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Moment of silence for former President Jimmy Carter held before the Falcons-Commanders gameMississippi State is back in the AP Top 25. The No. 19 Bulldogs (11-1) jumped into the rankings last week as they were preparing to face Bethune-Cookman on Monday night in Starkville, Miss. Mississippi State was unranked in the preseason poll and stayed in the rankings for just one week in both of its previous appearances. But it's coming off a performance that suggests it might have some staying power with the start of Southeastern Conference play looming. The visiting Bulldogs won decisively against then-No. 21 Memphis 79-66 on Dec. 21. Bulldogs coach Chris Jans said "it's too early to say" whether his team's most recent performance was indicative of what might be the norm going forward, but he was encouraged by it. "Our guys haven't played the same every time out," Jans said. "I mean no disrespect to anyone else we've played, but it's a different competition (against ranked teams). I've liked how we've played to this point, but who knows how it'll unfold." The Bulldogs routed another top-20 opponent when they defeated then-No. 18 Pitt 90-57 on Dec. 4 in Starkville. "We're certainly happy that we've played our best against the best competition because, in (the SEC), this is what we're going to face every night," Jans said. "It's been well-documented where the SEC is at compared to every other conference this year. Now, can we do it over the course of 10 weeks, where it's like this every single time?" The games against ranked teams are going to start coming with more regularity because there are 10 SEC teams in the current Top 25. "Heading into this season, we had a few goals," forward Cameron Matthews said. "One of them is to try and to compete for a (conference) championship. We felt like we could compete in the SEC. I think we were able to prove it (against Memphis)." The Bulldogs used a 13-0 run to grab an 18-5 lead at Memphis, and they never led by fewer than 10 points the rest of the way. Riley Kugel scored 19 points off the bench, and team leader Josh Hubbard (17.6 ppg) added 13. Bethune-Cookman (3-9) also is looking forward to seeing how it'll stack up in its conference -- the Southwestern Athletic Conference. "We've got a lot of depth and we have age and experience," head coach Reggie Theus said earlier this season. The Wildcats have seven active players averaging double-figure minutes and they feature two graduates, two seniors and three juniors. They are led by a high-scoring trio of guards Brayon Freeman (16.0) and Trey Thomas (12.3) and forward Reggie Ward Jr. (11.7). Ward and Freeman scored 14 points apiece and Thomas added 12 in the team's most recent game, a 76-63 loss at Davidson on Dec. 21. Bethune-Cookman has prepared for conference play with a series of games against power-conference opponents in Texas Tech, Nebraska, Minnesota, Virginia and West Virginia. Theus said "the difficult thing" about the pre-conference schedule has been molding 11 new players into a cohesive team. "That's the bottom line," he said. "We have everything else in place. I'm real excited about where we could end up." --Field Level Media

2,919 Shares in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) Acquired by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AGPHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies have no plans to pitch prized prospect Andrew Painter in spring training games as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. The 21-year-old Painter hurt his elbow during spring training in 2023 and had surgery that July 25 with Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Painter was the 13th overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft and signed for a $3.9 million bonus. “He'll throw but not plan on pitching” in games, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Monday. “We're going to push the innings back.” Dombrowski said Painter will build up at some point in the minor leagues and could make his major league debut at some point in the summer. Painter made six starts and allowed four runs in the Arizona Fall League. He struck out 18 batters in 15 2/3 innings after he sat out each of the last two seasons. Painter sprinted through Philadelphia’s system in 2022, going 6-2 with a 1.48 ERA in 26 appearances spread across two Class A teams and Double-A Reading. AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLBStock market today: Wall Street rises at the start of a holiday-shortened weekNone

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The New York Giants snapped a franchise-record 10-game losing streak and ended the Indianapolis Colts' slim playoff hopes Sunday as Drew Lock threw four touchdown passes and ran for another in a 45-33 victory. New York earned its first home win of the season and it no longer has control of the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Lock sandwiched touchdown passes of 31 and 59 yards to Malik Nabers around TD passes of 32 yards to Darius Slayton and 5 yards to Wan'Dale Robinson in leading the Giants (3-13) to their first win since beating Seattle on Oct. 6. Ihmir Smith-Marsette had a 100-yard return on the second-half kickoff on a day the league's worst offense set a season high for points. Jonathan Taylor scored on runs of 3 and 26 yards for Indianapolis (7-9), while Joe Flacco, subbing for the injured Anthony Richardson, threw touchdown passes of 13 yards to Alec Pierce and 7 yards to Michael Pittman, the last bringing the Colts within 35-33 with 6:38 left in the fourth quarter. Lock, who finished 17 of 23 for 309 yards, iced the game by leading a nine-play, 70-yard drive that he capped with a 5-yard run. The 45 points were the most for New York since putting up 49 in a 52-49 loss to the Saints in 2015. It’s the Giants most in a win since a 45-14 rout against