Archive By Author - Jim Holt
Come hail or high water
More than two inches of rain fell on the Santa Clarita Valley in the past week and it couldn't have come at a better time, sending water tumbling through the Santa Clara River and soothing the nerves of drought-fearing water officials.
Locals awarded for budget
The Newhall County Water District is hanging a national award on its wall this week for having prepared a budget that stands out against all other budgets across the country as exemplary.
Waiting for FEMA
Sitting on a stoop of my mobile home waiting for my FEMA check to come. Although it may sound like a country song of woe, it's the sad refrain one Canyon Country man has been singing since the Buckweed wildfire burned down his home and changed his life forever. It's been 476 days and Terry Herdliska has yet to see a dime from the agency mandated in part to compensate disaster victims. For Herdliska, disaster ...
Anger over hiring of rapist at county health center
Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich wants some accountability for rehiring a convicted rapist who worked as an x-ray technician at Roybal Comprehensive Health Center.
County threatens tax revolt
Consider this your invitation to the Boston Tea Party. The venue is changed and calendar reset, but the issues behind a tax revolt and the withholding of tax money owed to the state is an option considered by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. "The (supervisors) are declaring our own Boston Tea Party right here in Los Angeles County," said Supervisor Gloria Molina, representing the county areas of Azusa and Pomona. Under her plan, ...
Supervisors allow water hauler to uncork well
A father and his son are thrilled to get back to pumping and hauling water from their Agua Dulce well today, but neighboring water company officials fear their wells will run dry.
Residents oppose water merchant's plan to pump
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve a Conditional Use Permit today granting a tireless Agua Dulce water merchant permission to pump and sell 40,000 gallons a day.
In spite of sprawl, a tiny fish fights to survive
The unarmored three-spine stickleback is one tough little prickly survivor. As a freshwater fish the size of a minnow, fighting for its life in a quasi-desert terrain, the stickleback has survived every single major drought since the glaciers from the most recent ice age melted about 10,000 years ago and has managed to dodge every predator two to 10 times its size. It survived the dustbowl days of the "Dirty Thirties" and it outlasted Southern ...
Sun shines on Devil’s Den
While Devil's Den may sound like an ominous and scary place, local water officials want to turn the Kern County water outpost into a green and sustainable, solar-powered, money-making enterprise.
VIDEO UPDATE: Bailout package not that stimulating
President Barack Obama's $819 billion stimulus bill approved Wednesday by the Democrat-controlled House might be historic, but it won't create the jobs most people think it will, says Congressman Howard "Buck" McKeon.
Leasing company wants golf equipment returned from TPC
Two firms that lease equipment to the Tournament Players Club are seeking the return of their golf carts and course-trimming machines because they haven't received payment.
Local nurses do not want merit pay system
Local registered nurses held a candlelight vigil outside Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital Wednesday as a show of solidarity on the only sticky issue of ongoing contract negotiations - performance-based pay.
Agency wins award
In hockey it's a called a hat trick. For the Castaic Lake Water Agency it's the third consecutive national award for having prepared an exceptional budget. Valerie L. Pryor, the agency's Administrative Services Manager, and Controller Carlos V. Corrales, are credited with winning a national award for the agency from the Government Finance Officers Association for their exceptional budget. "It took a few years of hard work to achieve this," Pryor said. The finance officers ...
Sanitation officials plan to halt salt sales
In their ongoing effort to put the Santa Clara River on a salt-free diet, sanitation officials plan to stop the sale of salt at local hardware stores.
Prosecution sets sights on Arriano
Attorneys continued their prosecution Friday against 29-year-old Adrian Guadalupe Arriano, an undocumented immigrant who is accused of raping two women and attempting to rape a third in Santa Clarita. Arriano is expected back in San Fernando Superior Court Tuesday when prosecution testimony resumes.
Articles By Author - Jim Holt
Truck fire shuts down 2 lanes of I-5
A truck fully engulfed in flames shut down two lanes of Interstate 5 today for more than an hour near Smokey Bear Road, emergency response officials said.
Truck fire shuts down two lanes on Interstate 5
A truck fully engulfed in flames shut down two lanes of Interstate 5 today for more than an hour near Smokey Bear Road, emergency response officials said.
5 plead not guilty of identity theft
Five people arrested for identity theft at a Stevenson Ranch hotel last month each entered a plea of not guilty in court Thursday, a court clerk said.
Firefighters respond to Agua Dulce brush fire
Firefighters responded to a half-acre brush fire near Agua Dulce today on the north side of Highway 14 just north Escondido Canyon Road, a fire official said. About 1 p.m., officials with the Los Angeles County Fire Department were dispatched to a brush fire north of the highway's southbound lanes, said Inspector Scott Miller. "We had a report of four small spot fires in that location," he said. Officers with the California Highway Patrol reported ...
Alleged SCV graffiti vandal ordered to preliminary hearing
A preliminary hearing was set Wednesday for a young man described as a prolific graffiti vandal who allegedly spray-painted property across the Santa Clarita Valley 160 times, a court clerk said.
UPDATE: San Fernando Valley man arrested in boating death last summer
A 29-year-old man has been charged in the boating death of a young Russian man on Pyramid Lake last summer, court papers show.
Chloride plan offers four alternatives
In a bid to stave off more chloride fines levied by the state, local sanitation district officials Wednesday have released four proposals for reducing the amount of salt discharged into the Santa Clara River.
San Francisquito Canyon body not murder victim
A woman whose body was found wrapped in a tarp and dumped at the side of San Francisquito Canyon Road two weeks ago does not appear to be the victim of foul play, the lead investigator said Tuesday.
UPDATE: Canyon Country: Child airlifted to L.A. hospital
An 8-year-old boy who lost consciousness after he fell from play structure at a Canyon Country elementary school was airlifted to a hospital in Los Angeles Tuesday morning, the school's principal said.
SCV Chloride plan due to be released Wednesday
When Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District officials release their proposal Wednesday to remove chloride from the Santa Clara River, with it will come close to a million dollars of advising, polling, presenting and translating "engineer-speak" into English, organizers say.
UPDATE: Newhall stabbing victim recovering in hospital
A 29-year-old Hispanic man is recovering in the hospital Tuesday after being stabbed an estimated seven times in an alcohol-fueled altercation in Newhall Monday night, a sheriff's official said.
Misdemeanor battery filed in skirmish over flag football game
An alleged "bad call" at a flag football game resulted in misdemeanor battery charges filed against the teen who refereed the game and the coach of one of the teams, a sheriff's deputies said.
Saugus swap meet turns 50
The thunderous roar and squeal that made the Saugus Speedway a local fixture in California for more than half a century has given way to the muffled sounds of bargain-hunters shuffling booth to booth at a swap meet that marked local legacy.
Car thefts reported at hospital
Three motorists reported property stolen - or had their cars vandalized in an attempted burglary - while their cars were parked at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, according to the incident log maintained by deputies of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station.
Is 'blond scammer' crime spree related to others?
Detectives in four jurisdictions are scrutinizing the actions of a woman suspected of being the so-called "blond scammer" - a woman believed at the center of a ring that stole wallets from shopping carts and impersonated credit card holders to obtain cash or expensive jewelry.
