Advertisement
February 29, 2008
Republicans get back to the core
A thumbs-up, thumbs-down assessment of newsmakers here and beyond:February 27, 2008
The hidden cost of tax revenues
Like Valley foliage in the fall, the capacity of government to exacerbate predicaments of its own devising by exercising precisely the same malformed logic that produced the problem in the first place is always remarkable. Shaken down once more by frivolous feds, taxpayers are the ones who change colors, from healthy hues to a battered black and blue.February 24, 2008
Obama still lacks substance
Bursting the expanding balloon of euphoria over the ascension of Barack Obama should not be so difficult as Hillary Clinton makes it appear. All that is required is the gentle, but decisive pinprick of reality.February 22, 2008
Local soldiers deserve thanks
A thumbs-up, thumbs-down assessment of newsmakers here and beyond:February 20, 2008
States don’t need Fed governance
Stealing a glimpse at much that is wrong in America most frequently requires only a turn of the head toward the Capitol.Hanger’s gun bill misses aim
Striding into the neighborhood watering hole toting a hidden firearm sounds like a dandy idea, provided you're the fellow strapping the firearm, you're figuring on trouble or you're just hankering for a good John Wayne analogy. The idea also is easy on the ears if you're a Republican looking for a healthy helping of conservative support after having been taken out to the political woodshed as a no-good tax-and-spender, which resembles more than slightly the predicament of our own Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-MountFCC vote caps saga over media ownership
A divided Federal Communications Commission approved what could be the biggest change in the country's media-ownership rules in more than a decade, allowing newspapers and broadcasters in a market to buy each other.February 19, 2008
State republicans must hold ground
Partisan fissures crackled through Richmond last week as revenue holes continued popping open in the state budget, pushing deficit estimates from $641 million to $2 billion.February 17, 2008
America needs wartime leader
By this time next week, members of the Virginia National Guard should have returned home to their base in Staunton from a tour in Iraq. The sight of returning soldiers embracing families and children clinging to fathers and mothers still clad in military fatigues is among the sweetest of wartime. Their joy is a community's joy.February 15, 2008
Ballpark chatter a show of vision
February 14, 2008
Notification bill not the answer
Many of the exercises of modern, bloated government are foolish, futile and just plain inane, but none more so than government's attempts to fix problems it created.Council needs to trim the fat
February 12, 2008
Republicans lacking turnout
These are sobering times for right-minded folk in the Republican-rich Shenandoah Valley, and not just because their party's presidential nominee will be straight-talking leftie Sen. John McCain. As Virginians march off to the primary this morning, it's dusk in America for the GOP. The numbers that tell us so: Turnout.America ready for power shift
Another chapter is completed in what is rapidly emerging as a presidential campaign unlike any other in modern political history. Hillary Clinton, long the presumed Democratic nominee, absorbed another loss Tuesday, this time in our own Virginia, putting Barack Obama in position to seal his spot atop his party's ticket with victories March 4 in Texas and Ohio.February 11, 2008
Post-partisan depression
Is the two-party system on the verge of breathing its last-February 10, 2008
City must act to reel in investors
The plans unveiled last week by Waynesboro's land-use consultant to transform the city's downtown core and riverfront district offers a level of vision that long has been lacking in the River City.February 06, 2008
Sports park would benefit families
Letters to the editorState legislators missing a point
Whatever might be said about the effect of a divided General Assembly, it cannot be said based upon the early results that this is a do-nothing body. Unlike their counterparts in Washington, who spent more than a year doing mostly nothing after Democrats reclaimed the House, state lawmakers have been cranking out legislation the way a Detroit assembly line does cars, in a constant, steady flow.February 03, 2008
City needs more action, less talk
Southern Living magazine last month published readers' picks for the best scenic driving routes in the South. The roads at the top of the list were predictable and familiar: No. 1, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and No. 3, Skyline Drive.February 02, 2008
Conservatism still works
The giddiness over Barack Obama's candidacy has stretched even into the Shenandoah Valley.February 01, 2008
Conservatism still works
The giddiness over Barack Obama's candidacy has stretched even into the Shenandoah Valley. Political reporter Bob Stuart gives us a slice of Obama mania today in a story about a local debate party (there's an oxymoron if ever there was one) staged for the Democratic senator, who's nipping at presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton's high heels.Legend of local arts will live on
A thumbs-up, thumbs-down assessment of news makers here and beyond:January 30, 2008
Leaders must act to spark growth
Two stories in Tuesday's edition of The News Virginian point to opportunity for Waynesboro. One detailed the state's renewal of the city's Enterprise Zone status. The other reported the council's approval of a performance agreement between the city and the Wayne Theatre Alliance.January 29, 2008
Bush’s speech yields reflection
President Bush's latest lament as he delivered his final State of the Union speech Monday was fitting. For much of his presidency, his staff complained that as the economy steadily chugged ahead, attention was mostly devoted to failings in Iraq.January 28, 2008
New CEO, future looks promising
Augusta Medical Center's criteria for finding a CEO to replace the recently retired Richard H. Graham were instructive. Board members searched for a leader who could provide "quality, compassionate care for our patients" and build a strong relationship with the facility's staff and physicians.January 27, 2008
Politicians are no economists
So Republicans and Democrats in Washington actually can agree on something. Since Democrats took over the House, America's bickering parties have concurred only on where to show up for work. That is, until they reached a stunningly peaceable accord this week on an economic stimulus package.January 13, 2008
Punditry is not an exact science
Paradox is palpable when editorialists take pot shots at punditry. The scenario is akin to hurling a bucket of water into the air - it is difficult to do without hitting ourselves.Letter to the Editor
Students speak outJanuary 12, 2008
Abusive driver fees: Original goal still one to aim for
The long commonwealth nightmare that is abusive driver fees is almost over, finally. With all of the zeal of starstruck teenagers crowding a concert stage for a closer look at the latest pop icon, state lawmakers are tumbling over one another in a race to produce repeal bills. Onetime fee proponent Gov. Timothy M. Kaine stands pen in hand, ready to ink the concept into oblivion.January 11, 2008
