More hate graffiti tainted the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) campus in Valencia over the weekend. When senior Daine Carter entered his campus apartment on Friday night after a Halloween party, he was greeted with red swastikas and demonic imagery on his walls. more ›

A Valencia warehouse was the stash site for over 100 pounds of cocaine and $2.5 million in cash that was linked to a pair of Canadian men now facing state drug charges, according to ABC7. The narcotics and money were seized Wednesday night by federal agents, who also arrested the two Torontonians, aged 19 and 32. The plan was allegedly for the men to conceal the coke in produce boxes and transport them back into Canada. more ›

Not to be outdone by the East Coast's end of days, Southern California welcomed some new flakes of its own today when snow levels dropped to about 1,300 feet coating Santa Clarita, Valencia and other L.A. surrounding areas. Thanks to all the winter-loving locals who thought to take photos while slipping and sliding. more ›

"I just had the most delicious Tri-tip flatbread pizza everrrrrrr!" exclaims LAist Featured Photos pool contributor Purple Blossom about a recent visit to Valencia's Tri-Tipps. "This was our first time to that restaurant. We also had tritip taco..and they're good too! The beef was so moist, tender and flavorful. The service is so nice and friendly. Definitely a favorite place." more ›

The sunsets are sure pretty in Awesometown, but we're not sure how awesome Valencia really is. Considering that people actually are camping out waiting for the opening of a Chick-fil-A, these people seem awesomely bored. Or maybe they are the smartest people around -- depends on how you look at it. The first 100 people in line get 52 free sandwiches. No, no, not all at once. They get a free sandwich each week for a year. more ›

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office at city hall yesterday morning was swept for a bomb after a threat was phoned in. “No evidence of a bomb or any sort of destructive device was located, nor has evidence been found lending credibility to this threat," mayoral spokesperson Sarah Hamilton said. And in Santa Clarita today, a bomb threat was called in to the Providence Holy Cross medical in the Valencia neighborhood. Both incidents come days after a car bomb attempt in New York City. more ›

A 26-year-old Santa Clarita City Council candidate was arrested last night in the city's Valencia neighborhood for various sexual acts with two 14-year-old girls, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. Johnny Pride is suspected of rape, lewd acts with a minor, sodomy, oral copulation of a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was held on $500,000 bail. more ›

Santa Clarita Councilman Bob Kellar was the focal point of attendees and demonstrators at last night's City Hall meeting, after the local leader referred to himself as a "proud racist" at a public event two weeks ago, reports the Daily News (see the video below). more ›

Utility crews across Southern California have been working tirelessly to return power to customers throughout these three storms. The L.A. Department of Water reported 1,700 outages at 10 a.m., half the amount reported earlier in the morning. more ›

Life is really, really boring in the bubble that is the Santa Clarita Valley. Thankfully, running amock can fill the lack of things-to-do void. A large group of zombies attacked Valencia neighborhood businesses last night prompting an LAist reader who was shopping at Target to ask us what the heck was going on. "I did not appreciate looking at iPod headphones when some child running down the isle screamed 'THE ZOMBIES ARE HERE RUNN FOR YOUR LIFEEEEE.' Then there were forty 15-year-olds running at me," she wrote, explaining that the iPod gift card rack was knocked over and that apparently one zombie was hit by the car in the parking lot of Whole Foods (nutty video here of hundreds attacking Target and this one, too). Over 500 people confirmed attending Zombie Invasion SCV on Facebook and the valley's local radio station reported "several hundred" zombies seen around town. more ›

An LAPD officer is recovering from the injuries he sustained when he apparently shot himself "by accident while off duty at his home in Valencia," according to the Daily News. Few details are known about the incident, which reportedly took place Saturday evening at the officer's home in Valencia. Investigators from both the LAPD and the Sheriff's Department were called to the scene to look into the case, and the officer, whose name has not been released, was "taken to a hospital and is expected to survive." more ›

Last night at around 9 p.m., LAPD Detective Susan Clemmer, 41, waked into the Santa Clarita sheriff's station at 23740 Magic Mountain Parkway in Valencia, "placed a box of personal items on the counter," then ended her life with a single gunshot, according to the LA Weekly. more ›

