In 2003, the City of Brea completed its general plan, a 480-page document that, among many parts, contains a section about trails, existing and future, in the community. When it comes to planned trails for the Carbon Canyon area, the situation is quite different than that for Chino Hills. This is basically because the Brea portion of the canyon is much more rugged (and dramatic) with steeper walls and a narrower bottom, which would make it far more difficult to have connecting trails to areas around it.
A Trails Plan included in the general plan shows some notable components. At the canyon's western end, there is an existing "Chino Hills Trail" leading from Rose Drive into Carbon Canyon Regional Park and then connecting with an access way to Chino Hills State Park where the new park visitor center is nearly completed.
To the north, there is a proposed trail to someday be part of the Orange County regional park slated for the Olinda Alpha Landfill when it closes (the original date of 2013 is now 2021.) This is the Tres Hermanos Trail, named for the ranch in upper Tonner Canyon owned by the City of Industry. The Tres Hermanos Trail is supposed to link up with the northern reaches of Chino Hills State Park in the hills above Olinda Village and Olinda Ranch.
Incidentally, there is also a trail marked the "Tonner Canyon Trail" that would run from Brea Canyon Road under the 57 Freeway and into Tonner Cnyon, with a link to the end of Valencia Avenue, near the landfill entrance. A "Tonner Ridge Trail" would follow the top of the hills from Valencia Avenue west toward Brea-Olinda High School before moving north to meet the "Tonner Canyon Trail." The "Tonner Ridge Trail" would connect eastward with the Tres Hermanos Trail.
Another trail is proposed to run from the El Rodeo Stables site (which is now closing?) northeastward into the state park and then along the latter's western boundary until it meets up with the Tres Hermanos Trail.
Regarding the state park area north of Carbon Canyon Road, a future trail would run from the state highway into the hills west of Olinda Village and join up with existing loop trails in the park. The same situation is slated for a trail to go from the highway at the east end of the village and up into the state park's eastern flank.
Finally, there are two identified trail sites on the south side of Carbon Canyon. One would lead downslope just east of Hollydale Mobile Home Estates and connect to the existing Soquel Canyon trail, a part of which is within Chino Hills State Park, while the remainder is an access road held by private parties out to the San Bernardino County line. A second trail is a spur that would lead south from the trail at the eastern edge of Olinda Village mentioned in the last paragraph. This spur would connect to the Soquel Canyon route, as well.
Finally, there is the "Carbon Canyon Trail" which would parallel the state highway from Carbon Canyon Regional Park to the San Bernardino County line. It would be interesting to know what kind of trail this is slated to be, presumably one that would follow the shoulder of the roadway (much of which, on the south side, is under mudslides from the heavy rainfall in 2004-05.)
Notably, there are no identified future trails for the area that has been the heavily contested "Canyon Crest" housing project proposal, north of the highway and east of the old La Vida Mineral Springs property. The more rugged southern side also is not included in any future trail planning.
As with the discussion in the last entry about trail planning on the Chino Hills side of the canyon, there are many questions concerning the future of trails on Carbon Canyon's Brea portion, including the difficulties in acquiring private property or rights-of-way and easements on such, as well as whether any funding is conceivable for trail building and maintenance.
Still, it would be great if something could be done to enhance the recreational value of trails within the Canyon and the cities of Brea and Chino Hills are to be commended for devising plans that point to the potential for future trail development.
Here is the link to the Brea General Plan--at page 284 is Figure CR-2, Trails Plan.
http://www.ci.brea.ca.us/images/default/citydocs/DevSvc/GeneralPlan.pdf.
Addendum, 24 June 2009:
The following was received from a regular reader of the blog, who was commenting on future trails for the area within the proposed Canyon Crest project that has been often discussed here. Specifically, the discussion is about the old general plan that existed in Brea before the current 2003 version was approved:
The Brea General Plan in effect at that time does show a trail through that property called Olinda Trail that follows the paved road all the way to the Brea water tanks and beyond to the edge of the Hill of Hope property. The City of Brea purchased an easement to those water tanks. This trail would be an important link from Brea to Chino Hills that could possibly be completed if Hill of Hope is ever developed. Olinda Trail provides access to the existing Sonome and La Vida Trails and is quite popular.
The paved road is the extension of Olinda Drive at the east end of Olinda Village. The idea that the trail could be a connecting route between Chino Hills and Brea is interesting, but would, as indicated, depend upon the future of the St. Joseph's Hill of Hope religious community property. The death of Frances Klug, the spiritual leader of the organization, might well mean that there could be, down the road, some changes with respect to that property. As the correspondent notes, the Olinda Trail is commonly used for hiking and the Sonome Canyon Trail is within Chino Hills State Park lands to the north of Olinda Village, while the La Vida Trail is on private land leading into the hills from the old resort site east of the village.
Notably, the correspondent indicates that. regarding the Olinda Trail:
I mentioned that because it is one of the items that the Canyon Crest appeal was based on. Their project was built on trails and open space corridors and was therefore not consistent with the City of Brea General Plan, which can't be changed retroactively for their project.
In other words, the Olinda Trail and other trails within the area embraced by Canyon Crest were deleted from the general plan in the 2003 revision, but Canyon Crest was first proposed four years prior to that, which refers to the comment about retroactive changes to the general plan regarding these trails, which evidently was done by the Brea recreation department without public input.
Further, there was this clarification about the Carbon Canyon Trail:
Also, the Carbon Canyon Trail shown on that General Plan includes a bikeway along Carbon Canyon Road. It's shown on the maps in the Transportation Element of that General Plan. That's supposed to be built when the properties along SH142 get developed.
As stated in the blog entry, it would be interesting to know how a bike lane would be established on significant portions of the highway given the constraints of the canyon's geography. At any rate, if there is a reliance on developing property along the highway, that would appear to be a long time coming, if at all.
At any rate, thanks to this correspondent for the information!
