(From the nytimes.com) Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday about 270,000 cars sold worldwide — including luxury Lexus sedans — have potentially faulty engines, the latest quality lapse to hit the automaker following massive global recalls of top-selling models. (more…)

The City of Santa Clarita is pleased to announce effective July 1, 2010, the Santa Clarita Valley Film Office will now coordinate the process of securing Sheriffs assigned to film productions working in the City of Santa Clarita. This new policy includes a more streamlined hiring process eliminating the need for productions to work through the downtown Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office.  It also reduces production costs by offering the same hourly rate the City pays for services, which means $10 or more per hour less in savings over current rates. (more…)

(From the nytimes.com) They are the muscular, leg-roomy fixtures of New York’s crowded streetscape, the automobiles that came to represent the city. The Ford Crown Victoria served as the mainstay of taxi and police fleets. Its close cousin, the Lincoln Town Car, could reliably be found idling outside Lincoln Center or waiting to whisk a Wall Street type home for the evening. (more…)

Hundreds lined up of the official grand opening of the 63^rd Goodwill Store in the Santa Clarita Valley today, Friday, June 25, 2010. The newest addition to the Goodwill retail organization is located at the corner of Pico Canyon Road and The Old Road in Stevenson Ranch. Shoppers were treated to raffle give aways and a number of free items “hidden” around the store. (more…)

The Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corp. has hired an award-winning economic development director from Arizona to become the first executive director of the newly established SCVEDC. The SCVEDC Board of Directors completed its five-month, nationwide executive search when it chose Jonas Peterson, economic director of Arizona’s Mohave County, from a field of highly experienced and talented candidates, said SCVEDC Chairman Bill Kennedy. (more…)

If you’re wondering why you are hearing more about 25Score lately, it’s largely credited to the marketing and business partnering efforts of the new owners of 25Score, Ed and Marlene Bernstein.  “We love our community and I have personally been a member of the 25Score card since 1990”, explained owner Ed Bernstein, “when we had the opportunity 8 months ago to purchase 25Score, we were excited to continue the tradition of the 25Score Card program in the Santa Clarita Valley and wanted to expand the merchant base and it’s value for everyone in the community”. (more…)

(From the nytimes.com) In a major victory for Google in its battle with media companies, a federal judge in New York on Wednesday threw out Viacom’s $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit against Google’s YouTube, the No. 1 Internet video-sharing site. The ruling in the closely watched case could have major implications for the scores of Internet sites, like YouTube and Facebook that are largely built with content uploaded by their users. (more…)

(From the Signal) The Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corp. would like to serve up a piece of the enterprise zone money pie to businesses outside the city limits. Corporation officials have requested Santa Clarita’s and Los Angeles County’s help in applying for a new, larger enterprise zone to replace the city’s existing one. (more…)

The City of Santa Clarita will host a FREE Enterprise Zone Breakfast Workshop on Wednesday, June 23, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at the Santa Clarita Transit Maintenance Facility. This informational workshop will include a complimentary continental breakfast and provide local businesses with information on how to reduce their State income taxes.  Representatives from the City’s Economic Development Division will facilitate the program that is being sponsored by Tim DiTomaso of DiTomaso Incentive Group. (more…)

(From the AP) Big-screen televison retailer Ken Crane’s is going out of business. The company announced Friday that it will be closing all six Los Angeles-area stores in the next two months. (more…)

The City of Santa Clarita will host a FREE Enterprise Zone Breakfast Workshop on Wednesday, June 23, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at the Santa Clarita Transit Maintenance Facility. This informational workshop will include a complimentary continental breakfast and provide local businesses with information on how to reduce their State income taxes.  Representatives from the City’s Economic Development Division will facilitate the program that is being sponsored by Tim DiTomaso of DiTomaso Incentive Group. (more…)

Once again the Signal is late to the party, this topic was reported on in The Beacon weeks ago in a commentary titled “Commerce Center Assoc. against Annexation attempt as City charges forward”. You can read portions of the Associations letter in that commentary; also there is Supervisor Antonovich’s Guest Commentary on annexation in general. It’s also interesting that the City will negotiate with the Commerce Center but not residents; that should speaks volumes to the unincorporated communities. (From the Signal)  The city of Santa Clarita wants to bring the Valencia Commerce Center’s 8 million square feet of developed business space under its banner, but leaders representing the commerce center aren’t thrilled about that idea. (more…)

(From the nytimes.com) Beginning on Sunday, the Kindle e-reader will be sold in Target stores nationwide, the company announced on Wednesday. It will be the first brick-and-mortar store to sell the Kindle, which had been available only through the Amazon Web site. Mark Schindele, a senior vice president for Target, said in a statement that the discount chain’s customers had an “overwhelmingly positive” response to the Kindle during a test run at 104 stores. (more…)

(From the AP) It could soon cost California shoppers at the checkout if they forget to bring their own bag to the grocery store. Legislation passed Wednesday by the California Assembly would prohibit grocery stores, pharmacies, liquor stores and convenience stores from giving out plastic bags. It would also charge customers for using store-issued paper bags. (more…)

(From the latimes.com) This weekend’s scheduled debut of a new family roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain has been postponed until 2011 because of construction delays, according to amusement park officials. Mr. Six’s DanceCoaster, themed to the frenetically dancing senior citizen who serves as a spokes-character for the amusement park chain, would have been the Valencia park’s 17th coaster. (more…)

Mayor Laurene Weste delivered checks for grants awarded to five City-based businesses through the Newhall Redevelopment Small Business Grant Program. The businesses presented with checks were Friendly Hair Salon, Pilates Teck, Richan Landscaping, VO2 Fitness and Yoga Yoga. (more…)

The City of Santa Clarita kicked off phase II of a multi-faceted media campaign aimed at Southern California businesses CEOs, CFOs, and other decision makers highlighting the benefits of expanding within or relocating to the growing Santa Clarita Valley market.  The “Think Santa Clarita” business attraction campaign aims to attract interest from California businesses through television, print and radio coverage in the Los Angeles market. (more…)

(From the nytimes.com) After months of intense lobbying to shape the future of financial regulation, it turns out that orthodontists and florists most likely won’t be under the thumb of a new regulator after all. Car dealers are still in limbo. (more…)