October 14, 2008 - Daily Brief
Written by Jeff on October 14th, 2008
Fire season sucks! This was taken last year because I don't have any from yesterday
- Hart District to select site for Castaic High on Thursday: Hmmm. What’s changed in the last year or so that’s compelling the Hart District to hurry up and select a site for Castaic High now? Oh, I know! The District wants to give residents a reason to vote yes on its massive $300 million Measure SA, which will be on the ballot three weeks from today. Sharon Cotal at The Signal says there are several possible sites: Mandoline Canyon, Romero Canyon, Hasley/Sloan and Hasley/Lombardi, Sterling Commercial and Sterling/Residential. I’m not sure where any of these are (a map in The Signal sure would be nice), but the Castaic Town Council will discuss those locations at its own meeting tomorrow night. If you’ve not followed the saga of Castaic High, I’ll spare you the drama. Suffice it to say, the issue is probably the Hart District’s number one problem in the credibility department, and showing real progress on a high school serving the northern valley may be what they need to get over a quarter billion dollars from you and me. No link.
- “Blowtorch” Fires just over the hill: Wind-whipped fires in Porter Ranch and Lake View Terrace consumed some 10,000 acres and killed two people yesterday. The AP described the scene as “wild and chaotic” and said panicked residents at one mobile home park in the valley “smashed their way through a locked emergency gate to escape after the main entrance became gridlocked with cars.” Fires were also spotted in Santa Clarita but were quickly doused thanks to the quick reactions of the LACFD. Predictably, traffic out of Santa Clarita was/is impacted by the blazes. For the latest on that, I’d hit up the LA Times homepage which has maps, traffic impacts, evacuation information, photos and more.
- LA Land says new state law has resulted in fewer foreclosures: Senate Bill 1137 requires lenders to “contact homeowners prior to foreclosure filings” and has resulted in a dramatic 62% drop in foreclosures during the month of September according to a foreclosure website. The drop in foreclosures is so drastic that “it will make monthly foreclosure statistics worthless as barometers of housing market conditions.” Link
- KB Home to build smaller houses with “flex space” instead of living room: Interesting blog post over at realtor Linda Slocum’s website in which she details KB Home’s new plans for houses in Santa Clarita and elsewhere. The homebuilder will construct houses that are “smaller…with simplified designs in an effort to attract first-time homebuyers.” Slocum says the smaller houses will lack “formal living spaces” which will be replaced by “flex space” instead, which can be easily converted into lofts, bedrooms or dens. The homebuilding giant is also borrowing a page from Lennar by constructing homes with “nicer flooring, countertops and other features” that buyers used to have to pay extra for. Link
- City awarded grant for bike lanes: The $141,723 state grant will go towards installing bicycle lanes in the Industrial Center. “Improvements include a Class II bike lane on Avenue Stanford from Newhall Ranch Road to Rye Canyon Road, a Class II bike lane on Avenue Scott from Avenue Rockefeller to Rye Canyon Road, and a Class III bike route on Avenue Stanfrod from Rye Canyon Road to Avenue Scott,” the city’s press release says. Santa Clarita was one of only three cities in LACO to win the grant. That’s great and all, but could we get a Class III on Lyons, Orchard Village Road, and San Fernando/Bouquet? I’ll paint it myself if you let me! Link
- Proposition 11 and how it might shape Santa Clarita’s place: There’s an interesting op/ed in today’s Ventura County Star from a League of Women’s Voters board member who notes how ridiculous California’s 19th Senate District is. The district, which includes portions of the western and central Santa Clarita Valley stretches all the way to Santa Barbara and includes Santa Maria on the north and Ventura in the center. Meanwhile, a neigbhoring district in Ventura County includes Oxnard with Santa Monica and Malibu. How crazy is that? Her point is that Proposition 11, which would take districting decisions out of hte hands of lawmakers and put it into the hands of an appointed board, might fix this problem and make some districts more competitive.
- Bossert says no on Measure SA: For once I agree with the West Ranch Town Council president who states in a blog post yesterday that “As a taxpayer I am happy to help pay my fair share of a school bond but I’ll only do that if the people spending those funds do it responsible [sic] and in a transparent way.” There’s even a response from local power lawyer Hunt Braly, who says he’s voting yes on the $300 million bond. Link
- Doctor likens Mayo expansion opposition to medical fraud: Dr. John Barstis is a medical director of the “UCLA Santa Clarita Cancer Center” and says that while he appreciates that a process is necessary before Mayo can expand its campus, the people involved in the process don’t know what they’re talking about when it comes to health care. He goes even further and says that the “process” has included “so much viciousness and disinformation” that “it is about as honorable as profiting by treating cancer with phony medicines from your spice rack.” Dr. Barstis concludes that he’s “fed up with being nice about” Mayo expansion and wants “the community to understand who the quacks are.” Wow! Them’s fightin’ words for sure. For what it’s worth, I think the good doctor is setting up an impressive straw man only to knock it down so he can appear the victor. The folks opposing Henry Mayo’s campus expansion aren’t doing so on medical grounds but on how the hospital expansion would impact their neighborhood, which is a legitimate concern. Signal LTE
- I Heart visits riverbed so you don’t have to: The bio-blogger with legion of SCV credentials was at the River Rally cleanup a few weeks ago and writes about it here. I particularly like how he discovered a hidden POTR (People of the River) residence. Link
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Is there a worse website than the Hart District’s? With some determination, I found the Castaic HS site evals:
Site Evaluations
Mandoline Canyon
Located in the northern region of Castaic, this high school site is located within a
residential development of approximately 200 acres. The owner reports no major
environmental or soils issues. The topography is composed of hills and valleys and the
school pad would be planned for a balanced cut/fill site. The site would yield at least a
50-acre school pad. Accessibility would be from a roadway to be constructed from the
end of the paved portion of Parker Road, approximately one mile to the Mandoline
Canyon site. Secondary access would be along Romero Canyon Road to Hasley Canyon.
