As criminals come and go, Steven Dale Branscombe will not go down in history as a John Dillinger. He's a petty crook, car thief and B&E guy who shot at a Virginia State Trooper, creasing the cop in the neck. But the way the TV media from Roanoke and Christiansburg has milked the story, you'd think Stevie was public enemy number one.

For several days, the talking heads descended on Floyd, doing standups with the courthouse in the background. The satellite remote truck from WSET (Channel 13 in Lynchburg) spend so much time taking up three parking spaces in The Village Green that we thought of charging them rent. On the other hand, watching the reporter with no hair spend so much time making sure what little he had was in place and grousing about whether or not his face was properly lit (below) provided some entertainment on a slow day.