Now, the usual local eco-terrorists are trying to convince residents again that a well thought-out project should be stopped. It is the same old broken record and is reminiscent of that meeting last year. Here is what I wrote about the meeting last June:  

I have been very picky and choosey over the years as to what community meetings or events to attend and which are not worth my time. As a community volunteer you have to manage your participation or it becomes an all consuming and overwhelming situation. Even the monthly homeowners association, which I attended monthly, has dropped down to every couple of months unless there is a pressing issue.

But last week I decided to do a little civic duty and attend the Army Corp of Engineers public meeting on the Newhall Ranch development.

You see the folks at Newhall Land have been attending our community meetings regularly and have kept our community abreast of the Newhall Ranch project including taking seriously any concerns and/or suggestions that our residents or community leadership may have had. They have, as well, supported the community over the years through thick and thin. This was my chance to reciprocate a little.

Pulling into the parking lot at the Rancho Pico Jr. High School, where the meeting was scheduled in the multipurpose room, I saw a group of protesters with placards in front of the entrance. Alright, it was more like a group of 20-25 milling about and most of them were unfamiliar looking. In other words they were people from outside the West Ranch area and in some instances outside of the Santa Clarita Valley.

I have to give the Army Corps of Engineers credit for dealing with loons, crack-pots and generally erratic, unstable individuals at these types of meetings. They truly get to see the concentrated and sometimes demented underbelly of a community.

Note to Congressman McKeon: Consider extending combat pay to the Army Corps of Engineer soldiers for enduring excruciating community meetings populated with a lopsided number of miscreants and halfwits.     

Once the meeting got underway, I observed a disproportionate absence of decorum. Members of the audience, mostly those associated with the environmental groups, were prone to shouting out comments and questions without regard for courtesy. Simply raising your hand would have sufficed.

Honestly, at one point I thought I might have stumbled into a Tourette Syndrome support group meeting. 

One woman came in and sat in the last row, furthest from the speakers, and started blurting out in a snarling tone; “I can’t hear you”, to the speaker several times. After about the third time I turned and suggested, as did several others, that she might want to move up closer. She didn’t.

Note to Newhall Land: For the next round of community meetings consider buying a half dozen or so “Lee Majors Bionic Ear” pieces to have on hand for cranky elderly folks who are hearing impaired and insist on sitting in the back row. It will be the best $14.95 you’ll ever spend!

During a discussion of the Santa Clara River another woman, to my sheer astonishment, shouted out; “What’s a tributary?” My God I thought, how could a woman apparently in her 40’s come to a meeting which is discussing the possible mitigations to the river not know what a tributary was!

I immediately thought that; a) this person may have been unconscious much of her life; b) she must have grown up on some other planet without any water; and c) she will never be eligible to be a contestant of Jeopardy.

Honestly, how do you become an adult and not know the definition of a “tributary”?  

It was precisely at that moment that I closed my eyes hoping to be magically transported to my home where I could cork a bottle of wine and turn it into a tributary to my brain.

No sooner than the definition of a tributary was somewhat explained by the speaker than another member of the audience, a Ted Kaczynski looking character, shouted out; “what, you don’t trust Mother Nature?” An odd question but one I pondered for a moment anyway.

Sure Mother Nature gives us bountiful harvests, picturesque sun rises and sunsets but she also gives us earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, volcanoes, lightening induced wildfires, rouge waves and tsunamis. So no, I don’t trust Mother Nature much because she can be an unpredictable bitch.

Note to Army Corps of Engineers: Consider administering an intelligence test to individuals attending these public meetings. Ask question like; what’s a tributary?; or is Mother Nature a real person: True or False? It will help weed out the imbeciles and allow the meetings to run a bit more smoothly.  

 I have to say, the Ted Kaczynski looking character was a bit scary. He was taking copious notes right from the get go and at one point I thought that he was writing, in long hand, some kind of hallucinatory manifesto. He was one angry bastard!

Fortunately at this point the presentation was nearing the end and the comment period would start. I thought this was handled well in that they called three speakers at a time and then each would speak in secession. Essentially, the moderator only called out the speaker order after every third person as apposed to after each one.

I was reminded of a valuable lesson that evening from Larry Mankin, the CEO of the SCV Chamber of Commerce; get to these meetings early, fill out you speaker card immediately and turn it in right away. The speakers are taken in order of requests received so if you hand in your request first, you speak first. 

I was so envious of Larry because he got to speak first and shortly thereafter was able to leave. Me, I had to sit through a block of speakers regurgitating much of the same misinformation about water, land mitigations, development in general, and that damn weed, the San Fernando Spineflower.

Note to Environmental groups: It’s called the San Fernando Spineflower not the Santa Clarita Valley Spineflower and therefore should be repatriated to the valley south of us from whence it came. We could round up some volunteers to excavate the weeds from the Newhall Ranch property and redistribute them from our car windows as we drive around the San Fernando Valley.  

