The man who stopped the Unabomber

The Top Story by Chris Graham

David Kaczynski didn’t believe for a second that his brother, Ted, could have been the man known to the world as the Unabomber.

“My initial reaction was, ‘Well, Ted’s never been violent. I can’t imagine him harming other people like this,’ ” said Kaczynski, whose wife, Linda, confronted him in the summer of 1995 with her suspicions that Ted Kaczynski was the man behind the trail of package bombings that had dated to the late 1970s. Read more

Staunton races heating up

Story by Chris Graham

Constitutional-office races are generally afterthoughts – if they’re even given that much thought.

At best you’ll see a heated race when a long-time revenue commissioner or sheriff or treasurer decides to retire – but even then, the issues, such as they are, come down to ones of personality.

Which is why the commissioner of the revenue and treasurer races on the ballot in Staunton this fall are so interesting. Read more

Where all is bright and gay: Virginia at forefront of gay-rights debate

There was an unspoken tension in the room – beneath the surface, but very much palpable.

The Valley Family Forum hosted an event last week in Bridgewater titled “Gay Activism: Its Impact on America.” The idea was to get Shenandoah Valley residents together to hear from a group of speakers who haven’t bought into the increasingly prevailing conventional wisdom that the gay and lesbian rights movement has had a decidedly positive impact on America. Read more

Escape from New Orleans: Refugee, Staunton native, talks about Katrina, rebuilding

The Top Story by Chris Graham

Scott Obenschain is glad he answered his phone.

“I was going to stay, originally, but on the Sunday before the storm hit, a friend of mine called me up and said, ‘It’s a Category 5, and it’s heading our way. Let’s go,’ ” said Obenschain, a Staunton native who moved to New Orleans five autumns ago to pursue a career in jazz music. Read more

The web of 9/11 conspiracy intrigue

The Top Story by Chris Graham

David Ray Griffin is the least likely conspiracy theorist that you’ll ever meet.

A theologian by trade, Griffin was working on a book on Western imperialism at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

At the outset, Griffin said, he viewed what was going on, “as many liberals did,” as a “blowback from our foreign policy.” Read more

A new way of doing business in Waynesboro?

Story by Chris Graham

Waynesboro City Councilman Frank Lucente said the city’s current economic-development strategy “isn’t working.”

His solution for fixing things – better utilize the city industrial-development authority. Read more