Canoga Park, Los Angeles
Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, United States. Its 60,000+ residents are considered to be "highly diverse" ethnically. Before the Mexican–American War, the district was part of a rancho, after the American victory it was converted into wheat farms and subdivided, with part of it named Owensmouth as a town founded in 1912, it joined Los Angeles in 1917 and was renamed Canoga Park on March 1, 1931, thanks to the efforts of local civic leader Mary Logan Orcutt. The area of present-day Canoga Park was the homeland of Native Americans in the Tongva-Fernandeño and Chumash-Venturaño tribes, that lived in the Simi Hills and along to the tributaries of the Los Angeles River, they traded with the north Valley Tataviam-Fernandeño people. Native American civilizations inhabited the Valley for an estimated 8,000 years, their culture left the Burro Flats Painted Cave nearby. From 1797 to 1846 the area was part of Mission San Fernando Rey de España. After the Mexican War of Independence from Spain the'future Canoga Park' land became part of Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando.
In 1845, a land grant for the separate and rich Rancho El Escorpión was issued by Governor Pío Pico to three Chumash people, Odón Eusebia, his brother-in-law Urbano, Urbano's son Mañuel. It was located in the area west of Fallbrook Avenue and called Platt Ranch. In 1863 the syndicate San Fernando Homestead Association led by Isaac Lankershim and Isaac Van Nuys purchased the southern half of the historic San Fernando Valley, they established seven wheat ranch operations and were the first to ship wheat to Europe from California. In 1869 Alfred Workman acquired the westernmost ranch, a 13,000 acres wheat farm in future Canoga Park. Eucalyptus trees were introduced into the San Fernando Valley by Albert Workman, who imported seedlings from his native Australia and planted them on the Workman Ranch. In time, they spread though the Canoga Park area ranches and beyond, it has been said. In 1909 the Suburban Homes Company, a syndicate led by H. J. Whitley, general manager of the Board of Control, along with Harry Chandler, H. G. Otis, M. H. Sherman and O. F. Brandt purchased 48,000 acres of the Farming and Milling Company for $2,500,000.
Henry E. Huntington, extended his Pacific Electric Railway through the Valley to Owensmouth; the Suburban Home Company laid out plans for roads and the towns of Van Nuys and Canoga Park. The rural areas were annexed into the city of Los Angeles in 1915; the entire south San Fernando valley, from Roscoe Blvd south to the hills, with certain exceptions, were to be subdivided in anticipation of the Los Angeles aqueduct's completion in 1913. The purchasers of the land included Harry Chandler and Harrison Gray Otis of the Los Angeles Times, Moses Sherman, Hobart Johnstone Whitley, an all purpose real estate developer who, from a start in the Land Rush of 1889 in Oklahoma to platting out 140 towns, including Hollywood; the area was named Owensmouth by Los Angeles Suburban Home Company by general manager Hobart Johnstone Whitley as a sales tactic in that the town would be the new mouth of the Owens River, after the Los Angeles Aqueduct would be completed the next year. The town was founded on March 30, 1912, the Suburban Home Company contracted with the Janss Investment Company, to sell properties.
A pre-development scheme brought Pacific Electric streetcars and an all purpose highway out all the way from Hollywood through Cahuenga Pass, through the subdivided Van Nuys. Highlighting the "opening day barbecue" was the display of the "Owensmouth Baby", a racecar that could go up and down the paved Sherman Way at the incredible speed of 35 mph. Owensmouth, as the junior San Fernando Valley city to Van Nuys, promoted itself with the "baby" motif—using storks in their advertisement; the "baby city" of the Valley remained a small community. The lack of an independent water supply made annexation to the City of Los Angeles inevitable, on February 26, 1917, it joined with its larger neighbor; the name was changed to Canoga Park in 1931. The area's zoning was rural/agricultural and its industry was small farms involved in the production of fruits and melons, some livestock, horses, a movie/television studio, a stunt location; the Canoga Park Airstrip occupied the area now known as "Warner Center".
