October 10, 2011 – Daily Brief

  • Losing the battle but winning the war: Public library supporters were cheered by Governor Brown’s signing of Assembly Bill 438, the bill that would require a cost analysis be done, bids be competitive, and other restrictions before a city outsources former County library services to a private company. All the blogs and press releases mentioning the passage of the bill say it was done in reaction to Santa Clarita’s takeover of the COLA system. PROGRESS REPORT
  • Council Agenda: Historic Preservation, possible acquisition of land in Agua Dulce Canyon (with a state grant), more maneuvering on redevelopment agencies, and a second reading for the city’s personnel system. COUNCIL AGENDA
  • That didn’t take long: The County just started placing inmates back into Pitchess Detention center and wouldn’t you know it, there’s already been a “major” fight among the inmates. Deputies used sting balls and “clear gas” to stop the disturbance among some 60 inmates on Sunday afternoon. SCVNEWS
  • A 20 year old Castaic woman named Devon Murth crashed her speeding Jeep into a utility pole and died Friday night. According to SCV News, Murth was a 2009 graduate of West Ranch DAILY NEWS SCVNEWS
  • On Saturday, away from the media and at the end of the news cycle, Gov. Brown signed into law the controversial DREAM act, a new law that would let the children of illegal immigrants apply for CalGrants and other public scholarship money. The program could cost the state about $14.5 million a year and only applies to students who were brought here under the age of 16, attended 3 years of high school, and have a decent GPA. Nonetheless it’s taxpayer funds direct to illegal immigrant students and so we can expect John and Ken to explode this afternoon. LAIST (with a view from Cam Smyth), LA TIMES
  • Another car went over a Lake Hughes road cliff on Sunday and Forest Service workers and the CHP were trying to rescue the driver SIGNAL. Meanwhile, the County is looking at improving the safety of the road. SIGNAL
  • The SCV’s first Subaru dealership officially opened over the weekend with a fair for kids, free food (“even tri-tip”), and music. SIGNAL
  • Traffic around West Ranch high and Rancho Pico Junior High is so bad during the school year that administrators have actually altered bell times just so parents don’t suffer so much. And yet parents still complain -probably after driving to the school. SIGNAL
  • Neat: A group called the Santa Clarita Photographer’s Association is offering a free “Walkabout Photography” workshop next Saturday CITY BRIEFS
  • I knew Buck McKeon was anti-gay, but not this much: In a report on Politico, our Congressman says he’d hold up funding for the military if a Senate plan to allow (not require)  Military chaplains perform same sex marriages is not dropped POLITICO
  • Another Scott Wilk is a career politician LTE. Is that all the Pat McKeon boosters can say?
  • Dave Bossert doesn’t get timely responses to his emails from SCOPE, so he concludes the local environmentalist group is a sham WRB
  • In its editorial for this week, the Signal meekly calls out Buck McKeon for refusing to sponsor a bill that would resolve the CEMEX mess. The Signal says time is running out. I wonder if Scott Newhall would be so limp-wristed in calling out McKeon if he wrote this EDITORIAL
  • Meanwhile, Steve Lunetta urges McKeon to abandon his party’s promise not to create earmarks and says he doesn’t want CEMEX to be used as a wedge against McKeon next fall SIGNAL
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60 Responses to October 10, 2011 – Daily Brief

  1. mike says:

    Ooooohh yeaahaah.

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  2. IHeartSCV says:

    In other “news”, City Manager Ken Pulskamp encourages seniors to buy The Signal (glad to see he has a new gig). The Signal runs a big picture and story about it, including a picture of Ken speaking in front of their advertising signage, but plays coy in the caption: “Santa Clarita City Manager Ken Pulskamp discusses the importance of a local newspaper in the community with a group of senior residents.”
    http://www.the-signal.com/section/68/article/52486/

    I don’t know the phrase I’m looking for. Government-media-complex sounds too intelligent and conspiratorial for what’s going on quite crudely and out in the open. You-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours doesn’t sound quite scuzzy enough. Maybe the word I’m looking for is just plain ugh.

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    • Lori Rivas says:

      Here’s the money quote:

      “For democracy to work, it’s imperative that the public be informed and the best way to be informed on local issues is to read the local paper, which acts as a watchdog in everyone’s best interest,” Pulskamp said. “The city of Bell had no watchdog and look at the problems it ran into. If the local paper had covered what was going on, it almost certainly wouldn’t have had those kinds of problems.”

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      • CC says:

        LOL, that’s RICH

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      • Alpiner says:

        It is easy to complain about The Signal, but would anyone here put any money towards buying it? Locally-owned newspapers are surviving and prospering and maybe it is time for the complainers to put their money where their mouth is…

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        • Alpiner says:

          Subscription revenue usually simply covers distribution costs. Ad revenue covers all the rest.

