AFPTheMagazine.com

Local beef in local schools: A win-win

Special Report by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
  

It would seem to stand to reason that the breadbasket of Virginia could probably provide at least something in the way of homegrown food for schoolchildren.

And then you think about it for a second, and it occurs to you that, you know, maybe it makes sense that like everybody else we just order food for school lunches the way everybody else does, by going the mass-supplier route.

I mean, seriously – it’s not like you can just call up Farmer Fred over in West Augusta and get him to save you a side of beef and a bushel of corn without having to have the USDA and numerous other acronyms involved in the effort.
   

Read the rest of this article
- Existing AugustaFreePress.com subscribers, click here.
- To subscribe to AugustaFreePress.com, click here.

Boxing coach: We’re all in the same gang

Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
  

Coach, as he is known around the gym, has worked with top-level amateur boxers and for a time was a personal trainer for Hollywood celebs including Al Pacino and Julia Roberts.

Working with gang members in Waynesboro has Frank Burchette’s attention now.

“That’s what drew me here,” said Burchette, a former U.S. Army drill sergeant and top amateur boxer who now heads up the boxing program at Annese Martial Arts in Waynesboro.
  

Read the rest of this article
- Existing AugustaFreePress.com subscribers, click here.
- To subscribe to AugustaFreePress.com, click here.

Chris Graham: Behind the Crookshanks resignation

Column by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
  

It can be the case that a resignation offered one day to take effect the next can be an indication of something salacious having happened behind the scenes, but that’s not what I’m hearing in regard to the surprise resignation last week of longtime Waynesboro tourism director Lianne Crookshanks.

My sources indicate that it simply became obvious to higher-ups in the Yancey Building that it was time to move in a new direction in the tourism area.
  

Read the rest of this article
- Existing AugustaFreePress.com subscribers, click here.
- To subscribe to AugustaFreePress.com, click here.

The AFP Show: Monday, March 15

Hosted by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
 

A new format for The AFP Show – now featuring audio and video.

This week’s show includes:
- Video interviews with Staunton Mayor Lacy King and Staunton City Councilman Bruce Elder. Both King and Elder are running for re-election in May.
- Audio interviews with WSVA-550AM talk-show regular guest Andy Schmookler and David Beebe from Cherry Ridge Farm in Rockbridge County.
  

Access The AFP Show
- Existing AugustaFreePress.com subscribers, click here.
- To subscribe to AugustaFreePress.com, click here.

AugustaFreePress.com

Schmookler: ‘Don’t trust the people who have been lying to you’

Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
 

If you’re a rock-ribbed conservative, you would probably already think that WSVA needs to rein in that liberal kook Andy Schmookler.

Well, that liberal kook Andy Schmookler that you know and have come to loathe was Andy Schmookler playing nice. [Read more...]

CSAs: Get your taste on

Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
 

You might find out what a tomato is actually supposed to taste like. That’s one advantage to community supported agriculture.

“It’s picked fresh that day, so you end up with an incredibly fresh selection of vegetables that have not been treated with Clorox to preserve them,” said David Beebe, the owner of Cherry Ridge Farm in Rockbridge County, which makes its produce available to local subscribers through a community supported agriculture, or CSA, program. [Read more...]

Chris Graham: The rest of the story

Column by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
 

Congratulations are in order to Phil and Ellen Winter, whose persistence in their search for information about the workings of the city treasurer office in Waynesboro led to their collection of dozens of pages of e-mails, memos and audit reports, an investigative report in The New Dominion Magazine, more reporting on the matter in the News Virginian, the defeat of Sandee Dixon in her bid for re-election as city treasurer, and recognition for their efforts from the American Society of Newspaper Editors. [Read more...]

VirginiaPoliticsToday.com

Cuccinelli: ‘We gotta have proof’ that Obama is U.S. citizen

Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
 

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, fresh off the controversy that he generated with his letter to Virginia public colleges and universities earlier this month advising them against going too far in policies protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination on campus, is back in the hot seat again, this time over comments from late last year questioning President Obama’s citizenship.

The comments came to light in a posting on the left-wing political blog Not Larry Sabato on Monday that included audio from an interview conducted by an unnamed man of Cuccinelli in the post-election transition period. [Read more...]

Bob Goodlatte: Balancing the federal budget

Column by Bob Goodlatte
www.house.gov/goodlatte
 

It is no secret that the American people are facing a very tough economic climate. Families and small businesses are cutting back on expenses. As economic uncertainty continues, many across our nation are looking to the government for leadership during this difficult time. [Read more...]

