www.roanoke.com

For Monday: We will write about Roanoke's plan to give overage students a place to thrive.

For Saturday, we are writing about the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Rep. Bob Goodlatte is still pushing to cut off shipments to it. The reserve exists for emergencies, not to temper fluctuations in the price of gas, even if it is going up.

For Friday: It's heartening to see that since the April 16 mass shootings at Tech, the federal government's database of mentally ill people barred from buying guns has doubled. States are being more responsible. But as Virginia's experience shows, high numbers are not enough. It's critically important to get the right people on the list, while keeping the wrong people off.

Keep the state ban on uranium mining
Until a thorough study of health and environmental impact is conducted, the state won't know if mining can be done safely. The ban must remain.
State officials say uranium mining doesn't pose a public threat in Virginia. But it might. The Southern Environmental Law Center cites alarming enough threats: groundwater and surface water contamination, along with an increased cancer risk for workers and the public.
Read more.

Read a good book lately? Didn't think so
We don't need a how-to guide to not become dumber than a fourth-grader. Any good book will do.
Those who don't read for pleasure missed the delightful translation of Shakespeare in a John Harding novel. The only literate character on a South Pacific island desires to introduce the Bard to the villagers and so transcribes Hamlet into the native's pidgin: "Is be or is be not, is be one big damn puzzler." We couldn't help but recall that line when reading the National Endowment for the Arts' comprehensive analysis of reading patterns in the United States called, "To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Consequence." Don't let the rather tedious title cause your eyes to glaze over, because the report actually contains exciting work.
Read more.

Why people hate Hillary
Megan Beyer
Beyer, who lives in Alexandria, is a journalist and commentator on the PBS women's political talk show "To the Contrary." Her husband, Don Beyer, served as Virginia's lieutenant governor from 1990 through 1998 and was the Democratic nominee for governor in 1997.
I look like Hillary Clinton. I used to deny it. But in 1993 when my then 18-month-old baby saw her on television, crawled to the screen and started kissing it saying, "Mommy!" I had to admit, there was something there. For 15 years, valet parkers have greeted me with "Hillary!" Check-out ladies say, " I know you have been told this before. ... " and men in elevators pose it as a possible insult followed by a sheepish, "but you are much nicer."
Read more.

Pre-K is an excellent investment
Dan B. Fleming
Fleming, professor emeritus of education at Virginia Tech, lives in Blacksburg.
A major issue in the upcoming session of the Virginia General Assembly is whether to expand prekindergarten education for an additional 17,000 at-risk 4-year-old children. There is considerable research showing such education will help students achieve better in later years.
Read more.

Friday's letters can be read here.

Keep the state ban on uranium mining
Until a thorough study of health and environmental impact is conducted, the state won't know if mining can be done safely. The ban must remain.

State officials say uranium mining doesn't pose a public threat in Virginia.

But it might. The Southern Environmental Law Center cites alarming enough threats: groundwater and surface water contamination, along with an increased cancer risk for workers and the public.
Read more.

Read a good book lately? Didn't think so
We don't need a how-to guide to not become dumber than a fourth-grader. Any good book will do.

Those who don't read for pleasure missed the delightful translation of Shakespeare in a John Harding novel. The only literate character on a South Pacific island desires to introduce the Bard to the villagers and so transcribes Hamlet into the native's pidgin: "Is be or is be not, is be one big damn puzzler."

We couldn't help but recall that line when reading the National Endowment for the Arts' comprehensive analysis of reading patterns in the United States called, "To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Consequence." Don't let the rather tedious title cause your eyes to glaze over, because the report actually contains exciting work.
Read more.

Pre-K is an excellent investment
Dan B. Fleming
Fleming, professor emeritus of education at Virginia Tech, lives in Blacksburg.

A major issue in the upcoming session of the Virginia General Assembly is whether to expand prekindergarten education for an additional 17,000 at-risk 4-year-old children. There is considerable research showing such education will help students achieve better in later years.
Read more.

Why people hate Hillary
Megan Beyer
Beyer, who lives in Alexandria, is a journalist and commentator on the PBS women's political talk show "To the Contrary." Her husband, Don Beyer, served as Virginia's lieutenant governor from 1990 through 1998 and was the Democratic nominee for governor in 1997.

I look like Hillary Clinton. I used to deny it. But in 1993 when my then 18-month-old baby saw her on television, crawled to the screen and started kissing it saying, "Mommy!" I had to admit, there was something there.
Read more.

Read today's letters here.

For Sunday, we'll be writing about recent studies that show a troubling decline in reading among teens - and even adults. What can be done to ignite a passion for reading among today's youth?

For tomorrow, we're writing about news that overuse of CT scans could lead to an increase in cancer rates. Americans are exposed to twice as much radiation as they used to be - largely because of an increase in the number of CT scans.

For Sunday: From a GOP presidential debate on the Internet to the pre-assembly sparring of lawmakers in Virginia, the signs are becoming common. Illegal immigration is a gut issue for many voters that politicians of both major parties will have to address. It's dangerous ground for both -- and for the country if policymakers fall back on bumper-sticker campaigning on a complex issue.