Once again, the reporting of annual precipitation in today’s paper (Saturday, Jan. 30) is inaccurate. Yesterday, you reported annual precipitation of 2.47 inches as of Thursday at 3:56 p.m. We experienced well over an inch of rain Thursday evening and Friday morning. Yet, today you are reporting annual precipitation of 2.06 inches as of Friday afternoon. This is the third time in four months that I have brought inaccurate reporting of annual precipitation to your attention.
I know this is a minor issue in today’s world. But, if we can’t depend on The Signal to accurately report the little things, how can we trust your reporting of the big things? Like your reporting of COVID-19-related deaths in SCV on Jan. 26, when you reported a total of 190 deaths through Jan. 25, an increase of 26 deaths since Jan. 23, when you reported 164 deaths to date. This large of an increase in COVID-related deaths over a three-day span should have been front-page news. The fact that it wasn’t leads me to conclude that once again your tracking of accumulations, in this case COVID-related deaths, is inaccurate. Your readers expect and deserve better.
Kathy Slothour
Valencia
Editor’s note: We always strive for accuracy and unfortunately we sometimes make errors. Regarding the daily weather graphic, we have revised an internal procedure to prevent such errors from recurring. Regarding the COVID-19 death toll, the Jan. 26 spike was mostly indicative of an updating delay in L.A. County’s reporting of the death toll. Those updates aren’t necessarily provided in “real time,” so occasionally an update reflects an accumulation of data. We did, however, experience a period of about four weeks when the death toll in the SCV increased significantly. Thankfully, it has since tapered off.
