•Picasso!
•The consent agreement that allows billboard advertising of beverage alcohol makes sense. Although correct in principle, the move was destined to generate controversy. It seems strange that the state did not formally announce the agreement when it was reached. The Anti- Saloon League is not amused.
•Regarding demon rum: The General Assembly's refusal to endorse the privatization of the ABC system rates as a dispiriting spectacle.
•While awarding former President George H.W. Bush the Presidential Medal of Freedom this week, President Barack Obama said, "His life is a testament that public service is a noble calling. Like the remarkable Barbara Bush , his humility and decency reflect the very best of the American spirit." Last Saturday Bush visited Virginia to pay his respects to the late FitzGerald Bemiss — his longtime friend and a force for good in the commonwealth's politics and public culture. The lives Bemiss led and Bush has led suggest "gentleman" is a high compliment, indeed.
•In his state of the county address this week, County Administrator Jay Stegmaier announced that Chesterfield is in good shape. The county has confronted challenges, as all jurisdictions have during the recession, but the quality of services has remained high. According to Zachary Reid's news story Wednesday, Stegmaier cited three factors that have helped Chesterfield address economic hard times: "empowering front-line employees to make decisions, encouraging innovation in the workplace and promoting strong ethics."
•The most important decisions made by city councils, boards of supervisors, and school boards include the hiring of managers, administrators and superintendents. Stegmaier's performance in Chesterfield proves the point.
•Central Virginia's Kate Lindsey has performed in the world's leading opera houses. She also has sung the national anthem at sporting events. Her renditions draw attention not to herself but to "The Star-Spangled Banner," which she interprets without embellishments. Her voice and manner combine to make a patriotic statement. We nominate her for a Super Bowl appearance, although she lacks the vulgarity expected of pre-game and half-time entertainments. The artistry of, say, Christina Aguilera more perfectly conforms to popular tastes than do Lindsey's roles in operas composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
•Provocative Quote of the Week: Edward Glaeser, professor of economics at Harvard, in "Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier": "Too many people in troubled cities wrongly imagine they can lead their city back to its former glories with some massive construction project — a new stadium or light-rail system, a convention center, or a housing project. With very few exceptions, no public policy can stem the tidal forces of urban change. We mustn't ignore the needs of the poor people who live in the Rust Belt, but public policy should help poor people, not poor places."
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