Bees are Black, with Gilt Surcingles –
Buccaneers of Buzz.
Ride abroad in ostentation
And subsist on Fuzz.

Fuzz ordained — not Fuzz contingent –
Marrows of the Hill.
Jugs — a Universe’s fracture
Could not jar or spill.

- Emily Dickinson

News

• Fees to pay for new California Courthouses? State Senator Don Perata says California’s Courthouses are in such a bad state that the right to a fair and speedy trial is under threat, and he’s proposing a series of fee hikes and a $5 billion bond measure to rebuild many courthouses, including the one in Santa Clarita, according to the Los Angeles Times. Not many details on our Courthouse/Civic Center, but as readers of SCVTalk.com know, rebuilding the aging Santa Clarita Valley Civic Center on Magic Mountain is a priority for the City of Santa Clarita, and there’s been talk of a large public/private partnership between the City, the County, Newhall Land, and other developers. Link
• Rally for SCV educators planned for City Hall: New budget numbers are expected from Sacramento soon, and SCV educators are planning a protest rally at City Hall on Tuesday May 13 to “discuss the local impact on students and schools of the Governor’s drastic proposal to slash at least $4.8 billion in education funds,” KHTS reports. The SCV stands to lose some $25 million from elementary, high school, and community college funding, according to KHTS.
  
• Prom night ruined for Valencia students after break-ins at parking lot: After prom night, Valencia High students returned to their vehicles in the parking lot at Valencia High only to find that many cars had been broken into, according to The Signal. “Car stereos, purses and other personal items” were stolen from vehicles at the campus, where students park to board buses that took them to their prom in Exposition Park. Sheriff’s Station confirms the break-ins and says it’s “under investigation.” Funny, I remember security always being overly-tight on Prom Night at the Hart High campus. Link
• Eight years for babysitter convicted of sexual assault on 11 month old: Amy Sigala, a 21 year old Canyon Country woman, was sentenced to 8 years in state prison on Monday following her sex assault conviction on an 11 month old baby. Back in August 2006, Sigala “clled the baby’s mother to report that that the girl was bleeding from the genitals.” She was convicted last month but is appealing the case; Parimal Rohit has the complete story.
• Emergency rooms in LA County woefully unprepared for terrorist attack: Of all the hospitals in major metro areas in the country, hospitals in Los Angeles were the least prepared to handle a terrorist attack, according to a House study on the matter. The study looked at what would happen if a Madrid-style terrorist attack were to happen in the US. Times
• Cam Smyth on science, plastics, and legislation: One of the first things Cameron Smyth mentioned at a Town Hall meeting after he was elected to the State Assembly was the number of bills in the state house addressing potentially hazardous chemicals in products, foods, and other items. Smyth made note of how some of the bills to limit/control hazardous chemicals contradicted each other and may have been based on faulty science. A year later, the San Jose Mercury News spoke to him about the same issue.

Misc:

• Buck McKeon on Reagan’s education plan: The Senior Republican on the House Education and Labor committee says Ronald Reagan had the right idea for education and touts the No Child Left Behind legislation as the solution for declining American schools in a video posted on YouTube.
• Master’s college ethics professor shows nuance on Iraq War: A self-described “conservative biblical scholar” who lectures Master’s College students on war and ethics will travel to the US Army War College in Pennsylvania to “discuss war, terrorism, faith and morality” with Army brass, the Corona Press Enterprise reports. The professor, David Hegg, says at first he was all for the invasion of Iraq, but now thinks supporting the war is more problematic. “Is it just … Californians can each drive their own car to work each day?” he told the paper. Color me surprised that someone from the conservative Christian college in Placerita Canyon isn’t toeing the standard GOP line with regard to Iraq and the “war on terror.” Link