Placerita Canyon Nature Center is hosting their Open House on May 13 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and will feature a variety of activities that will provide fun for the whole family. Animal presentations, exhibits, and vendor displays await attendees. Plus, for $2 attendees can pan for fools gold, get...

My last two articles were about unusual insects ; the walking stick and the assassin bug, one with a surprising look but totally harmless, the other one small but not so welcome, and could present a real threat, especially if found in your bed. However, I met some friends last week who reminded me that...

The addition of the cross-valley connector (Golden Valley and Newhall Ranch roads) was a great improvement to relieve the congestion on Soledad Canyon Road. It makes it a whole heap better when crossing the north end of Santa Clarita. The real problem is getting into Old Town, or downtown, Newhall from...

Ron Kraus The Placerita Canyon Natural Area has a rich history of human activity, and Ron Kraus is just the human to tell you about it. Kraus, vice president of the Placerita Canyon Nature Center Associates and a fount of knowledge about Placerita’s past, will discuss the subject today from 2 p.m....

The prehistoric period in California is often considered one of the most interesting in the world due to the highly complex indigenous cultural systems that flourished there. More distinct cultural groups and languages coexisted in California during the pre-Spanish period than any other region in the...

[KHTS] – A fire in an outbuilding broke out in Newhall Saturday night, causing unknown amount of damage. The fire occured in a 50-by-20-foot shed or storage facility in the 22000 block of Oak Orchard Road in Placerita Canyon, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department officials. Los Angeles...

Sorry everybody, no story about plants or animals this week. I am trying something new for a few weeks to provide some variety – then I’ll go back and forth with the topics. I am always talking to you about Placerita Canyon like it is an enchanted land, with wonderful volunteers.  It is and they...

When European settlers discovered our valley, they wrote that they found a “green paradise.” I can easily imagine them standing on our mountains after their long journey and viewing what must have looked like a lush, green valley. That was in the late 1700s. All of this green vegetation was mostly...

If you could visit the nest of a dusky-footed woodrat, you would find many surprises. Let’s start with the treasure room, because they are not called packrats for nothing. They store items totally useless to them, but which have an attraction of some sort we likely can’t understand. Pens, bottle...

The housing community along the future Marsha McLean Parkway east of Highway 14 will be gated, if the City Council agrees to take certain procedural steps Tuesday. The council approved the Golden Valley Ranch development years ago, but only the shopping center was built, and hundreds of acres of raw...