Antelope Valley Press
Stratolaunch secures big investment
One of eastern Kern’s most promising aerospace operations has secured a nine-figure investment — likely its largest ever — from a prominent private equity firm intent on extending the company’s leadership in hypersonic testing services. Stratolaunch...
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Volunteers count AV’s homeless
LANCASTER — The 2026 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count took to the streets and neighborhoods of the Antelope Valley on Thursday morning, as thousands of volunteers spread throughout LA County to participate. The homeless count, conducted countywide...
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Schi , Padilla call for greater accountability at California City site
CALIFORNIA CITY — Both of California’s US senators visited the immigration detention facility in California City on Tuesday, calling for better oversight to ensure detainees are being provided adequate care. Following a tour of the California City...
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The Air Force is changing: ‘Embrace it’
EDWARDS AFB — Chief Master Sgt. Joshua Skarloken, 412th Test Wing command chief master sergeant, encouraged Airmen to embrace change, keep a positive attitude and make responsible decisions during the “Back-in-the-Saddle” All Call earlier this month at...
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East Kern borax mine might get help
BORON — Retaliatory tariffs imposed by China on eastern Kern’s largest mineral export will become a focus next month as members of the county Board of Supervisors deliberate how to help one of the region’s major employers. The board’s Legislative...
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Drones used as first responders
LANCASTER — City officials confirmed Tuesday that Lancaster Police Department drones are fully operational and already responding to first responder incidents. During the meeting, Lancaster Police Chief Rodrick Armalin told Mayor R. Rex Parris that...
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County plans new teen centers
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved more than $4 million in funding Tuesday for four new teen center projects, including at Jackie Robinson Park in Sun Village and Stephen Sorensen Park in Lake Los Angeles. The projects will create a...
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LA County weights ICE-free zones
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider a motion introduced by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath that seeks to create “ICE-free zones” in Los Angeles County to prevent federal officers from using county-owned property for any...
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AV storm cleanup continues
Supervisor Kathryn Barger on Wednesday highlighted the reopening of Palmdale Boulevard between Palmdale and Lake Los Angeles as well as three other major roads in the eastern Antelope Valley. Also opened are Avenue I between 50th and 60th streets...
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Board may expand wolf therapy
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors today will consider a motion introduced by Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Kathryn Barger to expand wolf therapy to underserved and atrisk youth via a proposed amendment to an existing contract with the...
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Hospital greets 1st 2026 baby
LANCASTER — Parents Irma and Jose Alvarez celebrated the new year with the birth of their daughter, Brielle, the first baby born in the Antelope Valley in 2026. The proud parents welcomed their daughter at the Antelope Valley Medical Center Women and...
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Flight research advances in ’25
EDWARDS AFB — NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base advanced work across aeronautics, Earth science, exploration technologies and emerging aviation systems in 2025, reinforcing its role as one of the agency’s primary test...
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NASA hunting for critical minerals
Called AVIRIS-5, it’s the latest in a long line of sensors pioneered by NASA JPL to survey Earth, the moon and other worlds. Cradled in the nose of a high-altitude research airplane, a new NASA sensor has taken to the skies to help geoscientists map...
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AV student performances gain
LANCASTER — Most Antelope Valley school districts showed an increase in student achievement and graduation rates and decreases in suspension rates and chronic absenteeism, according to results from the 202425 California Dashboard. The Dashboard is an...
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Strong storm drenches, floods Valley
PALMDALE — A powerful Christmas Eve storm that dropped more than four inches of rain in Acton, more than two inches of rain in Lancaster and more than an inch of rain in Palmdale over a 12-hour period from 3:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. caused dangerous...
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Turkeys and toys for the needy
LANCASTER — It was an early Christmas for many families as Lancaster Sheriff’s Station deputies and Explorer Academy recruits distributed turkeys and hundreds of toys to those in need Monday at Deputy Pierre W. Bain Park. An estimated 500 people lined...
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Local teen wins poetry contest
PALMDALE — When Palmdale Academy Charter High School junior Yesenia Martinez moved to Lake Los Angeles last year from the San Fernando Valley, she quickly discovered the “lake” in the rural community’s name was in name only. Yesenia turned her move...
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New health center opens doors
LANCASTER — Reisner Health Center celebrated its grand opening Thursday with a party in the parking that included a DJ, tacos and a row of low-rider vehicles parked in front of the office. The center, at 43807 10th St. West, is a family practice...
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Lighting up holiday season
The granddaughter of Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris lights the Christmas tree as he watches (far right) Saturday during the City of Lancaster’s A Magical BLVD event on Lancaster Boulevard. The celebration included lights, music and activities such as a...
