Home The Agenda | Wednesday, Aug. 5
Region/State

The Agenda | Wednesday, Aug. 5

Chris Graham

Still waiting to hear from the Creigh Deeds campaign on when the Deeds Country Tour will hit my part of the Valley.
Still haven’t heard from anybody in the campaign about scheduling a Waynesboro event for the Tour. Still assuming I’ll catch the tour in Staunton when it comes this way.
Elsewhere …

– Still hoping to meet or hear from or whatever else I can get from Steve Shannon. T-minus 91 days ’til Election Day, and I’m still ohfer-the-campaign with Shannon to date.

– The Pat Mullins thingie that the Deeds and DPVA folks were hoping would blow up on the Republicans hasn’t yet, to our consternation. “It’s been 24 hours, and still no apology from Bob McDonnell,” state Democratic Party chair Dickie Cranwell said in a statement in a press release on Tuesday.

You might remember that Cranwell and Deeds on Monday raised issue with a statement from Mullins in Highland County last month to the effect that unemployed Virginians would rather be on welfare than find work. Which of course was a stupid thing to say, as it is a stupid thing for our side to keep begging Bobby Mac to apologize for it.

– Interesting tidbit: The DPVA on Tuesday filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking information on Republican State Del. Phil Hamilton’s contact with Old Dominion University regarding his budget amendment funding the new ODU Center for Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership and its subsequent hiring of Hamilton.

In 2007, Hamilton pushed for an annual $500,000 grant for the Center in the state budget. He was later hired as an independent contractor at the Center.

Both Hamilton and Old Dominion University deny a conflict of interest and claim that Hamilton’s role as a budget negotiator did not factor into his hiring.

“If Del. Hamilton doesn’t have anything to hide, this shouldn’t be a problem,” said Democratic Party of Virginia executive director Leigh Anne Collier. “We’re just trying to get the facts.”

 

– Column by Chris Graham

Multimedia

 




Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].

Latest News

michael vick
UVA Football

Tony Elliott fanboys over dogkiller Michael Vick: Shame ain’t even the word here

usps united states post office mail carrier mailbox
Trump's America

Warner, Kaine sign on to effort to challenge USPS takeover of mail-in ballots

Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have joined a large group of lawmakers in the filing of a legal brief with the Supreme Court in a case challenging the legality of a U.S. Postal Service effort to control the flow of mail-in ballots ahead of the 2026 midterms.

school classroom
Local

Waynesboro gets small, almost nothing, grant from state for school security

Before you get too upset about how little Waynesboro is set to get from the 2026-27 School Security Equipment Grant program, keep in mind, the applications would have been filed weeks ago.

beth macy ben cline
Trump's America

Ben Cline goes solo, as planned, at Salem Rotary Club event: Where’s the beef?

uva football entrance
UVA Football

UVA Football: Breakdown of the depth chart for Week 2 game with Norfolk State

Isiah D. Crawford
Local

Waynesboro: Teen held on charges related to shooting at Sunset Park

Old Order Mennonite
Region/State

Old Order Mennonite families from the Valley have begun an exodus to Esmont