Tom McLaughlin

Does mere chance drive events in this world? Or do things happen for a reason? This week, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe briefly turned from his No. 1 priority since taking office — pushing Medicaid expansion through the General Assembly — to put in a request for records from the Virginia Tobacco Commission. It seems the new governor is on a fact-finding mission to determine if the leaf commission has been successful at revitalizing Virginia’s traditional tobacco-growing regions. Hmm.

Four weeks into the Duke Energy coal ash spill in Eden, N.C., new information continues to emerge about the likely damage to the Dan River, which of course flows into Buggs Island Lake and Lake Gaston here in Mecklenburg County.

Everyone nowadays is so into making lists, I feel like I should contribute to the genre.

In the aftermath of a massive coal ash spill this week on the Dan River, it’s not too hard to see why government officials would be keen to avoid words and deeds that might stoke undue fear among the public.

A couple of weeks ago, your faithful columnist felt compelled to quote liberally from Senator Frank Ruff’s weekly column in this newspaper to highlight just how gosh-awful his agenda is with the General Assembly currently in session.

The Virginia legislature is in session, which means confusion is in the air, sorta like the five-day weather forecast. Case in point: Sunday hunting. It appears that the prohibition is headed on the way out, although anything is possible, I suppose, after the House of Delegates voted overwhelmingly this week to ditch Virginia’s one-day hunting ban, shared by only six other states.

The morning after news broke of criminal charges against Virginia’s former governor and first lady, Robert and Maureen McDonnell, I finally had a chance to sit down and wade through the 14-count indictment filed by federal prosecutors, all 43 pages of it. Hoo boy. It’s pretty clear where this thing is headed — it’s going to be a gas for the lawyers, not so much fun for everyone else. This is Virginia’s version of the O.J. trial, minus all the blood. What do you figure Judge Ito is up to these days?

“Hidebound,” “intransigent,” “bureaucratic,” “jaw dropping” — none of these words are normally considered terms of endearment.

After a year of headlines flying about so fast you had to wear a hard hat to avoid a concussion, life hereabouts has slowed with the new year. Alas, peace and quiet are not the column writer’s friends. The sudden change of pace means that yours truly must monetarily search far and wide for fat targets. Traffic-clogged bridges and New Jersey politicians? We can do that.

The new year is a time of renewal, sure, but even on this uplifting note I’ll admit it can be a real pain trying to keep this space fresh with new ideas and imaginative ways of expressing them. (A loyal reader recently told me how unimpressed he was by one of my 2013 columns penned in the style of a Twitter feed). Yet as much as one might get to feeling beaten down by the small-town column-writing gig, there’s always the big bucks to perk up one’s spirits. Another plus: seeing someone else attempt the art form and doing horribly at it. Seriously folks, misery does love company.