22 June 2010
20 June 2010
Future Trails in the Chino Hills Portion of Carbon Canyon
In March, the City of Chino Hills issued a nice four-color pamphlet of city-maintained trails, including those for bicycle, equestrian and hiking and walking uses. As pointed out in the brochure, there are over 3,000 acres of open space and thirty-nine miles of trails, which are among the many great amenities in the city. Of course, the city also borders Chino Hills State Park, which encompasses 16,000 acres and features many enjoyable trails leading west to Carbon Canyon Regional Park and the soon-to-be-opened state park visitors' center and south to Corona near Prado Dam.
In 2000, the city created an advisory committee to develop a Trails Master Plan as part of a broader plan for parks, recreation and open space. Eight residents were involved, along with members of the planning, public works and parks and recreation commissions. For seven months, twice a month, the committee met and then developed the plan. The new map shows current parks and trails, as well as the proposed routes of future trails, most of which are in the canyon areas at the western portions of the city, including Tonner, Soquel, and Carbon canyons.
With Tonner, there are proposed trails following the existing Tonner Canyon Road, a narrow asphalt paved road in land owned by the City of Industry, which has proposed building a reservoir within the canyon. There are proposed trails, along Grand Avenue as it bisects Tonner Canyon; a link to trails between Grand Avenue Park and Sunset Park in the Gordon Ranch area; a link from the current western terminus of Eucalyptus Avenue; and others leading toward Tonner Canyon from Oak Tree Estates and from Sleepy Hollow.
At Soquel Canyon, there is a proposed trail running along Woodview Road from Pipeline Avenue and into the canyon near an existing trail within the Vellano gated community, following the canyon bottom until the Orange/San Bernardino county line. Spur trails are projected from the western end of Vellano into Soquel Canyon and from the canyon southward into Chino Hills State Park.
As to Carbon Canyon, there is a projected trail running along the south side of Carbon Canyon Road from Chino Hills Parkway to Old Carbon Canyon Road. This is open space on which cattle are run year-round. This trail then would continue south and east in the open space area back toward the residential area that is west of Peyton Drive between Chino Hills Parkway and Woodview Road. A shorter trail is anticipated on the north side of Carbon Canyon Road between the tract just west of Crossroads Park, south of Eucalyptus Avenue, and Summit Ranch. Another trail is marked as running south from the highway just west of Carriage Hills and then linking with a trail leading from the top of Mountain View Estates, the subdivision along Canon Lane south from Carbon Canyon Road. This trail would link up with the aforementioned trail running from the western edge of Vellano into Soquel Canyon. Some smaller trails would go from Carbon Canyon road southward in the area just west of Mountain View Estates and north along Canyon Hills Road. As stated before, there are two anticipated routes from Sleepy Hollow north into the Tonner Canyon area, including one that runs along the county line, along the eastern edge of the St. Joseph's Hill of Hope religious facility.
Obviously, these trails are dependent on so many factors, not the least of which is acquisition of private property in a time in which publicly-available funds for such purchases are scant. How likely that any of these anticipated routes are to come on to the "grid" in the near future is uncertain. In a region, however, where very few cities have as substantial network of actual and intended multi-use trails in as picturesque a setting as Chino Hills, it can only be hoped that there is some reasonable hope for many of these to come to fruition. These future trails would further enhance what is already a significant benefit to city residents and guests who can use our existing trails to get beautiful mountain, valley and canyon views and enjoy something of the natural setting that still substantially exists in the city.
Current trail hours are 7 a.m. to 9 pm. from May to September and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. from October to April. For more information about the pamphlet, call the city's Recreation Division at (909) 364-2700.
The above scan is a detail from the "Discover Trails . . . Experience Chino Hills" pamphlet and map, issued by the City of Chino Hills in March 2010.
In 2000, the city created an advisory committee to develop a Trails Master Plan as part of a broader plan for parks, recreation and open space. Eight residents were involved, along with members of the planning, public works and parks and recreation commissions. For seven months, twice a month, the committee met and then developed the plan. The new map shows current parks and trails, as well as the proposed routes of future trails, most of which are in the canyon areas at the western portions of the city, including Tonner, Soquel, and Carbon canyons.
With Tonner, there are proposed trails following the existing Tonner Canyon Road, a narrow asphalt paved road in land owned by the City of Industry, which has proposed building a reservoir within the canyon. There are proposed trails, along Grand Avenue as it bisects Tonner Canyon; a link to trails between Grand Avenue Park and Sunset Park in the Gordon Ranch area; a link from the current western terminus of Eucalyptus Avenue; and others leading toward Tonner Canyon from Oak Tree Estates and from Sleepy Hollow.
At Soquel Canyon, there is a proposed trail running along Woodview Road from Pipeline Avenue and into the canyon near an existing trail within the Vellano gated community, following the canyon bottom until the Orange/San Bernardino county line. Spur trails are projected from the western end of Vellano into Soquel Canyon and from the canyon southward into Chino Hills State Park.
As to Carbon Canyon, there is a projected trail running along the south side of Carbon Canyon Road from Chino Hills Parkway to Old Carbon Canyon Road. This is open space on which cattle are run year-round. This trail then would continue south and east in the open space area back toward the residential area that is west of Peyton Drive between Chino Hills Parkway and Woodview Road. A shorter trail is anticipated on the north side of Carbon Canyon Road between the tract just west of Crossroads Park, south of Eucalyptus Avenue, and Summit Ranch. Another trail is marked as running south from the highway just west of Carriage Hills and then linking with a trail leading from the top of Mountain View Estates, the subdivision along Canon Lane south from Carbon Canyon Road. This trail would link up with the aforementioned trail running from the western edge of Vellano into Soquel Canyon. Some smaller trails would go from Carbon Canyon road southward in the area just west of Mountain View Estates and north along Canyon Hills Road. As stated before, there are two anticipated routes from Sleepy Hollow north into the Tonner Canyon area, including one that runs along the county line, along the eastern edge of the St. Joseph's Hill of Hope religious facility.
Obviously, these trails are dependent on so many factors, not the least of which is acquisition of private property in a time in which publicly-available funds for such purchases are scant. How likely that any of these anticipated routes are to come on to the "grid" in the near future is uncertain. In a region, however, where very few cities have as substantial network of actual and intended multi-use trails in as picturesque a setting as Chino Hills, it can only be hoped that there is some reasonable hope for many of these to come to fruition. These future trails would further enhance what is already a significant benefit to city residents and guests who can use our existing trails to get beautiful mountain, valley and canyon views and enjoy something of the natural setting that still substantially exists in the city.
