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Commentary by Steve Lee
| Friday, Oct 2, 2015

steveleeYears ago when I was a new teacher, I learned a valuable lesson.

It was a hot winter day when one of my students approached me with tears in her eyes and a quivering voice. A boy had choked her. I could visibly see the finger marks on her neck.

I demanded that the boy come over.

“Why did you choke her?”

There was no reply.

I turned to the girl.

“Why did he choke you?”

“I don’t know. He just started choking me.”

I was mad. Looking back now, I must have sounded like the mother on “Malcolm in the Middle.” By this time both children were in tears. Then the boy went to wipe a tear from his face – and there was the bloodiest bite mark on his wrist that I had ever seen.

“How did that happen?”

“She bit me.”

“When did she bite you?”

“Right before I started choking her.”

“You bit him?”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot that.”

When all was said and done, the girl was suspended, and the boy returned to class.

I tell this story only because when truth is omitted, then it is not truth at all, but deception.

Last week an Internet commercial was brought to my attention. The video was an ad promoting the Chiquita Canyon Landfill.

The ad starts with a women announcing how Chiquita Canyon Landfill came to the rescue of Val Verde and how the money paid to the funds committee in Val Verde saved the town from imminent doom, great crime, and now pays the way for kids to go through college.

Omitted truths: The three-strikes law that was on the books at the same time reduced crime across the state including in Santa Clarita and Val Verde. And the funds for college are capped at $2,000, which is far below what is needed.

At the recent Val Verde Community Advisory Committee meeting, I asked one of the representatives of the landfill how long ago they made the commercial.

The answer was: “We made no commercial.”

I replied: “But there is a current video commercial for the landfill that is running on the Internet.”

I was then informed: “The commercial was made without the knowledge of the landfill.”

Why would any news organization run an ad for the landfill? Maybe it could be that the landfill is their major sponsor. It definitely looks like the ad was paid for by the landfill. It would seem the lawyers at Chiquita Canyon could do something about that.

When you view the video, no comments are allowed. After the question was asked about who sponsored the ad, the logo for Chiquita Canyon Landfill was removed.

The narrator of the ad is Greg Kimura. After about a minute of narrating, you see his facem while across the screen, the words read, “President, Val Verde Civic Association.” That is an omitted truth. Greg is the ex-president of the Civic Association. He was no longer president after the town found out that the Civic Association was no longer legit due to Greg not filing with the IRS. He has not served in that position since April.

The next person in the video is Jaime Briano, and as the caption says, “Lifelong Val Verde Resident.” That is true as far as I know. What it does not mention is that he is the current acting president of the Val Verde Civic Association until they get back their IRS status.

Jaime is also the president of the funds committee that receives the funds from the landfill. He works for Y.A.L., which is paid by the funds received from the landfill. Lastly, he is on the landfill use committee (appointed by Kimura), which will be the committee that signs a future agreement with the landfill for the massive expansion of garbage.

All of these are omitted truths.

Jaime tells the town he is anti-landfill expansion, and I hope he is, but the commercial suggests otherwise.

It would seem that either he was aware that he was promoting the landfill, or he was deceived and led to believe he was doing a fluff piece for Y.A.L.

Either way, truth has been omitted from one side or the other.

At the Community Advisory Committee meeting, one of the board members brought a motion to the floor. The motion was that money be put aside for future testing of the air in Val Verde.

When scientists were being paid to test the air, the air had no smells. The first scientist who was hired never showed up after he had a meeting with the landfill. The second scientist who was hired let the landfill know he was going to be testing. The air was fantastic while he was in Val Verde. But now the contract is over, and the air once again has grown thick with stench.

The scientist left behind air bags that could be used by residents to suck in air and then be sent off to a laboratory. One board member was against this ever happening. He felt the landfill could sue for libel.

So if a laboratory found something, the Community Advisory Committee would commit libel. The same board appointed by Supervisor Antonovich and paid for by the landfill would be sued by the landfill.

The landfill representative was also very vocal and was very much against any bag being sent to a laboratory that was taken from a private citizen, stating, “Don’t you live with your wife and kid?”

I guess that his wife or kid would somehow tamper with a sealed bag to get unfavorable results.

