Editor, Gazette-Journal:
As a child, recall looking up in awe at the star-filled dark sky dotted with the brilliance of twinkling stars and the creaminess of the Milky Way? Have you traveled somewhere in recent years where you could see the stars and celestial bodies—perhaps when you were offshore in a boat without nearby lights and could relive the awe?
Growing up in the rural Shenandoah Valley, I remember the contrast of the darkness and the ethereal Milky Way and know that, over time, the contrast has faded. Today we experience light pollution, from wasted light thrown upward into the night sky obscuring the features of the night skies. I yearn for those days … and apparently, others want to see the celestial wonders and have acted on it.
Del. David Reid (D-Loudoun) introduced House Joint Resolution 74 to designate the week of the new moon in April as International Dark Sky Week. This passed by unanimous vote of the General Assembly! For the past two years, Gov. Glenn Youngkin issue...