Santa Clarita’s annual City Council reorganization meeting brought a mix of celebration and tension Tuesday night as Laurene Weste was sworn in as mayor for the seventh time. Outgoing Mayor Bill Miranda formally passed the gavel to Weste.  Weste has served on the City Council since 1998 and previously held the mayoral role in 2001, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and ...

When Mayor Pro-Tem, Laurene Weste was first elected to the Santa Clarita City Council in 1998, we supported her. Over the years, we assisted her efforts to make our valley’s “open space” a reality. Her effort will become her legacy. Ed. Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the individual author or authors and do ...

Tensions ran high on Tuesday night as the Santa Clarita City Council and dozens of community members engaged in a heated debate over the proposed Newhall mixed-use development project. This city council meeting was anything but brief, stretching into a 4.5-hour marathon debate over the contentious mixed-use development proposal ‘Hartwell’ in Old Town Newhall. The meeting, which stretched late into ...

Santa Clarita City Councilmember Laurene Weste recently spoke in front of the House Committee on Natural Resources in Washington D.C. to advocate for House Resolution 1708, better known as the Rim of the Valley Corridor Preservation Act, officials said Wednesday. https://www.facebook.com/RepKatieHill/videos/453251192082039/ Weste appeared before the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands on Monday to advocate for H.R. 1708, ...

Santa Clarita Councilwoman Laurene Weste is scheduled to be given iLEAD School’s “Vision in Education” award at this year’s annual benefit dinner, officials said Monday. The award is intended to recognize a community leader who has contributed significantly to public education and demonstrated extraordinary vision and dedication in supporting and expanding educational opportunities, according to iLEAD officials. In particular, Weste’s ...

The Santa Clarita City council voted 4-1 Tuesday night to raise their salary six percent by July 1, 2014. The raise averages three percent per year, below the state maximum of five percent and in keeping with city staff's three percent raise.