Blue Ridge Leader
By Joe Lafiandra With the passage of the $1.9 trillion dollar stimulus and the current $28 trillion national debt, don’t you think it would be important to really understand how much a trillion dollars is and why it is important to understand what these numbers mean? A trillion dollars is a lot of money by…
By Valerie Cury At the March 17 Purcellville Town Council Special Meeting, Town Manager David Mekarski presented the Town’s Fiscal Year 2022 proposed budget of $22.4 million. This is a 7 percent increase over last year. The General Fund is proposed for $11.7 million – a 1 percent increase over last year. For Parks and…
On a sunny and surprisingly warm March 26th near the end of Women’s History Month, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) arrived in Loudoun to visit Leesburg, Purcellville, and Round Hill and deliver a long-awaited message: With vaccinations and the new American Rescue Plan, relief is on the way for women in business. After meeting in Leesburg…
Goose Creek Overlook votes will be remembered for turning the tide on a big development, but what they surfaced about Loudoun’s leaders and “place types” may be more revealing in the long run. Until March 16’s final Board of Supervisors vote on the controversial Goose Creek Overlook development, you’d have found quite a few Loudoun…
John Duncan Marsh, age 89, passed away peacefully on Monday, Feb. 1, at Spring Arbor in Leesburg. He was born Oct. 6, 1931 to Edward Henry Marsh and Helen Hirst Marsh. He grew up in Brooklyn, NY and summered annually in Purcellville, visiting many generations of the Hirst family. In 1950, he and his family…
By Joe LaFiandra The events in Texas last month show how vulnerable the electric power grid is. At one point over two million homes were without power. The cause was a relatively rare ice storm that knocked out at least 20 percent of the state’s generating power. The main reason for this loss of power…
Oh, for the days of green rivers and joyous crowds celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day in parades from Australia to Argentina, Brazil to Boston, New Orleans to New York, and of course, Chicago. While most parades are canceled this year, there are still plenty of other ways to get your yearly boost of leprechauns, shamrocks, and…
The group known as Artists in Middleburg is hosting a Bird, Birds, Birds juried art exhibit from Saturday, March 13 through Sunday, April 11. The show will feature a $200 Anita Baarns Award for Best-in-Show. Baarns is an acclaimed author and artist. AiM President and Executive Director Sandy Danielson said the organization is extremely…
In keeping with the new Comprehensive Plan to preserve Purcellville’s small-town feel and character, the Planning Commission is proposing to amend the Zoning Ordinance so that buildings constructed in the Town’s Historic Downtown / Central Commercial District (C-4 Zoning District) be limited to by-right heights of two stories and 35 feet, as measured from the street…
Remember last March 13, the day the schools closed in Loudoun County? Who would have thought nearly a year would pass before Loudoun’s public school students could be back in a classroom—even if only two days a week, sitting six feet apart, and wearing masks? This March, it’s a different story. We’re springing forward, not…