We always find the New Year to be a good time to revisit the happenings of the previous one and are amazed at how time has flown by so quickly.  We can look at our son, Alex to see how much and how fast he has grown, just as we can see how quickly the Santa Clarita Valley has grown and changed since it’s birth 20 years ago.  The Magazine of Santa Clarita has proudly carried news about city developments as well as social event coverage for 16 of those 20 years.  It’s hard to believe Alex was only two years old when we put out that first issue.

Never in a million years could we have imagined the long-lasting friendships and joy we’ve found through our publishing endeavors together.  Our readers are everything to us, thus, the announcement this month of MAGATHON, a fundraising contest to benefit Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital.  A lucky reader who contributes could be rewarded with a substantial cash prize, we challenge you to participate, the more entries received, the bigger the prize.  See details on page 41.

We’ve found through the years that it doesn’t take a prize to see the extreme generosity of the people who live in the Valley.  Sharing is definitely second nature for them, including their time and treasures.  It’s really no wonder CNN/Money Magazine named Santa Clarita the best city in California to live in as well as one of the top 20 places in the United States to live.  

It’s also no wonder that newly married couples settle here, thus, the extensive offering of top-quality resources in our bridal guide this month.  In keeping with a superior quality of life, residents in the Valley place a great deal of importance on their health and can peruse our fitness guide, as well.
Our city council has served us well over the years, way back to the original members, including Mayor Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, Mayor Pro-tem Jan Heidt, council members, Jo Anne Darcy, Carl Boyer and Dennis Koontz.  It’s odd to think they held their meetings in a rented storefront on Soledad Canyon Road across from a noisy motorcycle shop 20 years ago, when you see the fine three-story brick building on Valencia Boulevard that houses the city council chambers of today.  The city has come so far when you look at how relatively young it is.  Beautiful city parks offer families a safe outdoor retreat and our growing wealth of first-class and casual quaint restaurants offer residents the best in leisure-time opportunities without having to drive to Los Angeles.  Although, our newly upgraded transit bus system and metro link stations make commuting to Los Angeles a piece of cake.

It’s no wonder that celebrities love to visit the Santa Clarita Valley, as you will see in our newly revived column, Celebrity Sightings, written by our new managing editor, Lisa Ann Capozzi.  For those who travel far from the safety of our Valley to serve the freedom-seeking needs of our county, we are grateful and have featured a story about a local chapter of the Blue Star Mothers of America who work countless hours to be sure the soldiers serving in Iraq are supplied with goodie boxes from generous area donors.  We are so grateful for organizations like the Blue Star Mothers and countless others in the valley.

With that said, we wish you and your family a year of good health and happiness.  May you find a moment of pure joy in each and every day because as we’ve found, the years of city hood, the years of child rearing and the time spend putting out a monthly magazine fly by very quickly.  Carpe diem!
                                
Linda, Moe & Alex Hafizi