When Artemis II astronauts recently flew by the moon, everyone was focused on space, as in the great cosmic beyond, but also space, as in their cramped quarters. NASA reported 330 cubic feet of "habitable volume," which they compared to two minivans worth of room for four people. Since most family vacations involve just one minivan worth of room for four people, that makes road trips twice as challenging as lunar missions. Maybe that's up for debate, but all over the news, there's a growing focus on how to make the most of the often very limited spaces we have.

ADU for You
Whether you call them granny flats, in-law suites or ADUs ("Accessory Dwelling Units"), they don't sound particularly glamorous. But California sees creating these small backyard homes as essential to helping fix the state's housing crisis. In April of this year, the Santa Clarita City Council voted to amend its ADU ordinance to bring the city into line with state law. Essentially, it's easier for ADUs to be built now, and the timeline for approval will be faster. For example, oak tree preservation is no longer a consideration for approving an ADU.
Despite the 4-1 vote in favor of the changes, the city council saw a lot of potential problems. Fire risk was brought up repeatedly, because many of the properties that are large enough to accommodate an ADU are located in fire-prone canyons and hills. As with any development, concerns about traffic and adequate services were also important. As Mayor Pro Tem Patsy Ayala noted, the ordinance changes reflected mandates from Sacramento. The city's hands were tied. Councilmember Marsha McLean's "no" vote just expressed frustration. So if you've been telling Grandma that city ordinances won't let you build her that little cottage in the backyard, your excuse is now gone.

Up in the Attic
You may not have heard of Cameron "Spice King" Walker, but over 21 million TikTok followers have. He recently tried a $300 spicy feast of lobster and crab from King of Crabs restaurant, which rapper Blueface opened in Santa Clarita. In the video, he noisily slurps down the meat, breathes heavily and narrates as he "gets the brains out of the lobster with the crab claw." Not everyone enjoys his style of content, but eating ridiculously-spicy food is far from illegal.
What got the social media personality into trouble with the law had to do with controlled substances and hiding in his attic, that most underutilized of spaces. Officers responded to a burglary alarm at Walker's Castaic home and found broken glass at the scene. Apparently, Walker hid in the attic while officers tried to investigate and contact him. He was arrested for delaying a police investigation and for a charge related to controlled substances, then released less than 12 hours later with a citation. It's a confusing situation, but more details are sure to come out. In a reply to an Instagram comment, his account replied, "I ain't gon lie it's been tough just been focusing on my family."

Room for Debate
During the debate between California's governor candidates at Pomona College, some students got to ask questions. One of these students prefaced his question by calling the whole debate spectacle "a bit of a mess." With eight candidates, he was right. The stage was crowded. The ballot is even more crowded, with 61 names - obviously, only the highest-polling candidates could be invited to participate in the prime-time debate. But this month, all of those candidates will be narrowed down to just the top two based on results from June 2's primary election.
One thing that all of the governor hopefuls seemed to agree on is that California needs more homes and needs them built faster. Katie Porter led with this issue during the debate, wondering about the future of housing for her kids. Steve Hilton suggested that forest management could reduce fire risk and supply building materials for new homes. Tom Steyer, Xavier Becerra and others have big housing plans, too. In a crowded race for governor in a crowded state, is it any wonder that this message is resonating? Now, just go to a voting booth - an underutilized space, to be sure - and vote for a future for the SCV and California that you heart.
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.