They left behind mothers and fathers and siblings, husbands and wives, daughters and sons. Their families continue to mourn this Memorial Day, a holiday set aside to remember those who died in combat while fighting for the freedoms and ideals of the United States of America.

How much government do Americans want? Like so much in our public life, the answer is complex and often founded not on principles but on petty politics. That's too bad, because the answer should guide much of our public lives. Instead, America's policy debates hinge on logical and philosophical pretzeling.

In their eagerness to ensure they're abiding by privacy laws, Chesapeake school officials are unnecessarily complicating efforts to protect students and staff.

Virginians are sadly mistaken if they think they're saving money because the state's gas tax, among the lowest in the nation, has been a steady 17.5 cents a gallon for the past 20 years. With a busy holiday weekend upon us, it's time again to take a look at how the state's gas tax affects - or, more accurately, doesn't affect - prices at the pump.

Builder T.E. Jones tackled a challenge that proved harder than he expected: constructing a new home in Chesapeake using only American-made products.

To the great consternation of Virginia Beach's naysayers, the city is paying $300,000 for a piece of the planned Thalia Creek Greenway by Town Center, next to the abandoned rail line.

The General Assembly's failure to seat a qualified nominee for a vacant judgeship in Richmond's General District Court doesn't mean the bench must remain open until next legislative session. Nor does it mean that Virginia's capital city, or its residents, should be deprived of a capable jurist in the interim.

Here’s an opportunity for two prominent Virginia Beach businessmen to show the type of leadership they say they want for the country. It’s an opportunity to compromise, to reject the nastiness — and the undue influence from outside — that has characterized politics in recent years.

The airlines came for our cocktails. Then our food and blankets. Then our suitcases. Now they’ve come for our ability to sit together. Many of the major airlines are now charging passengers $25 or more if they want to reserve seats together.

Virginia Beach doesn't need a new law to keep cigarette butts from marring Chic's Beach. If the city feels strongly about getting butts off public beaches - and it should - then it needs to enforce its existing littering law.