Some of the speakers were articulate and others completely unprepared. I suspected that several of the speakers really didn’t even know much about what they were saying, they were just mindless parrots. 

But generally, it was a hostel crowd of carpetbaggers many of whom came up from Los Angeles and the Valley to rail against the Newhall Ranch Project. Of course, the usual local suspects were present many of whom have become cartoons around Santa Clarita, neither taken serious, nor viewed as productive, and mostly laughed at.

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if these environmental terrorists just decided one day to take the tact of meeting with the developers to initiate an open and honest dialogue with the intention of trying to find common ground and a way to create a win/win for all? The millions in legal fees that would be saved could actually be used to set aside even more open space!

The Newhall Ranch Project is setting aside 65% of the property to be preserved as natural open space, never to be disturbed by development, ever. There is a thoughtfulness going into the project that is intelligent; unlike the planning and building circus that occurred in areas of the San Fernando Valley years ago.

But I am convinced that if the project set aside 95% of the land as open space that many of these whack-jobs would be doing exactly the same thing in trying to prevent any building on the remaining 5%.

Those tactics have to stop because they are not productive nor is it accomplishing anything other than increasing the cost of homes, commercial space and hurting the local environment. The amount of time and resources being wasted battling these Eco-terrorists is in fact having a greater impact on our environment with missed opportunities to preserve more natural resources using the funds that otherwise are being spent on the relentless and often fruitless lawsuits.

By the way, the meeting on Thursday night June 11, 2009, was attended by about 50 or so people. There were about 25 that represented the Army Corps, Newhall Land’s employees and consultants, Fish and Game, and two Sheriffs Deputies. The other 25 or so ran the spectrum from legitimate, rational environmentalists to halfwit idiots.

What is sad about the attendance is that if local residents like something they are more apt to stay home and not come to these types of meetings just to say “hey I like this!” It’s sort of a “if it doesn’t affect me, I don’t need to speak up” kind of attitude. It is just as important to come out and support projects and issues that you like as it for the ones you don’t.

Note to self: Consider organizing a protest against environmental terrorists at the next local Army Corp of Engineering community meeting replete with placards supporting the open space of the Newhall Ranch Project, new homes, jobs, and maybe even burn an effigy of that Spineflower weed.

We need a real blast of grounded reality to show that commerce and environmental stewardship can coexist together benefiting our community, business and our valley wide ecosystem. It’s not an “either/or” proposition.  Now is the time to turn the tables on these interloping environmental carpetbaggers!!!

That meeting was a circus filled with individuals that were hell-bent on stopping any development. I would much rather look at each project on its own merits and determine how it will benefit our community. The Newhall Ranch project is a smart, well thought-out plan that will allow for 65% of the land to be set aside as open space in perpetuity and for more than 18,000 oak trees to be left intact and protected. It is vital that our community fully support this project which will allow for most of the natural beauty of the west side of Santa Clarita Valley to left intact.

The Army Corps of Engineers has extended the comment period for the Newhall Ranch project through Aug. 4, 2010. Don’t let outside interests dictate policy or development in our community. Please take a moment to write a letter of support for this valuable regional project that will bring local jobs, reduce freeway commuter traffic which in turn is good for the environment and many other benefits for our valley  and the local economy. The letters should be addressed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch, Attn: CESPL-RG-2003-01264- AOA, 2151 Alessandro Drive, #110, Ventura, CA 93001.

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.

Now it is time for the Hart School Board to turn its attention to cutting ties with the Santa Clarita Valley Facilities Foundation. It is the SCV Facilities Foundation that purchased the Hasley/Sloan property which has proved not to be a suitable suit for the proposed Castaic High School.    

For those unfamiliar with the foundation here is what the their website claims; “The Santa Clarita Valley Facilities Foundation is dedicated to locating, acquiring and developing sites for new schools in the William S. Hart Union High School District. Since 1998, the Facilities Foundation has continued to make great progress toward fulfilling its mission to assist the Hart District in providing school facilities through land acquisition and infrastructure development.” 

I would argue that locating, acquiring and developing sites for new schools is the responsibility of the William S. Hart Union High School District elected board members and the District staff. The vast majority of school districts across this great nation handle their own locating, acquiring and developing of sites for new schools which is a much more transparent process.

For years now there have been comments, rumors and questions being raised about the Facilities Foundation and who is actually benefitting from that organization. Essentially there are more questions then there are answers as to why there is a separate organization making land deals on behalf of the Hart School district.

The local school district tax payers also need to question some of the choices that are being made and whether there are any questionable dealings going on with some of these land acquisitions. Just take a look at this biology diagram prepared by Padre for the Hasley/Sloan property:

Notice the endangered Slender Mariposa Lily locations; the Coastal Sage Scrub areas and Western Spadefoot Toad habitats. After this biology report was completed there have been reports that local live stock were apparently allowed to graze on this property.

