2000 The year in review

November 1-30: Elections commandeer center stage

Nov. 1

LOS ANGELES - One juror may hold the key vote between an acquittal in the Kevin Carney molestation case or a mistrial.

In a bizarre twist of court proceedings Tuesday, Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant heard in open court that one juror may believe Carney - a former Palmdale councilman and retired sheriff's sergeant who once headed the north county child-abuse detail - is guilty of the 16 child-sex felonies filed against him. Most of the other jurors don't agree with her.

Nov. 2

LANCASTER - Whatever divisiveness sometimes exists between the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster, the new Antelope Valley courthouse won't be a part of it.

That's what officials from both cities said on Wednesday when politicians gathered to break ground on a courthouse that's already 15 years in the making.

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Two Antelope Valley residents remained in serious condition Wednesday following Tuesday's crash of a Los Angeles-bound jetliner that killed 79 people, at least 23 of them Americans.

Among those on board the Singapore Airlines 747 jumbo jet that crashed during takeoff from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taoyuan were David Ralph, founder and president of Antelope Valley Christian School in Lancaster, and Christina Reed, an administrative assistant at the school. Taoyuan is about 25 miles south of Taipei, Taiwan's capital.

Nov. 3

LOS ANGELES - Kevin Carney didn't utter a sigh of relief Thursday as a clerk announced a jury's decision not to convict him of the 16 felony child-sex charges he faced during a month-long trial.

He didn't smile and he didn't hold his breath. The retired sheriff's sergeant and former Palmdale councilman sat stony-faced, showing no emotion.

Nov. 4

PALMDALE - A group of local Christian clergy and school leaders go to great lengths to influence the outcome of local elections, blurring a line between church and state-sanctioned political activity and muddying the question of tax-exempt status.

The group is the Community Impact Committee, "a group of Christian businesspeople and ministers who are trying to get Christian leaders elected to local office," in the words of organization chairman Cecil Swetland.

Nov. 5

PALMDALE - An avalanche of last-minute attack mailers - staples of Antelope Valley politics - has left many local candidates, and even some noncandidates, angry and seeking either retractions or revenge.

The biggest difference in this year's mudslide of attack mailers was that an oft-used giant lizard was replaced by a 10-limbed octopus.

Nov. 6

LANCASTER - Antelope Valley residents were invited inside an operating room Sunday at the open house of the regional Valley Surgery Center on Avenue J in Lancaster.

The event allowed adults and children to view and touch medical equipment, learn how registered nurses prepare for operations and learn more about the various devices used in numerous operations.

Nov. 7

LANCASTER - Call it the way of the future - or the wave of the present. More than 21,000 Los Angeles County voters utilized high-tech touchscreen voting during its inaugural three-plus weeks.

Nine computerized stations around the county were busy, especially as the election drew close. At the Lancaster location in the county's Regional Center, hundreds used the four touchscreen stations Monday as two lines stretched nearly to the door.

Nov. 8

SACRAMENTO - With the presidential race and key congressional campaigns going down to the wire, tens of thousands of California political activists on Monday flooded phone lines, went door to door and cheered at rallies meant to mobilize voters.

The Democrats who dominate the state's elected offices barnstormed California to counter a multimillion-dollar advertising barrage by Republican George W. Bush - a blitz that went unanswered by Al Gore.

Nov. 9

In an election for the history books, George W. Bush cautiously declared victory in the presidential race Wednesday even as Al Gore portrayed the outcome as uncertain and said Florida's crucial recount should be conducted "without any rush to judgment."

Democrats said it could be days or weeks before the nation knows its next president.

Nov. 10

PALMDALE - Palmdale sheriff's deputies arrested one man and a juvenile Wednesday in connection with a rash of drive-by slingshot vandalism earlier in the week.

Joshua Gharibian, 19, and a 16year-old juvenile were arrested at 10 p.m. Wednesday and booked on felony vandalism. They were stopped in a champagne-colored Buick Regal owned by Gharibian's family while they were driving near 20th Street East and Palmdale Boulevard.

Nov. 11

LANCASTER - People don't like having Andre Bradford as a neighbor. Most people, given a choice, wouldn't want a convicted rapist next door.

Bradford moved into Lancaster in September.

