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Repay in Kind
November, 2025 - Issue #245
I don't know very much about wine, so whenever someone gifts me a bottle, I discreetly Google the price to determine how much they like me. This becomes especially practical during the holidays. Knowing that a pinot noir retails for $19 and pairs well with poultry means I can bring it to the host of a Friendsgiving. Then the host can re-gift it to someone else who they kind of like, too, letting the glorious cycle repeat over and over. Some may call this tacky or transactional. But like it or not, we seem to be living in a tit-for-tat, what-goes-around-comes-around kind of world.
Tax Returns
In 2024, Measure A was approved in LA County. The measure uses a half-cent sales tax to generate funds for homelessness and affordable housing needs. Santa Claritans will be participating every time they make a purchase. At a recent city council meeting, Councilmember Marsha McLean expressed her dismay at how much of the tax revenue generated within the SCV would come back here - about $3.5 million, or under 20 percent of what Santa Clarita would generate. The rest would go elsewhere in LA County.
This topic is part of a larger discussion about affordable housing in Santa Clarita. It's a perennial challenge because Santa Clarita has designated affordable housing targets that it is far from reaching. Unaffordable housing, however, remains readily available. The developer of MetroWalk, part of Vista Canyon, said that it was proving difficult to finance even 49 units of affordable housing for seniors. These challenges are part of why McLean wanted to see the City of Santa Clarita get back the tax dollars that it will put in, so to speak. However, LA County's perspective isn't so quid-pro-quo; more funds would flow to areas that are poorer and with larger homeless populations. We'll have to wait to see how it all rolls out.
A Trip to the Dentist
Few people enjoy going to the dentist. It's usually because there's a chance you'll pay thousands of dollars to endure pain and judgement for lapses in oral hygiene. But sometimes, the reasons are more political. A local SCV dentist recently learned this the hard way. At a newly-resurfaced speech from a Republican event a few years ago, she was doing a little political stand up, making jokes about Bidenomics, outraged Democrats at her practice and the like. She and the audience were laughing when she made a joke about cutting back on the nitrous oxide for patients who weren't a fan of MAGA.
She clearly wasn't being serious, but her words looked bad on paper - "Dentist jokes about withholding medicine for political opponents" - and the underlying sentiment was unprofessional and touched a raw nerve (Now I'm the one doing dental comedy.). So just as dental pros are free to make a joke, people on social media were free to say they were outraged and to lodge formal complaints, which is exactly what happened. The practice's Yelp reviews are now almost all 1 star or 5 stars, with little in between.
Drive Carefully
Sometimes, it feels like driving on the roads of Santa Clarita means taking your life into your own hands. Other times, it's taking a knife into your own hands. That is quite literally what happened at a road rage incident involving two drivers near the Home Depot on Newhall Ranch Road. One driver allegedly wouldn't let Leon Hernandez change lanes and then brake-checked him. Hernandez got out of his vehicle to confront the other driver, who pulled a knife and slashed Hernandez's hand. The other driver was arrested shortly after fleeing the scene.
Hernandez was taken to the hospital to treat his wound. During an interview with KCAL News, he sat in his bed, discussing the fate of his tendons and finger mobility. Looking straight into the camera, he said, "I would just advise people not to get out of your car. I mean I probably still would again, but that wouldn't be smart." Some people just won't back down, but at least we appreciate the self-awareness. As your loved ones travel to this SCV that we all heart so dearly, just remind them that it doesn't have to be an eye for an eye on the road. Safe travels, everyone.
This column is intended as satire and a (sometimes successful) attempt at humor. Suggestions and catty comments intended for the author can be e-mailed to iheartscv@insidescv.com.
"McLean expressed her dismay at how much of the tax revenue generated within the SCV would come back here - about $3.5 million, or UNDER 20 PERCENT of what Santa Clarita would generate."
In 2024, Measure A was approved in LA County. The measure uses a half-cent sales tax to generate funds for homelessness and affordable housing needs. Santa Claritans will be participating every time they make a purchase. At a recent city council meeting, Councilmember Marsha McLean expressed her dismay at how much of the tax revenue generated within the SCV would come back here - about $3.5 million, or under 20 percent of what Santa Clarita would generate. The rest would go elsewhere in LA County.
This topic is part of a larger discussion about affordable housing in Santa Clarita. It's a perennial challenge because Santa Clarita has designated affordable housing targets that it is far from reaching. Unaffordable housing, however, remains readily available. The developer of MetroWalk, part of Vista Canyon, said that it was proving difficult to finance even 49 units of affordable housing for seniors. These challenges are part of why McLean wanted to see the City of Santa Clarita get back the tax dollars that it will put in, so to speak. However, LA County's perspective isn't so quid-pro-quo; more funds would flow to areas that are poorer and with larger homeless populations. We'll have to wait to see how it all rolls out.
A Trip to the Dentist
Few people enjoy going to the dentist. It's usually because there's a chance you'll pay thousands of dollars to endure pain and judgement for lapses in oral hygiene. But sometimes, the reasons are more political. A local SCV dentist recently learned this the hard way. At a newly-resurfaced speech from a Republican event a few years ago, she was doing a little political stand up, making jokes about Bidenomics, outraged Democrats at her practice and the like. She and the audience were laughing when she made a joke about cutting back on the nitrous oxide for patients who weren't a fan of MAGA.
She clearly wasn't being serious, but her words looked bad on paper - "Dentist jokes about withholding medicine for political opponents" - and the underlying sentiment was unprofessional and touched a raw nerve (Now I'm the one doing dental comedy.). So just as dental pros are free to make a joke, people on social media were free to say they were outraged and to lodge formal complaints, which is exactly what happened. The practice's Yelp reviews are now almost all 1 star or 5 stars, with little in between.
Drive Carefully
Sometimes, it feels like driving on the roads of Santa Clarita means taking your life into your own hands. Other times, it's taking a knife into your own hands. That is quite literally what happened at a road rage incident involving two drivers near the Home Depot on Newhall Ranch Road. One driver allegedly wouldn't let Leon Hernandez change lanes and then brake-checked him. Hernandez got out of his vehicle to confront the other driver, who pulled a knife and slashed Hernandez's hand. The other driver was arrested shortly after fleeing the scene.
Hernandez was taken to the hospital to treat his wound. During an interview with KCAL News, he sat in his bed, discussing the fate of his tendons and finger mobility. Looking straight into the camera, he said, "I would just advise people not to get out of your car. I mean I probably still would again, but that wouldn't be smart." Some people just won't back down, but at least we appreciate the self-awareness. As your loved ones travel to this SCV that we all heart so dearly, just remind them that it doesn't have to be an eye for an eye on the road. Safe travels, everyone.
This column is intended as satire and a (sometimes successful) attempt at humor. Suggestions and catty comments intended for the author can be e-mailed to iheartscv@insidescv.com.
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