It's Tax Day - hope you filed (or at least filed for that extension 😅). More importantly: Granada Hills is turning 100 years old THIS Saturday, CSUN is in the national spotlight for all the right reasons AND one very wrong one, and the Valley has a lot to talk about this week. E-bikes on trails, Olympics money, a beloved mall coming down, and a sports roundup packed with Matador highlights. Let's get into it. 👇

One hundred years ago — April 18, 1926 — a small farming settlement called Granada Hills was officially founded in the northwest San Fernando Valley. This Saturday, the community that became one of LA's most beloved neighborhoods hits the century mark in style. We've been waiting all year to write this one. 🥂

🔥 What's happening:

📍 The official centennial celebration takes place Saturday, April 18 from 6–9 PM at the Odyssey Restaurant — an elegant evening overlooking the Valley on the actual birthday
📍 The centennial committee has spent over a year building to this — murals, holiday parades, community events, and a dedicated year of programming
📍 Both the Granada Hills North and South Neighborhood Councils are marking the milestone
📍 Granada Hills started as agriculture, boomed after WWII, and grew into the family-first community locals know today

📍 Why it matters locally: This IS the heart of NNN country. 100 years of schools, neighbors, streets, and stories. There's no bigger local milestone than this.

NNN Take: If you've ever driven Chatsworth Street, cheered at Kennedy High, or walked the Knollwood hills — you're part of this story. Show up Saturday. 🎊

👉 Granada Hills Centennial

Drone footage circulating online shows what was once the Valley's premier shopping destination — the Promenade Mall in Woodland Hills — now reduced to rubble. Demolition started in January 2026 and it's moving fast. The Valley is officially losing one of its most iconic landmarks.

🔥 What's happening:

📍 The Promenade at Warner Center opened in 1973 — anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue, Bullocks Wilshire, and Robinson's
📍 After sitting largely empty for almost a decade, LA Rams owner Stan Kroenke's company began demolition in January 2026
📍 Full site clearance expected to be done by spring 2026
📍 Replacement: Rams Village at Warner Center — mixed-use development with residential, retail, open space, office, and entertainment
📍 Drone footage from Urbex Offlimits is circulating on Instagram — systematic, fast, and kind of brutal to watch

📍 Why it matters locally: For generations of Valley families, the Promenade was THE place — The Magic Pan, Bob Burns, holiday shopping, Sears. Rams Village will eventually be exciting. But first we have to say goodbye to 50 years of memories.

NNN Take: The future is coming. But if you've got a Promenade memory — a Maggiano's birthday dinner, a first date at the movies — it's OK to feel this one. 💙

👉 Valley News Group

If you ride an electric bike on hiking or equestrian trails in the Valley, your days may be numbered. The LA City Council's Arts, Parks & Libraries Committee advanced a proposal this week to ban Class 2 and Class 3 e-bikes from hiking, equestrian, and recreational trails citywide.

🔥 What's happening:

📍 The committee voted April 14 to advance the proposal — it now heads to the city transportation committee
📍 Targeted: Class 2 (throttle-assist, up to 20 mph) and Class 3 (pedal-assist, up to 28 mph) e-bikes — the faster, more powerful types
📍 For Valley residents, this directly affects trails like O'Melveny Park (Granada Hills), Chatsworth Park North/South, Limekiln Canyon, Rocky Peak, and El Scorpion Canyon
📍 Orange County has already passed similar restrictions — LA is following after a spike in e-bike injuries on trails
📍 Staff asked to explore income-based fines and clarify the full scope of affected trails

📍 Why it matters locally: The San Fernando Valley has some of the best trail access in all of LA — O'Melveny Park alone is one of the largest city parks in the country. E-bikes have become a real part of how Valley residents get outside. A ban would be a significant shift.

NNN Take: This isn't final yet — but it's moving. If you have a strong opinion, your CD12 rep needs to hear from you before this lands in transportation committee. 🗣️

👉 LAist

The 2028 Olympics are two years out and LA28 is about to start awarding roughly $4 billion in service contracts for cleaning, construction, catering, and IT. There's just one problem: city officials are now warning that local LA businesses — including potentially Valley companies — could get shut out entirely.

🔥 What's happening:

📍 LA28 will award ~$4 billion in contracts — cleaning, construction, catering, and IT for the 2028 Games
📍 Goal: 75% stays in the "Greater LA" region; 25% goes to small businesses — but "local" is defined as any of 5 counties (not just the City of LA)
📍 Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson warned: "You could have a scenario where no L.A. business does any business with LA28"
📍 A key service agreement between the city and LA28 is over 6 months overdue with no resolution in sight
📍 The Sepulveda Basin in the Valley is a confirmed Olympic venue for BMX, skateboarding, and 3x3 basketball — meaning Valley-based contractors and vendors are geographically positioned to compete

📍 Why it matters locally: The Olympics are literally coming to our backyard — the Sepulveda Basin is a few miles from CSUN. Catering companies, construction firms, cleaning services, and IT shops throughout Northridge and the broader Valley should be researching how to get in on this procurement process now.

