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EDITORIAL: Short takes
Public safety and public trust The debate over the limits of government surveillance is a national conversation that is taking place in venues as heated as the halls of Congress and as homey as the chambers of the Bedford County Board of Supervisors. Bedford Sheriff Mike Brown this week found himself defending his department’s use of automatic license plate recognition technology in front of supervisors who have concerns about the
LETTERS: VA spends on solar while vets wait
VA spends on solar while vets wait Everyone, especially veterans, should be incensed when reading the announcement in this newspaper on Sept. 6. The headline trumpets, “Salem VA center will soon use solar power.” The subheadline clarifies that the installation will supply about 10 percent of the medical center’s electricity needs. There are 6,000 panels, sitting on six acres costing $5 million. Assume the panels will save about $160,000 and
PICK OF THE DAY: Obama ceded U.S. influence to the Russians
In October 1962, President John F. Kennedy used diplomacy to avert a military strike on Cuba. He made a deal with the Soviet Union that included a pledge that the U.S. government would not try to overthrow Fidel Castro. The Soviets lost their missiles, but gained an ally whose position in power was secured by the U.S. government, a fact Castro used to support violent anti-American movements all over the
COMMENTARY: Don’t fear the debt
As the next congressional showdown over the debt ceiling approaches, the whirlwind of Beltway discussions will once again tilt toward U.S. debt and deficits. Countless organizations in Washington, D.C., analyze and comment on federal deficits and debt. Many emanate from octogenarian billionaire Pete Peterson, who funds several debt-hysteria groups such as the Concord Coalition, Fix the Debt and the more recent, youth-oriented The Can Kicks Back. Nearly all of these
EDITORIAL: WWTJD?
It’s appropriate for those who teach, learn and lead at the University of Virginia to consider how Thomas Jefferson might view future plans for the institution he considered one of his greatest legacies. No doubt he’d be a bit forlorn at the thought that his university might one day seek greater autonomy from the commonwealth he called home. But his disappointment would be directed less at university leaders seeking to
LETTERS: A misplaced target for righteous zeal
A misplaced target for righteous zeal After reading John D. Stec’s polemic “When will the attack on the family end?” (Sept. 5 commentary), I wish to pose him several questions. How do same-sex wedded unions harm anyone? Heterosexual couples still have legal rights to marry, reproduce and raise children. No one, not even an imaginary “gay lobby,” threatens those rights. Does Stec understand that the definition of a “natural” family
EDITORIAL: Hard-core hazards
Timothy Wellons is not a monster, but he did a monstrous thing on June 12. He drank three-quarters of a 750 ml bottle of vodka, got into his red Ford Taurus and sped down Interstate 581, weaving erratically, tailgating, eventually sideswiping a tractor-trailer and sending it across the median into a head-on collision with another 18-wheeler. The explosion killed both truckers in a horrific explosion and fire. Flames shot 40 feet
COMMENTARY: A strike to end the war in Syria
My family and friends in Syria are calling on America to save them from a regime that massacres its own people. More than 100,000 Syrians have lost their lives at the hands of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, with another 6 million displaced from their homes, a third of whom are finding refuge in neighboring countries. Syrians now believe that the world cares little about them or the international norms of
PICK OF THE DAY: Food cops must’ve hauled off Deen
Whatever happened to Paula Deen? It’s purported that jackbooted Food Vigilantes, with long knives held high, took her away. At first, people thought the Justice Department was involved. But the disgruntled employee’s lawsuit accusing Deen of racial harassment had been dismissed. The accuser was not even a person of color. No question then, it had to be the infamous Food Vigilantes: the same bullies who in New York City grab
EDITORIAL: The reluctant do-righter
Attorney General and gubernatorial hopeful Ken Cuccinelli cut an $18,000 check to charity this week; his way of paying penance for dining and vacationing as a guest of a wealthy benefactor who has a tax lawsuit against Virginia. Once again, he showed up late to the contrition party. “I made the decision to send the check because it is the right thing to do, plain and simple,” he said. The
LETTERS: Storm water should have been the priority
Storm water should have been the priority How can our local politicians look at us with a straight face? Roanoke just dumped (wasted) millions of our tax dollars to wreck a beautiful inner-city park and construct a giant cement hole in the ground and new bandstand at Elmwood Park (the only upshot of which will be that now more vendors can sell Coney Dogs and Slurpees). The money for the
