Legislating civic pride is a tall order, and while it may ultimately prove true that it simply cannot be done, a virtual conveyor belt of civil penalties and fines can be meted out until citizens at least give the appearance that they care. Fairfield County is bound to have their hands full for some time […]

Criticism comes with the job – any job, really; whether you’re a replacement referee in the NFL, the editor of a local newspaper or a member of a governing body, such as the Fairfield County School Board. And let’s face it: No one wakes up in the morning and sets out to do a bad […]

Rezoning property is a delicate affair; a high-wire act balancing economic interests with the needs of the community. And once property is rezoned from residential to business, the likelihood of it ever being ‘un-zoned’ is virtually nil. It is what it’s going to be, quite likely for all time. Rezoning, then, is a process that […]

The ACLU can be a frustrating bunch, confounding both sides of the political aisle in its quest for constitutional equality; and it is quite likely our Founding Fathers would be pleased. After all, who liked a good rhubarb – intellectual or otherwise – better than Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, and company? The American Civil Liberties Union […]

Sometimes saying nothing is the best policy. But if you have been bestowed with the public trust, elected to represent the citizenry of a nation, state, county or particular district, silence is the worst policy. There is no law or ethical code mandating that any elected official must speak to the press, but dealing with […]

Few things are more sacred in this country than individual property rights, and any time government endeavors to dictate what can and cannot be done with that property, they are walking a fine line. A man, after all, is still King of his Castle in America; which is a lovely ideal, until one man’s castle […]

It is one thing to slay the dragons of the world. It is another matter entirely to joust at windmills. Knowing the difference between the two endeavors is what differentiates the responsible from the reckless, the rational from the unreasonable, the sound of mind from the insane. In their recent decision to continue to throw […]

Water may very well be the new crude oil – the strategic resource upon which the economy of nations may someday hinge, and over which wars may someday be waged. In this not-too-distant future landscape, a reliable source of potable water and the facilities to treat and transport it cannot be overestimated. Water, like oil, […]

With an overall grade of B and three schools within the district earning A’s, the Fairfield County School District certainly has one or two things to crow about; and given the beatings this school district has taken in the media in recent years, crow they should. Still, with a B, a C, a D and […]

The resurrection of a downtown is no magic trick, no cheap conjure. One doesn’t simply reach into a collapsible top hat and pull out something along the lines of, say, the Vista in downtown Columbia. It takes time, and vision, and planning and, perhaps most of all, it takes a community ready to snap out […]