Current trail hours are 7 a.m. to 9 pm. from May to September and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. from October to April. For more information about the pamphlet, call the city's Recreation Division at (909) 364-2700.
The above scan is a detail from the "Discover Trails . . . Experience Chino Hills" pamphlet and map, issued by the City of Chino Hills in March 2010.
19 June 2010
On the Skids in Carbon Canyon #4944 and #5012
13 June 2010
Carbon Canyon Land for Sale!
For anyone (uh, a developer, maybe?) who has $2.6 million (or whatever can be negotiated) to spend, there is a new real estate listing for acrage on the Brea side of Carbon Canyon. This is for 43 acres at 5600 Carbon Canyon Road, which is the parcel owned by Samsung Presbyterian Church.
The Korean-American church has been at the site formerly known as Carbon Canyon Christian Church for a few years now. It would appear this is some portion (all?) of the undeveloped area to the west of the church compound, where there is now a trail, a cross upon the small hill, some pull-up bars, a bench or two, and other minor improvements.
A glance at the Brea General Plan's "Land Use Policy Map" shows that the area is zoned for medium density residential within the specifications of the "Carbon Canyon Specific Plan."
Above is the ad from today's "San Gabriel Valley / Inland Empire" real estate section of the Los Angeles Times.
Here is the MRMLS listing description:
Huge portion of parcel being sold off by non profit - approx 43 acres. Can be suitable for school, resort, housing, townhomes, retreat center or banquet facility. Any proposed developement must comply under the Carbon Canyon General Plan which was adopted by the Brea City Council. Any developement will be judged on individual merit of project. Sale subject to partial reconveyance by bank with final approval of terms.
The URL for that listing:
http://www.immobel.com/personal/1_3_1/listingDetails.do?la=EN&per=mrmls&xml=1&back1=%2Fpersonal%2F1_3_1%2FsearchResults.do%3Ffeatured_int%3D0%26c_mtype%3Dlandlots%26searchId%3D0%26minprice%3D1000000%26xml%3D1%26serverId%3D0%26rpp%3D5%26la%3DEN%26cu%3DUSD%26ssid%3D0%26per%3Dmrmls%26c_zipcode%3D%26c_mrci%3D10000049630%26st%3D0%26maxprice%3D5000000&of=63906286.
Whether or not the site can be used for a school, resort, retreat center or banquet facility, when the zoning is medium residential, depends on whether there is the potential for a rezoning. Another issue is how much of the parcel falls under the Hillside Management ordinance, which has different restrictions on density dependent on degree of slope, although also allowing for "unit transfer" for more units on flatter developable areas of the property. Not knowing the extent of the 43 acres in question, it is hard to hazard a guess as to how many units could be built (and where) on the property. At any rate, it will be interesting to see what happens to this parcel if and when it is sold.
Meantime, the 13-acre parcel down the road to the east, at 5800 Carbon Canyon Road just on the other side of Hollydale Mobile Home Estates, is still for sale at $1,499,900. The listing states that three large grading pads have been completed (this within the last couple of years or so), but can be subdivided. More notably, it also notes that a contract with a civil engineer has been taken to create eight custom lots. Obviously, a purchaser of this property has much more of a headstart on getting development accomplished. The MRMLS listing is:
http://www.immobel.com/personal/1_3_1/listingDetails.do?la=EN&per=mrmls&xml=1&back1=%2Fpersonal%2F1_3_1%2FsearchResults.do%3Ffeatured_int%3D0%26c_mtype%3Dlandlots%26searchId%3D0%26minprice%3D1000000%26xml%3D1%26serverId%3D0%26rpp%3D5%26la%3DEN%26cu%3DUSD%26ssid%3D0%26per%3Dmrmls%26c_zipcode%3D%26c_mrci%3D10000049630%26st%3D0%26maxprice%3D5000000&of=57977130
09 June 2010
Wildfire Awareness Fair This Saturday!
The Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council, in collaboration with the Chino Valley Fire District and the City of Brea Fire Department, is hosting its annual Wildfire Awareness Fair this Saturday, 12 June from 10 am to 3 pm at Chino Valley Fire Station #64 and Western Hills Park at the intersection of Carbon Canyon Road and Canon Lane in Chino Hills.
The council's mission for the fair is to: "inform and educate our community about wildlife prevention, evacuation procedures, fire safety, and emergency preparedness."
Hoping to improve upon the attendance of over 250 from last year's event, organizers have provided for demonstrations at 11:30 am and 1:30 pm of fire gel used on houses in a fire event; ongoing demonstrations of fire houses and fire extinguishers; live animals and interactive educational displays from the group Nature of Wildworks; ongoing seminars on fire-resistant gardens, safety for mobile home parks, evacuation procedures and tips, prudent tree and shrub pruning to mitigate fire dangers, and the concept of "defensible space" around houses; face painting; a Home Depot Kids' Clinic gardening class sponsored by the home improvement store chain, which is also giving away 200 plants; issuance of City of Chino Hills emergency access passes for Carbon Canyon; and more.
In addition, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market is providing free hot dogs and drinks as well as reusable bags and store coupons. A raffle includes rounds of gold [oops, golf, though the precious metal would be great!] from the Western Hills, Los Serranos and Vellano clubs; a free chimney sweep by Lucky Sully Chimney Sweep [another fire prevention tool]; gift certificates, cards and baskets from local businesses; three fire extinguishers from the City of Brea Fire Department; and two memberships to the YMCA, among others.
Other event participants and sponsors include: Myers and Sons Hi-Way Safety; Power Toys; Trader Joe's; Bravo Burgers; BevMo!; Timbersil Wood Products; The Remodeling Center; Chino Lumber; Farmers Insurance; State Farm Insurance; CalFire, the state fire agency; The Boy Scouts of America; The Girl Scouts of America; Santa Ana Watershed Authority; The Red Cross; Hills for Everyone; Fire Pump and Hose; Mallory Fire and Thermo Gel; the cities of Chino Hills and Brea; and Champion Newspapers.
