1998: California emerges as big player in space business

The following is a review of top stories that appeared in the pages of the Antelope Valley Press during November 1998.
Nov. 1

LITTLEROCK - Proponents of cityhood for Littlerock will stand in front of polling places Tuesday to collect signatures for an incorporation application. The Littlerock Town Council conducted a survey two years ago and a majority of the voters approved looking into incorporation, said Jason Zink, a proponent and former town council member.
Nov. 2

LANCASTER - With a fire-andbrimstone voice that filled a huge auditorium Sunday night, the founder of the Traditional Values Coalition urged local Christians to reclaim their government, country and heritage. The Rev. Lou Sheldon told his audience that they and other Christians had "bought into the big lie" when they believed that the principle of separation of church and state means churchgoers can't bring their faith and belief into the public realm.
Nov. 3

LANCASTER - The Antelope Valley could have a new, 135-acre fair - with an auto racing track - in two years if the state approves a deal between Lancaster and the fair board to swap property. Under the deal, the city would build the new $12 million fairgrounds on city land and then trade it to the Antelope Valley Fair Board for the current, 77-acre fair site.
Nov. 4

SAN FRANCISCO - A U.S. Senate race most pollsters declared too close to call turned into an election day non-contest as incumbent Sen. Barbara Boxer was declared the winner over Republican challenger Matt K. Fong, even before polls closed in California.

EDWARDS AFB - From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Rogers Dry Lake, the fighting Leathernecks will be landing at the "Right Stuff" air base. A hefty thumping roar will resonate above the wild blue yonder of the Antelope Valley in April when a Marine Corps heavy helicopter squadron takes up permanent post at Edwards.
Nov. 5

LANCASTER - California is emerging as a bigger player in the race for business-in-space game because voters defeated an air quality improvement proposition in Tuesday's election. The defeat of Prop. 7 meant that a commercial space sales tax exemption went into effect across the state.

LOS ANGELES - Lee Baca swept away all hopes that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors might get to appoint the next sheriff by soundly defeating the recently deceased incumbent Sherman Block with 61% of the vote.
LANCASTER - Antelope Valley Hospital directors Deborah Rice and Steve Fox said Wednesday they were elated by the election of candidates Don Bean and Gary Hill to the medical facility's five-member board of directors.

LOS ANGELES - Millionaire developer Marshall Redman copped a plea last week and brought the criminal case against him to a close, but the deal he and prosecutors agreed to may yet ensnare the controversial land dealer in a fresh lawsuit.
Nov. 6

LANCASTER - Both Valley sheriff's stations reported a dip in several crime categories between January and September, compared to last year's numbers, and marked little change Valleywide in homicide and rape cases.

LOS ANGELES - Catch phrases like "crystal clear," and "mountain spring," and "crisp and refreshing" have taken on a new meaning for Fifth District Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved Antonovich's call for random inspection of bottled water sold throughout the county.
Nov. 7

WASHINGTON - In a stunning end to a tumultuous career as House speaker, Newt Gingrich abruptly resigned his post and dropped plans to seek a new term Friday after Republicans lost five seats in this week's election.

HESPERIA - Long-haul trucker Wayne Adam Ford blazed across the High Desert perhaps every month, leaving behind him nothing but blacktop - and potentially at least one dead woman in Hesperia.

Investigators from across the West are now converging on the cold, rainy city of Eureka on the North Coast of California to see if the long-haul trucker is what he says he is - a serial killer.
Nov. 8

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - John Glenn returned to Earth on Saturday as exuberant as when he set out on his historic rocket ride, a journey of nearly 4 million miles that took him four decades to achieve.
Nov. 9

LANCASTER - A second look from Kistler Aerospace Corp. at Northrop Grumman might mean the manufacture of yet another space launch vehicle at Air Force Plant 42. Even though Lockheed Martin won the contract rights to do final assembly of Kistler's K-1 reusable space vehicle in Louisiana, delays caused by lack of funds and a late push from Northrop have reopened the final assembly evaluation.
Nov. 10

PALMDALE - Mayor Jim Ledford has been seated on a board that oversees the operation of the Metrolink commuter train system in Los Angeles County.

Ledford said his appointment, made in late October by city of Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, will give the Antelope Valley more say in the operation of the train system, which provides service to Acton, Palmdale and Lancaster.
Nov. 11

WASHINGTON - Congressman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon considered entering the race for House majority leader, the No. 2 spot in the House, then announced Tuesday he would not run for the post.

"After much thought and discussion with my colleagues in the House, I have decided not to enter the race for House Majority Leader," said McKeon, R-Santa Clarita.

