Holiday Activities in Newhall

The City of Santa Clarita is inviting community members to get in the holiday spirit and attend three exciting festivities in Old Town Newhall on Friday, November 30 and Saturday, December1, 2007. 

The City will host the inaugural Paint the Town art project along Main Street between Lyons Avenue and 6th Street on Friday, November 30^thfrom 3:00p.m. to 6:00 p.m.  The project will feature various schools and children creating holiday themed paintings on the windows of Old Town Newhall businesses.

On Saturday, December 1, the annual Old Town Newhall Children’s Holiday Parade will begin at 9:00 a.m. at 9th Street and continue down Main Street to Newhall Avenue and into William S. Hart Park. Festivities include holiday songs, snow, greeting cards for our U.S.troops, trophies for the best costumes, and Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus.

Finally, the Santa Clarita Community Center will host a Mural Dedication Ceremony on Saturday, December 1, at 11:00 a.m. The colorful mural celebrates the various programs held at the Community Center, and was painted by special needs children from across the valley and created by local non-profit organization the Special Children’s Art Foundation. The Santa Clarita Community Center is located at 22421 Market Street.

Human Bones Found in Canyon Country

Two teenage Simi Valley boys visiting family in Canyon Country on Thanksgiving found human remains while wandering through a charred hillside that was recently the path of the Buckweed Fire.  The boys knew what they had found was unique and packed it up and brought it back home to show their parents and family. What they had discovered was an adult pelvic bone that had been poking out of the dirt. 

The family called the Sheriff’s Dept and deputies began investigating this further.  Investigators feel that the cause of death will most likely never be determined and since there are no teeth, the task of identifying the body is doubtful.  Once investigators began to scour the hillside, apparently they found more bones.  The article in the paper said "hundreds of bone fragments including portions of a skull".  These bones were not a result of the fire, but most likely would’ve have never been discovered had all the shrub still been there. 

Now this isn’t too reassuring.  To know that over the years dead bodies have been taken up to the canyon and buried there. I mean this is walking distance just up the hill from Canyon High School.

Not exactly what you want to hear during a Thanksgiving dinner, eh?  "Mom, Dad, look what we found!" 

SCV Businesses to Receive Hiring Tax Credits

The City ofSanta Claritais proud to announce that the state ofCaliforniahas approved Targeted Employment Areas (TEA) as part of the Santa ClaritaEnterprise Zone. This new component qualifies businesses to receive a HiringTax Credit if they employ individuals that reside in designated TEAs.

Employeesmust be pre-screened by the employer or the City’s Enterprise Zone VoucheringAgent to qualify the business for the Hiring Tax Credit. 

“TheTargeted Employment Areas is the most widely-used piece of the Enterprise Zoneprogram and the easiest way for a business to qualify for a Hiring Tax Credit,”commented City Economic Development Manager Jason Crawford.

To receive a Hiring Tax Credit Voucher for anemployee who resides in designated Targeted Employment Areas, contact theCity’s Enterprise Zone Vouchering Agent at the Santa Clarita WorkSourcefor further detail at(661)424-1062.The Santa Clarita WorkSource office is located at20655 Soledad Canyon Road, inSuite 25.

TheEnterprise Zone provides substantial opportunities for new and existing

business growth and jobgeneration in Santa Clarita. Tax advantages include hiring tax credits, salesor use tax credits, business expense deductions, net interest deductions, andnet operating loss carryover deductions.

For additional information about the EnterpriseZone Targeted Employment Areas and the benefits for businesses located inthe Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone, contact the City ofSanta Clarita’s Economic Development Officeat(661)255-4347or visit the city website.

Henry Mayo’s 22nd Annual Community Tree Lighting Ceremony

Henry Mayo’s 22nd Annual Community Tree Lighting Ceremony
           
Location: Front of Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, 23845 McBean Parkway, Valencia, CA 91355
Date: December 2, 2007 

Time: Dusk 

For more info check out the event website.

Metrolink Holiday Train

A 450-ton Metrolink train decked out in full holiday spirit will be arriving at the Newhall Metrolink Station this Friday 11/23 at 7:30.

This is the 11th year in a row that the ‘Holiday Toy Express’ has collected toys for California firefighters’ "Spark of Love" toy drive.  This drive collects and distributes toys to needy children and brings a spark of holiday spirit to all families involved.

Bring your holiday spirit and a new unwrapped toy to the train station this Friday and spread some joy for the upcoming season. 

The Newhall Metrolink station is located at 24300 Railroad Avenue. For more information visit the city website.

Truck Tunnel Re-Opens

The tunnel that was home to the horrible 32 vehicle accident on Oct 12 is now re-open.

Commuters must be very happy about this, especially with the holidays coming up. 

City Council Votes Down Las Lomas Project

That Las Lomas project was going to bring another 5,500 housing units, 2.7 million square feet of office space and a whole other retail community on the lovely hillside where the 5 and 14 meet (by the mule farm).  Not any more. Whew!  I for one am thrilled to hear that the city council voted this project down at last nights meeting.

Apparently, they considered all the negative impact that it would bring.  Like the fact that it would bring an estimated 72,000 more visitors to pass through the I5 corridor, the threat the area would be in if there were another wildfire in that area.

So with consideration for traffic congestion, environmental protection and issues related to public safety the council voted against the project and Santa Clarita residents get to keep their hillside.

I’m guessing that the residents that live off of Calgrove are thrilled with this news.  I know I am and I don’t live that close to it.