May 14, 2008 - Daily Brief
What a day it was yesterday. Outraged seniors, protests over school cuts, ethics policy panned but passed, and a new development named Cleanfield (are they serious or just being ironic??) Oh and don’t forget Mariah Carey!
News
- SunCal to fill SCV Donut Hole: The developer behind such projects as the stalled NorthLake development and Castaic High School says it wants to build some 3,500 homes on 996 acres on the so-called Whittaker-Bermite property, a vacant chunk of land separating Valencia/Saugus from Canyon Country that was the site of a weapons manufacturer. The project, dubbed Cleanfield Santa Clarita, could break ground in 2011 and the first homes could go on sale in 2013. Said City Planner Lisa Webber of the proposal: “Overall, the city is encouraged that the process is moving forward there will be a productive re-use” of the land. No word on whether the company plans to build a Nuke ‘em High School on the site. Katie Geyer has a report, as does the Daily News.
- 500 Claritans take on the Governor over school budget cuts: Parents, students, employees and administrators of every single school district in the SCV rallied in front of City Hall yesterday to protest the Governor’s plans to “slash $4.8 billion in education funding statewide,” according to Parimal Rohit at The Signal. As has been reported, that would equal around $25 million cut from SCV schools. No word on whether other elected officials attended *cough Cam Smyth cough* but the boards of the districts did. Rohit’s report.
- Ethics code adopted: Prior to the council meeting, the city staff floated its proposed ethics policy, a document which unified policies, principles and philosophy from several different places in the organization. But the code fell short according to some in that it had no clear procedure in the event of a real or imagined ethics breach. Bruce McFarland wanted a full-blown ethics commission, something the city was clearly not ready to do. Debate over the policy was on the table last night at the Council meeting and the Council adopted the policy unanimously. Jon Dell has an ok report, but I Heart’s analysis is best.
- Seniors protest TCU closure: Some 30 seniors met at City Hall to protest the imminent closure of the Transitional Care Unit at Henry Mayo and asked that the City do something. There was some glimmer of hope though for seniors who want TCU-style care in the SCV; G&H Healthcare announced that they were in escrow on an old hospital building in Saugus. That may not come online in time for many seniors though. At the Council Meeting later, seniors also spoke about the matter and though the City said they have no jurisdiction over the hospital’s affairs, Mayor Bob Kellar said he would send a letter to Mayo protesting the closure. On the plus side, starting June 5, Henry Mayo will have an additional 27 “general surgical beds” for use by all patients. Lots of coverage on this one: Signal, KHTS, I Heart
- More Council Business: As expected, the City Council approved “an ordinance to send an application to annex 1,400 acres of Castaic” into the City of Santa Clarita. The application for the Hasley Hills neighborhood and much of the Valencia Commerce Center will be in the hands of LAFCO by June. Also, scores of Newhall residents turned out at the meeting to protest the Avenue, a 37 acre mixed-use high density project that developers hope to build on the vacant mule ranch farm wedged betwixt Interstate 5 and Calgrove. Katie Geyer has both those stories plus some details on the ethics debate while Jon Dell focuses on the Avenue project.
- Secret Service busts So Cal money counterfeiting ring: A 44 year old Lawndale man used a computer scanner, an inkjet printer, and hair spray to create convincing but fake $20 bills. He printed some $7 million worth over the last two years. He, and a number of people who bought the funny money from him, were arrested yesterday. The Times has the interesting story.
Misc
- Mariah Carey wedding reception at Magic Mountain: TMZ claims that the pop star and her groom “rented out Six Flags Magic Mountain for the night” of their wedding. The park supposedly shut down at 6pm and Mariah Carey rolled up at about 8pm. Rumored guests included Will Smith and Stevie Wonder. Link
- Barack Obama is to Laurie Ender as Hillary Clinton is to… Tim Myers connects the dots between the national election and our own City Council election here.
- Signal: support workforce housing: In an Op/Ed today (rare for Wednesday), The Signal says it was great that the valley’s business/government leaders met recently to discuss the creation of affordable housing for the 15 percent of SCV workers who can’t afford to call the SCV home. Of the inevitable NIMBYism that will come when affordable housing units are built, The Signal says “This kind of development also needs support from the public, some of whom may still perceive such housing as rows of shacks used by migrant workers. It’s not like that today and updating the public perception is one of the keys to countering NIMBYism and winning community support.” Wisdom from The Signal
“Signal: support workforce housing”
We already have company housing, it is located along the old Newhall Ave and adjacent streets. It is now called Newhall. Move the illegals residents out, and there is plenty of room for the legal residents that may be seeking work in the city. If the business community needs subsidized housing, let them pay for it, like they did in the good old days. I know my comment is laughable to some, but I am not afraid to offer it!
