1998 Review July Part 2

LANCASTER - The Southwest Defense Alliance is a good idea that just might work in retaining military base work for the region. If it does, it could wield significant political influence in Washington. That was the reaction of attendees after the first Southwest Defense Alliance summit in Phoenix.

BAKERSFIELD - Kern County prosecutors leveled a host of new charges against two Rosamond gang members accused in the June 14 drive-by shooting of a rival gang member, making one of the accused eligible for the death penalty.
July 17

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Lockheed Martin reversed its long-stated intent to fight off a government antitrust lawsuit and scrapped its proposed multibillion dollar deal to buy Northrop Grumman Corp.

PALMDALE - The mercury nearly boiled Thursday, hitting 116 degrees in the Valley - two degrees above the previous high set July 18 and 19 in 1960, when the thermometer read 114 on two consecutive days.

It was day two of a persistent heat wave and day five of 100-degree-plus temperatures. Wednesday's reading was 111 degrees.

PALMDALE - Teenagers helped to save houses near a 15acre blaze by turning garden hoses on the flames and warning residents to call the Fire Department.

PALMDALE - Australian astronomer John Shobbrook, recently hired as director of Palmdale School District's planetarium, received a special visa that will allow him to come to Antelope Valley and work - if he still has a job. Shobbrook must wait until after a board meeting to find out if he will have a job.
July 18

PALMDALE - City staff knew for months that the Los Angeles County Office of Education wanted to open a Palmdale school for juvenile felons and the county took away local authority for locating the facility, the city's planning director said. Local control was taken away from the city this past fall when the county Board of Education used its power to declare itself exempt from local zoning ordinances, Planning Director Molly Bogh said.
July 19

LITTLEROCK - A Littlerock couple escaped injury when a wind-whipped fire burned through their rural property.
July 21

LANCASTER - An afterschool program brushed off by the U.S. Department of Education and Vice President Al Gore will open its first site in September thanks to an infusion of funds from the California Office of Criminal Justice. The program, starting at Antelope Valley High School, is designed to give Valley teens a place to go during afterschool hours while their parents are driving back "up the hill."

LANCASTER - Bidders at the 1998 Desert Haven Benefit Auction payed $178,009 in the annual charity event, an increase of 55% over last year's total.
July 22

BAKERSFIELD - Two of the five Rosamond gang members charged with the drive-by murder of a rival gang member admitted their roles in the killing in court, pleading guilty to charges other than murder.

CALIFORNIA CITY - With one prison already under construction, two more developers have plans to put lockups in this Mojave Desert town where land is cheap and jobs of any sort are as welcome as shade and a cool drink.

Deep within the 1998-99 state budget is language that would allow the Department of Corrections to seek proposals on construction of five minimum-security prisons, each with 1,000 beds.

PALMDALE - Claiming the city is "woefully underrepresented" by a state agency created to market California's aerospace industry, Palmdale will consider teaming with San Bernardino County and Long Beach in a Los Angeles Area Space and Technology Alliance.
July 23

PALMDALE - The two major department stores at Antelope Valley Mall will soon be one. Gottschalks Inc. announced its intent to purchase the Harris Co.

PALMDALE - Australian astronomer John Shobbrook is on his way from Down Under to watch the stars from the Palmdale School District's long-awaited planetarium. After a rollercoaster of decision changes by the Palmdale School District's board of trustees, Shobbrook accepted the district's offer to rehire him as director of the Students Attaining Galactic Experiences (SAGE) Planetarium.
July 24

LAKE LOS ANGELES - A former Lake Los Angeles town councilman and his wife were arrested on suspicion of murdering their 15-year-old daughter, who suffered her entire life from muscular dystrophy until finally succumbing to pneumonia in 1996. Michael Gentry, 54, and his wife Kathleen, 44, were taken into custody by sheriff's homicide detectives at their home.
PALMDALE - Saying they would rather lead than follow in the race for space-related jobs, the City Council voted Wednesday to join forces with the South Bay and San Bernardino County in a bid to increase Southern California's clout. "It comes down to this: We're either going to take the lead, or we're going to get the hell out of the way," Councilman Terry Judge said before voting in favor of joining the Los Angeles Area Space and Technology Alliance.
July 25

LOS ANGELES - A Lancaster man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles along with eight other men who allegedly operated a massive marijuana-growing organization, which cultivated and shipped thousands of cloned marijuana plants across Southern California.
July 26

EDWARDS AFB - The bioengineering laboratory at the sprawling Phillips Laboratory complex on Edwards Air Force Base has been contaminated by radioactive materials, according to a state report. Documents show a radioactive mistake at the base came to light July 17 after a load of scrap metal set off a radiation alarm at a Long Beach recycling center.
July 28

LANCASTER - Citing "extraordinary performance," the City Council will consider raising City Manager Jim Gilley's pay with a merit increase that could raise his salary by 6%, extend his employment contract from Aug. 31, 2002 to Dec. 31, 2004, and give him a benefits bonus worth 9% of his base salary.

PALMDALE - Palmdale Regional Airport could have up to 6.5 million passengers annually, a consultant for Los Angeles World Airports told an expert panel gathered to discuss the future of the nearly vacant airfield.
July 29

PALMDALE - Airline executives tossed buckets of cold water Tuesday on a sunny prediction that Palmdale Regional Airport may someday see 6.5 million passengers annually. Not in this lifetime, said one United Airlines official.
July 30

LANCASTER - A Wayne Gretzky's Roller Hockey Center will be the newest attraction coming to Lancaster after City Council members approved a development deal 5-0. The $1.8 million, 45,000-square-foot roller hockey center will be built on the northeast corner of Valley Central Way and Line Drive, north of the Lancaster Factory Stores.

LANCASTER - Dr. John Manning, one of two incumbents up for re-election to the board of directors of Antelope Valley Hospital in November, said he will not seek a second term.
July 31

PALMDALE - One motorist was killed and two others injured when a car swerved, went airborne and landed in oncoming rush hour traffic on Division Street at Avenue P.