Now take a look at this grading diagram by Lund the Civil Engineers which was completed after the biology report:

Is it me or does it strike you as well that there doesn’t seem to be any indication that the endangered habitats ever existed? There is no indication on this grading plan that any of the habitats are untouched or are being graded around or mitigated in any way.

The SCV Facilities Foundation also has several hundred acres of land known as the Sierra/Vasquez property. Apparently they are in the process of getting a $7 million dollar grant to put in road infrastructure which would be required for a school. Why so much? Because the infrastructure requirements seem to be expanded as the foundation is apparently planning on developing some home sites on a portion of this parcel of land.

If the Hart School District is suppose to caring for our children’s education then they need to be 100% focused on that and not spending time engaging in land speculation, some of which will be developed into housing tracts, with a third party facilities foundation. It’s a school district not a real estate development group. The Hart School District should be using all the tax dollars from measures “V” and “SA” for schools and school facilities only.

Since the choice of Romero Canyon has been made, the William S. Hart School Board needs to now direct the SCV Facilities Foundation to sell the poorly conceived and environmentally challenged Hasley/Sloan property. The property was bought with monies borrowed from the Hart General Fund so the proceeds for the Hasley/Sloan sale should be returned to that fund. Regardless if the sale is at a loss because the property was purchased at the height of the real estate bubble. The Hart District General Fund money should be used for General Fund purposes not land speculation.

The Hart School Board members need to work diligently towards complete transparency in how they operate. They must sever whatever relationship they have with the SCV Facilities Foundation; cut all financial ties with that foundation even if it is at a lose; and take care of the districts business themselves. This includes not having Hart School Board members on the SCV Facilities Foundation Board which gives the appearance of a complete conflict of interest.

There is no need for a facilities foundation especially since the responsible developers in the Santa Clarita Valley are building schools in a timely fashion going forward. Plans are already on the drawing boards for the appropriate schools to be built out as new homes are added to the area.

The Hart School Board has made a great leap in rebuilding their credibility and their reputation this past week with choosing the Romero Canyon site for the new Castaic High School. Now they need to continue on that course and jettison the SCV Facilities Foundation relationship.    

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.

But nonetheless it was a wonderful time on the upper mid-coast area of Maine. Fortunately I was north of the big heat wave that hit Boston and New York most of last week. I experienced near perfect weather; upper 70’s low 80’s clear blue skies and a light onshore breeze. It couldn’t have been more perfect as far as I was concerned.

As I always do when I’m up in Maine, I reflected on this past year and thought about the year ahead including the growth of The Beacon. This on-line publication; blog; website, whatever you want to call it has and continues to exceed my expectations. It is now widely read and has had an important impact locally on many issues. It has been ripped off, quoted, angers, shocks, informs, exposes and is buzzed about regularly which is what it should do!

We were thrilled that not only have all of our advertisers renewed their ads but we have picked up some new ones that will be popping up in the next couple of weeks or so. That, in and of itself, is a testament to the fact that these businesses want to be where the readers are daily. Although, the focus has never been on getting advertising, rather it has been on building the readership with great columnists, provocative articles and exposé that you won’t find elsewhere in the Santa Clarita Valley.

I’d like to think of The Beacon as kind of a writers co-op in the sense that much of the ad revenue is shared amongst our regular columnists; Eve Bushman, Chris Sharp, and John Boston. Unlike some old media outlets that don’t pay their local columnists a nickel; I’m can happily and confidently say that The Beacon writers are some of the best paid community columnists in the Santa Clarita Valley.

And rightfully so! In my book you can’t call yourself a writer or an artist or anything unless you get paid for that skill, craft or performance. L.A. is full of “screenwriters” that have never sold a script and “actors” who have never been paid to perform. Just go to virtually any restaurant and see for yourself. There are an awful lot of wannabe’s out there!!

That said; I not only thought about this site but also about the many challenges facing our valley including the ever present local developement; the hospital; the scammers around SCV that are pulling some dishonest crap and seemingly getting away with it; and of course the future governance questions for the unincorporated communities.

There is no shortage of local topics to write about and certainly you will get the whole story here; not some watered down skewed version or worse yet no coverage as we have all seen in the local old media outlet. There will be some controversial pieces coming up in the next few including the destruction of some endangered species, unmitigated greed, and of course some great bits of history, food & wine, and thoughtful commentaries from all of our contributors.

It’s great to be back, refreshed and rebooted!  

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.

Here is a vintage piece that Dave wrote back in April of 2009 and we thought it would be nice to share it again. Dave will be back next week with new commentaries on a variety of topics.

I thought and talked about the tree yesterday when a Daily News reporter called me to comment on it for an article that was published today; Earth Day. I read that article and although nice it doesn’t tell the whole story.

It doesn’t talk about how the local environmental terrorists used the tree as a pawn to try and prevent the widening of Pico Canyon. The so called “environmentalist” didn’t lift a finger to work with the developer of the Southern Oaks sub-division to ensure that there would be enough space to widen Pico Canyon and still leave the oak tree in the place it has lived for over a 100 years.