In 1955, Rocketdyne a division of North American Aviation, moved into the area. It became a major employer along with the Atomics International and Santa Susana Field Laboratory divisions. Other aerospace companies followed: including Atomics International, Thompson Ramo Wooldridge-TRW, Hughes Aircraft, Rockwell International and Teledyne. Small machine shops and other ancillary businesses sprang up to service the aerospace industry; the facility is operated by Aerojet Rocketdyne, is the only remaining aerospace industry. The Santa Susana Field Lab property has been closed and will be undergoing an extensive environmental cleanup, become an open-space park. In 1987 much of the western district of Canoga Park was renamed West Hills and a portion of the eastern district was renamed Winnetka. On June 25, 2005, Canoga Park was named an All-America City. Canoga Park is bordered by Woodland Hills on the south, West Hills on the west, Chatsworth on the north, Winnetka on the east. Bell and Dayton Creeks flowing from the Simi Hills, Arroyo Calabasas from the Santa Monica Mounta
Chatsworth, Los Angeles
Chatsworth is a neighborhood in the northwestern San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, United States. The area was home to Native Americans. Chatsworth was colonized by the Spanish beginning in the 18th century; the land was part of a Spanish land grant, Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando, in the 19th century, after the United States took over the land following the Mexican–American War, it was the largest such grant in California. Settlement and development followed. Chatsworth has seven public and eight private schools. There are large open-space and smaller recreational parks as well as a public library and a transportation center. Distinctive features are the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. Overall, Chatsworth has one of the lowest densities of any neighborhood in the city, a high income level. Chatsworth is the home of the Iverson Movie Ranch, a 500-acre area, the most filmed movie ranch in history, as more than 2000 productions used it as a filming location; the 2000 U. S. census counted 35,073 residents in the 15.24-square-mile Chatsworth neighborhood, or 2,301 people per square mile, among the lowest population densities for both the city and the county.
In 2008, the city estimated that the population had increased to 37,102. In 2000 the median age for residents was 40, considered old for county neighborhoods; the neighborhood was considered to be ethnically "moderately diverse" for both the city of Los Angeles and its county, with a high percentage of whites and of Asian people, a sizable Hispanic/Latino community. The breakdown was Whites, 65.7%. Korea and the Philippines were the most common places of birth for the 25.2% of the residents who were born abroad—a low figure for Los Angeles. The median yearly household income in 2008 dollars was $84,456, considered high for the city; the percentages of families that earned more than $40,000 was considered high for the county. Renters occupied 28.9% of the housing stock, house- or apartment-owners held 71.1%. The average household size of 2.6 people was considered average for Los Angeles. In 2000 there were 2,933 military veterans, or 10.8% of the population, a high percentage compared to the rest of the city.
The percentage of married people was among the county's highest. The rate of 10% of families headed by single parents was low for the city. Chatsworth is flanked by the Santa Susana Mountains on the north, Porter Ranch and Northridge on the east, Canoga Park, West Hills on the south, the Simi Hills, unincorporated Los Angeles County and Ventura County on the west, Twin Lakes, a community founded by San Francisco's George Haight in the early 20th century and unincorporated Los Angeles County which includes a 1,600 acre park with equestrian trails, to the north; this region experiences hot and dry summers, with average daily high temperatures of 90–100 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Chatsworth has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps. Chatsworth was inhabited by the Tongva-Fernandeño, Chumash-Venturaño, Tataviam-Fernandeño Native American tribes. Native American civilizations had inhabited the Valley for an estimated 8,000 years. Stoney Point is the site of the Tongva Native American settlement of Asha'awanga or Momonga, a trading place with the neighboring Tataviam and Chumash people.
The nearby Burro Flats Painted Cave remains a legacy of the Chumash culture's rock art and solstice ceremony spirituality. The first European explorers came into the Chatsworth area on August 5, 1769, led by the Spanish military leader Gaspar de Portolà. With its establishment in 1797 and subsequent Spanish Land Grant by the King of Spain, Mission San Fernando gained dominion over the San Fernando Valley's lands, including future Chatsworth; the Native American trail that had existed from the Tongva-Tatavium village called rancheria Santa Susana to another village, replaced by Mission San Fernando, became the route for missionaries and other Spanish travel up and down California. It was part of the El Camino del Santa Susana y Simi trail that connected the Valley's Mission, Los Angeles pueblo, the southern missions with the Mission San Buenaventura, the Presidio of Monterey, the northward missions; the trail crossed over the Santa Susana Pass to the Simi Valley, through present day city park Chatsworth Park South and the Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park.
