C'MON CITY FINANCE PEOPLE, HELP US OUT WITH NUMBERS

According to Suffolk supplied numbers there are 29,993 Households in Suffolk with an average of   2.6 persons including the little babies whose diapers have not yet been declared trash or recyclable paper. Using $17. as the monthly cost for this this wonderful program it can generate half a million each month or a little over  six million  for each year.  Seems that the recycled  materials are worth a ton of money and that many  blue cows will produce many tons of very valuable goods. Who gets it  is the simple question.  "IS" will wait a reasonable length of time for answer from the city. Most city officials deny reading "IS" but we know better.  Any Council member will do.                                                                                                                                                            

JUST A BUMP

SO MANY IN  WASHINGTON  CAN'T  TELL  THE  TRUTH  WE  OFFER  SOLID  PROOF  THAT  AN  EARTHQUAKE   TOOK   PLACE  IN  THE  NEAR  VICINITY OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S  OFFICE.  THE PRESIDENT ESCAPED  DEATH   BY   CAMPAIGNING.

WELCOME ABOARD

Remember all  the nice things Selena and  Mayor Linda had to say about the newly named financial director,  Dale Walker, as he asended to the throne of books that keep track of our dwindling supply of dollars. This is not a test of your memory but doesn’t it seem that the ink on his contract could not have been dry on Febuary 6, the day he joined the long list of forced to resign employees that previously had been toasted for their expertise.  The odds on the new director, Deborah H. White, being a Suffolk employee longer than Dale have improved if only because  she is female.  And she is also experienced and attractive. Picture from SNH

TIME IS SPEEDING UP

Why not,  I asked myself, why not  a picture taken way back, a year after the war.  We are now in the  second half of the eighties and have to remind ourselves we were once young. The picture was taken in 1946, we were engaged even though the U.S. government said to forget it. I stayed in Germany a year fighting the naysayers and finally went home to fight from that end. We won, as did hundreds of other American soldiers. Her dress is made from two kerchiefs and a white parachute, the  best we could do under the circumstances. Of course Germany was in terrible condition, her city of Bremen was bombed regularly and her home severely damaged when the British took the city. But that day was party time with both German relatives and my American buddies celebrating our union and end of the war. 

ARE YOU EXCITED

A well written story by Emily Collins about the up-coming Homerama shows up this morning in the SNH. I believe everything she wrote with one exception, how excited everyone is, a million or more expected to view the "Modestly priced" homes. Now, unless there are a few 1000 square footers in the collection there won't be too many immediate sales and the place will eventually look like most other Homerama sites in the area, sparsely settled. Even though fixed mortgage interest rates are low they won't appear to be so when your pink slip arrives with a sad message about how you never should

have taken the plunge in view of the nations malaise.  And Obama still has a year to do more damage.

The New Cost of Trash Pickup and How It Is Being Billed Shocks Citizens

Karyn Cook, Chairperson of the Suffolk chapter of the Hampton Roads TEA Party sent me this yesterday. While many of us heard during the rushed budget debates that Suffolk was going to start charging us $18/month for trash pick up, how many property owners in Suffolk actually realized this?

"Yesterday I came home to find this huge blue "Property of the City of Suffolk" monster of a trash can (for recycling) in my driveway. It followed last week's delivery of a big green "City" monstrosity. I spoke to the City Refuse Manager this AM and told her I didn't order the cans and they are not practical for my use, living so far back off the road. I can dispose of my trash myself. Sure, if I want, but I will still be paying I'm told. OK, insult to injury: I find out what these undesired eyesores will cost me as well as every property owner in Suffolk: $210/year! Make it worse: On your real estate tax bill!! Of course you can imagine what happens when you don't pay your R.E. taxes...I think I've seen a few of those signs around town.. So, I'm guilty! I didn't examine the 2011-2012 Suffolk City budget line by line. I won't make that mistake ever again."

How many of us realized that the trash pickup charge was going to be added to our real estate taxes--allowing Suffolk to put a lean on our homes if we don't pay it? I didn’t. But that would be fair if Suffolk property owners could also put similar leans on the homes of City Council Members and the City Manager when they can't figure out how to live within a budget without jacking it up every year. News Flash: many of your constituents are on fixed incomes! Many don’t get annual raises—or even cost of living increases! A very high percentage of home owners are underwater on their mortgages for homes that are worth far less in 2011 than they were in 2007—even though City appraisals only reflect a fraction of the actual decline in market value! And as if you really didn't know, many more of us are out of work, working reduced hours, or getting paid less now than was the case just a couple of years ago.

