As many of you know I have not been a fan of the so-called local newspaper of record, The Signal, for a number of years. Oh don’t get me wrong, the Signal was a great paper 30 years ago when I first moved into the Santa Clarita Valley. It was the local community newspaper and was quite relevant back then. It was in fact frequently referred to by some as the watchdog of the Valley.

Unfortunately, about the only thing that is relevant these days is maybe the Signal’s local sports coverage. That, however, does not make a good paper though; what does make a good community paper is solid reporting of local stories, reliable facts and unshakable integrity.

After reading the Signal editorial last week; “Our View: Look out for criminally misleading junk mail”, (The Signal has since written an apology on how they messed up on this one!) it is my opinion that the local paper of record has sunk to a new low by effectively making up a story where none exists. Not only that, they wrote a fictitious op-ed piece around it that smears all the City Council candidates except the incumbents.

The commentary starts out by claiming; “In the near future, you will open your mailbox and there, screaming at you from an obnoxious piece of junk mail, will be Tuesday’s Signal headline, “Crime on the rise in SCV,” complete with the subtext: “2009 saw increase in reports of several serious crimes…” There is no basis for this capricious statement; no facts to support it whatsoever.

Yet the editorial board goes onto say that; “It will have come from a disingenuous Santa Clarita City Council candidate who wants you to think the incumbents in the April 13 election are responsible for a rash of crimes that supposedly beset our fair city.” Where is the evidence for such a false and misleading statement? There is none!

There is no evidence to support a completely bogus claim that disparages all the Council candidates in one swipe while shielding and praising the incumbents. If that isn’t evidence enough that the papers editorial board is firmly in the back pocket of the City then you have to read more.

The editorial continues by advising; “Here’s a tip: Vote against whoever sent it, because that person is dishonest.” The only dishonesty here is the completely frivolous and unreliable information that the Signal is hawking to the gullible and ill-informed.

By the way, through my reliable sources and embedded friendlies, The Beacon has verified that 2 members of the Signal’s editorial board have said that there really is no mailer or even evidence that one might be mailed! They made up the story and crafted an editorial around this fictitious event.

Okay, so this where Howard Beale, the news anchor in the 1976 film Network, says:

‘I’M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!’ I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell – ‘I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!’ Things have got to change. But first, you’ve gotta get mad!… You’ve got to say, ‘I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!

That’s how I feel about the fact that our community newspaper has thrown whatever integrity it once had right out the window. The editorial staff is spinning a fictitious op-ed piece replete with fabricated information with the sole goal of vilifying all the City Council candidates except the incumbents.

This is just more evidence that the Signal is working diligently at putting in the fix for their chums at City Hall.

Are you mad as hell yet?

Of course the piece heaps praise on the City by saying; “Ask the folks at Santa Clarita City Hall and they’ll tell you it is because public safety is Job One in the city.” And then tries to make the baseless point that crime is higher in the unincorporated areas of the Santa Clarita Valley. One need only look at the 2009 crime statistics and accompanying letter from SCV Sheriff Station’s Captain LaBerge to see the truth.

More crimes are committed in the City of Santa Clarita then in the surrounding unincorporated communities of the Santa Clarita Valley.

One of the more outrageous statements in the Signal editorial is this; “Some of our crime numbers are so small as to be statistically meaningless. For instance, homicides doubled throughout the Santa Clarita Valley in 2009 – from three to six.” So local residents getting murdered is “statistically meaningless”, well there you have it the Signal doesn’t give a crap about human life in our valley. I wonder how the family and friends of those victims would feel about their loved ones being “statistically meaningless.”

Are you mad as hell? Well, I sure am and will continue to point out these bogus attempts at trying to sway the upcoming City Council election. You already know that the Signal is squarely in the camp of the incumbents and the paper will be doing all it can to disparage, mock, and ridicule the other candidates that are challenging the incumbents.

The two front runner challengers, David Gauny and TimBen Boydston better have thick skins because this City Council race is going to get downright dirty in the coming weeks as they gain increasingly more popularity with the disenfranchised city voters. The rumor mill will be in overdrive as Ferry and his team scrambles for funding so they can wage a “competitive campaign” against these challengers.

Are you as mad as hell and not going to take this anymore?

Dave Bossert- Commentary

Dave Bossert is a community volunteer who serves on a number of boards and councils. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon.