Archive By Author - Karen Jonas
City begins sorting vote-by-mail ballots
The big table in the Santa Clarita City Hall third-floor conference room was covered with boxes of yellow or white ballots Tuesday as eight workers sorted them by precinct and grouped them in batches of 20. Six observers sworn to uphold the law - four community members and two journalists - watched from behind a chain, well beyond reach of the vote-by-mail ballots and under the scrutiny of the workers. It was the first day ...
City Council incumbents raise most money in latest period
The two incumbents in next Tuesday's City Council election each raised twice as much money as any single challenger, according to campaign finance reports released Monday.
City offering loans to first-time homeowners
Santa Clarita residents who want to purchase their first homes but need some help are encouraged to apply for the FirstHome program, which offers a low-interest and deferred-payment second mortgage to low- and moderate-income families. The FirstHome loan program allows residents to use the funds from the loan as a down payment within the city of Santa Clarita's boundaries, according to city officials. Payments are deferred until the home is sold, changes title, ceases to ...
City Council ballots receive increased security
Just days after a group of residents complained Santa Clarita was not doing enough to secure absentee ballots, city officials set up a double lock system to protect them. A locksmith has installed a new lock on the door leading to the election ballot storage room and also installed a second, separate lock on the cabinets where the ballots are stored. The new lock system means two people must be on hand to open the ...
Dumping in dark places
In different areas of Santa Clarita, residents can sometimes find old mattresses, battered couches, bags of trash and other items abandoned by people unwilling to use landfills or trash services to discard their waste. Despite years of effort on the part of city officials, the problem of illegal dumping remains an issue in Santa Clarita's open spaces, city parks and vacant lots, according to officials. Most of the dumping occurs in areas without lights, including ...
Adopt-a-pal
Animals with paws, hooves and feathers at the Castaic Animal Shelter are discounted this weekend as the shelter tries to boost adoption rates.
CORRECTION: A trestle by the trail
An old railroad bridge that has made cameo appearances in movies and TV programs throughout the years is now the center point of the Iron Horse Trailhead, which is slated to open in mid-May.
Group asks for ballot security
A group of Democrats in the Santa Clarita Valley called for increased security in storing absentee ballots during a City Council meeting Tuesday night - the last meeting before the April 10 City Council election.
Interstate 5 truck lanes to be extended
Construction on extended truck lanes near the Interstate 5 and Highway 14 interchange is expected to begin in May, California Department of Transportation officials said Monday.
City Council to weigh restrictions for trucks
The Santa Clarita City Council is scheduled to decide Tuesday if large trucks should be restricted from cutting through two city neighborhoods: Bridgeport and Whispering Leaves/Friendly Valley. Members of the homeowners association of Bridgeport and residents of the Whispering Leaves/Friendly Valley area complained that too many trucks were using their residential streets as cut-through routes to get to larger streets, according to city officials. City staff conducted traffic investigations in both areas and found that ...
Citations issued for unlicensed pets
Animal care and control officers canvassing unincorporated areas in the Santa Clarita Valley issued hundreds of citations after checking thousands of homes for unlicensed pets last month. Eight officers canvassed the unincorporated areas of Canyon Country and Saugus in February, said Carlos Pineda, a lieutenant for the department's license canvassing operations. The officers checked 3,078 homes and found 335 dogs without licenses. In addition to the unlicensed dogs, 171 dogs had licenses that were not ...
Shelter to get upgrades
A recently approved spay and neuter clinic at the Castaic Animal Shelter will provide better animal care services for animals at the shelter and pets who need vaccinations, county officials said.
Residents comment on city’s future growth
A public hearing this week on the potential future of Santa Clarita's growth drew just three residents - and only two of them addressed staff from the Los Angeles County Local Agency Formation Commission. Linda Storli, a resident of Tesoro del Valle in Saugus, echoed the reprise of Santa Clarita Valley residents since before the city was founded: local government should have local control, not a government seat in Los Angeles. "I'll be dead in ...
Thieves steal City Council campaign signage
The theft of political signs has cost at least one Santa Clarita City Council candidate hundreds of dollars, he said Tuesday, and the election is nearly three weeks away.
Hopefuls continue to add nods
The following candidates running for office have been endorsed by local organizations and leaders:
No Articles Found.
