Archive for July, 2007
Santa Clarita Aquatics Center
It’s getting hotter and hotter every day and the Santa Clarita Aquatics Center is a great way to spend the afternoon cooling off. Check this place out.
The Aquatics Center is located at:
20850 Centre Pointe Pkwy (Behind Home Depot off of Soledad)
661-250-3766
Call for information on recreational swim hours. They also often host regional swim meets, synchronized swim finals and dive events (which would be pretty cool to watch). You can also find out about local swim leagues through the Aquatics Center.
In addition to the pools, there is also a skate park and an activities center with basketball hoops for some other things for the kids to do.
Open Space Supporters Win
The results are in and Santa Clarita Property Owners vote 69 Percent to 31 Percent in Favor of New Open Space District
Here’s a snippet of the information I received from the city for imediate release. I’m sure the rest will be out in the Signal tomorrow.
Property owners in the City voted overwhelmingly this year to support a new Open Space Preservation District. A total of 9,386 ballots representing $409,974 in weighted assessment or 69 percent were in favor, while a total of 5,568 ballots representing $182,672 in weighted assessment or 31 percent were not in favor.
The Open Space Preservation District needed a simple majority of assessment to pass, which was received. Ballots were mailed to property owners in the City in May and were due back on July 10, 2007.
A special City Council meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 17th, at 4:00 p.m. at City Hall, 23920 Valencia Blvd., first floor, at which time the Santa Clarita City Council will adopt a resolution of formation for the new District.
So there you go.
Can Someone Please Build An Indoor Skatepark in the SCV?
I’m sitting here today at Skate Lab in Simi Valley. This place is pretty packed and there are at least 6 other families that carpooled here with other kids from Santa Clarita. I’m looking around wondering why I had to drive 30 miles to come here? Why isn’t there a place like this in our valley? This place is awesome. It is a pretty big indoor skate park. It’s nice and cool in here and all these kids are having a blast. They are all exercising and staying off the streets and out of parking lots.
As the city increases rapidly in general population, more skaters will appear on the streets out and around town. Not a day goes by that I don’t see kids skating around by the mall or just sitting in an empty spot in a parking lot trying to do a kick flip or some other crazy trick. There is a need here for kids in the SCV to have another place to skate.
I know that the city is working on building a new skate park, but really the benefit of an indoor skatepark would be huge. I mean it can reach temperatures of over 110 degrees during the summer and having a place for the kids to skate indoors would be so awesome.
After a recent 10 page post in the Signals’ forum, it’s obvious that there are a lot of residents that don’t like skaters. I mean, I wouldn’t like it either, but my kid skates, so I have to support what he loves to do.
Can someone out there please open an indoor skatepark in Santa Clarita? Anyone? If you do, can you have free wireless? I’d bring my kid almost everyday and blog right from there. Oh and could you build it by my house? Anywhere by Valencia High School would be great. 
I know it’s a long shot, but I figure it’s worth a try.
Local Band Hits the Warped Tour
Kudos to Fentruck a local Saugus band that battled their way to the top of 68 other bands all competing for one spot to perform at the Vans Warp Tour this summer in Ventura.
Fentruck is made up of four 2006 SHS grads that currently attend college, but make it a priority to get together and play regardless of the commute.
I love that they named their band Fentruck after one of my favorite characters from Doug. A show I used to watch daily while my kids were growing up.
Anyway, congrats to these Santa Clarita rock stars and I hope they succeed beyond their wildest dreams.
If you want to find out more about them, check out their myspace or head over to World Music in Newhall and buy their CD “Pencil’s Down”. BTW, if you go to their myspace, you can hear one of their songs ‘Different’ that’s the name. I’m listening to it now. Pretty cool.
SOS
A popular acronym now with new meaning to me … ‘Save Our Seniors’. With a last ditch effort some of our local seniors raised signs last night before a city council meeting trying to raise awareness to their issue.
Our local seniors are fighting against a possible 7% rate increase in rent. This rent increase may leave some of our community residents homeless or in some other dire situation. Some of our seniors may suffer consequences such as not being able to take all their medications or having to skip meals to be able to compensate for the 7% increase in their rents.
The seniors voiced their opinions at last nights city council meeting, but apparently it isn’t up to the city council. This battle with rent control has to do with prior agreements made with the developers and the State Housing Commission. The city council can only try and help, but their votes do not impact the decision to increase or not to increase the rent.
On a personal note, I don’t really know what to do about this other than encourage residents to contact our State Housing Commission and voice your opinion.
I can’t believe that in a city as rich as Santa Clarita, there is a level of poverty that exists and we can’t really do anything about it? It doesn’t make any sense to me. Open Space and One Valley One Vision? What about our seniors?
I don’t know if it will help, but I guess it couldn’t hurt. If you are inclined to call the complaint line, here’s the number… 1-800-233-3212 (Within California).
SCV Sheriff Annual Holiday Toy Drive
The Santa Clarita Sheriff’s department hosts a toy drive every year to benefit local children in need with some holiday cheer. This year however, they need a location. They are looking for a local venue to accept donations and be available for set up and clean up from 12/9-12/17. The venue must be close to a bus stop and at least 2500 sq ft.
The toy drive will be held the weekend of 12/14-12/16 from 9am-6pm daily.
If you think you can help or know someone who can, please forward the information along.
I’m guessing this will make for a great tax deduction somehow.
Please contact 661-799-5164 for more information.
Open Space Tax Debate Sees the End of the Finish Line
With 2 days left for Santa Clarita residents to mail in their Open Space Tax ballots, opponents and supporters are out in full force canvasing neighborhoods with flyers and manning a booth at Central Park in hopes of persuading residents to vote their way.
I think it’s fair to say that most residents have heard of the Open Space Tax, but based on ballot return rates, does the majority care? As of Saturday, 7/6 there had only been 15,678 out of 51,200 ballots returned. That means there needs to be at least 1,579 more returned by Tuesday to surpass the amount of ballots received in the failed Open Space campaign in 2005.
The ballots will be counted Wednesday by a private consultancy firm that will count the ballots and be overseen by the City Clerk’s office to get the results out in about a week.
So, if you can find your ballot, send it in.
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