Columns

    For most people, President Obama’s speech at the National Prayer Breakfast was a historically accurate attempt to make a simple, basic point: Any religion can be twisted and distorted to justify evil.
    “Any religion,” of course, is a phrase that must necessarily include Christianity. Sadly, there are certain self-styled Christians who – in the popular phrase from film - “can’t handle the truth.”

    The community is taking a fruitful step forward as it implements changes to the Bedford Farmers Market.
    The changes should yield a good harvest for both area farmers and their customers.
    The proposed changes are the result of community meetings and a management team overseeing the transition of the market.

Many Americans don’t think of human trafficking as a problem in our country. The sale of children for sex sounds like something that could only happen in faraway places, but tragically it is happening right here in the United States every single day. Virginia is no exception. According to the FBI, sex trafficking is the fastest-growing business of organized crime and the third-largest criminal enterprise in the world. Sadly, this immoral and criminal industry is also a profitable one. It’s estimated that child sex trafficking in the United States alone is a $9.8 billion industry.

By Senator Steve Newman
23rd District

    Hard as it may be to believe, we are already over one-third of the way through the 2015 General Assembly session.  The deadline on bills came at the end of last week, and this year’s session will consider over 2,100 bills and over 400 resolutions.  That means the General Assembly will have to process an average of 55 bills every day we’re in session.