Jim de Bree
Jim de Bree: Year-end tax planning conundrums
In the more than 40 years I have been a tax professional, this is the strangest year-end tax-planning scenario that I have seen. This year is especially complicated because each…
Local Roundup: Hart hoops teams pick up wins in tournament play
Prep Boys Basketball Hart 63, Campbell Hall 52 Carson Weiss led the Indians with 15 points. Tre Harrill added 12 points. Prep Girls Basketball Alemany 61, Valencia 40 Leilani Manuel…
Our View: Ditch the mayoral advantage in City Council elections
The next election for Santa Clarita City Council is nearly a year away. But there is a routine matter set for Tuesday’s council agenda – the council’s last meeting of…
Senior Pastor David W. Hegg delivers a sermon about applying The Bible to one's daily life at a Speaking by Listening Conference at Grace Baptist Church in Santa Clarita. Nikolas Samuels/The Signal
David W. Hegg: Who sets the standards?
I have purposely waited to comment on the national tragedy we continue to experience in the area of sexual tyranny. News of these acts of predatory sexual harassment, propagated by…
Saugus boys soccer falls to El Camino Real in Burroughs Tournament
BURBANK -- It was an eerily quiet Friday evening at Memorial Field on the campus of John Burroughs High School. Other than the occasional plight of a suspected non-call, the…
FILE PHOTO: New Santa Clarita mayor Cameron Smyth is sworn in, with his family at his side, by city clerk Mary Cusickon on Dec. 13, 2016. Katharine Lotze/Signal
Council to appoint 2018 mayor
On Tuesday, Mayor Cameron Smyth expects to turn in his gavel before the council votes on who will serve as Santa Clarita’s mayor next year. It’s tradition that the council…
Cindy Pharis embraces her dog Sketch in her classroom at Valencia High School on Dec. 8, 2017. Pharis lost her home in the Creek Fire on Dec. 5. Austin Dave/The Signal
Through Creek Fire’s flames and heartbreak, Valencia High’s Pharis continues to teach
Paw after paw, after paw, after paw. The pitter-patter of a small black dog accompanied by the sound of a leash dragging across the dusty floor draws the attention of…
Map of Rye Fire.
UPDATE: Rye Fire burned more than 6,000 acres, now 35 percent contained
The Rye Fire which threatened several buildings in the Santa Clarita Valley and prompted the evacuation of businesses and schools, was reported to be 35 percent contained Friday, having…
Suspicious death of woman at Newhall mobile home park investigated
Homicide detectives were called to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a woman at the Crescenta Valley mobile home park on The Old Road Friday afternoon. A spokesman for…
Officer Ken Marcus with the U.S. Forest Service Police pulls an imitation firearm out of a car he was searching on Placerita Canyon Road near the intersection of Running Horse Road on Friday, Dec. 8 2017. Nikolas Samuels/The Signal
Federal law enforcement arrests man on suspicion of drug possession
While detectives were probing the discovery of a body on US Forest service land Friday afternoon, a nearby federal law enforcement officer was arresting a man on suspicion of…
Santa Clarita City Hall
Public safety, local control among priorities for council next year
In 2018, the city will make advocating for public safety, opposing wireless equipment and transparency in mobile home park rent adjustments among their top priorities. At the City Council meeting…
Shant Bicakci talks to the West Ranch boys basketball team in January of 2017. Dan Watson/The Signal
West Ranch basketball coach Shant Bicakci resigns
Shant Bicakci, the West Ranch basketball coach known for his courtside energy, was well on track for another successful Foothill League season. The Wildcats were out to a 4-0 start…
California releases updated Dashboard for district, school accountability
Editor's Note: This is the first in a series looking at how Santa Clarita Valley school districts performed on the fall 2017 release of the California School Dashboard. The Department of…
D.A., Better Business Bureau offer warnings about price-gouging, fraud in light of fires
County prosecutors and the Better Business Bureau both offered words of warning and a caution to look out for crime, in light of recent fires in Santa Clarita and throughout…
Marty Kovacs is the 2017 Chairman of the Santa Clarita Valley Division of the Southland Regional Association of Realtors. Courtesy photo.
Real Estate Talk: While home prices match a decade ago, it’s a different market
Throughout most of the nation, including here in the Santa Clarita Valley, home prices are close to the boom levels of a decade ago — which foreshadowed the onset…
The Santa Clarita Courthouse. KATHARINE LOTZE/Signal.
Resting bill collector arrested for trespassing
A bill collector from Canyon Country who apparently stopped to rest under a tree was arrested Thursday on suspicion of trespassing, a misdemeanor. The 39-year-old man was arrested Thursday shortly…
Patrick Reynolds holds up 52 letters to Santa from children asking for "new shoes," "clothes," and other basic necessities for Christmas. Be An Elf adopted the sad Santa letters at the Los Angeles post office, and is offering them for adoption by the public. Courtesy Photo
Public can answer letters to North Pole as part of USPS’ Operation Santa
Santa Clarita Valley residents have the unique opportunity to answer personalized letters to Santa Claus this holiday season through the United States Postal Services’ Operation Santa program. Currently in its…
From left to right, Castaic Union School District Governing Board President Laura Pearson and Clerk Stacy Dobbs. Courtesy Photos
Castaic Governing Board elects new president, clerk
The Castaic Union School District elected Laura Pearson as its new president and Stacy Dobbs as its new clerk during its annual organizational meeting Thursday. This marks the third time…
Cristina Castellon donates toys to Heather McCrary, a dispatcher with California Highway Patrol and Officer Patrick Carroll during the 29th annual Chips for Kids toy drive in front of the Target in Valencia on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017. The toys will be donated to underprivileged kids and families. Nikolas Samuels/The Signal
California Highway Patrol holds toy drive for underprivileged families
For 29 years, the Chips for Kids toy drive has brought holiday goods to underprivileged families and 2017 is no exception. For the next nine days, the California Highway Patrol…
Metro Creative
Treating Depression with Fellowship
By Dennis Bartash, Santa Clarita Contributor For those experiencing depression, sometimes, the holidays can be especially rough. Financial pressures, awkward familial interactions and Seasonal Affective Disorder are just a few…