As soon as people found out who he was, they sent him a clear message: "Leave. We don't want you near us."

It's easy to see where the disdain and fear come from. He's a convicted serial rapist.

Nov. 12

LOS ANGELES - A day after District Attorney Gil Garcetti was soundly beaten at the polls by challenger Steve Cooley, he told reporters: "The people have spoken."

What they said was: O.J. Simpson.

Losing that case was the beginning of the end for Garcetti. The capper was accusations that he dragged his feet in the current Los Angeles Police Department corruption scandal. In between came a series of sensational prosecutions with mixed results.

Nov. 13

PALMDALE - Soaring gasoline prices continue to prompt complaints from residents who depend on their cars to make their daily rounds.

Regular unleaded gas is being sold as high as $1.77 per gallon or as low as $1.67 per gallon in various parts of the Antelope Valley. Although the prices have dropped a few cents from their high point, gas is still a costly product for most.

Nov. 14

PALMDALE - Cliff Doty, assistant principal of Quail Valley Elementary School, has been arrested in an Internet sex sting set up by the FBI, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Doty, until last year a teachers' union leader, was placed on administrative leave with the Palmdale School District. The U.S. Attorney's Office notified the district Monday afternoon about the arrest.

Nov. 15

LOS ANGELES - The limited availability of this year's flu shots has prompted calls for calm from some government officials, frustration from others and concern among those who have had trouble getting the vaccine.

Los Angeles County doled out influenza vaccinations to approximately 120,000 at-risk county residents last year, but demand this year has far exceeded supply.

Nov. 16

ROSAMOND - As get-well cards continue to flood 15-year-old Adam King's hospital room, community members are asking for a crosswalk to be installed to decrease the chance of more tragic accidents.

King was hit by a car at the intersection of Rosamond Boulevard and Glendower Street on Halloween night while trick-or-treating.

LOS ANGELES - Three of four police officers accused of framing gang members were convicted Wednesday of conspiracy and other crimes in the first trial involving allegations of widespread misconduct in a Los Angeles Police Department anti-gang unit.

The verdicts bolstered an ongoing probe of a police force struggling with demands for reform against a backdrop of mounting liability in lawsuits by victims of corruption.

Nov. 17

Tyrone McNeal is home.

And it has never been sweeter. Coming home is always nice, but when you've survived a terrorist bombing, you look at home like you've never looked at it before.

"I was in the armory at the time of the explosion," McNeal was saying last night, sitting on the sofa in his father's Lancaster home, the family's ornery 13-year-old cat, Texas, at his side. "I was in the armory because I didn't want to wait in line for lunch."

Nov. 18

LANCASTER - Drug agents sniff out about one of every 10 of the illegal, clandestine methamphetamine labs hidden in the vast Mojave Desert.

With about 60 meth labs being discovered each year, that means about 540 remain in operation, cranking out the white powder that so many users crave.

Those startling statistics were revealed by Sgt. Tony Hollins of the Lancaster Sheriff's Station, who heads the multi-jurisdictional North County Clandestine Lab Task Force, and Tom Embree, special agent for the state Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement.

Nov. 19

LANCASTER - A major breakthrough in aerospace technology is needed to propel inhabitants of earth deeper into space, and focusing on creativity and taking risks is what will bring those milestones to pass, aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan said Saturday.

Speaking to an audience of 50 in the Student Services building of Antelope Valley College, Rutan, CEO of Mojave-based Scaled Composites, spoke to students, aerospace employees and interested community members on what he believes is needed to push the space program forward.

Nov. 20

PALMDALE - In coming weeks, 13 vacant homes will become real-life laboratories for firefighters, who will be testing different types of fire-suppressing foams.

The houses will be set ablaze in early December, said Mike Miller, the city of Palmdale's housing coordinator.

Firefighters "don't have that many opportunities to practice fighting real home fires," Miller said. "There's no way to learn some things out of a book or in a classroom."

Nov. 21

EDWARDS AFB - The world's two largest defense contractors showcased their hopes and dreams Monday - a pair of sleek fighter prototypes trying to edge each other out in competition for the largest defense contract in history.

The Boeing Co.'s shovelmouthed X-32 sat poised next to the Lockheed X-35, in appearance a smaller version of that company's F-22 Raptor, which also is undergoing flight tests at Edwards Air Force Base.

