Celebrity sightings in the newsroom

Celebrity sightings

By Linda Ash

There's been a buzz in our newsroom the past few weeks, and more than a few giggles. You see, ever since Rep. Paul Ryan was named Mitt Romney's running mate, one of our own has been sharing some of Ryan's limelight.

"Did I tell you I was in Walmart the other day and a man and his wife came up to me, and the woman asked me if I was a Republican?" Daily photographer Rich Cooley asked during a recent meeting with reporters. Cooley also said that he is hearing people whisper as he walks by them, and I'm guessing a few fingers have been pointing his way.

Why? Well, those of you who know Cooley probably already understand why people seem to be in awe of him when he walks into a room - and it's not just because he is the best photographer in the valley.

For those of you who don't, just take a gander of Cooley's mugshot above and compare it to Ryan's. Notice a resemblance?

As far as Cooley knows, he is not related to Paul Ryan. I'm not so sure...

Anyway, we're sending Cooley out to take a photo of his carbon copy today at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds. Ryan will be speaking there at 2 p.m. We'll be posting Cooley's photos of Ryan in Saturday's Daily along with a story by region editor Jeb Inge, who also covers state and national politics for us. I don't know how close they will be able to get to Ryan, but I'd love to see a photo of Cooley and Ryan together.

New columns
We run several guest columns by local writers each week. Some appear monthly, while others are printed on a weekly basis. If you missed any of these columns, visit the archives at nvdaily.com/lifestyle.

Our guest columnists include local residents Roger Barbee, Jason Wright, Ask Dave [Herman] the Car Guy, Elizabeth Cottrell, Seth Coffman, Gene Rigelon, Chastity Harris, Jeanne Ellen Russell, and Sybille and Richard Stromberg. We also are featuring an ask the doctor column by ophthalmologist Dr. Alla Hynes.

Also new to the Daily is Horoscopes by Holiday Mathis. This is a syndicated column that can be found daily on our advice columns page.

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Linda Ash is editor of the Northern Virginia Daily. Email: lash@nvdaily.com