As we watched the outbreak and spread of this virus throughout Wuhan, China, I am not sure that most of us thought that it would spread beyond the Chinese border, much less cause a worldwide pandemic. We are living in the 21st century, a time where technology and knowledge is supposedly higher than it has ever been. I have just returned from South Africa, where my IPhone 10 served as the best means of GPS tracking. We have all of these things, but yet, we are in the panic mode over this virus. Picture this, my team and I were…
Browsing: Commentary
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. First off, if my timing is correct, the wearing of the green and drinking green beer happened this week. Hope you did something special to celebrate the day. I used to wear some Irish buttons…like “Kiss Me I’m Irish”, or “Pinch Me for Luck,” which are a no-no these days, but I do have a cute pair of oversized green glasses with fake side burns to wear. Who knows, it might bring me luck! I could use it for sure. So, what else is going on? Oh yes, I…
By Del. Carrie Coyner As I am writing this week’s update, it is Sunday, March 8 at 1 p.m. and the General Assembly is still in session. We left here last night around midnight and returned this morning to address the large number of bills that have still not been agreed to between the House and Senate, as well as final adoption of the state budget. Next week’s column will provide you with details of the budget and major bills that passed from the General Assembly. The majority of bills I patronized passed out of both the House and Senate…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. Not sure what happened in a recent past article. It was a blast from the past.However, I was pretty confident that I was current with my Master’s weekly needs. So anyway, daylight-saving time is just a few days away and I am not a happy camper about it. I am just getting used to seeing the sun come in the morning when I go to work. I get up, shower, dress, grab a bite of breakfast, and crawl into my cold dark car. Then as I drive down the…
By Del. Carrie Coyner In the General Assembly, there are many opportunities to join caucuses which are groups of legislators who come together based on regions, based on political issues, or for social gatherings. I’m a member of the newly established Virginia Commonwealth Caucus, a bipartisan group of Virginia senators and delegates who are looking to find common ground on important issues and foster a service-focused culture in Virginia’s General Assembly. We are a diverse group of legislators from many ethnic, economic, religious, and racial backgrounds who share a common belief that our communities and commonwealth deserve better politics, focused…
We have some great auto repair facilities in Chester, but today, one of those facilities set itself apart from all the rest in my book. In June of last year, I took my truck to a well-known repair facility for a complete brake job. Everything was fine until just recently, when the front discs showed signs of warping. For whatever reason, the discs did not last but about 8 months. We have all had things that did not last past the warranty. The issue is, what will someone do once a warranty claim is reported? I can tell you that…
Hello and welcome back from the wonderful world of the Dogpound. Is it Easter yet? Easter is about 6 weeks away, but according to my local Walmart, it is already here. Nothing new about that, but I just wanted to point that that out. What else is new? Well, with the weather starting to warm up, birds are starting to return, and the blackbirds are back in force. I watch them in amazement; the flocks have so many birds. I mean, there literally has to be thousands of them, maybe millions! I have watched them fly across the sky for…
By Del. Carrie Coyner This last week of session is known as “budget week,” where the House debated and passed its version of the state budget and the Senate did the same. The House budget includes a number of initiatives that I fully support and some that I don’t. Last year the House Republicans led the effort to freeze college tuition in Virginia, and I am proud that the House has continued to put forth a budget that prioritizes college affordability by retaining that freeze in tuition for Virginia students. The Governor’s budget cut the Tuition Assistance Grant (TAG) program…
Letter to the editorTo the Editor: In response to Del. Coyner’s message on the legislature that the additional taxes that she objects to are necessary to meet critical infrastructure needs that were ignored while her party was in the majority: unfortunately, we have become a country where people think they can get nothing for something. Herbert Loveless
I could easily turn these two subjects into individual articles, but both carry tremendous importance, so I am going to tackle both of them in this one article. I was reading the daily business plan for CF& EMS one morning, and I clicked on a link that takes you to the LODD (Line of Duty Deaths) for 2020. As of the last reported number, 10 firefighters had lost their lives in the line of duty across America. The cause of one of those firefighter deaths can be directly affected by you and me. You have heard a lot about the Move…