Utilities are available from Parker Road, one mile away from the site.
Romero Canyon
The Romero Canyon school site is located in the northern region of Castaic adjacent to
the Mandoline Canyon property on approximately 200 acres. The property owner reports
no significant environmental or soils issues. The topography is hilly and the pad would
require cut/fill to balance. The site would yield a minimum 50-acre school site.
Accessibility would be from a roadway to be constructed from the paved portion of
Parker Road, one mile to the Mandoline Canyon development, through Mandoline to the
Romero Canyon residential development. The developer believes access to the school
site could be constructed from the extended Parker Road through a property adjacent to
his that could be purchased. Secondary access would be along Romero Canyon Road to
Hasley Canyon. Utilities are available from Hasley Canyon Road along Romero Canyon.
Hasley/Sloan
This school site was designated in 2002 by the District as the preferred site for a high
school in Castaic and the property was purchased through the Santa Clarita Valley
Facilities Foundation. After community members expressed concern over the site
selection and after the County Supervisor’s Office requested the District consider another
site, the District re-focused their efforts on another site.
Hasley/Lombardi
The Hasley/Sloan property, owned by the Santa Clarita Valley Facilities Foundation,
adjoins approximately 80 acres of which a portion could be developed, along with the
Foundation property, as a school site. The owner reports no known environmental issues
and no known soils contamination. The Hasley/Sloan property has been identified as
having some liquefaction areas. The topography is sloping hills with a portion of the
property in a flood plain. The site, when graded, would be balanced through cut/fill and
yield at least 50 acres. The current primary access is Hasley Canyon Road or Sloan
Canyon Raod on the west. Another possible access has been proposed by the owner from
Hillcrest Parkway along Barcelona. Utilities are available adjacent to the property.
Sterling Gateway Commercial
The proposed site is located adjacent to the Commerce Center in the southern area of
Castaic and would be located within a 1000-acre commercial development. No major
environmental or soils issues exist. The site is comprised of sloping hills and flat areas.
Accessibility to this site would be from Witherspoon or “A” Street off of Penn. Both
access points are planned as major roadways and could serve as primary and secondary
access to the school site. Utilities are located at Penn and Witherspoon Streets adjacent
to the property.
Sterling/Residential
Sterling/Residential is located adjacent to and west of the Sterling Gateway Commercial
property between the community of Val Verde and the Commerce Center. Made up of a
combination of a proposed 29-home residential development, open space, and 6
commercial lots that are part of the Sterling Gateway Commercial development, the
school site could be graded for a minimum of 50 acres. The topography of the site
includes sloping hillsides and a valley. The owner is not aware of any major
environmental or soils issue, except for a small fault line that runs through the open space portion of the proposed site. Access to the site is from Witherspoon and “A” Street off Penn, both within 1000 feet of the proposed site. Secondary access to this site could be via Witherspoon, which could be extended through the commercial site to the school site.
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Doctor likens Mayo expansion opposition to medical fraud:
The hospital’s own community growth outlook indicates that even with the expansion, the hospital will not be able to provide medical care, hospital beds to a high percentage of the projected population (I believe 50%) . If this is so, why would you use the hospital land to build office buildings? Should the land not be preserved to meet the future bed needs of the community. Office buildings can be constructed most anywhere, and while hospital agents like Greg Peters would like us to believe there is no space available, he is a bit misleading. It is unfortunate that the G&L plan does not call for the proposed office buildings to be designed to meet hospital requirements, that way they could be converted to beds units if required, and the offices move offsite as appropriate. Of course this won’t happen becasue of the additional cost to construct. As the population expands, it appears that some will still have to go over the hill for care, this because it will be too expensive for a competing hospital to build in this valley. The Good Doctor Barstis may be an expert on cancer treatment, but his view of the future is a bit myopic.
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Doctor likens Mayo expansion opposition to medical fraud:
Where is this doctors office located? I know of 2 long term doctors that have had to move their existing offices in the G&L buildings, because they can no longer afford the lease that has gone up in that area. G&L/Seaver have stated on many occasion that they wish to attract young, new specialists into that area…..Can those young, new specialists be able to afford to practice in a high priced G&L building? How many signs do we see advertising available space?!
Personally, I want a ’specialist’ that has been around for a good period of time and has the experience in that field!
Okay, I’ll humor Dr.Barstis with my own conspiracy theory:
G&L bailed Henry Mayo Hospital out of bankruptcy 6 years ago , by buying half that property from them! Henry Mayo must be very ‘appreciative’! How appreciative is Henry Mayo?! Will Henry Mayo risk a larger MUCH NEEDED Hospital, for that appreciation?!
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your new format sucks! you suck!
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OUCH! Not nice, Hate this site!
I’m not crazy about this site either, but such ‘hateful’ language to reflect your thoughts on the matter, is distasteful, if not even juvenile, to say the least!
Why the change Jeff? I don’t like having to scroll down to reply. The text seems smaller also. My old eyes can miss a lot!
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yeah, thumbs down, sorry