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Wreaths honor memories of vets
LANCASTER — Hundreds of people, friends, family, members of veteran and youth groups turned out to decorate the marker stones of more than 1,000 veterans of the armed forces interred at Lancaster Cemetery. The Saturday morning event unfolded under...
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Preserving AV aviation history
EDWARDS AFB — The Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base is a testament to the eight decades of flight tests and unparalleled aviation milestones made at the desert base. The museum celebrates and preserves the aircraft and stories of these...
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Students give paws to animal welfare
PALMDALE — Yellen Learning Center students helped save the lives of 156 animals this fall at the Palmdale Animal Care Center, thanks to teacher Angelique Milillo’s Faces of Hope project. Milillo started the project this summer after one of her...
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Winter-style fun at amphitheater
Guests snow-tube (left) at the City of Palmdale’s Jolly Holiday winter wonderland Saturday at Palmdale Amphitheater. At right, Rancho Vista queens visit with two of Santa’s elves. Visitors also made snow angels and made hands-on holiday crafts.
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Santa drops in for milk, cookies
Santa Claus greets Lancaster Community Center guests just after his arrival Saturday for its first Milk and Cookies event. The center will host Santa again for pictures from 3 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. today, then for pictures and cookies at the same...
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Residents can apply for county rent relief
LOS ANGELES (CNS) — The Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs announced Thursday it will open applications for emergency rent relief on Dec. 17 to residents impacted by January’s wildfires and new financial pressures tied to...
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It’s time to frolic in the snow
PALMDALE — Palmdale School District’s Community Schools Department will host its second Winter Extravaganza from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at SAGE Magnet Academy, 38060 20th St. East, at Avenue R. The free, family-friendly community event will...
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MKJ Foundation aids with burial costs
LANCASTER — The Madelyn, Kadence and Joseph Foundation seeks to provide low-cost or no-cost burial services for victims of violent crimes or accidents due to violence. The new charitable foundation is named after Madelyn Gonzales and her stillborn...
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Directors discuss rule changes
LANCASTER — Starting next year, four bills signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom will revise provisions of the Brown Act, the California Public Records Act and the Political Reform Act with changes that include remote participation as an Americans with...
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New slide coming to DryTown
PALMDALE — DryTown Water Park will get a brand new slide tower in time for the 2026 summer season. The latest addition to the 20-year-old park will feature three slides with one dedicated for adrenaline junkies, a body slide for riders and a twisting...
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Turkey Trot draw largest-ever field
LANCASTER — The largest-ever crowd of runners, walkers and observers turned out Thanksgiving morning at Sgt. Steve Owen Memorial Park for the Antelope Valley Family YMCA’s 17th annual 5K/10K Turkey Trot. Participants came prepared to run or walk the...
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Going above and beyond
LANCASTER — Antelope Valley Transit Authority and contractor MV Transportation honored bus operator Melissa Gonzalez Tuesday morning for going above and beyond in helping to reunite a missing teen with her family. AVTA Executive Director/CEO Martin...
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AVUHSD workers getting pay boost
LANCASTER — Antelope Valley Union High School District classified employees will get a 1.4% ongoing salary increase and a 5.5% one-time salary bonus based on the 2025-26 salary schedule, according to the terms of a collective bargaining tentative...
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Turkey Trot interest swelling
LANCASTER — The Antelope Valley Family YMCA is on target to meet its $72,000 fundraising goal for the 17th annual Turkey Trot, to be held Thanksgiving morning. The annual tradition began on Thanksgiving Day in 2009 with 120 participants. This year,...
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Valley bids goodbye to The AV Wall
PALMDALE — It was a tearful Wednesday morning as members of The AV Wall board, Point Man Antelope Valley and dozens of volunteers and community members said their final goodbyes to The AV Wall at the Palmdale Amphitheater. The Mobile Vietnam Memorial...
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Valley unites to honor its veterans
LANCASTER — Honoring military veterans and their service was the theme weaved throughout the Antelope Valley Cemetery District’s Veterans Day ceremony Tuesday morning at Lancaster Cemetery. The annual event drew hundreds of people to the...
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AV vet has overcome trauma
LANCASTER — US Navy veteran Miki Jones has overcome trauma in her life and is learning to love art again. Jones is a former foster youth and domestic violence survivor. She is an art major at Antelope Valley College. She will graduate next spring. She...
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AV set to celebrate Veterans Day
LANCASTER — Veterans Day observances are set for Tuesday in Lancaster, Mojave and Palmdale to honor those who have served their country. Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day, commemorating the day the armistice was signed to end World...
