Opinion

Is that really a good idea?

February 25, 2022

By Charles Houston I drove the new car down the entrance ramp onto the Greenway. A lot of horsepower was at the command of my right foot. I couldn’t resist and the speedometer surged upward. Sixty. Seventy. Eighty. Why not ninety? And a bit more. Blue lights in the mirror. Oops. Maybe ninety-three was not…

Let’s take this month to celebrate Black History Month

February 19, 2022

Dear Editor: During February, Black History Month is celebrated to recognize the hardships of African Americans, and their achievements. In the past, and even now African Americans were heavily discriminated against, survived the cruelty of slavery, and later on would be segregated against because of their race. Water fountains, bathrooms, and schools would be labeled…

The battle over Rt. 15: harbinger of things to come

February 7, 2022

By The Board of Directors of Save Rural Loudoun Angry interventions at the County Board of Supervisors meeting on Feb. 1 demonstrate why the County must act soon to reduce projected residential growth in Loudoun’s rural areas. In that meeting, a dozen or so residents of the recently built rural subdivisions surrounding Lucketts bitterly protested…

The cycle of unsustainable annexation must stop

February 2, 2022

Dear Editor: After reading about the proposed application for annexation of a property on the north end of Purcellville, the former Warner Brook property – currently named Purcellville Road, LLC – I was again reminded of, and unnerved by, the basic tenet of these proposals: the idea that developers can solve the very problems that…

Keep it Rural: Say no to lights at Scott Jenkins Memorial Park

February 2, 2022

We are opposed to the Loudoun County Department of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure’s SPEX-2021-0025 application to provide lighting for Scott Jenkins Memorial Park. We strongly disagree with the applicant’s statement that “The development of the site will not negatively impact the area in any unusual or significant way above or beyond what is normal for…

Whose County Is It?

February 2, 2022

By Charles Houston We know many political -isms: conservatism, liberalism, libertarianism, progressivism, populism. To me, the paramount-ism is populism, as immortalized in Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: Government of the people, by the people, for the people … That dictum surely applies to local issues, especially regarding how land is used. Loudoun’s people should control how our…

Small and local rocks

January 12, 2022

Dear Editor: After reading the BRL’s latest article exposing the mess at the Gable Farm dump site outside Hamilton, I determined to write a letter congratulating the paper for its determined pursuit of this scandal. I was reminded of my promise by the latest issue with its story on the hot mic catching a developer and town…

Pigs can help the environment

January 6, 2022

By John P. Flannery There may be no zero carbon footprint but we still have it as an environmental goal. The next generation is working on how we attack carbon emissions – and, sometimes, it’s downright fun. This narrative begins with a young Landon Hughes, about 4 years of age, when with his Mom, Cameron…

Zoning Update

January 6, 2022

By Charles Houston You Should Not Ignore Zoning I know, I know. Zoning sounds as dull as dirt. Put this in the proper context and you’ll see why it’s critically important. When it’s approved, the new zoning ordinance will govern how much Loudoun should grow, what it will look like, and whether western Loudoun will…

Practice what you teach

December 18, 2021

Dear Editor:  When the opportunity came up to put my name in the hat for the Loudoun County Public School Board I thought to myself, this could be an opportunity for the school board to show the community that they’re listening.    I figured as a Puerto Rican, in a biracial marriage, with a special…