Column: Marking Time
As much as I don’t want to be ever-mindful of today’s date – relative to when I first learned of my diagnosis, that Thursday three years ago this very week, when my Internal Medicine doctor called me with the results of the biopsy (confirming the malignancy); and of course all that had preceded it and all that has happened since.
Letter: Disregard for Constitution
Letter to the Editor
On Jan. 20, President Obama and his Administration announced a mandate under Obamacare that will force religious-affiliated organizations that offer health insurance to cover items that go directly against their religious teachings to include contraceptives, sterilization procedures and abortifacients.
Editorial: Saving the Bay - A Good Investment
Cleaning up the water that runs into the Chesapeake Bay will help create jobs and economic activity in Virginia.
A plan to raise $300 million in bonds to upgrade wastewater treatment plants around the commonwealth stalled in a House of Delegates committee last week, a setback in meeting EPA requirements to clean up the water that leads to the Bay.
Column: "Diseased"
But not sickness. Not health, either, as last week’s column ended. At least that’s the way I characterize my having stage IV lung cancer. And I don’t know if I’m splitting hairs here, since I’ve never worked in a salon, although I do get my hair cut regularly; but I have been accused of speaking double-talk.
Editorials: Access to Activities for Home Schoolers; Action in Richmond; Changes in Gun Laws
Families who home-school their children in this area take a burden off crowded schools, and off taxpayers who pay on average between $12,000 and $16,000 per year per child in school depending on where in Northern Virginia.
Column: Keeping Dulles Rail On Track
Henry Ford once said that you should not find fault, but find a remedy, because anyone can complain. I believe this principle describes our efforts over the last year to reduce the cost of Dulles Rail and keep it moving forward.
Column: Back On The Juice…
The chemotherapy juice, that is. Going forward now, every three weeks until I’ve completed six infusions, finishing sometime around mid May barring any foreseen – and previously experienced blips (meaning delays): levels, counts, readings, etc., that would compel my oncologist to stop åhe treatment and await results of a retest
Column: "Progression"
There’s a word – in a medical context, anyway, that you don’t hear every day. And if you’re a stage IV lung cancer survivor – like me, 35 months post-diagnosis, it’s hardly the word you ever want to hear – or see – describing the most recent CT Scan of your lungs (Mediastinum) where your malignant tumors have been in "partial stable remission" going on two-plus years now. "Progression" means growth. Growth means the relative calm under which you’ve existed for the last few years is officially over.
Letter: More In-state Opportunities
Letter to the Editor
Virginia has the best schools in the country. Regrettably the admissions process at schools like Virginia Tech, James Madison University, or University of Virginia have become so competitive for in-state students that these top tier schools seem unattainable.
Editorial: About Halfway
Always entertaining, the high-stakes session of the Virginia General Assembly reaches new heights this month.
The user-friendly website for the Virginia General Assembly plus live-streaming of the legislative sessions might make you believe that most of the important decisions in Richmond are being made out in the sunshine.
Column: For All I Know…
Skipping my monthly targeted treatment (Avastin) because my kidneys are under stress might be a good thing. It might mean my body doesn’t need (it certainly doesn’t want) to be infused.
School Board Needs Public’s Input
Recently, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Jack Dale presented the School Board with his proposal for next year’s budget.
Column: Soulless Ant Colony
That is what a reporter for Norfolk’s Virginian Pilot called Reston in a column recently.
Column: Hidden Candidates
Besides a race for President in 2012, we have elections for one-third of 100 U.S. Senate seats and all 435 seats in the House of Representatives.
Column: Battles to Preserve Voter Access
Assembly is seeing numerous bills to limit participation at all levels of voting.
The 2012 General Assembly is in full swing. The committees are selected and legislation filed. Some of the sharpest battles are forming on the issue of voter access.