Advertisement

September 12, 2009

Right Message, Heritage Festival & Bad Behavior

Reasoned conservatives, right message

Newt Gingrich, Lamar Alexander, Bill Frist and Laura Bush: Those are some of the conservatives who delivered the correct message this week regarding President Barack Obama’s speech to students on Tuesday.

Right Message, Heritage Festival & Bad Behavior

Obama gave a simple message that resonates with anyone willing to listen.


September 11, 2009

Remember, Reflect Through Day Of Service

An obscure September day became the most infamous in American history when terrorists flew airplanes into the World Trade Center towers, and the Pentagon, and crashed into a field in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.


September 10, 2009

Furloughs, Cuts Well-Known To Private Sector

Remember when Virginia was known for its top-notch colleges and smooth roadways to reach them?


September 06, 2009

Rx Help To Fill The Gap

We don’t pretend to know what form, if any, health care reform will take, or if substantial changes will happen at all this year.


September 05, 2009

Humor, Hiring Head Hunters & Flood Failures

Gethsemane Baptist Church along Old Airport Road in Bristol, Va. is taking a recent Saturday car accident in stride.


September 04, 2009

Elderly Patients Need Stronger Advocates

Even worse than learning that a former employee from a nursing home in Bristol, Va., was charged with aggravated sexual assault of patients is learning that former coworkers suspected him and filed complaints, yet the man stayed on the job.


September 02, 2009

Abingdon Deserves Design Control For Mega-Development

Six years ago, Abingdon took steps to give the town design control over mega-developments by enacting a provision covering any building larger than 50,000 square feet and located along thoroughfares leading to the historic downtown.


August 30, 2009

Prove It Can Be Done

We have the engineers, the expertise and the desire.


August 29, 2009

High-Speed Rail, Excuses, ID Theft

Thumbs Up - Thumbs Down


August 26, 2009

Dental Problems A Serious Health Issue

Landing on the list of the wealthiest or healthiest would be so much nicer, but our region is not making national news in those areas.


August 23, 2009

Wellness, Health Should Be Focus

Obviously no one wants to be obese or an addict, as Jerry Miller told the crowd gathered Thursday for a health care forum in Abingdon. But obesity and addiction are crippling problems locally and doctors can – and should – do more to help patients improve their lives.


August 22, 2009

Healthy Food, Rate Hikes & Swine Flu

People who receive food assistance checks from Virginia can double their dollars at the Abingdon Farmers’ Market thanks to a $20,000 grant from Wholesome Wave, a private foundation.


August 21, 2009

Hospitals Need Fair Reimbursement To Survive

Area hospital administrators offered some insightful perspectives on health care reform Thursday, during a forum in Abingdon hosted by U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher.


August 19, 2009

Listen, Be Heard At Thursday Forum

Don’t be surprised if the health care forum hosted by U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher early Thursday in Abingdon follows a similar pattern already seen across the country – protesters, anger and jeering.


August 16, 2009

How To Stop Wasting Billions Of Health Care Dollars Each Year

The angst and anger at town hall meetings on health care reform make it painfully obvious that many Americans are digging in their heels over fears that their current coverage could change. But here’s something that should scare us all:

How to stop wasting billions each year

Here’s something that should scare us all: Nearly half the money spent on health care today is wasted.


August 15, 2009

More Info, Longer Hours & Lost Jobs

As part of our recent investigation reviewing financial interest disclosure forms required by public officials, we found that a few respondents revealed more than the law requires.


August 13, 2009

Bristol Child Abuse Case Defies Logic

The extreme nature of the child abuse case reported in Bristol, Va., this week – a 6-year-old girl allegedly bound for weeks and frightened with toy snakes and spiders as punishment for taking food – seems to defy logic.


August 12, 2009

Tuesday Ruling Only One Step

Mercury, which is proven to cause birth defects, is a by-product of coal-fired power plants and an obvious concern for anyone living near the power plant, and in the larger region where weather patterns could bring pollution. Releasing excessive amounts of mercury into the air, where it could harm neighbors and their children would be unconscionable.


August 09, 2009

Public Could Provide Extra Enforcement Eyes For Officials’ Financial Disclosure Forms

In a joint four-month investigation with our television partner, News Channel 11 Connects, we’ve chronicled how public officials frequently fail to complete required financial interest disclosure forms, sometimes filing them late, if at all. We’ve also chronicled how some use confusion as a crutch when questioned about the timeliness or accuracy of the information provided. We have some suggestions for improvements.


August 08, 2009

Freedom, Festival, Prison & Rumors

Two American journalists were freed by North Korea this week and came home to their families on a flight with former President Bill Clinton.


August 07, 2009

Tax-Free Weekend Offers Small Boost

The annual back-to-school tax-free holiday begins today, a chance for shoppers to skip the 5 percent sales tax in Virginia and 7 percent sales tax in Tennessee.


August 06, 2009

Citizen Recruits Help Everyone

Granted, no one likes “nosy neighbors,” but involved neighbors who are friendly with the police and know when to speak up are the best deterrent to crime any neighborhood can have.


August 05, 2009

Welcome Home To Vitriol, Chaos At Local Meetings

Returning home for the late-summer break, members of Congress should expect greetings that range from icy to outright hostile.


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.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement