Archive By Author - Jim Holt
Local vintner hit with lawsuit
A stage manager to the stars is suing the Loose Goose Wine Festival's organizer, claiming he has not been paid for helping create one of Santa Clarita's signature annual events.
Santa Clarita taps into a change
State and city legislators have seen the future of water, and the future feels soft. Standing on the dry west bank of San Francisquito Creek a few weeks ago, Santa Clarita Mayor Bob Kellar and Sen. George Runner, witnessed a way of turning hard water into soft water that promises to revolutionize water softening. Since September, about 400 Copper Hill Drive area residents have turned on their taps to get soft, clean drinking water, ending ...
The hard case for soft water
A groundbreaking water experiment is flowing through pipes under Santa Clarita Valley. The Valencia Water Company is supplying 1.2 million gallons of pre-softened water to about 400 Copperhill residents. The experiment, called the Groundwater Softening Demonstration Project, is the first of its kind in the country. If it works - and it seems to be doing well, according to users - the process promises to revolutionize the way water is delivered to the community and ...
I-5 project year late, over budget
Delayed by unexpected digging problems and running more than $6 million over budget, major road upgrades near Six Flags Magic Mountain are proving far from magical for city of Santa Clarita and Los Angeles County administrators who now hope to have the entire project completed by the end of 2009.
Man shot in broad daylight
A passenger sitting in a pickup truck waiting for the light to change at a busy Newhall intersection Friday suddenly found himself locked in a life-and-death struggle with an armed robber.
Giving, and giving thanks
Here's how the whole Thanksgiving Day thing works: You give. It's that simple, says the man who runs a bicycle shop in Newhall and who, once a year, feeds as many people as he can. "Matthew 25:35 tells you what to do," Roger Hasper said between hugs given by men and women, old people and children, who stopped to thank him personally. "I'm not a smart man. I just know how to take directions," he ...
Turkey Day means Turkey Bowl
No TV station carried the great Santa Clarita Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving Day, and that suited a dozen sweaty traditionalists just fine.
Castaic cops get new patrol boat
Police patrolling the waters of Castaic Lake are doubling their presence with the addition of a second patrol boat.
Online donations aid fire victims
If you've felt moved to donate household items to recent fire victims who were left with nothing but ashes, the state of California can help you do so with a click of the mouse.
Alamo arrested in Arizona
Moments before FBI agents arrested evangelist Tony Alamo in Flagstaff, Ariz., Thursday, he completed an interview with The Signal.
Water retailer finds a 'hole new way to work
A local water retailer plans to make potholes, not fix them. And it's going to spend close to $50,000 for a special pothole-making machine. The good news is that the potholes promise to save Santa Clarita Valley residents thousands of dollars. "Normally, we'd have a crew of about five, roping off an area, bringing in a backhoe and digging a large hole to find a pipe, and that takes a lot of time," said Stephen ...
Saugus wells flowing again
Two formerly perchlorate-tainted Saugus wells shut down for more than a decade should be pumping fresh, clean drinking water for Santa Clarita rate payers this spring, local water officials said.
Locals gear up for ‘Great California Shakeout’
Lee Ryan will drop to the floor right there in the bread aisle of Ralph's if it means bringing attention to earthquake preparedness.
Students hope to solve water woes
A local scholarship program called the High School Water Challenge is not about swimming, diving or even getting wet.
The last piece of the water puzzle
Local water officials put the last piece of their overall water supply puzzle in place Monday when they agreed to replace the Sand Canyon Reservoir's dirt road with a paved one.
Articles By Author - Jim Holt
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.
West Ranch: 1 student taken to hospital, 1 girl in custody in alleged pot-laced cookie case
A West Ranch High School student was treated at the local hospital Thursday after another girl allegedly gave her pot-laced cookies to eat, a sheriff's official said.
UPDATE: Red flag warnings issued for fire danger
High winds triggered local house alarms and fanned the flames of a brush fire in the Newhall Pass Thursday as the National Weather Service called a red flag warning for the Santa Clarita Valley and other areas in Los Angeles County.
Daughter pleads not guilty in mother’s slaying
A former Saugus High School student accused of killing her mother pleaded not guilty Thursday to a felony charge of first-degree murder, a court official said.
Preliminary hearing set for Castaic man in bar beating case
A preliminary hearing was set Wednesday for a Castaic man charged with attempted murder after he allegedly beat a disabled man with a "mini baseball bat" inside a Sunland bar last month, a court official said.
Jury trial scheduled in Agua Dulce assault, kidnap case
Two men charged in the alleged beating and abduction of an Agua Dulce woman last fall and with the alleged attempted kidnapping of her adult son will be tried by a jury next month, an assistant district attorney said.
Report: Agua Dulce driver in fatal crash was 3 times legal limit
An Agua Dulce man killed in a January head-on crash that left another man still recovering from injuries was three times over California's legal blood alcohol limit, a coroner's report shows.
Valencia: Two injured, including SCV Sheriff’s deputy, in crash
Two people, including a local sheriff's deputy, were taken to the hospital today following a two-car crash on Copper Hill Drive, a sheriff's spokesman said.
Probation ordered in car crash that killed woman
A 20-year-old Turkish man charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter for a car crash that killed a young Turkish woman last summer pleaded no contest Monday and was placed on three years' probation, a District Attorney spokeswoman said.
Woman pleads no contest to charges in ‘blond scammer’ ring
The ringleader in the so-called "blond scammer" case was sentenced to three years in prison Monday after pleading no contest to a charge of identity theft, a court clerk said.
UPDATE: At least 2 injured in Valencia crash
Six cars piled up in the eastbound lanes of Newhall Ranch Road in Valencia on Monday, injuring at least two people.
UPDATE: Boston Marathon runners with SCV connection shaken by experience
At least 15 Santa Clarita Valley marathon runners competing in Monday's death-marred Boston Marathon - including a 70-year-old pulled from the course half a mile before the finish line - are OK today but weighing the severity of the deadly incident, according to family, friends and at least one competing runner.
