The federal Bureau of Land Management hand-delivered a formal document to Cemex officials on Friday which terminated two 10-year contracts to mine in Soledad Canyon. A suspect who allegedly shot a man in Canyon Country on Friday morning is still at large. The cause of the Warm Fire which burned about...

Andrew G. Fried For those of us who have battled for the past decade and a half to prevent Cemex from developing a massive sand and gravel mine in Soledad Canyon, it would be all too easy to give up hope after so many close calls and legislative failures over the years. But we haven’t given up hope....

One Step Closer to Drought Relief I’m very proud to announce that on Thursday, the House passed H.R. 2898, the Western Water and American Food Security Act. I spoke on the House Floor about the importance of this legislation, which will address the major issues that are causing California’s drought...

The Santa Clarita Valley’s congressman is calling on the Army Corps of Engineers to deny the permits Cemex would need to mine sand and gravel for the next 20 years in Soledad Canyon. In a statement, U.S. Rep. Steve Knight said he led a bipartisan effort by sending a letter Tuesday afternoon to...

Andrew G. Fried The waiting game can be frustrating, for all parties involved. In the case of the proposed 56-million-ton Cemex gravel mine in Soledad Canyon, those of us who have been working toward a solution have endured a long wait, and it’s not over just yet. After several years of close calls...

Andrew G. Fried The game has changed when it comes to the dispute over whether Cemex will proceed with its plan to mine 56 million tons of aggregate from a site in Soledad Canyon just outside of Santa Clarita city limits. That much, at least, has been assured by the dueling letters between Cemex and...

[KHTS] – Cemex officials were “disappointed” Wednesday by a letter sent from the Bureau of Land Management questioning their ability to mine on Soledad Canyon. The purpose of their letter, which was sent Friday, was to correct “the record” and ensure the project “is not further prejudiced”...

[Supv. Antonovich] – Los Angeles County Mayor Michael D. Antonovich applauded the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to consider withdrawing its conditional approval of the Cemex mining company’s contract to operate in the Soledad Canyon area. “Since it obtained Federal approval in 2000,...

Is it over yet? Are we there yet? How much longer? It appears the BLM has pulled support for Cemex mining in the Santa Clarita Valley. You know the BLM (Bureau of Land Management), the federal government’s answer to land mismanagement. The same folks who now have heavy-duty weapons and up-armored vehicles...

[READ the BLM letter]   [KHTS] – A federal agency sent a letter Monday withdrawing support for Cemex to mine Soledad Canyon. The Bureau of Land Management’s 2000 approval was conditional upon “significant conditions,” officials said. “It’s unclear how, or if, this development can...