Now, if the bag found something, then a new scientist would be hired to continue testing. The difference this time would be that the scientist would be unknown to the landfill until all testing was completed. The landfill would never be aware when the test was being performed.

Why are the good neighbors of Val Verde and the entire Santa Clarita Valley against the air being tested? I don’t know. I can guess, but than that, too, could provoke a lawsuit.

The truth is, if the Community Advisory Committee had a scientist at all times, it would quickly run through all funds. The landfill is very aware of that. Is there something to hide? Are truths being omitted?

Supervisor Antonovich recently said through his spokesman that he is “not happy with four landfills in his district.” I do not find this to be a complete truth. Each landfill pays Antonovich’s district money for each ton of trash it takes in. The money adds up quickly.

When Supervisor Antonovich runs for another office in another city or district, he can say, “I ran L.A. County’s Fifth District. The Fifth District was always in the green when all other cities and counties were struggling.”

He could very well win another seat. But then, that is how seats and political races are won – on the backs of the innocent with omitted truths.

 

Steve Lee is a resident of Val Verde.

 

 

Comment On This Story
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22 Comments

  1. I stopped reading when he incorrectly says “the entire Santa Clarita Valley “. tsk tsk

  2. I stopped reading when he uses domestic violence as a hook.

  3. Sean Walsh says:

    This is a teacher who has bragged in public about yelling at his kindergarten students.
    This is a man who seems to have little self control, not worth listening to

  4. Kevan Smalley says:

    Hi Greg, Why don’t you use your real name!

  5. Alexandra Clark says:

    Hmmmm…

    I definitely see the “issue” you’re raising here Mr.Lee, and I applaud you,for shedding some light about the “smell factor “.

    As I see it, Sunshine Canyon Landfill made changes,Why can’t Chiquita?

    Here is an article, I’ve read that shares some of the smelly views, shared by the landfill, just a crows fly away from Chiquita… If they were willing, maybe just maybe the sqweeky wheel, gets the greese! And we could all benefit from scents ability, pun intended.

    “CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
    Landfill’s new odor patrols have the right scents ability
    February 11, 2012 | By Ann M. Simmons, Los Angeles Times
    Dennis Montano stood on a corner in Granada Hills one recent brisk morning, lifted his nose to the sky and sniffed. “Right now, I don’t smell anything,” Montano said. That was good news for the embattled Sunshine Canyon Landfill. The disposal site operates roughly a mile away in Sylmar but has roiled the Granada Hills North neighborhood with a potpourri of foul smells. In the face of numerous complaints and dozens of public nuisance violations, the company has organized an “odor patrol team” in an effort to improve community relations and comply with state regulations.”

    I only ask, for what is equality nowadays,
    Always a plus, minus game?

    Could, I be on the “oder patrol team”?

    Hehe~

  6. Caesar says:

    Greg Kimura openly threatened his neighbors with fear of deportation, loss of income and fines from the county.
    Here is the commercial in question:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBl_Uh8tsfw
    And here is a more accurate look at Mr. Kimura including footage of him actually threatening members of the board he sabotaged.
    https://youtu.be/9g-avdbICaw

    Now how can the landfill say they didn’t pay for that first video?
    It’s on their own YouTube channel. It says “by Chiquita Canyon” plain as day. Joseph Goebbels would be proud of this propaganda.

  7. Josh says:

    Listen, if people are here illegally, THEY SHOULD BE DEPORTED!
    What I’ve learned
    *this “commentator” is a broken record with a one track mind

    *no one else should have an opinion different than his

    *Greg Kimura, leader? Who elected him?

    *Don’t live in Val Verde

  8. Steven Lee says:

    Went to the town meeting. Jaimie informed the town that he never knew the landfill was involved in the commercial that they have now admittedly:

