Archive By Section - Columnists
Let's make the proper comparison
Last month the California Department of Public Instruction released revised numbers revealing the dropout rate of public and charter schools within the state.
Drilling best way out of oil crisis
There is a huge debate over drilling for additional oil right now that is confusing at best. The opposition to this idea seems to say that the additional oil won't meet our entire need quickly enough. Maybe we should think about it like this: Say you have 100 homeless in your town, but you only have shelter for 25. Would you not let any use the shelter because you could not satisfy the total demand? ...
Take a night out of crime Tuesday in Santa Clarita
Imagine a night when the entire nation could come together to stand up against crime. If only for one night out of the year, this united front would cause crime rates to drop, morale and people's sense of security would increase, and the nation as a whole would seem like a safer place.
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
"You wanna go on something really fast and really scary?" I asked my 4-year-old son during a recent trip to Disney's California Adventure Park. He seemed to think that every ride we rode at the park was too slow and too boring. So I wanted to excite him.
NAFTA reform needed to protect environment
Recently SCOPE voted to support Congressman Howard "Buck" McKeon's HR 5887 legislation to buy out the Cemex mine lease. Such an action is certainly no surprise.
Obama: Media idol or inspirational leader?
This past Sunday, budding Signal cartoonist, Ryan Metlen penned a pithy ditty intending to mock the much ballyhooed and bemoaned "press worship" of Democratic candidate Barack Obama.
Proposition 13 needs revision
When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced Gray Davis after the recall election five years ago, he promised that he would keep his solemn oath to the voters that he would end deficit spending.
On public trust and being involved
A rash of unethical and inappropriate behavior by our elected leaders that has been reported in the national press over the past few years has contributed to an erosion of confidence by the American public in the institution of government.
A matter of minutes is all it takes for a child to die
Residents of our Golden State know that when the summer months arrive, temperatures can easily exceed 100 degrees. The hot summer days can literally bake vehicles sitting in the sun.
Samuel Dixon board installation is good fun
It's been a grand two weeks back as features editor of The Signal and I've loved every minute of it. Thanks to all for your good wishes and kind comments about my new column "glamour" mug shot.
Life truly based in Judeo-Christian ethics works well
"Personal Responsibility": An Excuse to Not Take Personal Responsibility? - The Signal Editorial Section July 27, 2008 Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?" Jesus said, "You're asking the wrong question. You're asking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do. We need to be ...
Ending selfishness really begins with good parenting
Responsibility: A detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, Luck or one's neighbor
Do you want the good news first, or the bad?
If you wanted to, you could wear out the "bad-news-good-news" cliché while discussing water in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Next president could re-align the Supreme Court
Awhile ago, I wrote an article entitled "Supreme Court direction." I think that I was at least somewhat prophetic in regard to three recent Supreme Court decisions, two of which leaned to the left.
July news from the Picarella household
Election heats up As my son's first day of kindergarten nears, nobody can clearly say who will win dibs on that first goodbye kiss. My wife's campaign to the kiss is going strong with support from as far as her uncle in South Carolina. My support doesn't leave the state, but it might be enough to garner that first smooch on Wednesday, Aug. 13. "I just want to kiss Mommy and Daddy," said my son ...
Articles by Section - Columnists
Jason Stanford: The revised legacy of George W. Bush
New polls show that George W. Bush is not as unpopular now as when he left office. That bodes well for a public examination of his legacy, but it's difficult to look back on his presidency as something other than a preventable catastrophe.
The Village Idiot: Tv or no TV?
Remember when TV used to sign off for the night? No infomercials, no reruns, no experimental public-access foolishness - nothing at all but snow. Or, if you were lucky, a test pattern.
Tina Dupuy: The Theory of Relative Laziness
My working theory - you could call it a philosophy, or a freestanding reason of how the world works - is what I call the Theory of Relative Laziness.
Charlie Vignola: America worried about the wrong things
America has always had a propensity to whip itself into a frenzy about the wrong things, but seldom has it been so clear as it has been the last few weeks, particularly in the wake of the Boston Marathon Bombings.
Danny Tyree: R.I.P. George Jones
Editor's note: The following column ran in 2006 marking the 75th birthday of George Jones. The longtime country singer died Friday at age 81 and will be remembered at a public memorial Thursday at The Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.
David Hegg: The need for adversity
We're all familiar with the old saying "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." It is often used to remind us that most really important things in life come with adversity built in.
Donna Brazile: Accountability needed
In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, lawmakers are demanding answers from the FBI. They want answers not only about the Tsarnaev brothers - Did they act alone? Why did the do it? - but also about our security and intelligence operations.
Timothy Myers: Gearing up for a chloride war
One of my favorite tales of Santa Clarita political lore involves former Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, and I happen to know that it actually occurred.
Bob Kellar: Live from City Hall
With more than 1,100 businesses small and large, the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce represents tens of thousands of local jobs and employees and is Santa Clarita's premier business membership organization.
Phil Kerpen: Obama’s FAA harm offensive
If sequestration happens and nobody feels it, does it have a political impact?
Kathryn Lopez: Real questions in evil's wake
Martin Richard's life ended as he waited at the Boston Marathon finish line on a local holiday. He was there to celebrate his dad's victory with his family.
Tom Purcell: Fighting for the America we want it to be
I listened to a Frank Sinatra tune this week - "The House I Live In" - and enjoyed a renewed desire to fight on.
Joe Gandelman: Was Twitter for the birds?
When James French became the last person to be executed in 1966 under Oklahoma's death penalty law, he uttered these famous last words (no joke) that quickly belong to the ages: "Hey fellas," he shouted to reporters there to witness his electrocution. "How about this for a headline for tomorrow's paper? 'French Fries!'"
Dick Polman: Bombing is lame excuse to halt immigration reform
Conservatives have been desperately trying to halt the bipartisan momentum for path-to-citizenship immigration reform, and, thanks to the Boston bombing, they think they've finally found the perfect (phony) argument: Fear of foreign terrorism.
Gary Horton: Lobbyists are at the root of our violent culture
After the Brothers Tsarnaev blew their lids and went on their Boston pressure-cooker bombing spree, it wasn't surprising that sooner or later unregistered, illegally obtained guns and rifles would show up in the bloody mix.
