Today in history

Today is Thursday, October 12, the 285th day of 2017 and the 21st day of autumn.

On this date in the SCV:

In 1988, The Signal reported that 65 1927era lots had been terraced out of the side of the steep Newhall hills above Wheeler Road and Vermont Drive and were nearly ready for sale. The tract was being bitterly fought by residents to the north in the Wheeler Road area, and to the east in the costly Peachland Estates. Residents in both neighborhoods said they feared the terraces would dump too much rainwater onto their land. The Wheeler residents said the tract would bring too many cars through their long-established neighborhood. The owner of the tract, Fernando Faura, had fought back just as hard, claiming that the many county inspections and six investigations of his property were a form of political harassment. Faura said he believed he was being harassed partly because of a lawsuit filed against him by Bill Small of Wheeler Road, saying he and others had an easement on Faura’s property that they and their children used daily to go east to Peachland Avenue. Faura had incorporated that private road into homesites in his project and it was no longer available for use by the residents in the Wheeler tract.

Today’s Highlights in History:

In 1492, explorer Christopher Columbus’ expedition made landfall in the Bahamas. In 1892, the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by students in public schools for the first time, in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage. In 1945, the Allied Control Council in Germany decreed that the Nazi political party be dissolved. In 2000, a suicide bomb attack on the USS Cole in Yemen killed 17 sailors and wounded 39. In 2007, former Vice President Al Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to increase public knowledge about climate change.

Today’s fact:

The United Nations Population Fund estimated that the world’s population reached 7 billion at the end of October 2011, but according to U.S. Census Bureau demographers, that number was not reached until four months later.

Today’s sports:

In 2003, Michael Schumacher won his sixth Formula One Drivers’ championship, breaking a record held for 48 years by Juan Manuel Fangio.

Today’s number:

42 – the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything, according to Douglas Adams’ comedy science fiction novel “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” published on this day in 1979.

Today’s moon:

Last quarter moon

(Oct. 12).