Jim Bishop | Here’s to a Hair-Raising (or Lowering) Holiday

Jim Bishop

Thanksgiving Day is looming, and I’m salivating already. It’s a favorite holiday, for several reasons. Not only do we gather as a family to ask the Lord’s blessings and enjoy savory fare, but “wish lists” appear on our refrigerator door to help launch the festive yuletide season. At this giving-thanks time of year, I’m especially…

Cheryl Talley | Change we really need

Contributors

It was early on Election Night. I, along with fellow Democrats, had come to the Blue Nile Ethiopian Restaurant in Downtown Harrisonburg to watch the returns. A big tent had been erected in the parking lot. One of the organizers lowered the TV sound briefly and announced that cars parked in the municipal parking lot…

Carl Larsen | Secrets of the hive revealed

Carl Larsen

Hollywood is still abuzz with the news: “The Secret Life of Bees,” currently at The Visulite in Staunton, is a honey of a movie. And while many films based on best-selling books are disappointing, you won’t get stung by this one. (OK, OK. Enough with the Apoidean puns, already. No more, I promise. Stretching for…

Building blocks

Chris Graham

There was no way, I told people, often, that Sam Rasoul doesn’t get at least 40 percent in his Sixth District race with Bob Goodlatte. The kid plain outworked Goodlatte from start to finish, and then, hey, wasn’t Goodlatte running commercials at the end, and telling audiences what he would do “if” he was re-elected…

Charlie and Joe

David Reynolds

Forget about last night. But don’t forget what happened last week. A local hero was reborn in Philadelphia. Our man, now everybody’s man, Charlie Manuel did it. Charlie took his Phillies to the World Series and beyond. His club won it all – World Champs.

Valley Blue Dog: Republican Tricks, Democratic Treats!

Steven Sisson

Column by Steven Sisson Halloween is a time for dressing up in a costume and wearing a mask and having fun. But grownups wear masks, too, especially politicians, and more than ever Republicans are masking the truth behind their agenda. According to nationwide polls, 70 percent of leaders can’t be trusted. The Blue Dog says…