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'Santa Clarita' is the fourth largest city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2005 California Department of Finance estimate, the city population was 167,954. The current population is calculated at 175,314 according to city population signs around the city but it is likely the population is even higher than that as the city continues to grow rapidly. Including unicorporated areas of the Santa Clarita Valley, the population is estimated at over 200, 000. It is located about 35 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, and occupies most of the Santa Clarita Valley. It is a notable example of a U.S. edge city or boomburb. The FBI rates it as the sixth safest city in the United States with at least 100,000 inhabitants. (Nearby Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, in Ventura County, traditionally alternate between the first and second spots on the list.) Santa Clarita is ranked as one of the top 100 places to live by ''Money''.
Santa Clarita was incorporated in 1987 as the union of several previously existing communities, including Canyon Country, Newhall, Saugus, Valencia, and portions of Castaic, all of which are the grounds of the former Rancho San Francisco. Its principal boundaries are the Golden State and Antelope Valley freeways; their merger in Newhall Pass at the city's southernmost point gives Santa Clarita its distinctive triangular appearance on the map.
Santa Clarita's most notable attractions are the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park located just outside the city limits in unincorporated Los Angeles County, and the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), located in Valencia.

Contents

Geography

Law Enforcement

Fire Services

Demographics

Television and movie production

Transportation

Freeways

Bus Service

Train

Bicycle and Walking

Local Media

Parks and Recreation

School districts

Colleges and universities

External links

Geography

'Santa Clarita' is located at (34.416561, -118.506443). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 123.9 km² (47.8 mi²). 123.9 km² (47.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.04%) is water.
Santa Clarita is situated near the San Fernando fault zone and was affected by the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, also known as the Sylmar quake.

Law Enforcement

The City of Santa Clarita has a contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for law enforcement protection. It has its own Sheriff Station located at the intersection of Valencia Blvd and Magic Mountain Parkway.

Fire Services

The City of Santa Clarita has a contract with the Los Angeles County Fire Department for Fire Protection. The City currently has 8 fire stations but with the increasing growth in the area 8 new stations are planned for the area by 2012.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 151,088 people, 50,787 households, and 38,242 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,219.6/km² (3,159.1/mi²). There were 52,442 housing units at an average density of 423.3/km² (1,096.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.53% White, 2.07 African American, 0.59% Native American, 5.24% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 8.54% from other races, and 3.89% from two or more races. 20.50% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 50,787 households out of which 44.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.7% were non-families. 18.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.38.
In the city the population was spread out with 30.3% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 33.6% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $66,717, and the median income for a family was $73,588. Males had a median income of $53,769 versus $36,835 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,841. 6.4% of the population and 4.7% of families were below the poverty line. 6.7% of those under the age of 18 and 5.9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Television and movie production

Santa Clarita's proximity to Hollywood has seen a number of TV shows and movies filmed in the area, including ''Pump Up the Volume'' (which was filmed in Saugus High School), Heroes, filmed at Golden Valley High School, ''24'', '', ''Weeds'' and ''Christine'' filmed in Valencia. The HBO Series ''Big Love'' starring Chloe Sevigny and Bill Paxton shoots in Mentryville. In addition to these productions, the short-lived series ''Smith'' was not only filmed in Santa Clarita, but the main (fictional) characters lived in the city. Another short-lived series, "Freaks and Geeks" was filmed at and around William S. Hart High School. ''The Secret World of Alex Mack'' was filmed at Charles Helmers Elementary School in Santa Clarita. ''Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers'' was also filmed in parts of Santa Clarita and Castaic as well.
In the 1970s, "The Dukes of Hazzard," "BJ and the Bear," "The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo," and a number of episodes of "CHiPs," "Charlie's Angels," and "Knight Rider" were filmed in and around Santa Clarita Valley. The movies Viva Knievel! and The Gumball Rally were also extensively filmed there.
Beginning in the 1990s, studios began to set up in the Santa Clarita Valley, and "Melrose Place" was one of the first TV series to be based out of Santa Clarita Studios.
Golden Oak Ranch is a property owned by the Walt Disney Company located east of California State Route 14 in Newhall. This has been used as a location for several Disney features. It has also been rented out to other studios and production companies.
The HBO series, "Deadwood" is filmed in Placerita Canyon at Melody Ranch Studios, once owned by Gene Autry.
Most recently, Sierra Vista Junior High's gym was used to shoot the movie Mr. Woodcock.
In Malcolm in the Middle Malcolm and his brothers are driving a go-karts and ram each other at Mountasia a theme park in Santa Clarita
Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion- when it flashes back to when they were in high school was filmed at Valencia High School Also, parts of Bio Dome was filmed at Valencia High School
One of the first scenes of Space Cowboys was filmed at The Halfway House up Sierra Hwy
Jag is sometimes filmed in Newhall
"Encino Man" and "National Lampoon's Vacation" were filmed at Six Flags Magic Mountain
In the movie "Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back'', the protagonists steal an ape from a science lab in an industrial park. The park in which the scene was shot is on the Old Road off of Interstate 5 near the 126 interchange, which is between Castaic and Valencia in Santa Clarita.

