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Today in S.C.V. History January 16
1926 - Newhall Community Hospital, est. 1922, opens in larger, more modern hospital building at 6th & Spruce streets [story]
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1926 - Newhall Community Hospital, est. 1922, opens in larger, more modern hospital building at 6th & Spruce streets [story]
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Jan.16: Circle K Supports American Red Cross California Wildfire Relief with 40 Cents Off Per Gallon
As the Los Angeles area begins to recover from the devastating recent wildfires, Circle K is supporting the American Red Cross to help local communities during this challenging time.
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New and continuing students can register for the College of the Canyons spring 2025 semester, which begins Monday, Feb. 10.
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Hilton, American Express and 211 LA have announced a plan to provide vouchers to people impacted by the fires to stay, free of charge, at Hilton properties.
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The Los Angeles County Health Officer has issued a new order in preparation for fire recovery operations and to ensure the safe removal, transport, and disposal of fire debris resulting from recent wildfires.
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After announcing the Cancellation of The People’s March, the Women's March Foundation has pivoted to volunteerism for victims of the Los Angeles wildfire victims.
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The city of Santa Clarita, in partnership with Santa Clarita Sister Cities, invites local students to submit original artwork, poetry, essays/creative writing, photographs or music for the 2025 Young Artists and Authors Showcase.
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Eaton Fire officials will host a virtual community meeting and provide an update on the current fire situation, address questions, and discuss recovery.
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Property owners who have been impacted by the current wildfires in Los Angeles County may be eligible for various property tax disaster relief.
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Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo is partnering with the NAACP Santa Clarita Branch and the Boys & Girls Club of the Santa Clarita Valley for a Day of Service focused on supporting those impacted by the recent wildfires.
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SCV Water is thrilled to announce its 2025 Gardening Class schedule, featuring a series of innovative workshops designed to inspire, educate, and empower the community to create beautiful, sustainable landscapes.
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Cal Fire and the Los Angeles County Fire Department have reported that 24 people are dead after fires in Los Angeles County have burned more than 40,000 acres.
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The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is issuing a Windblown Dust and Ash Advisory following strong Santa Ana winds expected to affect the region through Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 7:00 p.m.
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To help wildfire survivors who are wondering whether their house is still standing, Los Angeles County has launched an interactive map that shows the status of their property. The virtual map includes photos and a color-coded key that reflects levels of damage.
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Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital and Keck Medicine of USC breast surgical oncologist Amanda Woodworth, MD, has been appointed co-chair of the American Cancer Society’s National Breast Cancer Roundtable Risk Assessment, Screening, Risk Reduction and Early Diagnosis Priority Team.
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The city of Santa Clarita has announced the release of the second episode of Santa Clarita Voices, the city’s official podcast that highlights the stories, experiences and conversations from city leaders, businesses and organizations.
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Bob Hope Patriotic Hall, a 10-story building in downtown Los Angeles and home to the County of Los Angeles Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and various veteran service partners, has now closed to the public.
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The Ninth Annual Youth Arts Showcase Painters, Pictures and Prose Contest is now accepting submissions. Deadline to submit is Friday Feb. 28.
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College of the Canyons freshman Wyatt Wilson finished with 32 points to lead the Cougars men's basketball team past visiting Glendale College 96-74 during the Western State Conference, South Division opener on Saturday, Jan. 11.
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College of the Canyons women's basketball was beaten 81-37 by No. 6 state-ranked Glendale College, suffering defeat in the Western State Conference, South Division opener at the Cougar Cage on Saturday, Jan. 11.
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ESCAPE Theatre will present its 50th Production, "Annie" from Thursday, Jan. 30 thru Sunday, Feb. 2 at the College of the Canyons Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center, 26455 Rockwell Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91355.
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The Santa Clarita Artists Association has announced its 2025 Scholarship Program, designed to support talented high school senior art students in the Santa Clarita Valley. Applications are open and will be accepted through Friday, Feb. 28.
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21 Comments
The street by Sams Club is appropriately named “McKeon Way”.
IT REALLY DOES’NT GO ANYWHERE.
Can you change that hat to a arse hat!???? truly I don’t help the people person!!
I remember with great sentiment the one and only event in my memory, where Santa Clarita’s staunch Republicans and its environmentalist Democrats came together, the fight against the Cemex Mine. Reading BLM’s termination letter addressed to Cemex, I realize that Cemex and the BLM were guilty of “sneaking up” on Santa Clarita, making plans and agreements in the dark between 1999 and mid 2002.
In late 2002, thanks to Santa Clarita’s City Council, “the people” finally understood what was going on, and participated in a huge anti-mine pep rally in a high school gym. Then, the City chartered buses to take a horde of Santa Claritans down to County Hall in Downtown L.A. to oppose the County granting land use permits to Cemex. The City provided anti-mine T-Shirts for its residents to wear. My 11 year old daughter and her dad rode on the bus and I met them. (Just last month my now 24 year old daughter found her tiny anti-Cemex T-Shirt in the back of her closet!) The Board of Supervisors chamber was packed with people, hundreds of them. Supervisor Mike Antonovich was so revved up with indignation about the potential traffic impacts on his constitutions, in Santa Clarita, Agua Duce, Acton, Palmdale and Lancaster, he could not contain himself. If the middle of the presentation by Cemex’s lawyers in favor of their project our Supervisor became so outraged, he made a motion to stop the hearing and deny the permits. The other Supersivors voted to support him and it was over. Everyone applauded with joy…except for those of us who understood the process.
Despite beautiful legal work by the City’s lawyer, a notoriously cranky Federal judge later erased the Supervisors vote and ordered the County to issue Cemex its permits.
