I was sitting in my office this week thinking of the Top 10 news stories of the year for 2019 — the stories are scheduled to run in a special section of The Signal on Tuesday.
As I was thinking of the stories, I kept thinking about how eventful a year this was. It was a year full of news and controversy. Everything from a tragic shooting to our congresswoman resigning, and The Signal reported it all.
The Signal is more than just our valley’s newspaper of record, It’s the center of our village, the place where residents of the Santa Clarita Valley can keep tabs on each other and check in with our neighbors to see how were doing.
I also thought of all the editorials we wrote, and the hundreds of guest columns and letters we published during the year.
Many of the letters agreed with our editorials: and many disagreed.
The people we exposed and embarrassed in our news coverage and editorial commentary got angry with us. They attacked us and accused us of being biased or just plain wrong.
If a proper reporter does his job well, he is occasionally going to upset someone, and sooner or later, Everyone.
No one here at The Signal likes writing a story that might hurt someone. But it’s our job, and when we have to do it, we do — and we do it well.
We take great care to make sure we get it right, because we know the impact we have on our community. We also allow for all opinions to be aired so you can make up your own mind, independently with all of the information and viewpoints.
We argue about land deals and solar panels, because we all care about our community and take pride in how it looks.
We argue about gravel mines and mudslides because we care about public safety and quality of life.
We even argue about impeachment and politics, but in the end we do come together, as evidenced by the entire community pulling together to mourn the tragic shooting at Saugus High School and the displaced people and property loss of the Tick Fire.
We come together to help “Our Own” like no other community I’ve ever seen.
From the residents who donate food and money to people who may or may not have a roof over their head, to the movers and shakers who give money at fancy soirees to fight on behalf of any number of causes, we are a community that cares.
Santa Clarita has the best volunteers, charities and nonprofit organizations of any place in the world.
Need to help our seniors? We’ll raise the money to help them, need more hospital beds? We raise the money to build them.
Need to deter a teenager from drug or alcohol abuse? We have a program for them.
Yes, we have our disagreements, but the Christmas spirit is alive and well in the Santa Clarita Valley, and in many ways, it’s with us all year round.
I’m proud of everyone here at The Signal for being a part of the miracle of putting out a daily newspaper.
I want to extend the season’s greetings to my Signal family, to our loyal advertisers, and above all to you, our readers.
We’re here for you, whether it’s to keep you apprised of the doings at City Hall or to promote your next charity fund-raiser.
The entire staff here at The Signal joins me in wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah and a prosperous and healthy New Year.
Richard Budman is owner and publisher of The Signal.
