Letters to the Editor
Have an opinion to share? Email your Letter to the Editor to news@royalexaminer.com
We Are Better Than This
August 13, 2001, a small building collapsed, and I was pinned under it. An Edinburg neighbor called the rescue squad, ...
Another Veteran’s Perspective
This veteran is exposing John Butler’s utilizing his Rear Admiral (USN, Ret.) rank, military service, and America’s founding documents in ...
Commentary: Virginia Should Do Much More To Curb PFAS Pollution In Our Waters
Clean water is not simply a resource. It is the foundation of our health, our culture and our identity. For ...
Difference of Opinion
I often attend Warren County Board of Supervisors meetings. When public comments are allowed, I typically raise concerns about spending ...
Everybody Is a Leader Somewhere
I’m not at the top, and I’m not at the bottom either; I’m right there in the middle where most ...
Commentary: Data Centers and AI – A Rare and Raw Issue in Virginia for This Midterm Election
If you’re alarmed about the proliferation of data centers — gargantuan, windowless megastructures that power social media, live-streaming, cloud storage, ...
Commentary: Spanberger’s Energy Plan Dazzles – and Disappoints
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s energy plan, released October 1, is a marvel of earnestness and hard work. Anyone plowing through ...
“Can’t We Just Watch the Movie at Home?” A Question About the Future of Movie Theaters
A simple question from a little girl at a movie theater raises a bigger concern about the future of going ...
Commentary: We Hate Technology. Please Like and Share
There is something wonderfully modern about sitting on the couch with a smartphone, opening Facebook and typing a complaint about ...
Flock Safety: A Tool for the Common Good
Technology, like every man-made innovation, has various possibilities. As I began typing these words, for instance, the “copilot” writing app ...
Festival of Leaves, Not Just a Festival
For me, the Festival of Leaves has always been about something much bigger than a festival. It has been about ...
What Will We Do with What We Know?
Published in 1977, Will D. Campbell’s memoir Brother to a Dragonfly is as relevant now as it was then. Campbell ...
When Elected Officials Cross the Line
What happened after the Warren County Board of Supervisors meeting on August 18, 2026, should not be dismissed as just ...
Commentary: If You Enjoy Virginia’s Wildlife, Thank a Hunter or Angler
If you enjoy seeing a bald eagle soaring over the James River, hearing a turkey gobble in the spring woods, ...
GO VOTE: Because Complaining Alone Isn’t a Good Strategy
Well, folks, it’s midterm election season. And if you live in Warren County, voting matters. Even if you don’t particularly ...
A Heartfelt Farewell and Thank You
From the Physicians and Advanced Practice Providers of Emergency Medicine of Blue Ridge To our patients, our neighbors, and our ...
Data Centers Are Necessary. That Doesn’t Mean Warren County Needs One
Two recent Royal Examiner pieces approached the data center debate from different directions. Kenneth Roko’s “The Data Center Debate Should ...
Commentary: We All Use Data Centers. So Where Should They Go?
Data centers have been widely discussed lately, and much of the conversation has focused on what can go wrong. They ...
The Data Center Debate Should Include Data Security
Let’s talk about AI and data centers. A different approach. AI is an interesting tool (or weapon), depending on your ...
Twenty-Five Years After the Towers Fell
Twenty-five years ago, I was driving to work late, as I often did. I lived in Alexandria then, not yet ...
9/11: Honoring Our First Responders and Remembering the Role of Our Teachers
To the first responders who answered the call that morning in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania, we ...
Virginia’s 6th District Deserves Better Representation
The residents of Virginia’s 6th Congressional District face difficult times. Rising utility rates, higher housing costs, and grocery bills continue ...
Thinking Independently
A good many of us can remember when we did not wear our party on our sleeve. We voted for ...
Where Was Ben Cline?
John Massoud wants readers to believe the important thing is that candidates simply show up. Whether you call it a ...
Where Was Beth Macy?
Make no mistake about it: Beth Macy missed an opportunity on Sept. 3, and it was one she should have ...
Commentary: The Energy Virginia Needs is the Energy We Can Build Now
Virginia’s energy needs are changing quickly, and to address them, we must respond even quicker. Data centers, new manufacturing, population ...
Twenty-Five Years Later, Remembering When We Stood Together
Twenty-five years ago on September 11th, nearly 3,000 people went to work, boarded airplanes, went about their morning routines … and never ...
Commentary: The Day Virginia Took Down Confederate Statues, a Black Church Remembered a Lynching Victim
On Aug. 28, 1899, hundreds of Black residents of Alexandria, Virginia, gathered at Shiloh Baptist Church after a white mob ...
Economic Growth Is Not the Same Thing as Economic Health
I’ve been reading the Royal Examiner articles about local business, small business, and all the other exciting things that apparently happen ...
Commentary: Public Utilities Shouldn’t Be Funding the Campaigns of the People Who Govern Them
Virginia House Speaker Don Scott is adamant that the nearly $4 million in campaign funds he has accepted from Dominion ...
