State launches review, extends DMV hours

Chris Graham

Gov. Bob McDonnell and the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee are launching an independent review of the computer-system failures that affected operations at the Department of Motor Vehicles and 25 other state agencies – and Northrop Grumman is picking up the tab. “I have spoken personally with Northrop Grumman CEO Wes Bush. I expressed…

Waynesboro traffic: Problem still viewed as down the road

Chris Graham

Growth in the commercial sector in the West End has buttressed the Waynesboro economy from the worst effects of the ongoing economic slowdown, but that growth has come with a price in the form of traffic congestion on the Lew DeWitt Boulevard-Rosser Avenue corridor. it stands to reason that the explosion in retail that pulls…

Busy season for the Artisans Center of Virginia

Chris Graham

The Artisans Center of Virginia is having a busy August, announcing this week several initiatives and programs aimed at promoting the work of Virginia artisans. The Waynesboro-based Artisans Center will be collaborating with the Lynne Goldman Studio located in Barracks Road Shopping Center in Charlottesville. Lynne Goldman Studio is celebrating 18 years of being at…

Virginia Organizing: Taking issues to action

Contributors

You’re mad as hell, and you’re not going to take it anymore. What makes America America is how we take our frustrations to action. “The role that we play is helping citizens be able to know enough about what bothers them to be able to verbalize that to the power-brokers,” said Janice “Jay” Johnson, the…

Building a program, and new culture, at UVa.

Chris Graham

It’s not easy rebuilding a culture. “I make the joke that I’ve spoken to the Boys Club, the Girls Club, the Rotary Club, the Hair Club for Men, I’ve done all those things, from Rhode Island to Florida. But that’s necessary, I think, when there’s change,” said Mike London, the new football coach at the…

Thinking liberally

Contributors

Riley Murray knew he was onto something. “I got to know people in Roanoke by blogging and they invited me to come down to the Drinking Liberally meeting. I went and thought, Why not do something like that here in Staunton?” said Murray, who founded a local chapter of Drinking Liberally in December 2008. The…

Kids now have HOPE

Contributors

Music for HOPE, an acronym for Helping Other People Everywhere, is a nonprofit organization that will help those who are interested in playing a musical instrument, but that do not have the funds to do so, obtain the instrument of their choosing.  The idea for Music for HOPE was developed in Las Vegas by Mike…

Tom Perriello: Focus on job creation

My top priority as your representative has been finding ways to encourage job growth and economic recovery in Central and Southern Virginia. We have made smart, strategic investments in infrastructure and workforce that position our area to be leaders in alternative energy production, advanced manufacturing, and other industries of tomorrow. But while we are working…