Opinion

Dear Editor: For all my Virginia friends, neighbors, and family who are on the fence about voting for the redistricting referendum, here’s your choice: If you are satisfied with the job the Trump Administration is doing running our country, particularly with the price of gas, the cost of groceries, and the fact we are at war, vote no on April 21.

Dear Editor Gone Fishin’ To Fish is a Wish where Waters Flow Where Sunlight Warms the Earth below It’s more than just the Line you use The Hook you Bait - the Boat you choose It’s not expressed in Simple Terms But as you cast, a Closeness Firms. This could be where the Current Tames The waves when they play Simple Games Or at another Place you Meet Those Days when Complex Trials Compete: Using Nature’s Soothing Actions To cover over Life’s Distractions. As Sunset’s Healing Glows Retreat Your Spirit now feels more complete. Perhaps not with a Quick Solution But with a Gentler Resolution For when you just have No More Fight: Look! There comes Another Bite! And, you treasure Things that Count Each Time - Another Wave you Mount! I am from Colonial Beach and grew up on the Potomac. This poem represents the feelings I still remember and treasure as a Youth “Goin’ Fishing”! It always seemed to solve Those Problems of Life”!

To the Editor, The administration’s legislation HB1443 and SB386) will require PFAS sludge testing for the first time and also require disclosure of testing results to landowners 14 days prior to land applications. This is good.

To the Editor, The term “gerrymander” goes all the way back to 1812, when political maps were drawn to benefit those in power instead of the people. Two hundred years later, not much has changed.

Letters to the Editor

To the Editor, Recent reports regarding redistricting efforts across the country should be a cause for concern for every Virginian, regardless of political party. When congressional maps are redrawn without voter approval or oversight, the very foundation of “free and fair elections” begins to crumble.

Dear Editor, My grandmother, a first generation American, was what many would call a closet conservative. She believed deeply in her values but felt it was safer to keep them to herself. She came from a time when speaking out had consequences. But we have seen where silence leads. It allows those values to be pushed aside, little by little, until they are no longer defended.