Free Republic

More than a dozen gravestones and memorials were toppled and spray-painted in Hollywood Cemetery on Saturday, causing more than $200,000 in damage, according to the Richmond police, who are investigating the vandalism. “The desecration of graves is just a cowardly act that we cannot tolerate,” Police Chief Gerald Smith said at a Monday news conference asking the community for tips or any information about the incident. Vandals entered the cemetery shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday, he said. It appears the vandals used a sledgehammer to knock over headstones and used black spray paint on some. The graffiti was not legible,...

Today The Times-Dispatch endorses George Allen for re-election to the U.S. Senate. During the past two months the critical issues in this lamentable campaign have been obscured by personal matters relating to both candidates -- some of them of Allen's own doing. But his opponent has transgressed about equally, and such transgressions have had little to do with the issues on the basis of which most voters -- and this newspaper make their voting decisions. The Times-Dispatch endorsed Allen for governor and senator, and has had no regrets. As governor, Allen ranked as one of Virginia's most estimable -- and...

The uncomfortable silence at the Richmond Times-Dispatch. by Greg Weatherford This isn’t the story I had in mind. I’d intended this to be a pretty straightforward description of the Times-Dispatch, Richmond’s only daily, as it adjusts to a new editor and a new publisher. But in the process of researching and interviewing for this article, I found the story increasingly entangled in a net of secrecy and fear. The publisher and the editor refused to be interviewed. Some newsroom employees dodged my calls; others called me surreptitiously, speaking in whispers and begging me to keep them out of any article....