In June of 2009, I attended an Army Corp of Engineers meeting held at the Rancho Pico Jr. High School to comment on the Newhall Ranch development. It was a painful meeting to sit through not because of the dry material but because there were a number of individuals from outside of Santa Clarita who drove their SUV’s and Luxury cars here to speak out against the Newhall Ranch Project. The problem was that most of them didn’t know what the hell they were talking about! (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…)

“False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.”-Socrates

When Councilman Frank Ferry called citizens who speak at our City Council meetings “Developmental Terrorists” he crossed the line from political rhetoric to hate speech. If citizens who choose to address their elected officials are labeled as “terrorists,” what do we call real terrorists who set out to kill and maim innocent human beings? (more…)

(From the Signal) Two government agencies released their final environmental report on the Newhall Ranch project Thursday, concluding that the proposed development in the western Santa Clarita Valley lacks sufficient trash-disposal resources and would have some negative environmental effects. The report from the California Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers marks the end of a nearly year-long study of Newhall Ranch. (more…)

(From Science Daily) After a succession of eight separate earthquake simulations, a 110-foot long, 200-ton concrete bridge model at the University of Nevada, Reno withstood a powerful jolting, three times the acceleration of the disastrous 1994 magnitude 6.9 Northridge, Calif. earthquake, and survived in good condition. (more…)

(From the Signal) Santa Clarita City Councilman Frank Ferry at last week’s council meeting gave a synonym for the “developmental terrorist” term he coined. It’s TimBen Boydston. Ferry says Boydston, a former councilman who still regularly attends meetings, has been stoking the fires of discontent about development among citizens to feed his own political appetite. (more…)

Pardee Homes has been named Green Building Corporate Advocate of the Year by The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).  The association honored the multi-regional homebuilder last night at the 12th Annual NAHB National Green Building Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. (more…)

Vision Builders Group is nearing completion on Real Life Church, a new 42,000 square feet “green” building that features a 1,200 seat sanctuary with semi-circular wrap-around stadium seating, an outdoor amphitheater, a coffee house, a state-of-the art children’s facility and administrative offices. Completion: Easter 2010. Architect: Taylor Teter Partnership. The first “green” project of its kind in the State of California and the City of Santa Clarita is en route to a coveted LEED, Gold certification. (more…)

Beginning Monday, January 25, the City of Santa Clarita will conduct a Right Turn Pocket Circulation and Safety Improvement Project on northbound Whites Canyon Road at Soledad Canyon Road. Lane closures will be in effect during construction, which is expected to continue through March 22. (more…)

The latest YouTube video to surface criticizes the way the City of Santa Clarita operates and treats a local developer. NotaFerry Fan writes that; “Something smells very fishy when a local businessman works four years and spending half a million dollars planning a commercial development that would bring jobs and revenue to the City of Santa Clarita and suddenly City leaders slam on the brakes. What is actually going on here?” The video ends with a call to remove Frank Ferry, Weste and McLean from the City council during the upcoming City Council election on April 13, 2010. View the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkwMqf5OI38

(Posted with permission from The Signal) Santa Clarita engineers say the cross-valley connector is about 85 percent complete and hope to have the 8-mile road connecting Interstate 5 with Highway 14 open by the end of March. The city is working to complete the last segment of the road – an 11,000-foot-long bridge over the Santa Clara River connecting Golden Valley Road with Newhall Ranch Road, said city spokeswoman Gail Ortiz. Read more here: Cross-valley connector completion 15 feet away

(From the FT.com) The beleaguered US commercial real estate sector has been attracting a new wave of money from sources including foreign banks, US private equity firms, and a leading Chinese sovereign wealth fund. (more…)

(From Science Daily) Instead making complicated folds in sheet metal to give it strength, two ETH Zurich architects simply inflate the space between sheet metal shapes. Thanks to a new welding robot in a new workshop, they can now produce large structures measuring up to three by six metres. (more…)

The City of Santa Clarita will begin construction work for its Bridge Rehabilitation Program starting the week of January 4 – 8, 2010. Funded entirely through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, the estimated $360,000 project will enhance the infrastructure and aesthetics of several local bridges. (more…)

The California Supreme Court denied the final appeal of the Las Lomas development on December 17, 2009, upholding the lower court’s ruling in favor of the City of Los Angeles.  This important ruling finally exhausts Las Lomas’ ability to move forward with its mega-development project. (more…)

The City of Santa Clarita was recognized today at a special luncheon hosted by the Southern California Chapter of the American Public Works Association for its Magic Mountain/Interstate 5 Expansion Project, naming it the ‘project of the year.’ (more…)

(From the Los Angeles Times) A coalition of environmentalists, Native Americans and local residents filed a lawsuit Thursday aimed at halting the development of a 5,000-acre resort community on the Tejon Ranch in the Tehachapi Mountains. (more…)

Two weeks ago when the official announcement about the proposed expansion of the Golden Oaks Ranch in the unincorporated area off Placerita Canyon Road was made, which was first reported here on The Beacon, there were several questions raised by readers about the project. For one, how quickly would this project be built and when would the local economic impact kick in. (more…)