A 20-year-old man remains hospitalized in critical condition after being struck by a roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia on Saturday. The man lost his hat on a ride and climbed two security fences to retrieve it, according to park officials. He was then struck by the Ninja roller coaster and knocked unconscious. Ninja remains shut down pending an investigation. (Photo via MPR529's flickr).......

Taken at Sequoia National Park, which has parts included in the bill | Photo by Allie_Caulfield via Flickr There are two identical bills floating around the U.S Senate and House this month that would protect federally owned land from any development, vehicles, permanent structures, mining or basically anything else that would alter the environment. The land would go under The Wilderness Act, signed into law by President Johnson and says defines land as "an......

The City of Santa Clarita (that's Valencia/Magic Mountain area and environs) opened its one and only dog park -- Central Bark -- late last year. The 1.3 acre, off-leash doggie park is located in Central Park (27150 Bouquet Canyon Road) and has designated gated areas for small dogs (25 lbs. and under) and larger dogs. It's open from dawn to dusk and is a great place for friendly dogs and their owners to hang......

photo by swanksalot via Flickr Tomorrow is the finish up the AMGEN Tour of California in Pasadena. But before hitting the old money city, they're headed towards Santa Clarita this afternoon (where Six Flags Magic Mountain has decided to stay put). From 4 to 10 p.m. tonight “Rock the Bike,” a free outdoor cycling expo and music festival, will bring together an array of people following the stage 6 finish. Various bands will be......

Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist Remember when there was that big freak out in the Santa Clarita Valley? Six Flags Magic Mountain was going to close and quite possibly become torn down for more housing. Not good. The "extreme" roller coaster theme park is the single largest employer in the area, it fills up the hotels with tourists, adding green to the local economy and hey, it's an institution of the little Valley that could......

Anyone who travels north via The 5 during holidays knows once you start hitting the northern part of the Santa Clarita Valley (a few minutes past Magic Mountain), traffic backs up, making it a slow hump over the Grapevine. Caltrans warns of why traffic will be additionally heavy these next thirteen holiday days:The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) advises motorists planning to travel on the Golden State Freeway (Interstate 5) in north Los Angeles County......

As soon as we arrived at the Obey sale on Saturday in Santa Ana I told my friend, "fuck this, I'm out." The line was longer than anything I'd seen outside Magic Mountain. All you could see were high school and college-aged kids in hoodies and tapered jeans messaging their friends and they were probably saying the same thing I was saying, "fuck this." But my friend was determined. She had Christmas shopping to......

What would you save out of your home if you had 15 minutes to get out? I can guarantee that it won’t be what you’re thinking right now. Yesterday, as a resident of the SCV -- that’s the Santa Clarita Valley/Valencia/Magic Mountain area to you city folk – I had the opportunity to play the “What Would You Take to a Deserted Island – Wildfire Edition” game. Some of the items I “saved” make......

My high school drama club participated in our local haunted house, and we were merciless. One woman had to be taken away in an ambulance after an actor concealed in a hole in the ground grabbed her foot. So these things really freak me out. I don't believe in zombies and monsters, but I do believe in unpredictable aspiring actors. THE BIG ONES: Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights looked so intense I turned down an......

Architect geeks and other assorted party-goers descended on the A+D Architecture and Design Museum last weekend for the opening reception of Crosswired, a performance and installation series featuring design, motion visual art and experimental electronic music. We didn’t really hear anything too experimental, unless it was the deafening “rave” music that was possibly experimenting to see how much pressure our eardrums could take. We did elbow our way through a maze of Skyy 90......

- When the Instapundit is tired of spinning he puts up pictures, when O'Reilly slips in the ratings he increases his volume but Geraldo sticks right in there - O-Dub - If Dick Cheney is such a tough guy, why does he always seem to be getting interviewed by the likes of Rush Limbaugh? - HuffPo - CNN desperately trying to prove that they're not part of the Liberal Elite. Don't worry CNN, we......

Disneyland's Submarines Set Sail Once Again Since opening in 1959, Disneyland's Submarine Voyage attraction operated continuously until 1998 when the park suddenly shut it down. Rumors of the ride's return circulated for years until Disneyland announced the classic water-born attraction would set sail again as the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. About a week ago, crafty photographers were able to sneak a peak at what is likely the first instance of a Disneyland submarine venturing......

- The map (pictured above -- "Geles County" is Los Angeles County) that hit the scenes a couple of years ago now has a plan behind it - MetroRiderLA - Six Flags Magic Mountain is staying put, sans two rides: Flashback and Cyclone - SFVBJ - At least the promise of a new LATimes.com is going to be better than LA Weekly's most recent weberration - LAO - LACityNerd joins Council District 13, kinda......

