Tom McLaughlin

It’s always the same: After a hard day’s work I trudge home only to walk in and find our two lazy and worthless beagles lounging on the sofa, having slept away the morning and afternoon, and the question practically asks itself — What am I doing wrong here?

Here we are, only a few days removed from what is being hailed by nearly everybody as one of the biggest and best Lakefests in memory — thank you, Mother Nature! — when cold, harsh reality sets in: The conclusion of the big celebration by the lake means the dog days of summer are officially upon us.

I never had the occasion to meet Heather Anne Tucker, the Bluestone 15-year-old who passed away this week, even though her battles with brain cancer, waged very openly and bravely, became a prominent part of life in the community and a recurring story in the pages of this newspaper. One couldn’t help but to feel for this beautiful young girl and her family as they confronted her terrible odds of survival. Yet while I may not know Heather or the Tuckers personally, I’ve kept up with their story from afar. There’s a reason for this: the disease that claimed Heather Anne’s life took my father, too.

It has come to my attention that soccer-bashing has become a sport unto itself in certain precincts of the Internet.

This latest incident reveals a larger truth about the Tobacco Commission: It’s become a corrupt organization...

What do you do about a problem called NIMBY?

It’s been another grim week in the news: Extremist factions struggling to wrest control of the war-torn country, employing tactics that threaten the well-being of tens, maybe hundreds of thousands, of innocent victims.

Maybe Bob McDonnell was onto something after all.

Let’s spin the hamster wheel and see where it lands: