OPINION | The Local Views From the editor
Giving the gift of life We have heard the cry so many times in recent years — and many, thankfully, heed the call to donate blood. Received an e-mail last week about bloodlifeline.com, an initiative launched by Virginia Blood Services to bridge the gap between the commonwealth’s donors and the need for blood. This program makes available “real-time updates about blood, plasma and platelets needs and shortages to donors based on their individual blood type.” By visiting the site, Virginians can keep blood here and help their neighbors in need. Through bloodlifeline.com, you can: ❍ Schedule a donation. ❍ Sign up for mobile and e-mail alerts of specific blood types whenever there is a local shortage. ❍ Subscribe to the “Need Feed,” a Twitter feed broadcasting specific blood needs in Virginia. Because of elective surgeries and accidents associated with summer activities, the need for blood increases this time of the year. On Thursday, there was an immediate need for O-, O+, A- and B-. So, whether it’s through Virginia Blood Services or the Greater Richmond Chapter of the American Red Cross, you can make a difference this summer by donating blood. Information about the Red Cross can be found at www.redcross.org. We’ve all heard it, now we can live it: Give the gift of life.
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Etc. ☞ A reminder: If you submit a letter to the editor, you must include your address and telephone numbers for verification purposes. We do not publish complete addresses or phone numbers. So, if you submit a letter by e-mail or the U.S. Postal Service and you don’t have all the information we need, your letter will be delayed in appearing in print. We welcome your opinions, so please provide the necessary info to ensure speedy publication. Melody Kinser Joy Monopoli Publisher Melody Kinser Editor Charlie Leffler Sports Editor Pam Sanders Sales Manager Editorial & Business Office: 6400 Mechanicsville Tnpk. Mechanicsville, VA 23111 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1118 Mechanicsville, VA 23111 Phone – (804) 746-1235 Toll free – (877) 888-0449 Fax – (804) 730-0476
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June 23, 2010
country, it seems that they can barely get along with themselves, much less those of us in the mainstream. And when I called for more information — 804-769Once again the TEA Party movement is struggling to 8884 — I got the office of some financial planner, which I define its identity, this time while littering a middle-class presume is yet another indication that the movement has Mechanicsville neighborhood. more to do with fairly well-heeled professionals bent out Driving into my rural Hanover neighborhood the other of shape about having to pay their fair share of the cost day I was surprised to see paper strewn across a number of yards. see LETTERS, pg. 8 ` And when I reached my home and picked up one of the sheets, I was more surprised still: the local TEA Party had littered our neighborhood with a three-piece set of misdirected propaganda. The Local welcomes your signed letters to the editor on topics of Beyond the scattered trash, the actual content of interest to Mechanicsville residents. Letters must include your the pieces is a confused amalgam of quotes from nonaddress and a daytime telephone number. We reserve the right to Americans to justify the TP’s flag-wrapped position and an edit letters. We do not guarantee that every letter received will be odd self-description about being staunchly anti-tax even published. Letters reflect the opinions and positions of the writers and not The Mechanicsville Local. while featuring an upcoming program about debunking global warming. (Huh? Which are they? Anti tax? Anti-sciSend letters to: ence? Anti-logic?) The Mechanicsville Local, 6400 Mechanicsville Turnpike, The TP movement seems to be very confused about Mechanicsville, VA 23111 their place in American politics. Given the vast number of Fax: 730-0476 E-mail: mkinser@mechlocal.com candidates they are running against one another across the
Tea Party’s role in politics
Letters to the Editor