“The excitement was intense. Hundreds surrounded the jail, and at one o’clock admission to the yard was almost impossible….Just before he emerged from the cell, the death warrant was read to him, and at 12:55 o’clock, he left the jail…and ascended the steps of his gibbet. The priest administered the last rites, a white gown was placed around his form, and the rope tied by the Deputy Sheriffs, the condemned man repeating prayers for the dead and asking forgiveness of the Almighty.” - Newspaper account of the execution of Tiburcio Vasquez.

No real news today, so just some links

• Lyons Ranch project approval delayed: A County planning commissioner -whose district includes the territory for the Lyons Ranch project- was absent from a planning commission yesterday and as a result, a decision on whether to approve the project was delayed until next month. That gives opponents of the project one more chance to make their arguments heard. Jim Holt was there and has the report.
• McKeon focuses on energy impact on local schools: Congressman McKeon released a statement yesterday castigating Democrats for voting “to give themselves a five week vacation without taking any action to bring down energy prices.” He then tied high energy prices into school funding an education: “Small businesses are being pushed into the red and schools are cutting teachers and programs because of high gas prices.” McKeon and other House GOP members have released an online survey that asks respondents to detail the effect of gas prices on their local school districts. Link
• Speaking from the Right: State Senator George Runner will be the featured speaker at a social meeting of the SCV Congress of Republicans next month at Connie Worden-Roberts house. The event takes place on August 7. No charge for the event. One wonders what Runner will talk about- probably Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that aims to strike down same sex marriage. More details here.
• Speaking from the Left: Robert Scheer, a one-time LA Times Columnist and the left-wing host of KCRW’s Left, Right & Center will be in Santa Clarita on September 22 to discuss his new book, titled the “Pornography of Power.” Scheer’s a fairly influential man; he writes for the SF Chronicle now and his news/blog site, TruthDig.com, is pretty popular. He’ll be speaking to the local Democratic club at a time and location that’s yet to be determined.
• Pulskamp heads west: Meanwhile, City Manager Ken Pulskamp has plans to attend next week’s West Ranch Town Council meeting, according to Dave Bossert. He’s apparently going to discuss a beautification project for the Lyons Avenue and Interstate 5 interchange, which is a pretty awful intersection by all accounts. Link
• I Heart Dissects new Henry Mayo Hospital site: Yesterday we all got a chance to check out Mayo Hospital’s new expansion-boosting site, SCVBetterhealth.com. It didn’t take long for I Heart to examine the site and cut to the chase. Good post
• Signal hiring copy editors/journalists: The Signal wants to hire two “full-time copy editors”, “one of which also involves feature writing.” The job posting at JournalismJobs.com says the applicants ought to have layout, pagination and web experience, but is willing to train if the applicant has done reporting. The post follows the exit of Parimal Rohit, a crime/general beat reporter, and Karen Elowitt, a features writer and copy editor. What’s interesting about this post is that it looks like only one of the positions will do writing; so who’s going to cover crime like Rohit did? The ad notes that “while other newspapers are shrinking, we’re growing in one of the Greater Los Angeles area’s newest communities,” and says the SCV is “just minutes” from ocean beaches, amusement parks, and LA’s nightlife. “Come join a newspaper that isn’t writing its own obituary,” it concludes. Link
• Rescued pup gets A-1 treatment: From the “You know it’s a slow news week when…” file comes a nice little story from City Editor Josh Premako, who details the rescue and treatment of a dog with such a bad case of mange that rescuers thought it was burned. The dog, named Maggie May, is now recovering at the New Leash on Life facility, which I think is located in Placerita Canyon. They do good work there and this is a nice story.
• My attention to old town Newhall lacking: I think the latest edition of the Old Town Newhall Gazette has been out for months…and I neglected to post it. Nevertheless, you should read it if you haven’t already. Inside is a good editorial from Leon Worden all about Old Town Newhall redevelopment, including details on the streetscaping, the library, and more. Plus the Gazette has a great article about Tiburcio Vasquez and the newspaper clip I quoted from at the top. You can read the PDF here.
• Bossert reflects on Placerita Canyon and me: Last week, Placerita Canyon homeowner Valerie Thomas penned a commentary for the West Ranch Beacon in which she said that homeowners in the Canyon were “under siege” by the city. I reacted a bit in a Daily Brief saying that I didn’t feel too badly for those folks but argued they have the right to stand up for whatever they like. Well, today Dave Bossert (whose website is showing a bit more original content lately) has a new commentary discussing the issue there and calling on me to stop “attacking” and “prejudging” others who raise questions and voice opinions. Link
• LA County planner weighs in on Benz Road issue: He’s a bit long-winded, but William Higley -deputy director of LA County Public Works- says the solution to the Benz Road traffic/speeding issue is to simply “extend Copper Hill Drive” and realign Bouquet Canyon Road to the east. I have no comment on this; I’m ignorant of the geography other than Google maps. Link