LOS ANGELES - County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich acknowledges that the constant design changes and soaring price tag for the as-yet-unbuilt Antelope Valley courthouse go hand-inhand. Many of the delays, he said, were caused by judges.
LOS ANGELES - County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich acknowledges that the constant design changes and soaring price tag for the as-yet-unbuilt Antelope Valley courthouse go hand-inhand. Many of the delays, he said, were caused by judges.
LOS ANGELES - Everyone seems to have a different spin on how much the county has spent so far on the stalled Antelope Valley courthouse project. Cost estimates range from $7 million to $8 million, as acknowledged by county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, to a high of $15 million to $17 million, an estimate submitted by the project's former architect, who's suing the county for more than $3 million in unpaid fees.
PALMDALE - Hiring credits aimed at bringing business to the Antelope Valley should be reduced for the second time in two years as other incentives have begun to replace them, a group of civic and community leaders recommended.
Because of hefty state enterprise zone benefits that are worth much more than the credits, Antelope Valley Regional Partnership Tuesday urged Lancaster and Palmdale to reduce the credit from $1,000 to an amount up to $500.
QUARTZ HILL - John O'Connor, student body president of Paraclete High School, has received a leadership scholarship to Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. It wasn't just his first choice of universities. He said it was his only choice.
April 17
EDWARDS AFB - One of the most powerful solar concentrators for solar thermal rocket propulsion in the United States is being erected at Phillips Laboratory and will be a valuable tool for researchers, said a group leader for solar and thermal rocket propulsion.
April 18
LAKE LOS ANGELES - The fate of the long-planned Lake Los Angeles park, which so far stands as only a fraction of its promised self, is once again in the hands of voters in the unincorporated community. In a coming mail-in vote, residents will decide whether to continue paying an annual assessment for the 100-acre project, which was their idea to begin with. It will be the second time the issue has come to public referendum.
LANCASTER - Cecile Bosworth, a longtime community activist in Littlerock, died Thursday at a convalescent home at the age of 100.
April 19
LANCASTER - The case of a Lancaster mother accused of leaving her 9-year-old Down syndrome son to die in a mobile home fire was dismissed Friday, with a judge telling prosecutors they had insufficient evidence for a trial.
April 20
LANCASTER - U.S. Rep. Bill Thomas is co-sponsoring legislation many taxpayers might welcome. He wants to repeal income, corporate and payroll taxes - and put the Internal Revenue Service out of business.
CALIFORNIA CITY - Firefighters battled flames and thick smoke for more than three hours Friday before containing what is believed to be the biggest fire in the city's history. Fire investigators still were looking into the cause of the Silver Saddle Ranch and Club fire Saturday, but it is believed something went wrong during a propane facility servicing.
April 22
PALMDALE - Citing increasingly sophisticated regional competition in the quest for new businesses and jobs, the Antelope Valley Regional Partnership announced plans to create a strategic plan for the area. More than 100 business executives and owners joined government leaders at the Holiday Inn to launch the new "Strategic Business Plan for Antelope Valley," paid in part by federal defense conversion funds.
LANCASTER - Federal officials are seeking a new location for the city's Social Security Administration offices.
April 23
LANCASTER - The fate of High Desert Hospital will soon land in the lap of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, which must decide whether to continue funding the facility.
April 24
MOJAVE - Fifty-mph winds with gusts above 80 mph whipped through Mojave Wednesday, prompting a National Weather Service highway travel advisory and cutting off runway access for at least two aircraft.
April 25
LANCASTER - Delivering results from a yearlong study of how well Antelope Valley students are prepared for work after high school, a consultant said efforts here are better than most places, but still short of community expectations. New York-based curriculum consultant Willard Daggett told audiences in a series of meetings, "You are doing better than 95% of the school districts in the United States."
A report released by the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission Thursday indicates that hate crimes doubled in the Antelope Valley last year. A total of 40 hate crimes were reported locally in 1996, compared to 19 in 1995, according to the report.
April 26
AIR FORCE PLANT 42 - Most high school career fairs don't involve close encounters with fighter jets and stealth bombers. But the Salute to Youth, a career day sponsored by the local high school district, cashes in on the thrill of aerospace to draw thousands to the event. More than 2,300 students from area high schools visited Air Force Plant 42 Friday to catch a glimpse of their futures.
LANCASTER - The City Council re-installed Henry Hearns as vice mayor Thursday, saying Mayor Frank Roberts needed someone of like-mind as his second-in-command. The move was opposed by Councilman Michael Singer, who contended a city ordinance demanded Councilwoman Deborah Shelton be seated as vice mayor since she was removed from that position during the April 1996 council reorganization.
PALMDALE - Elementary schoolteacher Barbara McNairy was selected from among 13 nominees as 1997's African-American Woman of the Year in the Antelope Valley.
April 27
LANCASTER - In certain parts of the city, auto thefts flourish. So earlier this month a team of deputies spent a day watching a "bait" car, and hoping someone would try to steal it.
PALMDALE - Many Antelope Valley residents might have felt the Earth move Saturday morning while others slept soundly as a wave of aftershocks to the 1994 Northridge earthquake rumbled. The biggest of the morning quakes - which hit at about 3:30 a.m. - included a magnitude-5.0 shaker.
April 29
MOJAVE - Aircraft designer Dick Rutan and friend Michael Melville are flying around the world in a pair of planes Rutan designed, called Long EZs. With the help of the Internet and laptop computers, their progress is being shared with thousands of aviation fans and schoolchildren around the globe.
LANCASTER - Up to 20 fire stations throughout Los Angeles County could close if voters fail to pass Proposition E on June 3, Antelope Valley Battalion Chief Bill Bell said. Prop. E is intended to replace the nearly $52 million to be lost under Proposition 218, Bell told the City Council on April 24.
April 30
PALMDALE - Less than a month after the first radar-evading B-2s were certified for use in the Air Force arsenal, an Antelope Valley congressman hopes to restart production and build nine more bombers.
Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, is pushing for $350 million to begin the task of restarting production at Northrop Grumman facilities at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, McKeon spokesman Armando Azarloza said.
PALMDALE - The most important question raised Monday during a tense three-hour meeting of the Antelope Valley Human Relations Task Force was what - if anything - the task force plans to about the number of hate crimes in the Valley. Members agreed that hate crime in the Antelope Valley is an important issue, but even opinions within the task force were divided along racial lines, making it difficult for the group to make any decisions.
