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

We hope that you are all enjoying the “dog days of summer” as the season comes to a close this labor day. Dave will be on his yearly sabbatical all next week so there will be a delay in posting comments. If you make a comment to a commentary or story during next week it will not post until Saturday September 7^th. Please know that your comments are important to us and they will be posted! We hope you enjoy the Vintage Commentaries as well as the Guest Commentary and a regular column from Chris Sharp.

The following is an open letter to MTA Chief Executive Officer Roger Snoble from Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich in response to his letter to Congressman David Dreier:

Dear Mr. Snoble, (more…)

California lawmakers approved a bill Saturday that would allow drivers to be charged a fee to use car pool lanes on two Los Angeles freeways. (more…)

Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s deputies are asking motorists to remember fallen deputy Hagop “Jake” Kuredjian by flipping on their headlights during the day Sunday. Kuredjian, 40, was shot and killed in the line of duty while helping the Bureau of Alcohol, (more…)

Tomorrow, Sunday August 31, 2008, will mark seven years since Deputy Hagop “Jake” Kuredjian paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving and protecting the residents of the Santa Clarita Valley.  Jake was shot and killed in the line of duty while assisting the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms during the service of a search warrant on Friday, August 31, 2001, in Stevenson Ranch. He was 40 years old. (more…)

Work will begin in September to add one mile to the existing two miles of trails at the 100-acre Prime Desert Woodlands at 35th Street West and Avenue K-8 in Lancaster. The cost of the project is $383,000 and will include grading, soil compacting and installing railing reports the Daily News. Plans also call for improvements to the pavilion, adding landscaping, and installing seating, lighting and audio/visual capabilities.

The era of the American Internet is ending. Invented by American computer scientists during the 1970s, the Internet has been embraced around the globe. During the network’s first three decades, most Internet traffic flowed through the United States. In many cases, data sent between two locations within a given country also passed through the United States. (more…)

A universal health care plan is headed for the governor’s desk again. The bill by state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, a Santa Monica Democrat, would create a state-financed Medicare-for-all style system to cover all Californians. It cleared the state Assembly on Friday by a 43-31 vote. The plan would be funded through state and federal appropriations, patient premiums and co-payments (more…)

Striking Los Angeles International Airport employees returned to work Friday morning, less than 24 hours after baggage handlers, (more…)

The pilot of a Cessna 172 was in critical condition and the two others onboard received minor injuries Friday when the small plane (more…)

John McCain shook up the US presidential race on Friday with the surprising announcement that he had picked little-known Sarah Palin, the 44-year-old governor of Alaska, as his vice-presidential running mate. “She’s exactly who I need,” said Mr McCain as he appeared with Ms Palin at a rally in the swing state of Ohio, where she made a direct appeal to supporters of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama’s defeated primary rival. (more…)

The local hiking club will be traversing Bear Divide this Saturday August 30th at 8:15 AM. Bear Divide is the perfect, easy summer hike. There is a little bit of altitude, lots of shade, and it’s all downhill. We will be shuttling from one end of the trail to the other as this is not (more…)

A class of oral drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes may make heart failure worse, according to an editorial published online in Heart Wednesday by two Wake Forest University School of Medicine faculty members. (more…)

Hidden within the positive statistic showing a 5 percent rise in the number of California high school students taking the SAT in 2008 is a disturbing trend. While more white and Asian students are taking the SAT and scoring above 500 on each of the college preparatory (more…)

Lately there has been a lot of discussion and bickering going on it the Santa Clarita Valley revolving around growth. In particular the expansion of Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, the Smiser Ranch property, the problems out in Benz Road and so on. (more…)

As students assemble on school campuses throughout the Santa Clarita Valley and school bells ring in another new school year, parents should discuss safety rules with their children, and motorists should remember to be alert for children near schools and bus stops. (more…)

Los Angeles County sheriff’s transit investigators raided more than a dozen locations Thursday morning, arresting a crew of suspected graffiti vandals believed responsible for more than $1 million in damage to public and private property across three counties. (more…)

California, known for its far-ranging suburbs and jam-packed traffic, is close to adopting a law intended to slow the increase in emissions of heat-trapping (more…)