2000 The year in review

February 1-16: O'Keef murder at park and ride stuns AV

Feb. 1

PALMDALE - Palmdale School District trustees had until Thursday to decide the fate of a Juniper Intermediate School student involved in fisticuffs that left another student dead.

Eighth-grader Matthew Perry has been on suspension since the Nov. 19 fistfight at the school, awaiting a district decision on whether he will be expelled.

Feb. 2

SACRAMENTO - How many convicted felons are watching other peoples' kids? That question was now being raised in the state Legislature. Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster, knows of one such felon - Alvina Rankins.

Feb. 3

PALMDALE - Palmdale School District trustees this week decided the fate of a Juniper Intermediate School youth involved in a November fistfight that turned deadly - but trustees cannot tell the public the action they took because it is prohibited by state law.

Feb. 4

PALMDALE - The mother of a Juniper Intermediate School student who died from injuries suffered during a November fistfight on campus has filed a $10 million wrongful-death claim against the Palmdale School District.

Feb. 5

PALMDALE - The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office has ruled the death of Juniper Intermediate School student Stephan Corson a homicide.

The coroner's ruling of homicide came the same day that Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators completed their probe into the Nov. 19 fistfight between Corson and a classmate, 14-year-old Matthew Perry.

Feb. 6

PALMDALE - Despite a contentious election that radically changed the composition of the City Council on Nov. 2, the war over Palmdale's leadership continued. Palmdale, one of California's fastest-growing communities, was at a kind of crossroads. On the city's own journey of discovery, it remains to be seen whether its newly elected council will be harmonious or contentious.

Feb. 7

LANCASTER - About 250 people volunteered to pick up trash at dirty sites around town later this month as part of the city's new beautification program: Lookin' Good Lancaster.

Feb. 8

WASHINGTON - President Bill Clinton unveiled a 2001 budget Monday, which includes $4.8 billion for development and purchase of F-22 Raptors and further development of the joint strike fighter. Both programs are important to the Antelope Valley economy.

PALMDALE - The city made progress Friday toward untying the knots of the bankruptcy-bound Ritter Ranch housing project. The city's goal is to turn the 10,625acre project over to Sage Community Group Inc. of Newport Beach.

Feb. 9

LANCASTER - An elderly Valley resident had an alert bank employee to thank for saving him from being swindled out of $25,000 in a phony winning lottery ticket scam.

PALMDALE - Was the little skunk that graced the logo of Lockheed Martin's legendary, once top-secret Skunk Works division sacked? Company insiders said it is so, and add that one of the firm's top executives also is going.

Feb. 10

PALMDALE - A profound shift of Skunk Works leadership was under way at the famed research and development shop, and leading the change is the Texas arm of Lockheed Martin Corp., newly organized as Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Co.

Feb. 11

PALMDALE - Some local parents and administrators got a taste of what overcrowded conditions are like for children in the Palmdale School District on Wednesday. More than 800 parents were elbow-to-elbow and shoulder-to-shoulder in the multipurpose room at Palm Tree Elementary School - a room designed to hold a maximum of 500 people.

Feb. 12

PALMDALE - True to its word, the city of Los Angeles was sprucing up Palmdale Regional Airport in an attempt to woo airlines into once again serving the Antelope Valley.

Feb. 13

PALMDALE - A booming national economy and growing confidence that industrial commerce will surge in Antelope Valley sparked another strong year for home sales, making 1999 the best year in the decade for the local housing market, according to the latest figures.

Feb. 14

In the race for Los Angeles County District Attorney, Barry Groveman was called a dangerous man.

He has a restless energy, a passion palpable in his words and an arsenal of ideas that just might capture the imagination of the county's voters. The problem is, most voters have yet to be introduced. For this reason - and perhaps for this reason only - Groveman is running a step behind the other two D.A. candidates.

Feb. 15

PALMDALE - A Lockheed Martin Corp. memo confirmed what employees of its Skunk Works have been saying for weeks - the Skunk Works name and logo apparently are destined to play no part in the company's future identity.

Feb. 16

LANCASTER - Antelope Valley College President Linda Spink was said to be headed north.

Spink is one of four finalists for the presidency at the College of San Mateo in Northern California, said Greg Marvel, assistant chancellor for the San Mateo County Community College District.

PALMDALE - Alvina Rankins, the rogue child-care operator, was apparently still in business.

The California Department of Social Services received reports of Rankins continuing to accept children at her 37045 Boxleaf home, despite the fact that Rankins' child-care license was revoked in November 1999.

Uploaded December 19, 2000