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Darrell Laurant: Appomattox making news in a good way

Finally, Appomattox County is making news in a good way.

03/26/2012 7:05 AM

Freedom of open road still beckons these two

Usually, Jack McLaughlin says, no one notices him when he pulls into a gas station on his motorcycle.

10/16/2011 6:00 AM
A royal wedding, a royal divorce

Kate Middleton and Prince William aren't really getting married at 2 a.m. That's just when any Americans who care will have to set their alarms (or stay up) if they want to watch the event on TV. And a lot of them will.

04/28/2011 9:36 AM
Who cares where a President was born?

In Arizona, a group of lawmakers with nothing better to do recently came up with a bill that would require any presidential candidate to produce a valid U.S. birth certificate before he or she could appear on the state's ballot. The governor, Jan Brewer, vetoed it.

04/20/2011 4:02 PM
Was the penalty for Tech really fair?

Here's my question about the $5,000 fine recently levied on Virginia Tech for failure to adequately preserve the safety of its students during the 2007 shootings: If it had turned out that the two initial deaths in West Ambler Johnston Hall had been the only ones, and not the preamble to an unprecented bloodbath precipiated by student Seung-Hui Cho, would the school still have been penalized? I wonder.

04/07/2011 11:09 AM
A Wal-Mart of a lawsuit

To me, there is something untidy -- and, ultimately, troubling -- about most class action suits. The current sex-discrimination action against Wal-Mart is a good example.

03/30/2011 2:33 PM
A real Shaka

"A good name," it is written somewhere in the Bible, "is worth more than riches." Shaka Smart, the dynamic young coach of the surprising Virginia Commonwealth University basketball team, provides the latest case in point.

03/29/2011 1:01 PM
Women ahead of their time

Before there was Sarah Palin, there was Geraldine Ferraro. Before there was Lindsey Lohan, there was Elizabeth Taylor.

03/27/2011 8:05 PM
Keeping cops honest

I can't tell you exactly what happened between Sam McConville and a couple of Lynchburg police officers in the parking lot of McConville's tour bus company lot back in 2008, because I wasn't there.

03/26/2011 11:44 AM
Should CVCC have a basketball team?

This Thursday, officials from the state's community colleges will be meeting in Lynchburg. I'd love to see them devote just a small portion of their time together to the possibility of starting a statewide community college basketball league.

03/23/2011 4:46 PM
Do we really have a foreign policy?

Art Buchwald, the late humorous columnist, once wrote that everyone in the world should be able to vote for the President of the United State, since the U.S. seems to think the whole world is its responsibility.

03/21/2011 3:39 PM
Regarding Chris Cook

Obviously, Heritage High School graduate Chris Cook didn't get the memo about what it means to be an NFL player.

03/16/2011 7:37 AM
Let's wait a minute on nuclear power

In today's society, especially now that the Internet is in place, we tend to universalize bad things that happen. And quickly.

03/16/2011 7:22 AM
It's basketball, not rocket science

As those of you who care about such things are filling out your bracket sheets for the upcoming NCAA basketball tournament, you may hear the term "bracketology" somewhere in all the background noise.

03/15/2011 3:41 PM
Hokies snubbed? That's hokey

Virginia Tech basketball coach Seth Greenberg is starting to show signs of paranoia, and who can blame him?

03/14/2011 4:23 PM
Fairness isn't always easy

In my gut, I can't say that I'm unhappy that Kenneth Davis is facing a life sentence. At the same time, I know that a lot of injustice has been done under the guise of "We need to send a message ..."

03/11/2011 7:57 AM
More gas pains

There are some things in life over which we have no control -- death, taxes, and gasoline prices.

03/08/2011 1:24 PM
D-Day Memorial needs to "diversify"

There are a few tourist attactions that can flourish while remaining static. The Grand Canyon, for instance.

03/05/2011 3:31 PM
Sticks, stones and Westboro Baptist

A few years ago, I briefly interviewed the Rev. Fred Phelps, pastor of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church. It was kind of scary.

03/03/2011 2:50 PM
Joan and Ralph

In an age ruled by long faces and Chicken Littles, you have to love Lynchburg Mayor Joan Foster's unquenchable optimism.

03/02/2011 9:21 AM
These kids are not alright

I understand the logic behind not naming juveniles convicted of most crimes. On the other hand, I think there should be a limit -- and this week's case involving a Lynchburg 13-year-old convicted of first degree murder more than exceeds it.

03/02/2011 9:03 AM
Jens Soering isn't going away

If you saw the movie "The Shawshank Redemption," you may remember the scene where Tim Robbins' character earnestly explains to inmate sage Red Redding (Morgan Freeman) that he is innocent of the crime of which he was convicted. "Well, then, you'll fit right in here," replies Red with an ironic smile. "Everybody here is innocent."

03/01/2011 4:48 PM
The 11th commandment: Use your heads

Sometimes, the debate across the borderline of religion and the state can be profound. Other times, such as recently in Giles County, it's just silly.

02/28/2011 5:45 PM
Dogs, cats and the death penalty

It's nice to see that the Lynchburg Humane Society moving toward a new identity as a "no-kill" animal shelter. The alternative, I always thought, was ultimately counterproductive to the overall aim of the institution.

02/25/2011 12:07 PM
Mental health and the feds

OK, tell me again why the Central Virginia Training Center has 1,400 employees to serve 400 residents?

02/24/2011 3:18 PM