{"id":38628,"date":"2013-06-20T15:51:36","date_gmt":"2013-06-20T22:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=38628"},"modified":"2013-08-30T00:01:21","modified_gmt":"2013-08-30T07:01:21","slug":"parris-to-ledford-lets-tear-down-the-cactus-curtain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2013\/06\/20\/parris-to-ledford-lets-tear-down-the-cactus-curtain\/","title":{"rendered":"Parris to Ledford: Let\u2019s tear down the cactus curtain!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Lancaster<\/a>
Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris held a press conference outside Antelope Valley courthouse Thursday morning to call for a mediator to settle ongoing differences between Lancaster and Palmdale.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LANCASTER \u2013 It\u2019s no secret that Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris and Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford have disagreed over the years on a variety of issues. The most recent sources of contention have been the Palmdale Power Plant and Palmdale\u2019s approval of safe and sane fireworks this Independence Day holiday.<\/p>\n

The public battle between the two neighboring cities is reaching a \u201ccrescendo that is simply intolerable,\u201d and the City of Lancaster is now extending an olive branch to resolve differences with Palmdale, Parris announced at a press conference Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I would like to say is, \u2018Mr. Ledford, let\u2019s tear down the curtain,\u2019\u201d Parris said. \u201cThat cactus curtain is causing real people real pain, and we have to stop doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flanked by Lancaster City Council members in front of the Antelope Valley courthouse, Parris suggested the two cities hire a mediator to settle their disagreements on issues that affect the entire Antelope Valley.<\/p>\n

Parris said world class mediators had expressed interest in the project, and the process would cost little if anything at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both have city managers that get along quite well, fortunately, and they\u2019ll put it together,\u201d Parris said. \u201cAll it takes is a willingness to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parris outlined a list of issues he believed could be tackled through a mediator. They included:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • The Palmdale Power Plant,<\/li>\n
  • The \u201creckless disregard of the economic realities\u201d regarding sales taxes,<\/li>\n
  • The future of the Antelope Valley Transit Authority and Metrolink,<\/li>\n
  • Recycled water,<\/li>\n
  • The sanitation district administration,<\/li>\n
  • Air quality management strategies,<\/li>\n
  • The role of local government and citizens commissions,<\/li>\n
  • Local AV control of water service,<\/li>\n
  • Local control of the Antelope Valley Fair,<\/li>\n
  • Fireworks sales, and<\/li>\n
  • Unemployment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t have an employment problem if the two cities worked together\u2026 unemployment could be about 5 percent instead of 14 percent,\u201d Parris said. \u201cIt\u2019s time we behave like adults and try to figure out how to work out these real issues where there are real disagreements.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u201cJust hurting each other is only hurting the hard working families that live here,\u201d Parris added.<\/p>\n

    Contacted by telephone Thursday afternoon, Ledford said a mediator was unnecessary, especially with regard to the Palmdale Power Plant.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe process is already complex enough, we don\u2019t need to add another layer of government on top of the many layers that already exist,\u201d Ledford said. \u201c[The Palmdale Power Plant] is the most analyzed project in the history of the Antelope Valley, and we want another round of hearings? It\u2019s already been approved!\u201d<\/p>\n

    The Palmdale Power Plant has already been approved by the California Energy Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency, so the issue does not require mediation, Ledford said. There are already processes, boards and commissions in place to take care of the other issues Parris mentioned, so a mediator was not needed in those areas either, Ledford said.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThose boards are put together for that reason, I think they\u2019re doing fine,\u201d Ledford said. \u201cI don\u2019t agree with everything, but I\u2019m not supposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Ledford said Palmdale was working hard to address unemployment, as well.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWe\u2019re trying to address the unemployment, I\u2019m bringing 800 jobs to build a power plant that he wants to deny,\u201d Ledford said.<\/p>\n

    Ledford said mediation between the two cities was simply not needed, and he preferred to focus on the positives instead.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI don\u2019t understand it. We\u2019re spending energy in areas that don\u2019t bring any benefit,\u201d Ledford said. \u201cLet\u2019s focus on positive things and the development of our communities, respectively, and the Antelope Valley will thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

    –<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    LANCASTER \u2013 It\u2019s no secret that Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris and Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford have disagreed over the years on a variety of issues. The most recent sources of contention have been the Palmdale Power Plant and Palmdale\u2019s approval of safe and sane fireworks this Independence Day holiday. The public battle between the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38628"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38628\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}