NNN Take: $4 billion in contracts. A venue in our zip code. Valley businesses need a seat at this table — and city officials need to keep fighting to make sure they get one. 💰

👉 LAist

CSUN's student-run label VOVE is bringing three of its artists to the legendary Troubadour in West Hollywood this Thursday for a friendly battle-of-the-bands against USC's 840 West Records and UCLA's Cherry Pop Records. The whole thing started when VOVE co-executive and graduating senior Josue May reached out to peer schools to network — and it turned into something way bigger.

🎶 Thu April 16, 7 PM at The Troubadour (9081 Santa Monica Blvd, WeHo) | $25 tickets
🎶 UCLA fields: The 529s, The Sunset Wrecks, Lady Vengeance | USC brings: Skusic, Amelie, Off-Peak
🎶 The Troubadour is where Elton John made his US debut in 1970 — CSUN students are stepping onto that same stage

NNN Take: This is CSUN's music program going toe-to-toe with the private schools on one of LA's most storied stages. Show them what Northridge sounds like. 🤘

👉 Daily Sundial  ·  Get Tickets ($25)

During the April 11 CSUN vs. UC Irvine match, color commentator Charlie Brande — a legendary former UC Irvine player — said on air that he was "amazed" that CSUN redshirt junior Jordan Lucas hadn't been "popped" for his on-court celebrations, calling them "very distasteful." Lucas is gay. The comment went national fast.

📣 Coaches and volleyball voices called it out immediately — Arielle Houlihan said what Brande was implying "would be a hate crime"
📣 Brande issued a public apology April 12 on UC Irvine's Instagram — said he "wholeheartedly regretted" the remark and "takes full accountability"
📣 Lucas confirmed his identity to Outsports but declined further comment
📣 Story picked up by PinkNews, Awful Announcing, The Spun, and dozens more national outlets

NNN Take: Jordan Lucas plays for our team. He plays with joy and expression — and that's exactly what sports should look like. Northridge stands behind him. 💪❤️

👉 OutSports  ·  Awful Announcing

With housing applications for 2026-27 already open, CSUN students are crunching the numbers on on-campus living — and some aren't liking what they see. Costs have climbed to the point where commuting from home or renting nearby is starting to pencil out.

💸 All-in on-campus cost for 2026-27: ~$29,486/year (housing + meals + fees)
💸 Apartment-style dorm with kitchen alone: ~$11,351/year — before food
💸 Living at home: ~$23,980/year | Off-campus average: ~$39,920/year
💸 Senior Attallah Muhammad said financial aid helps, but "doesn't always feel like she's getting her money's worth"
💸 Applications opened in March — before students know their final aid packages

NNN Take: $30K/year at a CalState is a serious ask. The housing affordability crisis has reached right onto campus — and Northridge students are feeling it. 📊

👉 Daily Sundial

CSUN anthropologist Prof. Hélène Rougier led an international team that may have finally answered why Neanderthals vanished. The short version: they became genetically identical after an ice age forced them into one tiny refuge — and never recovered. When Homo sapiens showed up, it was over.

🧬 All Late European Neanderthals trace back to a single genetic lineage after an ice age bottleneck ~75,000 years ago
🧬 They re-expanded but genetically near-identical — then collapsed entirely within ~2,000 years around 40,000 years ago
🧬 Factors: competition with Homo sapiens, genetic fragility, and evidence of conflict
🧬 Rougier: "Piece by piece, we are slowly putting together the picture."

NNN Take: World-class science from a CalState campus. A 40,000-year cold case — cracked in Northridge. 🏆

👉 CSUN Newsroom

A huge few days for CSUN athletics — a comeback for the ages, a road sweep, a regular-season finale, and a conference weekly award. The Matadors are delivering. 🔴🖤

📍 Trailed 7-5 entering the 7th — then erupted for 6 runs in the 7th inning to win 12-7 at Hiegert Field
📍 Thomas, Rickman, Boardman, and Linberg each drove in 2 runs | 3 home runs on the night
📍 Thomas: 13th HR (tied team lead) | Boardman: on base in 20 straight games | Becker: 14-game hit streak
📍 CSUN now 20-15 | Next: hosting UC Davis, Friday April 17 at 5 PM on ESPN+

👉 Full recap

📍 Swept the road doubleheader — 8-6 and 7-1 — winning the full series
📍 Raegan Jackson: 2 HRs and 4 RBIs; leads team with 15 RBIs
📍 Turned a bases-loaded triple play in the 4th inning of Game 1 🤯
📍 Malia Williams: complete game in Game 2, 5th win | CSUN: 11-25, 7-10 Big West

👉 Full recap

📍 #18 CSUN (12-12, 0-8 Big West) closes the regular season at Bankoh Arena in Honolulu — tonight & Saturday, 10 PM PT
📍 Jalen Phillips hit 1,000 career kills — 8th all-time at CSUN; 3.91 kills/set (2nd in Big West)
📍 Big West Championship: April 23-25 at UC Irvine's Bren Events Center

👉 Preview

📍 Hannah Heflin & Maleya Miles named Big West Pairs Team of the Week
📍 Won 6 of their last 9 duals — including wins over #10 Long Beach State, Oregon, and UC Davis
📍 First Big West beach pair award for CSUN since 2018 🏆

👉 Full story

• 📅 A local event coming up
• 🏪 A new or longtime local business
• 📣 Something happening others should know

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