Archive By Author - Jim Holt
Ex-deputy sentenced on drug charge
An "aggressive" undercover probe by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department led to the arrest, conviction and sentencing of three people, including a former sheriff's deputy, trying to smuggle drugs into the North County Correctional Facility, a spokesman says.
Coastal domination
The board that decides the issue of chloride in the Santa Clara River includes two advocates of Ventura County strawberry farmers.
Water’s recycled future
In the wee early hours of any morning, as you drive along The Old Road near Magic Mountain by the Tournament Players Club Valencia golf course, you might see the sprinklers hard at work watering the 10th or 11th hole.
Fallen Marine Pfc. Jake Suter: On son’s birthday, a mother grieves
Fallen United States Marine Corps Pfc. Jake William Suter would have turned 19 today. Instead, the last day of July is shaping up to be one of the worst days his mother, Michelle Unthank, and his stepfather, Chris Unthank, could ever imagine having to face. "I'm lucky I have work to distract me," Chris Unthank said. His wife, sadly, is nowhere near as lucky. This past week, instead of stacking birthday presents, she had the ...
Rain keeps chloride level low
Chloride levels in the Santa Clara River have risen above the limit demanded by Ventura County farmers only once in the past six months - and then only by two milligrams per liter, a Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District official said Thursday.
Delayed, but not defused
Santa Clarita Valley sewer ratepayers will wind up spending more in the long run, despite a decision Tuesday night to delay rate-hike discussion until spring.
Salty talk stalls rate hike
The vote on a proposed sewer-rate hike was delayed until spring following a lengthy public hearing Tuesday night that drew complaints from residents.
Salty talks stall rate hike
The vote on a proposed sewer rate hike was delayed until spring following a lengthy public hearing Tuesday night that drew complaints from residents.
Salty showdown draws near
The biggest battle in the on-going water war over chloride happens Tuesday. Officially, the showdown is called a public hearing sponsored by the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District seeking to raise sewer rates to help pay for a $210 million salt-ridding reverse-osmosis plant. The battle scene is City Hall; showdown set for 6:30 p.m. While the proposed 50-percent rate increase would likely be felt in residents' pocketbooks - especially those on fixed incomes - it's ...
Stephens will soon have day in court
Joshua Pipho would be 23 this year, probably helping his dad with a growing audio-visual business.
Killer’s lawyers wrap up death-penalty phase
SAN FERNANDO - Attorneys in the Antonio Rodriguez trial delivered eloquent arguments Friday for and against the death penalty for the man who beat a 5-year-old girl to death in a Castaic park bathroom in 2004. The jury in that convicted Rodriguez will receive instructions Monday from San Fernando Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen, then begin deliberations in the penalty phase of the trial. "There is no one here to speak for Desarie," prosecutor ...
Specter of violence appears in court
SAN FERNANDO - The elusive and allegedly abusive father of convicted child-killer Antonio Rodriguez dominated the closing minutes of the murderer's trial Thursday, as a jury decides his life-or-death fate.
The Signal's Water Wars 411 page
See "Related Content" for links to The Signal's exclusive "Water Wars" series, an in-depth look at the politics of water in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Child-killer’s chaplain proclaims trust during death-penalty phase
SAN FERNANDO - A chaplain who spent "hours and hours" with child-killer Antonio Rodriguez, sometimes talking about God, told jurors in Superior Court on Tuesday that she trusts him.
Frontal lobe abnormality affected child-killer
SAN FERNANDO - Jurors got a glimpse inside the brain of convicted child-killer Antonio Rodriguez on Monday, and what they saw was evidence of injury.
Articles By Author - Jim Holt
UPDATE: Powerhouse Fire heading into 'super dry' area
The Powerhouse Fire is heading northwest of Green Valley into a "super dry" mountainous area that hasn't burned since 1929, a U.S. Forest Service official said today.
UPDATE: Newhall man arrested following Valencia car burglary
A burglar smashed the window of a car parked in a Valencia shopping center and stole a purse containing more than $600 on Monday, Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's officials said.
UPDATE: Deadline looming for chloride plan in Santa Clarita
The Santa Clarita City Council this week will consider asking state water authorities for an extended deadline on a plan to reduce chloride in the Santa Clara River.
No bail reduction for Castaic man accused of child molestation
A Los Angeles Police Department officer accused of molesting two young girls in Castaic was denied a reduction in bail Thursday, a spokeswoman for county prosecutors said.
Local deputies looking for an iPad snatcher
An iPad-snatching crime had local sheriff's deputies looking for a robbery suspect in Newhall on Wednesday, a law enforcement official said.
Thieves target high-end bikes in Valencia
Bicycle thieves have been using blowtorches to steal high-end bikes locked in front of locations in downtown Valencia, a sheriff's deputy said Wednesday.
UPDATE: Recipe for fire due to continue through end of week
Hot, dry and windy is the recipe for brush fires, but it's also the forecast for the Santa Clarita Valley for the rest of the week, according to weather officials.
Suspect in Newhall bank robbery pleads not guilty
A Palmdale man accused of robbing a Newhall bank last week pleaded not guilty today to the charge of robbery, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.
Deputies search for Newhall iPad-snatching thief
An iPad-snatching crime has local sheriff's deputies looking for a robbery suspect in Newhall today, a law enforcement official said.
No charges in fatal Interstate 5 freeway crash
A Pasadena man charged in March with felony drunken driving after a fatal traffic collision on Interstate 5 will not be prosecuted, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office said this week.
Second crash victim has far more severe injuries than thought
A second young woman hurt in a three-vehicle traffic collision in Valencia late Saturday night suffered injuries more serious than first believed, said the traffic deputy investigating the crash.
UPDATE: Magic Mountain fire doused after blackening 149 acres
A brush fire burned close to Six Flags Magic Mountain and West Ranch High School Thursday, but neither was evacuated during the afternoon blaze that blackened 149 acres.
LAPD officer’s lawyer: “Everyone rushed to judgment”
The lawyer representing a Los Angeles Police Department officer accused of molesting two young girls he allegedly lured to his Castaic home has fired back at accusers.
Valencia: Misdemeanor battery charge filed against coach in alleged referee assault
County prosecutors are proceeding with a battery charge filed last month against a local flag football coach, according to investigators at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Parks Bureau.
Not guilty plea entered in Canyon Country stabbing
A 19-year-old man charged with attempted murder for the stabbing of another man in Canyon Country last week has pleaded not guilty to the felony charge against him, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office said.
