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Dream Interrupted » Antelope Valley
Antelope Valley
by Katie Evarts and Alaena Hostetter
Jun 15, 2010
Despite early optimism, both Rio Tinto and union workers are finding it hard to cope after miners return to work from a months' long lockout.
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by Mark EvittMay 19, 2010With the housing market finally looking up to developers in Antelope Valley, the survivors of the bust are trying to recoup their losses while figuring out what buyers will want next. -
by Katie Evarts and Alaena HostetterMay 19, 2010Borax miners are back to work after a three-and-a-half-month lockout ended on Saturday. Finally the union and Rio Tinto agreed on a new labor contract to get the miners back in the pit.
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by Mark EvittMay 14, 2010New stops near the UCLA campus were supposed to help revive an ailing bus line from Antelope Valley to L.A.'s west side and slash the number of students coming by car. But despite the promise of dramatic cost savings, few commuters have taken the bait. -
by Mark EvittMay 13, 2010Park View Middle School opened in 1949. Now, with a $12 million budget deficit, too few students in the district and the walls literally about to come down, Park View will be shuttered in July. -
by Mark EvittMay 13, 2010By more than a two-to-one margin, voters elected for their city to gain control over municipal matters and distance itself from California and its troubled finances. -
by Alaena HostetterApr 19, 2010The mining mega-company Rio Tinto made headlines when executives admitted accepting bribes and were sentenced to prison terms in China. Half a world away, in a tiny desert town in California, Borax miners are fighting Rio Tinto in a bitter contract dispute. -
by Alaena HostetterMar 30, 2010In Boron, California, workers have been locked out of a mine because they haven't reached agreement with Rio Tinto, the firm that owns the mine. If the lockout continues it could ruin the town. -
by Alaena HostetterMar 8, 2010In the wake of the state's budget crises, school around California have lost funding. The Antelope Valley Union High School District has lost a reported $20 million. Making up that gap is no small feat for the administrators and employees in the district. -
by Alaena HostetterFeb 11, 2010Desolate. Desert. Vacant. All words that would accurately describe the Antelope Valley's miles of unclaimed landscape. Promising up-and-coming area for renewable energy ventures? Also accurate, because the miles of barren land and unrelenting sunshine are making the Antelope Valley the hottest place to be for green energy development. -
by Mark EvittFeb 10, 2010Two years after the housing market peaked in Palmdale, one development is still ready for construction crews to arrive and start building. The two model homes stand alone in the sand, waiting for real estate agents to give tours. Instead, their windows and doors are boarded up with plywood. The pipes and wiring have been purloined by scavengers. And rather than homes for growing families, they have become hangouts for local gangs.
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About The Project
A band of young, highly talented journalists take on the one question that keeps too many Californians awake at night:
What happened to my California dream?
SoCal Connected joins with USC's News21 project to present a months-long investigation into the dream. How did it wither away? Is it gone forever, or can we bring back the glimmer that made us the Golden State?







