Last Word
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Last Word on sales tax increase, Feb. 28
Sales tax increase I don’t appreciate the sneaky way this tax hike is being motored through to support tourism and another-named slush fund. Please list the names and phone numbers of who we can call in Richmond for York, James City and Williamsburg to let our voices be heard. Thank you. Editor’s...
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Last Word on sales tax, Feb. 24
Sales tax increase Instead of a 1 percent sales tax increase to feed the tourism oligarchs, how about an increase to promote affordable housing for the people who do the work that runs the tourism industry in the area? Seems like the Chamber of Commerce, JCC Supervisors and the Williamsburg City...
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Last Word on Florida shootings, Feb. 21
Florida shootings A question for Congress: Why is the possession of assault weapons more important than school children's lives? Don't those children have a right, under the Constitution, to live full lives, in liberty and in the pursuit of happiness? I’m in high school and I’m scared to go to...
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Last Word, Feb. 17
Shooting in Florida To all those who write in demanding rights to carry in schools, churches and other public places: do you also demand similar rights for convicted criminals, the mentally ill and those with restraining orders? Should they be allowed to build up arsenals of assault weapons? Anyone...
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Last Word on harassment, Feb. 14
Looking good To whoever is decorating Lake Powell Road and Brookwood Drive with decorations: They look amazing. Can’t wait to see what you put up for Easter. This is harassment I worked at a big box hardware store. Every day, the male customers would make degrading sexual comments to any of the...
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Last Word on workforce housing, Feb. 10
City taxes Here we go again, as the Williamsburg City Council looks to raise taxes after its annual retreat. The city manager can’t offer a specific reason why he anticipates a reduction in revenues from the meal and room taxes. The mayor and council members keep looking for ways to increase our...
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Last Word on tourism taxes, Feb. 7
Tax for tourism I think the proposed 1 percent added sales tax for James City, York and Williamsburg is a big crock. It’s a complete, unfair burden to the citizens to have to pay this to fund tourism. Why don’t they keep doing like they’ve been doing? They’ve got taxes on the rooms and meal taxes....
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Last Word about CW finances, Feb. 3
Williamsburg budget The Virginia Gazette's recent reporting on the Williamsburg City Council discussions on potential tax increases and the need to add a new position to administer the new Tourism Development Fund is very revealing. If the city ran like a business, as revenues decline, the focus...
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Last Word on an angel, Jan. 31
Met my angel I had a very important doctor’s appointment the other day and stopped at a store for water on my way. I got back to my car and it wouldn’t start. I cried because I could not get to the appointment. Then my angel called, “Ma’am, Ma’am.” I looked and she offered me a ride. I had to take...
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Last Word on the shutdown, Jan. 27
Williamsburg Inn On Wednesday, Last Word published a comment that said The Williamsburg Inn had been awarded the Forbes Travel Guide Fifth Star. The Inn was awarded the AAA Five Diamond designation in November 2017, one of just 120 hotels in North America to hold this distinction. However, Forbes...
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Busch Gardens Williamsburg celebrates 40 years of the Loch Ness Monster Roller Coaster
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Melania Trump's Popularity Grows In New CNN Poll
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Lava flows in streets of Hawaii
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Kingsmill Championship Media Day
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March For Our Lives in Newport News and Williamsburg
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William and Mary names Katherine A. Rowe its 28th president
News
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National Weather Service issues heat advisory for Williamsburg region
With temperatures expected to rise into the mid-90s and the head index going as high as 104 degrees Tuesday, the National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for the Williamsburg region. The heat advisory is in effect from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. The high temperature is expected to reach 94...
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William and Mary Digest for June 20
On Father’s Day, honoring a legacy and a unique presidential bond Taylor Reveley III and Taylor Reveley IV share not just a name, but a distinction unique in the history of American higher education. Not only do they anchor a three-generation family of college presidents, but for the last five...
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After brain surgery, student-athlete inspires Warhill Class of 2018
Juan Spence should not have been at his high school graduation. After a car accident the summer before senior year, the Warhill track star should not have even been alive. Surgeons gave him a 5 percent chance of survival. Five percent was enough. After four brain surgeries and 64 days in the hospital;...
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Lafayette Class of 2018 told to be fearless, determined
Student speakers extolled the virtues of fearlessness and determination during the commencement ceremony for Lafayette High School’s Class of 2018 Saturday. Looking out at her fellow graduates from the stage set up in William and Mary’s Kaplan Arena, Madison Meredith encouraged her peers to face...
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Trump defiant as crisis grows over family separation at the border
The Trump administration's move to separate immigrant families at the border and detain children apart from their parents spiraled into a humanitarian and political crisis Monday as the White House struggled to contain the growing public outcry. The situation has become a moral test for President...
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Recording of crying children at border adds to family separation outrage
An audio recording that appears to capture the heartbreaking voices of small Spanish-speaking children crying out for their parents at a U.S. immigration facility took center stage Monday in the growing uproar over the Trump administration's policy of separating immigrant children from their parents....
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What separation from parents does to children: 'The effect is catastrophic'
This is what happens inside children when they are forcibly separated from their parents. Their heart rate goes up. Their body releases a flood of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. Those stress hormones can start killing off dendrites — the little branches in brain cells that transmit...
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Upping ante, Trump threatens new tariffs on Chinese imports
President Donald Trump directed the U.S. Trade Representative to prepare new tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports on Monday as the two nations moved closer to a potential trade war. The tariffs, which Trump wants set at a 10 percent rate, would be the latest round of punitive measures in...