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Republicans file suit over Prop. 50 New US House map is easily approved by state’s voters
SACRAMENTO — California Republicans filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to block a new US House map that California voters decisively approved at the ballot. Proposition 50, backed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, is designed to help Democrats flip as...
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Yellen Park’s next phase opens
PALMDALE — City of Palmdale officials joined by Assemblyman Juan Carrillo, city park and public works employees and community members celebrated the grand opening of Phase II of Yellen Park on Tuesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The $18.5 million...
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Fee deadline extended in Alarcón suit
PALMDALE — Palmdale City Councilwoman Andrea Alarcón and the city agreed to extend the deadline for seeking attorney’s fees and costs related to the complaint Alarcón filed in October 2024 alleging the city has violated the California Public Records...
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Southern Kern adopting by-district vote
ROSAMOND — Southern Kern Unified School District’s governing board members unanimously and reluctantly adopted a resolution to initiate the transition from an at-large election system to a by-trustee area election system to avoid the significant costs...
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No Force needed to donate blood
LANCASTER — As Anakin and Padmé dodged deadly machinery, C-3PO lost his head and R2D2 flew using the rocket boosters in his legs in the Geonosis droid factory on the screens above them, Lancaster School District employees turned out to donate blood...
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Northrop Grumann to aid AVC students
LANCASTER — Antelope Valley Community College District students enrolled in the Aircraft Fabrication and Assembly training program will gain access to district educational facilities for hands-on training and potential employment opportunities with...
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District eyes career ed facility
ROSAMOND — Southern Kern Unified School District will apply for a competitive state grant for matching funds to construct a one-story, approximately 20,000-squarefoot career technical education building that will house six industry sectors. The...
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Stars gather for Harvest Moon
LAKE HUGHES — About 2,000 music fans turned out Saturday at The Painted Turtle for Harvest Moon: A Gathering, the daytime benefit concert with intimate performances by Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, Beck and special guest Lana Del Rey and other...
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AVC awards pact for student housing
LANCASTER — Antelope Valley Community College District’s governing board unanimously awarded a $600,000 annual contract to Los Angeles-based Jovenes Inc to provide housing-related services for eligible students to support them in achieving housing...
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Space test program continues to expand
EDWARDS AFB — The US Air Force Test Pilot School Space Test Course started as a three-month program in January 2021, in collaboration with the newly formed US Space Force, and has been growing ever since. The program evolved to a year-long graduate...
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Mental health advocate honored
LONG BEACH — Mental Health America of Los Angeles honored retired Palmdale Sheriff’s Station commander Capt. Don Ford at the seventh annual Under the Toque Gala held Oct. 6 at the Courtyard by Marriott Long Beach Downtown. He was recognized for his...
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Native American life, culture
Danza Azteca Xochipilli dancers lead audience participants in a traditional Aztec dance Saturday during the Native American Celebration, hosted by California State Parks and the Antelope Valley Indian Museum in Lake Los Angeles. At left, Autumn Rain...
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All dressed up for haunting
Contestants in the costume contest for 5to 7-year-olds line up for judging (above) during Saturday’s Halloween Haunt at the Lancaster National Soccer Center. The event also featured games, contests, a variety of food and a pumpkin patch. Arty Loon also...
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Transit board to rule on station City believes homeless people arrive via Metrolink trains
LANCASTER — The Lancaster City Council delegated the status of the city’s Metrolink station to the mayor-appointed city North County Transportation Coalition board members. Vice Mayor Marvin Crist, at the Sept. 23 Antelope Valley Transit Authority...
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Senior Expo honors Presley, vets
LANCASTER — A packed pavilion of the Antelope Valley’s honored older citizens turned out Friday to be captivated by stories of growing up with Elvis Presley by his one and only wife, Priscilla Presley at the 35th annual Senior Health Expo hosted by...
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Survey: Voters support AVC
LANCASTER — Three-quarters of Antelope Valley Community College District voters who are likely to vote in the November 2026 general election have a favorable opinion of AV College, according to survey results presented at Tuesday’s governing board...
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City election change is closer
The Lancaster City Council on Tuesday adopted a resolution to declare its intention to submit a ballot measure to voters for the April election to consider a proposed amendment to the city charter to enact an ordinance to increase the number of council...
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Reimagined raceway reopens
ROSAMOND — Thousands of motorsport fans and car enthusiasts turned out Saturday to Willow Springs International Raceway to get an up-close look at the new Willow Springs complex after the historic road course was sold earlier this year. The track’s...
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Deputies arrest 4 in pair of drug raids
ROSAMOND — Deputies from the Kern County Sheriff’s Office Rosamond Substation arrested four individuals, including the same man twice within two weeks, and seized methamphetamine and other evidence following two related investigations into narcotics...