    When I first sat to interview with the young man I explained that I would be very straight forward and would say some things that he or his publishers would not be in favor of printing or airing.I must start by saying that I was very clear when I stated that the CBFC definitely contributed to many great programs that would not exist if not funded by it.It would be remiss of me to have not stated in this interview that our little community had great programs in place before I was born and before the CBFC existed.We had prominent programs in the 50’s, 60’s leading all the way up to the late 90’s without CBFC funds.NONE OF THIS WAS AIRED IN THIS INTERVIEW. In the fifties and sixties there were civic groups composed of community volunteers that contributed a great deal to this town. I have heard stories from my family members and old time residents about the muscle man contest, beauty pageants and parades that this community put on.The Olympic size swimming pool was always packed with residents and vacationers.I remember legendary folks like Ms.Chandler,Mr.Edwards,and Deputy Parsons, may they all rest in peace. Parks and Recreation had arts and crafts for adults as well as a ton of youth programs in place. I remember going to the park to see Santa every Christmas. All this was accomplished with no CBFC money. When I was a kid,I remember hundreds of choppers coming up from L.A. for Back to Val Verde Days,the people cooking, swimming and enjoying Val Verde. Growing up I remember going to the Boys and Girls Club in 1979 all the the way to the early 80’s,it was always a fun place to go to after school, as well as in the summer time. Ironically I worked for them for 18 years. The Boys and Girls Club was the recipient of large grants form the CBFC in early 2000 when it got in to financial trouble. The first 20 years of the organization being established it was self reliant. Unfortunately,like many businesses, the Boys and Girls Club went under, and closed its doors on March, 2011 after 30 years of service. I honestly believe that it got corporate with its highly paid office administrators, Chief Professional Officers, and forgot about the kids, but that’s another story. In 1997 we were fortunate to have another youth program establish itself in Val Verde called the Sheriffs Youth Activity League (YAL).It is very similar to the Boys and Girls Club with the exception that it has no membership fee and to this day has been more transparent with community funds and operates with about half the cost as the Boys and Girls Club claimed to incur. The YAL program was also self reliant for many years up until mid 2000. The CBFC has definitely been a contributing factor to its success. In the interview, there are topics of crime, drugs, gangs, and how some of these funded programs have helped kids away from these troubles. Once again, what is not stated is that when YAL was established in 1997, a Deputy was on site Monday through Friday by the name of Harry Hauge. With a Deputy on site it was a great turning point for Val Verde. With such a great Deputy being active in the Val Verde community it was certainly a turning point for our community and had nothing to do with CBFC funds. Since the departure of Deputy Hauge, Deputy Rooney has filled his shoes very well and is now a huge asset for Val Verde. Lately, the Sheriffs Departments monthly reports have read zero part 1 crimes. Since I have informed you of the great programs Val Verde has been fortunate enough to have it is also important to adress the contribution of the CBFC. The CBFC funding has given a number of programs funds to support the great things that have been accomplished. Without the funding for certain organizations from the CBFC many would cease to exist.The funding from the community creates great opportunity for education, senior programs, youth and food programs, just to mention a few. Without funding such as the scholarship program, some of the communities teens may have chosen a life of crime.To sum it up, I think the video was one sided. The video had nothing in it that spoke to our community’s true history. If we are going to educate people about our town and its history, we should not discuss half of the story. Having the CBFC has definitely benefited this community, but we should also not forget that the price we pay is having a landfill right next to us. With this being said,we must prepare ourselves for what is factual and face the reality of this potential expansion. If L.A.County grants the landfill a new CUP, we would be absolute fools to sit back and let the County tell us to let them negotiate for Val Verde. It would be just as foolish to let one of these County appointed committees handle any negotiations for us. At the end of the day, most residents really do appreciate what the CBFC does. For those skeptics,who choose to be syndical towards the CBFC, you can not argue with the fact that it is still a board who is elected by its residents.

    Jaime Briano

    produced. Sent me this response and asked me to post it.

  9. Abigail says:

    No one elected him to the CATC. There was no vote by the citizens of Val Verde. Most people had no idea there was an open seat in the region. Now we have to get 20% of the voters to recall someone NEVER voted in.

  10. Greg Kimura says:

    The CATC election in question goes back to 2012 and it was mentioned on numerous occasions at the local VVCA meeting. Nobody chose to run against me, so by default I was placed on the CATC board. The same thing happened in 2014 and our other Region 2 (Val Verde) CATC rep was also placed on the CATC board without an election. One can make assumptions about why this has happened in the last two CATC elections, but the bottom line is that we both ran uncontested, because nobody else would step forward.

