I Heart SCV
February, 2012 - Issue #88 
My friend works at a local high school and has seen it all - drugs, fights, salacious rumors, clueless parents... She’s gotten used to that. But the thing she still finds shocking is how freely kids offer up the most personal and private details of their lives. There’s a widespread devaluation of discretion.
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I Heart SCV
January, 2012 - Issue #87
I’m all in favor of New Year’s Resolutions. For example, I think a lot of you could stand to improve yourselves. I’m not talking about losing weight. The world isn’t much better or worse if you weigh 120 pounds or 520 pounds. No, a resolution to make things better for those of us who have to deal with you is what’s in order. If everyone in Santa Clarita thought, for just one moment, “Hmm, how can I make myself less annoying to my fellow Claritans?” then Awesometown would grow awesomer yet.
You might start by becoming a better driver. (Slow down.) You could become a better restaurant-goer (Get a sitter - and leave a nice tip!) To goad you into self-improvement, let’s now turn our attention towards the SCV news that makes us think about what we can do better.
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I Heart SCV
December, 2011 - Issue #86
Assuming you’re old enough, do you remember your 24th birthday? No? Then there’s precious little chance that you’ll be remembering Santa Clarita’s 24th b-day this December 15, either. It’s a day that will come and go with a polite note in The Signal and perhaps a mass e-mail if you happen to work at city hall. We’ll get to the much more impressive Quadranscentennial in 2012. (I consulted Wikipedia on the suspicion that a word for so auspicious an anniversary should exist: it does.).
But let’s not be too hasty in looking ahead. Here is a glimpse around town this holiday season and a look back at the year that was.
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I Heart SCV
November, 2011 - Issue #85
The unusual thing about Thanksgiving is that it’s unusual. Sitting down with respectably-dressed family members at a well-furnished table and expressing gratitude for our blessings might just be a once- or twice-a-year event these days. I don’t think the problem is that we’ve grown apart as families but that we’ve grown too close. Everyone’s so comfortable and chummy around each other that our expectations are pretty minimal. We could eat together all the time, but we know what everyone else is doing anyways. We could dress for dinner like we would if we were heading out to dine with friends, but sweatpants are so much easier. It’s not until extended family comes around at Thanksgiving that we bother putting out much effort.
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I Heart SCV
June, 2011 - Issue #80
The City of Santa Clarita is in the business of pleasing people. Pleased people make better residents - they’re neighborly, don’t commit crimes and choose to re-elect incumbents at local elections. When things are going well, when we’re pleased with our lives, we don’t rock the boat.
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I Heart SCV
August, 2011 - Issue #82
National media exposure for Santa Clarita is rare. Most recently, it came with Jamie Oliver’s “Food Revolution.” Oliver wanted to improve local school lunches as part of his reality-TV program. He discussed possibilities with SCV School Food Services Agency CAO, Pavel Matustik. Things didn’t go so well for Oliver, who wasn’t afforded access to Claritan schools. “My Board of Directors got scared of you… People are running scared, they worry about negative publicity,” explained Matustik. And things didn’t go so well for Matustik, either, whose appearance was later ridiculed on “The Soup.”
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I Heart SCV
September, 2011 - Issue #83
When Apple opened a store at The Patios this July, it was greeted by literally hundreds of adoring fans and customers. People were eager to browse iPhones; the big iPhones, called iPads; or the iPhones that do everything but make calls, called iPods. But mostly, they were just there to geek out with fellow Apple devotees. And it’s not just a morning spent waiting in line and hard-earned cash that people are willing to give up to Apple. In the Wall Street Journal’s menacingly titled “What They Know” series, journalists describe how frequently and precisely location data is collected by companies like Microsoft, Google, and yes, even Apple.
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I Heart SCV
June, 2011 - Issue #80
At some point we have to give up on the idea of a fresh start, understand we must make do when we can’t have a do-over. It’s not always a pleasant realization.
