Op-Ed

By Joe LaFiandra The new president has implemented a series of progressive executive orders. Other actions are in the wings, including asking Congress to enact an increased minimum wage of $15 an hour, from the $7.25 (in Virginia) an hour presently in effect. What I am going to present in this article are the consequences…

By Charles Houston ZOC – pronounced “zock” – is the County’s new Zoning Ordinance Committee, which is charged with helping to write a new zoning ordinance for the county. It’s important to you and I’ll explain why. Zoning Matters Zoning is generally a vague concept for people. They might be totally unaware of Loudoun’s 1,025-page…

Loudoun County’s rural villages are irreplaceable, and yet, somehow, we seem determined to let the present destroy their past.  “Their buildings and settings document Loudoun County’s history, through war and peace, growth and decline, changes in commerce, agriculture, and transportation. The social and cultural heritage they represent, and their vitality today, make them a vital…

By Charles Houston Every publication will have a lengthy year-end retrospective on COVID and on 2020. This is a different story. Bubba was my father’s first cousin, and hence my second. Bubba had no siblings, no wife, no children. As a bachelor, his closest relations were my two brothers and me. We were very close.…

By Joe Lafiandra If you are a Democrat or Trump hater, don’t bother reading any further; this piece doesn’t apply to you. If you are a Conservative, Republican, or independently minded person who wants to see and hear the truth from the press and visual media, read on. Freedom of the press is guaranteed in the First Amendment to…

By Charles Houston Earlier this month I wrote this story about my memories of the Blue Ridge for the Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountain’s newsletter. FBRM is a great conservation group with an arrow-like mission: protecting the Blue Ridge in our region. I couldn’t talk about trekking the Appalachian Trail since I haven’t and…

By Joe Lafiandra If you accept a lie told to you, it changes you. You own the lie and it becomes part of your personality. Denying the truth and accepting lies corrupts you. If you think accepting lies is a passive activity, think again. If you accept one lie, there is no turning back, you…

By Charles Houston Two Sculptures On Saturday Sept. 31, our Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a Board Member Initiative proposed jointly by an unexpected pairing of supervisors, one, the most conservative Board member and the other, the most liberal. The BMI – their proposal – would have the County commission two sculptures, one of Ronald…