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Columnists

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Is Phase Two Of Trump‘s Peace Plan In The Gaza Strip Doomed To Fail? – Part I

Phase one of Trump‘s twenty-point peace plan in the Gaza Strip, which began on October 9, called for a ceasefire, cessation of military operations, along with a hostage and prisoner...

FRED FIRST: Approaching the Longest Night

Yes, you’re right—if you’ve even noticed—that this space has been neglected for some weeks now,...

A Life Well-Lived: Shirley Padgett Lester (1947-2025)

Shirley Padgett Lester of Vinton went to her heavenly reward October 4. Below is the...

BOB BROWN: How the White House Functioned With a Diminished Biden “Presidency”

Permit me to think out loud as an old-fashioned person who respects authority, history, and...

JOHNNY ROBINSON: The Gratitude Perch

On the old road up Mill Mountain, part of Roanoke’s fabulous greenway system, there’s a...

Recipe of the Week: No Electricity needed – Creamy Avocado & White Bean Wrap

by Leigh Sackett What do you do when it is 100 + degrees and you have no electricity? Well you don’t find yourself in...

A High School Bluegrass Band: 1974-75

by Mary Jo Shannon Jim Parker, now living in Texas and a Patrick Henry classmate of my older son Harry, reads The Roanoke Star.com...

Memories of Mill Mountain Zoo

by John Robinson I can hear it now: the cheerfully wailing whistle, and the chug of the "Zoo Choo" as it circled the perimeter...

Arguing About Health Care

by Hayden Hollingsworth It’s truly amazing what politicians will argue about!  Not only was everyone caught by surprise with Chief Justice Roberts’ siding with...

Law And Order

by Lucky Garvin Sometimes I feel like I’m Commander-in-Chief of Camp Krazy. I arrive at work; 7 AM. Maybe a half hour later, I get...

America Needs to Take Lesson From Wisconsin

by Dick Baynton According to the 2010 census Wisconsin is home to about 5.7 million citizens. The state’s voters are centrist in their political...