New discrimination prohibitions include sexual orientation

Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
  

Gov. Bob McDonnell today issued an executive directive clarifying his administration’s position on employment discrimination that makes it clear that discrimination “based on factors such as one’s sexual orientation or parental status” will not be tolerated.

“Discrimination based on factors such as one’s sexual orientation or parental status violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. Therefore, discrimination against enumerated classes of persons set forth in the Virginia Human Rights Act or discrimination against any class of persons without a rational basis is prohibited,” McDonnell wrote in the directive, titled Executive Directive 1. [Read more...]

Blogs/Commentary

The Rant: We get what we elect

Video Essay by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
 

---

David Reynolds: Paradise lost

Column by David Reynolds
Submit guest columns: freepress2@ntelos.net
 

Does anyone out there in paradise care about anybody besides themselves? If not, then we have lost a community. We have lost paradise.

Over 700 area residents attended the SRO public hearing held last week at the Rockbridge County High School to hear comments on the inevitable cuts the School Board and the Board of Supervisors must make for 2,600 students in their 2010-2011 budgets. [Read more...]

Bourne Again Christian invades the ‘Green Zone’

Column by Carl Larsen
Submit guest columns: freepress2@ntelos.net
 

Nothing gets my dander up quicker than a healthy dose of good old American Righteous Indignation. And believe me, Matt Damon is so full of it in “Green Zone,” currently playing at the Regal Staunton Mall Cinema, that this erstwhile star of “The Bourne Identity,” “The Bourne Supremacy,” and “The Bourne Ultimatum” could easily be known as The Bourne Again Christian.

You can tell right away this tale, set in the chaotic early days of the Baghdad invasion (when Weapons of Mass Destruction were more real than Bush’s fantasy) is chock-a-block with Righteous Indignation. All the characters – government guys, CIA peeps, only-following-orders soldiers, reporters and noble savages all speak in deadly serious clichés. [Read more...]

ACCVirginia.com

Live Blog: #1 UVa. at JMU

Hosted by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
  

We’re trying something new tonight – a live blog using Twitter and Facebook.

I will be live at Veterans Memorial Park on the campus of JMU for tonight’s baseball game between the Dukes and #1 UVa.

The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Follow us live on Twitter and Facebook. Links to our live coverage of the game are below. [Read more...]

Greenberg: Oh, yeah, he’s gone

Column by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
  

“I’m the coach at Virginia Tech.”

That was Seth Greenberg’s answer over the weekend at the end of an interview on ESPN in which he was trying to sell his Virginia Tech team’s NCAA Tournament hopes to the world to a question about whatever interest he might have in the open St. John’s job.

Interesting choice of words, and all we can do right now is parse them. “I’m the coach at Virginia Tech.” OK for a declarative statement. Could’ve said, “No interest,” or something akin. But no, he said he’s the coach at Virginia Tech.

Ahem, let me go ahead and speculate that Greenberg will take the St. John’s job if offered. The reason: What else can he do in Blacksburg at this point? [Read more...]

WaynesboroGenerals.com: Butler duo signs with Generals

Story by Chris Graham
WaynesboroGenerals.com
  

The Waynesboro Generals announced today the signing of two members of the Butler University baseball team for 2010 – pitcher Mike Hernandez and infielder Grant Fillipitch.

Learn more about the Butler duo here.

• Build some buzz

  Successful PR campaigns include ad placements in newspapers, magazines and radio/TV/web and efforts aimed at getting news articles and radio/TV/web coverage from media organizations.
  
  Our media-relations strategy is designed with the experience of two news media professionals with a combined 26 years of experience working in newspapers, magazines and TV news in mind.
  
  Services include:
  - Preparing and distributing news releases
  - Developing community calendar entries
  - Developing reporter tip sheets aimed at highlighting your availability to serve as an expert source for certain types of news stories
  
  Click here to learn more about what the AFP can do to build a successful PR strategy for you.
  

• Image is … everything

  The staff at Augusta Free Press Publishing has been recognized by the Virginia Press Association for excellence in layout and design with our award-winning New Dominion Magazine.
  
  We have been putting our skills in graphic layout and design to work for customers in Augusta County, Staunton and Waynesboro for five years, on projects for businesses and organizations including the Waynesboro Generals, the Wayne Theatre Alliance, the Waynesboro Family YMCA and the Valley Program for Aging Services.
  
  Learn more about AFP Graphic Design services here.