Tue 31 Oct 2006
In a last minute addition to the West Ranch Town Council agenda, representative from College of the Canyons (COC) will be on hand to speak about Measure “M”. They will give a brief overview of Measure “M” and the importance of getting this passed next Tuesday. Afterwards they will answer any questions that the council or attendees may have related to Measure “M”.
The COC speakers will be added to the agenda after the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce presentation.
Tue 31 Oct 2006
The West Ranch Town Council will be selecting a candidate to fill the vacant council seat at its Wednesday November 1st council meeting. There are two candidates vying for the council seat that was vacated when Paul Ash resigned in September.
At the October meeting there were three candidates that had turned in applications for the vacant seat. Two of the three were present, Don Fleming and Chuck O’Connell, at that meeting and had an impromptu opportunity to say a few words on why they would like to be selected for the open council seat. Since then, Mr. O’Connell has decided to withdraw his application for personal reasons.
Gary Morgan, who was not at the October meeting, will be given an equal opportunity to speak for a few moments at the beginning of tomorrow nights council meeting. At a later point in the meeting the Council President will call for nominations and then the entire council will cast votes for those candidates that were nominated. The candidate that garners the most votes will be sworn in by Los angeles County, 5th District, Senior Deputy Bob Haueter immediately following the selection process.
Tue 31 Oct 2006
The West Ranch Town Council will hold its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, November 1st at 6:30 PM in the Southern Oaks Community Center located on Southern Oaks Dr. The center is located in the Southern Oaks neighborhood off of Pico Canyon in Stevenson Ranch.
Tomorrow nights meeting will feature an update on the Lyons Canyon/Warner Ranch project. Also on the agenda will be regular updates from the Sheriffs department, LA County, Parks and recreation. The special guest speakers are Chris Fall and Larry Mankin of the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Mon 30 Oct 2006
We received another very nice note from Diane Van Hook, President of College of the Canyons, regarding her passion for Measure “M”. After asking if we could post it to help the cause, Diane responded with a “No problem! I am glad to have you do so.”
She writes, “as a product of a community college myself, I am very passionate about the community colleges and the impact they can have on the lives of individuals. I would not be in the place I am today if it were not for the chance afforded me by the California Community Colleges.
As the only really affordable option for anyone who chooses to further their abilities and potential, I am firm in my belief that the community colleges, and in particular, College of the Canyons, deserves the support of our community. As someone who is adamant about advising students and parents against taking out student loans until they absolutely have to, the community colleges, with an average class size of 27 (versus 250 at a public 4-year college) and a cost of $60 for a three unit transfer level course (versus $300 dollars -approximately) at a CSU or $230 at a UC (approximately), our college offers transferable coursework at quite an affordable option. And, we do so with people who are hired to teach, not to research or publish or send their research assistants to do their work for them. We also afford high school students an opportunity to get a jump start on their college educations at no cost. In doing so, if they are serious and conscientious about their endeavors, they have an opportunity to realize that, yes; they can succeed in college coursework. Nothing breeds confidence and success like success and a chance to do that which one fears they can not do.
All of the research shows that the single variable that contributes to a student’s success is someone taking an interest in him or her. Our faculty and staff do that day in and day out. Now, we just need more space to ensure that the students can get in and can have the chance to start to pursue their dreams, right here in the Santa Clarita Valley. Thank you for what you are doing and for helping us to create affordable access to higher education, right here in the Santa Clarita Valley.”
Dianne Van Hook
Mon 30 Oct 2006
The Stevenson Ranch annual Fall Festival to be held on Tuesday, October 31st at the Dr. Richard Rioux Memorial Park in Stevenson Ranch with festivities beginning at 6:30. The event is hosted by the Golden Oaks Foursquare Church (formally the Stevenson Ranch Community Church) and Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation.
The event is designed to create a safe and fun place for children and families to go on Halloween night. There will be large bounces, various activities and games for the entire family.
Mon 30 Oct 2006
Eric Rosenberg is a community volunteer in Stevenson Ranch and is a candidate for the Stevenson Ranch Community Association board of directors. He attends most of the community meetings in the West Ranch area and is an informed resident. Eric is a new to the West Ranch Beacon and is a guest commentator expressing his views on politics, local issues and the upcoming election. As with all columnists, these are his own views and don’t necessarily reflect those of the West Ranch Beacon.
I spent the past two weekends reading every line of the various propositions that will be on the ballot November 7th, plus every word I could find on all the candidates running for office. Since I know many special interests have seriously confused the actual meaning of many of these propositions, and because very few people will actually take four days to read anything other than the short biased summaries for each proposition, and because not everyone has an extremely knowledgeable attorney as their spouse to whom they can pose legal questions, I’d like to offer my non-partisan advice on how to vote.
