Archive By Section - Columnists
Jim Mullen: I’ve been dreaming of a lottery windfall
I won! I won! I won the lottery! Seven dollars on a $10 ticket. I'm taking it as a lump sum, not that they even asked my preference. Now I'm cleaning the living room so it won't look like a pigsty when the photographers arrive. I can't tell you how long I've dreamed of this moment. I am the original guy who never wins anything, but finally, all those years of buying lottery tickets each ...
Tom Purcell: Surviving, understanding the fiscal cliff
I'm not sure I have the energy to keep up." "Ah, yes, you speak of the latest self-created crisis in our government, what some refer to as the 'fiscal cliff.' If Congress and the president don't agree to new terms on spending and taxes, the Budget Control Act of 2011 will automatically go into effect." "And then the sky will fall?" "It won't be pretty. A number of tax breaks, such as the Bush tax ...
Kevin Buck: Tax policies should return to Clinton era
The 2012 election is now in the history books, and since history is written by the winners, the reality-based community victories will be recorded in textbooks for generations to come (Texas excepted).
Will Durst: The Top 10 comedic news stories of this year
First a disclaimer: The Top 10 Comedic News Stories of 2012 should not under any circumstances be confused with the Top 10 Legitimate News Stories of 2012.
Michael Reagan: We need to get America back to being No. 1
Help us, we're falling and we can't get up again. Once upon a time - in 1988 and 1998 to be exact - the United States was the best country for a baby to be born and raised in, at least according to The Economist magazine. But the 2013 edition of the magazine's "where-to-be-born" index has us down at No. 16 - tied with Germany and one spot ahead of the United Arab Emirates. Switzerland, ...
Steve Lunetta: Government pensions are slippery slope
Flying into Ronald Reagan International Airport outside Washington, D.C. is always fun. The prevailing winds blowing down the Potomac River collide with the calmer air over Virginia to make an entertaining swirl of choppy air when landing. What joy.
David Hegg: In search of intellectual honesty
While most have never heard of him, Thomas Nagel is at the center of a controversy that threatens to pull the curtain away from the great and terrible Oz of our day. I am speaking about the almost universally accepted belief that all of life - indeed, every element of the universe and all that exists in it - can be reduced to physical particles, themselves the product of physical processes guided by the principle of natural selection.
Frank Ferry: City celebrates this year’s accomplishments
It has been my honor to serve as your mayor for 2012, and as the year comes to a close, I wanted to share some of the city of Santa Clarita's accomplishments with you.
Tim Myers: From one boomburb to the next
The Santa Clarita City Council members - the wise stewards of the city or the puppets of a dictatorial city manager, depending upon one's point of view, if one even thinks about them at all - recently gave a hagiographic send-off to said alleged dictator Ken Pulskamp during his last meeting in the position before going off into the sunset of his retirement/next city manager job in Burbank.
Susan Stamper Brown: Secular humanists bid ‘A merry un-Christmas’
That "most wonderful time of the year" has arrived, and with it, most predictably, another round of attacks (yawn) by Secular Humanists doing their best to destroy the season by removing the Christ child from the creche.
Kevin Korenthal: Tax cuts can help the US economy
A majority of Americans voted to re-elect President Obama despite or maybe because of the economy. Doesn't that mean he should be allowed to put his signature economic policy into practice? Obama has long championed allowing the expiration of the Bush tax cuts on families earning more than $250,000 per year, plus additional tax hikes for that income level. All of this is intended to raise revenue to pay for spending and to reduce the ...
Rachelle Dardeau: Plenty of thanks to go around
The Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center was technically closed on Thanksgiving Day (and the following Friday), but it was abuzz with activity.
Jan Uberstine: Insurance freebies not so free
Today I got an E-pamphlet touting all the wonderful new benefits, such as "free" well-woman services, that my insurance now covers.
Jim Mullen: We went to the fiscal cliff; all I got was this stupid T-shirt
It seems we are about to fall off the "fiscal cliff." Didn't we already do that? What happened in 2007 and 2008 when the value of our homes got cut in half? What was that? A fiscal speed bump? A fiscal slap on the back of the head?
CORRECTION: Steve Lunetta: Modification affects many properties
Editor's note: Due to technical problems on our end, Steve Lunetta's column did not make it to The Signal in time for Monday publication. With apologies to Steve, we offer it up today.
Articles by Section - Columnists
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.
Tim Myers: Should the Santa Clarita City Council be elected by district?
On Nov. 3, 1987, a now-remarkable 25 percent to 30 percent of eligible voters in the area midwifed the city of Santa Clarita into existence, voting nearly 67 percent to 33 percent in favor of the formation of the city.
Marsha McLean: Live from City Hall
A strong retail environment is one of the foundations of a healthy economy and a strong community.
Scott Wilk: Teacher firing reform needed
As a father of two, I believe no one - particularly a child - should live in fear in his or her school or neighborhood. So one of my top priorities as your assemblyman is public safety.
Joe Gandelman: Sample some popular political whines
The phone rings in a big warehouse in Oriskiny Falls, N.Y.
