28 May 2018

New Twist in the Tale of Tres Hermanos Ranch

The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported in yesterday's edition that the City of Industry city council voted to issue a rare municipal subpoena for records from the company that oversaw early stage planning for a proposed solar farm at Tres Hermanos Ranch in Tonner Canyon directly north of Carbon Canyon.

The documents were needed, the city stated, to hand over as part of lawsuits filed against it by the cities of Chino Hills and Diamond Bar to halt the sale of the ranch, but San Gabriel Valley Water and Power, LLC had not produced them as requested previously.  The firm was paid the $20 million in loans that the council set as the upper limit for what it could receive as part of the contract and then continued submitting invoices, which were rejected.

The issue is not just over the documents, but a wrinkle arose within the council as Industry Mayor Mark Radecki and Abraham Cruz, whom the paper described as the mayor's ally, did not attend the meeting called to vote on the subpoena and refused to sign it.  Radecki stated that he believed the meeting to be illegal, but the three-person majority continued with the process and voted to issue the subpoena, also passing a resolution giving Mayor pro-tem Cory Moss the authority to sign the document.  Statute requires the signatures of the mayor and city clerk.

For more on the story, here is the article.


21 May 2018

On the Skids in Carbon Canyon #24891

This happened over the weekend, probably late at night as is often the case, and on eastbound Carbon Canyon Road at the middle of S-curve in Chino Hills, as is often the case.


In fact, there might have been two incidents here.  Tire marks lead directly into the power pole, which continues to get bumped and battered on a regular basis.  Note the bollard at the right thrown back at an angle, while its sibling is knocked flat toward the fence.

To the left of that is the speed limit sign for the curve, with its left post cut off just above the "ankle."  This sign has been partially or completely knocked down many times over the years.



It, like the pole, is an easy target for drivers, chemically impaired or otherwise, who just can't negotiate the obvious curve.  Somehow, those reflectors, added after the last incident, didn't prevent this one.


Portions of the tailpipe and muffler and other sundry and assorted car parts mark the path and the fence behind the sign has also (yet again) been partially damaged.

19 May 2018

Carbon Canyon Road Full Closure

A structure fire in Sleepy Hollow has led to a full closure of Carbon Canyon Road from Olinda Village on the Brea side to Rosemary Lane in Sleepy Hollow on the Chino Hills side.

The last update was at 8 p.m. and there was no estimate for when the road will reopen.

UPDATE—10:35 P.M.  Carbon Canyon Road reopened a few minutes ago.

Another Twist at Tres Hermanos Ranch

The news is a few days old, but the City of Industry has filed a rare municipal subpoena for information from San Gabriel Valley Water and Power, LLC, the company it paid $20 million as part of early planning for a proposed solar farm at Tres Hermanos Ranch, which is directly north of Carbon Canyon.

This is said to be done in order to satisfy demands made in lawsuits filed by the cities of Chino Hills and Diamond Bar contesting the sale of the ranch to Industry.

Read more here.

08 May 2018

More News on Tres Hermanos Ranch

An article this weekend in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune discusses the situation with the proposed solar farm at Tres Hermanos Ranch, specifically a plan for Southern California Edison to be involved in the project.

The utility signed on to build a pair of substations to link the solar farm to the electrical grid with the provision that the work would be paid for by the developer hired by the City of Industry to manage the project.

Payment for work by San Gabriel Valley Water and Power has been halted and it was stated that the company has not turned over documents to the City of Industry so the details of work can be verified as well as have information available in lawsuits filed against the City by the cities of Chino Hills and Diamond Bar over the sale of the ranch to Industry.

Acting City Manager Troy Helling said that Industry is committed to using Tres Hermanos for a public purpose, but observed that the sale is not technically complete because of the litigation and added that the situation is "still pretty much up in the air."

More on the story including a link to documents concerning the SCE substations is available here.