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Columnists

BECKY MAUPIN: The After Bedtime Search

Picture this: You manage to get everyone fed and the dinner aftermath cleaned up. Then starts the bedtime rodeo that includes 4 meltdowns, 3 sips of water, 2 more...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Israel’s Second Sum Of All Fears

I first heard about a dirty bomb in early September 1993 when an IBM coworker,...

BOB BROWN: What Happened to Happiness?

We can quibble about the origin, even the definition or meaning of “happiness,” but I’m...

FRED FIRST: Homeward Bound

It would happen: the trip back to Floyd. And then it wouldn’t. And then it...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) Needs To Be Censured

Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), who appears to be a self-important crackpot, tried hysterically (without officially...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Does Congress Really Care About The U.S. National Debt?

My Uncle Rudy, who died in 2015 at the age of 98, once told me in 2011 three sad stories about the Great Depression. He said...

FRED FIRST: Country Mouse, City Life / Growing New Roots without Transplant Shock

As soon as we made the decision in November to move to Columbia, calculating the distance from our new digs to the Columbia Mall...

MELINDA MYERS: Spring Garden Cleanup with Pollinators in Mind

Spring cleaning, indoors and out, is a long-standing tradition for many households. But as we learn more about the important pollinators, insect-eating toads, songbirds,...

Eulogies For A Great American Patriot And WW II Veteran, Claude Smith (1922-2024)

Claude Nelson Smith, who lived in Roanoke since 1949, the year the Mill Mountain Star was erected, went to his eternal reward on Sunday,...

This Election is About Americans / Trump vs. The Corporate Politicians

 It is Super Tuesday and the Republican Primary election in Virginia is underway. Generally speaking, most candidates from both Democratic and Republican Party are...

RANDY HUFF: Tending to The Small Things

The largest small thing in our lives is, after all, home. “Go large or go home!” The words from my gifted friend stung and made me...