CBS President Expresses Gratitude
Editor,
I saw last week’s News-Press and was bowled over with your coverage of the Citizens for a Better City event and editorial! I want to again express how very much your thoughtful and kind words regarding CBC are appreciated. As you hinted at, for some of us in the Little City this is a time of reflection on and gratitude for where we’ve come from to where we are and a celebration of some of the key leaders and organizations behind that evolution. You and the News-Press have contributed mightily to this, and hopefully we’ll all continue to do our thing as we have in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead.
-Hal Lippman
President, CBC
The Joys of Winter Backyard Bird Feeding
Editor,
The DMV is having a much more intense winter than we have had in several years, and while most of us are bundling up to go out, our avian neighbors can’t put on a hat and scarf. Instead, they have feathers and layers of fat to help insulate their bodies. In cold temperatures, birds burn through the fat reserves that they built up in the fall very quickly, and need to eat more than they do the rest of the year. Unfortunately, snow and ice often cover many of the remaining food sources, and it can be difficult for birds to find the calories required to make it through the long and cold nights. Offering high fat foods like suet or peanuts can give your backyard birds a helping hand, with the added benefit of getting to see them up close! With more snow and low temperatures on the way, there is also a greater chance of seeing rare or seasonally unusual birds visiting bird feeders and water. Bird feeding is entertaining year-round, but being snowed in provides a special opportunity to relax and enjoy nature’s beauty.
-Wild Birds Unlimited
Columbia Baptist Snow Removal
Editor,
It’s about Columbia Baptist Church. They can afford a $40,000,000 addition, but not $100 to remove the snow around their property? The sidewalk around the church is shining ice.
What are pedestrians like me supposed to do? Walk on the street? Where cars are driving 50 mph? At least, stop talking about safety improvements. Please look at the current issues.
-Simeon Savov
Medical Aid in Dying Legislation
Editor,
Last week, two bills that would allow medical aid in dying were filed in the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates. These bills are important to every Virginian because death is something that we all will face.
For some, death may come easily, but for those diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer, as I’ve been, the prognosis for death can mean intense pain, emotional distress, and loss of control. Pancreatic cancer currently has no cure and most patients die within a year of diagnosis.
In a humane society, no one should be forced to experience a miserable end to their life by legal restrictions that prevent physicians from providing medical aid in dying. SB 280 and HB 858 would enable terminally ill Virginians to request medication to die in a peaceful way when their suffering becomes too great to bear.
The experiences of 10 other states and DC — where that freedom already exists — demonstrate that medical aid in dying can be managed without risk of abuse.
I hope Virginia legislators will pass legislation to let me live the rest of my life knowing that I can get medical aid in dying and experience a comfortable end of life without having to leave my home in Virginia to move to another state.
-Barbara Green
