Arena elected to Soccer Hall of Fame
Staff Report
News tips: freepress2@ntelos.net
Bruce Arena, whose coaching record includes five NCAA Championships as the head coach of Virginia, two FIFA World Cups with the United States and two MLS Cup titles, has been elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2010 on the Builder ballot.
To be eligible for the Hall of Fame as a Builder, an individual in a non-playing capacity must have demonstrated a major, sustained and positive impact on U.S. soccer on a national or first division professional level for a minimum of 10 years.
Arena was named on 78 percent of the ballots. In 2009, Arena was the leading vote-getter on the Builder ballot, but did not meet the requirement of being named to 50 percent of the ballots to earn election. Read more
The rebirth of the Rock
Video by Norm Shafer
www.normshafer.com
Norm Shafer of Norm Shafer Photography in Waynesboro reports on the rebirth of the Solid Rock Cafe, a Waynesboro-based organization that provides an important outreach to youths and teens in the Greater Augusta area.
Solid Rock Cafe will be marking its formal grand reopening at its 1219 W. Broad St. location on Saturday, Feb. 6, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Marrow: Obama, Dems no better than GOP
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
See if you can guess who updated their Facebook status this way over the weekend.
“A year later is has become abundantly clear that Obama and the dems are no better than bush and his republican sleaze. They are all corporate wh@#es, liars and thieves. The only difference is that Obama actually has a brain (most medical experts agree that bush did not), but no spine, at least bush had a spine ..even if was cheney’s…”
No, though I have a number of hardcore Republican friends, it wasn’t one of them.
And no, it wasn’t me, centrist critic of the Obama administration that I am.
Would you believe, Greg Marrow, the Democratic Party House of Delegates nominee in the 25th District from last fall? Read more
Perriello’s priority: Unions or constituents?
Column by Laurence Verga
www.vergaforcongress.com
Today special-interest politics seems just as American as baseball or apple pie. It has become so commonplace that it takes a real stinker to shock anyone anymore. The latest is perhaps the most ethically egregious and economically damaging to Virginia I’ve ever witnessed; a proposed five-year exemption for unions from the 40 percent tax on “cadillac” or expensive health-insurance policies.
The direct effect of this exemption is that a non-union worker in Virginia with “cadillac” health insurance will be taxed while a union-worker in Michigan with the same insurance will not be taxed.
And unfortunately the above example will be quite frequent. Virginia, with its Right to Work law, has very few union workers, especially compared to Northern states. Read more
McDonnell lays out jobs agenda
Staff Report
News tips: freepress2@ntelos.net
Gov. Bob McDonnell today announced that leading Republican and Democratic lawmakers will carry the budget amendments necessary to implement the job-creation proposals he outlined in his Address to the Joint Houses of the General Assembly last week.
In the Senate the amendments will be carried by ranking Senate Finance Committee member William Wampler (R-Bristol) and Finance Committee Chairman Senator Charles Colgan (D- Prince William). The amendments in the House will be brought forward by Appropriations Committee Chairman Delegate Lacey Putney (I-Bedford). McDonnell further announced that he has identified existing funding and specific spending cuts to offset the cost of each new job-creation proposal.
In last week’s speech to the General Assembly, McDonnell called for greater investments in state programs that spur job-creation and economic development in the Commonwealth. Read more
Over the banks
But Waynesboro sidesteps flood disaster
Story, photos and video by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Waynesboro dodged potential disastrous flooding associated with heavy rain that overswept the Shenandoah Valley Sunday and into Monday morning.
The river had been projected to crest at 1 p.m. Monday at 10.5 feet, a foot over the 9.5-foot flood stage, according to the Waynesboro Department of Emergency Management.
An update from the city at 1 p.m. reported that the river actually reached its highest point at 10 feet at 8:45 a.m.
Emergency Management Director Gary Critzer, earlier Monday, had called a 10.5-foot crest “livable,” with minor flooding on roadways the biggest issue.
A crest at 11 or 11.5 feet would put residential neighborhoods and downtown businesses in the South River floodplain at risk for flood-related damage.
Photos and video shot in the 9 a.m. hour this morning show just how close the city was to experiencing damaging flooding. Read more
McDonnell to address nation from House floor
Staff Report
News tips: freepress2@ntelos.net
Virginia’s historic State Capitol, home of the oldest continuous legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, will serve as the site of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s Republican Address to the Nation this Wednesday night.
