DAY OF THANKS SAVING OF AHMANSON SITE CELEBRATED WITH CEREMONY.Byline: Rachel Uranga Staff Writer CALABASAS- Under a sky tinged red by nearby brush fires, Chumash Indian ceremonial leader Mati Waiya stood Saturday at the edge of Ahmanson Ranch, held aloft an abalone abalone (ăbəlō`nē), popular name in the United States for a univalve gastropod mollusk of the genus Haliotis, members of which are also called ear shells, or sea ears, as their shape resembles the human ear. shell full of burning sage and sang a song of cleansing. The ceremony topped off a day of celebration The Day of Celebration was a gathering of 45,000 Latter-Day Saint youth which took place on July 16, 2005 to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. for dozens of activists, environmentalists and politicians who helped stop a proposed 3,050-home development and preserve the 2,800 acres of rolling hills Rolling hills are like a mountain chain, only a "hill chain" of hills that roll on and on continually. You will often find them in between plains and mountains, near major rivers, or randomly anywhere. The only places without rolling hills are deserts and flood plains. as open space. ``People power won this and saved the ranch,'' said Mary Weisbrock, a tireless opponent of the Washington Mutual “WaMu” redirects here. For the Washington, DC radio station, see WAMU. Washington Mutual (or WaMu; NYSE: WM) is the United States' largest savings and loan association. development, to the cheers of supporters. Assemblywoman Fran Pavley Fran Pavley is a Democratic politician and previously served as a California Assemblywoman and as the first mayor of the Southern California community of Agoura Hills. She served as a Mayor and Councilmember for four terms. , D-Woodland Hills, who helped broker the purchase of the land by the state, likened the efforts to a relay race, where development foes passed off their efforts to each other. ``Nobody dropped the baton. We made it all the way to the finish line,'' she said, surrounded by a cadre of politicians including Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who blocked a crucial oak tree permit that would have enabled developers to build on the land. < The 10-year fight to halt the development culminated in the $150 million deal funded by the state to buy Ahmanson Ranch from Washington Mutual and make it part of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy is an agency of the state of California in the United States founded in 1979 and dedicated to the acquisition of land in the Santa Susana and Santa Monica Mountains and the Simi Hills, north and west of Los Angeles, for preservation as open . Like a newborn child, Waiya said, the land should be purified, cleansed. ``These sacred areas are our history,'' he said, barefoot and wearing a feathered headdress headdress, head covering or decoration, protective or ceremonial, which has been an important part of costume since ancient times. Its style is governed in general by climate, available materials, religion or superstition, and the dictates of fashion. . ``We must now be the stewards.'' Throughout the day, longtime residents expressed amazement that the longtime fight had actually been won. ``Did you ever think it was going to happen?'' asked Scottie Rich, who donated money to several of the groups opposing development. ``Never did,'' answered her husband as he stood waiting to walk to the ridge of the ranch, which will sit behind a linked fence until developers turn over the land to the state. ``I truly now believe in miracles,'' Scottie Rich said. Rachel Uranga, (805) 583-7602 rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com |
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