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Support the Boys & Girls Club
May, 2011 - Issue #79
“This is a special year for our auction,” says Ronda Chobanian, the Boys & Girls Club’s foundation development director. “Tony [Newhall] was our first auction chair, in 1972. He’s returning as co-chair - with his lovely wife Reena - for our annual event. We’re excited about honoring those who have been involved with the Club the past 40 years and we look forward to providing continued service to the teens and kids in the SCV.”
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11 Questions with... Craig F. Ingber, MD
May, 2011 - Issue #79
“Fortunately, my patients only mention celebrities as examples of what they DO NOT WANT TO LOOK LIKE. Today’s patients realize that they really just want to look younger, less tired and more refreshed.”
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I Heart SCV
May, 2011 - Issue #79
I have been searching out books to read for the I Heart SCV Book Club (total membership: one). I went after the low-hanging fruit first: John Boston’s long-out-of-print novel, Naked Came the Sasquatch; John Boessenecker’s Bandido, the biography of semi-legendary outlaw Tiburcio Vasquez; and Newhall, Maggi Perkins’ contribution to the Images of America series. For some reason, there just aren’t as many books written about Santa Clarita as, say, New York or Rome.
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11 Questions with...Mike Quick
April, 2011 - Issue #78
“We counsel you regarding QUESTIONS
you didn’t even know you should ask.” ~ Mike Quick
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I Heart SCV
April, 2011 - Issue #78
This is shaping up to be the year of four seasons. With actual snow in January (and almost-snow in late February!) to mark winter, spring seems all the springier. We look at the world with new eyes.
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I Heart SCV
March, 2011 - Issue #77
I stumbled across a photo from the late ‘80s. It’s a sign proclaiming “Future Site of Canyon Country Park: The First Park Built in the City of Santa Clarita.” Since then, it’s as if Canyon Country has been punished, the park being pretty much the only “first” the area ever received. It was second to get a library, second to get a COC campus, even second to get a Target and a Wal-Mart. Canyon Country residents are an admirable lot, getting by on so little with their famous stoicism.
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I Heart SCV
February, 2011 - Issue #76
February, according to my sister, is the worst of all possible months. We spend the entire fall sedated by Halloween candy, Thanksgiving smorgasbord, leftovers, holiday cocktails, Christmas cookies and New Year’s champagne. Work beckons less urgently than other times of the year. Family and friends not only surround us but shower us with gifts and warmth. Then, quite suddenly, we awaken on January second fat, alone and miserable. This desperation triggers New Year’s resolutions, which last a few weeks but invariably amount to naught. Finally, we arrive at February and awaken not only fat, alone and miserable, but also depressed by the realization that we are utterly incapable of changing any of those realities.
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I Heart SCV
January, 2011 - Issue #75
Whenever I flew during college, my ticket was always flagged. I would try to do the self check-in and was invariably directed to the ticket counter, where people would have to type in codes or call supervisors. Being neither a drug runner, terrorist, felon - nor any combination thereof - I found this perplexing. I’m a pro-SCV extremist, but since when is that a crime?
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11 Questions with... BILL BOLDE
January, 2011 - Issue #75
Saugus High School Principal and Author of “Lead the Way” Answers "11 Questions" from Inside SCV Magazine
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A Special Letter from the Publishers To the Betty Ferguson Foundation: You will be Missed
January, 2011 - Issue #75
There are few nonprofit organizations that have touched the publishers of this magazine more than the Betty Ferguson Foundation.
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I Heart SCV
December, 2010 - Issue #74
Those of us who live in the ‘burbs are rarely shown in our best light. Suburbanites on TV dramas or real-housewife-esque reality shows are usually portrayed as conformity-loving, materialistic, petty and superficial - as if the rest of humanity wasn’t. But it’s the conformity that people fixate on. Neighborhoods are a collection of the same houses filled with the same sorts of people who have the same interests and run in the same crowds.
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11 Questions with...
December, 2010 - Issue #74
Inside SCV asks the new General Manager at Keyes Lexus of Valencia eleven getting to know you questions!
