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August 02, 2009

OPINION: Stop making excuses for disclosure form errors

Disclosure laws are designed to instill citizen confidence in government, but a joint investigation by the Bristol Herald Courier and News Channel 11 Connects reveals widespread deviation from the reporting requirements in Tennessee and Virginia.


August 01, 2009

Senior Olympics, Bravery, TVA Shame

Some local seniors won big prizes at the Tennessee Senior Olympics last week, including Carol Hicks of Kingsport, Tenn., who was a repeat champion in the 100-meter run.


July 31, 2009

OPINION: Ethics, Finance Merger Makes Good Sense

Since Sunday, this newspaper has been running a daily series to shine light on issues related to public disclosure by public officeholders, under a law aimed at revealing potential conflicts of interest or ethical dilemmas.


July 30, 2009

Must Find A Way To Rein In Costs

While Barack Obama was talking to Kroger employees Wednesday afternoon, Democrats reached a needed health care reform breakthrough that meets the president’s chief goals – extending coverage to about 95 percent of Americans without increasing federal deficits.


July 29, 2009

Eager To Hear Obama’s Health Care Talk

President Barack Obama’s health care town-hall meeting in Bristol today is particularly poignant given last weekend’s 10th annual Remote Area Medical clinic in Wise, Va.

Wings n’ Wheels A Spectacular Event

The Wings n’ Wheels car and air show Saturday at the Virginia Highlands Airport in Abingdon was a spectacular event that raised an estimated $10,000 for area charities.


July 25, 2009

Volunteers, Samaritans, Philanderers

Nothing truly is free – not even the health care provided to thousands in Wise County today as part of the Remote Area Medical Clinic.


July 19, 2009

Recreating Hat Day Was a ‘Special’ Event at Paper
Recreating Hat Day Was a ‘Special’ Event at Paper

An old friend of mine sent me a weird black-and-white photo the other day. It was Hat Day 1987 at the Chattanooga News-Free Press.

Bristol Should Hire Consultant for City Manager Search

Bristol, Va., city officials should quickly hire a professional consultant to shepherd the search for a new city manager, following a recent pattern set with hiring new city department heads.


July 18, 2009

Miner Memorial, Raffle & Recession

We’re pleased to see the Richlands Coal Miners’ Memorial in Tazewell County become the official miners’ memorial for Virginia, in honor and memory of the men and women who lost their lives doing this important work.


July 17, 2009

Protection Good, But Fearful Steps Make Bad Plans

The Solar Hill District Association got what it sought from the Bristol Virginia City Council this week – unanimous support for its bid to shift from being a mixed-use neighborhood to one that is exclusively residential.


July 15, 2009

How Bad To Be ‘High Hazard?‘

Greater federal oversight is obviously needed when the Environmental Protection Agency leaves one of the nation’s worst coal ash spills in history off the list of “high hazard” sites.


July 14, 2009

Strike a Balance When Setting Virginia Gubernatorial Debates

Ten gubernatorial debates are too many. And dictating the schedule to your opponent is a ploy


July 10, 2009

Bristol Exercised Its Right On Gun Ban

Getting a statewide bill passed that allows citizens to carry firearms into parks became one of the most drawn out and messiest battles of the 2009 Tennessee General Assembly.


July 05, 2009

UVa-Wise Convocation Center Will Benefit Region

The University of Virginia’s College at Wise took another leap forward when it broke ground last week on a $30 million
convocation center.


July 04, 2009

Steady Growth, Stiff Sentence, Texting Ban

After eight months of recounts and court battles, Republican Norm Coleman conceded to Democrat Al Franken in Minnesota’s contested Senate race on Tuesday.


July 02, 2009

Investigation Clearly Needed

We applaud the Virginia State Police for investigating accusations that Abingdon-based magistrates falsified documents to steer bail bonds to a relative.


June 30, 2009

Real Lesson For VI, Bristol

Two years after a financial crisis threatened to close its doors, Virginia Intermont College has raised nearly $12 million and won back unqualified accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.


June 28, 2009

Smith/Packett Eldercare Proposal Covers All the Bases

Smith/Packett Med Com LLC has spent more than three years mounting a coalition of support for its plan to build a tiered elder-care project in Abingdon.


June 27, 2009

Aid To Food Bank, Life Bans In Soccer

Patrons of the Barter Theatre in Abingdon donated 1,550 pounds of food to the Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank by bartering their way into several shows in June.


June 25, 2009

Reviews Will Help All Breathe Easier In Va.

Increased ozone and soot pollution is sickening Virginians with breathing problems and keeping them indoors, especially in summer.


June 20, 2009

ROTC, Callous Signs, Lost Business, Hypocrisy

The University of Virginia’s College at Wise will offer an Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program this fall, now that it has partnered with East Tennessee State University to provide commissioned and non-commissioned officers for the program.


June 18, 2009

Police Botched Investigation

When a journalist breaks his word to a source, he loses all credibility and ceases to be a viable prober for the truth.


June 16, 2009

An Apology To Community Of Sugar Grove, Smyth Co.

There’s a reason why daily newspapers historically have been called the “daily miracle.”


June 14, 2009

Tobacco Regulation Will Save Lives, Money

We strongly support the measures in the new federal tobacco legislation because the FDA will be able to regulate the contents of tobacco products, make their ingredients public, prohibit flavoring, require larger warning labels and strictly control or prohibit marketing campaigns, especially those geared toward children.


June 13, 2009

Life Lessons, New Look & D.C. Horror

An elderly gunman, who authorities said has a long history of violence and anti-Semitism, shot and killed a security guard inside the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday before being shot by other officers.


June 12, 2009

Tear Down This Marquee!
Tear Down This Marquee!

A reader alerted us late Wednesday to this sign, photographed Thursday outside the Hi Lo Burger Drive In, on Lee Highway in Abingdon. It reads: “Kevins a retard.”


June 11, 2009

‘Nice guy’ Deeds crushed competition

After appearing for months to be running from behind, Creigh Deeds crushed two Democratic rivals Tuesday to garner the Democratic nomination for governor.

Quit squabbling over codes, pass energy bill

The Tennessee Clean Energy Future Act returns to the floor of the Tennessee House today and we urge members to get behind it.


June 07, 2009

FOSTER HUMOR COLUMN: My Brush with a Pothead Parachutist and His Coonskin Hat

I recently marked the 20th anniversary of the dumbest thing I’ve ever done. There were no champagne toasts or high-fives or whatever the kids are doing these days, just appreciation that I lived to recount this event.

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