Politics
POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:
Bush signs bill to expand preserve
President Bush signed the Rim of the Valley Corridor Study into law Thursday, culminating a seven-year effort that now sets in motion a chain of events that could precipitously expand the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
Dirk Kempthorne, the secretary of the Department of the Interior, is now authorized to study the area above the San Fernando, La Crescenta, Santa Clarita, Simi and Conejo valleys that could result in the preservation of more than 500,000 acres known collectively as the Rim of the Valley.
The bill, included in the Consolidation Natural Resources Act of 2008 passed by the House on Tuesday, was first floated by Schiff in 2001 based on constituent concerns that the mountainous region would be lost to a steadily increasing population wishing to develop the landscape.
“My constituents made it clear they wanted to preserve the quality of life around us,” said Schiff, whose district includes Burbank and Glendale. “It was important to their standard of living and we carried that priority with us. We cannot only tell our kids of natural beauty but we can now show them.”
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area was established nearly 30 years ago by Congress and includes six state parks and is the largest urban national park in the United States, according to the National Parks Service.
President Bush has been criticized in the past by environmental groups, most recently for outlining a plan Wednesday to halt the growth of greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 that some derided as nonspecific.
But any differences between the administration and Congress evaporated during the bill signing Thursday.
“I’m pleased that we found common ground with the administration on this,” Schiff said.
“In the past, the administration signaled their intention of taking a position in support of Rim of the Valley. I always look for common ground. This is very positive.”
The study has given rise to fears among some who say the possible expansion could result in a government-sponsored land grab.
“Everybody who lives in Glendale or Verdugo Hills or Sunland should worry,” said Chuck Cushman, head of the American Land Rights Assn. “Their life will be different. It will be like a fairly loose, modified prison camp where the government will impose restrictions on their freedoms by telling them they can’t build a house on a vacant lot or add on to their property.
“People in local areas better start fighting it now.”
Schiff dismissed such concerns, saying that if the Department of the Interior recommends expanding the area, no one will be forced from their home unwillingly, and people are free to sell their land to the government at their own discretion.
The study could take up to three years to complete and, if expansion is called for, a subsequent act of Congress would have to be submitted, said Schiff, adding that he encourages constituents to submit comments to “balance the interest of preserving open space and accommodating the growing population.”
Schiff helps launch a new security caucus
A new congressional caucus that will focus on national security and limiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons has been established by Schiff and Nebraska Rep. Jeff Fortenberry.
The caucus will seek to improve nuclear safeguards, secure fissile materials and prevent the misuse of sensitive nuclear materials and technologies, issues that have grown in saliency as the amount of countries that profess to have nuclear weapons has grown, according to Schiff.
“This caucus is going to confront the problem head-on,” he said in a statement. “We will work to raise awareness and work to implement changes in our national security policy so we never have to deal with the terrifying consequences of a nuclear event.”
Schiff serves on the Select Intelligence Oversight Panel and has introduced several bills that aim to secure vulnerable weapons stockpiles around the world, including a bill that seeks to bolster international efforts to ensure nuclear material is not obtained by terrorists.
FilmFest judges are selected
A panel of three judges has been selected to rule on the fate of more than 100 entries at the upcoming FilmFest 43, sponsored by Assemblyman Paul Krekorian.
All three judges — Mike Petros, Dug Ward and Robert Paterson — have worked in the television and film industry.
Petros is an associate professor of television at Glendale Community College; Ward, a former animator for Fox’s “King of the Hill,” is an adjunct faculty member at UCLA’s Animation Workshop where he directs the school’s graduate-animation program; and Peterson, a director and producer, chairs the graduate film program at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
The festival takes place at 6:30 p.m. May 16 at the Alex Theatre.
The event is open to the public and admission is free, though visitors are asked to RSVP for tickets, by calling Krekorian’s district office at (818) 240-6330.
Goldwater on Goldwater in area
Former Rep. Barry M. Goldwater Jr., son of iconic conservative U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater, will discuss his new book about his father’s life Tuesday at the Buena Vista Library in Burbank.
“Pure Goldwater,” co-written by John Dean, former White House counsel to President Nixon, is a glimpse into the political life of Barry Goldwater that details his thoughts on Nixon and Goldwater’s avowed discomfort with the rise of a new brand of conservatism.
Barry Goldwater ran for president in 1964 on the Republican ticket, eventually losing to Lyndon B. Johnson.