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    • LarMcc says:

      The Signal = City of Santa Clarita
      City of Santa Clarita = The Signal

      Waiting for their glowing endorsement of Ender for re-election. Wonder if they will gloss over the money she pocketed from the hospital.

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      • CC says:

        I would amend your syllogism as follows;

        The Signal prints the voice of the people
        The voice of the people is for the City Council to decide
        The City Council determines what is printed in The Signal

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  3. Need for Involved Citizenry says:

    We had a Subaru dealer previously. It was located at Calgrove and I-5 where the athletic club is now.

    If Scott Wilk is a career politician, what does that make ol Buck?

    And the City needs the Signal to exist so Staff can continue to write stories and councilmembers opinion pieces that get published verbatum.

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    • LarMcc says:

      This is my favorite press release/article/advertisement from Frank Ferry himself:

      http://www.the-signal.com/archives/37161/

      Old Town’s “eclectic” shops line the streets? We can get all the ingredients for our holiday meals at the Newhall Farmers Market? The areas oldest coffee shop is the Way Station? Really? Wouldn’t that go to Saugus Cafe (or is this not considered a coffee shop)? Where’s Mike on this one?

      The picture the article paints and reality are two very different things. I realize that some PR person in the city writes these things and Ferry signs his name to them. But I read what I sign and I would refuse to put my name on some piece of fiction like this. The Signal prints it without question.

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  4. Petz says:

    The entire CEMEX story is not being told. This situation cries for mitigation to mitigate the externalities. What is the value of the aggregate ?

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  5. Walker :) says:

    FWIW on the library front, I’ve been shocked at how on the ball and quick they’ve been about fulfilling requests/holds. Pretty much every book we’ve requested has been a newly purchased book and been on the shelves for us w/in 2 or 3 days of requesting. There’s only been one book we’ve tried to locate through SCL and had to get through LAC because SCL didn’t even have it in their system. I’m also loving the availability for audiobooks.

    Still frustrated by staff who are perfectly nice but seem not to know what they’re doing, and we’ve had some account issues, but so far as their promise to fulfill requests in a more timely manner and fill their shelves with new releases, they’re holding up on their promises for both of those.

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  6. Timothy Myers SR says:

    Bossert is partially right and partially wrong. SCOPE is not a “scam” organization. It obviously exists, but it exists for a limited purpose and will only allow members who agree with the mission and views of the current, and forever, leadership.

    Like most of Bossert’s ephiphanies he is learning something that some folks knew about for years but he thinks he is the first one to discover it.

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    • CC says:

      Here you are wrong once again. I know you have had your run-ins with SCOPE but the reality is that you haven’t done 1/50th of the effort to make SCV a better place to live and work so continue to sit on the sidelines where you belong.

      SCOPE is a real organization and I was a member at one time. These people are PASSIONATE about the quality of our environment and spend a tremendous amount of personal time and effort on these issues. Now if your issue is to expand CEMEX, well this group isn’t for you. If they didn’t needle the City Council and newspapers, you would find yourself living in San Fernando Valley North.

      Dave Bossert should do a little research. That Oak Tree Sensitive Area wouldn’t exist on the West side if it weren’t for the membership of SCOPE. Let’s see how his tune changes once Newhall Ranch is built out. Hope he enjoys the views then.

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      • Timothy Myers SR says:

        CC:

        Why won’t they respond to Mr. Bossert’s application for membership? He filled out the application and sent in the money. Is he now officially a member? Will he receive a newsletter? Can he come to meetings?

        SCOPE has a lot in common with the Politburo.

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        • CC says:

          I have no idea about his circumstances Tim, but I do know that SCOPE is made up of volunteers who take on tasks as they can. Also, I believe their newsletter just recently was sent out as I still get it even though I am no longer a member.

          Maybe once Bossert’s membership is memorialized, he can take up the future tasks of memberships and improve the service. But he is more about bitching than fixing.

          BTW, I am still waiting for my newsletter from the Santa Clarita Artist Association too. I guess they aren’t real either.

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        • spineflower2 says:

          Tim, even non-members can come to meetings, Dave is left out of nothing in the meantime.

          Pretty funny, actually. He showed up at the last meeting location (which he ranted about for weeks, yet somehow was able to find despite SCOPE’s alleged attempts to hide it from him!) for the author presentation, but left before the actual SCOPE meeting began!

          He rants that he is so interested in SCOPE, yet he leaves even though he was right there and all he had to do was continue to sit down.