In 1795, the Spanish land grant had been issued for Rancho Simi, reconfirmed in 1842 by the Mexican governor. Its lands included part of current Chatsworth, westward from Andora Avenue. In 1821, after the Mexican War of Independence from Spain, the Mission San Fernando became part of Alta California, Mexico. In 1834, the Mexican government began redistributing the mission lands. In 1846, the Mexican land grant for Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando was issued by Governor Pío Pico, it was bounded on the north by Rancho San Francisco and the Santa Susana Mountains, on the west by the Simi Hills, on the east by Rancho Tujunga, on the south by the Montañas de Portesuelo. The Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando received a Federal land patent to retain ownership by the United States Public Land Commission in 1873 and was the single largest land grant in California. In 1869, the grantee's son, Eulogio F. de Celis, returned from Spain to Los Angeles. In 1874, the family sold their northern half of Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando to northern Californians, California State Senator Charles Maclay and his part
Gang
A gang is a group of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectively, in illegal, violent, behavior. Some criminal gang members are "jumped in", or they have to prove their loyalty and right to belong by committing certain acts theft or violence. A member of a gang may be called a gangster, a gang banger, or, less a thug. A number of gangs have gained notoriety throughout history, including the Italian Mafia, the Russian mafia, the Irish mob, the Polish mob, the Jewish mob, the Albanian mafia, the Yakuza in Japan, the Kkangpae in Korea, the Triad in China, the gangs of New England, the Jamaican Shower Posse and Yardies, the African-American Crips and Bloods, Latino gangs such as Latin Kings, MS-13, Sureños, Trinitarios, white supremacist gangs such as the Aryan Brotherhood, Aryan Nations and biker gangs like Hells Angels; the word "gang" derives from the past participle of Old English gan, meaning "to go".
It is cognate with Old Norse gangster, meaning "journey." It means a group of people, may have neutral, positive or negative connotations depending on usage. In discussing the banditry in American history Barrington Moore, Jr. suggests that gangsterism as a "form of self-help which victimizes others" may appear in societies which lack strong "forces of law and order". A wide variety of gangs, such as the Order of Assassins, the Damned Crew, Adam the Leper's gang, Penny Mobs, Indian Thugs, Chinese Triads, Japanese Yakuza, Irish mob, Pancho Villa's Villistas, Dead Rabbits, American Old West outlaw gangs, Bowery Boys, the Italian Mafia, Jewish mafia, Russian mafia crime families have existed for centuries; the 17th century saw London "terrorized by a series of organized gangs", some of them known as the Mims, Hectors and Dead Boys. These gangs came into conflict with each other. Members dressed in the following way: "with colored ribbons to distinguish the different factions."Chicago had over 1,000 gangs in the 1920s.
These early gangs had reputations for many criminal activities, but in most countries could not profit from drug trafficking prior to drugs being made illegal by laws such as the 1912 International Opium Convention and the 1919 Volstead Act. Gang involvement in drug trafficking increased during the 1970s and 1980s, but some gangs continue to have minimal involvement in the trade. In the United States, the history of gangs began on the East Coast in 1783 following the American Revolution; the emergence of the gangs was attributed to the vast rural population immigration to the urban areas. The first street-gang in the United States, the 40 Thieves, began around the late 1820s in New York City; the gangs in Washington D. C. had control of what is now Federal Triangle, in a region known as Murder Bay. In 2007, there were 785,000 active street gang members in the United States, according to the National Youth Gang Center. In 2011, the National Gang Intelligence Center of the Federal Bureau of Investigation asserted that "There are 1.4 million active street and outlaw gang members comprising more than 33,500 gangs in the United States."
