Opinion

Same old story on road money

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

It's almost back to Square One for lawmakers responsible for solving the commonwealth's transportation woes. Now that even Gov. Bob McDonnell's slapdash combo of tolls, general fund diversions and naming rights for highways, byways, bridges and tunnels appears all but doomed, lawmakers are again facing the prospect of doing this year what they've done for so many others: Nothing substantial.

More than 70 feet from justice

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Virginia Beach is reconfiguring the heart of Kempsville, moving and widening Princess Anne Road to relieve congestion. There's no question of the need. A more navigable interchange with Witchduck and Kempsville roads has been the city's and state's goal for 20 years.

Speak up now, Norfolk parents

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Norfolk residents had an opportunity this week to tell the School Board what they want in a new superintendent. Although about 170 people attended a meeting Tuesday to discuss the division's goals, including how to engage the community, only nine people showed up that night at two meetings to discuss the superintendent. A little more than 900 people completed an online survey.

Measure results, not intentions

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

By Jeff McWaters The push to start public schools before Labor Day is based on the very best intentions: better student performance and enhanced competitiveness as a result of starting classes a little earlier. If we judge the idea based purely on its intentions, it's a no-brainer.

There'll be no skirting trouble if this dress code passes

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Shhhhh. Hear that noise? Sounds like a posse of ACLU lawyers galloping toward Suffolk to thwart a move by school officials to force boys to dress like boys. Great. Just what the city needs. A doomed - and expensive - legal battle to rip the wigs off one or two high school cross-dressers.

Unwise expansion of death penalty

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

This week, as Virginia’s lawmakers debated whether to expand the death penalty, the state prepared to exonerate a 56-year-old man who has spent his adult life being punished for a 1978 rape in Williamsburg that he didn’t commit.

Once again, usurers escape

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Short-term lending companies will have at least another year to ply their destructive wares in Virginia, offering quick cash and an endless and destructive cycle of debt. Senators this week shelved a proposal from Hampton Roads' Mamie Locke and John Miller to rein in practices that have allowed companies to charge 300 percent or more in interest on short-term loans.

Faith remains that troubled church could see revival

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Folks of a mature age know the term "bad penny." For the uninitiated, it means something negative that recurs way too often. Just when you think you've buried a bad penny, it pops up again. The saga of a church in downtown Portsmouth fits the moniker aptly.

A blueprint covered in red ink

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:34:50 -0500

By James Merrill, James Roberts, Michael Spencer, David Stuckwisch and Deran Whitney The Blueprint for the Future of Public Education is the vision of Virginia's public school superintendents for meaningful education reform. Unveiled nearly two months prior to the governor's K-12 plan, the 43-page document lays out five key goals: --Prepare all students to be college- and career-ready

Infringement of religious rights

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Religious institutions receive extraordinary protections under the Constitution. Government must be exceptionally careful that its mandates don't impinge on the freedom of a religious institution to pursue its mission.