Archive By Section - Columnists
‘News briefs’ from the Picarella household
Parents suspect two 4-year-olds are an item Earlier this month, teachers and students reported that my 4-year-old son and one of his female classmates were dating. "The two of them were caught together in the tunnel slide sharing a moment of passion," said a teacher, who asked to remain anonymous. "It seems they were sharing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, something they're both passionate about." Both my 4-year-old and the girl denied the alleged ...
Democrats are putting us on a tax roller coaster
I used to like roller coasters. When I was a kid, we could ride for hours and not be fazed one little bit. On one visit to a thinly-attended Disneyland, we rode Space Mountain 17 times in a row. Seventeen times. On a full stomach.
Year-round fun in your backyard and beyond
'Tis the perfect summer for camping. The Great American Backyard Campout, sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation, is coming up Saturday night. Last year more than 42,000 people participated in this low-key introduction to camping. Recipes, packing lists, nighttime wildlife guides and more are available at www.backyardcampout.org.
Messing with Mother Nature, and paying for it
Don't mess with mother nature." This common colloquialism, often said with a knowing chuckle, becomes all too real and serious after major storms such as the current flooding in the Midwest. These rains were unusual but not unprecedented, with similar flooding occurring as recently as 1993.
Developing the idea of county reform
It is a little more than six months since I asked the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to convene a convention of stakeholders to discuss fundamental county government reform. During that time many have asked me what I propose.
One drop of blood in every gallon
After an absence of 36 years, the big Western oil companies are back in Iraq. You might have missed the news story last week. A very big thing, but announced without fanfare for reasons of "sensitivity and security." Thirty-six years after losing their half-century-old Iraq oil concession, Exxon-Mobil, Shell, Chevron, and British Petroleum are again returning to Iraq to service that nation's war-crippled oil industry. Back in the day, these "majors," as they are called, ...
Don’t trust a gambler this fall
We the electorate cast our votes for those running for office for various reasons: Often, our votes are issued in support of ideals; to promote specific issues; in response to a positive public relations campaign; or even simply by what our gut tells us about a candidate. Often, especially in American politics, some of the electorate cast ballots as a vote against an opposing candidate as well. This "negative vote" may help defeat a candidate ...
Same-sex unions: Yes, they will hurt marriage
Defenders of the same-sex marriages that began this month in California have repeatedly claimed the new definition of marriage will in no way hurt male-female marriages. Even the state Supreme Court decision paving the way for these June weddings declared its move would not deprive any male-female couple "of any of the rights and benefits conferred by the marriage statutes."
No June gloom for you — how hot will it get?
It's been a scorcher in the Santa Clarita Valley the past few days. I just returned from a vacation on Whidbey Island, Wash. where the high temperature averaged 57. It was a brutal return to reality and a nearly 50 degree temperature difference when I landed at the airport in Burbank. SCV Boys and Girls Club Auction
Russert's death a tragic loss
Tim Russert's sudden cardiac demise is tragic on many levels. He'll never experience another Christmas, tailgate party, Buffalo Bills game, or Springsteen concert alongside his adored son Luke.
Extreme neighborhood makeover
Neighborhoods. They are the fabric of our society. Who can't remember his or her neighborhood growing up, and most likely the names of the families who lived in the houses on that block. Ask any kid how far of a walk it is to his or her best friend's house, or where's a great place to ride bikes, and chances are you'll get a precise answer.
School's out for summer -- do you have your passport?
Local teens looking for something to do this summer may only need to look as far as City Hall to find not only a fun public transportation option but also a list of local businesses that are providing discounts. The city of Santa Clarita's Transit division has teamed up this summer with local businesses to offer students a Summer Bus Passport for the month of July. The Passport is a new student bus pass with ...
