When you grow up in a Southern church, you learn how things are done. And how they’re not done. Some kids learn early. Some kids never get it. Bethel Missionary Baptist Church was a small, white frame structure. Like many churches of mid-20th Century America, it was...
Ask Rusty – About the Dreaded “IRMAA” Provision Dear Rusty: About a month or two ago I was notified that my Social Security was being reduced from $1,583 a month to about $1,283 a month - a $300 deduction! They said it was because my income was over the limit on my...
Saddened. Embarrassed. Determined. These three words evoke distinct feelings and emotions. In the context of an opinion piece we ran in the last week’s paper, they describe the aftermath of a community that lost its newspaper. After 130 years in business, the Commerce...
This week the media is focusing on Sunshine Week. It is a time to celebrate a free press and what it means for you and your community to have access to public information. Several weeks ago, I read a letter that should be shared with every community. While the message...
Dear Rusty: Can or does the Social Security Administration occasionally make mistakes in determining the benefits due? I’m now 72 but I retired early at age 61 and knew that my benefits would be reduced. I’ve always wondered if my monthly benefit calculation was...
AUSTIN — As the worldwide threat of novel coronavirus increased, state agencies already were working together to ensure the health and safety of all Texans, Gov. Greg Abbott said Feb. 27. After a briefing from state and federal health officials on coronavirus...
Whatever our political views, certainly we can agree we have the right to know how government is conducting business. How are taxpayer dollars spent? Who is influencing decisions? Access to information allows us to speak up and hold public officials accountable, while...
Journalists relentlessly pursue the truth in order to provide citizens with the information they need to be self-governing. And yet, for journalists, doing that work can be risky, dangerous and even cost lives. Just 15 months ago the deadliest attack on journalists...
You’re probably chuckling already. Seriously? “The joy of politics”? That was pretty much the reaction I got the other day when, in the middle of a conversation about how confrontational, adversarial, and downright unpleasant politics has become of late, I...
