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

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.

Do airline passengers really need a bill of rights? Recent incidents in which travelers were left stranded for hours on parked airplanes have led to proposals in Congress for time limits on ground delays. But skeptics say the proposals could result in even longer waits and more canceled flights. 

“Be careful what you wish for,” said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Assn., a Washington-area lobbying group. “After three hours, they’ll bring the plane back to the terminal, but then the flight might be canceled and you can’t get to your destination.” Read it here: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-airbill24feb24,0,2077616.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Lighting the way forward is a better burning bulb. A new light is about to burn more brightly: the stubby, squiggly fluorescent bulb. Environmentalists love it, Wal-Mart is promoting it and Australia is eyeing it as an easy way to save energy and curb global warming. Now, California lawmakers are giving it some wattage by considering a ban on the sale of old-fashioned incandescent bulbs beginning in 2012.

The proposed switch represents a revolution in a lampshade, because incandescents account for 95% of light bulb sales. Replacing each descendant of Thomas A. Edison’s invention with a low-energy, long-lasting, compact fluorescent bulb would slash electricity consumption by 75%, proponents say.

Read it here: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-bulbs24feb24,0,2077530.story?coll=la-home-headlines   

Oversight committee is seeking a fuller accounting from the district. The Hart Union High School District has failed to disclose all of its spending of a 2001 voter-approved bond fund, a board-appointed panel charged late Wednesday reports the Daily News. Speaking out at the district’s board meeting, members of the Measure V Citizen’s Oversight Committee charged with overseeing the spending said the district has failed to comply with bond fund requirements.

“We cannot stress the immediacy for these recommendations,” said Renee Sabol, chairwoman of the 15-member group, which was mandated by state legislation.

Read it here: http://www.dailynews.com/santaclarita/ci_5286040  

On Tuesday February 20, 2007 at about 6:30 pm, 4 females were seen taking bottled alcohol off the shelves at Albertson’s, 26850 The Old Road, Valencia.  They put the bottles into their personal bags and when a loss prevention agent began to approach them, they walked out the door of the store and left the area by unknown means.  It appears that they stole approximately $300 worth of vodka, tequila and rum. 
 
The following day, Wednesday February 21, 2007 at about 3:30 pm., three of the same suspects entered the store and began taking hygiene items, baby items, toys and more alcohol off the shelves and placing them in their personal bags.  Again the suspects left the store without paying for the items. 

Their vehicle was described as a white Chevrolet.  The loss prevention agent at the store was able to give the license number of the vehicle to responding deputies.  More than 40 items valued at $560 were taken from the Albertson’s during the shoplifting spree.
 
About 15 minutes after the suspects left the store their vehicle was spotted in Santa Clarita.  A traffic stop was made which resulted in the arrest of three female suspects, Khrissanda Priscilla, 21, Silvia Gonzales, 47, and Linda Weathers, 36, all residents of Palmdale.  The items stolen that day were recovered in the vehicle while the items stolen the day before are still outstanding.  All three women were booked at Santa Clarita Valley Station for Burglary.  Their bail is $20,000 each.