Are Pittsylvania County’s voters ready to approve Sunday beer and wine sales? Until Tuesday, the conventional political wisdom was that question was a dead issue in the county.

The voters had already said no — twice. But now that voters in the Callands-Gretna magisterial district and the town of Gretna have approved Sunday sales, the issue is once again in play.

The political winds didn’t blow in McDonnell’s favor this year. Instead, he knew which winds would carry him to victory. McDonnell followed in the political footsteps of Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, two Democrats who knew that Virginians wanted their next governor to be a jobs governor.

The family and friends of Lamonte “CoCo” Stone miss him terribly. They want his violent death to be Danville’s last.

They know what they’re up against.

In some parts of the world, people literally risk life and limb to do what we’ll be able to safely do for 13 hours today.

But here in the world’s greatest democracy — and advocate for the spread of democracy around the world — election days are often greeted with quiet indifference.

That will probably be true today.

Virginians will have an important choice to make in Tuesday’s gubernatorial election — and we believe the best choice is Republican Bob McDonnell.

For Danville Commonwealth’s Attorney, we endorse Michael Newman, who currently works in the office as a senior assistant and has spent more than a decade prosecuting the criminals that prey on society. For Danville Sheriff, we endorse Mike Mondul, who currently works for the Danville Police Department and is best known as the department’s public spokesman. Mondul brings a valuable outsider’s experience to this race and has pledged to find better ways to use existing resources more efficiently.

Virginia Republicans find themselves standing in almost the exact same spot the Democrats were a year ago — ahead in the polls, with a fired-up base of supporters and momentum on their side.

We strongly endorse Danny Marshall for re-election this year.

The Sierra Club believes that a coal-fired electric power plant under construction in Ohio could wind up hurting Danville Utilities’ customers in the pocketbook.

Danville is one of the cities that has partnered with American Municipal Power to build a new coal-fired electric power plant in Meigs County, Ohio. As a partner, Danville will contribute to the cost of building the plant and be able to buy electricity generated by the plant.

The arrangement is supposed to give Danville and its electric customers some protection from wildly fluctuating electric prices on the open market. But the Sierra Club argues that falling demand for electricity and changing environmental regulations make the plant a bad deal for cities like Danville.

As we write this, two young people have been killed in local traffic accidents in the past week.

One thing connects the deaths of Montana Haynes, 19, and Tyler Perrow, 13 — they weren’t wearing seat belts in the accidents that occurred just five days apart.

DCC’s new Foundation Hall didn’t become a reality just because a lot of people — led by the members of the Danville Regional Foundation — joined together to give the school’s health science programs a modern home.

Last year’s presidential race brought with it record numbers of new voters. We’d like to think that most of those people were so new to voting that they were not aware of the things that were expected of them.

Most candidates running for public office know the limits of government — and they all know what the voters want.

Few issues so closely tie what the state can do with what the people want it to do than economic development. That’s why it’s the one political issue that’s a winner in every election.

Social Security recipients won’t be getting a cost of living increase — also known as a COLA — for the first time since the current system of automatic increases was established in 1975. By federal law, Social Security benefits can’t be reduced, but they won’t be going up in January.

Republicans in the Fifth District are going to have plenty of choices when they pick a candidate for the 2010 race against Rep. Tom Perriello.

Chatham Hall isn’t for every young woman.

But Chatham Hall made a lifelong impression on Elizabeth Beckwith Nilsen. She graduated from the all-girl’s private school in 1931 and carried the lessons she learned there — and the experience of being a Chatham Hall student — for the rest of her life.

If we allow the government to perform certain tasks, then we should expect that the taxpayer money government workers spend to perform those tasks is handled carefully and prudently.

After all, government money is really our money.

Jeremy Stratton, the director of Danville’s Office of Economic Development, believes the community is finally ready to attract new people and higher paying jobs.

Stratton’s confidence in the Dan River Region is buoyed by yet another big economic development project, this one the promised $400 million investment by Gibbs International to renovate and find a tenant for the White Mill building on Memorial Drive.

JTI Leaf Services’ decision to process American-grown tobacco in Danville doesn’t just mean 39 new full-time jobs and 150 seasonal jobs.

It’s about more opportunities for the Dan River Region’s tobacco farmers — and a potential shot in the arm for the local agricultural economy.

The war on drugs has dragged on longer than any other American war. It has been fought by police officers and prosecutors who have dutifully filled America’s jails and prisons with people who simply wanted to get high to some of the most dangerous, violent criminals this country has ever seen.

Danville City Council has set its sights on it — and not a moment too soon. People are complaining that their neighbor’s dogs are leaving it on their lawns and sidewalks, and there’s way too much on some sections of the Riverwalk Trail.

At a workshop last month, about 60 local educators studied what’s called “active learning.” The only thing missing at the workshop were the parents of children who are not being properly prepared for school.

Pittsylvania County’s constitutional officers have vacancies they can’t fill because they have no money to hire replacements — and almost no chance of convincing the Board of Supervisors that they need help, not more budget cuts.

The recession continues to batter some of the most important human service agencies in the Dan River Region.

U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Fifth District, has joined a group of freshman House Democrats who are suggesting changes to the proposed health care legislation now before Congress.

The Danville Regional Foundation has jumped into the debate over uranium mining and milling in Pittsylvania County.

Formed with the assets from the 2005 sale of Danville Regional Medical Center to LifePoint Hospitals Inc., the Danville Regional Foundation exists “to develop, promote, and support activities, programs and organizations that improve the health, welfare and education” of Danville, Pittsylvania County and Caswell County, N.C.

Clearly, uranium mining and milling at Coles Hill in Pittsylvania County would have a profound impact on the communities served by the Danville Regional Foundation, and on the foundation’s core areas of concern.

It was a coincidence that the monthly unemployment numbers and the annual poverty rate estimate both came out around the same time this week. The business of monitoring the business of this community never ends.

We’re hearing a lot about Enterprise Zone funding and the Governor’s Opportunity Fund during this year’s political campaign.

That’s good news.

The recent revelation that a former slave cemetery has been found within the 3,400-acres destined to become the Berry Hill industrial mega-park should surprise no one.

Gun control, as the old joke goes, means using both hands. But America’s gun owners are not in a laughing mood these days.

The election of President Barack Obama and two-straight blue-tide elections have given the Democratic Party firm control of the executive and legislative branches of government. The fear is that the Democrats will try to push through new gun control legislation, ban certain types of weapons and ammunition and even impose new taxes.