EDWARDS AFB - Gently soaring above Rogers Dry Lake, the Centurion - a gossamer aircraft with a 206-foot wingspan and speeds that barely move a Mach gauge - made its first flight in the early morning hours Tuesday.

The unmanned aircraft flew powered by 14 battery-operated propellers. The engines ran slightly above a whisper as it reached a height of 300 feet and an average speed of 21 mph.
Nov. 12

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - After more than 30 years of inactivity, the sound of a rocket engine is rumbling from Test Stand 1-A at Edwards Air Force Base. It's the RS-68 engine, the first new rocket engine developed since the space shuttle's main engines.

LANCASTER - The workforce of 6,000 at Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works is expected to more than double in the next five years, a company official told the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce.

LANCASTER - At exactly the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of November, 1998, about 200 people gathered at Lancaster Cemetery to remember those fallen in past battles throughout the world.
Nov. 13

VAN NUYS - Lawyers wrangled over evidence and testimony in the opening day of the trial of Scott Glenn Mullins, accused of killing his estranged wife and dumping her body in the California Aqueduct.
Nov. 14

PALMDALE - The City Council agreed to borrow $500,000 from the city's Community Redevelopment Agency to pay for the destruction of a number of homes considered public nuisances.
Nov. 15

MOJAVE - Racing pilot Jon Sharp set a new 3-kilometer world speed record in his piston engine aircraft.
Nov. 16

PALMDALE - An assisted-living residential center for the elderly will rise in the Rancho Vista area following unanimous approval of the Palmdale Planning Commission.
Nov. 17

LANCASTER - Authorities suspect a methamphetamine lab ignited a blaze that gutted an apartment, causing $75,000 in property damage. No one was hurt in the fire in the 800-unit Sunset Ridge Apartments at Avenue K-2 and 17th Street West.

LANCASTER - Delays in the development of a $1.3 billion X-ray telescope have pushed back the expected launch date of the space shuttle Columbia and its subsequent arrival for modifications at Air Force Plant 42.
Nov. 18

PALMDALE - Larry Grooms, editor-in-chief of the Antelope Valley Press, will leave the paper Jan. 4 to become executive director of the Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance.

Grooms, employed by the paper since April 1986 and its chief editor since April 1990, "will basically be marketing the greater Antelope Valley region, bringing in what we need the most around here: wealth-producing jobs," said Ron Carter, one of 10 people assigned the task of selecting a leader for the alliance.

Many of the Antelope Valley's frugal smokers appear to be stocking up on cigarettes or cigars in anticipation of a new tobacco tax to take effect Jan. 1.

Nov. 19

PALMDALE - Taggers or their adult guardians would be liable to pay up to $25,000 in restitution instead of up to $10,000 under a new ordinance approved by the City Council.

PALMDALE - In the climate of current military budgets, Air Force Flight Test Center Commander Brig. Gen. Richard V. Reynolds is trying to literally keep Edwards Air Force Base from falling apart. In a speech at a Palmdale Chamber of Commerce, Reynolds outlined concerns for the future of the Air Force and how they relate to Edwards.

PEARBLOSSOM - Highway 138 travelers learned firsthand what the California Highway Patrol is doing to cut the death toll on the dangerous stretch of asphalt. Officers wrote 50 citations in two hours of enforcement along an area of Highway 138 just east of Pearblossom.
Nov. 20

PALMDALE - Anderson-Barrows, mostly a plumbing manufacturing and assembly company here, is adding 35,000 square feet to its already sprawling Antelope Valley facility. The company operates in 112,000 square feet on 30th Street East between avenues P and Q. The expansion will increase the area to nearly 150,000 square feet.

LANCASTER - Antelope Valley College needs to do more research on how many students are transferring for four-year degrees and other aspects of student success, an accreditation team disclosed.

LANCASTER - The high school board of trustees approved reducing class sizes in all Algebra 1, Interactive Math Program 1 and 9th grade English classes in the Antelope Valley.
Nov. 21

LANCASTER - After a two-month investigation prompted by Valley Press reports, the city suspended Public Works Superintendent David Mulkey for three weeks without pay, disciplining him for a variety of offenses including drinking on the job, racial slurs and using employees for personal benefit.

LANCASTER - A swarm of FBI agents and county investigators descended on the city's Public Works yard early Friday, seizing documents and files, and using heavy equipment to search for a suspected illegal toxicwaste dump.

Articles in the Valley Press apparently triggered the FBI raid, with investigators asking questions based on news reports about misconduct by Public Works Superintendent David Mulkey.

LANCASTER - More than 86 Central and South American detainees are on active hunger strike at the Mira Loma Detention Center in protest of their home countries' decision to postpone a return home.