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Good Neighbor Pharmacy has Great News
December, 2010 - Issue #74
J.D. Power and Associates found that Good Neighbor Pharmacies ranked highest in customer satisfaction among multiple location pharmacies, beating CVS, Walgreens and Rite-Aid in categories ranging from staff rating (pharmacist and non-pharmacist), overall experience, ordering and pick up process, as well as price.
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I Heart SCV
November, 2010 - Issue #73
We all have ideas about the way the world should work. But others have ideas, too, and they’re different than ours, and thus, we have the world as we know it. For many, this is simply unacceptable. Political types especially are always pushing to make places, laws and society align more closely with their ideas of perfection. Witness the race for California senator or governor - any political race, for that matter. Each candidate is selling a vision for a brighter future; each wants a chance to make their ideals our reality. Though we don’t have any major local races this Election Day, Santa Clarita’s leaders are showing the same ambition and idealism found on the campaign trail. The trouble is that different, at times opposing, ideas for a more perfect SCV are now colliding.
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I Heart SCV
October, 2010 - Issue #72
“Trick or treat?” makes for a rather nasty greeting. It’s an ultimatum. Either treats will be given by the homeowner or the snubbed children will get their revenge with trickery. But growing up, I was more worried about tricks that might be played on me. It probably had a lot to do with my mom’s insistence on checking every piece of Halloween candy.
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I Heart SCV
September, 2010 - Issue #71
We are told that global warming threatens our notion of winter, turning ice to slush and menacing frosts to mere chills. At least winter’s on notice, courtesy of climate scientists and environmentalists. Far more insidious are the threats to summer. Traditionally, summer ended on the Autumnal Equinox - September 23 this year, a date marked by few outside of Santa Clarita’s pagan circles. Or it ended on Labor Day, which isn’t too outrageous. Then schools began chipping away at summer’s trailing edge, moving the first day of class from early September to early August.
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I Heart SCV
August, 2010 - Issue #70
Santa Clarita needs a little help. (A lot, some might say.) While the city is quite adept at wooing business, building parks and fixing potholes, it cannot do everything. To accomplish the really big stuff, Santa Clarita usually relies on the federal government.
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I Heart SCV
July, 2010 - Issue #69
Laws can be just as petty and irritating as the people who craft them. Since they’re rarely repealed, normal people tend to just overlook those laws and rules that make life unnecessarily annoying. When that doesn’t work, we stand ready to heap scorn and ridicule upon those who insist on following the letter of the law too closely with their frivolous lawsuits or enforcement of obscure codes.
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SCV Kids are “Born to be Wild”
May, 2010 - Issue #67
Get your motors running, Santa Clarita. Now in its 39th year, the annual Boys & Girls Club auction promises to go hog wild with a lineup of items that will make your inner road warrior want to tie on a bandana and hit the streets (New Harley, anyone?).
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I Heart SCV
May, 2010 - Issue #67
I miss “goodbye.” With great clarity, it signaled that two or more people were parting ways. It has fallen largely out of favor, replaced by “later” or “seeya,” greetings that promise that things aren’t yet over. Conversations sent via electronic channels also defy conclusion; the texts and comments will continue piling up whether you acknowledge them or not. The last holdouts are reality TV shows, where “pack your knives and go” or “you’re fired” still impart a welcome sense of finality. But even here, the dismissals are just words, and the stars will be back for a reunion special, another season, or their own spin-off.
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I Heart SCV
May, 2010 - Issue #67
 Santa Clarita should be a City utterly devoid of surprises. Everything is planned, usually about three years in advance by means of a series of spectacularly boring meetings. But lately, life and business in the SCV have been proceeding in defiance of what was planned for them. The trouble with getting more than we bargained for is that the “more” isn’t often good.
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Goodbye Gridlock?
April, 2010 - Issue #66
At the cost of roughly $245 million and with the completion of a 1,000-foot bridge over a river, the residents of Santa Clarita finally have a way to travel east and west across the valley without relying on heavily-congested streets. With the completion of the Cross Valley Connector, commuters will now be able to travel from Highway 14 directly across to Interstate 5 and Highway 126.