Just the way it should be
Back from the wedding! The last few hours were a grueling test of endurance. Sand permeates everything; I have an annoying sunburn on, of all places, the tops of my feet; your little siblings are exhausted and surly. I wouldn’t trade the past several days for anything in the world, but I won’t pretend I’m not glad to be home. Of course, you aren’t here. I peeked in your room
EDITORIAL: Sunshine at the SCC
The State Corporation Commission’s impact on the everyday lives of Virginians is vast, covering everything from utility rates to insurance policies to financial rules for banks and payday lenders. Yet the commission is poorly understood. Adding to the confusion is the SCC’s independent status under the state constitution, a status that the Virginia Supreme Court has ruled exempts it from the Freedom of Information Act. Bringing sunshine to the SCC
PARKER: Talking ourselves out of war
Rarely, if ever, has so much talk preceded a proposed military strike. Most administrations contemplating military action worry about an exit strategy. The Obama administration seems to be in search of an entrance strategy. Or is it that we’re trying to talk ourselves out of this mess? As war goes, a war of words seems a better option. Less blood and death if, at times, more ennui and head-clutching frustration.
COMMENTARY: Just cause to intervene
Sitting in my dining room on a cool September morning, sipping my coffee, reading the newspaper in calm safety, I am thinking and reading about Syria. I have followed the developments in Syria for years now, and was very hopeful that the initial uprising against President Bashar Assad would be quick and successful. However, even as it dragged on and became convoluted, with both sides making outside alliances, I was
PICK OF THE DAY: A bad day? Chalk it up to gay marriage
I read John Stec’s piece (“When will the attack on the family end?” Sept. 5 commentary) regarding the evils of homosexuality, and at first I was appalled. Then I began to think. This summer, my family traveled to a lovely wedding of two women we have known for years. Both brides were beautiful and beamed at each other as newlyweds will. We were happy for them, but: On the way
COMMENTARY: School readiness starts at birth
The start of a new school year is an exciting time for students of all ages and their families, especially for the young children who walked into kindergarten classrooms for the first time to begin their formal school journey. Even if they arrived at the schoolhouse door prepared with a backpack of new school supplies, are they really prepared to make the most of the opportunity to learn throughout their
EDITORIAL: The verdict on capital punishment system
The American Bar Association spent two years studying Virginia’s death penalty and came up with a dozen recommendations that would lift the state’s thumb off the scale of justice. The group does not address whether states should have a death penalty. Rather, the ABA acknowledges that prudence requires capital punishment to be administered justly. And all should favor ensuring that those the commonwealth executes truly merit the irrevocable penalty. That
LETTERS: Avoid the errors of the Vietnam War
Avoid the errors of the Vietnam War When President Obama speaks about the civil rights movement, he is eloquent and has an obvious grasp of the importance of history. When he speaks about foreign policy, he fumbles for words and appears to have been born yesterday, rarely invoking lessons from past foreign policy failures. The majority of Americans of all political persuasions and demographic groups oppose the unilateral use of
EDITORIAL: A community of interests
One Roanoke County supervisor’s quixotic quest to protect private property rights would erode them, by the common understanding of the concept. Advocates miss the irony because they miscast competing private interests as battles between “the people” and government. Tellingly, a Regional Chamber of Commerce spokesman spoke in opposition when Supervisor Ed Elswick first floated his idea of a private property rights resolution to a skeptical county board of supervisors. Simply
1. Britney Spears spotted at Lynchburg restaurant
2. Roanoke resource officer's quick action saved young girl
3. One person injured in Friday night shooting in Roanoke
4. East Carolina poses new challenge for Virginia Tech football
5. Captive in Roanoke County describes harrowing time with angry friend
6. Lowe's tapes may hold clues to Roanoke woman's death
7. Roanoke County electrical short quiets 5 Wheeler radio stations
8. William Byrd stuns Salem in football win
9. History says this one will matter for Virginia Tech
10. Concert review: Timeless Willie Nelson plays to appreciative crowd
THE ROANOKE TIMES
