Faith issues front and center in governor’s race

The Top Story by Chris Graham

Tim Kaine doesn’t hide the fact that he is a Roman Catholic.

“I am a Catholic, and I’m very serious about my faith,” said Kaine, Virginia’s lieutenant governor and the presumptive Democratic Party nominee to run for governor in the Commonwealth in the fall.

“I took a year off while I was in law school to serve as a missionary in Central America, and in many ways, that was the most formative experience in my life. I do take faith and values issues seriously. And I respect others who take their faith seriously in their lives,” Kaine told The Augusta Free Press. Read more

Deja vu all over again

Column by Max Friedman

The elections in Iraq coming up at the end of this week mean more to the civilized world, whatever that means, than most other events of the past 10 years. We’ve had horrible earthquakes, a tsunami of untold devastation, terrorism, genocidal tribal wars in Africa, genocide by starvation in the Sudan, tribal wars by hackings and rapes, more AIDS/HIV, Ebola fever, and other disasters, manmade and natural. Read more

Does Warner’s future hinge on Kaine?

The Top Story by Chris Graham

For Virginia Gov. Mark Warner to be able to run a viable campaign for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 2008, does he need to see his top lieutenant win his job in November?

This is the question on the minds of more than a few people in Old Dominion pol circles as the ‘05 state-election season heats up. Read more

Thoughts on junior golf

Golf Things Considered column by John Rogers
JSpencerRogers@msn.com  

People frequently ask me about the age that they should start their children at playing golf. The easy answer is that it is not really a question of age, but of interest and attention span, which is obviously different from one child to the next. I have given lessons to children as young as 3 years old, but in general, it seems that young golfers respond better from age 6 and up. Read more

What’s Emmett going to do?

Story by Chris Graham

Everybody, it seems, wants to know what Emmett Hanger is up to these days.

It has to be a nice place to be in.

“I’ve been encouraged to learn that my name is already known across the state. I also realize that it might not always be for positive things,” quipped Sen. Hanger, a Mount Solon Republican whose much-discussed flirtation with a run at the GOP lieutenant-governor nomination is now in its ninth month. Read more

Is Fitch ready to challenge Kilgore?

The Top Story by Chris Graham

A George Fitch for governor campaign wouldn’t necessarily surprise Republican Party insiders who have been talking for months about the Warrenton mayor’s interest in mounting a challenge to Attorney General Jerry Kilgore.

But a Fitch candidacy might shake up the 2005 gubernatorial race nonetheless. Read more