Archive By Section - Columnists
Diana Sevanian: Goodnight, Gracie
"Joy is an inside job." Each of the many funny and thought-provoking e-mails sent out by Grace Kierbel contained that signature phrase.
Jesus would approve of socialism
Americans are currently struggling with the stifling effects of a national recession, seemingly insurmountable national debt and a president who has destroyed our place of honor in the world.
Playing the bailout blame game
The complicity of the Republican to enable a widely anticipated banking and investment collapse is just another Republican play to greed.
Dems need to start a spending diet
When I was in college, I lived in an apartment off campus. My neighbors included a bus driver, an elderly retired couple, some farm workers and a guy who just got out of prison.
Be grateful for Cameron Smyth
In the budget-bickering, bananas world of Sacramento politics, be grateful for Cameron Smyth. He has aptly applied his successes as Santa Clarita's mayor/city councilman to his new position as a California Assemblyman and smoothly moved up the ranks of the Legislature. Freshman Assemblyman Smyth has established himself as one of the most effective California legislators in spite of the fact that, as a Republican, he is a member of the minority party. It is extremely ...
Snowbound: Escaping the SCV
When my teenage daughter, Brandie, called Wednesday and told me our car had a "snow 'fro" from snow piling up on its rooftop, I didn't believe her. Like most Southern Californians, my husband Vince and I commute to work. We knew when we left our high desert home in Pinon Hills Wednesday morning we'd likely get trapped in sunny Santa Clarita. But our much-appreciated jobs at The Signal awaited and we enjoyed an exciting serendipity ...
Michele Buttelman: Holidays are for everyone
The holiday countdown is now at single digits. Hanukkah begins tonight at sundown, Christmas is a mere four days away and Kwanzaa begins Friday. I rather think the British and the Canadians have it nicely thought out with Boxing Day celebrated on the day after Christmas. The day after Christmas should be a holiday! Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and Joyous Kwanzaa! Menorah lighting at Town Center Mall
Tim Myers: On missing menorahs and upside-down flags
Chris Dickerson changed my outlook. The unapologetic liberal and Baltimore transplant who served in the capacity of Signal city editor during the late 1990s, at one of our several lunches at the Way Station, opened my eyes to an epiphany.
Willy Gutman: An open letter to the people of Palestine
This letter should have been written years ago, when the incident that prompts its belated publication took place.
John Boston: The SCV's December War, Part II
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - Franklin Delano Roosevelt To say that current times are not foreboding would be disingenuous. For most of us, these first few years into the 21st century are unchartered waters. Many of us ask: "Will we have a house?" "Will I still have a job?" "How will we pay for medicine?" Sixty-seven years ago, this valley was in a war nothing short of Good vs. ...
Who should be our nation’s next president?
A local Democratic activist confided to me several months ago that his own dear mother told him, "America is not ready for a black president."
Sip wine and stroll
It's now less than two weeks until Halloween ... though with the recent ups and downs on Wall Street it seems we've had plenty of scary stuff to keep us awake at night! The Wine Affair
Keep yourself informed during major emergencies
In the digital world, people's need to access real-time information transcends simply 24-hour national and world news sources and must include local happenings.
We pay taxes — we deserve marriage
We fled the San Fernando Valley - unfortunately theft, drugs and prostitution moved into our neighborhood, and we just didn't feel as though we were safe anymore.
Let’s not reward incompetence
Just as there were a lot of hushed conversations about the election, people now mutter about the financial bailouts. We stand off to the side and speak quietly. We watch the news of families struggling, losing their jobs and homes.
Articles by Section - Columnists
Doug Patton: Red states should be careful what they wish for
Recently, Republican Governors Rick Perry of Texas and Terry Branstad of Iowa appealed to those wanting to flee liberal California.
Kevin Bayona: North Korea is a dangerous nuclear power
Many Americans may find it difficult to believe, but North Korea and its imperious leader, Kim Jong-un, have yet again hurled a threat to wipe South Korea and the United States off the face of the Earth with a nuclear strike.
Tom Purcell: Income Tax 101
Ah, the income tax preparation season is upon us.
David M. Shribman: On the lost art of letter-writing
He was getting older, he worried about losing his balance fishing on the end rocks, and his hearing was failing him. So was his short-term memory.
Gary Horton: More residents should find the Master Chorale
Think "inspiration." Think "spiritually beautiful." Think "melodically breathtaking."
Jim Mullen: Village Idiot
I know there are couples who enjoy cooking together and make it look like a well-rehearsed ballet. They savor the aroma of their secret recipe for wild salmon over lemon couscous, stir each other's soups and sample each other's sauces.
