Small Business Development Center honored

The Small Business Development Center, (SBDC) hosted by College of the Canyons, was awarded the 2009 Service Excellence and Innovation Award by the United States Small Business Administration-Los Angeles District Office.

AdPros will host luncheon

AdPros, an affiliate member of the American Advertising Federation, will host its monthly luncheon meeting today at noon at Salt Creek Grille, 24415 Town Center Drive, Valencia. Attorneys Chris Jacobsen and David Poole, from Poole & Shaffery, LLP, will be on hand to discuss contracts and collections from a perspective of a small business or sole proprietor. Cost: $10 members; $30 visitors. For more information, visit www.adprosla.com.

At market... zucchini blossoms

The zucchini is a true champion of summer - an over-achiever and vigorous grower that is amazingly easy to start from a tiny seed, pushed down into a mound of soil as soon as it's warm enough. Its savory fruits, yes fruits, we eat eagerly at first, hungry for a taste of the season.

Michael Gales: Survival of the fittest

Robert, a 42-year-old diabetic, enjoyed medical care provided through his health insurance for years. His doctor's visits and medications were provided for a small co-pay. Unfortunately, he was laid off from his job and lost his health insurance. He didn't know what to do with bills piling up; he worried about his home, providing food for his family and how he would pay for his two boys to attend a sports camp in the summer. ...

Walk to benefit cancer research

People who are healthy and brimming with energy will walk Saturday to benefit those who are neither.

New COC curriculum thinks small

College of the Canyons officials have announced introduction of a program for students interested in learning about opportunities in nanotechnology.

What are these reports supposed to show?

Tonight marks the second of two community meetings that will disseminate the findings of the community-commissioned and county-funded Initial Feasibility Analysis for incorporation of communities in the northwest Santa Clarita Valley.

Smoking and talking while driving

A note to smoking drivers: I do not care whether you smoke while driving your vehicle. You have every right to do so unless there are children in your vehicle.

Lynne Plambeck: Something's missing here

Last Thursday, community members filled a large local school auditorium to talk to the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Fish and Game about their proposed Newhall Ranch permit.

The Signal.com's Daybreak: June 18, 2009

Hello, Santa Clarita Valley! Welcome to The-Signal.com's Daybreak, your point of entry for the day, and a quick journey through the past, present and future. Let the adventure begin:

Julie M. Sturgeon: Choosing a business entity in a tough economy

The current condition of the economy and the nation's unemployment figures give rise to more and more people considering turning their hobbies into viable businesses.

Smyth blasts committee for passing budget proposal

SACRAMENTO - Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita, released the following statement after the passage of the Conference Committee budget proposal:

COC students pack bags for Central American trip

Study Spanish, biology and tourism. Hand out school supplies to local schoolchildren. Meet with two former presidents. Take a boat ride on the Panama Canal. That is what the itinerary reads like for the 25 College of the Canyons students who will leave later this month for a four-week trip to study abroad in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama.

McKeon, Republicans unveil health care plan

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Republican Health Care Solutions Group today unveiled a health care reform plan that will make health care more affordable, reduce the number of uninsured Americans, and increase quality at a price our country can afford.

City hosts Transit Access Pass workshops for seniors

The city of Santa Clarita's Transit Division will hold two workshops for community seniors on the new Senior TAP Card (Transit Access Pass) Program application process.

Bieber's car hits photographer

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Video shows Justin Bieber running into a photographer with his white Ferrari in Hollywood, but police say there was no crime and the injuries aren't life-threatening.

Serial murder suspect delivers opening remarks

SAN RAFAEL (AP) - Serial murder suspect Joseph Naso delivered an hours-long personal history Monday replete with childhood photos, as he launched his defense, denied the decades-old slayings of four women and claimed he is not the "monster" prosecutors have made him out to be.

Obama: NSA secret data gathering 'transparent'

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama defended top secret National Security Agency spying programs as legal in a lengthy interview Monday, and called them transparent - even though they are authorized in secret.

N. Calif. wildfire brings evacuation of 150 homes

MARIPOSA (AP) - A wind-whipped wildfire near the main route into Yosemite National Park in the Sierra foothills forced the evacuation of at least 150 houses Monday and was threatening more, state fire officials said.

Will Durst: Your ever-vigilant friends at the NSA

Dear U.S. Citizen,

Charlie Vignola: Giving up freedom and privacy for security

Two weeks have gone by since Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old computer tech working as an NSA contractor, leaked information about classified government information to the press, effectively exposing top secret programs designed to combat terrorism and save American lives.

John Rosemond: Living with Children

If my parents told me once, they told me at least one hundred times, "Don't talk to anyone about their religious or political beliefs." They meant, of course, that those topics are likely to generate tension and angry conflict. As such, they were not the stuff of polite social conversation. Notwithstanding the fact that I find religion and politics to be the two most interesting of all conversational topics, a third caution should be added ...

4 Saugus board members’ behavior professional during censure meeting

Where’s our raises, City Council?

I have lived in Santa Clarita since 1963, paying my taxes, gas bills, etc. myself. I and many others are on Social Security.

Sexual Assaults in the Military

The Senate Armed Services Committee is investigating an alarming Pentagon survey which revealed over 26,000 sexual assaults in our military ranks last year.

UPDATE: Suspected wrong-way driver arrested after multiple-car pileup on 14

By Signal Staff

Bruins beat Blackhawks 2-0, lead Cup finals 2-1

BOSTON (AP) - Tuukka Rask shut out the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals on Monday night and got enough help from the Bruins' offense to do it without another exhausting overtime.

Man arrested a month ago awaiting arraignment

A man charged with murder in an Acton shooting has yet to be arraigned and no prosecutor has been assigned to the case a month after his arrest, a court official said Monday.

Winkler residency expected to be addressed Tuesday night

The issue of censured school board member Stephen Winkler's legal residency is expected be debated at the Saugus Union School District meeting Tuesday night. Some expect the board to fire him by declaring his seat vacant.

Two COC Cougars to compete at U.S. Junior Track and Field Championships

A pair of College of the Canyons freshmen, Tim White and Anthony Fowler, are headed to the U.S. Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships this week in Des Moines, Iowa.