Rock Club meeting

The Sierra Pelona Rock Club, a member of the California and American Federation of Mineralogical Societies Inc., holds its general club meetings, which are open to the public, at 7:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at the clubhouse of the Greenbrier Mobile Estates East, 21301 Soledad Canyon Road, Canyon Country. The scheduled program is rock hunting in the Santa Monica Mountains. Refreshments will be served. Info: www.sierrapelona.com.

Signal tip line

Got a news tip? Call The Signal’s tip line: 661-255-1234.

Want your event listed? Email calendar@signalscv.com with your event’s details. Include the time, date, location and contact information with your submission. To have your item viewed immediately online, post it to the community portion of Signalscv.com.

Today in history

Today is Tuesday, March 19, the 78th day of 2013. There are 287 days left in the year.

On this date in the SCV: In 1990, Tony Perrone, of Newhall, and Ron Walker, of Saugus, began court proceedings regarding their alleged theft of $240,000 in jewelry from Zales Jewelers in Valencia.

Today’s Highlight in History: On March 19, 2003, President George W. Bush ordered the start of war against Iraq. (Because of the time difference, it was early March 20 in Iraq.)

Ten years ago: Tobacco farmer Dwight Ware Watson, who claimed to be carrying bombs in a tractor and trailer that he’d driven into a pond on Washington’s National Mall, surrendered after disrupting traffic for two days; there were no explosives. Six men hijacked a Cuban airliner to the Florida Keys to seek asylum in the United States. (The six were later convicted of federal hijacking charges.) Mahmoud Abbas accepted the position of Palestinian prime minister.

Five years ago: Five years after launching the invasion of Iraq, President George W. Bush strongly signaled he wouldn’t order troop withdrawals beyond those already planned because he refused to “jeopardize the hard-fought gains” of the past year. In a new audio message, Osama bin Laden criticized the publication of drawings insulting to the Prophet Muhammad and warned Europeans of a strong reaction to come. Death claimed science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke at age 90 and actor Paul Scofield at age 86.

One year ago: A motorbike assailant opened fire with two handguns in front of a Jewish school in the southern French city of Toulouse, killing a rabbi, his two young sons and a girl. (The gunman, French-born Mohammed Merah, was killed in a gunfight with police after a 32-hour standoff at his apartment; he had also killed three French paratroopers.) The federal Justice Department announced it had begun an investigation into the fatal shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida by a neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman.

Birthdays

Former White House national security adviser Brent Scowcroft is 88. Theologian Hans Kung is 85. Jazz musician Ornette Coleman is 83. Author Philip Roth is 80. Actress Renee Taylor is 80. Actress-singer Phyllis Newman is 80. Actress Ursula Andress is 77. Singer Clarence “Frogman” Henry is 76. Singer Ruth Pointer (The Pointer Sisters) is 67. Actress Glenn Close is 66. Film producer Harvey Weinstein is 61. Actor Bruce Willis is 58. Playwright Neil LaBute is 50. Actor Connor Trinneer is 44. Rock musician Gert Bettens (K’s Choice) is 43. Rapper Bun B is 40. Rock musician Zach Lind (Jimmy Eat World) is 37. Actress Abby Brammell is 34. Actor Craig Lamar Traylor is 24. Actor Philip Bolden is 18.