Good morning, Santa Clarita.

Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control will waive all dog adoption fees at its seven shelters this Adopt A Shelter Dog Month and will host pet adoption clinics at local libraries from Oct.

11 to Oct. 30—offering read-to-Rover events along with spay/neuter and microchip services to help families adopt a dog.

Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 355 hosted the Commitment to Freedom event at Bella Vida on Oct 4—raising funds for a Veterans Relief Fund to help cover utility bills and gas for local veterans as they celebrated the 250th anniversary of the U.S. armed forces.

The event, planned with Coffee4Vets Inc., brought together veterans and community members for a cocktail hour and dinner that honored shared service and support.

Santa Clarita residents can use a new guide that lists upcoming events including haunted houses on select nights in October, a job fair at SpringHill Suites Valencia on October 11th, and Circus Vargas at Valencia Town Center from October 11th through 20th—other events include art festivals, a magic show on October 10th, community walks, and wellness expos with details subject to change.

Dinh Montané visited her cousin in the hospital after her third child’s birth and urged her to leave an abusive relationship despite a restraining order, and she attended a United Against Domestic Violence event at the Child & Family Center on October 3rd to share resources and stress that education can break the cycle—local officials and advocates affirmed that help is available.

American Legion Post 507 hosted the annual Boys and Girls State reunion on Oct.

5 at the American Legion in Newhall — high school juniors shared what they learned at a weeklong camp on state government while leaders such as Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo and Councilwoman Marsha McLean praised the event for its role in civic education.

Shaveen De Mel, a recent TMU biology graduate, had his original research published in Nature Scientific Reports after a six-month review that ended in July.

His study of silver nanoparticles made from Magnolia alba leaf extracts earned awards at research conferences — it was featured on the NIH website.

College of the Canyons was selected as the only community college in the National Park Trust College Ambassadors program—two student ambassadors will lead events including an outdoor trip on October 11th and an indoor rock climbing night on November 7th.

On October 8, the County Board of Supervisors approved a motion by Chair Kathryn Barger to investigate alleged fraud in civil claims filed under AB 218 for childhood sexual abuse.

County Counsel will report back within 14 days—county officials plan to strengthen oversight with a new fraud hotline and tighter control on settlements, which include a total cost of $4 billion with $1.5 billion for attorney fees.

At City Hall’s Carl Boyer Room, City Council and staff talked about affordable housing (the city’s first meeting on the topic) using examples from Glendale and Thousand Oaks, and they told staff to make a new policy plan for review early next year (to meet Measure A rules).

West Ranch girls’ volleyball swept Saugus on Oct.

7 with set scores of 28 to 26, 25 to 13, and 25 to 12 to earn their ninth straight league win and move one win away from their first Foothill League title since 2023— they must win against Hart or see Saugus lose in their next game to clinch the title.

West Ranch leads the Foothill League girls’ volleyball season with a perfect record and a 10-game win streak while Saugus and three other teams fight for playoff spots.

Upcoming games include West Ranch playing Hart on Wednesday at 5 p.m. and Saugus facing Hart on Tuesday—Canyon hosting Golden Valley on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.