McDonnell will speak from the floor of the House of Delegates, where he served for 14 years as a delegate representing Virginia Beach. McDonnell’s remarks will take place following President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address.
The Virginia State Capitol was designed by Thomas Jefferson. Governor Patrick Henry attended the laying of the cornerstone in 1785. The General Assembly first met in the building in 1792, during the first term of America’s first President, Virginia’s George Washington.
To learn more about the Virginia State Capitol please visit www.virginiacapitol.gov.
Bill to ease absentee voting passes Senate
Staff Report
News tips: freepress2@ntelos.net
The State Senate on Monday passed legislation expanding access to absentee ballots and making it easier for all Virginians to participate in the electoral process.
Sponsored by Sen. Janet Howell (D-Fairfax), the bill, SB 83, will allow any qualified voter to cast an absentee ballot in person without providing an excuse or reason they cannot vote on Election Day.
“It is unfair to make people who want to vote absentee go through unnecessary hoops,” said Sen. Howell. “There is no need to turn registered voters into scofflaws.”
Virginia voters are currently required to meet one of a series of excuses in order to vote absentee. SB83 will simplify and streamline the current process by removing the requirement of an excuse for those wishing to vote absentee in person. Individuals wishing to vote absentee by mail would still be required to meet one of the statutory excuses. Read more
Another look at estate-tax policy
Letter from John Horejsi
Submit guest columns, letters: freepress2@ntelos.net
Is George W. Bush continuing to write our nation’s tax policy?
As many readers may already know, the estate tax has been cut five times since 2001, with the result that few people pay it now – only 1 in 400 Americans. A couple can pass on $7 million tax-free, and a single person, $3.5 million.
So, what is the problem with this? For many of us, there are several problems. The first one is this: Repealing the estate tax would increase the federal deficit by $1.3 trillion over 10 years and leave the struggling middle class even worse off. A second problem is that cutting the estate tax again would give a huge tax break to the very same corporate executives and Wall Street speculators who wrecked the economy and then paid themselves multi-million dollar bonuses after taxpayers bailed them out. Do these folks, the people who helped wreck our economy, need more government relief? Read more
Official: South River at flood stage, expected to crest at 1 p.m. Monday
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
The South River is above flood stage in Waynesboro after Sunday’s dousing of heavy rain, and is expected to crest at 1 p.m. Monday at 10.5 feet, about a foot above flood stage, according to a report from the Waynesboro Department of Emergency Management this morning.
The river is at 10 feet as of 9:15 a.m. Monday morning, said Gary Critzer, the director of emergency management in the city. Even with the rain event appearing to have moved out of the area, projections are still holding for the 10.5-foot crest Monday afternoon, Critzer said.
“Just because it stops raining doesn’t mean the water doesn’t stop collecting in the river from the mountains and from locations south of us,” Critzer said. Read more
#22 UVa. wins third straight in ACC
Staff Report
UVa. sports: www.virginiasports.com
The No. 22 Virginia women’s basketball team defeated Georgia Tech, 57-55, Sunday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena. Senior guard Monica Wright (Woodbridge, Va.) scored 23 points and the Cavaliers won their third-consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference game.
Wright finished 8-for-18 from the field, and added five rebounds and two steals. She has now scored at least 20 points in 12 of the Cavaliers’ 19 games this season.
With the win, Virginia’s record improved to 14-5 overall and 3-2 in the ACC. Georgia Tech fell to 16-5 overall and 2-3 in the league. The game was part of Virginia’s National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration, and Olympic gold medalist and former UVa All-American rower Lindsay Shoop was honored at halftime. Read more
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The Rant | Kaine, and McDonnell
Posted on January 25, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Video Essay by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Chris Graham offers insight into the missteps at the end of Kaine’s term, wihether or not they were missteps, in particular, and muses on how Bob McDonnell will play the hand he has been dealt while offering advice on who McDonnell should consult as a playing partner.
(Two words: “Mark Warner.”)
Read more
Filed under Blogs · Tagged with bob mcdonnell, democratic national committee, gov. bob mcdonnell, governor bob mcdonnell, mark warner, tax increase, tim kaine, virginia