budget, even though California may have a $20 billion budget deficit next year. The Appeal-Democrat has more.
• Get your audition tape into the city today so you can sing the Anthem at SCV Dodger Day: You must live in the SCV and submit a VHS, 8mm, or DVD of yourself singing America’s National Anthem if you want to take the field on June 7 at Dodger Stadium for the 31st Annual SCV Dodger Day. Boy I bet judging the entries is a fun job to have at the city. Signal has more.

Miscellaneous

• Bicyclist in Newhall says he was deliberately hit: I’ve been trying to work on a story about a bicyclist who was involved in an auto accident, but haven’t been able to interview the subject at length. Anyway, from the report of one of his cycling partners, the 23 year old man says he was cycling in the bicycle lane on Wiley Canyon Road just north of Lyons (near Tournament) when a vehicle driven by what the cyclist thinks were teenagers struck him deliberately. The cyclist suffered minor injuries and his bike was damaged; he reportedly heard the vehicle’s occupants laughing as they drove away from the scene of the accident. The cyclist has reported the “hit and run” incident to the SCV Sheriff’s station and is apparently working with a detective on the case. This happened on Friday April 18 at dusk.  I’ll post more when I get it.
• Would Congestion Pricing work in the Newhall Pass? Are you familiar with the idea of charging motorists to drive on busy freeways in an effort to reduce traffic congestion? That’s the idea behind congestion pricing, and it’s been tried successfully in London since 2003. But Los Angeles is an entirely different ballgame, so the LA Times took the idea to two transportation experts who debate why it may or may not work here and where it could be implemented. One writer, an executive in the Sylmar-based Transit Coalition, says congestion pricing ought to be tried on Los Angeles County’s multiple freeway passes, especially the Newhall Pass, where he argues a pricing scheme could force drivers out of their cars and into more environmentally friend buses and Metrolink trains. “If we treat all vehicles the same — rather than let a few buy their way out of traffic — paying a toll would allow some motorists to make the rational choice to use transit. Several bus systems travel through the Newhall Pass, and Metrolink connects the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys via rail. Charging all motorists a toll pegged to highway demand would result in many commuters opting for transit instead of their cars.”  Money gained for the tolls would ostensibly go to upgrade rail and transit options. Read the two opinion pieces here.
• Times reluctantly endorses Antonovich for County Supervisor: The only person in all of Los Angeles County’s 5th District to run against Supervisor Antonovich is a 30 something warehouse worker who is a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. The Times says it is very concerned about “rampant development” in Antonovich’s District, but given the alternative, it’s recommending you vote for Antonovich again. So where are the Democrats? They didn’t even bother to show up to the race. Link
• *sniffle* SCVTalk not a trusted source of news? So the SCV Sheriff’s station’s blog/news site has become an important source of local news for Santa Clarita in the few months since it was built. Each post always ends with the admonition that if you “see something, say something!” then lists other trusted local news outlets. On that list of course is The Signal and KHTS and the West Ranch Beacon, Dave Bossert’s west side blog. Don’t get me wrong, WRB is a good source for local news if you’re just after copy/paste news articles with occasional opinion pieces. Sadly, SCVTalk is not listed on the Sheriff’s station website, but if you’re reading this, you already know the score.
• Good editorial in today’s Signal: Paul Campos is a law professor in CU-Boulder and writes in a syndicated column published in The Signal today that a typical “American suburb is just about the safest place that has ever existed in the history of the world - yet it’s full of terrified people.” That’s in relation to statistics on very rare events such as child kidnappings (he says only 115 stranger abductions of children happened in 2006). He says the media has turned the US into a nation of “Hysterics.” It’s ironic to see a piece like this in The Signal, which has had its fair share of reports that touch on rare crimes like this.
• 1,853 homes for sale in SCV: And blogger/realtor Linda Slocum shows you where they are at. Another real estate blogger lists a foreclosed single family home in Canyon Country that’s going for just $255,000…hell at that price I might jump.