Saturday, November 28, 2009
Editorial: Short takes
Quick views of some of the week's news.
From the RoundTable blog
Read the latest entries
The 60th anniversary of Roanoke's star attraction
This week marked the 60th anniversary of the first lighting of Roanoke's Mill Mountain Star. Originally intended as a Christmas decoration and marketing ploy, the star has endured to become a symbol of the city.
Though it stopped traffic when it was originally lit, the shining star has become a commonplace sight, a way for residents to orient themselves in the many parts of the city where the star is visible and a place to bring family and friends who come in for a visit.
Sheltered by the arts
Ordinarily, a new bus shelter blends into the background, gaining notice only from grateful bus patrons seeking a protected, comfortable place to wait. A new bus shelter at Patrick Henry High School offers that and much more. The shelter, decked in yellow and purple Patriot colors, forms a half-umbrella shape surrounded by mosaic tiles that pump art into function.
This project and one like it planned for William Fleming High School spring from a collaborative effort between the city, the schools and Valley Metro to involve students in creating their own shelter. Under the guidance of their art teacher, Jenny Fowler, and Ed Dolinger, an adjunct sculpture professor at Hollins University, the Patrick Henry students not only designed the structure but they also had to sell their idea to council and Valley Metro.
"They got a real sense of reality, of what the art world will be like," Fowler said. "You can't just do what you want. You have to fit the purchaser's need."
That they did. Now, they'll learn their next lesson in how to artfully bask in the praise and endure the barbs from harsher critics. There is no shelter from the latter.
Ignorance is no excuse
The state board of elections fined Del. Onzlee Ware $500 for failing to put a disclaimer on his campaign Web site stating it was paid for and authorized by him.
As a long-time delegate and as a lawyer, Ware ought to have known the disclaimer is required by law. Period. It doesn't matter that no one visiting www.delegateonzleeware.com would mistake it for anything but Ware's campaign Web site. Ware should know better.
In his pleading before the board, Ware, a Democrat said if he had been notified of his transgression he'd have gladly spent 90 seconds to fix it. The board claims it sent him a letter in August telling him as much. Ware claims he never received it, and if a Roanoke Times reporter hadn't asked him about the fine, he wouldn't have known to appear before the board.
Ignorance is no excuse, but the burden on the board of elections to notify those it plans to sanction should be higher than first-class mail.
Taking a bite out of crime
A new off-leash dog park in a section of Roanoke's Highland Park isn't just benefitting dog owners and their furry friends. It turns out the increased use of the park has driven away some of the more unsavory elements -- including drug dealers -- that made Highland a problem area for police when it was less of an attraction.
The dogs and their owners have been a calming presence, and Roanoke police say that just about all of the illegal or illicit activity that plagued the park prior to the dogs' arrival has gone. A park that once required several patrols a day now causes few problems at all.
This wasn't an unintended consequence, actually. It's exactly why members of Old Southwest Inc. teamed up with NewVa Connects to push for the dog park. You've got to love it when a plan comes together.