For anyone living in or near a high fire zone, this event is essential. For more information, call the Council at (714) 313-2405 or Chino Valley Fire District at (909) 902-5280, x.409.
The council's mission for the fair is to: "inform and educate our community about wildlife prevention, evacuation procedures, fire safety, and emergency preparedness."
Hoping to improve upon the attendance of over 250 from last year's event, organizers have provided for demonstrations at 11:30 am and 1:30 pm of fire gel used on houses in a fire event; ongoing demonstrations of fire houses and fire extinguishers; live animals and interactive educational displays from the group Nature of Wildworks; ongoing seminars on fire-resistant gardens, safety for mobile home parks, evacuation procedures and tips, prudent tree and shrub pruning to mitigate fire dangers, and the concept of "defensible space" around houses; face painting; a Home Depot Kids' Clinic gardening class sponsored by the home improvement store chain, which is also giving away 200 plants; issuance of City of Chino Hills emergency access passes for Carbon Canyon; and more.
Other event participants and sponsors include: Myers and Sons Hi-Way Safety; Power Toys; Trader Joe's; Bravo Burgers; BevMo!; Timbersil Wood Products; The Remodeling Center; Chino Lumber; Farmers Insurance; State Farm Insurance; CalFire, the state fire agency; The Boy Scouts of America; The Girl Scouts of America; Santa Ana Watershed Authority; The Red Cross; Hills for Everyone; Fire Pump and Hose; Mallory Fire and Thermo Gel; the cities of Chino Hills and Brea; and Champion Newspapers.
For anyone living in or near a high fire zone, this event is essential. For more information, call the Council at (714) 313-2405 or Chino Valley Fire District at (909) 902-5280, x.409.
Sleepy Hollow Car Thefts Reported
According to a neighbor here in Sleepy Hollow, there have been several reports of items stolen from cars in the neighborhood in recent days. Most of these incidents have, evidently, involved unlocked vehicles and, in a community with fewer garages than most, it would seem imperative to keep those cars secured.
Meantime, hopefully the Chino Hills Sheriff's Department station has been notified of these thefts, so that some patrols of the neighborhood can be initiated. Let's hope that a little vigilance, coupled with securing vehicles, will mitigate the petty thievery.
Addendum, 14 June 2010
The comment to this post states that a specific homeless person is responsible for the car thefts in Sleepy Hollow recently and this assertion has been passed on to someone with a connection to the city's sheriff's substation. Meantime, it is well-known in the community that the number of homeless in Sleepy Hollow is up considerably, which is hardly a surprise. Obviously, there is no objective way at this point to determine guilt or who is responsible.
Meantime, there have also, it seems, been a series of car thefts at the Carriage Hills subdivision further to the east. Again, where the incidents there are related to those in Sleepy Hollow is, at the moment, conjecture. Let's hope the Sheriff's Department can get to to the bottom of this and it would certainly help to keep vigilant about the activities of our homeless population, without drawing too many broad conclusions.
Meantime, hopefully the Chino Hills Sheriff's Department station has been notified of these thefts, so that some patrols of the neighborhood can be initiated. Let's hope that a little vigilance, coupled with securing vehicles, will mitigate the petty thievery.
Addendum, 14 June 2010
The comment to this post states that a specific homeless person is responsible for the car thefts in Sleepy Hollow recently and this assertion has been passed on to someone with a connection to the city's sheriff's substation. Meantime, it is well-known in the community that the number of homeless in Sleepy Hollow is up considerably, which is hardly a surprise. Obviously, there is no objective way at this point to determine guilt or who is responsible.
Meantime, there have also, it seems, been a series of car thefts at the Carriage Hills subdivision further to the east. Again, where the incidents there are related to those in Sleepy Hollow is, at the moment, conjecture. Let's hope the Sheriff's Department can get to to the bottom of this and it would certainly help to keep vigilant about the activities of our homeless population, without drawing too many broad conclusions.
08 June 2010
Primary Election Preliminary Results (Including Next Day Addendum)
Well, it's still early, but after today's primary election, it appears that incumbent Republican congressional representative Gary Miller, who has served in the House since 1998 and hardly had any resistance in his several re-election campaigns is going to win the primary (and, therefore, the November election) in the Italy-shaped 42nd District, which stretches from La Habra to Chino and from Diamond Bar through eastern Orange County down to Mission Viejo, and which includes Carbon Canyon.
In the last few days, main challenger Phil Liberatore accelerated his Canyon beautification plan by seeking to place a sign on every available power pole, fence, and other permanent fixture. Robo calls and mailers from the Liberatore campaign were also increasing in intensity as the campaign wound down.
The other two candidates: Lee McGroarty and David Su, never really had much of a chance, though McGroarty did get some media attention concerning Miller earmarks and took out some ads in local papers.
According to the New York Times, with 26% of precincts reporting, Miller had 11,644 votes (54%) to Liberatore's 6,873 (32%). McGroarty had 10% and Su 3% of the votes. Obviously, with a full three-quarters of the votes to be tallied, there could be some substantive change, but likely not enough to change the outcome.
Still, the extent to which Liberatore and, to a lesser degree, McGroarty, channeled some of the general Tea Party discontent by attacking Miller for votes on TARP and other measures that have been fodder and fuel for the opposition has been notable.
As was the amount of money Liberatore spent: $725,000, much of which came from his personal resources. Miller, who undoubttedly has far more money in his coffers, but has chosen to spend frugally, paid out some $330,000 in primary campaigning. McGroarty had a modest lower five-figure expenditure, while Su spent virtually nothing.
Meantime, inundated as the Canyon is with the ubiquitous campaign signs, it will be interesting to see how many of (and how soon) these landfill-destined placards will actually be taken down in upcoming days.
