Archive By Section - Columnists
Ed and Joan Dunn: Water plan is repeating bad precedent
Regarding "Valencia Water Co. buy approved" (Dec. 13), $73.8 million paid to Newhall Land Development/Lennar in a special meeting with only 24-hour notice just before the holidays! What ever happened to transparent and honest government?
Salvage the future with ‘we’ not ‘me’
One of the happier perks of my community columnist gig is reviewing comments posted by readers on the Signal website. One reader recently lamented that since congressmen are spineless economic illiterates, it falls on American media and even such humble people as Signal columnists to sort out our problems and identify needed solutions.
Charlie Vignola: New year, new start for the GOP?
Well, it's New Year's Day - and if I were still a member of the Republican party, as I was back in the '80s, it couldn't come fast enough, as I'd be hoping that 2013 would be better for my party than 2012.
Steve Lunetta: Some 2013 resolutions to consider
As usual on New Year's Eve, the offices of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy stand empty as the staff has left for their homes to prepare for the evening festivities.
David Hegg: 5 suggestions for your 2013
As we venture into a new year, we all have hopes that 2013 will bring a certain level of satisfaction to our lives and our world. Here are five suggestions for doing your part to make it so:
Tim Myers: University woos students out of state
The complete college experience is $20,000 per year, approximately the current cost of a California State University education, split about $8,000 in tuition and fees and about $12,000 for campus room and board.
Frank Ferry: The Drug Free Youth In Town program
When high school and junior high school kids across the Santa Clarita Valley returned to their campuses this year after summer break, they were introduced to a brand-new anti-drug campaign: DFYIT, which stands for Drug Free Youth In Town.
Tammy Messina: Lack of jobs not state’s only problem
Just a couple of weeks ago, our California state senators and assemblymen were sworn into office for the upcoming year. I doubt many people tuned in to see that event. It happens during the week in the middle of the workday. Our elected representatives take the oath of office, and there a few votes taken to set up the leadership structure. And, of course, there are a few speeches.
Kevin Bayona: Recommit America to Afghan war
Does anyone remember the war in Afghanistan? In October 2001 I was living in Connecticut and I can still remember when President Bush ordered the invasion. I supported the campaign in Afghanistan then, and I still do today. Afghanistan was never just about destroying terrorist camps and killing Osama Bin Laden, but rather the political and economic transformation of a diseased part of world. Sadly, I think many Americans have lost faith in our efforts. ...
Sharon Lajer: Preserving the heart of homeownership
"Home is where the heart is." "A man's home is his castle." "There's no place like home."
Jami Davis: Support the Violence Against Women Act
Unfortunately, with the impending "fiscal cliff" disaster taking front and center on the national media stage, fleeting attention has been paid to the imminent doom of a groundbreaking bipartisan piece of legislation intended to protect victims of intimate partner violence.
Gary Horton: Conservative Congress betrays U.S.
No price is too high to pay to protect our school kids," says Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association. No price of course, except sensible controls limiting unfettered proliferation of semi-automatic weaponry.
Jonathan Kraut: Culture of violence must be changed
I debated whether my Christmas Day message to you should discuss something as terrible as the deaths of the innocent. Today is a day to celebrate our faith, family, the offering and receiving of gifts and of hope for a better tomorrow.
Steve Lunetta: Now we can celebrate Christmas
If you are reading this, the end of the world did not happen last Friday. All the predictions about the end of the world were false and erroneous. All of this happened because of a stone shortage.
Howard ‘Buck’ McKeon: Congrats on city’s 25th
Last week, our hometown celebrated a remarkable milestone, our 25th anniversary. Santa Clarita has grown from a small, unincorporated town into a thriving city and one of the best places to live and do business in California. We have become a place where businesses can grow, families can safely raise their children and all can enjoy an exceptional quality of life.
Articles by Section - Columnists
Ken Blum: Is bad news good news?
It's the most common reader complaint, heard throughout the history of hometown newspapers. Benjamin Franklin got an earful as publisher of the Philadelphia Gazette. You probably heard it yesterday.
Steve Lunetta: Faith-based discrimination at CSU sites
Have you ever been driving in a car and find yourself drowsy? We've all done it.
David Hegg: This is why discipline matters
Our English language has many words whose forms remain the same even though the context changes their meaning.
Tim Myers: An older person's journey
Nate Silver, the sage oracle hero of all number-crunchers like myself, recently posted several fascinating blog entries about polled attitudes on same-sex marriage and the changes in those attitudes since 1996, when Congress enacted and President Bill Clinton signed into law the Defense of Marriage Act.
Kevin Bayona: US should not be ashamed of its recent wars
Forgive me for not writing sooner about the 10-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, which was March 19. I found myself engaged in deep reflection over what the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan really mean and where they fall within the spectrum of American history.
George Runner: State can't tax itself into prosperity
Last year California voters approved two tax increases aimed at bringing billions more dollars into state coffers.
Joe Guzzardi: Here we go again, immigrants to march on D.C.
Here we go again. On April 10, thousands of illegal immigrants and their lobbyists will gather on the National Mall to support an immigration reform bill that the Senate is expected to introduce this month.
Danny Tyree: Cyborg-bugs and robo-rats
Salon.com recently ran excerpts of Emily Anthes's book "Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up To Biotech's Brave New Beasts," and I may never look at national security the same way again.
Jonathan Kraut: Signs of spring
As warmer weather approaches, there are some tips that I might offer to help you save your hard-earned money, precious resources, and make your home and family safer.
Richard Hood: Confession: It was I who cut down the tree
I cannot tell a lie. It was I who chopped down the tree.
Susan Stamper Brown: Camps, clinics and selective ignorance
In a cold and snowy day in January a few years ago, I took a guided tour through the Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany.
Phil Kerpen: Repeal the mandate tax
With more than 2,000 pages of legislative text and more than 20,000 pages of regulations so far, most Americans can't possibly know all the details of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
David Hegg: The Value of Valuing Something
About 10 years ago I officiated a wedding for two young people entering into marriage for the first time. It was a big deal, with a proper venue, pictures, and lots of family and friends in attendance. But for me it was very different from any I had done before.
Rick Jensen: Politicians in both parties need some class
Republican Mike Gmoser, the country prosecutor in Butler County, Ohio, wasted taxpayers' time and money by charging Pennsylvania's winter-predicting groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, with "misrepresentation of early spring."
Peter Funt: Taken in by April Fools
he calendar says Monday is April 1, but lately it seems that foolishness occurs year-round.