Transportation

Freeways

Santa Clarita is serviced by Interstate 5 on the western Valencia side, of the valley. The communities of Canyon Country and Newhall, on the east side of the valley, can be accessed by using California State Highway 14.

Bus Service

City of Santa Clarita Transit provides bus service within the Santa Clarita Valley and from/to Sylmar in the San Fernando Valley. It is owned by Veolia Transportation. On weekdays, City of Santa Clarita Transit runs commuter buses to/from Los Angeles, Warner Center, Van Nuys, Century City and Lancaster. The agency was formerly known as Santa Clarita Transit.

Train

Metrolink provides commuter passenger train service to the Santa Clarita Valley along its Antelope Valley Line which runs from Lancaster, California to Union Station, where transfers can be made to destinations in Southern California and the rest of the nation. Metrolink services 3 stations in the city, Via Princessa Station in the Canyon Country community, Santa Clarita Station which is centrally located in the city and serves most of the Valencia and Saugus communities, and the Newhall Station which serves the community of Newhall. All stations have large parking lots to allow commuters to "park and ride."
Metrolink service operates 6 days a week, Monday-Saturday.

Bicycle and Walking

There are a series of bike trails and walking paths threaded throughout the city. Bicyclists can ride from the eastern end of the city in Canyon Country along a paved path which is independent from automobile traffic all the way to Valencia on the Santa Clara River Trail. This path closely follows the Santa Clara River and Soledad Canyon Road. There are many jumping off points along this route providing access to neighborhoods, Metrolink stations and commerce. Once in Valencia, there are several pedestrian bridges called ''paseos'' connected to the bike path network. The paseos provide a measure of safety for riders and walkers by keeping them above and away from automobile traffic. The neighborhoods in Valencia were planned to include an ample amount of walking and riding paths that connect to this overall network.

