Shepherd Bliss | 3-year-olds and cell phones

Letters

“The 3-year-old just walked right past me,” the Santa Rosa, Calif., pediatrician reported, “talking into a cell phone.” That stark image of toddler attached to machine has troubled me. “I was amused at first,” the physician continued. “Then I felt sad. She was learning how to relate to people through a machine. It was so…

Page Shields | Can coal be clean?

Letters

With all of the controversy surrounding the construction of a coal plant in Wise County, VA it bears repeating that coal is not clean energy. The phrase “clean coal technology” fosters hope that scientists will find a way to take harmful elements, especially carbon, out of coal. Unfortunately this is a lost hope as the…

Chris Graham | Do the right thing, Tim

Chris Graham

I get that the flap over Gov. Tim Kaine’s travel schedules got going because Republicans didn’t have anything better to do with their time this summer. But the wild swing by GOP chair Pat Mullins has connected solidly and sent the political baseball uncomfortably toward the cheap seats in deep left-center, uncomfortably, that is, for…

Updates from the Campaign Trail

Chris Graham

Friday, July 10 – AG Race: Cuccinelli calls for special session – 20th House: Saxman statement on anti-gang committee Thursday, July 9 – Dems respond to McDonnell-Bolling jobs agenda Wednesday, July 8 – LG Race: Wagner calls Bolling out on Palin visit – Governor’s Race: Statement from Creigh Deeds on expansion of stem-cell research

No more big bangs?

Chris Graham

We may have seen the last community Fourth of July celebration in Staunton. At least that’s what I’m hearing. “Our committee is going to meet at the end of the month to make decisions about whether this festival goes on next year or not,” America’s Birthday Celebration organizer Terri Corey told me before Saturday’s big…

VDOT getting word out on rest-area closings

Chris Graham

The Virginia Department of Transportation has begun notifying motorists today of impending changes at the rest areas slated for closure later this month. “These are hard decisions for us to make,” said VDOT Commissioner David S. Ekern. “It is difficult to cut back on these popular motorists’ services, but we must prioritize our limited funding…