The Scott McClellan imbroglio
The noise made by Scott McClellan's recently released book only slightly surprises me - the slight part being attributed to the fact that I never saw him as a snake, merely as an incompetent. And I so advised the president in a letter I wrote him in March 2006, a copy of which is the focal point of this column:
The giant, looming, six-foot ‘B’
It was 10 a.m. on a Tuesday morning in July. I was already eating lunch - a roast beef sandwich at Skip's Deli down on 11th Street. They made the best coleslaw at Skip's, and I was sure not to spill any of it on myself. I was wearing a lime leisure suit with a gold chain around my neck, with white athletic socks and white tennis shoes on my feet. I was everything a ...
Why we need a development monitoring system
Just look around you. Our schools are overcrowded - or in the case of Castaic High School, not yet built - and students from new housing developments must be bused all over the valley to find classrooms. The huge office expansion proposed for the Newhall hospital complex may not have an adequate sewer trunk line to support it, nor do the nearby streets have the capacity to handle so much increased traffic. The 13-story high-rise ...
Articles by Section - Columnists
Frank Ferry:Live from City Hall
The city of Santa Clarita's annual Teen Scene Unplugged is back, but with a new name and theme for local teens and parents.
Tim Myers: A decline in enrollment hits the SCV
When we moved to the SCV in 1996, the big educational news of that time revolved around over-strained elementary and secondary school facilities.
Danny Tyree: Taking a break from the pollsters
According to a Politico story titled "GOP Looks For Answers," the National Republican Congressional Committee is taking major steps to prevent a repeat of the misleading poll results that embarrassed the party in the 2012 election cycle.
Joe Guzzardi: The Gang of Eight backs off amnesty
The Senate's notorious Gang of Eight, a small cadre of amnesty advocates who hope to pressure Congress into passing disastrous immigration reform legislation, has developed a new game plan.
Alice Khosravy: Signs of life emerge in California GOP
Each year people across the country wait for Groundhog Day and hope that spring will come early.
Steve Lunetta: Dirty deeds done for dirt cheap
One of the strangest songs ever written by the Young brothers and Bonn Scott was a little ditty that talked about a gentleman who was willing to do anything for a small fee.
Gary Horton: Helmets may not be cool but staying alive is
Just put a lid on it!
Kevin Buck: A Whig and a prayer for understanding
From the early 1830s until 1852 - when they refused to re-nominate Millard Filmore, their own incumbent president - the Whig Party was a dominant political force in America.
Steve Lunetta: Obama's new folly
The irony is astounding. The sequestration plan that appears to be a machination by President Obama's White House is now coming back to haunt him big time.
Edward Headington: Last call to release the Kraken!
Apple pie, "Bye Bye Birdie" and Beverly Cleary are all things most Americans would admit to liking. You could also throw in DVRs, shorter commutes and the warm-and-fuzzy title of the proposed "Clean Water, Clean Beaches" measure before county property owners.
David Hegg: Ethically Speaking
For several years between my graduate studies and my first ministry position I was in the corporate world. Providing for my family while serving as a lay minister meant being immersed in the world of business. I owned and ran a small business, transitioned to a home office marketing position in a multi-state financial institution, and ended up as a sales manager for a national company.
Donna Brazile: Demand to know, 'Where's the beef?'
In an iconic commercial, two old ladies, after looking inside a nearly empty hamburger bun, demand of the hapless fast-food clerk, "Where's the beef?" The phrase expresses outrage at false advertising - pretending there's something of substance in the sandwich when there's really nothing there.
Laurene Weste: Live from City Hall
One of the hallmarks of our city is its commitment to sustainability, state-of-the-art recycling and diversion programs, and community support to work together for the environment.
Tim Myers: A lesson in the industry of self preservation
I would commend to anyone with an ironic sense of humor the cable TV series "Portlandia," from the minds of Fred Armisen of Saturday Night Live and Carrie Brownstein of indie music fame.
Helen Harwood: SCV Voices
I do wish sometimes that some of your regular contributors to The Signal's Letters to the Editor would spend less time writing unsubstantiated clichés and more time reading up on economics.
