Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: The End of the Central Park Epoch and the City's Future Budget

A letter to the editor from City of Fredericksburg resident Mike Craig.

Editor's Note:  The following op-ed was submitted to Fredericksburg Patch by Mike Craig and it appears unedited in its entirety. Letters to the Editor may be submitted by email to Susan.Larson@patch.com. ______ The Central Park Epoch (CPE) ended on April 10, 2012, when the City Council and the EDA subsidized Barnes and Noble[i].  Central Park is no longer a fire hose of property and sales tax revenue.  As a result, we must first reduce funding in some areas and second control the cost of future capital improvements. The police and sheriff’s budget line items for “supplies” increase every year and in the 2014 budget exceed $500,000[ii].  On July 27, 2012, members of these departments raided the Otter House using “supplies” such as masks, …

• Photos (1)

What Happened to America's Dog?

Pit Bulls were once loved and revered in America. How did they become so maligned in today's society?

You may have thought this story would be about a Labrador or Golden Retriever, but it’s about a group of dogs commonly referred to as 'Pit Bulls' and their fall from grace in our society. During the first half of the 20th century, Pit Bulls were the closest thing the United States had to a national dog.  They were featured on U.S. recruiting posters in World Wars I and II, prominently featured as corporate mascots and cast as the ideal family dog in television and movies. Now the breed is demonized and battles everything from a media-driven reputation for being predators, to abuse from their owners, to legislation that seeks to outlaw their existence. How did this happen to a dog that was once America’s sweetheart? WHAT IS A PIT BULL? The …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (6)

'Zero Dark Thirty:' Bigelow's Controversial Triumph Worth Seeing

Director Kathryn Bigelow overlooked for Oscar in Best Director category.

Zero Dark Thirty, which brought in $24 million in its first two days of wide release, has been lauded worldwide as an impressive piece of filmmaking, a movie that is anything but formulaic.   It is always very different for those of us who live within the Washington area.  Our experience of anything political is amplified. The headquarters of the CIA, FBI, and of course, the White House, are all within driving distance. It is, therefore, nearly impossible not to have heard about the controversy surrounding this film.  Senators Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) denounced the film, for its depiction of torture. “We believe the film is grossly inaccurate and misleading in its suggestion that torture …

• Photos (1)

Letter: Councilmembers Respond to River Front Editorial

Costs and missing details trouble members as issue returns to council.

By Matthew Kelly, Fred Howe, Bea Paolucci, and Vice-Mayor Brad Ellis A recent editorial (in the Free Lance-Star) chastised council for hesitating to move forward with a new concept for a River Front Park. Referencing previous design efforts the writer lamented that the park, “seemed destined to remain in perpetual purgatory.” Ignored in the editorial is the fact that council is supportive of moving forward with a River Front Park, but as stewards of taxpayers’ funds, believes it needs to be done responsibly. Two questions arise: how did the city reach the current situation and how can the city move this project forward successfully? In the past, consultants were hired to develop concepts, not a design, for a River Front park. The latest (…

• Photos (1)

25 Dont's in the New Year

To greet all-new year 2013, I wrote down 25 Don’ts in the New Year. I am the one who needs to listen my own advice, in fact.

Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Striving for What is Reasonable

"-- to protect our Second Amendment rights while better protecting our children and ourselves through reasonable, enforced gun safety regulations and gun laws, as well as improvements in mental healthcare."

Jesse Clear's clear letter on gun safety makes reasonable sense, and isn't that where we should all be aiming -- for a sensible consensus on gun safety and senseless violence?  Knowing some facts, as Mr. Clear conveys to us, is a good step forward. My nephew, a 36-year-old father of two young children from suburban Connecticut, posted on Facebook his thoughts on the priority of life over unrestricted gun ownership.  A former high school classmate of mine, who is 61, commented on gun ownership (he owns several), responsibility, and the types of environments where citizens carry guns, as he does in rural Tennessee.  These two intelligent and reasonable people view things differently from entirely contrasting environments, but they reached a …

• Photos (2)

Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Gun Legislation

"Throwing a bit of light onto the hot controversy surrounding prospective gun control legislation."

Dear Susan: I'd like to submit this piece in hopes of throwing a bit of light onto the hot controversy surrounding prospective gun control legislation.  It would seem that the terminology itself is confusing...both by intention and through ignorance.  Since I am professionally engaged in the firing range industry, I'd hope that my advocacy might have some purchase...at least with those honestly confused and not ideologically rigid.   LETHALITY (not appearance) is the real gun issue. Semi-automatic and automatic weapons are military and police tools. They were designed to kill the enemy as quickly and efficiently as possible. Any distinction is academic between Semi- and Automatic weaponry. "Conversion kits," readily available on the grey-…

•  64 Comments
• Photos (1)

Mac Smith

9:28 am on Monday, January 7, 2013

Thanks Jesse! We may agree and disagree with some (or all) of what you have written, but you did a good job of supporting and explaining your position. Well done.   more ›

Video: Fredericksburg Doctor Pushes for Medicaid Expansion

Dr. Christopher Lillis spoke during a lunch hour panel Dec. 18 in Fredericksburg.

Dr. Christopher Lillis said citizens can still influence Virginia's General Assembly to include Medicaid expansion in the state's 2012-14 budget, even if Gov. Bob McDonnell did not include it in his recommendations. Lillis participated with Sister Mary Ellen Lacy, one of the Nuns on the Bus from NETWORK, the national Catholic social justice lobby, in Tuesday's lunch hour panel discussion at St. George's Episcopal Church. "Get to know your state senator and state representatives and contact them," Lillis said.  The panel discussion was co-sponsored by the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, Virginia Consumer Voices for Healthcare and Virginia Organizing. See Lillis' comments in the media player above. Related Stories: Local …

• Videos (1)

'The Hobbit': An Only Sometimes Unexpected Cinematic Journey

Santa brings a very mixed bag to blockbuster franchise.

This holiday, with the expected blockbuster franchise The Hobbit (it has already broken records for midnight release of a movie more than two-and-a-half hours long), Santa brings a very mixed bag. First, let's talk about the coal-worthy aspects of the An Unexpected Journey. Unless you are a slave to technology, spend most of your days playing video games or crave seeing the next big thing, avoid the mercifully limited number of screens (10 percent) showing it in 3D filmed at 48 frames instead of the usual 24. Director Peter Jackson argues the high frame rate technology gives the movie a sense of reality, like "looking into the real world." Unfortunately, while it brightens the often-muddled look of 3D, it also points up every quirk and …

• Photos (1)

Letter to the Editor: Texting While Driving Bill Goes Too Far

Dangerous law would make smart phone uses criminals.

Editor's Note: The following was submitted as a Letter to the Editor by Andrew Flusche, Attorney at Law. It is unedited. Delegate Cline pre-filed a texting while driving bill on December 4 that repeals the current Virginia ban against texting while driving. Cline’s bill replaces that narrowly tailored law with a dangerously broad addition to Virginia’s thirteen different types of reckless driving. The bill, HB 1360, would make it a class 1 misdemeanor for anyone caught “driving a motor vehicle on any highway in the Commonwealth while simultaneously using a handheld personal communications device for any purpose other than verbal communication.” The proposed bill dramatically broadens the prohibited acts and punishments for offenders. The …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)