Nov. 22

WASHINGTON - A Russian scientist accessed a super computer at Lockheed Martin's Palmdale plant that contained stealth technology data, but he didn't come away with top secret material used to build radar-evading aircraft, Air Force officials announced Tuesday.

Tuesday's statement by the Air Force Office of Security Investigation comes nearly a year after conclusion of a stealthy three-year joint investigation with the FBI.

Nov. 23

LANCASTER - If Lancaster were alone in electing the president, there would be no recounting and no court battles - Texas Gov. George W. Bush would have announced his Cabinet members by now. In Palmdale, Al Gore won by a nose.

The Palmdale outcome was startling, and different. Palmdale went for Vice President Al Gore, suggesting a significant shift in Valley voting patterns.

In a dizzying turn of events, Florida's largest county abruptly stopped recounting votes Wednesday, sending Al Gore's lawyers scrambling back to court to keep a ballot-by-ballot fight for the White House grinding away. George W. Bush asked the Supreme Court to shut down all the recounts or risk a constitutional crisis.

"I won the vote in Florida," Bush said - a point that could hardly be more in dispute. He accused the Democrats of monkeying with laws to reverse the election's "legitimate result."

Nov. 24

LANCASTER - When it comes to higher attendance, peer pressure may actually work as a positive motivator, a Lancaster School District official said.

Ned McNabb, assistant superintendent of business services for the Lancaster School district, said the administration is distributing about $24,000 districtwide as part of a program to boost attendance throughout the schools.

LANCASTER - The traditional American Thanksgiving entails family, food, a possible postmeal nap and the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. Salsa music and back flips usually aren't a part of the scene.

But the Thanksgiving festivities at the Grace Resource Center are anything but ordinary. Traditional, maybe. Not ordinary.

Nov. 25

The Oct. 11 launch of space shuttle Discovery was a historic day for NASA, as STS-92 became the 100th shuttle mission in the 20-year history of the program.

For Air Force Lt. Col. Pamela Melroy, a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in the early 1990s, the launch was the culmination of 30 years of working relentlessly toward her goal of becoming an astronaut.

Nov. 26

CALIFORNIA CITY - Saturday was Anita Bogan Day in Kern County.

It was so declared by California City and Kern County in honor of a woman with an enduring spirit and a great dedication to her community. Oh, she also turned the century mark - 100 years old on Saturday.

Nov. 27

Florida's secretary of state certified George W. Bush the winner over Al Gore on Sunday night in the state's near-deadlocked presidential vote - but court contests left in doubt which man will be the ultimate victor and 43rd president of the United States. Bush said he had won the White House and asked Gore to reconsider his challenges.

PALMDALE - The war to claim the presidency is being fought thousands of miles away with lawsuits, appeals and neverending vote recounting.

But in the Antelope Valley, the war is hitting home and local voters are, in a sense, casualties of that war. Many are fed up with the unresolved contest, and people like Terri Green, 42, have lost faith in the system.

Nov. 28

LANCASTER - When a jury convicted George Gage on 19 felony sex crimes involving his stepdaughter earlier this year, the 62year-old Gage was facing life in prison.

That all changed Monday when Superior Court Judge Carol Koppel, in an extraordinary move, threw out the jury's verdict.

Nov. 29

PALMDALE - Sheriff's deputies surrounded and evacuated a downtown Palmdale apartment complex when a woman called 911 saying residents of one of the units were taken hostage by gunmen Tuesday afternoon.

After an approximately 90-minute standoff, deputies arrested a pair of San Fernando Valley men.

LAKE LOS ANGELES - When Bruce Galler looks out into his classroom full of eighth-graders, he sees the possibility of a more tolerant society.

But the Challenger Middle School teacher also sees the potential for societal intolerance to continue and become even worse, if young people are not educated about its effects early in life.

Nov. 30

LANCASTER - At first it looked as if the popular 99¢ Only Store would be forced out of the Lancaster power center, but now it appears as if the giant Costco club store might be the one leaving Valley Central Way.

Even if Costco decides to keep its lights on in Lancaster, it will almost certainly leave its current location.

Uploaded December 29, 2000