Nixle® is now being used by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to send free geographically-specific e-mails and text messages directly to the public. Messages may include arrests, neighborhood-specific alerts and advisories, traffic incidents, road closures, wanted persons, missing persons, crime trends, and more. (more…)

We wanted to point out that there is a new ad from the Castaic Lake Water Agency which recently signed on as an advertiser on The West Ranch Beacon. If you click on their ad it will take you to the Castaic Lake Water Agency website where you can find some very valuable information and tips on water conservation. (more…)

(From the wsj.com) The launch of Facebook Inc.’s Places location service this week sparked new privacy concerns about the popular social network, but the company’s efforts to mollify critics before the launch stemmed some of the blowback. (more…)

Dear Dave Bossert, Wanted to thank you and your wife Nancy for the lovely time at your 50th birthday party last weekend. And above that, Happy Birthday to someone with that special glint of mischief. Fifty. Foof. You are such a kid. I finally figured out what to get you. I was scrambling trying to figure out just what the heck I was doing a decade ago when I turned 50. It hit me. I winced. (more…)

(From the latimes.com) News Corp. Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch is embarking on an ambitious plan for a new national digital newspaper to be distributed exclusively as paid content for tablet computers such as Apple Inc.’s iPad and mobile phones. (more…)

Here is an interesting article that sheds some light on plagiarism; a topic that rocked and further damaged the reputation of the Signal earlier this year. (From the nytimes.com) At Rhode Island College, a freshman copied and pasted from a Web site’s frequently asked questions page about homelessness — and did not think he needed to credit a source in his assignment because the page did not include author information. (more…)

Venerable Beacon columnist and humorist John Boston has won honorable mention in the 2010 National Society of Newspaper Columnists annual contest. John’s columns The Boston Report: Tarzan and the Moist Lions of Dr. Holly Peno ; The Boston Report: Coming this Fall: The Further Adventures of S.W.A.T. Monkey which appeared in The West Ranch Beacon and Stop Writing or We’ll Kill You from his own site, www.thebostonreport.net  all received Honorable mention in the Blog Column category which included the likes of Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times; Maggie Van Ostrand from the Huffington Post; Mary Curtis of AOL Politics Daily among others. (more…)

(From the nytimes.com) Facebook, the social network created in the dormitories of Harvard six years ago, said on Wednesday that it now had 500 million members. The company has grown at a meteoric pace, doubling in size from a year ago and pushing international competitors aside. (more…)

Do the Traditional Family Values we grew up with really matter? Were these values sold to us based on religious beliefs or do they make sense? We need to really be paying attention to the Family Unit. The family unit has been fragile for years. The “traditional family” that we grew up with has been under scrutiny since the 60′s. Remember free love, free sex, no war… No Commitments? Remember? (more…)

(From the latimes.com) Facebook users that keep seeing messages from friends saying they’re “never gonna drink Coca-Cola again” should steer clear, security firm Sophos is reporting. Although the messages are slightly different at times, most of the fake Facebook updates are identical: “I am part of the 98.0% of people that are NEVER gonna drink Coca Cola again after this HORRIFIC video,” a typical message reads. It’s followed by a video link. (more…)

I’m baaaack!! Well, I got back from Maine a few days ago fully relaxed and recharged for the coming year. Yet, I am already looking forward to my sabbatical next summer and contemplating expanding it from 10 days to more like 16 or 17 days. That should quell the fact that my time off in Maine absolutely flew by; I mean it seemed like it was over in a snap! (more…)

Tune in at 1:00 PM to KHTS AM 1220 for newest local radio talk show called The Real Side with Joe Messina. Joe’s topic for today’s show is Patriotism. What does it mean? Why is it important? Can you be an American and be UN-Patriotic? Does anyone really even care anymore? Joe’s guests today include: Bill Kennedy, Navy Fighter Pilot (retired); Dick Jeffrey, US Marine (retired); Carol Lutness, Community Activist; Jason Roy, Asst Professor of Biostatistics at the Univ of Pennsylvania and hobby blogger on rationality, philosophy and human behavior. (more…)

(From the nytimes.com) Sergey Brin, a Google founder, takes issue with people who say Google has failed to gain a foothold in social networking. Google has had successes, he often says, especially with Orkut, the dominant service in Brazil and India. (more…)

I read with much dismay Jonathon Randles article, “Seal’s Habitat Endangered” in Saturday’s, June 19, 2010 Signal and I remain troubled with its numerous omissions and lack of accuracy.  Clearly, Randles’ article was intended to champion the swim team’s perspective but in the end, I fear it further stokes an atmosphere of personal attacks by certain homeowners against those who question the Summit swim team’s activities.  (more…)

(From Science Daily) Want kids who are smarter and thinner? Keep them away from the television set as toddlers. A shocking study from child experts at the Université de Montréal, the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center and the University of Michigan, published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, has found that television exposure at age two forecasts negative consequences for kids, ranging from poor school adjustment to unhealthy habits. (more…)

Get exclusive updates from The West Ranch Beacon on twitter. It’s simple and easy to follow The Beacon on twitter and get updates on breaking news, commentary and thought-provoking articles. Click on the twitter icon above next the RSS feed or here at  www.twitter.com/TheBeacon.

No surprise here, anyone that wants breaking news or timely information fast is going online and using the internet. Some papers have done a descent job keeping up with this trend but most are being run by “old newspapermen” who are stuck in the past. They’re the ones that are driving their papers into the ground; think head in the sand!! (From yahoo.com) Circulation continues to drop severely at U.S. newspapers, though the rate of decline slowed from the previous six-month reporting period. Figures released Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations show average weekday circulation fell 8.7 percent in the six months that ended March 31, compared with the same period a year earlier. Sunday circulation fell 6.5 percent. (more…)

Some claim that the election was over two weeks ago because more than 7000 absentee ballots were in the City Clerk’s office waiting to be tabulated. I truly hope that is not the case and as many, if not more, voters turn out on Tuesday, April 13, 2010, to cast their ballots in this very important local City Council race. We have all witnessed the same despicable campaign tactics that have been used for the past decade; smears, lies, opponents signs being removed, fabricated accomplishments, and undeserved credit. It not only came from some of the incumbents but also from a few challengers. Much of this was either accentuated to help the incumbents or hurt the challengers by some in the local press. (more…)