5.4 quake rattles, leaves no major damage

You can call it wobbly, you can call it undulating, but you cannot call Wednesday's earthquake harmful in any way - at least in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Jury deliberates in Rodriguez trial

SAN FERNANDO - Jury deliberations are under way this week in the murder trial of Antonio Rodriguez, 29, who is charged with sexually assaulting his girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter and killing her in a Castaic park bathroom.

Defense rests in Rodriguez trial

SAN FERNANDO - There is no evidence that 5-year-old Desarie Elizabeth Saravia was sexually assaulted by the man accused of beating her to death inside a Castaic park bathroom, the man's defense lawyer said in closing arguments Tuesday.

Prosecution closes case with photos

SAN FERNANDO - The prosecution wrapped up its case against accused child killer Antonio Rodriguez on Friday by letting some of the more than 100 injury pictures tell the stories of brutality in the savage beating death of 5-year-old Desarie Elizabeth Saravia.

Businesses balk at fees

A planned sewer-system hookup fee - part of a package of sewer-fee rate hikes proposed Santa Clarita Valley-wide - is necessary to avoid future bond measures, a sanitation district official said this week.

They called him ‘Daddy’

SAN FERNANDO - Lawyers representing a man accused of beating to death his girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter wrapped up their case Wednesday with further testimony that he was a caring man whom the little girl called "Daddy."

Locals hope to flush out truth about potential sewer-rate hike

Sanitation District officials who held the first of a series of public information meetings on a proposed sewer-rate hike met with criticism and confusion from about 50 people who attended.

Family testifies accused was father figure

SAN FERNANDO - Antonio Rodriguez, who is accused of beating to death his girlfriend's daughter, was a caring father figure who took the child and her brother to his mother's house every day to feed them, according to testimony offered in court Tuesday.

Murdered girl’s blood found in motel room

SAN FERNANDO - Prosecutors wrapped up their case against accused murderer Antonio Rodriguez on Monday with crime analysts saying they found blood belonging to the murdered girl, Desarie Elizabeth Saravia, and her brother inside a blood-splattered Van Nuys motel room.

The sewage-rate hike’s salty effect on business

Hiking Santa Clarita Valley business owners' fees to pay for a salt-ridding machine is not the way to encourage new business to locate here, some owners say.

Experts describe wounding of lifeless little girl

SAN FERNANDO - A veteran emergency room physician said Friday he had never seen a patient injured as badly as tiny 5-year-old Desarie Elizabeth Saravia when she arrived lifeless at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital one afternoon in 2004.

Tragic details unfold through pictures

SAN FERNANDO - A crayon drawing done by a badly beaten boy three days after his 5-year-old sister was savagely beaten to death in a Castaic park bathroom gave jurors a glimpse into the children's shared suffering Thursday as a murder trial continued. On Nov. 15, 2004, Brian Saravia, then 6, remained silent when a doctor specializing in cases of child abuse asked him a few questions at the University of California Los Angeles ...

Meadows works out with the best of ’em

Having exercised with students almost every other day for a month, teachers at Meadows Elementary School will have little problem jumping for joy today when they learn their school is a finalist in a statewide challenge to keep kids fit.

Reliving Desarie’s final moments

SAN FERNANDO - Two Castaic women described in court Wednesday what happened the day a lifeless, naked young girl ended up on their quiet suburban street.

High cost of salt wars

The victor of a water war over chloride levels in the Santa Clara River, pitting upstream suburbanites against downstream farmers, could be determined with the flourish of a pen on two emerging fronts this summer, The Signal has learned following a month-long investigation.

Blast to the past at Placerita Canyon nature Center's Open House

Outdoor fire in Castaic spreads to house

An outdoor fire around supper time Saturday ended up spreading to a house, emergency response officials said.

Chloride options: Pay up or pay up

Nearly everyone who flushes a toilet or does a load of laundry in the Santa Clarita Valley faces a complicated and costly problem over the issue of chloride contamination ­- and, according to sanitation officials, it's a problem that's not going to go away.

Coyotes are threat at local park

A coyote snatched a dog from a girl's arms in Valencia Summit Park, where sheriff's deputies and animal control workers responded Friday on a report of a jogger chased by a coyote, officials confirmed.

UPDATE: Coyotes snatch dog, confront person at Valencia park

A coyote snatched a dog from a girl's arms in Valencia Summit Park, where sheriff's deputies and animal control workers responded Friday on a report of a jogger chased by a coyote, officials confirmed.

Calif. PUC looking into Valencia Water Company purchase

The California Public Utilities Commission has opened an investigation into Castaic Lake Water Agency's purchase of the Valencia Water Company.

Valencia: SCV Sheriff’s deputies bust suspected meth-dealing operation

Local drug squad deputies disrupted a meth-dealing operation in a Valencia neighborhood this week with the arrest of one man charged with possessing a controlled substance for sale, court documents show.

Santa Clarita mayor sees ‘definitive year’ on two major city issues

This year will be the "definitive year" for chloride and Cemex - two of the weightiest issues vexing residents in the Santa Clarita Valley, said Santa Clarita Mayor Bob Kellar during a town hall meeting Wednesday night.

Memorial service for Brittany Schlumpberger scheduled Saturday

Parents of a popular woman killed in a single-car crash on Sand Canyon Road last week are inviting the public to join them Saturday in paying tribute to their daughter, Brittany Schlumpberger.

Newhall man gets 2 years in death of woman

A 68-year-old Newhall man who left the scene of a fatal accident in Valencia more than a year ago has been sentenced to two years in jail, a court clerk said.

2 suspected gang members arrested on weapons charge

California Highway Patrol officers arrested two women, identified as convicted felons and suspected gang members, for allegedly having a firearm in their possession, court papers showed Wednesday.

Saugus residents oppose registered sex offender’s return

A registered sex offender recently released from a jail sentence for previously violating his parole is back in the same neighborhood where he lived when he committed those violations, and neighbors are protesting.

Sand Canyon residents remember youth killed at oak tree 32 years ago

While Kevin and Michelle Schlumpberger prepare for the funeral of their daughter, Brittany, killed last week in a single-car crash on Sand Canyon Road, others in Canyon Country recall a teen who died at the same spot 32 years ago today.

UPDATE: Suspect in deputy-involved shooting was hit in hand, officials say

A suspect arrested for allegedly pointing a handgun at officers last week was shot in the hand, possibly by local sheriff's deputies, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday.

UPDATE: Police chase in Valencia nabs 3 suspects

Three people suspected of burglary for allegedly stealing a safe from a Saugus home were behind bars Tuesday after a wild ride through the Santa Clarita Valley, and a foot chase across the Santa Clara River, officials and witnesses said.