Years passed, and as Darryl Manzer and SCVNews point out, millions of Santa Clarita taxpayer dollars where dumped into complex maneuvers to kill the mine legislatively, without the BLM’s cooperation. Through the end of 2014 BLM was vehemently opposing cancellation of the mining program, because its managers wanted the cash flow to fund their other programs.
Now, this letter called a BLM Record of Decision has arrived, with page after page of carefully written description, from BLM’s point of view, on how Cemex failed to perform on its BLM contracts, casting BLM as the aggrieved party, not Santa Claritans. In the last few pages of that Record of Decision, BLM includes language which tips off any lawyer that there IS more to come. BLM says it will pursue “the sureties” (insurance companies) for payment on the bond posted by Cemex to insure its performance on the contracts. BLM gives notice to Cemex that Cemex has a right to appeal the letter’s termination of the contracts.
The entry of surety bond insurance companies into a problem situation is never good, because they have but one objective: Not paying money. Under many legal theories the surety bond holder can step into Cemex’s shoes and pursue that appeal. So the “problem” of the mine will not be gone until BLM has the surety’s money. Perhaps more check writing by the city, to make BLM whole, and take the surety out of the picture, will be necessary. So Santa Claritans, don’t be angry if you hear that the city has to write more checks to make BLM whole under the last pages of that Record of Decision letter.
Outside of Santa Clarita, BLM’s world is very different. Senators Harry Reid and Dean Heller of Nevada have a wonderful relationship with BLM’s senior management in Washington. During the frenzy of legislation passed by Congress at the end of 2014, Nevada’s Senators were able to convince BLM to relinquish fee title ownership, including mineral rights, to more than 100,000 acres of BLM land in Nevada, giving the land to the state, to Clark County and to several Nevada cities. Prior to that 2014 Nevada BLM bill, Senator Reid had previously twice killed a proposed Cemex gravel mine in the south end of the Las Vegas Valley, near the M Casino if you know it.
In 2014 Nevadans got ownership of all of that BLM land “for free” at the same time Congressman McKeon, retiring Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, one of the most powerful Congressmen “on the Hill”, was unable to get his Cemex-solution bill through the Senate, because of the last minute intervention of an obscure junior Senator from New Mexico, Martin Heinrich, the son of Shirley Bybee, a member of a politically powerful western family which includes a rather infamous Federal judge Jay Bybee. Senator Heinrich sided with BLM and put a “hold” on Buck’s Cemex-solution bill, negating Buck’s “juice”. I won’t speculate on the Heinrich-Bybee-McKeon connection but perhaps other Santa Claritans can figure it out.
Even assuming that BLM has wiped the slate clean with this Record of Decision letter, removing Cemex from the picture, Santa Clarita is STILL at risk because that mine-able aggregate will still be sitting in those mountains northeast of Santa Clarita’s boundaries, waiting for BLM under some President’s administration to decide that cash flow from sale of mining rights is needed. It is absolutely essential that Santa Clarita or Los Angeles County obtain the same thing as Senators Reid and Heller delivered for their constituents last year. A gift of fee title ownership of the BLM land, including mineral rights, covering both the former Cemex mine site and additional BLM land to the north which Leon Worden identified, long ago, as being another candidate for a BLM mine which would be disastrous to the public health. How can that happen? Only if Santa Clarita figures out how to move BLM’s decision makers the way Senator Reid could for his constituents. Only through the gracious offices of Senators Feinstein and Boxer, with the cooperation of BLM officials who are still controlled by President Barack Obama, at least for the next 15-1/2 months.
A clue as to how far into the bubble Buck went was when his wife ran for local office! They thought they were invincible. So we find out what some of us have always thought: the McKeon’s are “takers”. And after 15+ years of political stagnation, the SCV can finally move forward. Thank you Sen. Boxer!!!!
Can we count on Darryl to pay the bill when it comes in the mail?
People will be sorry when they want to build a new patio, pool deck, etc…and there is a concrete shortage…typical not in my backyard mentality.
At least I can breath clean air from my backyard!
Yeah…mining sand and gravel is not a pollutant..
Maybe! But the pollutants from the hundreds of trucks traveling in and out of the canyons at all hours would. Plus if you enjoy viewing scarred mountainsides then more power to you but I’m certain you live nowhere near the would be impacted area. Have a nice day Amy!
All I’m saying is there are WAY worse things that could be coming to SCV. And we all benefit from concrete, Believe or not. Without it cost of living goes up. It really isn’t that bad. Take Care. Congratulations.
Thank you!
Wow, two people with opposing views not calling each other names on Facebook!? What a breath of fresh air. Thanks Amy and Frank!
Amy, perhaps those patios should be built with sustainable materials so that we can all continue to have a back yard and slightly less polluted air.
Hahaha. Are you kidding me. You must not live near the site or the 14 fwy where they planned to truck all this cement!
Thanks Ethan..yes people can debate opposing opinions without being jerks! Just want some people to hear the other side. Everyone needs to realize cement is used for a lot of things that we all will want or need at some point. Not just patios. And it does affect all of our costs of living.
Nothing is “over” and if any of you believe that you’re mistaken or like false hope! They, (someone) WILL mine there, period!! There is no other use for the land in question! The best reading the “pollution” argument…which is simply not the case nor has it ever been! When LA country run out of material, soon…most will eat crow and find another person or company to blame for the rapid rise in the cost of living!
Im sure there are other locations to obtain what is needed for patio material. That’s the least of our worries !
Manzer is right on the money with this one!
?can’t believe your liberal commit. Buck did more for Santa Clarita in spite of Boxer.thats like thanking Obama for our weak economy!
Are you sure it’s weak????