Antelope Valley Press
Whitesides quizzed at forum
LANCASTER — Congressman George Whitesides answered questions on affordability, homelessness, impeachment and voting rights Tuesday night at the Performing Arts Theatre at Antelope Valley College. Whitesides is the Democratic incumbent for the District...
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Wellness festival brings healing, hope
ALTADENA — More than a year after the devastating Eaton Fire destroyed homes, displaced families and disrupted children’s lives, a Palmdale woman returned to the community where she grew up with a mission to help residents heal. Waunette Cullors,...
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Supporters, family celebrate Lackey
PALMDALE — Assemblyman Tom Lackey was overcome with emotions when he spoke to a crowd of supporters, family and friends at a ceremony Wednesday at Fresco II honoring his 12 years in the state Legislature. Lackey is term-limited in the California State...
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Progress via sledgehammers
PALMDALE — Elected officials took part in a different kind of groundbreaking ceremony Friday at the soon-to-be-renovated Larry Chimbole Cultural Center. Palmdale Mayor Eric Ohlsen, City Council members Laura Bettencourt and Richard J. Loa and Rep....
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New lighting due for futsal courts at Yellen Park
PALMDALE — Futsal players at Sam Yellen Park will soon have more time to take the court after the City Council approved more than half a million dollars for the installation of dedicated lighting for the park’s new courts. A $526,916 agreement with...
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Gibbs talks election issues
LANCASTER — Congressional candidate and Santa Clarita councilmember Jason Gibbs answered questions on issues such as affordability, homelessness, immigration and data centers Wednesday night at the Performing Arts Theatre at Antelope Valley...
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An ideal SPOT for teens to connect
LAKE LOS ANGELES — Community members are invited to tour the newly renovated Our SPOT and Well-Being Space at Stephen Sorensen Community Regional Park today. The open house begins at 5 p.m. at the park, 16801 East Ave. P, and will give residents an...
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AV Fair wraps up 2-week run
The Eastside High School Lionheart Dance Program (above) performs on stage Thursday at the Antelope Valley Fair and Alfalfa Festival. The fair ended its second four-day weekend Sunday, with attractions such as Adam the Great (left) sawing a fairgoer in...
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A Night to Shine for special needs kids
LANCASTER — With homecoming season underway and the holidays approaching, dresses, suits and other formalwear are coming out of closets across the Antelope Valley. But once the dances, parties and holiday gatherings are over, organizers of the...
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Trunk or Treat help is sought
ROSAMOND — Rosamond Grocery Outlet is preparing to welcome hundreds of children for its annual Trunk or Treat celebration and is looking for more community members, businesses and organizations to help make this year’s event a success. The free...
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Garden Inn celebrates its refurbishing at ceremony
PALMDALE — The lobby of the 18-year old Hilton Garden Inn Palmdale shined brightly on Aug. 28, as its refurbished interior was up for the splendor of a ceremony marking its grand re-opening. A ribbon-cutting featuring employees, business and community...
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Upgrades are coming to soccer center
LANCASTER — Rep. George Whitesides said his own children played in AYSO at the Lancaster National Soccer Center. Whitesides returned to the soccer center Aug. 27 after ensuring more children and residents will have a chance to play soccer on the many...
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School receives new place to compete
LANCASTER — The finishing touches were being put on the night before the opening of the new gymnasium at Palmdale Academy Charter School, with an elaborate ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 27. The occasion was marked with music, dancing and speeches by...
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Brent steadies on shi!ing Middle East supply
Brent held steady amid shifting concerns about Middle East supply, with Saudi Arabia pausing some sales to Europe though traders and analysts say buffers still hold for now. The global benchmark hovered near $105 a barrel after losing more than 3%...
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Lancaster lifeguards take part in inaugural competition
LANCASTER — Thirty Lancaster lifeguards put their lifesaving skills to the test during the city’s inaugural lifeguard competition Aug. 1 at Eastside Pool, giving family and friends an opportunity to see firsthand what it takes to keep swimmers...
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Opening day for iLEAD Flex
LANCASTER — Dozens of kids and parents gathered around the parking lot Aug. 6 for the ribbon-cutting and official opening of the iLEAD Flex public charter school. Later, the parents and incoming students were able to tour the campus of their new...
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Emotional 9/11 ceremony
LANCASTER — Emotions were still strong Friday morning as veterans, members of the community and employees and students at Antelope Valley College commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The handful of speakers...
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Remember 25 years later
LANCASTER — Antelope Valley College will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks Friday with a Patriot Day ceremony and, for the first time, an evening candlelight vigil. The morning ceremony will be from 8:30 to 9:30...
