Webb tired of being in Warner’s shadow
Story by Chris Graham
newdominion@ntelos.net
Count me as being among those in the Virginia punditry who thinks that the main reason the Commonwealth is in play politically these days is because of Mark Warner.
That having been established as a baseline, I’ve been interested, to say the least, at the thought of what people like Tim Kaine and Jim Webb have to say about all that right there. Read more
EMU magazine wins prestigious award
Story by Jim Bishop
Crossroads magazine at Eastern Mennonite University won a major award this year from the southeast district of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.
Competing against dozens of magazines produced by larger institutions, Crossroads received a “special merit award” in the category of “magazine publishing improvement.”
The other winners in this category were magazines produced in 2007 by Furman University in South Carolina, Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, the University of Alabama, the University of Miami, Brenau University in Georgia and Barry University in Florida. Read more
Guess who called me today …
Best Seat in the House column by Chris Graham
sportsdom@ntelos.net
I’m going to go ahead and answer that one there.
“Chris, Bill Roth for you …” was the message from down the hall.
I knew right away what it was about. Read more
Middle-class servants to the wealthy
Column by Sam Rasoul
In a free society, inequality of income in inevitable. But inequality of income, if not moderated, becomes a force which both destabilizes and disables a society.
Not only is excessive inequality morally offensive; it is dangerous.
We have concrete data from 2005 delineating the severity of the income gap in the United States. In that year, the top 1 percent of Americans, those earning in excess of $348,000, pulled in a larger proportion of the national income than at any time since 1928. To be exact, those at the top took in 21.8 percent of all income, almost reaching the 1928 level of 23.9 percent. To offer some comparison, in 1980, the top 1 percent earned 8 percent of the country’s income, a far cry from the 2005 21.8 percent. Those receiving more than $100,000 in 2005, the top 10 percent, also reached pre-Depression levels. Read more
Another way to look at payday-loan claims
Op-Ed by Harvey Yoder
I want to thank payday-lending institutions for all of their recent newspaper and other ads. They have enlightened me so much about why we should not compare their rate of interest, over 350 percent as computed on an annual basis, with the typical amount of interest charged, which they insist is not exorbitant at all for an emergency two-week loan. Read more
Intensity in Staunton porn war ratchets up
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
On one front in the Staunton-Augusta porn war, score one for the anti-porn forces.
“I think the community is behind the board of supervisors, the community is behind the planning commission, and they want them to move forward on these strict ordinances to protect our community,” said Kurt Michael, a member of the Citizens Task Force Against Pornography, after a special meeting of the Augusta County Planning Commission last night to discuss proposed zoning legislation that would effectively limit where adult-themed stores could be located in Augusta County. Read more
Transportation
General Assembly Report column by Del. Ben Cline
If you have visited Richmond before, you may have taken a tour of Virginia’s Capitol building. The stately building, built by Thomas Jefferson in 1788 and renovated last year, is where the House and Senate hold their legislative sessions each day at noon. The building has the air of a museum, with tour groups wandering, cameras flashing, and voices kept to a near-whisper. Read more
Gilmore defining himself on trail
Story by Chris Graham
newdominion@ntelos.net
Jim Gilmore is a solid Republican – but he’s willing to break with party leaders, and even President Bush, when he feels it necessary.
“We don’t want to necessarily carry the power in Iraq strictly on the backs of the military. We’re very proud of those men and women, we honor them – but American policy has to be broad-based,” said Gilmore, a candidate for the Republican Party nomination to run for the open United States Senate seat representing Virginia in November. Read more
Football mind games tell another story
Story by Chris Graham
sportsdom@ntelos.net
Listen to today’s “SportsDominion Show,” featuring an interview with sports psychologist John F. Murray.
New England is a prohibitive favorite to win Super Bowl XLII, but there seems to be a movement afoot – led by Sports Illustrated football guru Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman and others – to get people to think that an upset along the lines of the New York Jets in Super Bowl III could be in the offing with another team from Gotham leading the way.
Sports psychologist John F. Murray isn’t concerned with that part of the walkup to the Big Game. He’s focused with the mental pictures of the two teams in the game – and as far as that aspect of football goes, Murray feels that it will be no contest.
Art, latte-style
Item by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Ever heard of latte art?
Yes, I’m talking about doing something artistic with an espresso.
They have contests for this sort of thing, you know …
“Latte art refers to the designs created when the barista pours the foamed milk into an espresso drink,” said Kathleen Stinehart, owner of Cranberry’s Grocery and Eatery in Downtown Staunton.
“It’s a sign the milk has acquired the right texture to be tasty and makes a big difference in the presentation,” Stewart said.
One of Stewart’s baristas, Jason Welch, will show off his latte-art skills at a contest in Washington, D.C., next month. Read more
Enterprise-zone news big news for Waynesboro
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Don’t underestimate the value of this bit of news. Megan Williamson certainly isn’t.
“I have to stress that this is big news. I agree with that completely. We were very excited,” the Waynesboro economic-development director said in an interview for today’s “Augusta Free Press Show,” talking about the announcement on Friday that the city had been tapped to receive designation as a Virginia Enterprise Zone. Read more
Thompson making most of opportunity
Story by Chris Graham
sportsdom@ntelos.net
Listen to today’s “SportsDominion Show,” featuring interviews with UVa. basketball coach Dave Leitao and Virginia Tech basketball coach Seth Greenberg.
Jeff Allen who?
“I can’t say enough about J.T. Thompson – how hard he played, and how active he was and how resilient he was in terms of playing against bigger people,” said Virginia Tech basketball coach Seth Greenberg, talking about the 6-6 freshman forward, who scored 14 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the Hokies’ 81-73 win at Boston College on Saturday and scored 13 points and snared eight rebounds in Tech’s 81-64 loss to Duke on Thursday. Read more
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