Washington in 2014 and most at home since a 52-27 win against the Saints in 2012. Nabers finished with seven catches for a career-high 171 yards. Flacco was 26 of 38 for 330 yards with two interceptions, the second by rookie Dru Phillips shortly after Lock's TD run. Taylor, who rushed for 218 yards in a win over Tennessee last weekend, finished with 125 yards on 32 carries. Pierce had six catches for 122 yards. Nabers and running back Tyrone Tracy become the third pair of rookies to have more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage in the same season. The previous duo was running back Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston of the Saints in 2006. Colts: Richardson was inactive with foot and back injuries sustained against Tennessee. Giants: DL Armon Watts (knee) was ruled out in the first half. Colts: Finish the regular season by hosting Jacksonville. Giants: At Philadelphia to face Saquon Barkley and the Eagles. AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLQuest Partners LLC lowered its position in OceanFirst Financial Corp. ( NASDAQ:OCFC – Free Report ) by 55.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,251 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 29,121 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in OceanFirst Financial were worth $432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of OCFC. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in OceanFirst Financial by 43.7% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 733,441 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $13,635,000 after purchasing an additional 223,203 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 956,320 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $15,196,000 after buying an additional 164,626 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 807,280 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $12,828,000 after buying an additional 158,590 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,475,107 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $57,027,000 after acquiring an additional 105,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 32.6% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 272,243 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,326,000 after acquiring an additional 66,918 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $20.88 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.06. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $13.41 and a 52 week high of $21.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.71%. Insider Transactions at OceanFirst Financial In other OceanFirst Financial news, Director Joseph M. Jr. Murphy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.03, for a total transaction of $30,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 177,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,553,662.51. The trade was a 0.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink . Insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock. Analyst Ratings Changes Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $19.50 to $21.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. DA Davidson increased their target price on OceanFirst Financial from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $17.00 price target on OceanFirst Financial and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.75. Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on OceanFirst Financial OceanFirst Financial Company Profile ( Free Report ) OceanFirst Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for OceanFirst Bank N.A. that provides community banking services to retail and commercial customers. It accepts money market accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, non-interest-bearing accounts, and time deposits, that includes brokered deposits to retail, government, and business customers. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding OCFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for OceanFirst Financial Corp. ( NASDAQ:OCFC – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for OceanFirst Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for OceanFirst Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Phillies have no plans to start pitching prospect Andrew Painter in spring training following injury

Cantor Equity Partners, Inc. Class A Ordinary Shares Respond to Nomination of Howard W. Lutnick as U.S. Secretary of CommerceIf Simon Harris had awoken on Sunday suffering anything close to a crisis of confidence, and believing his party might need a miracle, his diary had him in the right place. Not just because Knock has historical previous with healing, but because Mayo is Enda Kenny country and the former taoiseach had been tapped to introduce the Wicklow man to the party faithful who had gathered at Ireland West Airport. The news that Fine Gael support was down four points in Sunday's opinion poll didn't seem to faze many, but the weekend's other issue did. The Taoiseach's interaction — or lack thereof— with carer Charlotte Fallon in a Kanturk supermarket on Friday night is a worry for Fine Gael. The Taoiseach has apologised and attempted to own the situation and, in some way, make his contrition a virtue. Too often, he said in Mayo, there are issues in campaigns, both foreign and domestic, where candidates obfuscate, equivocate, and refuse to apologise — but this was not his style. While the apology appears genuine and Mr Harris deserves credit for not dragging out his response — by midday Saturday he had addressed the video on social media and spoken by phone to Ms Fallon — so much about the incident could haunt Fine Gael come polling day. Firstly, the issue at the heart of Ms Fallon's impassioned exchange with the Taoiseach was an area in which many within Government parties accept there hasn't been