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I Heart SCV
April, 2010 - Issue #66
Saving is a pastime favored by many Claritans. We have groups that are saving open space, some who are saving arts programs, while still others are saving historic places. There are even those who try to protect decidedly non-historic places, like the loose coalition that sprang up to not-so-successfully save Bristol Farms supermarket from closing. While the indigenous people and early settlers of Santa Clarita had little to save - there were no historic buildings, much less supermarkets - we moderns have ever more to worry about preserving and protecting.
This month, it’s saving and safety that’s on the agenda.
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I Heart SCV
March, 2010 - Issue #65
It’s not hard to get noticed in Santa Clarita. Standing in the middle of McBean during rush hour, painting one’s house a shade forbidden by the HOA, or driving a car made before 2007 are all viable options for those craving attention. Getting noticed is certainly something on the minds of the 11 candidates vying for election to City Council. The SCV Press Club will be giving notice to those worth talking about at the Newsmakers Awards Gala Dinner on March 19.
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Friday, January 15
January, 2010 - Issue #63
In response to the tragedy in Haiti, a benefit concert has been organized - featuring several prominant musicians. Great music for a worthy cause starts at 8 p.m. Donations of any amount will be accepted for Three Angels Children's Relief - a Christian, 501c3 organization that has an orphanage, school and medical clinic in Petionville, Haiti. The event will be held at 24422 Chestnut Street, Newhall in the Victoria Center (Antioch church facility).
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I Heart SCV
February, 2010 - Issue #64
Santa Clarita rarely tops the list of romantic getaways. Castaic Lake’s waters are not quite as warm and crystal clear as those of the Bahamas, the Six Flags Sky Tower makes a poor substitute for Paris’s Eiffel, and the Travelodge on Sierra Highway lacks some of the charm of a New Hampshire B&B. So when it comes to February 14 trips booked on those travel websites, you can be sure that Santa Clarita will be entered in the “Departing From” box, not the “Destination.”
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Cheap Chic
January, 2010 - Issue #63
Now that holiday shopping has started in earnest, we’re on a mission. We’re like drug-sniffing dogs, an elite pack of bargain hunters who leave no store unturned on hot pursuit of red tags, slash marks, percentage signs and clearance sections.
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I Heart SCV
January, 2010 - Issue #63
Unlike alchemy and bloodletting, geography is a medieval discipline that still holds sway in modern times. No amount of cross-continent Skype-ing or international jet-setting can eliminate the importance of place, the particular patch of earth on which we dwell.
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I Heart SCV
December, 2009 - Issue #62
Holiday update letters are de rigueur for the suburban family. How else are far-flung friends and family members to know about Madison’s stunning performance at the art fair and Braden’s acceptance to law school? If the City of Santa Clarita was to draft such a letter, things would be a little different; something like this:
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I Heart SCV
November, 2009 - Issue #61
At a mere 21 years and 11 months old, the City of Santa Clarita hasn’t had a lot of time to develop meaningful traditions. (The Fourth of July Parade and Buck McKeon’s annual attempt to pass CEMEX legislation are notable exceptions). This lack of tradition is felt keenly during Thanksgiving when other cities flaunt their delightful array of customs. New York City has the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Plymouth has historical reenactments complete with pilgrims, pirates, and soldiers. Football towns have tailgating with turkeys on the grill. Buffalo holds the dubious honor of hosting “The World’s Largest Disco” the Saturday after Thanksgiving - but hey, it’s still a tradition.
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I Heart SCV
October, 2009 - Issue #60
In Santa Clarita, it’s not really October until a few thousand acres have been ravaged by a Santa-Ana-wind-driven, Super-Scooper-doused blaze. What’s interesting - and annoying - is how these fires always seem to make us turn against the very substance that helped us extinguish them, namely water.
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I Heart SCV
September, 2009 - Issue #59
It’s surprisingly easy to ignore 99 percent of the things that happen in SCV, even when we live here. To get by, many just need to know a few places to eat and shop and directions to the nearest freeway on ramp. Those with children tend to be slightly better acquainted with the community. Their attention has shifted from escaping Santa Clarita to finding its best schools, signing up for sports and figuring out if the shifty guy down the street who wears sleeveless flannel shirts is registered on the Megan’s Law website.
