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Columnists

FRED FIRST: Approaching the Longest Night

Yes, you’re right—if you’ve even noticed—that this space has been neglected for some weeks now, and it has been hard to figure out where and how to jump back...

A Life Well-Lived: Shirley Padgett Lester (1947-2025)

Shirley Padgett Lester of Vinton went to her heavenly reward October 4. Below is the...

BOB BROWN: How the White House Functioned With a Diminished Biden “Presidency”

Permit me to think out loud as an old-fashioned person who respects authority, history, and...

JOHNNY ROBINSON: The Gratitude Perch

On the old road up Mill Mountain, part of Roanoke’s fabulous greenway system, there’s a...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Sometimes President Trump Needs To Think Before He Speaks – Part II

Contrary to what President Trump believes, I think that Lakanwal was adequately vetted before September 2021,...

Smartphones and Being Smart

by Stephanie Koehler I recently had a series of hardware malfunctions that left me intermittently without my smartphone for several weeks.  While I frequently...

Green Flames and Solar Salamanders: Evidence of Evolution At-Large

by H. Bruce Rinker, Ph.D. Earlier this spring, science writer Connie Barlow sent me an e-mail about an awe-inspiring scientific discovery.  Scientists in Uruguay...

Welcome to the United States of Diversity

by Mike Keeler OK, kids!  Time for a geography pop quiz:  where in the world are the following cities, and what do they have...

A Husband’s Diary – Entry #2177

by Lucky Garvin From years age: Herself is a bit tired of mortgage banking and wants a new job.  She would love to be...

Troubles and Joy On the Road to Santa Theresa

by John Robinson “Push! Come on, puuusssssh; keep…. it.…moving.”  Thomas, Jim, and I strain at the bumper of the "Bandierante," our truck. If we can...

The “Chreaster” Christian by Stuart Revercomb

Recently, I asked a friend of my daughters what church she went to and received the following reply: "We go to 'So and...