Addendum, 9 June 2010:
As suspected, given that many more precincts were submitting tallies, The New York Times results as of today show that the margin of victory for Rep. Gary Miller over challenger Phil Liberatore in yesterday's primary election is 11%. Here are the totals, as reported by that paper:
Miller: 23,593 votes (48%)
Liberatore: 17,914 (37%)
McGroarty: 5,171 (10%)
Su: 1,531 (3%)
Clearly, this is a notable development within Republican Party politics and conservativism in general, with Tea Party support obviously providing a hearty boost for Liberatore (whose third stenciled sign along the side of Carbon Canyon Road on the Brea side of the Canyon contained the now-standard "Take Back America" motto.)
Naturally, if McGroarty and Su weren't in the race, this could have been a "to the wire" primary. Whether or not, Miller's representation of the 42nd changes as a result of this significant challenge remains to be seen. With House terms only two years long and the 2012 campaign likely to be as (if not more) contested and contentious as this one, it will be very interesting to see how matters play out.
Meantime, unchallenged Democratic contender Michael Williamson faces Rep. Miller in the November election, but the outcome will almost certainly be far different than the internal battle that took place in this campaign.
In the last few days, main challenger Phil Liberatore accelerated his Canyon beautification plan by seeking to place a sign on every available power pole, fence, and other permanent fixture. Robo calls and mailers from the Liberatore campaign were also increasing in intensity as the campaign wound down.
The other two candidates: Lee McGroarty and David Su, never really had much of a chance, though McGroarty did get some media attention concerning Miller earmarks and took out some ads in local papers.
According to the New York Times, with 26% of precincts reporting, Miller had 11,644 votes (54%) to Liberatore's 6,873 (32%). McGroarty had 10% and Su 3% of the votes. Obviously, with a full three-quarters of the votes to be tallied, there could be some substantive change, but likely not enough to change the outcome.
Still, the extent to which Liberatore and, to a lesser degree, McGroarty, channeled some of the general Tea Party discontent by attacking Miller for votes on TARP and other measures that have been fodder and fuel for the opposition has been notable.
As was the amount of money Liberatore spent: $725,000, much of which came from his personal resources. Miller, who undoubttedly has far more money in his coffers, but has chosen to spend frugally, paid out some $330,000 in primary campaigning. McGroarty had a modest lower five-figure expenditure, while Su spent virtually nothing.
Meantime, inundated as the Canyon is with the ubiquitous campaign signs, it will be interesting to see how many of (and how soon) these landfill-destined placards will actually be taken down in upcoming days.
Addendum, 9 June 2010:
As suspected, given that many more precincts were submitting tallies, The New York Times results as of today show that the margin of victory for Rep. Gary Miller over challenger Phil Liberatore in yesterday's primary election is 11%. Here are the totals, as reported by that paper:
Miller: 23,593 votes (48%)
Liberatore: 17,914 (37%)
McGroarty: 5,171 (10%)
Su: 1,531 (3%)
Clearly, this is a notable development within Republican Party politics and conservativism in general, with Tea Party support obviously providing a hearty boost for Liberatore (whose third stenciled sign along the side of Carbon Canyon Road on the Brea side of the Canyon contained the now-standard "Take Back America" motto.)
Naturally, if McGroarty and Su weren't in the race, this could have been a "to the wire" primary. Whether or not, Miller's representation of the 42nd changes as a result of this significant challenge remains to be seen. With House terms only two years long and the 2012 campaign likely to be as (if not more) contested and contentious as this one, it will be very interesting to see how matters play out.
Meantime, unchallenged Democratic contender Michael Williamson faces Rep. Miller in the November election, but the outcome will almost certainly be far different than the internal battle that took place in this campaign.
03 June 2010
A Little Sleepy Hollow Mystery!
Sleepy Hollow is, despite its usually overblown reputation in a rather staid Chino Hills, actually a generally sleepy neighborhood, usually pretty quiet (except for the traffic on Carbon Canyon Road), and with hardly any major crime to speak of (note the shocking murder in the Higgins Ranch neighborhood last week or the horrific murder/suicide near Peyton and Eucalyptus last year as examples of where the unexpected can happen in places thought immune from such events.)
So, it was more than surprising as I drove home this evening about 10 p.m. through the Brea side of the Canyon, crossed into Sleepy Hollow and turned onto Rosemary Lane and my headlights illuminated guy in his 20s or early 30s standing next to a later model shiny red pickup and holding his arm in the air while it and much of his left side down his leg covered in blood. I did a double take as I made the turn and then reversed back slightly and rolled my window down to see if the guy needed any help.
He calmly replied that he was OK and that paramedics were on the way. When I asked again if he needed anything and he shook his head, I headed home. Within minutes, a fire truck and five squad cars from Chino Hills rolled into Sleepy Hollow and proceeded to the scene.
Maybe there'll be something in the local paper about it, but it certainly was a strange sight to see. If anyone hears what happened, feel free to leave a comment.
Addendum, 14 June 2010
Thanks to an update from Sleepy Hollow neighbors, this turned out to be a domestic dispute in which the man I saw had been in an argument with his wife and said spouse cut him on the arm with a knife. There's not much more that can be said than that.
So, it was more than surprising as I drove home this evening about 10 p.m. through the Brea side of the Canyon, crossed into Sleepy Hollow and turned onto Rosemary Lane and my headlights illuminated guy in his 20s or early 30s standing next to a later model shiny red pickup and holding his arm in the air while it and much of his left side down his leg covered in blood. I did a double take as I made the turn and then reversed back slightly and rolled my window down to see if the guy needed any help.
He calmly replied that he was OK and that paramedics were on the way. When I asked again if he needed anything and he shook his head, I headed home. Within minutes, a fire truck and five squad cars from Chino Hills rolled into Sleepy Hollow and proceeded to the scene.
Maybe there'll be something in the local paper about it, but it certainly was a strange sight to see. If anyone hears what happened, feel free to leave a comment.
Addendum, 14 June 2010
Thanks to an update from Sleepy Hollow neighbors, this turned out to be a domestic dispute in which the man I saw had been in an argument with his wife and said spouse cut him on the arm with a knife. There's not much more that can be said than that.
02 June 2010
On the Skids in Carbon Canyon #4861
This one seems to have taken place over the Memorial Day weekend on Carbon Canyon Road just west of Carriage Hills, only a few feet from the crash detailed on the post of 12 April.
