The West Ranch Beacon – News & Commentary for the Santa Clarita Valley

In the next step in the process to determine the future status of Santa Clarita Valley’s unincorporated communities, Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich announced that the County’s Chief Executive Officer has released financial data to the consultant retained to develop an Initial Feasibility Analysis (IFA).  (more…)

The Stevenson Ranch Fireworks Spectacular is a show that cost quite a bit of money to stage each year. In recent years there has been a perception that this event is paid for by the Homeowners Association (HOA) and therefore it is an entitlement of Stevenson Ranch residents; a birthright if you will. This is not true. (more…)

A Saugus resident has her purse and personal belonging back in her possession thanks to a Castaic resident, a Saugus resident, and deputies, following a brazen incident of grand theft at the food court inside the Westfield Valencia Town Center. (more…)

Here is a great take on the whole Global Warming issues as tackled by the late, great comic George Carlin. This is a video that is well worth the few minutes to watch as it puts much of the environmentalism into perspective in a very funny way. Beware that there is some strong language used in a couple spots to drive his points home. I thought it was quite funny and thank one of our readers for passing it along. Enjoy: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=eScDfYzMEEw&feature=related

I get so tired of people telling me that future is in battery powered cars. I am frustrated at these people. Blanket statements like. “Why can’t the auto companies just put batteries in ALL the cars they make and there-fore make them ALL hybrid cars”.  Why why why????? (more…)

The West Ranch Town Council will hold their monthly meeting on Wednesday July 2, 2008 at the Tournament Player Club in West Ranch located at 26550 Heritage View Lane in the Westridge neighborhood at 6:30 PM. The meeting will include the regular updates from the Sheriff’s Department, the (more…)

According to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, today’s air quality is unhealthy for sensitive individuals in the Santa Clarita Valley, the East San Gabriel Valley, and the Pomona/Walnut Valley area. Los Angeles County Health Officer and Public Health (more…)

Researchers at the University of Bath have discovered that a bacterium that causes Lyme disease originated in Europe, rather than in North America as previously thought. (more…)

The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff has a new online July 4^th video to help spread the word on safety for the upcoming holiday weekend. The video shows Deputy Darren Harris discussing the fact that all fireworks are illegal in the Santa Clarita Valley. The Sheriff Department will be stepping up patrols for illegal fireworks which can result in up to a $600 fine and/or a year in jail. Some illegal fireworks are a felony with stiffer penalties.You can view the video online here: Sheriff July 4^th Safety message

It seems that the “Mighty” Signal is on a roll in defending Santa Clarita City Manager Ken Pulskamp who is being “raked over the coals” for allegedly uttering the term – dare we use it on a family news and commentary site? -”urban center.”

Specifically, the Signal seems to be bending, twisting or otherwise making an excuse for a profile published by The Mighty Signal itself in which Pulskamp was “paraphrased (more…)

A suspect wanted in connection with the killings of a NASA engineer and three others in Quartz Hill was taken into custody near the Arizona-Mexico (more…)

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, appearing in a taped interview Sunday on “Meet the Press,” defended GOP presidential candidate John McCain as “the real deal on the environment” within days of taking a shot at the Arizona senator’s call for lifting the federal ban on offshore oil drilling as blowing (more…)

The past few days of trading have seen financial markets rocked by a realisation of just how fraught with dangers the US macroeconomic outlook still is (more…)

Police on Sunday were investigating vandals’ spray-painting of dozens of city vehicles here, some with disparaging messages about the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. (more…)

This morning I headed up to the Stevenson Ranch Elementary School to speak to the congregation of the Royal Oaks Community Church. I do this periodically throughout the year to let the church members know of an event or to plead for their help with an event. It is usually the later! (more…)

The battle to reduce carbon emissions is at the heart of many eco-friendly efforts, and researchers from the University of Missouri have discovered that nature has been lending a hand. Researchers at the Missouri Tree Ring Laboratory in the Department of Forestry (more…)

The Mississippi River pushed relentlessly past dozens of levees this month. Towns were submerged, their buildings tiny islands in murky water. Ducks paddled on ponds that had once been farmland. Some flooding was inevitable, given the force of the swollen (more…)

Authorities say a magnitude-4.3 earthquake has struck the Sierra Nevadas but there are no reports of damage or injuries. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake hit at 7:44 AM Saturday morning and was centered nine miles southeast of Mammoth Lakes. A Mammoth Lakes police sergeant says the quake felt like a “little bump” and no damage or injuries were reported.