SANTA CLARITA, California – Women in this southern California suburb joined thousands at the Los Angeles Women’s March last weekend still elated over November’s midterm election victory by their new representative in Congress, political newcomer Katie Hill. Two days later, some of the marchers had even more cause for celebration, when one of their senators, Kamala Harris, announced that she was seeking the Democratic nomination for president, becoming the fourth woman to launch a 2020 White Hou

The entertainment industry is often prone to self-puffery. It’s a business where the term “legend” is overused and, in more instances than not, precedes the names of many artists undeserving of such an accolade. Judy Collins is not one of them. In a career spanning six decades, Collins has cast an indelible imprint on the sound and soul of both folk music and rock ‘n’ roll. One of the travesties of her industry is that she’s yet to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. No matter. Sh

SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA — On a blisteringly hot Saturday morning in June, 10 days after 30-year-old Katie Hill emerged as the Democratic party’s candidate to unseat Republican Steve Knight for California’s 25th Congressional district, dozens of her supporters gathered at the campaign’s cramped headquarters in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Clarita to prepare for a massive voter registration drive. This last remaining GOP bastion in Los Angeles County (the district also includes parts of Ventu

ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA — Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) likely knew the odds were against him when he announced his retirement in early January. The 13-term Orange County congressman was re-elected with 57 percent of the vote in 2016, but his largely Republican constituency also voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump by 9 percentage points. When Royce indicated that he would not be running for another term, the Cook Political Report re-categorized the race in California’s 39th district as “lean D

FRESNO, CALIFORNIA — On a balmy February evening, nearly 150 volunteers gathered in a small office park in California’s Central Valley, home to the North Fresno field office of Democratic congressional candidate Andrew Janz. Most have never been actively involved in politics, but they believe the 34-year-old Fresno County Deputy District Attorney has what it takes to unseat their congressman, Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, and turn California’s 22nd congressional district from red-to-blue. While p

Let’s forget for a moment names in the news like Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, Anita Hill, Christine Blasey Ford, or Deborah Ramirez. Let’s talk about an even bigger – more important – issue: there aren’t enough women holding elected office in America. The paradigm needs to shift. Now. It doesn’t matter whether you’re Republican, conservative, Democrat, liberal, Democratic Socialist… whatever. If you’re a woman and you’ve ever remotely entertained the idea of run

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s recent warning to the United Nations Security Council that civil unrest in Nicaragua poses a threat to the stability of Central America may have set the stage for Donald J. Trump’s “Wag the Dog” moment. The reference is made to a 1997 movie about a U.S. president embroiled in a sex scandal who attempts to save his presidency by staging a fake war in a country far from American soil. The idea of this president attempting to divert the American people’s attention fr

During WWII, when the communist government of Joseph Stalin joined the United States and Great Britain in their battle against Nazi Germany, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill observed, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Somehow the interpretation of this message has been lost in translation for President Trump. He’s turned friends into enemies and enemies into friends. The gnawing question continues to be why? The Russians meddled into our elections. Our intelligence agencies have ma

From the moment he took office, President Trump has repeatedly experienced buyer’s remorse. In the last week, the president has undermined a key member of his administration and reversed course on his own foreign and economic policies. This should come as no surprise. It’s standard operating procedure for the Trump White House. President Trump promised to “Make America Great Again” and to put America first. By acting in a wishy-washy manner, he demonstrates he is incapable of doing either. On

Every candidate for office makes promises. Only the truly ignorant attempt to keep each and every one once elected. There is a learning curve in politics. Many Republican leaders acknowledged that in the aftermath of each presidential faux pas made in the early days of the Trump administration. After the president put our relationship with fellow NATO members in jeopardy last year, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was "willing to kind of chalk that up to a rookie mistake." Speak

During the last decade, the number of small businesses winning prime government contracts has declined by 25 percent. To level the playing field for companies seeking those contracts, OST Global Solutions  partners Olessia Smotrova and David Huff launched GovCon Incubator. “Fewer small businesses competing for prime federal contracts is unhealthy,” Smotrova says. “The better we can equip companies to enter and successfully compete in the federal market, the more the government and taxpayers ben

Backlash over a recent opinion piece denouncing two local radio personalities took a political turn this week. Democratic congressional candidate Bryan Caforio blasted “Hometown Station” KHTS talk show hosts Dave Goss and Sean Griffin in Tuesday’s issue of The Signal, leveling charges that their program promulgates and normalizes hate speak and extremism in the Santa Clarita Valley. Without referring to either of the hosts or the station by name, Caforio castigated the two after they criticized

Methane leaks at Southern California Gas Company’s Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility may not have been limited to the San Fernando Valley community of Porter Ranch. Aliso Canyon is a hop, skip and a jump over Pico, East and Rice Canyons to the south of the Santa Clarita Valley; and the environmental impact of the leak could have implications for its residents as well. In October, 2015, the facility accidentally released the largest methane gas leak in U.S. history. Over 100,000 metric t

When Rep. Steve Knight cast his ballot for Donald J. Trump in last November’s presidential election, it’s unlikely he had imagined he’d be casting his fate to the wind. While stating emphatically throughout the campaign that he would support neither Mr. Trump nor former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Knight did what millions of Americans do come Election Day: He voted the party line. Equivocation has long been part of the political process and it was no different for Rep. Knight when he wa

Cannabis cultivation is raking in the green for a growing number of California communities. In the City of Santa Clarita, however, a moratorium that has been in effect since last December has delayed any serious consideration of cannabis-related businesses within the city limits until the end of this year. Officials have made clear, however, that no matter what conclusion they reach, approval of retail dispensaries is highly unlikely. While California voters got behind legalization of medical m

Development of the Walt Disney Company’s Golden Oak Ranch studio complex in Placerita Canyon was given the green light by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors nearly four years ago. The City of Santa Clarita was supportive, the community was supportive, but since plans were approved in August, 2013 ground has yet to be broken. After repeated attempts to find out why, Disney did not return calls to provide an answer. The hold-up has mystified residents and community leaders who were wooed by an