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Opinion

Letters to the Gazette-Journal on any subject of public interest are always welcome. Letters should be 300 words or shorter, and all submissions must include the writer’s complete home mailing address, email and phone number should we need to reach you (this information is not published).

We favor letters that thoughtfully respond to or offer perspective or content published in the Gazette-Journal, and on local or state issues. The Gazette-Journal will not accept letters which comment on articles published in other periodicals; and we may not use letters which have appeared in other publications. We do not accept letters that are primarily broad endorsements or attacks on political candidates or parties. Also, space limitations often prevent publication of thank-you letters.

The right is reserved to refuse letters and to limit letters from individual contributors to one per month, to limit to one the number of candidate endorsements an individual can make, and to edit letters for length, accuracy, clarity, tone, style and other considerations. The newspaper requires a physically signed copy for our records. That can be accomplished by sending a digital image, such as a JPEG, to the editor.

Editorial: Summer of the Semiquincentennial (3/4/2026) - History will come alive this summer as Virginia celebrates the semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary, of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Virginia played a big role in the nation’s…
Editorial: The citizen (3/4/2026) - A familiar voice in Gloucester County meetings and in our Readers Write column went silent in the death last month of Howard Mowry. Moving to Gloucester in the late 1990s,…
Letter: Vote No! (3/4/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: There are many reasons anyone living in Mathews County, regardless of party, should vote “no” on the Redistricting referendum scheduled for April 21, early voting begins this Friday!…
Letter: Vote Yes (3/4/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: I want to thank the Mathews Branch of the NAACP for their very informative town hall, “Understanding the Redistricting Referendum, Getting to Yes.” Speakers provided background on the…
Letter: Vote No (3/4/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: I am writing in reference to the upcoming Special Election Voter Suppression put on the ballot by the Virginia legislators. I have never witnessed such an oppressive silencing…
Letter: Vote No (3/4/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: According to Wikipedia, gerrymandering is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries to advantage a party, group, or socioeconomic class. There is some rather obvious word twisting going…
Letter: Vote Yes (3/4/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: Whether you voted Red or Blue in 2024, it’s safe to say we all wanted the same things: lower prices, safer cities, and stronger communities. We were promised…
Letter: Vote Yes (3/4/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: Recently, I participated in a town hall in Mathews County concerning the Redistricting Amendment that we will soon be voting on. I went into the meeting supporting a…
Letter: Supporting the arts (3/4/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: Did you know that Concerts By The Bay offers more than concerts to the public? In partnership with local community foundations & state grants, we bring performances into…
America250_logo Editorial: Celebrating the 250th (2/25/2026) - On July 4, 2026, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Several localities have created their own VA250 committees to specifically…
Letter: One incredibly special lady (2/25/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: We are quickly approaching the 40th Daffodil Festival on March 28 and 29. It takes many volunteers to help make this a fun and safe festival. Over the…
Letter: It is all about fairness (2/25/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: The April 21 referendum to allow for temporary redistricting of Virginia’s congressional districts is being attacked as unfair. Actually, it is all about fairness. The Republicans are worried…
Letter: Stand up for all Virginians (2/25/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: Since 1913, the number of representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives has been fixed at 435. By law, those seats are distributed across the 50 states in…
Letter: Rebalancing the scales (2/25/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: The party of Law and Order is now using the courts to prevent the citizens of Virginia from voting. Counties and cities are creating resolutions to block voting.…
Letter: Preventing pet suffering (2/25/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: This month, a dog arrived at PETA’s clinic barely clinging to life. She was suffering from pyometra—an agonizing, often fatal uterine infection that requires emergency surgery. Her guardian…
washington by Gilbert Stuart, 1797 national archives Editorial: By George (2/18/2026) - We are in the limbo period between the “Presidents’ Day” holiday on Feb. 16, and the real birthday of George Washington, Father of Our Country, on Feb. 22. We put…
Letter: Superintendent, school board need to do better (2/18/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: According to the Feb. 12 article in the Gazette Journal, the Gloucester County Public Schools superintendent’s proposed 2027 budget is a $1.5 million increase over the 2026 budget.…
Letter: Follow the Book (2/18/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: I saw on TV this past week our governor championing for dogs (I didn’t see any cats) to be adopted. She wants people to take one home, care…
Letter: How does that ‘defend democracy’? (2/18/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: Writer David Helms (Readers Write, Feb. 12) invokes a bit of Virginia history in supporting the Democrats’ redistricting power grab. He references a Republican-controlled House and Senate failing…
Letter: Lawful perhaps, but right? (2/18/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: Life on the Middle Peninsula teaches the value of being heard. In smaller communities, representation is not an abstract idea; it is the difference between local concerns being…
Letter: U.S. must show real strength against Russia (2/18/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: As we approach the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, I am deeply concerned by the United States’ failure to provide consistent, direct…
Letter: 30 days, 30 new taxes (2/18/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: Newly elected Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger and the Democrats’ control of the Legislature have wasted no time in their effort to turn Virginia into the next failed state,…
Editorial: Know yourlegislators in D. C. (2/11/2026) - The sausage-making process of forging legislation (or not) powers the national meatgrinder known as the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. It’s no secret that much of the legislative branch appears…
Letter: Above and beyond (2/11/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: This letter is to recognize the above-and-beyond-the-call-of-duty work by many of the drivers of Bay Transit here in Gloucester and Mathews. Yesterday, Feb. 3, I once again benefitted…
Letter: Vote Yes on redistricting (2/11/2026) - Editor, Gazette-Journal: Nearly 250 years ago, Virginians Patrick Henry and James Madison debated how best to protect individual liberty from the abuse of power. Their arguments remain urgently relevant today.…

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