Archive By Section - Columnists
The Golden State is killing the golden goose
When I was about 10 years old, my parents taught me some very important lessons about the basics of money. You earn it, you pay taxes on it, you save some, you give some away, and you spend the rest.
It’s too easy to use and abuse the language of urban development
Politics fills itself with code language. We see it and will continue to see it in the current presidential campaign.
Are we an urban center, a bedroom community, a suburb, or something else?
What is Santa Clarita? A bedroom community? A suburb of Los Angeles? An urban center? I would argue that Santa Clarita is all of these things in part, and none of these things entirely.
July is 'Access Awareness Month'
This July, California observes Access Awareness Month to commemorate the 17th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Since its passage, progress has been made toward more accessible communities. Yet significant gaps in access persist, despite the efforts by many to comply.
To drill or not to drill?
On June 18 President Bush asked federal legislators to end the ban on offshore oil drilling. Even though this does not help our short-term national anxiety over the cost of gas at the pump, it is a way to obtain billions of barrels of our own oil. To drill or not to drill remains the question.
4-year-old’s sincerity not so sincere
My 4-year-old son hurt my feelings the other day. He said he wanted my wife to drive him to school. When I told him that I was going to take him, he said, "No! I don't want you to take me. I want Mommy."
High ozone levels endanger our valley
According to the Environmental Protection Agency's "Air Now" interactive Web site, Santa Clarita once again has some of the worst air pollution in the nation this month.
High ozone levels endanger our valley
According to the Environmental Protection Agency's "Air Now" interactive Web site, Santa Clarita once again has some of the worst air pollution in the nation this month.
Unbridled capitalism can falter
Republicans and conservatives flash their laissez-faire card whenever confronted with defending the purist characteristics of the ideal free-market economy.
Who to choose in the 19th District
As a more-than-casual observer of local and regional politics, there are few candidates who have impressed me more than Hannah-Beth Jackson, the Democratic candidate for state Senate in the 19th District.
Top 10 reasons to live in the SCV
It has almost been a year since I joined The Signal as publisher and made the Santa Clarita Valley my home once again. During the past 12 months, my family and I have come to love this valley and all the outstanding reasons that the SCV is one of the best places to live in the entire state - we can say this, having lived in many areas from northern California to San Diego.
You can avoid a tsunami of taxes
Recently former Assemblywoman and current 19th Senate District candidate Hanna-Beth Jackson made her first campaign foray into Santa Clarita and announced at a political rally, "This is the tsunami seat."
Summertime ‘rocks’ at Central Park!
Every year the city of Santa Clarita's Arts and Events Office produces and hosts a Summer Concerts in the Park series. Each year has a new theme, and this year's series is set to impress, as it will feature live cover and tribute bands.
Light the night for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
I've always considered the Fourth of July to be the demarcation line for the year. Half the year is gone, just half the year remains. I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful summer of fun. Time to relax, enjoy and take a break!
On column writing and censorship
I had an interesting exchange with one of The Signal's fairly regular columnists last week: He accused me of censorship.
Articles by Section - Columnists
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.
The Village Idiot: Plan the marriage first, then the wedding
"I got an email today," Mel told me. "Chardonnay and Jackson are splitting up. They only got married four months ago. It's so sad. I played guitar at their wedding."
SCV Voices: Special interests only ones to benefit from toll roads
I was reading the article last week about making the HOV lanes on the I-5 through Santa Clarita toll lanes ("Metro committee approves I-5 toll lanes in SCV," April 17).
Blame the bombers, and nothing else
We are fortunate that the Boston Marathon bombing manhunt rendered both radicalized 26-year-old Tamarlan Tsarnaev and his 19-year-old brother Dzhokar no longer any threat.
No television, no worries
Besides aliens with eyes in the back of their heads, a possible interracial baby mix-up at the maternity ward and "Bet he'll laugh if I say 'shoehorn,'" one of my most indelible memories of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" has proven strangely prophetic.
