So Alex Salmond is "honoured" to be the "first First Minister" to go before committee conveners to answer questions about his new legislative programme.
When Chief Superintendent David O'Connor, the president of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, told his annual conference this week that the number of Scotland's councils should be reduced from 32 to about half that number, he made a welcome contribution to the debate about the future of local government in a time of diminishing resources.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage landed in Edinburgh yesterday, hoping to capitalise on his party's bounce in the Eastleigh by-election and the English local government polls.
WHEN Sir Mervyn King, the respected outgoing governor of the Bank of England, said: "A recovery is in sight" yesterday, it was a cautious statement, delivered as ever with the solemnity of a stern sermon on a wet Sunday morning.
IF David Cameron thinks he can head off growing anger among Conservative backbenchers with yesterday's publication of a draft bill for an in-out referendum on EU membership, he has another thing coming.
ATTACHED to the printed papers from the chairman and the chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland at the bank's annual general meeting in Edinburgh yesterday was a lengthy health warning regarding "forward-looking statements".
IT will have come as no surprise to patients who have experienced poor treatment at the hands of spinal surgeon Colin Campbell Mainds that a medical tribunal has found the doctor's fitness to practise is impaired.
The worryingly high prevalence of cardiovascular disease in Scotland, and particularly Glasgow, has been a fact of life for so long that the subject is a stock favourite of comedians, particularly south of the Border.
News that a Glasgow school has readmitted a child who was found on school premises carrying a knife has understandably provoked anxiety among teachers' leaders.
Herald View Archive
Do hospital authorities regard the care and treatment of the elderly as being of equal importance with that of younger patients?
Multi-million pound payments to wind farm operators not to generate electricity understandably anger consumers who see their fuel bills rising.
George Osborne has had the careworn look of the chastened gambler of late.
So Alex Salmond is "honoured" to be the "first First Minister" to go before committee conveners to answer questions about his new legislative programme.
The Scottish voluntary sector is made up of 45,000 organisations, of which half are registered charities.
When Chief Superintendent David O'Connor, the president of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, told his annual conference this week that the number of Scotland's councils should be reduced from 32 to about half that number, he made a welcome contribution to the debate about the future of local government in a time of diminishing resources.
It is time to stop labelling children in care and start listening to them.
In fairness, the Scottish Government's paper on the economic case for independence is not intended as a policy document.
At first glance last year's Scottish tourism figures looked disappointing.
It will go down as one of the most bitter and hard-fought battles ever fought within the Church of Scotland.
IF the Church of Scotland is to be a national church, it needs to be a broad church.
THE international community is stuck between a rock and a very hard place when it comes to Syria.
The behaviour of the executives who run our delinquent financial institutions continues to be a national disgrace.
THOUSANDS of cyclists are expected to take to the saddle in Edinburgh tomorrow for the second annual Pedal on Parliament event.
SOMETIMES it looks as if no major public project in Scotland ever finishes on time or within budget.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage landed in Edinburgh yesterday, hoping to capitalise on his party's bounce in the Eastleigh by-election and the English local government polls.
TOO many of those going through Scotland's courts are ending up stuck in a revolving door of crime and punishment.
WHEN Sir Mervyn King, the respected outgoing governor of the Bank of England, said: "A recovery is in sight" yesterday, it was a cautious statement, delivered as ever with the solemnity of a stern sermon on a wet Sunday morning.
AROUND one in six couples have difficulty conceiving.
IF David Cameron thinks he can head off growing anger among Conservative backbenchers with yesterday's publication of a draft bill for an in-out referendum on EU membership, he has another thing coming.
ATTACHED to the printed papers from the chairman and the chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland at the bank's annual general meeting in Edinburgh yesterday was a lengthy health warning regarding "forward-looking statements".
THE years 2014 will be a significant one for Scotland.
IT will have come as no surprise to patients who have experienced poor treatment at the hands of spinal surgeon Colin Campbell Mainds that a medical tribunal has found the doctor's fitness to practise is impaired.
Last summer, the Scottish prison population reached an all-time high of more than 8000, while at the same time the crime rate hit a 37-year low.
Championing a world-beating Climate Change Act was always going to be the easy part.
At first glance, the independence debate should be boosted tomorrow by the interventions of two big political beasts.
This can only be said in weariness, for we have said it many times before: a society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens.
The worryingly high prevalence of cardiovascular disease in Scotland, and particularly Glasgow, has been a fact of life for so long that the subject is a stock favourite of comedians, particularly south of the Border.
News that a Glasgow school has readmitted a child who was found on school premises carrying a knife has understandably provoked anxiety among teachers' leaders.
The arguments for and against independence for Scotland have reached a crucial stage.