When Signal Owner/Publisher Richard Budman and I started talking about the “Top 10” stories that shaped the year 2020, my first response was only half-joking: “COVID-19. COVID-19. COVID-19. COVID-19, COVID-19…”
Indeed, the coronavirus and the disease it causes dominated headlines, and every facet of life, more so than just about any story in memory. COVID-19, hands down, was THE story of the past year. It touched every aspect of the news, from politics, to business, to sports, to education, to social unrest.
In this special section, we are taking a look back at 10 stories that shaped 2020. It’s not a ranking, per se — but somehow COVID-19 intersects with all of them. Heck, there’s even a COVID-19 tie-in to the long-running dispute over the proposed CEMEX sand and gravel mine in Soledad Canyon.
It’s been a difficult year, to say the least. Through it all, we’ve seen the tragedy of the impacts of COVID-19 on individuals, families and businesses. We’ve seen loss of life — tragically, more than 100 members of our community have succumbed to COVID-19 — and we’ve also seen that familiar Santa Clarita Valley resilience. Some of my favorite stories from this past year were about neighbor helping neighbor, as we all struggled to get through one of the most difficult time periods we’ve ever encountered.
In the pages that follow, we invite you to look back with us on 2020, a year like no other, and we wish all Signal readers a Happy New Year and a safe, happy, healthy and prosperous 2021.
— Tim Whyte, Editor, The Signal
