1903 - President Teddy Roosevelt visits Gov. Henry Gage at Acton Hotel [ story]
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Santa Clarita Valley Chamber Government Affairs & Transportation Committee
Source: Headington Media Group
A number of issues were discussed at the August Chamber Government Affairs & Transportation Committee (GA/TC)-from transportation and County issues to law enforcement and legislative updates. GA/TC Co-Chair and Ex. Dir. of the Golden State Gateway Coalition, Victor Lindenheim, GA/TC and Poole & Shaffery Partner, Hunt Braly,brought the meeting to order. The crowd of roughly three dozen included Santa Clarita Mayor Pro Tem Marsha McLean, Hart School Board Member Gloria Mercado-Fortine and SCV Chamber past Board Chairs Duane Harte and Dana Cop. The August GA/TC served as one of the longest meetings to date so we’ve done our best to be concise for this particular Briefing.
Legislative Reports
Source: Headington Media Group
Brett Walter, Field Deputy for Congressman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon“(R-Santa Clarita) spoke briefly on the recent Transportation bill, H.R. 5021, that was passed with bipartisan support and signed by the president. He also mentioned that McKeon would be in the district this month and would be having a press conference on a St. Francis Dam historical monument in the works and a field hearing on the Castaic Wilderness area. You can click here for KHTS coverage of both events.
Sarah Tyndall, Field Representative for state Senator Steve Knight (R-Antelope Valley), hinted at the craziness that is the end of the legislative session (August 31st) and said there would be “lots of trickery in the next 3 weeks.” You can click here for updates on legislation passed and signed by Governor Brown as well as things like newsletters and podcasts.
No reports from the office of state Senator Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills). You can contact her District Director, Kara Seward, with any issues, concerns or updates.
Andre Hollings, Field Representative for Assemblymember Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita), spoke to the Water Bond deal being discussed. He noted that Republicans are fighting for at least $3 billion in water storage and that their support would be needed to take the previous bond off the ballot. Days after the GA/TC meeting, it was announced a deal was reached on a slimmed-down version of $7.12 billion. What’s more, just a few days ago, Governor Brown signed two pieces of legislation authored by Assemblymember Wilk, AB 1680 (new regulations for Child Protective Services) and AB 1906 (recouping costs for CA Community Colleges). You can click here for more information.
Quote of the Week – Sunkist President & CEO Russell Hanlin
“This is an exciting time for Sunkist Growers,” said Sunkist President and CEO Russell Hanlin.
Source: Jana Atkins, The Signal: “Sunkist moving to Valencia headquarters,” 8/13/14.
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Traffic & Law Enforcement Reports
California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer John Lutz was present and shared that the location station has a Captain retiring and a replacement should be on-site by November or early 2015. A Start Smart program starts November 19th and you can click here for more information.
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The GA/TC Briefing prepared by Santa Clarita Valley Chamber member
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About the SCV Chamber
Government Affairs &
Our Government Affairs & Transportation Committee (GA/TC) reviews legislative bills and issues brought before them from local, county, state and federal sources, and crafts policy positions for Executive Committee and Board of Director’s support or opposition.
The GA/TC also looks over and considers policy position statements on local bond issues. Candidates running for public office on the local level can present before the GA/TC for possible Chamber of Commerce endorsement.
It meets on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 10:30 a.m. in the Chamber boardroom. Hunt Braly and Victor Lindenheim are the GA/TC Co-Chairs. Next meeting: Tuesday, September 9th.
For more information on this committee, our events or other related Chamber issues, please call (661) 702-6977 or email info@scvchamber.com. |
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Presentations
Sara Mitchell, Legislative Affairs Manager for the Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA), gave a presentation on the VICA Valley on Track Coalition/Measure R2 Priorities. She spoke on the importance of connectivity in the San Fernando Valley and Santa Clarita Valley-and encouraged the Chamber to join the coalition. A motion was made and voted on in favor for the Chamber to join to coalition, and sent to the Board for review and action.
Marsha McLean, Santa Clarita Mayor Pro Tem, spoke to the Santa Clarita Valley Measure R2 Priorities and said it could be a good thing for Santa Clarita if we could retool it to suit our needs. GA/TC Co-Chair Lindenheim said we should “narrow the ‘priority list’ to what we want and really need.”
Saugus Union School District (SUSD) Superintendent Dr. Joan Lucid and Board Member Judy Umeck spoke to the merits of a new bond measure the SUSD board voted on the previous week to place on the November 2014 ballot. You can click here for more information. The GA/TC voted to recommend endorsement to the Chamber Board.
David Yale, Metro Managing Executive Officer, spoke on accelerating the delivery of I-5 North Capacity Enhancements, Phase 2. He said there were substantial benefits to proceeding as a stand-alone, publicly financed project, among them, lower costs as compared to a public-private partnership project delivery. Most funding would come from the current Measure R program and proceeds from a low-interest federal loan, secured by High Occupancy Toll lane revenue. Yale also urged support for SB 983, which would establish a process for local/regional agencies (such as Metro) to request tolling authority.
But, after queries from GA/TC Co-Chair Braly and others, he admitted his own board had yet to clarify their assumed supportive position. The conversation ended with GA/TC choosing not to support endorsing the legislation at this time-and also have our local legislative representatives report back on the bill at the next meeting.
Stephanie Anognoson, Water Conservation Coordinator for the Castaic Lake Water Agency, spoke on Santa Clarita Valley conservation measures. 2013 was the driest year on record and 2014 is set to be our warmest. She reported that a majority of California is in exceptional drought, with restrictions in place for 9 months.
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County & City Matters
 Source: Headington Media Group
Dave Perry, Field Deputy for Supervisor Michael Antonovich, spoke on a number of issues being discussed at the County, including the two-year transition period, rainy day funds, labor agreements and how the make-up of the Board of Supervisors will be changing. He also noted that an extension of Prop. A will be on the ballot. Antonovich opposes it because of the go-around process and Perry would provide more information at the September GA/TC meeting.
Richard Yribe with the L.A. County Public Works noted there is a new Construction Manager for work underway at SR 126, the Santa Paula Freeway. His name is Roy Fisher and his contact number is (626) 676-2666.
Mike Murphy, Intergovernmental Relations Officer for the City of Santa Clarita, was present but did not provide additional updates given the length of the GA/TC meeting.
Ian Pari, Senior Traffic Engineer for the City of Santa Clarita, reported that the McBean Parkway Bridge is still being widened and will be done by early November. The Lyons resurfacing project should also be done by early November.
Eric Harnish, VP of Public Information for College of the Canyons, said that the fall semester begins Monday, August 25th and it would be the largest in size to date.
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