Local Media

The City of Santa Clarita and surrounding communities are served by several local media properties.
'Newspapers'
The primary daily newspaper, ''The Signal'', was founded in 1919 and enjoys a weekday circulation of ~13,000 and a Sunday circulation of some 55,000. The newspaper, which focuses almost exclusively on local news, sports, entertainment and features, is owned by Morris Multimedia, Inc., of Savannah, Georgia. ''The Signal's offices on Creekside Road serve as the newspaper's newsroom, production office, IT and web design facility, and printing facility.
Recently, ''The Signal'' has expanded its online presence and redesigned its websiteto be more accommodating to multimedia news stories. For instance, ''The Signal'' employs streaming video technology to share short news, sports, entertainment and feature videos, embedded on the front page of its website.
Additionally, Santa Clarita is served by the ''Daily News'', a subsidiary of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group which itself is owned by MediaNews Corporation of Denver. The ''Daily News'' primarily focuses on news, sports and entertainment stories in the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles, but also employs staff of journalists dedicated to writing articles about Santa Clarita. Typically, a weekday edition of the ''Daily News'' will include three to four stories about Santa Clarita on pages 1 and 3. ''Daily News'' circulation numbers within the Santa Clarita Valley are not known, but the paper enjoys a circulation of some 157,000 in the greater Los Angeles region, according to its website. The ''Daily News'' printing plant is located in Valencia
' Radio '
The Santa Clarita Valley is served by one AM radio station: KHTS (AM), "Santa Clarita's Hometown Station." The commercial radio station broadcasts from studios located Canyon Country. The station carries local news, traffic, weather, sports music and talk shows. The station's transmitter and antennas are located on Sierra Highway between Soledad Canyon Rd. and Sand Canyon Rd. KHTS also has an active internet website which it uses to post news stories, podcasts of its radio shows, and other media.
In addition, the City of Santa Clarita and its surrounding communities are served by a number of major market Los Angeles FM and AM radio stations, though residents often complain that radio reception in the valley is poor due to the surrounding hillsides.
'Television'
There are no commercial over-the-air television stations in the Santa Clarita Valley. The city is part of the Los Angeles media market. Much of the Santa Clarita Valley does not have access to over-the-air television signals from the Los Angeles television stations due to geographical limitations. Analog and digital signals from the Los Angeles stations are available on local cable television systems, DirecTV and Dish Network
In partnership with Time Warner Cable, the City of Santa Clarita, ''The Signal'' newspaper, and other local organizations broadcast SCVTV, Channel 20, which is available to local residents through Time Warner. The television channel typically carries education, history and city news, though regular news programming is rare.
Notably, SCVTV Channel 20 broadcasts City Council meetings every two weeks.
'Internet'
There are several community websites and blogs that cover local news and events and are independent of traditional media. Some of these sites are:

My Santa Clarita - Community News and Events Website

SCVTalk - News and Opinion Blog

SantaClaritaGuide - Santa Clarita in Pictures

Santa Clarita Real Estate Blog - Real Estate and Opinion Blog

SCV Mall - Online City Guide

Parks and Recreation

The City of Santa Clarita's leadership has placed a priority on offering recreational facilities and programs since incorporation. Many youth-friendly activities and diversions exist in order to steer the city's children away from crime and gang activity. The city has established many neighborhood parks and maintains a comprehensive recreation program. There is a recreation center in Canyon Country that includes an aquatic park with wading, diving, and Olympic swimming pools along with a bicycle/skate park, community swimming pools in both Newhall and Canyon Country and a community center in downtown Newhall. The city's largest park is located in Saugus and is known as Central Park. There are currently a total of seventeen parks scattered in various neighborhoods throughout the city. Many have lighted tennis and basketball courts, baseball and soccer fields. There are over 3,000 acres of open space and 32 miles of off-street trails within its boundaries.
Over the past several years, the city has cosponsored a summer concert series offering a wide variety of music in cooperation with various local businesses. These concerts are free of charge and take place on weekends in Central Park. The city offers a wide variety of fee-based and free classes and programs in a variety of locations throughout the year. These programs are listed in the quarterly magazine ''Seasons'' which is delivered to all residences within the city limits via mail.
The Santa Clairta Marathon is held annually in November. The race was first run in 1995 and is now a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon.
There are several public and private golf courses in Santa Clarita. The city is also home to a public ice skating rink called the ''Ice Station''.

School districts

★ Castaic Union School District [1]

★ Newhall School District [2]

★ Saugus Union School District [3]

★ Sulphur Springs Elementary School District [4]

★ William S. Hart High School District [5]

Colleges and universities

★ California Institute of the Arts

★ The Master's College [6]

★ College of the Canyons [7]

External links

★ City of Santa Clarita homepage

★ Santa Clarita Valley Resources Page

★ MySantaClarita.com - Your City, Your Site for Santa Clarita

★ LA County Disaster Communications Service ( DCS ) Santa Clarita Valley Station

★ SCVTalk.com - Santa Clarita Neighborhood News/Community Journalism Site

★ SCVLife.net - Santa Clarita Community, Life, and Events

★ AM-1220 KHTS - Santa Clarita's Radio Station

★ SantaClaritaGuide.com - The Santa Clarita Valley in Pictures

★ Santa Clarita Marathon