          His early departure is a clear indication he merely wants to smear SCOPE, and hasn’t the slightest interest in actually participating. This was all a ruse to manufacture controversy and give phony evidence for his foregone conclusions on his blog.

          I would have serious reservations about admitting an individual with such an agenda and bully pulpit, who has no interest in actually participating.

          It’s Dave that’s the sham, not SCOPE.

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      • spineflower2 says:

        And Dave was sitting at the author presentation with posters describing the other benefits the SCV has enjoyed due to SCOPE’s efforts, including libraries, not twenty feet in front his own two eyes. But he ignored those facts because they don’t fit his predetermined conclusions.

        Makes you wonder what kind of deal he cut for his West Ranch Town Council to not oppose Newhall Ranch. SCOPE has sure hit a tender spot just by existing, and the timing of his baseless smear campaign certainly begs that question.

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    • spineflower2 says:

      “…it exists for a limited purpose and will only allow members who agree with the mission”

      Doesn’t this describe every organization? Would the Young Republicans welcome someone with an agenda to vote out Republicans? Would the Sierra Club welcome the CEO of Dow Chemical?

      If you don’t agree with the clearly-stated goals of a group, why on earth would you seek to join?

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  7. Gang Fang says:

    Is it possible that Buck’s apparently deep seeded fears of homosexuality in some way coincides with his own personal fear of getting a colonoscopy? You’re long overdue, Buck.

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  8. CC says:

    I was more than alarmed that the DREAM act was passed over the weekend. Especially since we are in such dire straights and facing budget cuts from every angle. I am sure, that they will want a subsequent tax increase “for the kids”. Meanwhile, citizens are turned away in droves because they can’t come up with the $. So I will continue to vote down every single tax increase until they get their heads out of their arse.

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    • Mr Perez says:

      The Federal DREAM Act was at least a pathway to citizenship whereas this one is but a hand out.

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  9. RNDDUDE says:

    regarding school trafic…
    “Stevenson Ranch parents have approached Krantz to complain about the traffic situation, she said.
    “They are right — it takes too long to drop off their kids,” Krantz said. “I don’t know that there is a solution.””
    There IS a solution, it’s at the end of your legs….WALK TO SCHOOL!

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    • Linda says:

      I’m all for kids walking when they can. But there should be better bus service as well. A lot of kids who attend the high school come from Castaic; others from miles away.

      In addition to staggering their start and end times, Hart District should have lobbied the transit company to provide better service. The bus service to the high school is woefully inadequate.

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  10. 4eyedsue says:

    “I take it as my personal responsibility to ensure the troops and their families have the best training, equipment, and leadership in the world. That’s my pledge to them, and to you all this evening” says Buck when he receives the Keeper of the Flame award earlier this month.

    In reality he is willing to put at risk the equipment and supplies they need in order to make a big show about DOMA.

    Barf. The Keeper of the Flame Award is supposed to go to individuals who “devote their public careers to the propagation of democracy and the RESPECT FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS throughout the world”.

    Already nearly 2,000 military chaplains have pledged not to conduct any gay marriages anywhere. No one is going to force them (Petagon already said this)
    Also, chaplains aren’t being asked to bestow any legal rights onto same-sex couples, they’re only being asked to conduct a ceremony. This does not violate DOMA.

    move along Buck…

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  11. Petz says:

    Gays in the military is all about mainstreaming same sex marriage and does nothing to improve or enhance preparedness.

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    • Gang Fang says:

      Petz should write fortune cookies for the homophobic.

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    • Mr Perez says:

      “The Army is not a sociological laboratory. … Experiments … are a danger to efficiency, discipline and morale and would result in ultimate defeat.” Colonel E.R. Householder, a World War II-era official who made the comment in opposition to the racial integration of the military.

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    • LarMcc says:

      C’mon Petz, it’s about equal opportunity. Gay soldiers are held to the same standards as everyone else. Could Petz really look someone in the eyes who is gay and served our country and tell them they should be dishonorably discharged because they are gay?

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  12. 4eyedsue says:

    or… it’s about equality for homosexuals and does a lot to improve and enhance personal freedom.

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    • Petz says:

      One typically does not think of the military as the place to go to express personal freedom…but the times they are a changeing. Witness the Occupy Wall Street crowd.

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      • Mr Perez says:

        And what do you know about the military other than what someone told you or you read?

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        • Petz says:

          That you are an ass.

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          • Gang Fang says:

            Nerve? Hit.

            PS – Petz seems unnaturally focused on the ass lately. Ironic or prophetic?

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          • Nate says:

            While generally I would agree with this… I would like Petz to answer Mr. Perez’s question.

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          • Mr Perez says:

            I am technically an asshole but one that makes you think. The motivation in my comment is that you don’t have the experience to be able to comment in depth on what does/doesn’t work in the military. Don’t take everything so personal Petz, vulgar insults aren’t your forte either.