the kind of change they would want to see. The chair of the Oireachtas Disability Committee, Fianna Fáil TD Michael Moynihan, has consistently said as much. Secondly, and most importantly, Fine Gaelers are troubled by what the incident says. Mr Harris's dismissal of Ms Fallon, walking off only to return, gives ammunition to those critics of the party who seek to paint them as unfeeling technocrats — good with numbers, bad with people While among the party there is some sympathy for Mr Harris — the campaign has seen him hit nearly every constituency, wherein he has hundreds of interactions a day is a common theme — there is no pretending that Friday's exchange was and looked bad. Not just in isolation, but in the context of a Fine Gael campaign that has been beset with mis-steps. From Michael O'Leary's comments on teachers, to CCTV of Louth candidate John McGahon, Fine Gael's election has not got going . Now, with just days left, it has to fight fires on a number of fronts. The party has put a lot of eggs in the Harris basket. With a huge number of TDs retiring and a cadre of new candidates, this was partly unavoidable. However, it also reflected the summertime polling. Mr Harris was cruising in the dog days of summer, his ascension to the Taoiseach's office galvanising and energising the party faithful and it's parliamentary party A strong showing in the local elections — losing just 10 seats after 13 years in Government is a good result, make no mistake — solidified a belief that he could lead Fine Gael to over 50 seats in this election. As Mr Kenny was brought out to fire up the Mayo masses, he spoke passionately (his default setting, really) about how Fine Gael could win not just two, but three and maybe four seats — an achievement pulled off in 2011 as Mr Kenny was swept to office. However, with detailed constituency maps dotted around the event, there was a reminder that this was not just a national campaign but 43 local ones too. Mr Kenny praised the Taoiseach's "humility" in apologising for the incident with Ms Fallon, and said the four candidates were "the best Mayo team we've had". "They may not bring back Sam, but they'll bring back Simon." In the room, it worked. The Mayo man was greeted with loud cheers. However, away from Knock, away from Fine Gael, the public will watch the next five days of interactions closely.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The New York Giants snapped a franchise-record 10-game losing streak and ended the Indianapolis Colts' slim playoff hopes Sunday as Drew Lock threw four touchdown passes and ran for another in a 45-33 victory. New York earned its first home win of the season and it no longer has control of the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Lock sandwiched touchdown passes of 31 and 59 yards to Malik Nabers around TD passes of 32 yards to Darius Slayton and 5 yards to Wan'Dale Robinson in leading the Giants (3-13) to their first win since beating Seattle on Oct. 6. Ihmir Smith-Marsette had a 100-yard return on the second-half kickoff on a day the league's worst offense set a season high for points. Jonathan Taylor scored on runs of 3 and 26 yards for Indianapolis (7-9), while Joe Flacco, subbing for the injured Anthony Richardson, threw touchdown passes of 13 yards to Alec Pierce and 7 yards to Michael Pittman, the last bringing the Colts within 35-33 with 6:38 left in the fourth quarter. Lock, who finished 17 of 23 for 309 yards, iced the game by leading a nine-play, 70-yard drive that he capped with a 5-yard run. The 45 points were the most for New York since putting up 49 in a 52-49 loss to the Saints in 2015. It’s the Giants most in a win since a 45-14 rout against Washington in 2014 and most at home since a 52-27 win against the Saints in 2012. Nabers finished with seven catches for a career-high 171 yards. Flacco was 26 of 38 for 330 yards with two interceptions, the second by rookie Dru Phillips shortly after Lock's TD run. Taylor, who rushed for 218 yards in a win over Tennessee last weekend, finished with 125 yards on 32 carries. Pierce had six catches for 122 yards. Nabers and running back Tyrone Tracy become the third pair of rookies to have more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage in the same season. The previous duo was running back Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston of the Saints in 2006. Colts: Richardson was inactive with foot and back injuries sustained against Tennessee. Giants: DL Armon Watts (knee) was ruled out in the first half. Colts: Finish the regular season by hosting Jacksonville. Giants: At Philadelphia to face Saquon Barkley and the Eagles. AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Maupay also had a dig at Everton when he departed on loan to Marseille in the summer and his latest taunt has further angered the Premier League club’s supporters. The 28-year-old said on X after Sean Dyche’s side had lost 2-0 to Nottingham Forest at Goodison Park on Sunday: “Whenever I’m having a bad day I just check the Everton score and smile.” Whenever I’m having a bad day I just check the Everton score and smile 🙂 — Neal Maupay (@nealmaupay_) December 29, 2024 Former boxer Tony Bellew was among the Toffees’ supporters who responded to Maupay, with the ex-world cruiserweight champion replying on X with: “P****!” Maupay endured a miserable spell at Everton, scoring just one league goal in 29 appearances after being signed by the Merseysiders for an undisclosed fee in 2022. He departed on a season-long loan to his former club Brentford for the 2023-24 season and left Goodison for a second time in August when Marseille signed him on loan with an obligation to make the deal permanent. After leaving Everton in the summer, Maupay outraged their fans by posting on social media a scene from the film Shawshank Redemption, famous for depicting the main character’s long fight for freedom.