And if things continue “progressively”, it will be called Pacoima!
Newcoima!
There are a whole host of jobs that are vital to our community, teaching being one, where the pay makes it difficult for someone to live here. I don’t know the answer, but from an urban planning perspective, it would seem that the real problem in the city is too many people and not enough jobs. 15% of the people who work here live somewhere else, but what percentage of our adult residents live here but work elsewhere? That’s likely much higher.
The business communtiy seems hell bent on recreating the SF Valley here in the Santa Clarita Valley. The Enterprise Zone, a taxpayer subsidy, isn’t enough! Well, then move your business to West Virginia where it can survive on its own.
Right On, Cash! Or, we could “progressively” embrace socialism and make things equal for all. That way, people won’t have to try very hard to be minimally successful.
Newcoima - Haha!
I believe good teachers, law enforcement, and in some cases fire fighters, are under paid. These, and perhaps other organizations, provide a direct and important civil service to us all. I would favor increasing their pay, long before agreeing to another subsidy, ie providing subsidized housing, for the Acura King and his buddies.
cash, agreed. I suspect that what VIA is really asking for is a workforce that asks for less money
Good piece in the Signal about the donut hole. We’ve had our share of absurdly named developments, and I remember John Boston’s great line “Bridgeport is Spanish for $400,000 and no yard”, but Cleanfield Santa Clarita takes the cake, especially since it isn’t clean yet, or maybe ever.
Environmental concerns aside, this does look like the right sort of project to make some of our most needed roads happen. Imagine what an extended Via Princessa and Magic Mtn. would do to alleviate congestion at Soledad & Boquet. This would more than offset the added traffic resulting from the new homes and businesses.
I will have a laugh if Saugus Speedway ever gets moving again, as they are allowed to do. I remember hearing the sounds of those engines miles away. Imagine what all the people in the fresh new homes will think!
I’m not so sure that Police/Teacher/Firefighters are necessarily underpaid. I would like to see some actual figures on that because I believe the opposite to be true. Also, their retirement plan is head and shoulders better than any business out there!
“I’m not so sure that Police/Teacher/Firefighters are necessarily underpaid.”
Compared with the industries I have experience, low level records clerks make more than the average teacher. Yes their retirement plans are decent, but I would not call them heads and shoulders above. Above local small business benefits, certainly they are. As they should be.
I firmly believe teachers are seriously underpaid. However, there are many gov’t employees who are paid very well and many receive ridiculously high retirement benefits. DWP employees are a perfect example.
Cash - You need to stop believeing the crap the unions push - Most peace officers and firefights make upwards of $80k/year. Ever notice the luxury vehicles with the fire fighters stickers on them…all very expensive cars. Most of their wives are stay-at-home moms, they are hardly suffering
Whittaker-Bermite property - isn’t this the same piece of property that our city has just agreed to pay upwards of $100k to do a water study on? Why when it is not owned by the city?
Re: Barack Obama is to Laurie Ender as Hillary Clinton…
From Tim Myers:
“Similarly, an Obama victory contains tremendous upside, including a reengagement with the world on an entirely new footing, a unification of effort domestically, and, most importantly, exorcising once and for all the demon and original sin of racism that Senator Clinton touts.”
While in his youth, Brother Myers must have tossed far too many hay bales and/or smoked excessively that hay. Such unbelievable naivete from an educated adult. As though Obama is not thriving while cloaked in racism. Laughable!
Hard to come out against the firefighters, but firefighter in his prime who can work tons of overtime is a wealthy man. Older ones that have to work desk jobs, or smoke jumpers, not so much. CalPERS is an outdated sort of pension and very comfortable compared to most in the private sector.
Carries guesstimate includes overtime. I am not a union supporter and never have. Not sure why the reference was made. $80K a year is a decent wage, but it is less than a United Parcel truck driver makes, and much less than most utility company workers earn. If your comparison is with local shop keeper and industrial park employees, Yes the cops and firefighters are doing much better. As they should, I might add. Anyway, the point is that subsidised housing for the local GOB’s to make bigger money, is wrong!
Cleanfield, way to many people in way to small an area. Take away the park land and the commercial areas and you will have people living on a postage stamp lots stacked on top of each other. I don’t think that is what we want. I am all in favor of the new roads this will bring and I have no objection to making a profit but lets not get carried away with the program. This project needs to be scaled back a bit. As for the water survey thing, well (pun intended) we all drink the water no mater who owns the property.
Hay Jeff, I just noticed something. I just posted and I looked at the clock on the post and it says 5:26pm but all my atomic clocks say it’s 7:26pm Humm vary interesting! Gotta watch those atomic clocks man. I got so many of em I am surprised I haven’t had a nuclear explosion!