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Ourweekly top news stories of 2013

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Lancaster welcomes new Kaiser Permanente medical office facility

Will be the largest such building in the city

By OW Staff

The city of Lancaster announced the construction of the largest medical office facility to date in the city, the Kaiser Permanente’s medical office building.

“(This) marks a huge day in our history for a number of reasons,” said Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris. “This much-needed facility will go a long way toward improving the health of the entire Antelope Valley region. In addition, we are pleased to announce that with the construction of this new facility, Kaiser Permanente joins the city of Lancaster in our goal to become the alternative energy capital of the world.”

Once completed, the 136,000-square-foot facility will house 66 provider offices, three major procedure rooms, a chemotherapy and non-chemotherapy infusion center, imaging, lab draw, and an outpatient pharmacy. The building, located at Avenue L and 5th Street West, is scheduled to open in late 2014.

It’s the first Kaiser Permanente building to implement a sustainable energy design, the first to qualify for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, and the first to utilize solar water heating; integrate design with energy models; and utilize reclaimed water to operate building fixtures as well as for landscape irrigation.

The building’s configuration and orientation takes full advantage of the prevailing climate and wind conditions of the Antelope Valley. The facility will also house a courtyard healing garden for patients and staff.

Palmdale couple charged with capital murder

Abused child succumbs to his injuries

City News Service

A Palmdale couple was charged with capital murder in the beating of the woman’s 8-year-old son, who died in May.

Pearl Sinthia Fernandez, 29, and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, 32, were ordered held without bail while they awaited arraignment in Lancaster Superior Court.

The murder charge includes the special circumstance of murder during the commission of torture. The district attorney’s office has yet to decide whether to seek the death penalty against the pair.

Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel were sent to a residence in the 200 block of East Avenue Q-10 in response to a report that the boy, Gabriel, was not breathing, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Brian Hudson.

The boy, who was hospitalized in critical condition since, died two days later.

Investigators said he suffered a fractured skull, several broken ribs and burns.

Aguirre was questioned by detectives and allegedly “admitted to causing the injuries to the victim,” Hudson said, adding that two other children in the residence were taken into protective custody by the county Department of Children and Family Services.

The boy’s mother allegedly admitted to being present during the assault and not doing anything to stop it, Hudson said.

Officials have said that authorities had previous contact with Fernandez over treatment of the boy. The boy’s grandfather told reporters that neighbors contacted DCFS to report abuse in the home, but nothing was done. County Supervisor Michael Antonovich called for an investigation of all county social workers and supervisors involved in the boy’s case.

Mayor Rex Parris joins voting rights lawsuit against Palmdale

A battle of neighboring cities

by OW Staff

Lancaster mayor R. Rex Parris, an attorney, and the Malibu law firm Shenkman & Hughes, joined together in a suit against the city of Palmdale under the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). The case, filed on behalf of plaintiff Juan Jauregui, sought to end Palmdale’s at-large system of electing city council members in favor of geographic council districts.

Jauregui alleged that Palmdale’s at-large method of election resulted in the dilution of Latino and African American voting power, denying them effective political participation in elections to the Palmdale City Council. The complaint was filed in April 2012. Despite the lawsuit, a judge allowed the city’s elections to be held on Nov. 5. The next step is for the election results to be certified by the judge, which is expected to happen in January at the latest.

“The effects of the city of Palmdale’s at-large method of election are apparent and compelling,” said a statement released by the attorneys. “Despite a Latino population of approximately 54.4 percent and an African American population of 14.8 percent in Palmdale, only one Latino and not a single African American has ever been elected to Palmdale’s City Council. Consistently, the candidates of choice of Latino and African American voters have been defeated because they fail to draw support from Palmdale’s politically cohesive White voters.”

After the election on Nov. 5, the city responded:

“Although they caused immeasurable confusion and angst among our residents, the plaintiffs were unsuccessful in court in their attempt to stop Palmdale’s election, and our residents had their say at the polls,” said Palmdale’s Communications Manager John Mlynar.

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