230,000 gang members were in U. S. prisons or jails in 2011. According to the Chicago Crime Commission publication, "The Gang Book 2012", Chicago has the highest number of gang members of any city in the United States: 150,000 members. Traditionally Los Angeles County has been considered the Gang Capital of America, with an estimated 120,000 gang members. There were at least 30,000 gangs and 800,000 gang members active across the USA in 2007. About 900,000 gang members lived "within local communities across the country," and about 147,000 were in U. S. prisons or jails in 2009. By 1999, Hispanics accounted for 47% of all gang members, Blacks 31%, Whites 13%, Asians 7%. In December 13, 2009, The New York Times published an article about growing gang violence on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and estimated that there were 39 gangs with 5,000 members on that reservation alone. There are between 50,000 gang members in Central America's El Salvador. More than 1,800 gangs were known to be operating in the UK in 2011.
The FBI estimates that the four Italian organized crime groups active in the United States have 25,000 members in total. The Russian, Azerbaijani, Georgian and other former Soviet organized crime groups or "Bratvas" have many members and associates affiliated with their various sorts of organized crime, but no statistics are available; the Yakuza are among one of the largest criminal organizations in the world. As of 2005, there are some 102,400 known members in Japan. Hong Kong's Triads include up to 160,000 members in the 21st century, it was estimated. One of the most infamous criminal gangs are the Sicilian Cosa Nostra and the Italian-American Mafia; the Neapolitan Camorra, the Calabrian'Ndrangheta and the Apulian Sacra Corona Unita are similar Italian organized gangs. Other criminal gangs include the Russian mafia, Colombian Drug Cartels, the Aryan Brotherhood, the Mexican Mafia, the Texas Syndicate, the Black Guerrilla Family, the Nuestra Familia, the Mara Salvatrucha, the Primeiro Comando da Capital, the Irish Mob, the Puerto Rican Mafia, Nuestra familia, the Chinese Triads, the Japanese Yakuza, the Jamaican-British Yardies, the Haitian gang Zoe Pound, other crime syndicates.
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Editorial
An editorial, leading article or leader, is an article written by the senior editorial staff or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, such as The New York Times and The Boston Globe classify editorials under the heading "opinion". Illustrated editorials may appear in the form of editorial cartoons. A newspaper's editorial board evaluates which issues are important for their readership to know the newspaper's opinion on. Editorials are published on a dedicated page, called the editorial page, which features letters to the editor from members of the public. However, a newspaper may choose to publish an editorial on the front page. In the English-language press, this occurs and only on topics considered important. Many newspapers publish their editorials without the name of the leader writer. Tom Clark, leader-writer for The Guardian, argues that it ensures that readers discuss the issue at hand rather than the author.
On the other hand, an editorial does reflect the position of a newspaper and the head of the newspaper, the editor, is known by name. Whilst the editor will not write the editorial themselves, they maintain oversight and retain responsibility; when The Press, a New Zealand newspaper based in Christchurch, changed after 157 years from broadsheet to compact in 2018, they published a list of editorials where current thinking differs from opinions expressed at the time. The starkest example was their view on women's suffrage in New Zealand after the government gave women the vote in 1893, where the editorial proclaimed that women would "much prefer staying at home and attending to their household duties" than going to the polling booths. In the field of fashion publishing, the term is used to refer to photo-editorials – features with full-page photographs on a particular theme, model or other single topic, with or without accompanying text. Column The dictionary definition of editorial at Wiktionary Editorial Writing Examples
Arizona SB 1070
The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act is a 2010 legislative Act in the U. S. state of Arizona that at the time of passage in 2010 was the broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration measure passed in the United States. It has spurred considerable controversy. U. S. Federal law requires aliens older than 18 to possess proper identification at all times; the Arizona act additionally made it a state misdemeanor crime for an alien to be in Arizona without carrying the required documents, required that state law enforcement officers attempt to determine an individual's immigration status during a "lawful stop, detention or arrest", when there is reasonable suspicion that the individual is an illegal immigrant. The law barred state or local officials or agencies from restricting enforcement of federal immigration laws, imposed penalties on those sheltering and transporting unregistered aliens; the paragraph on intent in the legislation says it embodies an "attrition through enforcement" doctrine.