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  13. Petz says:

    There are many examples of aggreagate mining in urban areas. The highest component of cost is tranportation. Anytime so many diverse groups agree on anything it rarely has to do with the merits of the argument. This city has wasted millions trying to stop a company from the benefits of a private property right that it already has, This is a misuse of state power Mr Lunetta. Petz suggests that the city and CEMEX get a consultant like Matt Ropp out of Oregon and work together so that all of us can benefit from this God given resource. http://www.mropplanduse.com/index.php?page=aggregate-mining

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  14. Nate says:

    What does the lady’s job have to do with the accident? How is it news? I would also like to know her favorite pizza topping and which direction she put the roll for her bathroom tissue. Shame on SCVNews for reporting Facebook as news and more shame on Jeff for getting on that train.

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    • mike says:

      I don’t know if I care what her favorite pizza topping was, but it would be notable if she owned a pizza shop.

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  15. Nate says:

    I also really have a problem with this so called “Dream Act”, how do we have money for illegal immigrant children but public college tuition prices increase at record pace? Shouldn’t that money go to softening the blow of college on the middle class. Our priorities are really messed up.

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  16. Petz says:

    The Signal was rather “soft” with their reporting this morning. One cannot help but feel sorry for this woman and Petz is sad it ended tragically. Our life decisions do have consequence.

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  17. Leon Worden says:

    Update – We corrected our story about Devon Murth to say she attended West Ranch for a while but transferred to the Hart District charter school Opportunities for Learning, where she graduated in 2009.

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  18. Scoop The Newshound says:

    Do you stand by your report that she worked in “adult entertainment”?

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    • Leon Worden says:

      Scoop – the information was attributed. We stand by what we said, which is that SHE SAID in her Facebook page that she worked for that company, which does what we said it does.

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      • Nate says:

        The company was not “adult entertainment”, no more than a model who does bikini or underwear modeling is considered “adult entertainment” her cousin should have ripped into you and not JEFF. Disgraceful and slanderous.

        Jim Holt of The Signal took you to school.

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        • Leon Worden says:

          Nate – Next time you might want to do your homework.

          Sinfull Angels bio:

          SINFULLANGELS IS THE WORKING OF 2 AGENTS TO CREATE AN EFFECT GREATER THEN THEIR INDIVIDUAL PARTS WITH A LIL NAUGHTY TWIST~ SINFULLANGELS~ GO GO’S PROVIDES ENTERTAINMENT FOR LOCAL NIGHTLIFE INCLUDING CLUBS, CONCERTS, AND RAVES. OUR DANCERS ALSO WORK AS PROMOTIONAL MODELS UPON REQUEST! THIS TEAM FEATURES THE REAL DEAL- EXPERIENCED, SEXY, ENERGETIC GO GO’S WHO ALSO WORK WITH ESTABLISHED COMPANIES.

          SINFULLANGELS is looking to hire a few new Elite GoGo Dancers in Socal to go with our lil hotties we have now.You will be dancing at several clubs / Events. You will also have the opportunity to be booked out of state to dance at other events in other cities…We are also looking to hire some more SINFULLANGELS Promotional Girls.

          The nightlife scene in Socal poses many perks; like a beautiful crowd, creative cocktails, and GoGos dancers. SINFULLANGELS GoGo dancers are hot, energetic, and really know how to work it. Socal nightclubs showcase go go dancers to hype up the crowd. GoGo dancers in Socal dance on elevated platforms above the dance floor in sexy outfits that shine amid strobe lights. SINFULLANGELS GoGo dancers usually dance to many type’s of music. Guys want them, girls want to be them. SINFULLANGELS GoGo dancers are essential to socal nightlife and the sucess of your event…

          Get Ready To Party, Have Fun and Make Some Money”

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          • Nate says:

            I see nothing in there that would warrant the title “adult entertainment” and if her employment was just so important to this story why not list all her jobs…? Why Cherry Pick only the one? Lady does a little modeling all of sudden you paint her out to be a pornstar or a stripper. Which is untruthful… this is a prime example why bloggers will never replace legitimate journalist.

            >>>> http://twitpic.com/6yw2kb

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            • Leon Worden says:

              You are wasting my time. She listed one employer as her current employer:

              Works at Sinfull Angels
              Studied at Newberry School of Beauty
              Lives in Castaic, California
              From Castaic, California

              Now please leave me alone.

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              • Nate says:

                You should probably brush up on your Facebook before you attempt to use it to “report” the “news” and slander a young lady in the grave.

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      • Scoop the Newshound says:

        That makes sense. Thanks for the background.

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