  11. Greg Kimura says:

    From 2012 to a month or so ago, the community I represent had no complaints against me. That’s over 30 months of service I’ve provided to the community. Time I’ve taken out of my very busy schedule to help my community. I’m not complaining about it, but I find it odd that my volunteer work is thrown in the trash, because I voted one time against a small group of people in Val Verde – I’ll explain next.

    In August, I made a choice to vote against approving a letter presented by the other Val Verde rep. I believe the letter and the list was defective and poorly written, therefore sending it would shed a bad light on the CATC. The vote was 8-1 against sending the letter, which clearly states that the letter shouldn’t be sent. Steve Lee, then wrote a blog about corruption and pay offs to CATC board members. I know the people on my CATC board and even though we don’t see eye to eye at times, I can’t see any of them accepting bribe money.

  12. Greg Kimura says:

    From Steve Lee’s blog above: “He was no longer president after the town found out that the Civic Association was no longer legit due to Greg not filing with the IRS. He has not served in that position since April.”

    My term on the VVCA ran out in May 2015 (I was elected for a one year term in May 2014). I filed the IRS tax forms – this was discussed at a VVCA meeting. Unless Steve Lee has proof showing otherwise, he shouldn’t keep making false accusations.

  13. Greg Kimura says:

    From Steve Lee’s blog above: “Last week an Internet commercial was brought to my attention. The video was an ad promoting the Chiquita Canyon Landfill.

    The ad starts with a women announcing how Chiquita Canyon Landfill came to the rescue of Val Verde and how the money paid to the funds committee in Val Verde saved the town from imminent doom, great crime, and now pays the way for kids to go through college.”

    Since this article starts out with a kid story, I’ll ask Steve Lee to remember something from his childhood; assumptions are very dangerous to make. In the case of this blog, I believe that doing a little work to find the truth is what should’ve been done vs making an assumption.

    It’s a video about the community of Val Verde and it portrays the positive aspects of living here. There are some excellent programs available to the residents – things that are not provided at other communities.

    A little background; the CBFC funds come from a 1997 contract (in place far before I moved here) between the VVCA and Chiquita Canyon Landfill. The CBFC receives these funds and distributes them to fund programs here in our community.
    I have spoken to many people here in Val Verde who appreciate these programs. Many receive a direct benefit, which is something that I think is a huge positive. This is the only community I know of where every child can be given a scholarship for college or a trade school? I know many people who have accepted a scholarship and have graduated – doesn’t this make our residents better citizens? I also believe that every resident indirectly benefits through lower crime, friendly kids, a sense of community and opportunities. I don’t see what’s wrong with that, but there are some out there who see things differently. For those interested, here is where the video comes from – notice that it’s not an advertisement, nor it it a commercial. http://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-Signal-s-Weekender-September-11—13–Brewmasters–Kansas—Classic-Cars.html?soid=1102737359304&aid=gUdfJCcbOEk

    • SCVNews.com says:

      We’ll let it go this time for the sake of your argument, but in the future please refrain from posting advertisements for businesses that don’t advertise with us. (This was a long-format advertorial produced for an advertiser. “Studio Santa Clarita” is a component of The Signal’s Advertising department, not its Editorial department.) For the record, we have instructed our ad reps not to solicit advertising/sponsorship from Chiquita for the simple reason of the 2019 closure agreement.

  14. Kevan Smalley says:

    Greg, your last 4 posts are full of lies. Why can’t you provide proof that you took care of the taxes for the VVCA We have proof that you didn’t handle the taxes and you still continue to lie about it. At the last VVCA meeting that you were supposed to preside over you were afraid to show up at your own meeting and hid out in the parking lot because you knew everyone was angry with you for lying, so your term might as well been up in April. You lied about being anti dump expansion when along you have been pro-expansion. Your also lying about the complaint letter, you were all for it until your board voted unanimously for it then you flip-flopped. All you have done is lie and manipulate your own board members. And your time line is very flawed, you say the community was happy with your service until a month ago, another lie. We were questioning your motives back in March. I can see these post of yours are full of flat-out lies and in-discrepancies. I and many others think you are incapable of telling the truth and many wouldn’t be surprised to find out your on the landfills payroll. I would like to see you response to this post, come on tell me I’m lying!

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