The West Ranch Beacon – News & Commentary for the Santa Clarita Valley

Lawmakers push some of the harshest immigration-related measures in the United States. The Lone Star State has long welcomed Latino immigrants, no matter how they got across the state’s 1,200-mile border with Mexico reports the LA Times.
 

Back when California voted to cut public services to illegal immigrants, then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush was preaching that immigrants were equal players in the state’s economy. But the atmosphere has changed markedly in Texas, home to about 10% of the nation’s illegal immigrants.
 

Now, a growing chorus of Republicans and some Democrats is pushing some of the harshest immigration-related measures in the United States — laws that would not only deny public services to illegal immigrants but strip their American-born children of benefits as well.

Read it here: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-immigtexas27feb27,0,6925334.story?coll=la-home-headlines  

Lately I’ve thinking about our environment and the fact that local environmentalists are wasting valuable resources constantly fighting every bit of growth. The resources in question are dollars; money and plenty of it. By some estimates tens of millions of dollars have been thrown away with only attorneys and law firms benefiting.

What I don’t get is that regardless of what the planned development is there seems to always be a lawsuit filed by so-called local environmentalists. These suits are filed without any dialogue to see if local residents have any issues; there appears to be no interest in the value of environmentally responsible projects.

Let’s face it; growth is a fact of life. There is and always will be a certain amount of growth in any community surrounding a major metropolitan area like Los Angeles. It is the duty of the community, developers and area government to plan that growth in a reasonable and responsible manner. It should be a win/win for all involved.

So then why are these environmentalists continuing to waste money on litigation on every project that comes along? Why are they not attempting to sit down and talk with the community and the developers? Well the main answer to both questions is that these folks are not environmentalists; they are no growth proponents or “no-growthers”.

There is a major difference between the two. Environmentalists want to manage, protect and be good stewards of our resources and use positive means to achieve that goal. On the other side, the no growthers don’t want any development of any kind and will waste any and all resources to stop it. Just look at the latest lawsuits over the Riverpark developement in the Santa Clarita.   

One of the more positive ways of preserving the environment is the use of conservation easements and land trusts. It is a positive and productive way to set aside land that will never be developed; similar to the Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy or the California Conservancy.

Generally the way it works is that a land owner makes a conservation easement to a piece of property they own and then donates that parcel of land to a land trust, a type of non-profit organization. The donor can continue to use the land during their lifetime and knows that the land will be preserved after they are long gone.

There is also a tax benefit in which a donor can deduct the value of the easement, up to 50% of their adjusted gross income each year for up to 16 years under current tax law. By the way, some farmers and ranchers may be able to deduct up to 100% of their adjusted gross incomes.

The easement is in perpetuity and the land will be preserved; free from future development. That is one productive way of setting aside land and maintaining the natural beauty of an area. This is something that the so-called local environmentalists should step back and look at because the current strategy of litigation is wasteful.

It has been estimated that over the years nearly $20 million dollars has been thrown down a rat hole suing developers in the Santa Clarita Valley. My thesis is that this amount of money would have gone a long way in purchasing land that could have been placed into a trust accomplishing the ultimate goal further preserving our areas natural beauty. This certainly would be a much more positive way for all us to work together to create a beautiful community.

Dave Bossert

Commentary

Dave Bossert is a community volunteer who serves on a number of boards and councils. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon. 

The following is an interesting article and makes one wonder if this will spread to other Lennar projects if it is successful. It might be a welcome addition to some of the Newhall Ranch developments considering Lennar is displaying good environmental stewardship with that local development. 

Lennar Corp. plans to install solar power systems in all its new homes built in the Bay Area. The Miami-based home builder’s Lennar Bay Area Homebuilding division made the pledge at the opening of its Milano community in San Ramon this week. The Milano homes are equipped with a roof-integrated solar electric system from PowerLight, a subsidiary of SunPower Corp. 

Lennar and SunPower are part of the New Solar Homes Partnership, launched by the California Energy Commission, a 10-year, $350 million program that encourages the use of solar power in new residential home construction. Read it here: http://biz.yahoo.com/bizj/070224/1423283.html?.v=1

KB Home is under criminal investigation by federal prosecutors over its backdating of executive stock-options, according Bloomberg News as reported in the Los Angeles Business Journal.   

Bloomberg, citing people close to the matter, said the investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. The story notes that federal prosecutors have started criminal investigations into the backdating practices of more than 50 companies in cases considered the most egregious. 

Read it here: http://www.labusinessjournal.com/article.asp?aID=32066853.1374936.1437423.5073613.83806302.660&aID2=110562

Dick Cheney, the US vice-president, on Monday pressed General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s military ruler, to intensify the hunt for al-Qaeda suspects in the country’s remote tribal regions, during an unannounced visit to Islamabad reports the Financial Times.