Critics of the legislation say it encourages racial profiling, while supporters say the law prohibits the use of race as the sole basis for investigating immigration status. The law was modified by Arizona House Bill 2162 within a week of its signing with the goal of addressing some of these concerns. There have been protests in opposition to the law in over 70 U. S. cities, including boycotts and calls for boycotts of Arizona. The Act was signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer on April 23, 2010, it was scheduled to go into effect on July 29, 2010, ninety days after the end of the legislative session. Legal challenges over its constitutionality and compliance with civil rights law were filed, including one by the United States Department of Justice, that asked for an injunction against enforcement of the law; the day before the law was to take effect, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction that blocked the law's most controversial provisions. In June 2012, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled on the case Arizona v. United States, upholding the provision requiring immigration status checks during law enforcement stops but striking down three other provisions as violations of the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution.
U. S. federal law requires aliens 14 years old or older who are in the country for longer than 30 days to register with the U. S. government and have registration documents in their possession at all times. The Act makes it a state misdemeanor crime for an illegal alien to be in Arizona without carrying the required documents and obligates police to make an attempt, when practicable during a "lawful stop, detention or arrest", to determine a person's immigration status if there is reasonable suspicion that the person is an illegal alien. Any person arrested cannot be released without confirmation of the person's legal immigration status by the federal government pursuant to § 1373 of Title 8 of the United States Code. A first offense carries a fine of up to $100, plus court costs, up to 20 days in jail. A person is "presumed to not be an immigrant, unlawfully present in the United States" if he or she presents any of the following four forms of identification: a valid Arizona driver license.
The Act prohibits state and local officials from limiting or restricting "the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law" and provides that any legal Arizona resident can sue the agencies or officials in question to compel such full enforcement. If the person who brings suit prevails, that person may be entitled to reimbursement of court costs and reasonable attorney fees. In addition, the Act makes it a crime for anyone, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, to hire or to be hired from a vehicle which "blocks or impedes the normal movement of traffic." Vehicles used in such manner are subject to mandatory impoundment. Moreover, for a person in violation of a criminal law, it is an additional offense to transport an illegal alien "in furtherance" of the illegal alien's unauthorized presence in the U. S. to "conceal, harbor or shield" an illegal alien, or to encourage or induce an illegal alien to immigrate to the state, if the person "knows or recklessly disregards the fact" that the alien is in the U.
S. without authorization or that immigration would be illegal. Violation is a class 1 misdemeanor if fewer than ten illegal aliens are involved, a class 6 felony if ten or more are involved; the offender is subject to a fine of at least $1,000 for each illegal alien involved. The transportation provision includes exceptions for child protective services workers, ambulance attendants and emergency medical technicians. On April 30, 2010, the Arizona legislature passed and Governor Brewer signed, House Bill 2162, which modified the Act, signed a week earlier, with the amended text stating that "prosecutors would not investigate complaints based on race, color or national origin." The new text states that police may only investigate immigration status incident to a "lawful stop, detention, or arrest", lowers the original fine from a minimum of $500
Porter Ranch, Los Angeles
Porter Ranch is an affluent neighborhood in the northwest region of the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood is bounded by Brown's Canyon/Chatsworth on the south and west, Northridge on the south, Granada Hills on the northeast and east; the Santa Susana Mountains, which separate the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, lie to the north. The principal thoroughfares are Mason Ave. Corbin Ave. Porter Ranch Drive, Tampa Ave. and Reseda Blvd. running north-south, Sesnon Blvd. Rinaldi St. and the Ronald Reagan Freeway, running west. The Porter Ranch ZIP code is 91326. Porter Ranch is in the hilly northwestern tip of the San Fernando Valley, according to a 2008 Los Angeles Times article, it was a "calm outpost of Los Angeles" that attracted residents "seeking sanctuary from the urban hubbub." It was noted that the neighborhood had "some of the cleanest air in the Valley year-around—some of, attributable to winds that sweep through the community regularly."