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Meet new 412th commander
EDWARDS AFB — The passing of a guidon signifies a formal shift in military command, but the arrival of a new commander also brings a new neighbor, friend and human behind the rank. For Col. David Aparicio, who took command of the 412th Electronic...
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Into the back-to school routine
ROSAMOND — Hundreds of Rosamond residents and their children lined up in the blazing heat on Aug. 3 for the Southern Kern Unified School District Back to School Kickoff and Backpack Giveaway at The Parent and Community Center. Although the event...
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Putting youth in driver’s seat
LANCASTER — Young people learned how to change a tire, jump-start a battery, explore the inner workings of an engine and use automotive tools during Boys Garage Day on Aug. 22, but organizers also wanted them to leave with lessons that could carry them...
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Lancaster adds to police force
LANCASTER — Chief of Police Rodrick Armalin swore in 17 new officers to the Lancaster Police Department at last week’s Lancaster City Council meeting. The 17 officers are law enforcement veterans with at least one year of experience in departments...
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Youngblood: ‘I was getting there’
BAKERSFIELD — He’s led the Kern County Sheriff’s office and the Kern County Coroner’s Office for nearly two decades, and served some 30 years previously as a sheriff’s deputy. In those 50 years, Donny Youngblood has celebrated success, navigated...
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Bringing art, wellness straight to families
Last of three parts. A paintbrush, a journal or a package of markers may seem simple, but Ohana Center AV sees those tools as potential starting points for something larger. The organization is using visual arts to help children and families create,...
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City OKs another cannabis store
LANCASTER — The Lancaster Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit to a new cannabis retail store on Columbia Way (Avenue M) during a meeting Aug. 17. The commission approved, by a 4-1 vote with commissioner Cynthia Hernandez the lone no...
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City rejects Candy Cane Lane expansion
LANCASTER — The Lancaster Planning Commission denied the expansion of a six-bed treatment facility on Clark Court, also known as Candy Cane Lane, during a meeting on Monday afternoon. Resilient Recovery Treatment Center, which opened in February of...
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Tent revival set this weekend
LANCASTER — Hundreds of people and dozens of churches will gather at the northeast corner of Deputy Pierre W. Bain Park for three days of “Unwavering Faith” for the ninth annual Unity Tent Revival. The three-day free event starts at 11 a.m. Friday and...
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Festival time in the mountains
Equestrians ride the parade route (above) during the 63rd annual Tehachapi Mountain Festival on Saturday morning. Its theme was “American Pies and Small Town Ties.” The festival featured many vendors (right) at Phillip Marx Central Park and included a...
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Council recognizes live-saving hero
LANCASTER — A Lancaster man who responded to three people who had overdosed while he was at a bank was recognized at the Lancaster City Council meeting on Tuesday. Juakin Arciniega, a community healthcare worker at Antelope Valley Partners for Health,...
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Helping young adults find path
LANCASTER — Young adults unsure about their next steps can explore career and college options while learning how to use artificial intelligence through a series of free workshops offered by Project Joy. The workshops are geared toward young adults...
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Young Marine eyes new heights
Quartz Hill High School student Kierra Pierre wanted to push herself at the Young Marines National Leadership Academy Senior Leadership School in Fort Dix, NJ, in June. Pierre, 15, wanted to know what she could accomplish and to grow. Pierre had a...
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Exhibit of artists young and old
PALMDALE — For a young artist, seeing a painting move from a bedroom wall or family home to a public exhibition can change the way they look at their own creativity. It can be an opportunity to discover that other people connect with their work, learn...
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Bringing women’s stories to life
LANCASTER — For photographer Amber Beaugard, receiving funding to bring her latest artistic vision to life represents more than financial support — it is validation after more than 15 years behind the camera. Beaugard is creating “A Woman’s Worth: A...
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Palmdale Regional opens family clinic
PALMDALE — The Palmdale Regional Medical Center opened a new independent, primary care family medical clinic, holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony July 13. The clinic, the Palmdale Regional Medical Group, an Independent Physician Management group of...
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EUSD’s host !rst Summer Family Fest
LANCASTER — Eastside Union School District and its community partners helped families prepare for the new school year during the district’s first Summer Family Fest, held July 24 at Tierra Bonita Park. During one visit, families could receive help...
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Construction mishap victim remembered
PALMDALE — Luis Medrano wants to honor the legacy of his father, Palmdale resident Rodrigo Mancilla. Medrano urges younger people to reach out to their parents and family more, because you don’t know how much time you have left with them. Mancilla...
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Charter school petitions to AVUHSD
LANCASTER — The Antelope Valley Union High School District heard a petition presentation by a proposed charter school at the board meeting on Thursday. The Prism School of Arts and Technology Charter School applied to the district on June 8. The...
