Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 173,516, making Lancaster the 153rd largest city in the United States and the 30th largest in California. Lancaster is a twin city with its southern neighbor Palmdale; together, they are the principal cities within the Antelope Valley region.
Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The city lies in the Antelope Valley of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south.
Quartz Hill is a census-designated place (CDP) in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 10,912 at the 2010 census, up from 9,890 at the 2000 census. The name is also shared with the neighboring district areas of its border cities, Palmdale, and Lancaster. Quartz Hill was once home to the Quartz Hill Airport. According to the Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance report of 2009, the Palmdale / Lancaster urban area of which Quartz Hill is a part, has a population of 483,998.
The Antelope Valley is located in northern Los Angeles County, California, United States, and the southeast portion of California's Kern County, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated between the Tehachapi, Sierra Pelona, and the San Gabriel Mountains. The valley was named for the pronghorns that roamed there until they were all eliminated in the 1880s, mostly by hunting, or resettled in other areas. The principal cities in the Antelope Valley are Palmdale and Lancaster.
Driving under the influence (DUI) is the offense of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs, to a level that renders the driver incapable of operating a motor vehicle safely. Multiple other terms are used for the offense in various jurisdictions.
Antelope Valley College (AVC) is a public community college in Lancaster, California. It is part of the California Community College system. It is operated by the Antelope Valley Community College District, with a primary service area of 1,945 square miles (5,040 km2) covering portions of Los Angeles and Kern counties. Instruction is offered at several sites, including Palmdale and Lancaster, and through online and instructional television courses.
Gilbert Anthony Cedillo is an American politician, who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 1st district from 2013 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Cedillo was previously a member of both the California State Assembly and the California State Senate.
Sharon Runner was an American politician. She was a Republican California State Senator, who represented the 21st Senate District at the time of her death, and previously represented the 17th Senate District from 2011 to 2012. She was also a member of the California State Assembly from 2002 to 2008, representing the 36th district. She was the wife of California State Board of Equalization Member George Runner. From 2004 to 2008, then-Senator George Runner and then-Assemblywoman Sharon Runner were the first husband and wife in California history to serve concurrently in the California State Legislature.
Antelope Valley Transit Authority is the transit agency serving the cities of Palmdale, Lancaster and Northern Los Angeles County. Antelope Valley Transit Authority is operated under contract by MV Transportation, and is affiliated with and offers connecting services with Metro and Metrolink. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,523,700, or about 5,900 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023.
California's 36th State Assembly district is one of 80 California State Assembly districts. It is currently represented by Republican Tom Lackey of Palmdale. Despite California's six-year term limit on the State Assembly, during the 20-year period from 1992–2012, the seat was held continuously by members of either the Knight family of Palmdale or the Runner family of Lancaster.
Stephen Thomas Knight is an American politician, military veteran and former police officer. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the U.S. representative for California's 25th congressional district from 2015 to 2019. Knight previously represented California's 21st State Senate district from 2012 to 2015 and California's 36th State Assembly district from 2008 through 2012; he also served as Assistant Minority Leader in the California State Assembly from 2010 until 2012.
Steve Fox is an American politician and former member of the California State Assembly. A Democrat, Fox represented the 36th district, encompassing much of the Antelope Valley and Santa Clarita Valley, as well as small portions of Kern County and San Bernardino County. Prior to being elected to the state Assembly, he worked as a public school teacher, an attorney, and trustee of Antelope Valley College. Fox formerly served as a governing board member of the Antelope Valley Hospital. Fox ran for Assembly in 2008 as a Republican and lost the Republican primary to Steve Knight, who went on to win the general election. Fox later switched his political affiliation and became a Democrat.
The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in California were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, with a primary election on June 3, 2014. Voters elected the 53 U.S. representatives from the state of California, one from each of the state's 53 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other offices, including a gubernatorial election.
Larry Chimbole was a United States Army veteran of World War II, California politician, and a member of the Democratic party.
Ash Kalra is a Canadian-American politician who has served as a member of the California State Assembly since 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, Kalra previously served on the San Jose City Council from 2008 to 2016.
Two main questions arise in the law surrounding driving after having ingested cannabis: (1) whether cannabis actually impairs driving ability, and (2) whether the common practice of testing for THC is a reliable means to measure impairment. On the first question, studies are mixed. Several recent, extensive studies–including one conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and one conducted by the American Automobile Association (AAA)–show that drivers with detectable THC in their blood are no more likely to cause car crashes than drivers with no amount of THC in their blood. Others show that cannabis can impair certain abilities important to safe driving –but no studies have been able to show that this increases the actual risk of crashing, or that drivers with THC in their blood cause a disproportionate number of crashes. On the second question, the studies that have been conducted so far have consistently found that THC blood levels and degree of impairment are not closely related. No known relationship between blood levels of THC and increased relative crash risk, or THC blood levels and level of driving impairment, has been shown by single-crash or classic-control studies. Thus, even though it is possible that cannabis impairs driving ability to some extent, there are currently no reliable means to test or measure whether a driver was actually impaired.
A special election to the United States House of Representatives for California's 25th congressional district was held March 3, 2020, the same day as the California presidential primaries. As no candidate received a majority, a runoff took place on May 12, 2020, between the top two finishers Christy Smith and Mike Garcia. Garcia's win was the first time Republicans flipped a Democratic-held House seat in California since 1998.
Steven D. "Steve" Hofbauer is an American politician and former senior Fire Inspector from California. Hofbauer is the mayor of Palmdale, California.
R. Rex Parris is an American attorney and the current mayor of Lancaster, California.
Juan Carrillo is an American politician. He serves as a Democratic member for the 39th district of the California State Assembly, which includes Palmdale, Lake Los Angeles, Adelanto, and Victorville.
