Opinion
Dear Editor: From a local business owners standpoint, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Loudoun County is facing a shortage of flex and light industrial space—and it’s starting to impact more than just business owners. These types of spaces are where many of the services residents rely on actually operate. With vacancy rates around 1%, there is almost…
Dear Editor: Healthcare today can do remarkable things, from curing certain cancers to helping people manage chronic diseases. Yet despite its sophistication, the system can often feel disjointed, leaving many people overwhelmed rather than reassured. As a registered nurse working with families in Loudoun County, I have seen firsthand how confusing healthcare can feel for…
Dear Editor: The upcoming Loudoun County Board of Supervisors public hearing on April 15 regarding the proposed Valley Commerce Center development highlights an important decision facing the County: how to balance economic growth with long-term planning, environmental sustainability, and the character of existing communities. The proposal would rezone land near Purcellville to allow nearly one…
By Madeline Skinner The Philomont Horse Show Grounds have been demolished. Only the cook shack remains—for now. For more than 60 years, this space served as a gathering place for the community and as the home of one of the area’s oldest horse shows. Today, it has been permanently erased. Trees have been cleared for…
By Ken Falke I grew up in the 1960s and ’70s—a time of big cars, long summer nights, and childhoods spent outdoors. We played until the streetlights came on. We scraped our knees, argued with friends, lost games, and learned from failure. Confidence wasn’t handed to us—it was earned. Look at kids today and the…
By Charlie Houston This month I’m channeling Roman mythology, specifically Minerva, its goddess of wisdom, and tackling the County’s fiscal tendencies. Lord knows, wisdom is needed there. As a reminder, “fiscal” simply means governmental taxation and spending. Though fiscal applies to governments, it affects you in a sacred place – your pocketbook. Maslow and His…
By Ken Falke I recently sat through a suicide prevention seminar designed for school children and their teachers. I expected compassion. I expected hope. What I didn’t expect was a steady drumbeat of fragility. The language was saturated with risk, warning signs, vulnerability, crisis, trauma, triggers, and pathology. Students were told to monitor themselves and…
By Charlie Houston “Houston’s at it again with the mythology stuff,” you might declare, and ask, “What in heck is Momus?” [A note on readability: My words are in italics.] Momus is a demigod from Greek mythology. Momus was the minor god or spirit of mockery, blame, ridicule, scorn, complaint and harsh criticism. Zeus finally…