Opinion
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.…
By Floyd Nelson Shortly after 6 p.m., a single bullet fired from a high-powered, big-game hunting rifle split the early evening air in Memphis, Tennessee and found its intended mark. But it wasn’t a deer, elk or bear that lay mortally wounded on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968, it was…
Dear Editor: Employees are the foundation of the Postal Service’s success. We differentiate from competitors thanks to a deep understanding of the communities we serve. Those same communities are as diverse as our workforce which make us one of the most trusted federal agencies in the nation. As the new Postmaster of Upperville I am…
By Loudoun County Catoctin District Supervisor, Caleb A. Kershner It’s budget season in Loudoun County so you may have heard that the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted to remove the annoying $25 Vehicle License Fee (VLF) on motor vehicles, motorcycles and any trucks located in the County outside of a Town. Eliminating the county VLF…
The Missing Billions By Charles Houston How much does the Board plan to spend? It’s hard to know. There’s an adopted budget of $6.9 billion on the County website, but Supervisors now bandy about a much lower budget, $4.7 billion. The $2.2 billion difference needs to be explained. I’ll try. Is the $2.2 billion difference…
Dear Editor: The Board of Supervisors has recently increased the number of data centers that can be constructed by-right, effectively allowing developers to bypass the need for a special use exemption. Additionally, all data centers still have the ability to amend their site plans by up to 5% without requiring a special exemption. Supervisor Caleb…
By John Ellis Citizens living on a narrow gravel road on the east side of Short Hill Mountain recently learned that a developer is planning to build a 20-unit “cluster subdivision” on an adjacent property. The development will increase the daily traffic on that road from about 60 to over 250 vehicle trips per day. …
By Charles Houston The vet and I were chatting as she gave our horses their spring shots. I mentioned that my wife and I were shortly leaving for a vacation in Austria. When the vet heard that, she exclaimed, “You have to see Hallstatt! You absolutely must!” I believed her and marked it boldly on…
Dear Editor: A year ago, I wrote a letter to the editor proposing to bring back the W&OD as a commuter rail line. I received a wave of public support, getting emails from people across the region who loved the project. I worked alongside them to build NOVA-TRAC, a group that would be a voice…