Lance Okeefe News Today

Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley raised $370,000 at its inaugural Building Hope, Celebrating Community Gala. The event, held May 14, hosted 250 guests.

Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley will host its first gala on Saturday, May 14, to commemorate a special evening of Building Hope, Celebrating Community!

Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley, a nonprofit dedicated to serving local homeless families, celebrated its 10-year anniversary this month.

The city of Santa Clarita Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission recently met to receive an update from city staff about the status of the Pioneer Oil Refinery in Newhall. Recreation and Community Services Manager Lance O’Keefe told the five-member commission that it has been tasked with reviewing and revising a 2013 plan for the historic site due to the expansion of the Needham Ranch development next door. “Pretty soon there’s going to be a multi-million-dollar commercial de...

The Pioneer Oil Refinery itself was originally built by California Star Oil Works, which would go on to become Chevron, in 1876. It was used to process oil discovered in Pico Canyon for its first dozen years of operation. Then, in 1888, the refinery was changed to provide water to the nearby oil drilling operation at Pico Number 4 in Mentryville. Just over 40 years after that in 1930, the site was officially recognized as California’s first commercial oil refinery. Then, in 1975, the refinery...

Built in the 19th century, the Pioneer Oil Refinery in Newhall played a pivotal role in the early development of the Santa Clarita Valley. As the first successful oil refinery to be built and operated in California, the refinery was recently added as a Historic Site in the National Register of Historic Places and has been listed in the California Register of Historical Resources. The Pioneer Oil Refinery was built by California Star Oil Works (later Chevron) in 1876 and was used to process oil...