Transportation shocker

Chris Graham

General Assembly Report column by Del. Ben Cline With the final week of the 2008 General Assembly session upon us, 100 delegates and 40 senators have begun to close up their Richmond offices and return to their homes, families, and communities to discuss the accomplishments of the past 60 days. But just as we began…

Budget Sunday

Chris Graham

General Assembly Report column by Del. Ben Cline This past Sunday was “Budget Sunday,” the day that the House and Senate appropriations committees released their amendments to the two-year budget that the governor introduced last December. Legislators, lobbyists and other groups with a stake in the budget waited in line for hours to get copies…

The 3 D’s of security

Chris Graham

Story by Bonnie P. Lofton When Lisa L. Schirch, professor of peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University, launched the 3D Security Initiative in November 2006, she had no way of knowing how long it might take for 3D to gain the attention of top decisionmakers in this country. Regardless of the months, years or even decades…

Institutional racism alive and well

Chris Graham

Op-Ed by Larry Yates We should all welcome the recent decision by the U.S. Sentencing Commission to allow crack-cocaine sentences to be reduced retroactively. But we should also pause to recognize what it means. This decision is a clear statement about a social phenomenon that most Americans want to deny – institutional racism.

Children’s choir releases 11th CD, Renowned environmental authority to speak at EMU, EMU expert part of collaborative effort on Civil War pacifism

Jim Bishop

Items by Jim Bishop Children’s choir releases 11th CD The splendor of brass, pipe organ and 150 children’s voices combine as the Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir (SVCC) of Harrisonburg, Va., heralds its 16th season with the release of its 11th recording, “Christmas Joy.” This is the second collaborative effort that includes members of the Washington…