CIVIC | NOTES for Saturday, Feb. 1

Headlines & Happenings from Around the High Desert!

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HIGH DESERT CORRIDOR UPDATE

The Association of Rural Town Councils met Thursday evening at Fire Station 129 in Lancaster, receiving an update from Metro representatives on the status of the High Desert Corridor project, which is a proposed multi-modal link between State Route 14 in Los Angeles County and SR-18 in San Bernardino County.

The project’s current status, according to Metro Community Relations Manager Danielle Valentino, is that “it’s in the state and federal process to figure out what technical studies need to be done, and to determine environment impact,” Valentino told the association. “We’re right before releasing a draft environmental document. … Once we release the environmental document, by law, you have to have formal public hearings to let people comment on the environmental document and basically tell Metro and partnering agencies what their concerns are.”

Ginny Brideau from The Robert Group emphasized the importance of public input from the unincorporated areas. “There should not be a point where you feel you are being underserved when it comes to this project,” Brideau said.

Metro is expecting to have a final document prepared by Spring 2015, noting that there is only funding for the environmental study – while funding for the corridor’s construction has yet to be established.

More information is available at facebook.com/metrohdc and at interactive.metro.net, which is another source for providing feedback to Metro.

Also at the meeting, member representatives from town councils across the Antelope Valley confirmed the existence of the association for the new year, while also confirming its director, Vance Pomeroy, who is noted for his work in leading Juniper Hills through its Community Standards District process.

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VALLEY FEVER & SOLAR PROJECTS?

One of the Bee’s readers noted there is a Helendale solar project going up before the San Bernardino County Planning Commission on Feb. 6. And Valley Fever is mentioned in the document (Pg. 11-12 and 153) – just as KCET.org noted the connection in its May 2013 article, Uh Oh: Valley Fever Outbreak Linked to Solar Development, when 28 workers at two San Luis Obispo solar project construction sites were diagnosed with the respiratory infection.

IN OTHER SOLAR CONCERNS

Chris Clarke of KCET.org reports that bird deaths continue at the Ivanpah Solar plant while desert tortoises go missing. According to the article, “bird deaths continue at a large solar plant nearing completion in the Mojave Desert, and biologists are unable to account for the whereabouts of 23 of the federally Threatened desert tortoises displaced by the project. That’s according to a monthly report filed by project owner BrightSource Energy with the California Energy Commission.”

Clarke also noted in his report that “Desert tortoises are listed as Threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. BrightSource’s project ran into a tortoise speedbump in 2011, when project workers started finding hundreds more of the Threatened reptile than its biologists had anticipated.”

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HIGH DESERT POLITICS

According to Scott Lay‘s daily newsletter, The Nooner, AD36 (Antelope Valley) just got hotter. “The most challenging Assembly race for Democrats to hold also just got a little more challenging, as Kermit Franklin told the Antelope Valley Press (which has a paywall) that he is running against Steve Fox – his boss until last September. Franklin was a legislative aide for freshman Fox. Franklin says that he has policy disagreements with Fox and will run to the left of Fox.”

[And the Bee says: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this paywall!"]

The Nooner also shared this bit of news about SD28 (Coachella Valley) from the Desert Sun: “Former Indio Water Authority General Manager Debra Kaye has filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the city of Indio in which she alleges City Councilman [and State Senate candidate] Glenn Miller sexually harassed her, according to court documents obtained by The Desert Sun.”

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SOCAL WATER CUT OFF

CBSLA.com reports that “Director of the California Department of Water Resources Mark Cowin Friday announced the allocation of Sacramento Delta water to Southern California is going from five percent to zero.”

And that means what exactly?

“Today’s actions mean that everyone – farmers, fish, people – will get less water as a result, but these actions will protect us all better in the long run,” Cowin told KNX1070′s Mike Landa. “Simply put, there’s not enough water to go around, so we need to conserve.”

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GET VACCINATED!

San Bernardino County Human Services tweeted on Friday: Everyone who has not yet had a flu vaccination is encouraged to do so immediately. – Dr. Ohikhuare, SB County Health Officer.

According to the Human Services Facebook note, the “County of San Bernardino Department of Public Health has confirmed an increase in flu-related deaths this flu season. Flu activity continues to increase statewide; the number of confirmed flu-related deaths within San Bernardino County has increased from 2 to 16 since January 10, 2014.”

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HESPERIA’S SPIKE IN CRIME

NewsCaller.com reports that “the City of Hesperia has witnessed an increase in residential and commercial burglaries, with the MESA community on the current target list. The Ranchero Rd and Danbury area in particular, has seen an up-tick in residential burglaries. It’s been reported that several neighborhood homes had front doors’ kicked in when occupants were out, causing citizens to notice and take action.”

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FEB. 7 – COFFEE WITH A COP

Officers from Palmdale Sheriff’s Station and community members will come together in an informal, neutral space to discuss community issues, build relationships, and drink coffee. The community is invited to attend this event, which begins 9 a.m. Friday, Feb. 7 at the McDonald’s located at 131 E. Palmdale Blvd, in the City of Palmdale.

More information is available at avdispatch.blogspot.com and at nixle.com/alert.

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CLIMATE CHANGE VS. JOBS

Rep. Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley, tweeted on Friday: “Mr. President, you’re out of excuses. It’s #TimetoBuild and put Americans back to work.”

Congressman Cook was commenting on the Keystone XL oil pipeline getting the green light – as Green activists get the boot.

According to Politico, the State Department on Friday released a final environmental study of the Keystone XL oil pipeline that “increases the odds the project will win approval from the Obama administration, delivering yet another disappointment for climate activists.”

The analysis finds little evidence the Alberta-to-Texas pipeline would worsen climate change by “triggering a big surge of oil production in western Canada,” according to Politico. “Despite some new language that could bolster environmentalists’ arguments, project supporters say the findings should remove any reason for President Barack Obama to stand in the pipeline’s way when he makes the final decision.”

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