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Lots happening in the news and surroundings this week, and much to have an opinion about. Remember, feel free to comment on the tidbits or tell us what's on your mind! Things To Do. Our EverythingNRV Calender shows eight (8) great events going on in the area on Saturday. Many activities dot the board for Sunday as well. Simply go into our calender and see what is happening in the New River Valley, then get outdoors and do something! And since you "never know how you look until you get your picture took" EverythingNRV will be covering many of these events and will bring you the stories, pictures and video. On a personal note, I am disappointed there were not more activities and things to do this week noting the great accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King on the 40th anniversary of his death.
Politics. Ever noticed how the person who got the least amount of votes winds up being a commentator or opinion writer. Happens nationally, on the state level and even locally. It makes me laugh. Steven Branscome. Authorities are now implying that he's had some help. Well, of course he has. But he has done his own fair share of eluding law enforcement it would seem. The Pulaski Police Department sent out a photo and story on the guy several days before he shot and wounded a Virginia State Trooper. He was on his own when that happened. He stole a vehicle in West Virginia and was eventually seen in Floyd County, by himself. Think about this carefully - in both cases where Steven Dale Branscome was seen - he was by himself. I've no doubt that he's been given a bed to sleep in or a basement to hide in, and he probably hasn't gone hungry. But, the point here is that he has been fairly crafty on his own and I am sure there are friends and family members of Branscome who won't help him. And none of us can say for sure how we would respond if we had a close relative, a child or friend in desperate need. Maybe we would help turn them in peacefully, maybe we wouldn't. If Branscome is indeed still in Floyd or in the New River Valley, then someone is pulling off a series of truck, car and van thefts that appear to be the work of Branscome. If it is a rouge, it is an elaborate one. Follow-up On The Idiot (Health Insurance). Oh, I got a few emails about the opinion piece I did about this opinion writer being off the mark by several millions when he said 45,000 people were without health coverage. I agree with Winston who wrote saying that the focus should be on why these people don't have health insurance and not how someone "accidently" got the numbers wrong. He's right. You think that Hillary or Obama are the ones ready to take on the big insurance companies? Well, think again. Insurance companies are standing at their doors with donations to their campaigns, and at the same time McCain has taken very little from them (or from anyone for that matter). The insurance agencies stand to gain big-time if some of the Universal Health Care plans are adopted with Federal Money being tossed about. The American people, Republicans and Democrats, have got to come to the realization that the health care system does not work. The fact is that health insurance was one of the "hot" topics of the Kennedy - Nixon debates 47 years ago. Seriously, we've been arguing health care forever and the system never gets fixed. And the people who have the answers and the facts, aren't the ones the news media is listening to. Bill Clinton has said for years that paperwork alone is costing the health care system some 6 BILLION dollars a year. He's right. Most of my healthcare is performed at UVA and I have to fill out the same, 3 page form every time I go. It seems ridiculous. Why not some simple question of, "has your health changed since your last visit" and then they type the information into a database? I think it would be a good thing if I were to pass out in Wyoming and the doctors there could access my health issues immediately thru a national database. The other problem with the health care system is the abuse - on both ends. My last OVERNIGHT hospital stay was something like $22,000. No kidding. I have great health insurance, but we were still left with a balance that was tough to handle. Imagine what it was when I was in the hospital for days after my heart attack, etc. We pay the bills and we move on. However, some of these hospital stays amount to nothing more than an uncomfortable hotel stay. Being held for obseration of a heart condition is $22,000? That is a little abusive. The other end of the abuse comes from the people who abuse the system. There are people who have the ability to pay for health insurance, or at least work out payment plans with Doctors and Hospitals. Some even have the ability to work and buy health insurance, yet they take their kids to places like the Carilion emergency room and then refuse to pay - they refuse to even work out an affordable payment plan. Hospitals wind up "eating" a lot of the costs, and the costs are passed along to the rest of us. I want to pay for my share of providing for coverage for people less fortunate and having a tough time in their life, but I'm tired of paying for the people who do nothing but look for ways to beat the system in everything they do. That's another story for another time. Ahhhhhhhh - it's Springtime. Seems like everywhere I look there are pictures of flowers, people getting gardens ready to plant and people rejoicing over the season. BS. All I see is a two acre yard that already needs to be mowed, several flower beds where weeds need to be pulled, fences that need mending, and huge trees and shrubs that need to be pruned. Bring back winter.
Media. Don't look now, but the younger generation is beginning to leave their laptops and the Internet behind. And it's not just the younger generation either. I rarely take my laptop on trips anymore because my mobile phone's browser is so good that I can get everything done that I need to do with it. And if I need a printer, most hotels have them in their business center. Sure, a good laptop or desktop will always be needed to handle your larger projects, research and so forth - but basic day-to-day needs are being met by the mobile phone. I've found that Verizon has great service and great phones - I'd go there first. If you are looking to have a website built for you, you need to be careful these days. We have a friend in Florida who recently had a site built and paid extra to the developer for getting his site good search engine placement. It wasn't that long before his site was taken off the search engines by Google because of a spamming issue or what they call "hidden text". He started to sue the developer but found that the woman worked out of her home and didn't have anything to sue for. It was a dead-end and it took months for Google to understand his plight and put him back on the search engine. Next time you are looking for website help, ask the developer if they use spam or other things like "hidden text". Make them show you their sites and have the source code reviewed by an expert - better yet, look around at their websites without their knowing. Here's another hint: do they have a yellow page listing and/or ad? Are they credible? Another second question you should ask is: "what was your last successful branding campaign"? The problem with the website construction business and Internet marketing help is there are too many bottom-feeders out there now. We have all seen the occasional TV ad that actually paints a bad image or wrong image for a business because the advertiser went cheap....the same holds true for websites and the Internet. The "too good to be true" deals usually are. Oh, and if you suspect your competitors are using unethical website practices to gain an unfair advantage over your business - and there are several in the New River Valley - shoot us an email and we'll turn you on to some people who can help you. The first year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings is just around the corner. We have already heard of several businesses and Churches in the area that are planning events. Let the community know about your event - send us the information at
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and we will make sure it is promoted free-of-charge. And if your group or civic organization wants to participate in something, let us know and we'll put you in touch with other people who want to work with others to plan something.
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Just My Opinion 
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Thank you very much for your comment. The EverythingNRV network brought in over 109,000 visits in March. We really did not have the site fully populated with content until a few months ago and are still working on it daily. This will probably be the last time you hear about us talking about "visits" and online stats for our websites. At the end of the day, we just want to keep doing what we are doing and have 109,000 people just tell me what we are doing wrong and how to improve. We aren't out trying to get your help to come to the website so we can reach a goal - we are asking you to come here because you find the site useful. And we need your help in that endeavor. Again, thanks a lot for the comment.