Archive By Section - Columnists
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.
David Hegg: The measure of success is significance
As the year nears its end, it is valuable to look back across the months and seasons to evaluate just how we have used the time given to us. Since life itself consists of a succession of moments, the most successful lives are those that use as many of those moments to accomplish what is good. But there's the rub. Just what is good? What defines success?
Tim Myers: Shooting sprees are rare but hit hard
"This kind of thing doesn't happen in Newtown." This statement came over and over again from local residents of the site of the elementary school massacre in Connecticut that occurred on Dec. 14, made to the general public much more disturbing because it happened in a "nice" place rather than the hellholes the public associates with violence and crime. I hearken back to a family vacation that we took during the summer of 2000 to ...
Marsha McLean: It’s never worth it to drink and then drive
During the holiday season, it is common to hear reminders about the perils of drinking and driving on the radio, TV or read it in the newspaper. It's a simple message that we all know and it's the message that, if taken to heart, has the power to save lives.
Alice Khosravy: Process still matters to county voters
The latest installment in the local tax debate rages on as the Los Angeles County supervisors attempt to pass the Clean Water, Clean Beaches Measure. The Clean Water, Clean Beaches Measure is described by proponents as "an extensive effort to protect public health, and increase drinking water supplies, by cleaning up our rivers, lakes, bays, beaches and coastal waters. Los Angeles County waterways have been found to be contaminated with toxins, trash and health-threatening pollutants ...
Charlie Vignola: What’s needed to pass gun control laws?
On the morning I learned about the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., I talked about the incident with a colleague of mine at work and actually cried. So did my colleague. We both have children in elementary school, so the very thought that this could easily have happened to our own kids really hit home.
Gary Horton: Reflect on ourselves to solve violence
"The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make his face to shine on you and be gracious to you; The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." - Numbers 6:24-26 And so ended our Sunday service with the reassurance that God will protect. Pressing toward our sanctuary's exit, an old-timer friend paused to shake my hand. This gentleman has been around a long time and in his long life he's ...
Articles by Section - Columnists
Peter Funt: Steal this video
Back in 1971 when the hippie revolution's Pied Piper, Abbie Hoffman, authored "Steal This Book," he got the very outrage he sought. Thirty publishing houses rejected it and, when the book finally came out, more than a dozen newspapers refused to print ads to promote it.
Kevin Buck: It's been a long and winding road
Over the course of a lifetime I have observed, joined, written about and learned much from political battles.
David Hegg: Ethically Speaking
The existence of evil in our world has been the grounds for some of the greatest questions we humans ever ask. Why did tragedy take the life of someone so young? Why did a stray bullet hit an innocent bystander? Why did my father die of Alzheimer's?
Kathryn Lopez: Abortion law ramifications frightening
In the face of the darkness that befell Newton, Conn., there has been an expectation of something more, but it doesn't have to do with legislation. Father Peter Cameron, a Dominican priest, preached to the families gathered at St. Rose of Lima Church there the Sunday after the school massacre about the hope that he saw in them.
Timothy Myers: What I like about the SCV
The die for the Myers clan is finally cast. This past week we made an offer on a home in Irvine, California.
Joe Gandelman: Why Mike Rice had to go
Retired professional basketball coach and former basketball player Phil Jackson once said: "Not only is there more to life than basketball, there's a lot more to basketball than basketball."
Marsha McLean: Live from City Hall
Santa Clarita's rich Western heritage takes center stage each year at the city's acclaimed Cowboy Festival. This year marks the 20th annual event, which attracts more than 10,000 visitors each year from all over the country and beyond.
Tom Purcell: Financial responsibility Obama-style
Get this: President Obama has proclaimed April as National Financial Capability Month.
Danny Tyree: R.I.P. Roxanne
Most likely, by the time you read this, one of my dearest family members has either died of natural causes or been euthanized.
Joe Messina: National Day of Prayer supports the SCV
An estimated 400 Santa Claritans will participate in the 2013 National Day of Prayer. This is the ninth year that an event has been hosted in our valley and I have served as its chairman.
Cary Quashen: Help for today, hope for tomorrow
April is National Alcohol Awareness Month, and this year's theme is "Help For Today, Hope For Tomorrow."
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.