Once the sub-division was built there was no room to widen Pico Canyon without either the removal of the oak tree or moving it. Well, enter the “tree sitter” an interloper with no connection to our community and a penchant for self promotion. He turned our neighborhood into a media circus using the oak tree as his bully pulpit.

When it was all over more than a million dollars was spent moving the oak tree. A fence had to be erected around it in order to protect it from the possible sabotage by the environmental terrorist who would have preferred the tree die. Instead it has thrived!

It is sickening to see the “tree sitter” claiming credit for saving it! Had the tree not survived he certainly would be blaming everyone else. The hypocrisy of it all is so glaring.

It is just another example of the failed, misguided policies of the local environmental crowd. Had these folks actually worked with the developer early on the oak tree could have remained were it sprouted more than a century ago, the sub-division could have still been built, there would have been room for the road to widened and the million dollars spent moving the tree could have been used to buy some raw land to leave as open space. It would have been a win/win for all concerned including our community.

It would be much more productive than some self-promoting jackass sitting in a tree or chaining themselves to a bulldozer. In fact if the media didn’t cover those events and instead covered constructive meetings there actually might be more of a willingness to for the environmentalists to go into a conference room and actually work with land owners and developers!

Next time, instead of suing a land owner who wishes to build a project or sub-division, how about trying a new tactic of working together, mutually, for a better community. How about sitting down and working towards a win/win where resources are not thrown down a rat hole on attorney’s fees but rather more open space is negotiated, more trees are saved; our quality of life is improved. How about that!

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.

For some reason most towns in Maine celebrated July 4^th on the 3^rd with parades, carnivals, and of course fireworks. After having a “lobsta” dinner we watched a spectacular fireworks show shot from a barge anchored at the mouth of Camden harbor. It was beautiful seeing not only the pyrotechnics in the sky but also the reflection of the show in the rippling waters of the harbor below.     

Coming up to Maine each summer is in a sense going back in time to a simpler period. A period when people respected one another’s property; you don’t need to lock your door and you can leave the keys in your; at least in the part of Maine that I go to each year. Folks around here obey the rules and the laws without thinking they don’t apply to them because their “special”. It’s quite refreshing to put on your turn signal and not have someone speedup and prevent you from getting over; instead they slow a bit and wave you in. Road courtesy; wow, what a concept!!

One of the things that struck me right away was that gas is $2.77 a gallon here. While getting some gas I grabbed a banana in the convenience store and cost me 17 cents! Honestly I don’t know how much bananas cost in Santa Clarita but 17 cents seemed like a bargain to me. You money goes a long way up here which is just great.

I sat down on Sunday morning with a tall glass of lemonade and a copy of the venerable Bangor Daily News. It’s something I look forward to every year as it reminds of what a real local community newspaper should be. There was a great story on the Blueberry crop ripening early this year and the fact that there may be a labor shortage for the harvest.

My favorite though was the guy who was riding his motorcycle and collided with a moose. The 65 year old guy was cruising along when a moose ran out of the woods into the roadway. Fortunately the motorcyclist was wearing a helmet; in Maine it’s optional. As for the moose, it ran from the scene!!    

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.

Since the City Council election is long over and there is still controversy continuing we decided to run this column again to showcase the incestuous relationships the local “newspaper” has with the City of Santa Clarita.

Several weeks ago The Beacon covered, and in the second instance was first to report, the plagiarism scandal that has rocked The Signal. In one of my commentaries regarding that scandal I wrote; “That’s just another example that seems to reinforce the local chatter that The Signal is in the pocket of the City of Santa Clarita and why the papers credibility appears to have run amok in recent years.” Which begs the question, is there any truth to that chatter?

I decided many months ago to answer that question and started out by accumulating documentation that would yield information one way or the other. In other words, I set out to investigate whether or not there were relationships between the City of Santa Clarita and The Signal that would show a bias favoring the City.

Let’s face it, there have been many people in the Santa Clarita Valley that have observed or have their own stories that point to a view that The Signal is favoring coverage and opinions towards the City. Certainly I have my own stories in which attempts have been made to silence or edit my own voice. But that can be considered hearsay or biased in its own right. We need facts!

So let’s start out by looking at The Signal’s editorial board which is made up of Ian Lamont, publisher; Lila Littlejohn, editor; Josh Premako, opinion editor; and Leon Worden, community board member. Here is what I know about each; Ian Lamont lives in Long Beach is has been publisher of The Signal for a little over a year; Lila Littlejohn apparently has taught English at COC but does not seem to be as well versed on local issues as you would expect of an editor; Josh Premako has been a good writer at the paper and is a photographer; Leon Worden is a former employee of The Signal and is now the CEO of SCVTV and may have the most local knowledge of anyone on The Signal editorial board.