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I Heart SCV
August, 2009 - Issue #58
Judith Larner Lowry, one of California’s finest nature writers, divides the year into five parts. There’s fall, winter, spring, summer and then, a fifth season comprising August and October. She calls it “the quiet time” when all is parched and still: “That long luxurious warm spell with no rain.”
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Movers and Shakers
August, 2009 - Issue #58
Rock stars and trend-setting jewelry are a notoriously inseparable combination (thankfully, designer adornments are a habit that rarely requires a stay in rehab), and so it comes as no surprise that Rikki Rocket, the drummer for Poison, was on hand for the Room 101 trunk show at Bella Jewelers (owned by locals Manya and Harut Nazarian).
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Santa Clarita, it’s Time to THiNK
July, 2009 - Issue #57
Remember when, scorned by a high school crush who (mistakenly) fell for the charms of another, you were prompted to question, “What do they have that I don’t have?”
I’m pretty sure that the Santa Clarita Valley knows how you feel. For years - decades, in fact - our pretty valley has fought for your attention.
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I Heart SCV
July, 2009 - Issue #57
Santa Clarita is a terrifyingly predictable place. Every election, local politicians will promise to improve traffic and keep children safe. You can walk into any restaurant and order a chicken Caesar salad - menu unseen - knowing that it will cost $9.99 and taste pretty good. SCOPE will always find something wrong about every development.
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Movers and Shakers
July, 2009 - Issue #57
Will a Hyatt hotel by any other name still smell as, well, Hyatt-y? That was the question as Noble Investment Group unveiled the “new” Hyatt Regency Valencia.
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I Heart SCV
June, 2009 - Issue #56
Graduations from high school and college mean it’s time for many a fresh, eager young Claritan to begin the always-arduous task of job hunting. After spending nearly two decades in school being told that their education would help them get a good job, these people will finally have the opportunity to put a paycheck where their diploma is.
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Movers and Shakers
June, 2009 - Issue #56
Statement of the obvious: Santa Clarita is full of golf-themed fundraisers. That’s why we heart Carousel Ranch for dropping the “olf” and adding a bullet-filled “un” to the end of that “g” at their first Trap Shoot.
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Movers and Shakers
May, 2009 - Issue #55
Statement of the obvious: Santa Clarita is full of golf-themed fundraisers. That’s why we heart Carousel Ranch for dropping the “olf” and adding a bullet-filled “un” to the end of that “g” at their first Trap Shoot.
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I Heart SCV
May, 2009 - Issue #55
You have probably heard of China’s “little emperors,” a term that rose to prominence in the 1990s. It describes the spoiled, willful generation of kids resulting from one-child policies.
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Movers and Shakers
May, 2009 - Issue #55
This job rarely rewards kindness, which is why I as a mom was simultaneously elated and depressed when I discovered that one of the sweetest women in the world, Myrna Condie, was named the 2009 California Mother of the Year.
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I Heart SCV
April, 2009 - Issue #54
Most Santa Claritans think nature roams wild and free in precisely two places: Placerita Canyon and the refrigerator shelves of C-rated restaurants. But this winter and spring, we were reminded that the Santa Clara River is the third place where we can still find a bit of untamed wilderness, so long as we’re willing to look past the cement levies and storm drains. With heavy rain in February and early March, the river has had a run of weeks rather than the usual days.
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I Heart SCV
March, 2009 - Issue #53
Santa Clarita may not be a college town, but we’re certainly a town with college. We have the ever-popular College of the Canyons, spiritual sanctuary offered by The Master’s College, career schools like Flair Beauty College... then there’s CalArts.
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Movers and Shakers
February, 2009 - Issue #52
No one would confuse Pardee’s VP of community development, Jim Bizzelle, for Santa - which is not to say that Jim can’t get his jolly on. Bizzelle, along with Director of Land Development Tom Mitchell and Susie Sheeler, played the vital roles of Santa’s Helpers at Carousel Ranch’s Santa Day.