There is a long, deep, dark skid moving from the westbound lanes across the opposite side and then into the embankment, fundamentally the same general pattern as the April incident. A portion of a windshield, broken glass, and a strip of plastic or rubber were left on the shoulder.
Meanwhile, it is possible there was a second car involved as there is what looks to be another skid mark on the eastbound side moving into the shoulder.
At any rate, it is reasonable to assume that a high rate of speed negotiating the westbound turn just past Carriage Hills Drive led to the usual overcorrection and interface between car and embankment.
Carbon Canyon and Rancho Santa Ana del Chino: Antonio Maria Lugo
After the secularization of the California missions, the huge swaths of valuable land controlled by the missionaries (ostensibly in the name of the aboriginal people they sought to Christianize and "civilize") became available for private settlement. As early as 1834, according to some sources, the Rancho Santa Ana del Chino came to the attention of Antonio Maria Lugo, along with José Antonio Carillo. The two sought a grant, but it was seven years before any action was taken. By then, Carrillo withdrew and Lugo was finally granted the rancho in 1841. Now, for a little background on Lugo, though first it should be pointed out that, despite the Chino high school's reference in name to "Don Lugo," it really should be "Don Antonio," as the honorific title of don, denoting someone of high social status, was only used in conjunction with a first name, not a surname. Nonetheless . . .
In 1773, in the northern department of Sinaloa in New Spain (Mexico), Francisco Salvador Lugo enlisted in the Spanish army under the command of Fernando Rivera, newly appointed governor of Alta California who was ordered by Viceroy Bucareli to take an expedition into the territory and go as far as Monterey. This was only three years after the return of the first Spanish land exploration of Alta California, led by Gaspar de Portolá. A condition of the expedition was that those who agreed to go as colonists to the far-flung possession could live in established pueblos after their military service, thus providing an opportunity for advancement in status not found to many of the lower classes in New Spain.
Leaving the town of Loreto in Baja California in late March, the expedition reached Monterey in late May at which time Rivera assumed his duties as governor, the third in Alta California under Spanish rule. Notably, some of the soldiers from the Rivera expedition who were part of a later group commanded by José Ortega complained about the poor food supplies and one of these was Francisco Lugo, adjudged to be "predisposed toward sedition" (hunger and want tend to do that to people, for some strange reason).
In March 1774, Lugo was left at the Mission San Antonio de Padua to serve as a guard. This mission is one of the more remote in California, meaning that the land around it is about as close as you can come to what the region looked like 236 years ago. Situated north of San Luis Obispo and ensconced within Fort Hunter Liggett, twenty-five miles west of U. S. 101, San Antonio is one of those rare places that time (and modern life) has seemingly largely passed by.
Lugo traveled in the Rivera/Ortega expedition with his wife, Juana Vianazul, and their children Rosa María, Tomasa Ignacia, Salvador and José Antonio. While heading north of San Diego, Juana gave birth to another son, José Ignacio, one of the first European children born in Alta California, perhaps the first. About the time the Lugos were posted at Mission San Antonio, Juana was again pregnant. On 13 July 1775, the sixth Lugo child and fourth son, Antonio María, was born there.
By 1780, the Lugos had moved south to Mission San Luis Obispo and there were two more children born, including a son and daughter. Francisco Lugo remained in the army until he was well into his sixties and was followed in the service by all his sons (excepting the eldest, Salvador, who was killed when he fell off a horse as a young boy), including Antonio Maria who was assigned to the presidio (fort) at Santa Barbara about 1793. He has been described as being over six feet tall, a veritable giant of the time, though lean and sinewy. His striking stature continued to make an impression on his fellow citizens all his life. Though uneducated in terms of formal schooling and unable to read or write, Antonio María clearly was an intelligent, ambitious and accomplished member of Californio society.
In early 1796, Antonio Maria married María Dolores Ruiz of Santa Barbara and was given an adobe house close to the presidio there as a residence for himself and family. He remained in the army at Santa Barbara until 1810, when he left the service and requested a grant of land south of the pueblo of Los Angeles (population in the several hundreds) in present-day Lynwood, which was agreed to by Governor José Joaquín Arrillaga. Lugo, his wife and four children, José María, Felipe, María Vicenta, and María Antonia, then moved into an adobe house that Antonio María built at Los Angeles, while he stocked his ranch with cattle to make a living selling the raw hides and tallow (fat, used for soap and candles.) In 1813, a son, José del Carmen, was born at Los Angeles.
Lugo soon acquired enough of a reputation and good standing in the pueblo that, in 1816, Governor Pablo Vicente Sola appointed him alcalde (mayor) of Los Angeles, a position which he held three years. Later, in 1833-34, Don Antonio was juez del campo, or Judge of the Plains, who oversaw the important annual spring roundup of cattle. Three years later, he moved from his adobe facing the Plaza to a new structure to the south, at where 2nd and San Pedro streets are today. At that new home, in 1822, the year of Mexican independence from Spain, another son was born in the Lugo family, Vicente. Three years later, another son, José Antonio III, was born.
In 1823, the first Mexican-era governor of Alta California, Luis Antonio Argüello, granted Lugo's request for additional acreage to his holdings in an area northwest, including today's cities of Bell and Bell Gardens. Evidently, it was at this time, the early stages of Mexican independence, that these two conjoined properties were formally called Rancho San Antonio, which was a Lugo possession for many decades. Two years later, in 1825, the first of a series of occasional major floods affected the Rancho San Antonio, which was located between the Los Angeles River and the old course of the San Gabriel River, now the Rio Hondo. There would be many others, but this was the first major one under the Lugos' tenure at the rancho and the damage included vineyards, corn fields, a corral, a house and servants' quarters, and untold numbers of cattle and horses.
Another request for additional land on the Rancho San Antonio, embracing much of modern Montebello, was made by Lugo and granted by Governor Echeandía in 1827. While his growing holdings and wealth from the cattle trade enhanced Lugo's standing in the community, he faced tragedy in 1829 when his wife, died at age forty-six at their Los Angeles home.