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'Jimmy Carter's death means there's only five US presidents left alive - but none like him'PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies have no plans to pitch prized prospect Andrew Painter in spring training games as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. The 21-year-old Painter hurt his elbow during spring training in 2023 and had surgery that July 25 with Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Painter was the 13th overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft and signed for a $3.9 million bonus. “He'll throw but not plan on pitching” in games, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Monday. “We're going to push the innings back.” Dombrowski said Painter will build up at some point in the minor leagues and could make his major league debut at some point in the summer. Painter made six starts and allowed four runs in the Arizona Fall League. He struck out 18 batters in 15 2/3 innings after he sat out each of the last two seasons. Painter sprinted through Philadelphia’s system in 2022, going 6-2 with a 1.48 ERA in 26 appearances spread across two Class A teams and Double-A Reading. AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLBChristian Lazore walked to the top of the Central Park concrete exercise staircase in Saugus, then back down. He did it 100 times. And he did it in one day over the course of nine and a half hours without a break, eating and drinking while he walked. According to Melissa Mann, most people participating in the “August 100” challenge of 2023 did no more than 10 to 30 sets at a time on a given day to complete their monthly goal of 100 sets. That was the case for Mann and her friends. On the last day of the challenge, she and her group were finishing their sets when they saw Lazore, who just kept going up and down the steps. “He wasn’t leaving,” Mann said. “Then all of a sudden, it comes out later, he was doing all 100 sets on the last day.” She pointed to the Central Park stairs and added, “He did 100 of these in one day.” Saugus residents Mann, 37, and Lazore, 43, spoke with The Signal earlier this month at Central Park about a movement they lead called the SCV Stairs Project. What started as a Facebook group to encourage local residents to go out to the steps and walk 100 sets in one month has since grown to well over 1,000 followers on multiple social media platforms, and into a community of people who go out to the stairs regularly to exercise and help others. According to city of Santa Clarita Communications Division Manager Carrie Lujan, the response to the stairs, which are open daily to the public from sunrise to sunset, has been enormously positive since the city installed them. The staircase, she said, which is made up of 172 steps, cost approximately $11.87 million and was part of the Central Park Buildout project that was completed in October of 2023. She added that the plan included “much more than just the staircase,” and that funding came from the American Rescue Plan Act COVID-19 Response Fund. “The city was able to utilize these funds,” Lujan wrote in an email, “because they could be used for ‘loss of economic impact’ due to a number of sports tournaments and events, which are held at the park (and) had been put on hold as a result of COVID-19.” Lazore was out at the steps on the Fourth of July in 2023 before the official ribbon cutting ceremony. He and a friend were doing 50 sets of steps for the 50 U.S. states, the two of them carrying full-size American flags while they did their sets. And when they finished, they secured the flags at the top of the staircase. Both flags were still there earlier this month. “The city left them up there,” Lazore said. “And I was like, ‘I want to share this with everybody.’ I really felt like I left a piece of myself up there that day.” The next month, Lazore got the idea to do what has since become the annual “August 100” challenge. The idea was that those who were up to it would, during the month of August, complete 100 sets of the stairs. “There were already quite a few regulars,” Lazore said. “So, I invited them to the ‘August 100’ Facebook group.” The group took off, with many wanting to walk the 100 sets of steps in the span of the month. “I was just looking for 20 or 30 friends to come here and stay motivated together,” Lazore said. According to Mann, the “August 100” drew upwards of 200 people. She didn’t know Lazore at the time. A friend of hers, who knew Lazore’s wife, invited Mann into the group. “I didn’t know what it was,” Mann said. “She (her friend) just added me in there. And I was like, ‘Oh, this is cool. I’m into the health and wellness space, and I’m always up for a good challenge.’ I rallied a bunch of friends, and I asked, ‘Hey, you want to do this with me?’” When she got to the stairs and started walking, she also got to talking with others participating in Lazore’s challenge. Mann thrived on the support she saw among people there, and she enjoyed encouraging others, as well. She admitted it was addicting. She was immediately hooked. Mann later reached out to Lazore through the Facebook group and expressed how impressed she was with what he was doing. “The next day,” Mann said, “he sent me a message, and he was like, ‘Hey, do you want to go grab Starbucks?’ In my mind, I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m married. How do I make this clear?’ I didn’t know what he wanted or what his intention was. I wrote back, ‘I need to chat with my husband. What’s on your mind?’” Lazore wrote back, clarifying that he was married, too, and he assured her that he just wanted help. The project, he said, had grown too big for him to manage himself. Mann was eager to get involved. She joined forces with Lazore in September 2023, and that’s when the SCV Stairs Project was born. Lazore and Mann began coming up with new monthly challenges, like the 9/11 climb where participants did 14 sets of steps (14 because the World Trade Center towers were about 1,400 feet tall), and October’s contest where people were challenged to do 31 sets of steps for Halloween. Part of the work that Lazore and Mann do includes collecting pictures and video of people finishing their sets and cataloguing the names of those who finish. Much of that content is on social media. For the “August 100” challenges, the SCV Stairs Project produces T-shirts with the names of those who complete their 100-sets challenge. That’s only fueled the popularity of the project, and more and more people have been joining the community. “It’s incredible,” Mann said. “You had people who were sharing stories of overcoming cancer, some saying, ‘I’m walking for my dad who just passed away,’ and then people like me and my girlfriends who do this because we’re moms and we want to stay healthy and fit for our kids and fit for ourselves. You just had these deep stories that were coming out.” According to 61-year-old Sand Canyon resident Jenny Andrade-Rodgers, she got involved with the SCV Stairs Project last year because of the community that had formed around it. “Honestly, I didn’t even know those stairs existed,” she said in a telephone interview. “I don’t usually go to Saugus. I saw someone posting on Facebook and I got curious and went over there.” Andrade-Rodgers added that she bonded with people right away. They’d constantly challenge each other to top what they’d previously accomplished. “You meet a lot of people — very nice people,” she said. “And then you’re exercising — it’s really good cardio. It’s outdoors, it’s free. The scenery is nice — you get to see the most beautiful sunrises and really beautiful sunsets.” Andrade-Rodgers really got int it. Through the month of October 2023, she did 1,000 sets of steps. That’s not a typo. That’s a thousand. She’s since slowed down because she doesn’t want to overdo it, but she’s still a regular and very active. Canyon Country resident Carlos Soria said he’s seen the SCV Stairs Project community really inspire others. While some in the group enjoy friendly competition, people are mostly there to support one another and do their personal best. “You get people who are wanting to do it as exercise — at all different levels and for different reasons,” he said. “Next thing you know, you get that FOMO — fear of missing out. People are posting, ‘Hey, I was at the stairs.’ And you’re like, ‘Oh, man, I haven’t been there in a while. I’ve got to get out there.’” Mann said that she and Lazore don’t discourage anyone from coming out to the steps. It’s not about how many sets you do or how fast you can do them. Mann used to do a mom’s walking group. But that targeted mostly young moms only. The SCV Stairs Project is for the young and the old, male and female, and everyone in between. “I also don’t just want to appeal to the people who are the regulars who are already motivated,” she said. “I want to help reach the people who are too intimidated to even show up.” She makes an effort to reach out to those people who find themselves in dark places. It’s a place Mann knows well, having dealt with depression and anxiety. She used exercise during her tough times. Much of her passion came out of wanting to help people going through similar battles. “One of the sayings I carry with me always is, ‘You’re best equipped to help your previous self,’” she said. “If we’re not out there advocating for and helping support people who are struggling as we have in the past, then what’s the purpose of this life?” But helping others doesn’t stop there. The SCV Stairs Project also raises money through various challenges for charitable causes. They did a turkey trot last November and donated $1,500 to the Santa Clarita Grocery on Centre Pointe Parkway. They’re planning another one this year. They’ve also done fundraisers for the Michael Hoefflin Foundation for children’s cancer and one in memory of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, a Santa Clarita Valley resident, who was murdered in September 2023 while on duty in Palmdale. Lazore is thrilled with how the SCV Stairs Project has been making its mark and bringing people together. It has far exceeded his expectations so far, but it’s what he’d hoped for. “My goal has been for these stairs to be like the heartbeat of Santa Clarita,” he said. “It’s a place where we can all come together for whatever needs to be celebrated or mourned. I want it to be a place where everyone could just come and congregate and give and be together, whether it’s laughing or crying.” According to the SCV Stairs Project Facebook page, every step taken on the Central Park stairs represents progress toward a stronger, more connected community. The goal is to elevate the stairs into a symbol of unity, where a simple greeting and a friendly smile become second nature. As Lazore and Mann told their story, several people going up and down the stairs said hello to the two. Mann shouted to a father of two girls, “Good job, dad. Good job getting the girls out here,” to which the father replied, “They’re making me do it.” Some folks walking the steps even wore their “August 100” shirts, one woman showing off her name on the back of the shirt when she stopped by to say hello. Lazore and Mann were all smiles. “I’m so grateful for our community,” Lazore said. “Even though we continue to get larger and larger, I don’t ever want that small-town feel to get away from us. Because every time there’s something that goes on in Santa Clarita, whether it was the Saugus shooting or that deputy going down, this community continues to rally.” Know any unsung heroes or people in the SCV with an interesting life story to tell? Email [email protected] .