Archive By Author - Jim Holt
‘It’s about survival’
Jurors at the trial of accused killer Michael Dean Stephens got a crash course in the fight-or-flight syndrome, "high fear" and how our bodies respond to life-threatening situations.
A compensation comparison
Whoever wins a seat on the local water board can bank on receiving a monthly paycheck from the Castaic Lake Water Agency.
Hit mailers don’t faze water-board candidate
Hit mailers and other attacks on Kevin Korenthal are doing nothing but good things for the water board candidate's campaign, he said Thursday.
Raid leads to cache of medical equipment
Sheriff's detectives raided a Saugus home Wednesday and seized $200,000 worth of stolen emergency medical tents that were meant to go to California hospitals, along with a recreational-vehicle trailer and jet skis, authorities said.
UPDATED: A wild night ends in deadly confrontation
A wild drunken night of screaming, fighting, shattered glass, screeching cars and spilled blood three years ago was described in further detail at the murder trial of Michael Dean Stephens on Tuesday.
Police raid home in Canyon Country
Police investigators with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office raided the Canyon Country home of a military woman who runs a business regularly contracted by the United States Department of Defense, causing alarm and concern among some neighbors Monday.
The trail of blood
Joshua Pipho's blood was found inside the Stevenson Ranch home - in the garage, laundry room and upstairs bathroom - where his alleged killer, Michael Dean Stephens, lived, a DNA analyst told San Fernando Superior Court on Friday.
Problem found in the flush
The Santa Clara River is salty, in part, because more and more people upstream in Santa Clarita Valley are urinating.
The Great California ShakeOut
The imaginary earthquake hit at 10:21 a.m. Thursday. And, when it hit (by the principal's official announcement), students at Meadows Elementary School did precisely what they are expected to do in the event of a real earthquake: They dropped, covered and held. At exactly 10:21 a.m. Thursday, many students in Santa Clarita Valley and across the state, took part in Great California ShakeOut earthquake drill for emergency preparedness. Fourteen schools in the Saugus Union School ...
Experts explain blood, tire markings
Police photographs of tire marks and blood stains painted a graphic picture of the deadly brawl that claimed the life of 20-year-old Joshua Pipho three years ago.
Canyon Country library left dark
A 10-year "marriage" between the city of Santa Clarita and Los Angeles County over books and libraries now has some officials wishing they had signed a "pre-nup."
All library bids are off
It's back to the drawing board for all those construction companies who put in a bid to build Newhall's new library.
Tesoro prompts water concerns
No one living in the next planned phase of the large Tesoro del Valle development is going to be left high and dry, water officials said of the Newhall County Water District earlier this week.
Smyth and challengers spar in debate
A depressed economy, the loss of jobs and the state budget dominated a three-way televised debate Thursday night among candidates vying for the seat in the state Assembly.
Magic Mountain hit with water fines
State water officials have fined Magic Mountain $57,000 for contaminants in storm-water runoff that was released into the Santa Clara River.
Articles By Author - Jim Holt
Ten acre fire quickly knocked down near Gorman
A brush fire burning near Gorman swelled to 10 acres from 2 acres in less than an hour Monday, an emergency response official said.
Kids walk for arthritis awareness
More than 1,000 people turned out for the annual Arthritis Walk at Six Flags Magic Mountain Sunday morning, many of them children.
Four-car crash causes traffic delays in Newhall
A multi-vehicle crash in Newhall stalled southbound traffic on Railroad Avenue Sunday afternoon, officials said.
California Public Utilities Commission panel hears from ratepayers about purchase
Two California Public Utilities Commission hearings about a proposed Valencia Water Company rate hike drew more complaints Thursday about the firm's takeover by another water district than about higher water bills.
Pit bull attacks second dog in Sand Canyon
A roaming pit bull that ripped the leg off of a smaller dog in Canyon Country is expected to be humanely killed, a county official said Thursday.
UPDATE: Names of victim, suspect released in Acton homicide
Investigators probing a homicide in Acton have released the identities of the man who was shot and killed and the name of his alleged killer.
Boydston challenges chloride data
Santa Clarita City Councilman TimBen Boydston called the whole issue of chloride cleanup a scam Wednesday night after local sanitation officials presented their plan for reducing how much of the salty compound the sanitation district discharges into the Santa Clara River.
Newhall woman faces murder charges in Arizona
A Newhall woman charged with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with a fatal 2011 crash near the Arizona state line that claimed the lives of two children goes on trial in Arizona this week, The Signal has learned.
Tour of California racers blast out of SCV
After a night's rest in the Santa Clarita Valley, cyclists competing in the annual Amgen Tour of California left town en mass Wednesday to completed the first half of the eight-day race in Santa Barbara.
Magnitude-4 quake recorded near Rancho Palos Verdes
Federal earthquake monitors reported an earthquake six miles south of Rancho Palos Verdes today at 1 p.m.
Officials share plans to reduce chloride
Local sanitation officials held their first of six public hearings in Castaic Tuesday night in an effort to gauge which plan they should pursue in reducing the amount of chloride discharged into the Santa Clara River.
UPDATE: Tour of California races through SCV
Hundreds of cycling fans crowded along Magic Mountain Parkway Tuesday to watch some of the world's fastest cyclists cross the finish line for Day 3 of the Amgen Tour of California.
Woman pleads innocent in collision with bicyclist
A Valencia woman charged with felony hit and run for a vehicle collision with a bicyclist last March has pleaded not guilty this week, court papers show.
Canyon Country man gets 64 years to life in shooting of neighbor
A Canyon Country man who shot and killed his neighbor following a vicious seven-year feud has been sentenced to 64 years to life in prison.
UPDATE: Blaze in Valencia held to 1 1/2 acres
A Santa Clarita Valley brush fire that was initially reported as two separate blazes was doused by Los Angeles County firefighters in the Valencia Industrial Center today.