Brrrrrrrrr... did you enjoy cuddling under your blankets last night during that blast of cold weather? Don't forget that it snowed in Los Angeles less than a year ago (and will SCV be so lucky?). Maybe this is Los Angeles' way of saying hello to Beckham with a little frosty cold treat. We're enjoying it. After all, some of us are transplants. Besides the top stories that you probably already know by now, A.M.......

- Oxnard onion farmers must be shedding tears of joy. Taco Bell sez the green onions grown at Boskovich Farms did not cause the E.Coli. Then they re-opened some stores - AP - Find Saul Jaime Vaca Arceo (who threatened his ex-wife and tried to burn his two children alive in his car) and get $10,000 stuffed in your stocking - CBS2 - Despite a 25% drop in attendance, Magic Mountain wont be leveled......

Halloween in Isla Vista sounds like something we might wanna do this weekend. You know. There's also that rock concert festival in Vegas. And Halloween Horror Nights, and Magic Mountain is always a little scary at night. To get in the mood, here are some scary videos.......

While the rest of Hollywood scratches its head at the recent news that Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner's production company has found financial backing from the owner of the Six Flags theme parks, we believe we've found a connection between ol' Maverick and his new sugar daddy Daniel Snyder: Scientology's Super Power program. According to an article in the St. Petersburg Times (found via metafilter), dedicated Scientologists can enhance their perceptions of rhythm, moisture,......

The word is Six Flags Magic Mountain is for sale and although they're trying to sell the place as one huge lot, they're willing to break it up into smaller lots. With all the wealth and riches in this town, you'd think that thered be someone up in this piece who has all his rides pimped, all his cribs crunked, and all of his bitches sweet-sixteened and seriously wants to have an amusement park......

Someone has been hacking their way into MySpace user accounts and posting bulletins for them (bulletins are a way of communicating with all your MySpace friends without e-mailing them all individually). Sneaky thing is, the bulletin is about Six Flags Magic Mountain and the targets are a good number of residents in the Santa Clarita Valley, which is home to Six Flags in its Valencia neighborhood setting. hey guys, just heard from a friend......

LAist thinks the kids have it too easy. What with their PSPs, and their PS2s attatched to their flat screens in the back seats in the SUV. LAist remembers having to collect change from couches and skateboarding down to Santa Monica Pier to play decent video games. LAist remembers getting kicked out of the 7-11 on Wilshire near Lincoln for beating the hell out of 10 Yard Fight. LAist remembers the tiny little closets......

Rose Bowl's 80th Anniversary of Fireworks starring the Pasadena Pops - 6pm Disneyland's "Remember... Dreams Come True" - 9:25p Hollywood Bowl - Hollywood Bowl Orchestra - with special guest Kenny Loggins - 7:30p Marina Del Rey - Burton Chance Park - 9pm Magic Mountain - "Come nightfall, Six Flags will light up the sky with one of the largest and most unparalleled firework extravaganza in Southern California" Baldwin Park - 9pm - Sierra Vista......

That sound you hear is a disturbance in the Force. It's the sound of developers revving up their bulldozers as the chatter whispers new ownership of Six Flags / Magic Mountain and that ownership might turn the historic theme park into condos, ranch homes, McMansions and more sprawl. With all the wealth in LA you'd think someone would know someone who has everything - except their own amusement park - and would want to......

We know that it was friggin cold last night, but what's up with the snap continuing today? It's been like four days of cold weather. Enough already. Though our East Coast brethren scoff and call us weather wimps, this is LA -- home of the Beach Boys and Baywatch. Hello...wasn't it 80 degrees last week? This weather, especially rain, is not good for Angelenos' perfectly coiffed hair -- and the cold, dry stuff is......

So, the next time you're at Magic Mountain and that creepy old guy in a suit is dancing around or taking pictures with excited kids and old ladies, you can scream out to him, "Imposter! I know the truth!" LAist's own Paul Davidson, who has been known to solve a mystery or two here in the past, has uncovered the real story about the Six Flags mascot, Mr. Six. Many had often surmised that......

Thanks to the crack-team of reporters over at NBC4, the big news has finally reached the masses. That's right. For all those couch-potatoes desperate to become a reality-TV star AND big fans of eating live crickets and donkey balls, your prayers will now be answered this May. That's when Universal Studios theme parks in Hollywood and Orlando, Florida will be taking the "Fear Factor" you know and love from primetime television to tourists and......