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District plans tech upgrades
LANCASTER — Lancaster School District will use approximately $12 million in uncommitted money from the district’s general fund for technology upgrades, future playground replacement and to support early literacy as well as commit approximately $9.5...
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Quartz Hill postal service back
QUARTZ HILL — Quartz Hill residents can stay local for their mail and shipping needs after all, thanks to a new Mailbox Plus that took over the space formerly occupied by a contract postal unit, one of an undisclosed number closed by the US Postal...
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AVTA ready to go after fare-evaders
LANCASTER — Antelope Valley Transit Authority lost an estimated $1.2 million in fiscal year 2024-25 due to unpaid fares on AVTA transit services, so the transit agency issued an “urgent call to action” this week as bus fare evasion continues to rob...
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Teaming up to clean up Lancaster
LANCASTER — Between 600 to 700 volunteers from Lancaster and beyond turned out Saturday morning for the TeamUp Lancaster: Love Your City community-wide clean up initiative that covered multiple locations between 10 and 20th streets west and avenues K...
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Scouts thrive on leadership
QUARTZ HILL — Members of Boy Scout Troop 1776 enjoy scouting and the leadership opportunities it provides. Brayden Didomizio, 15, has been a Boy Scout for five years. He started in scouting as a Cub Scout. “I do want to go for Eagle Scout,” he...
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Hospital celebrates 70th anniversary
LANCASTER — Antelope Valley Medical Center celebrates its 70th anniversary this year as hospital officials look forward to the next 70 years. AV Medical Center (then Antelope Valley Hospital) opened its doors in 1955. The community hospital’s...
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Lancaster school is getting makeover
LANCASTER — About 40 Lowe’s associates wearing red vests from the three Lancaster and Palmdale home improvement stores and the Lowe’s Pro Supply in Santa Clarita volunteered to make over Desert View Elementary School’s staff lounge with new flooring,...
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Rare tornado spotted in AV
PALMDALE — A developing thunderstorm near Palmdale produced a weak landspout tornado Thursday afternoon, and Palmdale resident John Massaro captured a photograph of it. Massaro lives in the Boulders at the Ranch 1 mobile home park, which has a good...
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Memorial marks site of teens’ deaths
LANCASTER — Sunday marked the third anniversary of the fatal crash that took the lives of teenagers Emily Bailey and Jeffery Austin. Bailey, 16, and Austin, 18, both of Lancaster, died Sept. 14, 2022, when their Toyota Camry collided with a Chevrolet...
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Vigils held for slain Charlie Kirk
PALMDALE — Two vigils for the slain Charlie Kirk were held throughout Palmdale on Tuesday night to honor the conservative political activist who was assassinated last week in Orem, Utah. The Palmdale Freedom Coalition hosted a vigil for Kirk at Rancho...
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Vigil honors deputy slain in 2023
PALMDALE — Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies from across the county took part Tuesday in a 24-hour vigil in recognition of the second anniversary of Deputy Ryan “Clink” Clinkunbroomer death. The vigil began at midnight Monday and...
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New school’s charter revoked
LANCASTER — Antelope Valley Union High School District governing board unanimously revoked the charter of the Academy of Innovative Technologies — Antelope Valley charter school during a special Monday afternoon meeting. The revocation comes just a...
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Lancaster eyes 638-acre annexation
LANCASTER — The City of Lancaster seeks to annex approximately 638 acres of vacant, unincorporated, Los Angeles County land generally bounded by avenues I and J to the north and south, and 50th and 60th streets east into the city for potential...
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AV gathers to observe 9/11 anniversary
PALMDALE — A large crowd gathered Thursday morning at the Antelope Valley Mall for a public remembrance ceremony to mark the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. The event was hosted by Los Angeles County...
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Memorials due to disappear
LANCASTER — Memorials with crosses and pictures of lost loved ones placed in public spaces in the City of Lancaster will be subject to removal after five days under a new policy and procedure adopted Tuesday by the City Council. The Memorials on...
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2 partners join rehab plan
LANCASTER — The City of Lancaster will add two new project partners to a joint application seeking $33 million from the California Housing and Community Development Department’s Homekey+ program to transform the shuttered Lancaster Inn, at 43530 17th...
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The impact of school policing
PALMDALE — In anticipation of the new school year, the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations last month released “Echoes of a System,” a 4½-minute animated short narrated by a mother who shares her experience of how her son’s life was...
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EAFB emphasis on readiness, people
EDWARDS AFB — For Chief Master Sgt. Joshua Skarloken stepping into the role of Command Chief Master Sergeant of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base is a new challenge and a unique opportunity. With more than 25 years in the Air Force, much...
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