And isn't this just one more reason to demand that the Suffolk City Manager put out her next city budget proposal at least 90 days before the Council schedules their first meeting to go over it? This annual game of sliding it out at the last legal minute and pushing Council Members up against a ticking clock to pass bad budgets has to end. No citizen showing up at a Public Meeting on the proposed new budget should ever hear a Council Member asking us to explain to them how to arrive at a balanced budget. After all, the only reason Suffolk has to schedule a Public Meeting on the Budget EVERY year in the first place is because Virginia Law requires that any municipality proposing a new budget that exceeds the current one by MORE THAN 1 PERCENT must do so. If Suffolk could live within it's means, the annual charade wouldn't be necessary! When Council Members have to ask their constituents for the keys to the Clue Locker before they can figure out how to spend less than the revenue coming in, something is very wrong! So give citizens a chance to help our elected officials perform the jobs that they admittedly aren't able to perform! Give us the proposed budget and time to look it over before bringing it up at the first Council working session!

IT'S PATHETIC: OBAMA COMPARES HIMSELF TO MLK Jr.

“We Forget When He Was Alive There Was Nobody More Vilified, More Controversial”. Wasn’t he a republican? Barrack, you are no MLK Jr.

Obama is delusional, but I too have a dream. Obama being impeached

Obama, the narcissist and chief also has likened himself to Lincoln. There could not be a more stark difference between him and Lincoln:

Lincoln said you can’t bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You can’t strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You can’t help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You can’t further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred.
You can’t help the poor by destroying the rich.
You can’t keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
You can’t build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative.
And you can’t help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves. *Obama’s leftist ideology essentially violates everyone of these principles handed down in the writings and speeches of a great president he wants to compare himself with.
Guest author AC

SO HE DOESN'T LIKE THE DECISION

 

So he doesn't like the decision. But what has Leroy done other than serving on various committees  Although surely there have been many or his fans  would not be satisfied. But to claim foul on the part of those who had the duty to determine what was fair and equitable was wrong. The city should stick to their guns if what they decided will stand up in a court. Perhaps the Mrs. Borough chief, his a partner should remain quiet on  the suggestion that race is a factor. There is little difference between 5-3 and 6-2 votes and if color does matter that much then what about the whites that like the change from status quo. It sure doesn't smell right if this one is changed.

AN ADDITION TO THE POST "NECESSARY CHANGES MADE TO "IS"

There have been many comments made, some good, some bad and a recent comment asked if there is  any record available of statements made in past comments to Posts. The answer is "yes." You can easily use the search engine located on the Home Page of "IS" on the right side of the page.  Type in, for example, Mike Duman or Mrs. Martin, wait a minute then go to the top of the Homepage,  where you will see comments that were made at the time of the Posts some time ago. Also, to refresh your  mind,  check the listing of Past Posts. "IS" hopes this will assist your search.

A NECESSARY CHANGE TO INSIDE SUFFOLK

YOUR  COMMENTS  DESERVE  RULES  AND YOUR POINTS  MADE  WITHOUT RACISM

 We encourage an open discussion with a wide range of viewpoints, even extreme ones, but we can do without racism, profanity or slanderous comments toward the author(s) or comment participants. Make your case passionately, but civilly. Stop the name-calling. Logical arguments supported by facts are far more effective, shows respect for your fellow readers, and garners positive judgments from even those who disagree with your position.  This site was created to encourage positive and interactive debates to lift public knowledge and, hopefully, support positive changes throughout our community while keeping what is working for us.  If your comment does not appear, it is likely because it violates the above policy.  We reserve the right to remove comments at our discretion. We encourage you to make your comments under your name or a blog name of your choice. This permits our readers to recognize those who enhance public discussions and remain on the lookout for future comments from those whose comments they have enjoyed reading in the past.  

We will do our best to enforce these “rules of comportment.”