What strikes me most about the makeup of The Signal’s editorial board is that with the exception of Leon Worden there is a shallow depth of local knowledge. Leon is well versed on the local history here in the Santa Clarita Valley and has been visibly involved for many years so he can certainly shoulder more when it comes to Signal editorials on local issues.

The problem with this is that aside from being the “community” board member, Leon is also the CEO of SCVTV which derives a significant amount of funding from the City of Santa Clarita. In fact, SCVTV has a Public Television Management Services Agreement with the City of Santa Clarita which was signed in January of 2009 and provided $25,000 in compensation through June 30, 2009. That agreement was then amended in July, 2009, with an additional $50,000 with the term being extended to June 30, 2010. That is a total of $75,000 plus additional money for other costs!

Mr. Worden also is the editor and publisher of the Old Town Newhall Gazette which also derives funding from the City of Santa Clarita. That agreement calls for the City to pay $20,000 per fiscal year for originally 4 issues, now 6, of The Gazette. And it should also be noted that The Gazette is printed by The Signal; in essence the City is helping to fund The Gazette and is a revenue source to The Signal.

In researching the relationship between the City of Santa Clarita and local media outlets like The Signal, SCVTV and The Gazette it became evident that there are some very chummy relationships. One email The Beacon obtained is from a City Staffer to Leon Worden which started out by saying “Hey Buddy” while others that were reviewed appeared quite friendly indeed.

So the questioned must be posed; how can the editorial board at The Signal be unbiased and truly represent the best interests of the community if it and/or members of the board have a financial relationship with the City of Santa Clarita? Answer: It can’t be! The old adage “don’t bite the hand that feeds you” comes into play.

This has been proved out over the years with how important local issues have been covered or in some cases not covered. Most recently the west side annexation vote editorials were about as biased as they come in siding with the City with virtually no attempt at bringing fairness to other opinions. It did so by limiting and editing opposing opinions and did not hold itself to the same guidelines it required of others in the community.

Yet The Signal editorial board claims; “We will take other necessary actions to ensure we offer our readers an honest, fair exchange of ideas on our opinion pages every day.” I don’t believe the paper can actually do that when it’s only knowledge member of local issues derives a portion of his income from the City and the paper benefits financially as well from the City.

The solution of course is a code of ethics and guidelines for the Signal editorial board. But in order for that to work the paper would actually have to be held accountable just like they are doing of the local columnists.

The code of ethics would require full disclosure of any financial, business and/or family relationship involving the subject matter being written about. Mr. Worden’s and the editorial board’s ardent support of annexation and other issues that the City leadership wanted in their favor would have been viewed differently had the public be aware of financial arrangements between those parties.

A set of guidelines would create a level playing field for all opinions and would hold the editorial board to the same requirements being placed on the public contributors to the opinion pages. If a contributor is held to an 800 word count than the editorial board should be as well and not be allowed 1500 or 1700 words. That is not fair nor is it keeping with the “fair exchange of ideas” that paper is attempting to promote, instead it is quite hypocritical.

So, is The Signal in the pocket of the City? I believe they are based on the facts and on the way the paper has conducted itself in recent months. Having looked at City of Santa Clarita checks written out for tens of thousands of dollars to Leon Worden’s SCVTV and emails detailing the various business relationships certainly leads me to that conclusion.  

What that ultimately means is that whatever the paper says or who ever they endorse is suspect; it is questionable as to whether it is be motivated by financial or some  business arrangement. I have no doubt that these conflicts of interest will probably factor in to endorsements of candidates for the upcoming City Council elections in April.

There is and will be a cloud of suspicion over the paper as long as there are these types of dealings and ethical questions being raised. Having rules and following them are two separate ideas. The Signal must walk the walk and talk the talk especially it wants the readers to trust the paper at all again.

But hey, what do I know, I’m just a guy with a computer!

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.

I stay at the same boarding house every year. Yes a boarding house; I would not really call it a Bed & Breakfast because it is primarily a utilitarian bedroom with a bathroom down the hall. The room itself has just the basics, a single bed, nightstand, dresser and closet; completely no frills which is incredibly refreshing and invigorating

No computer, no television, and no publications other than the Bangor Daily News which allows me to keep slightly informed. I once did a vacation on a remote island that did not get any newspapers or have a television and I started to get some anxiety because I was completely disconnected. After that experience I had to have some kind of newspaper or at the very least get the New York Times fax edition which is a 5 or 6 page fax that hits on current events, business, sports and of course the crossword puzzle.   

I do have my cell phone which I only use for a daily call to my family. The phone really only works on top of a small hill near the boarding house; although in recent years reception has improved.  Generally around 7:30 or 8:00 in the evening, I traverse the hill to make that one call.

The main reason why I take this break is really to clear my head, to reflect back on the year and look forward to the coming year. It is kind of “mental flossing”; a break to adjust goals and set some new ones. It is quite refreshing to go off for a week or so and do something completely different that requires a total concentration.  

