Banks that charge unwitting customers $35 for overdrawing their accounts by a few bucks aren't exactly in the same category as predatory lenders. But they're close.

There's a balancing act in protecting children from their poor decisions and keeping the rest of society safe. In 1996, Virginia's lawmakers, like those in many other states, looked at juvenile crime statistics and worried that a wave of youth violence was becoming a tsunami. And like lawmakers in many states, Virginia's overreacted.

That Norfolk's government considered making it more difficult to overturn City Council decisions or recall elected officials raises questions about the judgment in City Hall. That such substantial changes appeared on the City Council's docket without sufficient public notice or discussion inspires doubts about intentions and oversight.

The medical industry’s control of Congress isn’t exactly a secret or new. But until this month, health care companies were generally pretty good at hiding the fact that they were the ventriloquists and their pet lawmakers were the other party to that arrangement.

The IRS rarely evokes a warm and fuzzy feeling, but it’s difficult not to feel at least a little civic pride over this announcement from 1040 Central: The agency recently lured more than 14,700 high-dollar tax evaders out of the shadows — and into a line to pay up.

It's reasonable to assume that Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell would not have attended a luncheon hosted by a Loudoun County imam earlier this year if he believed that Islam is a "violent political system" rather than a religion. Yet McDonnell is being asked to publicly denounce the Rev. Pat Robertson's latest screed against Muslims, made last week on his television show.

Local governments have been singing the budget blues for two years, but their song is about to take on a much more somber tone - "the sign of the weary," as Bob Dylan's "Hard Times" goes.

Given the number of dismal reports already stacked up at various government agencies, medical associations and environmental groups, the conclusion of a new EPA study on mercury-tainted fish wasn't surprising.

Public trust in Virginia's elected leaders has worn dangerously thin this year thanks to the shenanigans of Phil Hamilton. He resigned his position in the House of Delegates on Sunday, a decision that leaves his Newport News constituents without representation until his successor takes office in January.

Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell promised this fall to push for more charter schools and performance pay for teachers. Budget cuts and resistance from teachers and school administrators will make both goals especially challenging.