Santa Clarita Ca

Hundreds of thousands of drivers daily thread their way through the spaghetti-like interchange of Interstate 5 and the Antelope Valley Freeway, and some may well recall its spectacular collapse in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Few, however, probably are aware of the six-year development battle raging over the jagged ridgelines cradled between the intersecting freeways at the Newhall Pass.

In August, Kevin and Danet Davis got a letter from the City of Santa Clarita informing them that the yard and parkway in front of their house were not up to city standards. The dirt and weeds had to go -- and preferably be replaced by vegetation or other landscaping -- and the city gave the Davises two months to make adjustments. But unlike cities that merely issue citations, Santa Clarita also offered a helping hand.

When the city of Santa Clarita was formed two decades ago, community leaders decided there was strength in numbers. They drew the city boundaries to include four of the largest Santa Clarita Valley communities: Newhall, Saugus, Canyon Country and Santa Clarita. The cityhood effort came during a period of major development in north Los Angeles County amid concerns that the voices of residents were not being heard downtown.

Perchlorate contaminating the Santa Clarita Valley's underground water supply is to be cleaned up under an estimated $100-million settlement of a federal lawsuit against former and present owners of a shuttered munitions and fireworks factory announced Wednesday. The suit was filed by four area water agencies in November 2000 against Whittaker Corp., Remediation Financial Inc.

THE sun was setting in Happy Valley. Neighbors chatted with Paul Pedevilla, who was showing off a photo of his puppy. Two boys played with popguns. A toddler, father in tow, wailed as he wandered about the cul-de-sac. A few feet away, an army of actors, directors, grips and gaffers prepared to shoot a shouting match between two mothers over their teenagers' romance. There were lights, camera, action -- and nobody in the huddle around Pedevilla, a TV location scout, batted an eye.

The effort to expand Santa Clarita's largest hospital has generated controversy for months, with residents packing public hearings and council meetings stretching past midnight. Now it has spurred calls for the city to establish a formal code of ethics, something already in place in the county's largest cities.

Prosecutors grappled on Wednesday with what charges, if any, to file against the 10-year-old boy who admitted he set a fire last week that charred more than 38,000 acres and destroyed 21 homes in northern Los Angeles County. On the ranch northeast of Santa Clarita where the boy's parents helped care for horses, people who knew him said he had no history of problems and was distraught about the destruction.

Much of the new development in Los Angeles and Orange counties is occurring on land the state says is at high risk for wildfires, according to records and interviews. With little raw land available in flat areas, builders are planning huge tracts of homes on or just below the rough hillsides that fringe the region's metropolitan areas. Hillside living is popular with home buyers because of the sweeping views, country feel and proximity to nature.

If you build it, they will come. Ah, but Santa Clarita isn't Iowa. Where do you find enough open, flat land for a minor league baseball field with room for about 2,500 people -- and their cars -- in an exploding suburb? That's Craig Duswalt's challenge. He's the general manager of a potential Golden Baseball League expansion team that has no players, no name and, for the moment, no place to play. His job is to find 20 acres in Santa Clarita to change all that.

The body of a newborn was found in a trash bin Tuesday evening in the 23400 block of San Fernando Road, sheriff's officials said. A woman told KTTV-TV Channel 11 that she was searching for recyclables when she discovered the baby boy wrapped in a blanket and plastic bags. Homicide detectives were still investigating late Tuesday. The baby is at least the third this year to be found dead in Los Angeles County, authorities said.