July 20, 2010 – Daily Brief

  • Sheriff’s Department investigators are asking members of the public who may have witnessed the Sunday crash that killed a 15 year old boy in Canyon Country to contact them, according to CBS 2. Meanwhile, the Signal’s Brandon Lowrey visited the place where a Chevy Suburban, driven by an unidentified 47 year old man, hopped a curb and crashed into trees, a wall and Eric Gilhooley SIGNAL
  • Local soccer players are hosting a big soccer match tomorrow to raise funds for the family of Matilde Garnica, the Newhall mother of three who was killed in the July 4th crash SIGNAL
  • The Sheriff’s Department crime lab faces a huge backlog of drug, alcohol and fingerprint cases thanks to budget cuts, the Daily Bulletin reports. Last year, for instance, the Department had a backlog of 256 cases; now there are some 920 unanalyzed cases DAILY BULLETIN
  • Truck spills cardboard across lanes resulting in near-shutdown of Newhall Pass at Roxford. Happy Commuting! KHTS
  • The City Council built a high capacity freeway but is not happy with highway-like speed limits on the new Cross Valley Connector segments. One portion will have 55 mph speed limit. As Marsha McLean notes, “That’s too fast. Anytime you have a speed limit on a road, motorists are going to go at least 5 to 10 mph more than that. People are going to be going 65 mph. That’s just too fast on those roads.” SIGNAL
  • Just in time for our 5 day long heat wave, a new book is out that examines the environmental, energy and social costs of air conditioners. MARKETPLACE.ORG
  • Mayor Villaraigosa says Los Angeles is a natural city for bicycling and that the City of LA will put 10% of Measure R funds towards improving bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure HUFF PO
  • The Signal revisits the Newhall house that’s been busted three times in the last three months for drugs SIGNAL
  • Tea Party SCV leader says conservatives should only support conservative businesses and should “feel good that you are no longer funding liberal businesses that fund progressive politics and social causes.” He says he’s going to start a conservative business directory. Then he pitches his own money management business. YOU TUBE
  • It’s official: February 6 is now Ronald Reagan day after Governor Schwarzenegger signed George Runner’s bill into law MERC NEWS
  • Downtown Los Angeles Penthouses are vacant remnants of the freewheeling past, when designers and corporate execs actually lived in Penthouses LA TIMES
  • Who owns the sanitation fee increase? Our City Council and Cameron Smyth, argues Diana Shaw in THE SIGNAL
  • Letter writer worries the government is going to start telling her what to eat and drink SIGNAL
  • LTE Writer asks why The Signal won’t publish the name of the 22 year old driver whose car slammed into and killed Matilde Garnica. In response the Editor says the paper won’t publish the driver’s name until/unless the driver is arrested or charged. SIGNAL
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10 Responses to July 20, 2010 – Daily Brief

  1. Todd says:

    FIRST!

    OK, thats outta the way…

    Caltrans/CHP need to get their act together about these overturned big-rigs. I’ve lived in “Awesometown Adjacent” for 4 years now, and historically its been one or two a year, and I think (if memory serves correctly). In the last year, however, I think I’ve seen 4 or 5 that have affected my commute (not all in the Newhall pass, but one at Calgrove, one further down the 5, etc).

    When this incident came out today, CHP reported a 2 hour closure. Now they’re saying “unknown duration” but reports are it may be a total of 5 hours!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!??!?!?!? OMGWTFBBQ?!!?!?!!?!??!!?

    Yes, I know, I’m to blame. Because I work in Burbank and have to commute (I took Metrolink until they got to be too erratic, and the cost outweighed the benefit) and be part of the problem. But, really, with only one way in and out for half a million residents of Northern Los Angeles County, shouldn’t Caltrans and the CHP have a rapid response team ready to go to keep this vital corridor open???

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    • Todd says:

      And while we’re on the topic of “Awesometown…” how the hell does “Awesometown” have money to spend to sponsor a whole hour of a nationally-syndicated sports-talk radio show’s special interview with Ron Artest???? I thought Newhall Land was bankrupt?!?!?!? I turned on Petros and Money on Fox Sports Radio yesterday to hear them reading live reads plugging “Awesometown” and just about crashed into a wall!

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  2. Fred Butler says:

    Just in time for our 5 day long heat wave, a new book is out that examines the environmental, energy and social costs of air conditioners.

    And I am sure it is a garment rending lament savaging our selfish dependence upon our modern way of life here in America and shaming us for our thoughtless, wasteful lifestyle.

    I reckon if there is a few environmental patients who like the heavy smell of stagnant air, to be sweaty and smell of body order all the time, to each their own, I guess. It is still a free country. I feel for their children. But God help us if this crank’s ideas become law. I for one never want to suffer another Kansas summer without air conditioning.

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    • Jeff says:

      He doesn’t want to outlaw A/C he’s just considering the costs. He has a point. Our parents got along without A/C and survived and prospered. Our grandparents not only didn’t have A/C, but they fought a war against the Germans and lived through a Depression without A/C.

      Jesus didn’t have A/C and look what he accomplished!

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  3. Fred Butler says:

    Our parents got along without A/C and survived and prospered. Our grandparents not only didn’t have A/C, but they fought a war against the Germans and lived through a Depression without A/C.

    What is it with environmentalists fixation with peasant life? Listen, my mother grew up in rural Arkansas without plumbing and electricity. All of her older brothers and sisters lived before and after the depression. Certainly they survived. But they hated it. None of them long for the good ole days of sweltering heat and no air conditioning and out houses.

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    • Jim Farley says:

      So true Fred.

      We now have air conditioning available and should use it as we see fit. When one uses more of it they incur a larger electric bill. This happened to my family in the summer of 1996 that happened to be the hottest on record. After a one month bill of $500 we decided to look for alternatives.

      We installed a whole house fan that we are using today after coming home from a day long cruise to Santa Cruz island in my brother-in-law’s boat (The high temp was 69). If we chose to run the AC when walking in the door the house would be cooler sooner. We have have instead chosen to take a longer path to a cooler house via the whole house fan to save on the bill. We were not forced into this by regulation.

      The bottom line is the ‘silent hand’ of the market will allow the consumers to chose and have available the best and most efficient home cooling. Out of this will come better cooling systems. The last thing we need is the government butting in with things like ‘cap and tax’ in order to force behavior.

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      • spineflower2 says:

        Ao you are against using taxes to “”force” behavior?

        So I assume you will be writing multi-thousand dollar checks to the Feds and Cali refunding the tax write-off you get for having a mortgage, right?
        ;-)

        That tax break exists to encourage home ownership, and a more permanent populace, rather than renters who have no stake in the long-term success of a community.

        BTW, I, too, use a whole house fan system. Great efficiency, clean air. But we have to dust a lot more often.

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        • Jim Farley says:

          While the tax write-off for a mortgage doesn’t force anyone to buy a house it indeed encourages that behavior. Actually, I’d be in favor of loosing the mortgage write-off for a more equitable tax system overall as long as it doesn’t increase the overall tax burden as a percentage of income.

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  4. CoastalSage says:

    A story to make you laugh and cry at the same time:

    http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/07/bp-secret-ticket-request-line-california#comment-730021

    I wonder what kind of voting clout it took to get Rolling Stones tickets last time they toured?

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