Credit Help, Fewer Stops, VT Memorial

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More protections for credit users

Credit card consumers will soon see fewer fees and more explanation thanks to the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights that has passed both houses of Congress. The Senate passed its version of the bill by a 90-5 vote last week and the House has already passed its own version.

The bill puts the brakes on unannounced credit card rate hikes and is supposed to make it easier for consumers to understand fees and interest rates.

President Obama signed the bill into law on Friday.

We are thrilled to see Congress act quickly on this measure. Earlier provisions approved by Congress were not to take effect until July 2010.

As an Associated Press story noted, this law cannot make people more prudent or wise in their financial decisions, but it does require credit card companies to give notice and reasoning when raising rates. Sadly, those had not been the operating rules before. As always, buyer, or shopper, beware.

Memorial unveiling at Virginia Tech

A white oak pillar, carved by hand, will be installed in front of Cheatam Hall at Virginia Tech in memory of the people killed on campus on April 16, 2007. The memorial is a work by visiting forestry professor from West Virginia University named Levente Denes. He spent about 200 hours carving the memorial.

It is a Hungarian sculpture called a kopjafa that measures about 14-feet tall and weighs about 600 pounds. We’re impressed that Denes was so moved that he has spent so much time devoted to creating this memorial. It contains no names, but includes stars and crosses, according to an Associated Press story published earlier this week.

Thirty-two people were shot to death on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va., by Seung Hui-Cho, who also took his own life.

We hope this memorial gives comfort to the many people who love Blacksburg, Virginia Tech and the many people who have passed through there to learn or teach others.

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Nineteen rest stops will close

When nature calls, motorists will have 19 fewer interstate rest stops to use as Virginia’s thanks to cuts in road money. Something that’s not getting cut is the grass at the remaining rest stops.

Look for those sites to get a trim only three times per season, and then only a narrow swath will be cut.

These were the recommendations made this week by Transportation David Ekern when he spoke to the Commonwealth Transportation Board when it met in Richmond on Wednesday and Thursday. Northern Virginia, the most populous region, will have the most sites to close.

Be sure to carry a tool box and a flashlight in this part of the state because roadside safety patrols in western Virginia will end on July 1. Remember when Virginia’s transportation system and rest stops were a model to other states?

Now, for certain, we’ll have people using tall grass at sites that are closed or haven’t been mowed.

Be sure to watch your step.