WE CAN HARDLY WAIT TO GO BLUE

My neighbor's driveway is over 1500 feet long, enough to have two steep hills and a surface rough enough to loosen your teeth if you were to push or pull the blue 90 gallon bin to the street even half full of whatever will pass for reuseables. And I must pay over $200 each year for the privilege. I'm only 86 and our driveway only 800 feet and I have not walked that far in ten years. So we have a challenge facing us. But that's not the hard part, remembering what can't go in there. I realize you don't toss half of a  soggy left over cupcake in there but it  will take pernhap  months to avoid mistakes, upsetting the sorters  that make final decisions. I haven't yet heard about punitive damages, or any rules regarding limiting particular materials but I assume there are fixed rules. I just know this will be a grand experience. A few tips, that's no parts of a chicken ever goes in Blue can but the paper wrapping it came in may qualify. Steel cans go Blue but only after wasting water for rinsing sticky juices. Only empty beer bottles are recyclable, alcohol goes with paint cans and used oil.  We still don't know who gets the profit from sales of the recycled materials...city or  recycler. Lots of money there that could be used to reduce citizen cost.

WISE INDIAN SAY BEST TO GET OFF DEAD HORSE

However, in business and politics we often try other strategies for dealing with dead horses.

1. Buying a stronger whip.
2. Changing riders.
3. Saying things like "This is the way we always have ridden this horse."
4. Appointing a committee to study the horse.
5. Arranging to visit other sites to see how they ride dead horses.
6. Increasing the standards to ride dead horses.
7. Appointing a tiger team to revive the dead horse.
8. Creating a training session to increase our riding ability.
9. Comparing the state of dead horses in today's environment.
10. Pass legislation declaring that, "This horse is not dead."
11. Blaming the horses parents.
12. Harnessing several dead horses together for increased speed.
13. Declaring that "No horse is too dead to beat."
14. Providing additional funding to increase the horse's performance.
15. Do a Cost Analysis to see if contractors can ride it cheaper.
16  Procure a commercial design dead horse.
17. Declare the horse is "better, faster and cheaper" dead.
18. Form a quality circle to find uses for dead horses.
19. Revisit the performance requirements for horses.
20. Say this horse was procured with cost as an independent variable.
21. BRAC the horse farm on which it was born.
22. Promote the dead horse to a supervisory position

How long have you been riding a dead horse?      

IS SELENA TIGHTENING UP

Some charitable and other nonprofit organizations could be denied local tax-exempt status under a proposed policy change that is expected to come to the City Council this fall.
City Manager Selena Cuffee-Glenn plans to ask the council to revisit its policy for exempting such groups from real estate and personal property taxes, Deputy City Manager Patrick Roberts said. The exemptions cost the city more than $1.4 million a year.
"It has become increasingly important for all city organizations to cover their fair share of government service costs to the community, given the economic pressures that have confronted the city in recent years," Cuffee-Glenn wrote council members in a recent letter.

Would this include the   SCCA?

RIGHT OUT OF SNH HERE WE GO AGAIN

"Only three Suffolk schools met federal learning goals during the 2010-2011 school year, ranking the city at the bottom of the pack in Hampton Roads in terms of school achievement. According to reports released on Thursday, 84 percent of Suffolk schools failed to meet federal standards for adequate yearly progress toward the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act. The schools that made AYP were Hillpoint, Northern Shores and Oakland elementary schools. Deputy Superintendent Jacqueline Chavis said school officials are disappointed so many of the schools didn’t meet the federal standards.
“There are some disappointments because we know how hard the schools, the teachers, the students and the parents have worked,” she said. In order for a school to make AYP this year, 86 percent of its students must have shown proficiency on standards of learning tests for reading and 85 percent must have passed the math tests."

Are 15% of our students stupid or uncaring, or is there still something amiss with our teaching methods?

THE ACTUAL NUMBERS FACING US AND THE KIDS

If this doesn't simplify what these idiots (on both sides of the aisle) in Washington are doing, nothing will!

From the federal Budget Office ...

The U.S. Congress sets a federal budget every year in the trillions of dollars.
Few people know how much money that is so we created a breakdown of federal spending in simple terms. Let's put the 2011 federal budget into perspective:

* U.S. income: $2,170,000,000,000
* Federal budget: $3,820,000,000,000
* New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
* National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
* Recent budget cut: $ 38,500,000,000 (about 1 percent of the budget)

It helps to think about these numbers in terms that we can relate to.
Let's remove eight zeros from these numbers and pretend this is the household budget for the fictitious Jones family.

* Total annual income for the Jones family: $21,700 * Amount of money the Jones family spent: $38,200 * Amount of new debt added to the credit card: $16,500 * Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710 * Amount cut from the budget: $385

JOE WILSON CALLED OBAMA A LIAR-- HERE IS WHY

Remember the famous " You Lie" Remark made by Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina during Obama State of the Union Address? Obama said Obamacare would not cover illegal criminals? Well guess what? 

 

Page 50/section 152: The bill will provide insurance to all non-U.S. Residents, even if they are here illegally.
** Page 58 and 59: The government will have real-time access to an individual’s bank account and will have the authority to make electronic fund transfers from those accounts.
** Page 65/section 164: The plan will be subsidized (by the government) for all union members, union retirees and for community organizations (such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now – ACORN).
** Page 203/line 14-15: The tax imposed under this section will not be treated as a tax. (How could anybody in their right mind come up with that?)
** Page 241 and 253: Doctors will all be paid the same regardless of specialty, and the government will set all doctors’ fees.
** Page 272. Section 1145: Cancer hospital will ration care according to the patient’s age.
** Page 317 and 321: The government will impose a prohibition on hospital expansion; however, communities may petition for an exception.
** Page 425, line 4-12: The government mandates advance-care planning consultations. Those on Social Security will be required to attend an “end-of-life planning” seminar every five years. (Death counseling.)
** Page 429, line 13-25: The government will specify which doctors can write an end-of-life order.

AC,   A GUEST POST  

AN EXAMPLE OF GENUINE ART

A very nice photograph of three beautiful young  ladies in the SNH obviously singing for enjoyment. That in itself is art, singing is art especially if it were an Italian elderly gentleman singing in his century old stone backery kneading his special bread dough. Contributing to the artful scene would be a partial bottle of red wine close at hand.  On the wall behind the pretty girls singing is an askew document from Suffolk High  School, hardly an enhancement to the arts.

WATCH THE WOUNDED WARRIORS SKYDIVE SUNDAY

50 wounded warriors will be fulfilling a lifelong dream in Suffolk this weekend.  The boys and girls will  be jumping from perfectely sound airplanes because they’ve always wanted to and two local clubs are providing the opportunity. Matt Thompson of TroopSwap.com is organizing the event to begin at 10 am  this  Sunday at our airport. Suffolk Ruitan and Suffolk Elks  will be there selling barbecue. Where needed these will be tandem jumps, many in the safe arms of  Mr.Skydive who once safely brought down the original President Bush.  The clubs are hoping the general public will  come to honor the warriors and experience the barbecue. Although currently confined to a wheelchair I hope to attend being pushed by my Vietnam Veteran son-in-law. I noticed that only Koreans veterans forward will be jumping. Us World War II apparently are too brittle. The goal of the event is to raise $10,000 for charities that support wounded service members and veterans. Businesses and individuals have been asked to provide jumper or event sponsorship.

 

OBAMA EXPECTS YOU TO BELIEVE THIS

"The Obama administration and congressional Democrats are betting their political futures on the hope that the American electorate is ignorant and forgetful, and hence the memo has gone out to functionaries hither and yon, from David Axelrod to John Kerry: This is to be called the 'tea-party downgrade.' That this is said with straight faces bespeaks either an unshakable contempt for the mind of the American voter or an as-yet unplumbed capacity for Democratic self-delusion. Let us revisit the facts. The original debt-ceiling deal put forward by the Democrats totaled $0.00 in debt reduction. This would have fallen approximately $4 trillion short of the $4 trillion in debt reduction the credit-rating agencies suggested would constitute a 'credible' step toward maintaining our AAA rating and avoiding a downgrade. ... The Democrats have suggested that Republicans' refusal to accede to tax hikes is the main reason Standard & Poor's felt it necessary to issue a downgrade, the first in American history, last Friday evening. In their assessment of Standard & Poor's reasoning, the Democrats are acutely at odds with Standard & Poor's. The credit-rating agency did not call for tax hikes in its assessment. ... But S&P, along with the other credit-rating agencies, has long taken a position on one aspect of our fiscal troubles: entitlement reform. ... As anybody who has looked at our long-term deficit projections knows, entitlement spending is the major driver of our future deficits. ... Tea-party leaders, far from being a barrier to entitlement reform, have demanded it. ... The deal that finally did pass would have contained significantly more in deficit-reduction, except for the fact that Democrats categorically refused to consider -- is this sounding familiar? -- entitlement reform, the most important issue. ... Democrats believe that they have discovered a cartoon villain in the Tea Party, and they are hoping that American voters are gullible enough to be distracted by the political theatrics. Come November 2012, Americans should keep in mind both the insult and the injury -- to the nation and its credit." --National Review

