LVHF Pays Tribute to Gary Klein…

The Federation salutes and says good-bye to long-time Calabasas Planning Commissioner, Gary Klein. Gary passed away on July 31st due to injuries he suffered from a recent car accident. Gary was an active member of the Calabasas community and most certainly one of the most knowledgeable planning executives the city has ever had the privilege of sitting on its Planning Commission.

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Fear and Persecution in Calabasas….you thought it was over?

A message from Topanga resident and delegate Dorothy Reik:

On the surface Calabasas is the ideal SFValley community: clean, wide streets, up-scale shopping malls, a brand new middle school, well kept lawns, securely gated communities. But under the surface all is not well. There is a move to complete the gentrification of Calabasas at the expense of the homeowners of Old Topanga and Calabasas Highlands and anyone who speaks out can expect a visit from the housing gestapo – the proverbial jackbooted thugs who invade homes in search of violations, deny to “dissidents” retroactive permits granted to other homeowners, slap substandard liens and lawsuits on helpless, financially strapped homeowners, even destitute widows trying to sell their homes. All this at the hands of the Calabasas City Council and their co-conspirators at the building department. I am not going to name names right now. Because Calabasas incorporated the County and the State cannot do much. Stay tuned. We in Topanga will have to help our neighbors many of whom were once part of Topanga and didn’t heed our warnings when Calabasas came calling. The people in Calabasas should not be living in fear – but they are. For further information you can check out the Topanga Messenger archives and the articles written by Anne Marie Donkin. Stay tuned.

Great Meeting! SSFL Update/Info and How to Drive a Successful Initiative…

Thank you to all for an outstanding meeting.  Great to meet you Mic Farris and we look forward to working with you on Initiatives in the future!

The Federation also thanks our Santa Susana Field Lab presenters from the Department of Energy, EPA,  the California Department of Toxic Substances Control and William Preston Bowling.The information they shared with us was very valuable and helpful in understanding the investigation of the site. If anyone has questions, they can contact the following individuals and they will be able to get them in contact with the correct person to answer their questions. 

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Senator Pavley’s Homeowner Bill of Rights Approved

The California State Legislature approved two bills today, Senate Bill 900 and Assembly Bill 278, which will enact the California Homeowner Bill of Rights.

Senator Fran Pavley jointly authored Senate Bill 900, which is designed to provide a more fair and reasonable process for Californians struggling to stay in their homes. Almost three million Californians have already lost their homes through foreclosure. “We are doing everything we can to help our communities recover from this terrible economic recession”, she said.

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