Mr Cheney’s visit came as The New York Times reported that US president George W. Bush had decided to send an unusually tough message to Gen Musharraf, warning him that the recently elected Democratic members of the US Congress could cut US aid unless Pakistan became more determined in hunting down al-Qaeda suspects.

Read it here: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e8b255d0-c578-11db-9fae-000b5df10621.html  

Economists are chewing over a puzzle that could have profound implications for the future path of US interest rates: has the Federal Reserve changed its thinking about the relationship between unemployment and inflation? 

To be more precise: does the Fed now think that the US economy can operate with unemployment as low as 4.5 per cent in the long term without generating inflation? Or does it simply think the inflationary effect of unsustainably low unemployment now takes longer to percolate through the economy than it did in the past?

Read it here: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/47f73cf2-c512-11db-b110-000b5df10621.html

The traffic around the town center for most of Saturday was a complete mess. The question has to be asked; what would have possessed the City of Santa Clarita to close off McBean Parkway between Valencia Blvd. and Magic Mountain Parkway on a Saturday? Most folks are trying to run errands, shop or take there children to sports or ballet classes.

It certainly hurt some small businesses. Speaking with a waitress at a restaurant on town center drive she said; “Our place was dead on Friday night when they started setting up and now (Saturday night) it is half empty when it should be full.” No doubt though that City officials will claim success.

She went onto ask; “Why would they start setting up while people are going out on a Friday night? Why not just do the set up ay 2:00 AM in the morning! There was a sense of frustration among some that the event was not well thought out by City officials.

Did you experience traffic delays? Would it have been better to do this on a Sunday instead? Was there a better location to do the street closure that may have been less disruptive? We would like to hear from you, good or bad, just click on the comments button above and send us a note.  

A stiffer test, higher fees and perhaps new laws are on the horizon. Citizenship applications are skyrocketing in Southern California and across the nation, as green card holders rush to avoid a proposed fee increase, a revised civics test and possible changes in immigration law reports the Los Angeles Times. 

Applications filed in Los Angeles and six surrounding counties shot to 18,024 in January from 7,334 in the same month last year, a 146% increase, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Nationwide, the number hit 95,622, up from 53,390, a 79% increase.

Read it here: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-citizenship25feb25,1,1519025.story?coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=1&cset=true

The ticking clock on the official Oscar website is breathlessly billed as a “countdown to the live telecast”, showing the number of hours left before the start of the 79th Academy Awards on Sunday reports the Financial Times. 

The website, much like the awards themselves, serves another purpose though: a host of brands are prominently displayed, reflecting the Oscars’ increasing ability to sell products.  The Oscars used to be confined to a single evening of television, watched patiently by families across America. But during the last 10 years, they have evolved into a week-long marketing juggernaut of promotional parties and events that are highly coveted by advertisers. Read it here: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/49b3199e-c373-11db-9047-000b5df10621.html

On Thursday February 22nd members of the West Ranch Town Council headed to Sacramento for a two day workshop that focused on the incorporation process. The two day seminar was sponsored by California Association of Local Agency Formation Commission (CALAFCO).

The seminar was an education and overview of all aspects of the orderly formation of local governmental agencies. It provided valuable information on incorporation, annexation and community services districts.

The objective of the two day class was to work with and educate affected LAFCO’s; review the major elements and process of changing a governmental status for an effected area; and to discuss the potential risks, problems and benefits of changes in status.

The program stepped the attendees through the entire process of changing an area status and offered up valuable information. Some of the topics covered included timeline and statutory framework; various costs for analysis, engineering, and environmental requirements; basic requirements; perceptions and misperceptions; and vehicle license fees (VLF) were among the topics covered.

LAFCO is responsible for coordinating logical and timely changes in local governmental boundaries, conducting special studies that review ways to reorganize, simplify, and streamline structure, and preparing a sphere of influence for each city and special district within the county. LAFCO’s regulate, through approval and denial, the boundary changes proposed by other agencies and individuals.

West Ranch Council members will be giving an update on the LAFCO class at the next regular Council meeting on Wednesday March 7th at 6:30 PM. The meeting is held at the Southern Oaks community center located on Southern Oaks Drive in Stevenson Ranch.

  In a letter dated February 22, 2007 to the Chief Administrative Officer, the Sheriff revealed the creation of approximately 285 unfunded post positions in the Sheriff’s Custody Operations and Correctional Services Division which was, in large part, to meet increased safety challenges and external demands from the Board of Supervisors, the Department of Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union and Special Counsel Merrick Bobb.
 “While these unfunded positions have resulted in significant expenditures out of the Sheriff’s overtime budget, they are necessary public safety expenditures, and eliminating these unfunded positions will adversely impact current operations and lead to unintended consequences,” said Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. 
The Supervisor’s motion on Tuesday February 27th will direct the Chief Administrative Officer to respond to the Sheriff’s February 22nd letter in one week, including the impact of eliminating a significant number of the 285 unfunded post positions on jail operations as well as a recommendation relative to the Sheriff’s request for funding.