1 day Ago
MenhadenRe “Menhaden study delay leaves important questions unanswered” (Other Views, April 18): Osprey are Virginia’s canary in a coalmine. Their starving chicks should ring alarm bells to all those who love wildlife in the Chesapeake Bay region. Menhaden are a small fish that plays a big role in the bay’s food chain.
Virginia’s delay of menhaden fishery science is not just bad news for osprey; it’s bad news for the entire Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.Omega Protein contracts to harvest up to 100 million pounds of menhaden from Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay waters each year. The company recently wielded its political clout to delay a planned study on menhaden in the Chesapeake.
What is Omega Protein afraid the research will uncover?Without a study, there is no way to know if current menhaden fishing limits are preventing harm from this industrial fishery concentrated in the Chesapeake Bay region. Given the lack of science thanks to the industry that harvests the vast majority of menhaden, and mounting warning signs about a decrease in menhaden, now is the time for Virginia to consider stricter limits on industrial menhaden fishing in the bay.We hope to hear from the gubernatorial candidates, former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger and Lt.
Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, on how they plan to fix Virginia’s menhaden problem. A healthy Chesapeake Bay hangs in the balance.
Chris Moore, Virginia executive director, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Virginia BeachBeginningOne hundred days in of 1,461 of this administration and easy math, even for me, 1,361 days left. Election Day was a referendum on the previous administration and proved that the majority of the electorate wanted the country to go in a different direction.President Donald Trump won despite many things working against him.
I would have preferred another nominee as would a decent percentage of conservatives. But Trump won the nomination and conservatives, independents and some Democrats voted for him because we were totally dissatisfied with how the previous administration handled almost every issue.So, with only three months in has everything gone smoothly? The obvious answer is no.
But with the massive change now being delivered some of this disruption to the status quo should have been expected. If the markets rebound as many predict they will, this current disruption will be forgotten.I think we will have a clearer picture of this in about three months.
Now, I understand the left, which includes the mainstream media, will continue to view everything this administration does in a negative light. The real indicator if his presidency will be successful or not will be in 2028. In the meantime, buckle up as we have a long way to go.
Rob Levinsky, NorfolkFailing gradePresident Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office are over, and it has been nerve-wracking for every working-class person in America. It’s as if our entire country has been put in a blender and set on frappe.He wasted no time insulting our neighbors, alienating our allies, attacking institutions of higher learning, denying due process to immigrants, fouling up an even racial playing field, snubbing his nose at the legal system and ushering in a Constitutional crisis.
His approach to the economy has been destructive to world markets, and he has promised sustained misery and pain to paycheck to paycheck working Americans.His cabinet has been a clown car of unqualified loyalists who bring us nothing but disruption, mass firings and confusion.Was the war in Ukraine ended on his first day in office as he said it would? No.
Did grocery prices go down like he said they would? No. Somebody please hit the off button on the blender that we find ourselves in. The president’s grade so far? It’s a flat F.
Larry Hollowell, NorfolkSign up for Viewpoints, an opinion newsletter.