I usually occupy my time in Maine with creating some art, a little sailing and just plain old rest & relaxation. I’ve been doing wildlife sculptures up in Maine for years and have been creating a few new pieces each summer.

Last year I actually cast my first bronze off one of my originals that I made in 2008; it’s a yellow-fin trout and is an edition of 25 pieces. (That’s it pictured above.) The castings are mounted on mahogany bases that are made for me by a local ships carpenter in Maine from end cuts at a nearby boatyard where they build some magnificent yachts.    

Come to think of it; I’ve going up to the same place in Maine every summer for 18 years now. It is a beautiful and tranquil place that I find myself returning to annually anytime between July and September; you can have the winters! I find it to be one of the most refreshing things that I do each year; it is a renewing of the spirit.    

Returning from this break is always great; I feel completely recharged and rejuvenated. This past year has been a very busy one. I am certainly looking forward to the rest of this year as there will be some great adventures; certainly some surprises and most of all a lot of fun.

I hope that you all have a happy and safe 4^th of July!

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.

At the Tuesday, June 22, 2010, Santa Clarita Clity Council meeting Frank Ferry’s proposal to to reform the city’s campaign finance laws passed with a 4 to 1 Council vote. Councilman Bob Kellar was the only council member to truly represent the city voters by casting the only no vote against this misguided change. What’s funny is that this change will now come back to haunt them in next council electuion because they didn’t tyhink it all the way through! Councilman Ferry is trying to set the stage for the next Santa Clarita City Council election by attempting to reform the current city campaign-finance laws. You can bet that this has nothing to do with creating an even playing field or making future campaigns fair for all. No, Ferry is up to his old dirty tricks again and the City Council needs to reject this proposed change to the campaign-finance laws or be viewed as complicit in election trickery. (Pictured: a wonderful political cartoon of Boss Tweed; “As long as I count the votes, what are you going to do about it?” by the great political caricaturist Thomas Nast; circa. 1871)

There currently is a lot of controversy swirling around the Santa Clarita Valley that Councilman Frank Ferry rigged the recent City Council election by having a candidate named David Galvan run to create confusion on the ballot with David Gauny. Yes, you heard it – “rigged” the election so that voters that thought they were casting their ballot for Gauny may have inadvertently mark off David Galvin. The name similarity is no mistake.

The one thing that those involved didn’t count on was that David Galvan would be arrested for impersonating a Peace Officer. Think about that for a moment, a guy with a name so similar to that of David Gauny is able to submit an application to run for City Council yet he can’t get the money together to get bailed out of jail! I have no doubt that he’ll rollover and spill his guts about what or who prompted him to run for City Council early this year.    

Of course Ferry will deny the allegation he had anything to do with this just as he claims he knows nothing about the money that G&L Realty contributed to the PAC which financed all the mailers supporting him and the other incumbents.

Ferry’s denials that he knew anything about David Galvan or PAC money or anything else for that matter are as comical as his sugar induced outbursts at City Council meetings. A reliable source informed us that Ferry apparently had at least two phone calls with David Galvan in which he allegedly offered Galvan some kind of a youth oriented job with the City of Santa Clarita. And just check out how the names were listed on the City Council ballot:

DANIEL B. HENRIQUEZ

Accountant

DAVID GAUNY

Business Owner

DAVID GALVAN

Community Volunteer

HENRY SCHULTZ

Retired Scientist

See the entire ballot here:  Sample Ballot

If anyone thinks that the ballot order is a total coincidence than they’re complete morons! The City voters were duped, fooled, hoodwinked and swindled by Ferry and his crew of wanna-be political mobsters.    

Also, as has been detailed here at The Beacon during the 2010 City Council campaign, Ferry’s former campaign manager Armando Azarloza was the individual listed as running the “Citizens for Integrity in Government 2010” PAC which sent out a barrage of mailers coinciding with the arrival of the mail-in ballots going out to voters. The trail of underhanded schemes and connections is as obvious as the sky is blue to anyone that has been following SCV politics for the last dozen years or so!

The Beacon fully detailed the G&L Realty money in an article titled “Buying the City of Santa Clarita again? PAC money playing big role in Council Election”.   Written towards the end of that piece was; “At the center of it all is the City’s very own “Boss Tweed” Councilman Frank Ferry who appears to have his finger or those of his close associates in much of these questionable dealings and tactics.” That statement continues to ring true with this latest maneuvering by Ferry to change the City’s campaign-finance laws. He has really turned Santa Clarita’s City Hall into a modern day version of a corrupt Tammany Hall.  

A friend of mine and someone very well respected in the Santa Clarita Valley commented recently that; “Councilman Frank Ferry is a lying, cheating, fraud who will do anything, absolutely anything, to hold onto his Council seat; he’s a true political scumbag.” I would have to agree with that opinion based on all the information that has come to light about Ferry’s slimy backroom dealings and dastardly political scams perpetrated on the residents of the Santa Clarita Valley over the years.