"those same winds, which have been clocked at 70 mph, take down trees and holiday lights." New home building that took place in the Porter Ranch area in the 1990s–2000s, including the Renaissance Summit development, was mired in controversy and Los Angeles politics in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Existing residents of the Porter Ranch area feared the increased traffic that would be brought by the planned building of an area commercial complex to service the new homes being built. Developments were criticized for destroying the natural beauty of the brush and wild areas that inhabited the space before the houses were built. However, Shapell Homes, a company founded by Nathan Shapell, a major Los Angeles builder, brought together powerful Los Angeles political figures to support the new home building. In the late 80s, there was an attempt to connect Sesnon Boulevard, the road that flanks the north side of the neighborhood, to its counterpart across the Aliso Canyon named Sesnon, via a bridge to be named the "Aliso Canyon Bridge".
This plan never came to fruition due to demonstrations from the residents of Porter Ranch, the primary opponents of the bridge, who believed that connecting the road to the neighborhood across the canyon would bring "crime...drag racing, drug dealing". Residents were afraid of Sesnon becoming "a 118 alternate route", which would "send many cars through Porter Ranch". Proponents of the bridge said that there was a "critical need" to build a bridge because "the city of Los Angeles has installed heavy-duty guard rails to stop any vehicle, out of control as it moves east at Beaufait. There is a much smaller rail 200 feet farther east...however, the first guard rail is partially broken because of out-of-control vehicles hitting it. Before it can be repaired, there is no protection to prevent a vehicle from falling into Aliso Canyon. Additionally, if a vehicle heading west on Sesnon becomes lost, there is no barrier to prevent it from falling into this deep canyon." Despite the proponents' argument about the severity of the situation, the bridge was never built.
There is still evidence of the bridge seen from Sesnon heading east towards the canyon, the road is visible heading towards the canyon just short of the bridge, the counterpart is still visible on the west-bound side. Limekiln canyon is a wonderful place to hike along a wooded stream; the hiking trail is parallel to Tampa road, while close to the roads, while hiking one cannot see the main roads. However, one needs to be careful as roving packs of coyotes have been spotted along this trail, as well as large rattlesnakes, mountain lions roam through here, as well as occasional ticks and mosquitoes. On October 23, 2015, Southern California Gas Company workers discovered a leak in one of the over 110 wells at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility, about three miles north of homes in Porter Ranch; the gas blowout began spewing 110,000 pounds of methane per hour. The blowout involved gas stored under pressure in an underground reservoir; the California Air Resources Board estimated that the leak increased California's methane-gas emissions by 25%.
By order of the Los Angeles County Dept of Health, the company relocated thousands of families from the Porter Ranch area. On December 15, the county of Los Angeles declared a state of emergency, two days it approved a plan to close two schools in the area. Officials estimated. On January 11, 2016 Mitchell Englander, the LA City Councilman representing Porter Ranch, said "Most people weren't aware that one of the largest gas storage facilities in the United States was in their backyard. There are wells located off Mullholland on the border of Calabasas and Woodland Hills, 57 of them to be exact; those wells are over 50 years old and pose a threat."On February 18, 2016, state officials announced that the leak was permanently plugged. On March 12, 2016, Los Angeles County Public Health Department officials say its test of dust in Porter Ranch homes turned up the presence of metals, including barium, that could have caused the kinds of health symptoms some residents have reported experiencing after the big gas blowout was plugged.
According to the U. S. Census in 2000, the population was 24,923. Based on the Los Angeles Department of City Planning estimates, the population was 30,571 in 2008. With a population density of 4,462 people per square
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, defined by the mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it. Home to 1.77 million people, it is north of the more populous Los Angeles Basin. Nearly two thirds of the valley's land area is part of the city of Los Angeles; the other incorporated cities in the valley are Glendale, San Fernando, Hidden Hills, Calabasas. The San Fernando Valley is about 260 square miles bound by the Santa Susana Mountains to the northwest, the Simi Hills to the west, the Santa Monica Mountains and Chalk Hills to the south, the Verdugo Mountains to the east, the San Gabriel Mountains to the northeast; the northern Sierra Pelona Mountains, northwestern Topatopa Mountains, southern Santa Ana Mountains, Downtown Los Angeles skyscrapers can be seen from higher neighborhoods and parks in the San Fernando Valley. The Los Angeles River begins at the confluence of Calabasas Creek and Bell Creek, between Canoga Park High School and Owensmouth Ave. in Canoga Park.