I am not a member of either the Democratic or Republican Party; my philosophy is a combination of Libertarian and Green with a few handpicked positions from the two major parties. Basically, I’m an Independent beholden to no one who has the ability to make up my mind without worrying about how the “party faithful” will feel. I don’t get fooled by silly catchphrases like “stay the course,” “cut and run,” etc., nor bamboozled by people throwing out labels such as “liberal” and “conservative.” Talking points and repetition have absolutely no affect on me (other than to annoy me!), so no matter how many ads the oil companies run against Proposition 87, I’m still going to vote based on the actual text and meaning of the proposition!
If you and your readers are now comfortable with me as a voter and agenda-less community participant, then let’s move on to my suggested positions for the coming election. (If you’re not comfortable, it’s probably because you don’t like people who question your group’s positions, regardless of which political party you belong to. If you’ve lost the ability to sincerely question your leaders, then you’ve lost the ability to stay informed and be objective. “You’re either with us or against us” is 3rd grade playground logic and should not be relied upon for your decision making. Don’t be held hostage and blindly follow the party line…that’s what Islamic terrorists do, not Americans.)
Here are the candidates and propositions I recommend based on my research and fact-checking:
1) Governor – Arnold Schwarzennegger
2) Lieutenant Governor – Tom McClintock
3) Secretary of State – Bruce McPherson
4) Controller – Tony Strickland
5) Treasurer – Mehul M. Thakker
6) Attorney General – Kenneth A. Weissman
7) Insurance Commissioner – Dale F. Ogden
8) State Board of Equalization (2nd District) – Bill Leonard
9) State Senator – Dianne Feinstein
10) U.S. Representative (25th District) - Robert Rodriguez
11) Member of State Assembly (38th District) - Cameron Smyth
12) Castaic Lake Water Agency - (At Large) Isaac Lieberman / (Division 3) Carole Lutness
While I would have preferred to vote for Michael S. Wyman for Attorney General and Todd Chretien for Senator, I just cannot accept their errant positions on immigration which are so important to the fiscal future of our state. Sorry! (I would also have liked to find out some information on David W. Erickson for Congress, but he has no website, no e-mail contact, a single phone number that’s always busy, and almost no other public information that I could find! Maybe his only goal was to get on the ballot??)
I also can’t support Howard “Buck” McKeon for U.S. Representative because of some very dubious decisions he’s made, like using campaign donations to pay family members $152,362 for working on his election (of which $74,462 went to his wife), for his inability to reverse California’s 12% deficit of Federal funding vs. what we pay in as taxpayers, for his weak refusal to debate his challengers in a public forum, and for his very slimy attempt to take credit for killing the Cemex mining expansion (which was NOT halted) by getting the City of Santa Clarita to pay for “Thank You, Buck” banners audaciously posted in the public right-of-way that made it sound like McKeon succeeded, when in fact he did nothing other than belatedly introduce a bill to Congress (HR 5471) that was dead on arrival.
Now for the propositions:
1A – YES
1B – YES
1C – NO
1D – YES
1E – NO
83 – NO
84 – YES
85 – NO
86 – YES
87 – YES
88 – NO
89 – YES
90 – NO
M – YES
It would take many paragraphs of analysis to explain the above votes, but I truly believe those positions are in the best interest of our state. The really smarmy part of these propositions is how many are worded to mean one thing but actually accomplish something else, plus the deceptive ads all over television that completely misrepresent what your YES or NO vote will accomplish.
For example, 1C sounds like it’s a very charitable proposal to help battered women and low-income seniors find housing, when in fact 1C does nothing to make housing more affordable! Another example – Proposition 1E claims to protect California’s drinking water supply, but it doesn’t have any effective provisions to do this! Propositions 83 and 85 sound like good common-sense moral measures, yet both laws set legal precedents that would negatively impact many other areas of law and government, neither law actually achieves the main goals they claim, and both have failed legal and logistical tests in other states. And don’t even get me started on Prop 87! This is a very good measure for the state, but you’d never know that if you listened to the 30-40 grossly misleading ads per day that the oil industry pays for to try and scare people into voting “no.”
So there you have it. All I can hope is that the electorate thinks for itself, does the necessary research to make informed decisions, and votes for the best solutions for our state’s and country’s problems. I sincerely believe the above recommendations fulfill that criteria, and I know that others will disagree for various reasons. But if those reasons are ignorance, “because my party told me to disagree,” apathy, or misguided hard-headedness, then it’s not a valid rebuttal and we should ignore their vacuous shouts. Vote for what is right, not because you’re “left” or “right.”
Eric Rosenberg,
Guest Commentary
Sat 28 Oct 2006
Jeff over at SCVTalk.com has a very funny piece, complete with photos, of Darryl Manzer visiting historic Mentryville in the West Ranch area. Darryl was in town visiting from his home in Virginia and actually sent an invite to me, as well as others, to meet him over in Mentryville for a tour. Unfortunately my schedule at work was such that I couldn’t make this time and had to take a rain check.