If the majority of the Santa Clarita City Council goes along with Ferry’s attempt to change the City’s campaign-finance laws than they will be complicit in the continued manipulation of City elections. This change is not about election transparency, it’s about intimidation; it’s about bullying contributors; it’s about trying to control the elections and quickly taking out any challengers that may come along.

Just keep an eye on how Councilwoman Laurie Ender votes on this issue as she is going to be fighting for her political life in 2012!   

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.

I have some simple questions for the Hart School Board members; will you take full responsibility for the well being and safety of the Hart School district children after you have made your excruciatingly, long awaited selection of the property to site the Castaic High School? Will you be fully accountable for your decision should it be based on political pressure rather than the actual facts pertaining to each property? Will you be completely culpable if the property selection endangers, injures or kills even one child because of liquefaction issues with the soils that could result in a catastrophic building failure during a large earthquake? Finally, will you stand up and take full, unmitigated responsibility if the property site you select for the new Castaic High School becomes a quagmire of delays, cost over runs, waste and mismanagement?

I wrote back in April, in a piece titled “Thank you Sir, may I have another! Hart Board sticks it to Castaic again” that the Hart School Board had convinced voters not once, but twice over the last ten years to approve bond issues totaling nearly $500 million dollars in order to get a high school built in Castaic.

It no longer is a question of financial resources but rather it is now all about making an intelligent decision as to where to site the new Castaic High School.

Squandering money on multiple studies for the two pieces of property, the Hasley/Sloan and Romero Canyon parcels, is further delaying this decision. This is all being done to placate a few who made a poor purchase of the Hasley/Sloan property at the expense of the students and their parents. The school board is up to its eyeballs now with the local politics surrounding this issue.

Further I wrote in April; “the Hart School Board seems to lack the spine or the guts, to make a decision. Instead it is playing politics with its’ indecision between the two possible properties to sight the Castaic High School; the Hasley-Sloan property owned by the SCV Facilities Foundation and the Romero Canyon Property owned by local developer Larry Rasmussen.”

Here are some refresher points for each piece of property:

Hasley/Sloan- A site in Hasley Canyon at the northeastern corner of Sloan Canyon Road and Hasley Canyon Road  

• This property was examined previously and rejected!
• There have been questions raised as to whether there are soil “liquefaction” issues with this site. “Liquefaction is a phenomenon in which the strength and stiffness of a soil is reduced by earthquake shaking and have been responsible for tremendous amounts of damage in historical earthquakes around the world.” The State Geology Map clearly shows Liquefaction/collapsible soils for much of this site.

This is a photo of buildings with liquefaction/collapsible soils after an earthquake. Do you want to risk your child’s life on land that will do this to their school building?

• It currently only has one entry point which will require an access bridge to built and a number of experts have apparently claimed it is cost prohibitive to create a second entry which is required for a school site.
• A flood control channel must be built which will require permits from the L.A. County Flood Control, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the California Department of Fish and Game. All of which could take as long as 5 years to get those permits.
• There is apparently no water or sanitation “will serve” letters on this property and no tentative track map.
• And there is a plant called the Beavertail Cactus which appears to be on the endangered species watch list and will require some kind of mitigation.
• It appears to have been owned by the SCV Facilities Foundation since 2003.
• A neighboring community is organized and will file suit should the Hart District attempt to build a high school on this site.
• It’s in smelling distance of a dump!

Romero Canyon Site- A site in the north portion of Castaic approximately one mile west of the termination of Parker Road

• This property has an initial approval as a high school site from the California Dept. of Education;
• The parcel is in the path of future development (meaning homes are currently not there, but will be);
• The parcel is large enough to house a high school as well as other administrative buildings;
• The high school would finish the community’s road circulation plans; and many of the permits are in process or are ready to be pulled making the Romero Canyon site the one location that can come on line the quickest for this under served community.
• The property owner is willing to grade the site.

I also wrote about all this back in November of 2009 in a commentary titled “Hart School Board chickens-out; opts to flush more tax money” and here we are eight or so months later with the new school board still screwing around. The choice between the two proposed sites is an obvious no-brainer yet the Hart School Board can’t bring themselves to make a decisive and expeditious decision.

You look at the photos in this commentary of what happens to buildings on soils that liquefy during an earthquake; do you want your child at risk? The Romero Canyon property is the clear choice between the two options. 

At this point it is time for the William S. Hart School Board to direct the SCV Facilities Foundation to sell the poorly conceived and environmentally challenged property known as Hasley/Sloan. The property was bought with funds borrowed from the Hart General Fund so the proceeds for the Hasley/Sloan sale should be returned to that fund. Regardless if the sale is at a loss because the property was purchased at the wrong price, so be it! General Fund money should be used for General Fund purposes not land speculation.

The Hart School Board needs to stop wasting tax payer dollars and start displaying the strong financial leadership that the district residents expect and require.