CLOWARD-PLIVEN DESTRUCTIVE PLAN WORKING

The Cloward-Piven strategy is the basis for the greatest nation in the history of the world teetering on the brink of a catastrophic economic crisis. America was pushed to this point by a rapidly-expanding national debt and a stressed-out entitlement system; in the center of this crisis is the President, who insists on expanding it even further, all in the name "fairness" and "social justice." As a default date nears and the President threatens seniors that there's a chance they may not receive their Social Security checks, it has been revealed that the federal government disperses a stunning 80 million checks a month, which means that about a third of the US adult population could be receiving some sort of entitlement. 
Since the 1960's when Cloward-Piven presented a socialistic guideline to usher in the type of evenhandedness Obama lauds, America's entitlement rolls have swelled from eight million to 80 million.  If the nation's ability to disperse handouts were ever disrupted, it's not hard to see how chaos would erupt should an angry army of millions demand what Cloward-Piven called "the right to income."
Couple the threat of dried-up funds for food stamps, Social Security, unemployment benefits and the like with the Obama administration's vigorous campaign to turn a tiny upper class of big earners into the enemy, and you have the Cloward-Piven recipe for anarchy and complete collapse. Is our nation already doomed?

A COMMENT THAT BECAME A POST

r - Chosen by Asker
There are more whites on welfare than blacks but percentage-wise there are more blacks on welfare than whites. It's also important to note that 24.7% of the black race lives below poverty line while only 8.6% of the white race does (as is stated here http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/se… ).

The countless whites who whimper about blacks on welfare as if it's a black-only program when 1.) there are plenty of whites on welfare and whites have always been welfare recipients in the U.S.; 2.) for the majority of its existence, welfare has been a white-only program. Hate to burst bubbles but welfare was created for solely whites. News flash: blacks were denied all their rights 35 years ago and prior. One of those rights was access to welfare. It was only by the end of a grisly African American Civil Rights Movement did poverty-stricken African Americans finally become eligible for welfare along with whites. Thanks to African Americans fighting for the equal rights of all minorities, all poverty-stricken racial groups became eligible for welfare. [source: http://academic.udayton.edu/race/04needs… ]; 3.) even if welfare were a black-only program, whites would STILL be unjustified to whimper about it. If that were the case, it ought to be regarded as a small reparation for the 5 century long era of anti-black atrocities that ended 35 years ago. It's as a result of that era that so many African Americans are impoverished. The entire African American community had to start out at the bare bottom and work their way up from scratch. In addition, it ought to be regarded as a small measure taken in respect to white privilege. (What are whites even doing on welfare considering white privilege and the fact that they weren't enslaved from the 1500s to 1865, legally discriminated against from 1865 through the 1970s, then separated from society's wealth in white flight)? News flash: today's elderly blacks were treated like garbage and denied all their rights 35 years ago (that includes most jobs; all decent jobs; all decent salaries); consequently leaving today's middle-aged blacks to start out impoverished, much like most of today's younger black generation. Besides that, blacks have been doing the dirty work of whites for the vast majority of their time spent in the U.S., while receiving nothing but racial abuse from whites in return. 3.) middle-class African Americans like myself pay taxes and aren't entitled to welfare even after wrestling our way out of poverty-stricken lifestyles whites have placed us in and we're not whimpering about paying taxes everywhere you turn around like the white community is 4.) despite the fact that middle-class African Americans pay taxes, they receive no credit for paying taxes as the majority of whites whimper about it as if they're the only people who pay taxes and aiding all blacks and only blacks -- Much like affirmative action, welfare is in no way reparation for the black race like whites treat it as. Hell, it's not even treated as reparation by whites, but worse: preferential treatment that solely blacks get over all races. The white race hasn't done squat to make up for the era of anti-black atrocities. The only thing they've done is whimper AS IF they've done far more than enough. In addition to working for the white race with repayment of mistreatment, impoverishment, and zero reparations, blacks additionally have to deal with baseless welfare whimpering from whites.

August 6, 2011 11:20 AM

So who won?  And did they do the right thing? And which side gave up the most to get this debate settled. Should we care?

 

THE ARTS ARE MORE THAN WE CAN SEE

A great article appeared in the SNH this morning on the subject of the arts written by Troy Cooper. You will never read a better description of the arts and why it is so important to us and the nation. It  is a wider subject than you imagined but the writer nails the essence of the  arts in language you will understand, remember, and be better off for having read his piece.  

