MAY: Snow, bugs, prison descended on Valley cities

PALMDALE - Assembly of the first Lockheed Martin Skunk Works joint strike fighter airframe has begun, a Lockheed spokesman said.

LANCASTER - The "buzz" among bug fighters is that the Antelope Valley is likely to join the rest of California in an especially unpleasant spring and summer insect infestation, with mosquitoes leading the charge.

But while the rain puddle hangover from El Nino is expected to breed unusually large mosquito populations over much of the state, neglected swimming pools are again expected to be the biggest mosquito nurseries here on the high desert.

PALMDALE - An investigation into allegations of child pornography prompted sheriff's deputies to seize a computer at Highland High School and district administration to suspend an unidentified teacher. Sheriff's deputies said no arrests have been made and the computer was seized so they could scan it to determine if it contains any pornographic images.
May 2

BAKERSFIELD - He snatched a young Mojave beauty queen from her workplace, raping and brutalizing her first in the desert, then in a motel. On Friday, it was his turn to have his freedom taken away. David Adams, the Mojave man convicted last month of 20 crimes connected to the rape, was sentenced to 166 years in prison plus two consecutive life terms.
May 3

CALIFORNIA CITY - Although work on a $100 million private prison on the city's east side is still about a month away, cells for that prison are already being built on the west side, Mayor Larry Adams said.
May 5

SACRAMENTO - A state audit of Los Angeles County's failed $80 million courthouse construction program is now expected to be completed in late June - a year after Antelope Valley Republican Assemblyman George Runner demanded the investigation.
May 6

Both Palmdale and Lancaster experienced steady population growth in 1997, according to preliminary figures released by the state Department of Finance. Palmdale's population grew from 114,874 residents in 1997 to 117,324 residents as of Jan. 1, for a difference of about 2.1%, according to the figures.

In Lancaster, recent figures show a population of 127,136, compared with 123,197 residents in 1997, a difference of about 3.2%.

LANCASTER - By the numbers, Lancaster and the surrounding areas are safer than they were at this time last year, according to Sheriff's Department statistics.
May 7

PALMDALE - Los Angeles County sheriff's and school officials say the almost 20 pornographic images found in a Highland High school computer last week are not pictures of local girls.

LANCASTER - A new plan for economic development in the city of Lancaster and the Antelope Valley region was unveiled Wednesday by city officials. Under the plan, the Lancaster Economic Development Corp., which operates the Lancaster Business Park, and the Antelope Valley Local Development Corp. - charged with marketing the region to potential developers - will be dissolved.

Their efforts will be assumed by the newly created Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance.
May 8

WASHINGTON - Congressman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon's House bill aimed at lowering interest rates on loans to college students, cutting college costs and improving the quality of professors passed by an overwhelming margin.

PALMDALE - The City Council will take a second look at two items on which it previously deadlocked for funding: A study for the potential formation of a new county and a program to reduce local child abuse.
May 9

AGUA DULCE - An unidentified motorist was found dead early Friday, riddled with bullets, apparently as he sat in a white Buick Regal parked on the shoulder of the Antelope Valley Freeway.

The Antelope Valley will continue to lead Los Angeles County in growth through the year 2020, according to a new state of the region report.

The Southern California Association of Governments report estimates the north county area of Los Angeles County will grow by 169% between 1994 and 2020.

PALMDALE - Los Angeles World Airport officials say they support assisting Palmdale and the Antelope Valley with infrastructure near Palmdale Regional Airport, but they don't see a big regional role for the airport any time soon - say, the next 20 years.
May 12

LANCASTER - Authorities say two members of the notorious Nazi Low Rider street gang led deputies on an 82-mile chase through west Lancaster and the labyrinth of canyons south of the Antelope Valley Monday after allegedly burglarizing three homes in the Quartz Hill area.

The two-hour chase ended only a mile from where it began, on 30th Street West at Avenue L-8, where two California Highway Patrol cruisers corralled the stolen silver Ford Ranger that the men were driving.
May 13

LANCASTER - It snowed in May in the Antelope Valley.

Southern Californians usually basking in May sunshine instead endured a late winter storm Tuesday - and once again, El Nino was blamed for the unseasonable weather. The unusually cold storm - a weather system born in the Gulf of Alaska and arriving with 45 mph winds - brought downpours from Santa Barbara to Orange counties. Snow flurries hit the center of the Antelope Valley Tuesday afternoon.

PALMDALE - Aerospace contractors at Air Force Plant 42 are doing what the Los Angeles Department of World Airports says isn't likely or possible - providing passenger service. Since March the Antelope Valley Aerospace Alliance members, Northrop Grumman and The Boeing Co., have given new meaning to ride sharing by saving hours in commuting time with six round trips by air daily.
May 14

GORMAN - A plane possibly assigned to patrol a petroleum pipeline slammed into the side of a hill near Gorman during a thunderstorm Wednesday, killing the pilot. The two-seat Bellanca craft, its nose and propellers pushed toward the cockpit, came to rest on its belly amid the blossoming wildflowers on the hills east of Gorman.

PALMDALE - A new settlement agreement reached last week gives the owners of the Ritter Ranch housing development more time either to restart the 7,200home project or find a buyer before the city pursues foreclosure.

The deal also clears the way for money to be paid to a number of construction companies that worked on the project.