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Discussing women vets’ issues
LANCASTER — Generations of veterans gathered at the Lancaster VFW Post 3000 on the morning of June 26, but it was a different group of veterans than will normally meet. The VFW post Women’s Veteran hosted the Resource and Wellness Fair organized by...
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Activists cause Good Trouble
PALMDALE — A few dozen protesters took to the intersection of 10th Street West and Rancho Vista Boulevard (Avenue P) on Friday night to speak out in the name of late Rep. John Lewis. The protest, organized by Indivisible Antelope Valley, was part of a...
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T-7A moving closer to operational use
EDWARDS AFB — The 412th Test Wing and the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center’s Detachment 5 flew the first joint sortie in a T-7A Red Hawk at Edwards Air Force Base. This flight positions the Airpower Foundations Combined Test Force to...
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Palmdale poetry immortalized
PALMDALE — The words written by a local high school student were immortalized in the pavement at Poncitlán Square on July 7 as the winning poem in the City of Palmdale’s Walk on Words: America 250. Dariana Arreola, of Palmdale Academy Charter School,...
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County launches cannabis academy
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County officials are taking an education-first approach to cannabis entrepreneurship, launching a new six-week academy designed to help aspiring business owners understand the industry’s challenges before commercial licenses...
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Taking flight at Space Camp
Social Studies teacher Cindy Sawyer had NBA all-star Paul George in her first class at Knight High School in 2005, and 21 years later The Paul George Foundation supported a field trip with Sawyer as a chaperone to Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala. Sawyer...
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Illegal cannabis targeted in Southland
LOS ANGELES (CNS) — The state’s crackdown on illegal cannabis has resulted in the seizure of more than 63,000 pounds of illicit pot over three months in Los Angeles County, including the Antelope Valley, and elsewhere, officials announced...
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Food distribution program is refined
PALMDALE — The Palmdale School District has fine-tuned its food distribution program, as a hub of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. The District’s Innovations Academy had approximately 500 cars go through its parking lot on June 12, the fourth of 10...
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United in celebrating country’s 250th
People from all over the Antelope Valley lined 50th Street West on Saturday morning to celebrate the Fourth of July and the 250th anniversary of the United States. The cities of Lancaster, Quartz Hill and Palmdale came together for the first time for...
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Training to become paramedics
LANCASTER — Antelope Valley College welcomed its first students into its Paramedic Training program classroom on June 15. It was a slow process for the program, beginning more than two years ago, and now filling a need not just in the Antelope Valley,...
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‘Walk road of healing together’
Wreaths are placed beneath portraits of the eight men — the crew of Torch 11 — who died in the B-52 Stratofortress crash on June 15 at Edwards Air Force Base. The crash happened during a test flight.
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Free life-saving CPR lessons
Nurses, firemen and emergency medical technicians were stationed outside the entrance to two hospitals in the Antelope Valley on June 2 as part of National CPR and AED Awareness Week. Free CPR training was available to the public. Antelope Valley...
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Over 800 pounds of meth found
PALMDALE (CNS) — A complaint about illegal dumping on a vacant property in Palmdale led to the city’s largest drug bust in recent history, Mayor Eric Ohlsen said Friday. In addition to over 800 pounds of methamphetamine found by Code Enforcement...
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Longtime AVTA exec honored
LANCASTER — Family, co-workers and elected officials honored Antelope Valley Transportation Authority CEO/Executive Directory Martin Tompkins before the board meeting on Tuesday morning for 40 years in the transportation industry. Tompkins started as...
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Joyous Juneteenth celebration
PALMDALE — The atmosphere was joyous Friday at Poncitlán Square as the City of Palmdale and members of the community celebrated Juneteenth. Music filled the air, as did the smell of food and the sounds of children playing. There was also a sense of...
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Winners of AV Press’ Father’s Day art contest
Here are the four winners of the Antelope Valley Press Draw Your Dad contest along with other entries worth featuring. The 2026 contest drew many entries in the four age categories of 3 to 7 and 8 to 11, 12 to 17 and 18 and older. All the aspiring...
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Victims of B-52 crash are identified
EDWARDS AFB (CNS) — The names of all eight people who died in the crash of a B-52 bomber at Edwards Air Force Base were released Wednesday. According to the Air Force, the B-52 Stratofortress was on a routine test mission when it crashed shortly after...
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8 dead in Stratofortress crash
EDWARDS AFB (CNS) — Eight people died Monday after a B-52 bomber crashed and burned at Edwards Air Force Base. The Air Force said the B-52 Stratofortress was on a routine test mission when it crashed shortly after takeoff at about 11:20 a.m....