The Buena Vista Library is located at 300 N. Buena Vista St. in Burbank.
The event is free, open to the public and begins at 7 p.m.
Dirk Kempthorne, the secretary of the Department of the Interior, is now authorized to study the area above the San Fernando, La Crescenta, Santa Clarita, Simi and Conejo valleys that could result in the preservation of more than 500,000 acres known collectively as the Rim of the Valley.
The bill, included in the Consolidation Natural Resources Act of 2008 passed by the House on Tuesday, was first floated by Schiff in 2001 based on constituent concerns that the mountainous region would be lost to a steadily increasing population wishing to develop the landscape.
“My constituents made it clear they wanted to preserve the quality of life around us,” said Schiff, whose district includes Burbank and Glendale. “It was important to their standard of living and we carried that priority with us. We cannot only tell our kids of natural beauty but we can now show them.”
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area was established nearly 30 years ago by Congress and includes six state parks and is the largest urban national park in the United States, according to the National Parks Service.
President Bush has been criticized in the past by environmental groups, most recently for outlining a plan Wednesday to halt the growth of greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 that some derided as nonspecific.
But any differences between the administration and Congress evaporated during the bill signing Thursday.
“I’m pleased that we found common ground with the administration on this,” Schiff said.
“In the past, the administration signaled their intention of taking a position in support of Rim of the Valley. I always look for common ground. This is very positive.”
The study has given rise to fears among some who say the possible expansion could result in a government-sponsored land grab.
“Everybody who lives in Glendale or Verdugo Hills or Sunland should worry,” said Chuck Cushman, head of the American Land Rights Assn. “Their life will be different. It will be like a fairly loose, modified prison camp where the government will impose restrictions on their freedoms by telling them they can’t build a house on a vacant lot or add on to their property.
“People in local areas better start fighting it now.”
Schiff dismissed such concerns, saying that if the Department of the Interior recommends expanding the area, no one will be forced from their home unwillingly, and people are free to sell their land to the government at their own discretion.
The study could take up to three years to complete and, if expansion is called for, a subsequent act of Congress would have to be submitted, said Schiff, adding that he encourages constituents to submit comments to “balance the interest of preserving open space and accommodating the growing population.”
Schiff helps launch a new security caucus
A new congressional caucus that will focus on national security and limiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons has been established by Schiff and Nebraska Rep. Jeff Fortenberry.
The caucus will seek to improve nuclear safeguards, secure fissile materials and prevent the misuse of sensitive nuclear materials and technologies, issues that have grown in saliency as the amount of countries that profess to have nuclear weapons has grown, according to Schiff.
“This caucus is going to confront the problem head-on,” he said in a statement. “We will work to raise awareness and work to implement changes in our national security policy so we never have to deal with the terrifying consequences of a nuclear event.”
Schiff serves on the Select Intelligence Oversight Panel and has introduced several bills that aim to secure vulnerable weapons stockpiles around the world, including a bill that seeks to bolster international efforts to ensure nuclear material is not obtained by terrorists.
FilmFest judges are selected
A panel of three judges has been selected to rule on the fate of more than 100 entries at the upcoming FilmFest 43, sponsored by Assemblyman Paul Krekorian.
All three judges — Mike Petros, Dug Ward and Robert Paterson — have worked in the television and film industry.
Petros is an associate professor of television at Glendale Community College; Ward, a former animator for Fox’s “King of the Hill,” is an adjunct faculty member at UCLA’s Animation Workshop where he directs the school’s graduate-animation program; and Peterson, a director and producer, chairs the graduate film program at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
The festival takes place at 6:30 p.m. May 16 at the Alex Theatre.
The event is open to the public and admission is free, though visitors are asked to RSVP for tickets, by calling Krekorian’s district office at (818) 240-6330.
Goldwater on Goldwater in area
Former Rep. Barry M. Goldwater Jr., son of iconic conservative U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater, will discuss his new book about his father’s life Tuesday at the Buena Vista Library in Burbank.
“Pure Goldwater,” co-written by John Dean, former White House counsel to President Nixon, is a glimpse into the political life of Barry Goldwater that details his thoughts on Nixon and Goldwater’s avowed discomfort with the rise of a new brand of conservatism.
Barry Goldwater ran for president in 1964 on the Republican ticket, eventually losing to Lyndon B. Johnson.
The Buena Vista Library is located at 300 N. Buena Vista St. in Burbank.
The event is free, open to the public and begins at 7 p.m.
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