Looks like the roller coaster riders at the many theme parks operated by Six Flags, including our Magic Mountain, aren't the only ones experiencing some topsy-turvy twists and turns; "Six Flags is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, saying it needs to reorganize and shed $1.8 billion of debt," reports the Huffington Post. Despite what reps hail as a "great" 2008, with "25 million visitors" and "record revenues," the $2.4 billion in debt is signaling a load too great to carry. But the company's CEO "says the move won't affect the operation of its 20 theme parks in the U.S., Mexico and Canada." So for now, it's all systems go for thrill junkies boarding Colossus, the Riddler's Revenge, Viper, or the Terminator Salvation ride. more ›

Working at a fast-food Chinese eatery in Valenica is probably not tops for thrills, unless you've got a little secret stashed away on the job. Such was the case for Diego Ortiz of Santa Clarita, who "was arrested Friday and charged with making pictures of female co-workers undressing in a restroom" at the Hungry Ninja in Valencia, explains the Signal. Ortiz was busted "after a female co-worker discovered a cell phone video camera hidden in the employee's restroom and made a report at the Sheriff's station." Ortiz had stashed the camera "in a box behind a pinhole," according to the authorities. He has been released and is awaiting his court appearance. more ›

more ›

more ›

Remember when there was that big freak out in the Santa Clarita Valley? Six Flags Magic Mountain was going to close and quite possibly become torn down for more housing. Not good. The "extreme" roller coaster theme park is the single largest employer in the area, it fills up the hotels with tourists, adding green to the local economy and hey, it's an institution of the little Valley that could (do a lot better than Simi). more ›

Photo by kpe II via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
more ›

These photos were taken by amateur photographer Chris Mesaros of Santa Clarita, who submitted them to us. We think they're brilliant! Their local government has also posted a neat google map of all the fire incidents. Donation to the rescue efforts can be made here. More great photos after the jump! (photos have been posted with permission from artist)... more ›

What would you save out of your home if you had 15 minutes to get out? I can guarantee that it won’t be what you’re thinking right now. Yesterday, as a resident of the SCV -- that’s the Santa Clarita Valley/Valencia/Magic Mountain area to you city folk – I had the opportunity to play the “What Would You Take to a Deserted Island – Wildfire Edition” game. Some of the items I “saved” make... more ›

When I read in Extra, Extra yesterday about the Desperate Housewives marketing onslaught at my local Ralphs parking lot in Valencia, I just had to check it out. I chuckled when I saw the parking stripes -- and I have to admit it was the first advertising that caught my attention in awhile. But I'm still not going to watch the lame show. Nice try, though, ABC. More photos after the jump.... more ›

late night thoughts... Today, Castaic is on fire. The one year I spent there was pretty much fireless. All I experienced were the 2005 rainstorms. I lived on a slanted street called Cascade. That rainy winter, it literally became that. DR Horton built the 10-year-old tract in the Hillcrest neighborhood. I would walk down the street and recognize my rented house in various forms: inverted, inverted retrograde, one shade brown lighter, etc. My house... more ›

James Tenney died on Thursday, August 24th of lung cancer. The last time I spoke to Jim Tenney, it was at Target in Valencia. As always, it was a bit of an awkward situation. I think I was buying Halo 2; something that may not be too impressive to a professor who was a conceptual composer. The only music I was doing post-college was scoring a documentary, but his body language seemed stoic in... more ›

The word is Six Flags Magic Mountain is for sale and although they're trying to sell the place as one huge lot, they're willing to break it up into smaller lots. With all the wealth and riches in this town, you'd think that thered be someone up in this piece who has all his rides pimped, all his cribs crunked, and all of his bitches sweet-sixteened and seriously wants to have an amusement park... more ›

Someone has been hacking their way into MySpace user accounts and posting bulletins for them (bulletins are a way of communicating with all your MySpace friends without e-mailing them all individually). Sneaky thing is, the bulletin is about Six Flags Magic Mountain and the targets are a good number of residents in the Santa Clarita Valley, which is home to Six Flags in its Valencia neighborhood setting. hey guys, just heard from a friend... more ›