Archive By Section - Columnists
NCWD has success with enterprise model
Newhall County Water District has just closed out 2012, and the year was marked by accomplishments reflecting its enterprise model of operation.
Steve Lunetta: Stopping gun violence at the source
In the first two installments of the series, we examined gun control and the potential impact it would have on school violence. We also looked at President Obama's initiatives and rated each one on effectiveness.
Tina Dupuy: Dear GOP - newflash - Cubans are not Mexican
Due to an act of Congress, Cuban nationals who arrive in the U.S. after 1959 cannot be illegal immigrants. They're automatically refugees. It's amnesty! The federal government has spent billions to assist those who've fled Castro's regime. It was a Cold War policy, signed by President Johnson. If they can get to our shores (many have died in the process), they have an instant pathway to citizenship. They just have to get here. And since ...
David Hegg: Passivity and perseverance
At the end of a long day I can often be found mentally exhausted, lounging on our family room couch with a television remote in my hand. They are wonderful things, these remotes. How did we ever get along without them? Imagine having to actually get up and manually change a channel, or turn up the volume.
Nat Hentoff: Sweet Land of Liberty
Having reported on small but growing numbers of public school students who are eagerly learning to be actively knowledgeable citizens, I must now turn to a much larger, growing problem within public education.
Tim Myers: The two Franks of Santa Clarita
The Myers family moved to California and Santa Clarita during the second week of June 1996 - a mere two months after Frank Ferry, current principal of Alemany High School and Santa Clarita City Council member, failed (narrowly) to dislodge an incumbent to capture a seat on the City Council in the then-relatively young city.
Bob Kellar: Live from City Hall
Providing a wide variety of avenues for residents to communicate with their city has long been a hallmark of Santa Clarita.
Donna McCord Basail: Citizens can stop beach tax
Dante Alighieri once said, "The secret of getting things done is to act!" It is so refreshing to see what can happen when a group of concerned citizens decides to act.
J.J. Ladouceur: An open letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein
I'd like to talk to you about consistency in your policies and some contradictions that I find with them. Particularly, I would like to talk about what your opposition to a controversial section of the National Defense Authorization Act and your subsequent support of a ban on assault weapons have in common.
Cher gilmore: A global warming solution
With 2012's record-breaking heat (it was the hottest year our nation has ever experienced) and a resulting series of disasters - wildfires in the West, drought and dust storms across the Great Plains, record ice loss in the Arctic, and Superstorm Sandy, to name a few - Americans are finally waking up to the reality of global warming.
Cher gilmore: A global warming solution
With 2012's record-breaking heat (it was the hottest year our nation has ever experienced) and a resulting series of disasters - wildfires in the West, drought and dust storms across the Great Plains, record ice loss in the Arctic, and Superstorm Sandy, to name a few - Americans are finally waking up to the reality of global warming.
Gary Horton: Understand the limits, frailty of life
A while back I visited a back surgeon to take a gander at my lower back. I'd been experiencing bothersome pain in my lower back and hips and felt that it was about time to face the music. It seemed that every day was just a little more painful than the prior, and, even with all the stretching, exercise, and even hanging upside down on one of those teeter things…
Charlie Vignola: If you can’t beat ‘em, cheat ‘em
Imagine a football team that's made it to the Super Bowl six times in a row but has only won it once.
Jan Ting: Will Joe Biden succeed Obama as next president?
It's less than three years now before the first presidential primary elections of 2016. Anyone who wants to be a serious candidate in those primaries will need to start organizing a campaign soon. My home state of Delaware knows Vice President Joseph Biden well. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate from Delaware in 1972 when he was only 29 years old. Delaware voters re-elected him six times ...
Will Durst: A parallax view of Obama’s inauguration
Astronomers have a name for the phenomenon of an object appearing to be in different places, depending on the perspective from which it is viewed. It's known as the parallax view, and could be seen on display for the second Inauguration of the 44th President of the United States. Speaking of it, folks described events occurring on different planets. Some called it a disaster, some a triumph. Crime scene in a cave versus ascension on ...
Articles by Section - Columnists
Scott Wilk: Teacher firing reform needed
As a father of two, I believe no one - particularly a child - should live in fear in his or her school or neighborhood. So one of my top priorities as your assemblyman is public safety.
Joe Gandelman: Sample some popular political whines
The phone rings in a big warehouse in Oriskiny Falls, N.Y.
Jason Stanford: Turning Texas into a battleground state
Those of us who worked for the late Ann Richards used to run our plans by her. The former Texas governor did not suffer fools, gladly or otherwise, and if your plan had flaws, she'd let you know in great detail.
Michael Stafford: The Cult of Self
According to the Bible, the ancient Israelites strayed from worship of God into idolatry. Today, America has done the same - except rather than placing a golden calf upon an altar, we have erected a mirror.
Will Durst: The GOP autopsy
Normally you don't expect to see the words "Republicans" and "introspection" right next to each other. Like "supermodel" and "barbecue." "Physicist" and "polka." "Gazelle" and "ophthalmology." You catch my drift.
Jim Mullen: The Museum of Modern Body Art
I was at a doctor's office in a small town recently and overheard one patient in the waiting room talking to another.
Gary Horton: Jesus isn't a Republican or Democrat
Recently, this esteemed journal has spilled much ink debating the withers and thithers as to whether Jesus, should he ever choose to reincarnate himself as an American, would malign himself with the mantle of "conservative Republican" or "liberal Democrat."
Charlie Vignola: Medicare works, no thanks to the GOP
This week I am headed to Florida to deal with a solemn duty that no one looks forward to, but which almost everyone will have to face sooner or later: I am going to deal with the imminent death of my father.
Peter Funt: Injustice in the juvenile justice system
Many of the nation's prosecutors and judges continue to put kids on trial as adults. This, despite declining crime rates among juveniles and growing scientific evidence about the inappropriateness of taking young offenders out of the court system designed specifically to protect them.
Danny Tyree:Why can't every day be like Easter?
Although it usually gets overshadowed by "Blue Christmas" in yuletide radio rotation, I still enjoy the Elvis Presley version of "Why Can't Every Day Be Like Christmas?"
Steve Lunetta: Jesus would be a conservative Christian
"Look at what this feller wrote about Jesus! Its a disgrace!"
Bob Kellar: Live from City Hall
The belief that "what is good for business is good for Santa Clarita" is a mantra that the city of Santa Clarita takes seriously. That's why City Council and staff are dedicated to providing local businesses with the tools and resources necessary to strengthen operations and improve sustainability, especially during difficult economic times.
Tim Myers: City Council candidates declare early
The race for Santa Clarita City Council in 2014 started to clarify over last weekend with two more fully announced candidates, Dante Acosta and Alan Ferdman, joining the four already-announced candidates - Gloria Mercado-Fortine, Maria Gutzeit, and the incumbents Laurene Weste and Marsha McLean - to bring the total fully announced candidates to six with more than one year left until the election.
Jonas Peterson: Environmental reform needed
At a time when California is striving to encourage both sustainable growth and job creation, reforming the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is imperative.
Donna Brazile: Leaned on for leaning in
Cheryl Sandberg's book "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead," has sparked a debate about the role of women in America - and everywhere else.
