Good morning, Santa Clarita.

Santa Clarita finished major park projects in 2025, opening Pioneer Oil Refinery Park and transferring William S.

Hart Park. In 2026, the new Rink Sports Pavilion will open in fall and David March Park will get upgrades (including a new basketball court and exercise staircase) to boost community recreation.

Santa Clarita welcomed its first baby of the year when Janelle and Weston Scott had a healthy daughter on Thursday morning at 4:57 a.m. at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital (a full-circle moment since Janelle was also born there).

The SCV Man and Woman of the Year Committee invites nominations from 501(c)(3) organizations for honoring outstanding volunteer service; forms are due by Jan.

30, with a cocktail party on March 4 and the gala dinner on May 1 at the Hyatt Valencia to celebrate finalists.

Santa Clarita is accepting entries for two sculptural pieces for its Temporary Public Art program, with works installed along the trail system for three years.

Artists 18 and older must submit proposals by Monday, Jan. 26 (local and national entries are welcome) to receive a $5,000 honorarium if selected.

Local historian John Boston has launched a new eclectic bookstore in Santa Clarita offering his humorous adventure sequel Naked Came the Novelist and a two-volume MONSTERS series on the area's supernatural lore.

The shop invites residents to explore local history through engaging, offbeat literature.

The City of Santa Clarita is accepting sculptural entries for its Temporary Public Art program; selected works will be installed on concrete pads along the trail system for a three-year loan and earn each artist a $5,000 honorarium—submissions are due by Jan.

26.

The College of the Canyons Foundation announced a new student support initiative to help fund scholarships and emergency aid amid rising financial challenges.

The effort builds on 2025 achievements that included record donations and merit awards for students & aims to expand opportunities for future success.

The WiSH Education Foundation will host a free e-waste recycling event on Saturday, Jan.

10 and Sunday, Jan. 11 at Valencia Town Center (parking lot 3 at the corner of Valencia Blvd and Citrus St) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Residents may drop off monitors, printers, and TVs.

The Santa Clarita Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency invites the public to a virtual workshop on the groundwater plan on Jan.

7 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. via Zoom, with a second session on Feb. 4 (register online).

The SCV Women’s Circle is a bi-monthly support and education program for midlife women that will meet on Tuesday, Jan.

6 and Thursday, Jan. 8 at Kenneally Acupuncture Healing Resource Center, 23542 Lyons Ave., Newhall — advance registration is required to secure limited space.

On Friday, first responders arrived at a medical emergency in Canyon Country near the Sherwin-Williams paint store (21000 block of Soledad Canyon Road and Valley Center Drive) where resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful and the man was pronounced dead.

Castaic Animal Care Center is featuring Charlie Brown, a calm 6-year-old, 70-pound mixed-breed dog with minor scratches who gets along well with calm female dogs.

The shelter is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 31044 N Charlie Canyon Road.

A Canyon Country resident asked for a better fix for separated wood floor planks, so Robert Lamoureux of IMS Construction Inc. advised using painter’s tape, two-way tape and a wood block (a 2x4 board) to reposition the boards safely.

Foothill League soccer teams continue with a holiday schedule, and league standings remain unchanged despite multiple non-league matches.

Boys teams will compete on Jan. 5 and Jan. 8, while girls teams have games planned the same week (with Saugus and Hart among the competitors) to keep extra local action rolling.