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Save Santa Clarita
April, 2010 - Issue #66
Saving is a pastime favored by many Claritans. We have groups that are saving open space, some who are saving arts programs, while still others are saving historic places. There are even those who try to protect decidedly non-historic places, like the loose coalition that sprang up to not-so-successfully save Bristol Farms supermarket from closing. While the indigenous people and early settlers of Santa Clarita had little to save - there were no historic buildings, much less supermarkets - we moderns have ever more to worry about preserving and protecting.

This month, it's saving and safety that's on the agenda.

Pick Three
On April 13, you need to decide what you wish to be saved from: untested leadership or the status quo. At least that's the way the candidates for three City Council seats are trying to frame things. Incumbents Laurene Weste, Marsha McLean and Frank Ferry say that it's best to keep experienced council members in charge during times as tough as these. A much longer list of challengers, on the other hand, say it's time for change. Indeed, Daniel Henriquez, David Gauny, David Galvan, Henry Schultz, Harrison Katz, TimBen Boydston, Kenneth Mann and Johnny Pride promise to do things differently and save us from, variously: traffic, lack of local jobs and unwise development projects.

Two essential resources stand ready to help voting Claritans (all eight of you) make a decision. The first is Votesantaclarita.com, where you can view a sample ballot, read candidate statements and find the location of polling places or how to register to vote. In 10 minutes, you can go from uniformed to informed voter - nine, if you read fast. The second resource is the Canyon Country Advisory Committee's website, Canyon countryadvisor.com, where there are videos of candidates making statements and answering questions posed by local residents. After reading and watching, it's simply a matter of picking your favorite three City Council hopefuls and filling out the one-question ballot.

More Murder, Less Grand Theft Auto
Late this winter, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station Captain Anthony La Berge shared annual crime statistics for Santa Clarita. Crime increased between 2008 to 2009. In the City and local unincorporated communities, the criminal homicide rate doubled (six homicides in 2009 versus three in 2008) and the number of burglaries increased by 12 percent. Other crimes, like aggravated assault and robbery, increased slightly between 2008 and 2009. Bizarrely, arson rates increased by 52 percent within the City of Santa Clarita, but decreased by 59 percent in unincorporated areas. One is forced to conclude that arsonists from Stevenson Ranch like to cross over the 5 before starting their fires.

There was some good news to temper the bad. Gang activity was kept in check, according to La Berge, through aggressive patrolling and partnerships with immigration enforcement and the Probation Department. The City's rapid-response graffiti control program also plays an important supportive role. Grand theft auto saw a decline both within city boundaries and in unincorporated areas. The Santa Clarita Valley had 447 vehicle thefts in 2009 as opposed to 598 in 2008, which means an average of three fewer vehicle thefts per week. While the Sheriff's department is our primary purveyor of safety, La Berge reminded Claritans that they can help by calling to report suspicious activity and tips at 248-2-TIP.

Lethal Scar
It's easy to be preoccupied with saving the world. Remembering that it's sometimes we who need the saving is important for keeping things in perspective. And there is certain to be plenty of that sort of perspective at a talk sponsored by the SCV Historical Society this month. At the Saugus Train Station on April 3 at 2 p.m., Dr. David Lynch will deliver a presentation about the San Andreas fault. Lynch has recently written a book on the fault full of photos, geology lessons, and maps of areas where this dangerous scar in the earth can be seen to greatest advantage.

Major quakes along the San Andreas fault have included the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the even stronger Fort Tejon earthquake, one that would have rattled any Claritans looking for gold around 1857. The Fort Tejon earthquake was about an 8 on the Richter Magnitude Scale, the kind of quake that takes your disaster readiness kit and hurls it violently across the room and then collapses a wall on it. Contemplating forces against which we are powerless to save ourselves, much less others, gives us an appreciation for those precious few things that we have been able to save through time. Part of hearting Santa Clarita means appreciating what we save, and learning to get on with what we can't.

This column is intended as satire and a (sometimes successful) attempt at humor. Suggestions, catty comments and veiled threats intended for the author can be e-mailed to iheartscv@insidescv.com.
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