The 1830s was a time of considerable political turmoil in Mexico and its department of Alta California, but Don Antonio seemed to remain removed from most of this. In 1838, while serving on the ayuntamiento (town council) of Los Angeles, he received from Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado, a nephew through a sister, another addition to the Rancho San Antonio in the area of today's city of Maywood, the final acquisition to the rancho which totaled some 19,500 acres. While Don Antonio remained at his pueblo home, some of his sons and daughters resided on the San Antonio rancho.
There were, evidently, two reasons, then, why Don Antonio sought to expand his landholdings beyond Rancho San Antonio. First, he had increasing numbers of cattle that even the large rancho could not adequately contain. Second, his large family needed additional land for their own maintenance and for inheritance. Secularization, coming along in the mid-1830s, gave the opportunity for such expansion. Consequently, in 1839, the Lugo family was able to secure a grant from Governor (and close relative) Alvarado for the Rancho San Bernardino at the base of Cajon Pass and the San Bernardino Mountains.
That same year, a daughter of Don Antonio, María de Jésus, married Isaac Williams, who was recently baptized a Roman Catholic (under the name Julián) and took Mexican citizenship. There will, of course, be much more later on Williams and the Rancho Santa Ana del Chino.
As stated above, Don Antonio first made overtures about Chino in 1834, but it was not until March 1841 that Governor Alvarado gave his uncle a preliminary grant (a final grant came later in the year) to five leagues (of an original request of eight), with a league consisting of a little under 4,500 acres, making the grant in the neighborhood of 22,000 acres. Don Antonio moved quickly to build an adobe house, on the site of today's Boys Republic school in Chino Hills, on the west bank of Chino Creek and moved almost 4,000 cattle, an undetermined number of sheep and several hundred horses to the ranch from Rancho San Antonio. Almost immediately after the final title was issued, Don Antonio's daughter and son-in-law, María de Jésus and Isaac "Don Julian" Williams moved out to Chino and built a separate residence from which Williams oversaw ranch operations after his father-in-law granted him half ownership of the ranch. In 1843, Williams secured the three leagues (about 13,000 acres) that Don Antonio originally sought and this became the "Rancho Santa Ana del Chino Addition" to the north and west of the five leagues granted two years prior. In 1847, Don Antonio granted his half of the rancho to his Williams granddaughters, María Merced and Francisca, who later married John Rains and Robert S. Carlisle, respectively, although other sources state that Lugo granted his half-interest to Isaac Williams about 1851.
As for Don Antonio, he maintained his Los Angeles residence for nearly another twenty years. In late 1841, the sixty-seven year old ranchero married fourteen-year old Antonia Germán and the union brought about four more children. He maintained his Los Angeles residence and adjacent vineyard, but lived part of the year at Rancho San Antonio at an adobe that was unfathomably destroyed in the 1980s. Living until the advanced age of eighty-five and known to be vigorous and active until near the very end, Don Antonio passed away in February 1860, a rare link between the earliest days of Spanish colonization of Alta California and the earliest days of the American era in the Los Angeles region.
A curious euolgy was made in 1896 by Henry D. Barrows, who knew Don Antonio and attended his funeral:
To rightly estimate the character of Señor Lugo, it is necessary for Americans to remember the difference of race and environment. Although he lived under three regimes, to wit, Spanish, Mexican and Anglo-American, he retained to the last the essential characteristics which he inherited from Spanish ancestors and, although . . . he had, as was very natural, no liking for Americans themselves as a rule, or their ways, nevertheles, he and all better class [!] of native Californians of the older generation did have a general liking for individual Americans and other foreigners, who in the long and intimate social and business intercourse, proved themselves worthy of their friendship and confidence.
The image of Antonio María Lugo is from the front cover of Edwin Rhodes' 1951 compilation, The Break of Day in Chino.
In 1773, in the northern department of Sinaloa in New Spain (Mexico), Francisco Salvador Lugo enlisted in the Spanish army under the command of Fernando Rivera, newly appointed governor of Alta California who was ordered by Viceroy Bucareli to take an expedition into the territory and go as far as Monterey. This was only three years after the return of the first Spanish land exploration of Alta California, led by Gaspar de Portolá. A condition of the expedition was that those who agreed to go as colonists to the far-flung possession could live in established pueblos after their military service, thus providing an opportunity for advancement in status not found to many of the lower classes in New Spain.
Leaving the town of Loreto in Baja California in late March, the expedition reached Monterey in late May at which time Rivera assumed his duties as governor, the third in Alta California under Spanish rule. Notably, some of the soldiers from the Rivera expedition who were part of a later group commanded by José Ortega complained about the poor food supplies and one of these was Francisco Lugo, adjudged to be "predisposed toward sedition" (hunger and want tend to do that to people, for some strange reason).
In March 1774, Lugo was left at the Mission San Antonio de Padua to serve as a guard. This mission is one of the more remote in California, meaning that the land around it is about as close as you can come to what the region looked like 236 years ago. Situated north of San Luis Obispo and ensconced within Fort Hunter Liggett, twenty-five miles west of U. S. 101, San Antonio is one of those rare places that time (and modern life) has seemingly largely passed by.
Lugo traveled in the Rivera/Ortega expedition with his wife, Juana Vianazul, and their children Rosa María, Tomasa Ignacia, Salvador and José Antonio. While heading north of San Diego, Juana gave birth to another son, José Ignacio, one of the first European children born in Alta California, perhaps the first. About the time the Lugos were posted at Mission San Antonio, Juana was again pregnant. On 13 July 1775, the sixth Lugo child and fourth son, Antonio María, was born there.
By 1780, the Lugos had moved south to Mission San Luis Obispo and there were two more children born, including a son and daughter. Francisco Lugo remained in the army until he was well into his sixties and was followed in the service by all his sons (excepting the eldest, Salvador, who was killed when he fell off a horse as a young boy), including Antonio Maria who was assigned to the presidio (fort) at Santa Barbara about 1793. He has been described as being over six feet tall, a veritable giant of the time, though lean and sinewy. His striking stature continued to make an impression on his fellow citizens all his life. Though uneducated in terms of formal schooling and unable to read or write, Antonio María clearly was an intelligent, ambitious and accomplished member of Californio society.
