Winter Storm News Blog

Chris Graham

The latest on how the winter storm is impacting the Valley Staff Report Submit weather-related news and cancellations: [email protected] The Latest News – Tonight’s UVa.-UNCW game postponed (Saturday, 12:30 p.m.) – Road information on 511Virginia.org (Saturday, 9:15 a.m.) – JMU-Radford basketball game postponed (Friday, 10:10 p.m.) – Coachmen concert scheduled for tonight postponed (Friday, 5:40…

Focus | Democratic divide

Chris Graham

Battle brewing between progressives, centrists over direction of party Story by Chris Graham [email protected] The 2001 election that ushered in the Democratic Decade in Virginia gave power in Democratic Party circles to the centrists in the mold of Mark Warner and Tim Kaine who led the mini-revolution that fall. The model that they laid out…

Traffic deaths in Virginia decline 13 percent in ’09

Chris Graham

Kaine attributes increased safety to increased seat-belt usage Staff Report News Tips: [email protected] Gov. Tim Kaine today noted that as of Nov. 30, 2009, preliminary data indicates there were 98 fewer traffic fatalities in Virginia compared to this same time period last year, a decline of 13 percent. The 821 traffic fatalities recorded for 2008…

Task force offers ideas to governor

Contributors

Proposals for dealing with nonviolent offenders using alternative punishments Staff Report News Tips: [email protected] Gov. Tim Kaine today received recommendations on ways the Commonwealth can most effectively and efficiently utilize its public-safety resources from the Alternatives for Non-Violent Offenders Task Force. The Task Force has provided more than a dozen recommendations to protect public safety…

Staunton earns enterprise-zone designation from state

Chris Graham

  Staff Report News Tips: [email protected] Staunton is one of four communities earning new enterprise-zone designations from the state today, Gov. Tim Kaine’s office has announced. The designations give Staunton the ability to use a package of local and state incentives to promote private investment and create new jobs and economic opportunities. “We have benefitted…

Focus | Groundbreaking development at new WSH

Chris Graham

Governor in town to help mark occasion Story by Chris Graham [email protected] With AFP Video Government doesn’t have a reputation for doing something that makes as much sense as the work that is going into the construction of the new Western State Hospital, which is being built adjacent to the current WSH campus in Staunton…

Focus | Does Virginia’s state-budget process make sense?

Chris Graham

House Speaker weighs in Story by Chris Graham [email protected] The Kaine administration is hard at work putting together a proposed two-year budget for state lawmakers to review in the upcoming 2010 General Assembly session. Anybody see what might be wrong with this picture? The big thing is that Tim Kaine won’t be governor next year,…

Focus | Cranwell to Dems: ‘Keep plugging’

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham The word from Dick Cranwell: “caution.” “This time last year everybody was saying the Republicans were bordering on extinction, they’re almost irrelevant, we’re in for 15 or 20 years of Democratic rule. When people were telling me that a year ago, I was saying, Hey, not so fast, I’ve been around…

SRI marks formal grand opening

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham With AFP Video It’s nearly been three years since state leaders announced the move of SRI International to locate its East Coast research and development headquarters north of Harrisonburg. Local and state officials marked the formal grand opening of SRI’s new Center for Advanced Drug Research on Monday afternoon. “Today, we…

InDepth | What happened to Blue Virginia?

Chris Graham

Remember when Virginia was trending Democratic? Like, as recently as late spring, when Creigh Deeds surged to the Democratic Party gubernatorial nomination, and had the lead in the early post-primary polls, and Virginia Democrats not only seemed headed for another return trip to the Governor’s Mansion, but had a good shot at winning back a…