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Rehabbing animals in need
MOJAVE — Tina Mari Lythgoe has been rehabilitating animals since she was a teenager, but when she got her first cleft palate puppy, something clicked. Lythgoe named her nonprofit rescue after the puppy, Josh and His Critters, 13 years ago and has been...
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Valley 17-year-old beats the odds
LANCASTER — After a devastating car accident, 17-year-old Vanessa Rodriguez arrived at Antelope Valley Medical Center with life-threatening injuries including multiple fractures, spinal trauma, and a brain injury. Her survival was uncertain. What...
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Feasting on the fare at festival
Aubree Weilbacher (above) delivers a winning performance in the cherry pie eating contest Saturday at the 53rd annual Cherry Parade and Festival for Leona Valley. Among those in the parade were James Royal on his donkey Bull (left, foreground) and...
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Good times for aerospace firm
PALMDALE — Aerospace company Machfinish is thriving and growing seven years after opening during one of the toughest periods for small businesses, the COVID pandemic. Machfinish CEO Randall Briley struggled when he first opened his small aerospace...
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AV Boys & Girls Club gets new home
LANCASTER — The Boys & Girls Club of the Antelope Valley didn’t go far to find its new home, but the move was a big one for the organization. The Boys and Girls Club of the Antelope Valley moved into the building next door, at 45356 Division St., but...
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Celebrating British literature Knight High class performs scenes from Shakespeare plays
PALMDALE — Knight High School English teacher Jane Thomas continued her long tradition of bringing British literature to life in her classroom in the final days of her teaching career. Thomas, who teaches expository reading and writing at Knight, had...
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Future leaders program celebrates 25
PALMDALE — Twenty-five of the Antelope Valley’s most promising students were recognized for their achievements during the annual Future Leaders ceremony held May 15 at the Palmdale Playhouse. The event celebrated the distinguished group of 25 high...
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Tying the knot 54 years later
LANCASTER — Chris Czuzak and Dianne Shanley have known each other far longer than the 54 years they have been a couple, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that he proposed to his roommate at The Havens at Antelope Valley. Chris and Dianne, or Lady Di...
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Vets honored in Memorial Day event
PALMDALE — Veterans from Palmdale and around the Antelope Valley were honored and recognized Monday morning at the City of Palmdale Memorial Day Ceremony at Poncitlán Square. The ceremony also honored and remembered those who died serving or are no...
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Students learn about auto repair
LANCASTER — The Auto Pros Academy offers two classes to middle school students, at Hillview Middle School in Palmdale and the Lancaster Community Center, to learn the basics of automotive repair. The first year program aims to ultimately offer a path...
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Available resources for seniors
PALMDALE — Legacy Commons for Active Seniors hosted approximately 50 vendors and 200 seniors for its annual Senior Resource Fair on the morning of April 22. Vendors, with tables throughout the center for active adults 55 and older, ranged from...
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Honoring Asian Pacific heritage
PALMDALE — The cultures and legacy of Asian Americans, Native-born Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders got a spectacular showcase this week, starting at the Legacy Commons for Active Seniors and moving to Lancaster on Wednesday. The acronym is difficult...
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Westside hosts annual YOUth Festival
QUARTZ HILL — The Westside Union School District hosted the 10th annual Empowering YOUth Family Festival, a free day of health, wellness, fun activities, games and community services offered by local vendors, on May 2, at Joe Waker Middle...
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Nonprofit secures $1M county grant
PALMDALE — The Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency awarded a $1 million grant to Palmdale nonprofit Salva on Tuesday morning at Poncitlán Square. The funding was presented through the agency’s Renter Protection and Homelessness...
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Luxury home complex opens
LANCASTER — Developers and Lancaster city officials participated in a ribboncutting ceremony April 16 at Desert Meadows, a westside luxury apartment and townhouse complex. The project features 324 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes and 96...
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Celebrating creativity in AV
PEARBLOSSOM — Artists, families and community members are expected to gather today for the SunShine Arts Festival 26 in Pearblossom, an annual celebration of creativity, local artists and community connection. Hosted by Rural Artists of the...
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Spending comes under scrutiny
PALMDALE — Members of the Palmdale City Council addressed concerns from the public about high taxes and spending, during a council meeting on Tuesday night. The meeting was preceded by a press conference by community members and activists in front of...
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No obstacle too big to overcome
Lancaster (above) won the overall trophy April 30 at the eighth annual Overcoming Obstacles Track Meet at Antelope Valley High School, for having the most first-place finishes in the meet for special needs athletes. Below, athletes compete in the...
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SpaceX gets launches going a"er setting rocket
SpaceX began the month of May with a launch of its workhorse rocket from Cape Canaveral with, just days after its bigger brother, the Falcon Heavy, helped set a record for different types of rockets flown in one month on Florida’s Space Coast. A...
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