These creeks' headwaters are in the Santa Monica Calabasas foothills, the Simi Hills' Hidden Hills, Santa Susana Field Laboratory, Santa Susana Pass Park lands. The river flows eastward along the southern regions of the Valley. One of the river's two unpaved sections can be found at the Sepulveda Basin. A seasonal river, the Tujunga Wash, drains much of the western facing San Gabriel Mountains and passes into and through the Hansen Dam Recreation Center in Lake View Terrace, it flows south along the Verdugo Mountains through the eastern communities of the valley to join the Los Angeles River in Studio City. Other notable tributaries of the river include Dayton Creek, Caballero Creek, Bull Creek, Pacoima Wash, Verdugo Wash; the elevation of the floor of the valley varies from about 600 ft to 1,200 ft above sea level. Most of the San Fernando Valley is within the jurisdiction of the city of Los Angeles, although a few other incorporated cities are located within the valley as well: Burbank and Glendale are in the southeastern corner of the valley, Hidden Hills and Calabasas are in the southwestern corner, San Fernando, surrounded by Los Angeles, is in the northeastern valley.
Universal City, an enclave in the southern part of the valley, is unincorporated land housing the Universal Studios filming lot and theme park. Mulholland Drive, which runs along the ridgeline of the Santa Monica Mountains, marks the boundary between the valley and the communities of Hollywood and the Los Angeles Westside; the valley's natural habitat is a "temperate grasslands and shrublands biome" of grassland, oak savanna, chaparral shrub forest types of plant community habitats, along with lush riparian plants along the river and springs. In this Mediterranean climate, post-1790s European agriculture for the mission's support consisted of grapes, figs and general garden crops; the San Fernando Valley contains five incorporated cities—Glendale, San Fernando, Hidden Hills, Calabasas—and part of a sixth, Los Angeles, which governs a majority of the valley. The unincorporated communities are governed by the County of Los Angeles; the Los Angeles city section of the valley is divided into seven city council districts: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12.
Of the 95 neighborhood councils in the city, 34 are in the valley. The valley is represented in the California State Legislature by seven members of the State Assembly and five members of the State Senate; the valley falls into four congressional districts: the 28th, 29th, 30th, 33rd, represented by Adam Schiff, Tony Cárdenas, Brad Sherman, Ted Lieu. In the Los Angeles County board of supervisors, it is represented by two supervisorial districts, with the western portion represented by Sheila Kuehl and the eastern portion by Kathryn Barger; the San Fernando Valley, for the most part, tends to support Democrats in state and national elections. This is true in the southern areas, which include Sherman Oaks and the city of Burbank; the Los Angeles satellite administrative center for the valley, The Civic Center Van Nuys, is in Van Nuys. The area in and around the Van Nuys branch of Los Angeles City Hall is home to a police station and superior courts and Los Angeles city and county administrative offices.
Northridge is home to Northridge. Many branches of the Los Angeles Public Library are located in the valley. For independent libraries see "Incorporated Cities" in the "Municipalities and districts" list below. Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, independent valley city departments. Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles County Fire Department, Burbank Police Department, independent valley city departments. City of Los Angeles neighborhood councils The Tongva known as the Gabrieleño Mission Indians after colonization, the Tataviam to the north and Chumash to the west, had lived and thrived in the valley and its arroyos for over 8,000 years, they had numerous settlements, trading and hunting camps, before the Spanish arrived in 1769 to settle in the Valley. The first Spanish land grant in the San Fernando Valley was called "Rancho Encino", in the northern part of the San Fernando Valley. Juan Francisco Reyes built an adobe dwelling beside a Tongva village or rancheria at natural springs, but the land was soon taken from him so that a mission could be built there