In early 1796, Antonio Maria married María Dolores Ruiz of Santa Barbara and was given an adobe house close to the presidio there as a residence for himself and family. He remained in the army at Santa Barbara until 1810, when he left the service and requested a grant of land south of the pueblo of Los Angeles (population in the several hundreds) in present-day Lynwood, which was agreed to by Governor José Joaquín Arrillaga. Lugo, his wife and four children, José María, Felipe, María Vicenta, and María Antonia, then moved into an adobe house that Antonio María built at Los Angeles, while he stocked his ranch with cattle to make a living selling the raw hides and tallow (fat, used for soap and candles.) In 1813, a son, José del Carmen, was born at Los Angeles.
Lugo soon acquired enough of a reputation and good standing in the pueblo that, in 1816, Governor Pablo Vicente Sola appointed him alcalde (mayor) of Los Angeles, a position which he held three years. Later, in 1833-34, Don Antonio was juez del campo, or Judge of the Plains, who oversaw the important annual spring roundup of cattle. Three years later, he moved from his adobe facing the Plaza to a new structure to the south, at where 2nd and San Pedro streets are today. At that new home, in 1822, the year of Mexican independence from Spain, another son was born in the Lugo family, Vicente. Three years later, another son, José Antonio III, was born.
In 1823, the first Mexican-era governor of Alta California, Luis Antonio Argüello, granted Lugo's request for additional acreage to his holdings in an area northwest, including today's cities of Bell and Bell Gardens. Evidently, it was at this time, the early stages of Mexican independence, that these two conjoined properties were formally called Rancho San Antonio, which was a Lugo possession for many decades. Two years later, in 1825, the first of a series of occasional major floods affected the Rancho San Antonio, which was located between the Los Angeles River and the old course of the San Gabriel River, now the Rio Hondo. There would be many others, but this was the first major one under the Lugos' tenure at the rancho and the damage included vineyards, corn fields, a corral, a house and servants' quarters, and untold numbers of cattle and horses.
Another request for additional land on the Rancho San Antonio, embracing much of modern Montebello, was made by Lugo and granted by Governor Echeandía in 1827. While his growing holdings and wealth from the cattle trade enhanced Lugo's standing in the community, he faced tragedy in 1829 when his wife, died at age forty-six at their Los Angeles home.
The 1830s was a time of considerable political turmoil in Mexico and its department of Alta California, but Don Antonio seemed to remain removed from most of this. In 1838, while serving on the ayuntamiento (town council) of Los Angeles, he received from Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado, a nephew through a sister, another addition to the Rancho San Antonio in the area of today's city of Maywood, the final acquisition to the rancho which totaled some 19,500 acres. While Don Antonio remained at his pueblo home, some of his sons and daughters resided on the San Antonio rancho.
There were, evidently, two reasons, then, why Don Antonio sought to expand his landholdings beyond Rancho San Antonio. First, he had increasing numbers of cattle that even the large rancho could not adequately contain. Second, his large family needed additional land for their own maintenance and for inheritance. Secularization, coming along in the mid-1830s, gave the opportunity for such expansion. Consequently, in 1839, the Lugo family was able to secure a grant from Governor (and close relative) Alvarado for the Rancho San Bernardino at the base of Cajon Pass and the San Bernardino Mountains.
That same year, a daughter of Don Antonio, María de Jésus, married Isaac Williams, who was recently baptized a Roman Catholic (under the name Julián) and took Mexican citizenship. There will, of course, be much more later on Williams and the Rancho Santa Ana del Chino.
As stated above, Don Antonio first made overtures about Chino in 1834, but it was not until March 1841 that Governor Alvarado gave his uncle a preliminary grant (a final grant came later in the year) to five leagues (of an original request of eight), with a league consisting of a little under 4,500 acres, making the grant in the neighborhood of 22,000 acres. Don Antonio moved quickly to build an adobe house, on the site of today's Boys Republic school in Chino Hills, on the west bank of Chino Creek and moved almost 4,000 cattle, an undetermined number of sheep and several hundred horses to the ranch from Rancho San Antonio. Almost immediately after the final title was issued, Don Antonio's daughter and son-in-law, María de Jésus and Isaac "Don Julian" Williams moved out to Chino and built a separate residence from which Williams oversaw ranch operations after his father-in-law granted him half ownership of the ranch. In 1843, Williams secured the three leagues (about 13,000 acres) that Don Antonio originally sought and this became the "Rancho Santa Ana del Chino Addition" to the north and west of the five leagues granted two years prior. In 1847, Don Antonio granted his half of the rancho to his Williams granddaughters, María Merced and Francisca, who later married John Rains and Robert S. Carlisle, respectively, although other sources state that Lugo granted his half-interest to Isaac Williams about 1851.
As for Don Antonio, he maintained his Los Angeles residence for nearly another twenty years. In late 1841, the sixty-seven year old ranchero married fourteen-year old Antonia Germán and the union brought about four more children. He maintained his Los Angeles residence and adjacent vineyard, but lived part of the year at Rancho San Antonio at an adobe that was unfathomably destroyed in the 1980s. Living until the advanced age of eighty-five and known to be vigorous and active until near the very end, Don Antonio passed away in February 1860, a rare link between the earliest days of Spanish colonization of Alta California and the earliest days of the American era in the Los Angeles region.
A curious euolgy was made in 1896 by Henry D. Barrows, who knew Don Antonio and attended his funeral:
To rightly estimate the character of Señor Lugo, it is necessary for Americans to remember the difference of race and environment. Although he lived under three regimes, to wit, Spanish, Mexican and Anglo-American, he retained to the last the essential characteristics which he inherited from Spanish ancestors and, although . . . he had, as was very natural, no liking for Americans themselves as a rule, or their ways, nevertheles, he and all better class [!] of native Californians of the older generation did have a general liking for individual Americans and other foreigners, who in the long and intimate social and business intercourse, proved themselves worthy of their friendship and confidence.
The image of Antonio María Lugo is from the front cover of Edwin Rhodes' 1951 compilation, The Break of Day in Chino.