Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side
The summer's gone, and all the flowers are dying
'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide.
But come ye back when summer's in the meadow
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow
'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow
Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.

News

• More bones found near Canyon Country Home: A Canyon Country man was walking his dog near his house yesterday when he found a human arm bone and other bones in the ground. The find follows the discovery of several human bones on Thanksgiving day by the man’s nephews in the same general area. The man believes the bones he discovered yesterday are from the same body, and “hopes the coroner’s office can solve this case for the sake of loved ones left behind,” according to ABC 7. On January 10, Karen Elowitt at the Signal reported that coroner investigators weren’t able to identify the bones but were planning on returning to the site to see if more could be found.
• 13 Year old Girl lies about kidnapping: She didn’t want to get in trouble with her parents after staying out late with her friends, so she claimed that two masked men “approached her, rendered her unconscious, and kidnapped her.” She said she awoke in a Newhall garage and managed to escape later. At least four detectives, a sergeant, and five deputies were working on the case and were even planning for a “tactical operation” at the house (!) the girl identified when her story unraveled. She now faces misdemeanor charges of filing a false crime report and has been released to her (even angrier) parents. Daily News, SCV Sheriff.com
• Motorcyclist Killed in Canyon Country: Kyle Seahold (edit: some reports say his name is Seaholm), a 20 year old man, was driving on Camp Plenty Road at around 3:30 pm when “his Yamaha motorcycle crossed over to the southbound lane and collided head-on with a Dodge pickup.” Seahold died at the scene, and the pickup truck driver may have suffered injuries too. KHTS quotes a Deputy who says Seahold was “travelling at a high rate of speed,” while Karen Elowitt’s report cites eyewtinesses who say his speed wasn’t excessive and that he may have skidded on some debris in the road. Signal, KHTS
• State of the Union and Buck McKeon: President Bush delivered his last State of the Union speech last night, and one of the highlights was his newfound faith in the gospel of fiscal conservatism. The President threatened to veto all Congressional bills with excessive earmarks, and ordered federal agencies not to spend earmarked monies unless they had been voted on by Congress. Within hours of the speech, Buck McKeon had a statement ready, praising the President for his speech, particularly the earmark reform, but as CNN reports, one of Buck McKeon’s “pet projects” is a rather famous example of questionable earmarks. Mule Museum
• More on Newhall Hardware closure: It’s not just parking that’s forced the iconic, 60 year old hardware store in Newhall to shut its doors. Competition from big box retailers, a “town that developed away from its historic downtown,” and even the loss of film business during the months-old writer’s strike, according to the City. The store will liquidate its stock of hardware starting today at 10am. Even more than the store itself, I’ll miss the knowledgeable workers there who helped this desk jockey through many a home improvement project. KHTS, Signal
• Silver Teeth ID the bad guy: Last week, a man robbed a Fifty-Six store in Stevenson Ranch, and the Daily News reported that the suspect had silver teeth. That rang a bell for some LAPD Robbery detectives, who realized that the alleged perp was already in custody and contacted the SCV Sheriff’s office. Chief LaBerge says “This is interagency cooperation at its best!” Press Release
• Meadview Avenue, the City, and rain: Meadview Avenue homeowners (there’s only a few, most of those houses are ranch-styled mansions) would like the city to organize some talks on how to repair and improve their private Placerita Canyon road which is usually washed out during heavy rains. This follows an article in yesterday’s paper that quoted homeowners who said the City had “no plan” for rescuing them and said that the city hasn’t done anything to help with the road. The City notes that the road is privately owned and that the Fire Department takes care of rescue work.

California Primary vote:

Over the next few days, I’ll highlight and link to articles about GOP and Democratic Presidential candidates ahead of next week’s primary vote all in the interests of helping you to make your decision.

• Mitt Romney, let your inner nerd out: Mitt Romney doesn’t seem to be a very likable fellow. His competitors on the GOP ticket don’t like him, and it’s thought that Romney’s handlers have turned him into a cold and calculating politician who will do and say anything to get into higher office (Mike Huckabee likened Romney to the “guy who laid you off”) But in Florida, a different picture of Romney has emerged, and Time Magazine’s Michael Scherer thinks the real Romney could be a (geeky) winner.

Misc:

• Bossert commentary on Signal annexation op/ed: Regarding west side annexation, “the Signal appears to support residents remaining ignorant of their options and blindly giving away their communities to the City without any investigatory process,” Bossert, president of the West Ranch Town Council blogs.
• New Signal Website: There’s a full page teaser ad on the back of today’s Signal, and it has puzzle-shaped screenshots of the Signal’s new website beneath the caption, “It’s all coming together…Award Winning news coverage by Santa Clarita’s most reliable and experienced news gathering team, with fresh updates throughout the day, every day.” From what I can see, the Signal’s new website will look very similar to the Gainesville Times, another newspaper owned by Morris Multimedia.