IT TAKES A POLICE FORCE

"For thousands, Tuesday night was the biggest neighborhood block party of the year. neighbors came out to meet one another, and friends got together in the annual celebration of their shared desire to fight crime in Suffolk."
“It takes a neighborhood. That’s what they said this year as a theme for the annual National Night Out observed by more than  than 50 different neighborhoods in Suffolk. I’m fortunate to live where such action is not necessary, trouble free with a populaton of individuals sophisticated enough to want to keep it that way, effortless as it may be. Frankly I believe it is due to the fact that zoning forced us to live on three or more acres. If a crime was committed we might not notice. Not bragging, just thinking of how many quarter acre lots the city has allowed in the past and how many remain unsold. How big is an acre? Put four houses on one and all four owners get to know each others family well, even if they never meet.                                        

FAIRGROUNDS BACK ON

The Fairgrounds project took another of the fits and starts it is known for, the plan has been on the books it seems forever and appeared to be bogged down again while they pondered where the  Health Department would best serve it’s clientel. The city took another little step forward when officials cut the ribbon on part of the housing portion of the project. The project developer and financier joined city officials at the ribbon cutting giving the project  new  impetus as only two of the planned 36 homes exist. That many people wielding silver shovels ought to be able to knock out a house a week.  “Everything you could think of, it was there,” City Councilman Curtis Milteer said Tuesday. “We’re very proud the city is coming to revitalize this area.” Mayor Linda T. Johnson applauded the decade-long effort and said she hoped Tuesday’s event would encourage homebuyers to come looking. Towne Bank appears to be ready to accept full credit. Perhaps they are ready to extend credit  to Fairgrounds home buyers.                                                                                                                                 

SECOND WARNING

Bottom line up front...If you owe personal property taxes in the city of Chesapeake, you might want to pay them no later than 1 Aug.
These actions are from the City treasurer's office. They are also utilized in the cities of Portsmouth, Isle of Wright and Franklin.

Supervisors: Ensure all employees who may have contact with the public concerning the below information are informed:

The City Treasurer has contracted with Virginia Collections Company (VCC) to begin using License Plate Reader (LPR) technology to locate vehicles registered to delinquent tax payers parked or stored throughout the city. The use of a third party agent by the Treasurer is governed by Virginia State Code Section 58.1.

Upon locating and verifying a delinquent tax payer's vehicle, whether on public or private property, the VCC employee will place an immobilization boot and written notice on the vehicle explaining the steps necessary for boot removal and payment of delinquent taxes. For purposes of this activity, placing a boot on a vehicle is synonymous with the vehicle being seized by the City Treasurer.

If the owner of the vehicle has not followed the directions on the written notice by 5 p.m. on the date of seizure, a VCC representative will arrange for the vehicle to be towed to their compound on Yadkin Road in our city.

Again, is Suffolk next?  Of course, be patient.

ANOTHER CONVENIENCE GONE

AirTran Airways, recently acquired by Southwest Airlines, will cease operating from Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport on March 9.
AirTran accounts for close to half the passenger traffic at Newport News, with nonstop service to Atlanta, Boston, Orlando and New York’s LaGuardia.
The economy, high fuel prices and AirTran’s performance in Newport News all contributed to the decision to leave, said Christopher White, AirTran spokesman

IMAGINE A COMPROMISE REACHED IN CONGRESS

So who won?  And did they do the right thing? And which side gave up the most to get this debate settled. Should we care?

PERHAPS A TOO SUDDEN RAID ON HER HOME

For 22 years, Elizabeth Epps has groomed and boarded my animals. No one loves animals more or works harder than she to save the unloved, throwaways or pets that people have to give up.
Shame on anyone who would set up a contrived situation to create a totally false picture of reality.
Whey Mrs. Epps arrived home from a five-hour hospital stay recently, she found animal control officers dragging the cats she was caring for out of her home using that infamous pole used for vicious dogs.
I am told that these animals all had been people’s pets, that they were all spayed or neutered and that some had been declawed.
I guess that, because they had been so traumatized by the experience, most were classified as feral, and more than half of them were euthanized immediately.
Readers, please support a budding Humane Society shelter. We need someone in Suffolk besides Mrs. Epps to care about animals. And we need people who will not rush to judgment without investigating unfounded allegations against people like her.

This letter to the Editor of the SNH defends Mrs. Epps who has tirelessly helped animals in  trouble over many years. We think she should be honored for her efforts  so what prompted the sudden raid on her home and the euthanizing of so many of her cared for animals?