I liked the picture of Darryl holding a sign that said “Hi Dave”, but was disappointed that he didn’t add an “XXOX, Darryl” at the bottom. The truth is, that Darryl and I have traded emails on a somewhat regular basis. I think that next time he comes out I’m going to organize a round table discussion with Darryl, Chris Austin, and myself. Who knows, maybe we’ll throw Frank Ferry into the mix as well! Jeff Wilson, Jack Murphy and few Sheriff Deputies can moderate!!
Check out the complete post at http://scvtalk.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=251
Fri 27 Oct 2006
Fri 27 Oct 2006
We received a very nice note from Diane Van Hook, President of College of the Canyons, thanking the Beacon for helping to spread the word on the importance of Measure “M”. Here is what she had to say:
On behalf of “Citizens for College of the Canyons Yes on Measure M” Campaign, I want to personally thank you for your commitment to this campaign and for all of the extra effort you have invested to help us be successful on November 7th.
As someone who values education, I know you understand:
Thank you for getting the word out. I appreciate your extra efforts. Your efforts are special to us and will make a difference.
Thank you!
Dianne
Fri 27 Oct 2006
SANTA CLARITA – The California Department of Transportation will close the southbound Antelope Valley Freeway (Route 14) between Escondido Canyon Road and Agua Dulce Canyon Road on Sunday, October 29, from 4 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Northbound Route14 will be closed from Agua Dulce Canyon Road to Escondido Canyon Road from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. Detours will be posted. The closure is in relation to a slope stabilization project above Route 14 between Soledad Canyon Road and Escondido Canyon Road.
The $12.6 million project involves cutting back the slope and installing retention systems using cable net or wire mesh. Estimated to complete in spring 2008, the project will increase hillside stability, protect the roadway and improve safety.
Fri 27 Oct 2006
Penguin Pundit over at the SoCal Pundit has posted some very interesting predictions about next months elections. Some are obvious no brainers and others are quite intuitive and very insightful. Here are just a couple:
1. Arnold Schwarzenegger will win the election for California Governor.
2. In case anyone thinks the above prediction is not a prediction at all but rather common wisdom, I further predict he will win by a margin greater than 20%.
3. Tom McClintock, Chuck Poochigian, Tony Strickland, Bruce McPherson, & Steve Poisner will win there respective state-wide races. All other state-wide Republican candidates will lose.
To see the complete list go to www.socalpundit.com
Fri 27 Oct 2006
With only a couple of weeks left before the election, our local boy Cameron should win easily. Should we be happy? You bet! He is from here. Wants to be a national politician and is a true leader. He will stand up for us and our valley, he wont go on FOX news and say George Bush or Hillary Clinton or whomever, masterminded the 9/11 attacks for political gain. He is sane, rational and will be a great representative of our City; a good family man who has nothing but the best interests of his constituents at heart.
On the other had we have City Councilman Frank Ferry. What else can you say about Frank other then “Where’s Waldo?” I mean, since Frank regained his City Council seat he has since taken a job as principle of a school OUT of our City, taken away a coach on a local team to join him there and is quietly pursuing numerous teachers and other educators to come join him OUT of our City at his new school. Is this a man who has the best interests of OUR City at heart or the best interest of Frank at heart?
Now we check in with the West Ranch Town Council, the other prominent political body here in the Valley. At personal risk to my column here I have to take a stand on the up and coming vacancy on the Council. Here is where free speech is not only expressed on The Beacon but as you will see, is hopefully applauded by my editor much to his chagrin, I assume. He also happens to be the President of the West Ranch Town Council. So here goes……
Don Fleming needs to be appointed to the open vacancy. Other then Don’s wife Cheri, there is no better person in this Valley. The Flemings have done so much for this Valley that 1000 words in a column could never cover a third of it. If Don is given an opportunity to now be a leader in this community just think of the possibilities. What a wonderful man and a great family we have in them. Now to move Don into the political landscape would be the best move the council would ever make. Just think of it when Don then goes to Sacramento or Washington by way of the West Ranch Town Council! WOW!
Don has a passion for life, an honest desire to see the Valley be a great place to live and work and brings a great gift that no other candidate can possibly hope for; community respect. Don is a who’s who in the Valley. He is already respected by left and right. He will help the Town council in ways that we can only imagine and will bring needed attention and focus to our Sister “City” of West Ranch.
So in summery, we have VOTE FOR CAMRON, Find Frank if you can and West Ranch, please choose Don Fleming. These are 3 positive moves for our Valley. Especially if anyone can’t find Frank!
Jack Murphy