The Hart School Board needs to choose the Romero Canyon property and start to fast track process to get a Castaic High School built now. The taxpayers have voted to authorize the bond money, twice, and it is and has been available to build the proposed Castaic High School.

Los Angeles County and the other State and Federal agencies are ready to assist in fast-tracking the permitting process once the choice is made. It order to have the new high school in Castaic open by the promised Fall of 2013 the Hart School Board must make a decision now to prevent any further delays in this process.

Its time for decisive action and real leadership by the William S. Hart School Board members to get the proposed Castaic High School built now!

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.

He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1982 as a Second Lieutenant. During the ensuing years he received a Masters of Arts in Economics, magna cum laude from Old Dominion University; a Masters of Military Art and Science from U.S. Army CGSC; a Master of Public Administration, summa cum laude, Auburn University; and a Master of Arts in Strategic Studies from the Air War College.

From 1983 through 1987 he was a CT-39B aircraft commander and C-21A instructor pilot out of Langley AFB in Virginia; from 1987 through 1991 he was a C-141B instructor pilot and wing combat plans officer at McGuire AFB in New Jersey. In 1991, Phil had assignments in Colorado, Kansas, and Illinois, and by 2000 he was a Lieutenant Colonel and was the Commander of the 821^st Air Mobility Squadron at McGuire AFB.

Shortly after 9/11 my brother was deployed to Bagram Air base outside of Kabul, Afghanistan. At one point, he was the highest ranking officer at the air base between December 2001 and February 2002. After Afghanistan, Phil became the Chief of Training and Exercises for the NATO Interim Deployable Air Operations Center at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. He was bumped to full bird Colonel in 2004 at which time he became Commander of the USAFE Air Mobility Operations Control Center also at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Basically he was in charge of the C-141 fleet for Europe and the Middle East.

Among his many awards and decorations include the following; the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medals, the Army Commendation Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Medal, Air Force Organizational Medal, the Combat Readiness Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal, and the Kuwaiti Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia & Kuwait). 

Phil has published more than 80 articles over the years in primarily military related journals including The Mobility Forum, TIG Brief, Air & Space Power Journal, Airlift/Tanker Quarterly, The Encyclopedia of Military History, and the International Journal of Transportation Economics.

He certainly has an impressive resume of accomplishments and during all of this he has spent an enormous amount of time studying and teaching leadership. He was very curious about the disconnect between military leadership and civilian leadership in the private sector. Phil spent the last several years as Commander and Professor of Air Force Studies and overseeing the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Houston in Houston, Texas, teaching leadership and writing about various aspects of leadership.

Phil and I have spent many hours over the years discussing leadership and what makes a great leader. We both have discussed our own examples and qualities of great and poor leaders. I certainly have kept him abreast of my observations of the lack of leadership around Santa Clarita!    

That said, here are some of the core competencies of great leadership including; honor, integrity, character, and vision. It’s these qualities, along with other attributes, that are present in any great leader and are usually missing from those that display flawed leadership.

Honor is having a good name; a great reputation. To me honor is also all about your word. You’re an honorable individual if you stand by your word; you can make an agreement on a handshake. There are not too many of those types around especially in the Santa Clarita Valley!

That brings us to the attribute of integrity. This is basically a person who lives their life by a code of ethics and does not waiver from that code. It is a person that has a moral compass and who knows the difference between right and wrong.

Character is the combination of these qualities and others that distinguishes a person from others in a group. An individual who can be counted on time and again as a reliable person who will not change his stance based on the prevailing winds.    

Finally it’s having a vision; the intellectual foresight to see over the horizon. It is an innate ability to conceive of an idea; one drawn from the imagination and a willingness to tread down a road less traveled. Vision is a quality that true leaders must possess as it distinguishes that individual from the rest of the “managers” in an organization.

True leaders effect change in their organizations by having a clear vision and communicating it effectively to the entire group. They are able to inspire and rally their employees around that vision while leading the charge for change and innovation.    

Managers on the other hand only manage the organization. In many instances, managers just want to maintain the status quo and generally don’t want to upset the apple cart. They essentially are followers who play it safe and will not step out of the box if they can help it.

So why am I telling you all this?

Of course I am proud of my brother and his many accomplishments. But beyond that, I felt it was important to put down in black and white what it means to be a great leader because there is a severe lack of these characteristics at Santa Clarita City Hall. Maybe by writing about it; by pointing out those qualities, the attributes that help shape leadership, more people will realize that the local emperors are not wearing any clothes!

The way the City of Santa Clarita is treating the County and the unincorporated communities in the Santa Clarita Valley is a travesty and a true example of the lack of leadership at the City. It’s unfortunate that the Santa Clarita City Council as a whole is being manipulated by various City “managers” and not displaying the leadership abilities that elected officials should be held to.   

The City of Santa Clarita has completely botched the annexation process west if I-5 to the point where it is nothing short of an embarrassment and one great example of the leadership void at City Hall.

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.