Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich announced that the preliminary design for the pool project at the Castaic Sports Complex has been approved by the Board of Supervisors. Located at the Castaic Sports Complex at 31230 Castaic Road, the pool project will include an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a shallow wading pool and a splash pad with water features.  There will also be an 8,000-square-foot pool building with restrooms, changing rooms, staff offices and utility rooms. (more…)

This past week the William S. Hart School Board finally made a decision by choosing the Romero Canyon property to build the proposed new Castaic High School. This puts to rest the long drawn-out political jockeying over where to site the new school and actually gives hope to all parents in the Hart School district that the Castaic High School will open its doors for the 2013-2014 school year. (more…)

The owner of the newly chosen site for the much-anticipated Castaic High School today expressed appreciation to the board, staff and consultants of the William S. Hart Union High School District, and stands ready to help the district achieve its goal of opening the new school in time for the 2013-2014 school year. The Hart District governing board voted 5-0 Wednesday night to move forward as quickly as possible to complete preliminary studies and negotiate to acquire the 114-acre Romero Canyon property offered for sale by Romero Canyon, LLC, led by 40-year Santa Clarita Valley resident Larry Rasmussen. (more…)

At the William S. Hart School Board meeting held on Wednesday, July 14, 2010 the board members voted unanimously 5-0 to build the proposed new Castaic High School on the property known as Romero Canyon. This was the obvious choice for many and the school board members recognized that this site would be the safest most viable site to yield the new school for the self imposed 2013 deadline. Romero, owned by local developer Larry Rasmussen, is the near center of the populated Castic area and elevate scholl over-crowding  as well as complete the traffic circulation plan for the area. More to come!  

The shenanigans continue at the William S. Hart School Board and there is no real end in sight. Oh sure, the School Board claims that it will make a decision in July as to which property, either the Hasley/Sloan or the Romero Canyon, to build the new high school on in Castaic. But the truth is that it is all about politics now and nothing else; overcrowded schools or the how it is impacting our children don’t seem to matter; it’s all about the players at the school board and the SCV Facilities Foundation which owns the Hasley/Sloan property. (more…)

(From hometownstation.com) Castaic High is a step or two closer to becoming a reality, after much discussion of reams of reports given to members of the Wm. S. Hart High School Governing Board Wednesday night. An update from experts hired to do preliminary research on two favored sites for a Castaic area high school focused on traffic issues, state requirements and civil engineering studies. (more…)

(From the Signal) The Castaic Area Town Council has endorsed the Romero Canyon site as a location for the future Castaic high school. Romero Canyon, owned by developer Larry Rasmussen, is one of two sites being considered by the William S. Hart Union High School for the long-promised school, which has been planned for some 10 years but still lacks a location. (more…)

The Signal is playing catch again on the recent letters that were sent by the local area Town Councils to LAFCO opposing the proposed annexation of the Hasley Hills area of Castaic which has been reported here at The Beacon over the last several weeks. The Signal article quotes a City official as saying; “Respectfully is the operative word” which is laughable since that is the one thing that the City of Santa Clarita refuses to be!  (From The Signal) The proposed annexation of unincorporated neighborhoods west of Interstate 5 has driven a wedge between members of two town councils that advise Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich and the city of Santa Clarita. The West Ranch Town Council sent a letter to the Local Agency Formation Commission last week opposing the proposed annexation of Hasley Hills, Live Oak and North Bluff neighborhoods as well as the Valencia Commerce Center. (more…)

To enhance public safety in the Santa Clarita Valley, Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich announced new traffic control measures at following locations:

In Stevenson Ranch, new stop signs will be installed at: (more…)

On Thursday, May 5, 2010, The Beacon published a Guest Editorial  by Los Angeles County 5^th District Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich in which he reiterated his stance on annexation. In no uncertain terms the Supervisor reinforced his long standing, consistent and unwavering view that he will not support “any annexation that divides established communities.” Thank goodness we have a County Supervisor who is listening to all of his constituents and not just a small minority. Antonovich is governing the unincorporated communities with a fair and even hand which looks at the whole picture. (more…)

The Community Hiking Club will be traversing the Boy Scout Trail to Whittaker Peak in Castaic on Saturday, May 8^th. The Boy Scout Trail in Castaic is a 10 mile roundtrip with a 2,000’ gain. You should see some lovely wildflowers on the Boy Scout Trail. Part of this hike will be on a single track trail, and part of it will be on a fire road. There are some lovely views from the higher areas of this hike, and the area is also loaded with deer. (more…)

(From the AP) The second man (pictured on the right) who escaped from a Los Angeles County jail last week and was recaptured hours later has been convicted of multiple counts of armed robbery. A Superior Court jury on Wednesday convicted 24-year-old Jose Aldana of home invasion robbery, assault and false imprisonment. The charges stemmed from a violent home invasion and a string of armed robberies in March 2009. (more…)

(From the latimes.com) One of two inmates who escaped last week from Castaic jail was found guilty Tuesday of multiple counts of armed robbery, authorities said. Winder Estuardo Barrios, 24, was found guilty of all 15 counts he faced, including home-invasion robbery, false imprisonment by violence, assault with a firearm and 10 counts of second-degree robbery, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said. (more…)

The William S. Hart School Board will be meeting this week and it will be interesting to see if the Castaic High School site selection charade will continue. I say charade because it is quite clear that the Hasley/Sloan site has so many fatal flaws and financially insurmountable mitigations that if it were chosen it is quite possible that we would not see a Castaic High School built in our lifetime! (more…)

Here we go again with the divisive annexation attempts by the City of Santa Clarita. The City leadership is unwilling to engage the entire unincorporated communities but instead is continuing the arrogant attempt at dividing established communities. If the City wants Hasley Hills, Live Oak and North Bluff then they should also annex the other 25 square miles of Castaic and Val Verde and keep the entire community together. (From The Signal) Santa Clarita’s attempt to absorb neighborhoods in Castaic would tear out the heart of the unincorporated community, the president of the Castaic Area Town Council wrote in a letter to the county agency that must approve the process. Robert Kelly, the president of the council, wrote that Santa Clarita’s plan is a “destructive attempt” to divide the unincorporated community west of Interstate 5. (more…)

The 14^th Annual Castaic Run is slated for Sunday May 2nd, 2010 Rain or Shine. Registration onsite begins at 6:30 a.m. The 1K Race starts at 8:00 a.m. SHARP!!! Registration forms available at: www.CastaicAreaTownCouncil.org  (more…)

The Board of Supervisors approved a beautification project for the Interstate 5/Hasley Canyon Road interchange in the unincorporated community of Castaic, announced Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. At an estimated cost of $500,000 financed by the Newhall Land and Farming Company, the project will include landscape improvements, irrigation and new fences.

(From The Signal) Next year will be the last year Castaic’s eighth-graders attend West Ranch High School. Starting in fall 2011, all high school students living in Castaic will attend Valencia High School, until the Hart district builds the much-needed and debated Castaic high school, Hart board members voted this week. (more…)