I believe that title is a hold over from the days when Scott Newhall ran the paper. He was a big shot at the San Francisco Chronicle during the sixties, then moved south, bought the mansion in Piru, and took over the Signal.
Scott was noted for his ribald sense of humor, and it often showed up in the paper. Somewhere around here I have a copy of an article on a new librarian moving to the community. The story goes on at some length, stressing her in-depth educational background (which included a PHD in Linguistics), and her reputation for brilliance.
The article include a photo of this nice, respectable looking, middle aged woman, and ran under the headline, "A Cunning Linguist Moves to Valencia".
Scott and I shared the same Opthalmologist; he'd shuffle thru in his old Levis.
The Sig, in the mid-to late 80's still had that touch. In the "fax" days, I'd cut out pics (such as the trucker that crashed near Magic Mountain and got pulled out of the crushed cab with his pants around his ankles; cause of accident was 'distraction'..)and give the Valley quite a reputation in my little circle around the country.