Op-Ed
By John P. Flannery, II Multi Gigawatt Data Centers in Loudoun County exist in large numbers, operate at high speeds, full time all the time; they’ve altered forever the residential, farmland and small business community that defined the Loudoun we once enjoyed. From 1997 to July 2024, the expansion in square feet for the County’s…
By John Ellis Those who use political buzz words and those who are listening may have widely different interpretations of what the words actually mean. Take the word “revitalization.” As one of many who hopes Purcellville will maintain its charming small town character, I was taken aback when the Mayor objected to the following proposed…
By Charles Houston Kudos Phyllis Randall, Chair of the Board of Supervisors, gets kudos for her attentiveness and engagement with a large delegation of citizens protesting the ill-conceived proposal to link Waterford and Paeonian Springs with 2.5 miles of new water and sewer lines along Clarkes Gap Road. (If this is new to you, check…
By Lloyd Harting, a former federal and local law enforcement officer who lives in Purcellville On April 4, 2025, a Purcellville Police Department police officer was terminated from employment by Purcellville Police Department Acting Chief of Police Sara Lombrana, citing alleged “unsuitability” for continued service. Simultaneously, Acting Chief Lombrana reported an unproven allegation—that the police…
By Charles Houston A handful of homes in Waterford have weak wells. A handful of houses in Paeonian Springs have problems with wastewater. These historic villages’ needs were each addressed by the County in 2022 and 2019, respectively. In the years since, nothing happened. Then last year, County bureaucrats had a eureka moment and said,…
By Delegate Geary Higgins For the better part of the past year, I have been working hard to turn Oak Hill, President James Monroe’s home in Aldie, into a State Park. Unfortunately, earlier this month, House Democrats killed what was the final shot at making Oak Hill a state park this year, and maybe ever.…
By Charles Houston I seem to vacuum random facts, which my brain manufactures into various ideas and opinions. A basic topic is protecting Loudoun County. Some of my ideas can be expressed in short paragraphs, or even in a sentence or two. Here goes … National Ideas Securitize and sell roughly $1.6 trillion in SBA…
By John P. Flannery We are a local community in a State that cherishes its historic and environmental resources, and we have worked hard to preserve and protect entrusted treasures in land and gardens and streams. We convey what we’ve learned to others, including our children, by our example and by the confidences we share…
By Lloyd Harting Several news articles have been published in Loudoun County newspapers reporting on an internal affairs investigation that was recently conducted at the Purcellville Police Department. The newspaper articles identified by name the Purcellville Police Department employee who was the subject of the investigation, Police Officer Carl “Ben” Nett, and also revealed details…
By Charles Houston A few days ago, I had lunch with my good friend Robert Rood. Usually, our conversations meander, but this time I had an agenda: vacationing in Barcelona. For my wife and me, it would be a new—and likely delightful—European destination. I wanted to hear more about it from someone with firsthand experience.…