Chill seekers take the polar plunge
January 4, 2025 2:31 pm
It’s safe to say that the month of January is well into the season of cold. On Saturday morning, at 51 degrees and with 10-mph winds, about 100 people took
Author: Michael Picarella
This author has written 515 articles
Michael Picarella
Michael Picarella is a features writer and general assignment reporter for The Signal. He joined the staff in Feb. 2022 and previously worked as a columnist, features writer and beat reporter for The Acorn newspaper group in northern Los Angeles and Ventura counties. He’s a graduate of the Academy of Art in San Francisco with a degree in screenwriting. Additionally, Picarella has written and directed two feature films, and he’s the author of two books, one being a collection of stories from his award-winning family humor column, “Family Men Don’t Wear Name Brands.” Email him at [email protected].
Faces of the SCV: Nurse takes long way to the right job
January 3, 2025 5:05 pm
This particular patient had been in the hospital for a while. He was unhappy. He lived alone at home, and his family was not local, and so, he had no
Henry Mayo welcomes first baby of 2025
January 1, 2025 5:36 pm
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia welcomed its first baby of the year at 10:54 a.m. on Wednesday, hospital officials said. According to Patrick Moody, Henry Mayo’s director of marketing
Faces of the SCV: Valencia man shifts rear projection into high gear
December 27, 2024 4:16 pm
There’s a scene from the 1980 comedy film “Airplane!” that utilizes what Hollywood calls rear projection. Actors Robert Stack and Craig Berenson are in a moving car. But the car
Hart High dinner and winter wonderland worth the wait
December 23, 2024 3:13 pm
People started lining up at 3 p.m. on Thursday for the 5 o’clock start. Around 600 members of the community showed up Thursday at Hart High School in Newhall for
Two employers honored for work with ‘Yes I Can’
December 23, 2024 1:13 pm
As outgoing state Sen. Scott Wilk was wrapping up his Senate duties, he honored two local employers as part of National Disability Awareness Month. Laurent Jouvin, CEO of Migrate Sound
Festividad event offers gifts, goodies and Christmas cheer
December 22, 2024 12:08 pm
Faith Community Church hosted its 19th annual “Festividad for Christ” celebration Saturday on their campus in Santa Clarita. Hundreds of people from the community were taking part in free lunch,
Lights, camera, SCIFF in year 4
December 21, 2024 10:22 am
The Santa Clarita International Film Festival has progressively gotten better each year since its inception in 2021, according to Lisa deSouza, founder and executive director of SCIFF. The fourth annual
Wilk reflects on decades of public service
December 20, 2024 5:26 pm
Scott Wilk was reading the newspaper at 11 years old. His family would look back at those years and tease him, calling him the “regional Alex P. Keaton,” a reference
Smyth: ‘Serving was an honor’
December 19, 2024 4:42 pm
He grew up with an older brother and older kids in the neighborhood. When playing sports, he had to fight to be picked for a team. Former Santa Clarita Mayor
Young Newhall native’s startup tackles biggest challenge in AI
December 14, 2024 12:47 pm
In a 7th-grade speech class, Cyril Gorlla was one of many students to speak about something he was passionate about. His classmates shared their favorite sports teams, movies and food.
Faces of the SCV: Midwife finds her purpose
December 13, 2024 5:26 pm
Valencia resident Renee Sicignano was volunteering at a hospital in Haiti when a young girl came in — she was probably 14 years old and about 24 to 26 weeks
Holiday magic comes to Carousel Ranch
December 13, 2024 10:27 am
Carousel Ranch’s western town off Rocking Horse Road in Santa Clarita became Santa’s Village on Saturday, complete with Santa’s Workshop, a sweet shoppe, roaming Christmas carolers, a balloon sculptor, and
Santa Claus comes to Canyon Country
December 13, 2024 10:04 am
The community got a chance to wake up last weekend to have breakfast with Santa, play Christmas games, do Christmas arts and crafts, ride a Christmas train and take pictures
Nerds of a feather: Comics Don McMillan, Fritz Coleman and Randy Lubas coming to COC
December 11, 2024 5:29 pm
Once Santa Clarita resident Don McMillan appeared on “America’s Got Talent” in 2022, the “nerd crowd,” he said, really came out of the woodwork, even after he’d been doing comedy
Remembrance program shines a light for children who died too young
December 9, 2024 4:00 pm
She said she could only read the words to “Beside Me Always” at her son’s funeral 32 years ago. She wrote the song about her child. At the time, however,
Area film historian and archivist shares history, stories of Hollywood
December 9, 2024 11:48 am
Film historian, author and archivist Marc Wanamaker said he brought actor Robert Downey Jr. out to Fillmore during the making of the 1992 film “Chaplin.” Downey Jr. is said to
Longtime resident hits 90 — with a few bumps along the way
December 8, 2024 4:26 pm
Longtime Newhall resident Don Hoffman celebrated his 90th birthday on Friday afternoon at the Don Redding Museum in Newhall. Hoffman, a member of the Burbank Road Kings since 1955 and
Faces of the SCV: Local man gives families sports memories he never had
December 6, 2024 4:19 pm
He has no photographs of himself playing sports as a kid. That’s one reason why Canyon Country resident Anthony Marrow might go to about 10 games a week — basketball
Threat prompts local state officials, staff to evacuate Capitol
December 6, 2024 4:09 pm
A Friday morning threat prompted officials to evacuate the California state Capitol and nearby office buildings, according to state representatives. Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, said she was in Sacramento at