ROSAMOND - A 115-mile, threecounty televised freeway pursuit of a stolen vehicle came to a fiery halt, with the driver and passenger arrested on the hard concrete of the Antelope Valley Freeway.
Nov. 22

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - The flight operations phase of the Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE) have ended, NASA and Lockheed Martin Skunk Works officials announced.

LITTLEROCK - Amid accusations of electioneering and totalitarianism, the Littlerock Town Council is considering for the third time in the past year removing a council member for misconduct, it was discovered.
Nov. 23

CALIFORNIA CITY - An additional 512 beds may be added to a prison under construction in California City that doesn't even yet have a contract to house any prisoners.

Corrections Corp. of America, a Nashville company building the private prison, has applied to expand the prison, bringing its capacity to 2,817 inmates. Construction of the facility is expected to be completed in June 1999.
Nov. 24

LANCASTER - As the FBI conducted its second day of search for a suspected toxic-waste dump at the Public Works yard, the city Monday hired the law firm headed by former Secretary of State Warren Christopher to help face any legal problems that may result from the federal probe.

Meanwhile, City Manager Jim Gilley said he has been subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury in Los Angeles next month. Employees with the Public Works yard have also been subpoenaed.

SACRAMENTO - The board overseeing water quality in the Antelope Valley has earned poor marks for its protection efforts, according to a report issued this month by state Auditor Kurt Sjoberg. In a report to Gov. Pete Wilson and the state Legislature on Nov. 12, Sjoberg said the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board "is not fulfilling all of its regulatory responsibilities and uses flawed work plans to manage its workload."
Nov. 25

LANCASTER - The city never obtained a license for storage and disposal of hazardous wastes at its Public Works yard, a county hazardous materials investigator said.

SYLMAR - Prosecutors filed assault with a deadly weapon charges against Paraclete High School football star Tommy Breech in connection with a September rock-throwing incident on the freeway in which a woman was injured.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office filed felony rock-throwing charges against Breech and Palmdale High School student Larry Scattaglia following a review of the case, according to the clerk at Juvenile Court.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep Howard P. "Buck" McKeon got a major boost up the congressional hierarchy Tuesday when House Speaker Bob Livingston named the Antelope Valley congressman and two others to the new post of Assistant House Speaker.
Nov. 26

PALMDALE - Roy and Pat Simi plan to have a few family members over today for Thanksgiving dinner, a quiet celebration similar to the one Roy Simi's family had 80 years ago, the first Simi Thanksgiving in the Antelope Valley.

LANCASTER - Deputies shot and killed a robbery suspect, a man believed to be involved in a string of local robberies. The unidentified man was killed at Waldenbooks near the corner of 10th Street West and Avenue K.
LANCASTER - A motor-home manufacturer is planning to build a 200,000square-foot building at its Lancaster plant - creating as many as 600 new jobs over a five-year period. Rexhall Industries would construct the new building on 14 acres of city land it is trying to purchase. The land is adjacent to its 2year-old plant near Avenue H and Sierra Highway.
Nov. 27

LANCASTER - Tracy Joseph Melrose, the armed robbery suspect shot and killed in a local Waldenbooks bookstore, was believed to be "the Bandana Bandit" responsible for nine area robberies, sheriff's officials said.
Nov. 28

WASHINGTON - Lancaster Mayor Frank Roberts will serve on a national panel designed to keep the country ahead in the technology race. Roberts, 67, was nominated by Congressman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon to the commission, which is being formed as a result of a McKeon-authored job training bill that passed earlier this year.

LITTLEROCK - A Littlerock town councilman is alleging that the Nov. 3 council election was improper because candidates who ran as write-ins also collected ballots. Councilman Dave Cleveland said he will ask the community to demand a new election.

PALMDALE - Northrop Grumman is moving up to 500 jobs to Air Force Plant 42 as part of its consolidation of operations. The jobs will be arriving at the B-2 bomber production complex at Site 4 as a result of the closing of Northrop's Pico Rivera plant in 1999, Aerotech News and Review, an industry publication, reported.
Nov. 29

PALMDALE - Heavy rain clouds rolled into Antelope Valley early Saturday, dumping .18-inch of moisture. Saturday's rains brought the total rainfall for November to .38-inch and the year's total to 1.28 inches.
Nov. 30

LOS ANGELES - A controversial police squad known for its deadly shootouts and unorthodox tactics is now fighting for survival in the courtroom.

A federal judge presiding over lawsuits that accuse the Special Investigation Section of reckless behavior, has questioned whether the unit should still exist.