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I Heart SCV
February, 2009 - Issue #52
Come February 14, St. Valentine will be stealing attention from our valley’s namesake, St. Clare. When it comes to saints, why is it that Santa Claritans spend so much more time fussing over Valentine’s Day than Clare’s Day, given that we live in a valley named after, well, Clare?
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Movers and Shakers
January, 2009 - Issue #51
Full disclosure: I “heart” Bob Kellar. He’s got that cute “cowboy who drinks chardonnay” thing going for him, and he used to be a cop. Bob Kellar with a gun? Now that’s hot. (I’ll wait for you to complete your brain scrubbing before we move on.)
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I Heart SCV
January, 2009 - Issue #51
New Year’s resolutions are the natural consequence of irrational, out-of-control holiday behavior. We drink, eat and spend too much during December, so we decide to push the pendulum the other direction upon ringing in the new year. We resolve to become trimmer, more responsible, better versions of who we are: Self 2.0 (a catch-phrase I’m sure some motivational speaker has already branded - sorry).
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Birdies for the Brave
December, 2008 - Issue #50
Monday, November 24
Valencia Country Club Hosts Tournament for Birdies for the Brave
If you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to mock the perpetual fashion “don’t” that is Valencia Country Club’s Craig Cliver, now is your appropriate opportunity.
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If you Live in Santa Clarita, You need to Read this Article
December, 2008 - Issue #50
Publishers’ Note: While the title of this piece may seem mildly alarmist, we at Inside SCV Magazine really do believe that the issue discussed here is of major importance to our community. Thank you for taking the time to read it - and thank you in advance for helping keep Santa Clarita strong.
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I Heart SCV
December, 2008 - Issue #50
It has been a hard end of the year for everyone. Tragically, those of us who matter most in this valley - movers and shakers like myself - are especially struggling. If times weren’t so tough, my mailbox would be full of invites to formal dinners and holiday parties with people who own car dealerships and real estate firms. But no one’s putting on such events this year and in this economy.
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Movers and Shakers
December, 2008 - Issue #50
Like the life-boat loading rules of the Titanic, we will chat about the famous people first (Sorry, Tom Hough. You’re well liked enough, but you’ve got about 22 more letters to climb until you make it to the D list.).
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Movers and Shakers
November, 2008 - Issue #49
October was a month filled with atta-boys/girls and lots of back patting (sometimes flexibly achieved by folks who were both the patter and patee). Nothing new there. However, in a strange twist, most, if not all of it, was more than deserved. Here’s the round up…
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I Heart SCV
November, 2008 - Issue #49
It’s natural to get defensive in November. Let your guard down for but an instant and this month will eat you alive. There are limitless opportunities for getting into fights over politics, the last remaining must-have toy at after-Thanksgiving sales, or the proper way to prepare cornbread stuffing. Then there are battles over whether to watch football or sitcoms, who’s hosting Thanksgiving, whether Thanksgiving dinner is an appropriate time to tell your brother what the family really thinks about his trashy fiancée…
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Movers and Shakers
October, 2008 - Issue #48
For Santa Clarita residents, it has been a busy month.
Let’s start with what we only can guess was a major swoon-fest by 30-year-old women who should, let’s be honest, have gotten over their crushes by now. Seriously. Former star of “Saved by the Bell” and current hottie Mark-Paul Gosselaar recently previewed “Raising the Bar,” TNT’s new legal drama, with some pals (including Chris Schauble of “Today in L.A.”) at All Corked Up.
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I Heart SCV
October, 2008 - Issue #48
As Halloween nears, Santa Claritans will participate in the long, illustrious tradition of getting scared in the safest ways possible. We will go to Fright Fest at Six Flags, where we scream securely in the knowledge that the murderous clowns are really just harmless actors. We will go through haunted houses where the reassuring glow of exit signs offers us an easy out. We will watch scary movies from secure homes on well-lit streets in gated communities.
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