Crozet’s hometown newspaper

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham Sure, it matters that Crozet’s population is expected to triple in the next 20 years. But Mike Marshall wasn’t looking that far into the future. “Crozet was longing, I thought, for a way for the community identity to get out,” said Marshall, the editor of The Crozet Gazette, a monthly newspaper…

Can the ‘Netroots carry Webb to primary victory?

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham   The Virginia Democratic blogosphere loves Jim Webb – but will that be enough to carry the former Reagan administration official to victory in this month’s Democratic Party Senate primary? “Most of this is going to depend on electability – whether someone feels that it’s more important to vote…

A day at the beach

Chris Graham

Stop the Presses column by Chris Graham   “When can we go back in the river?” my niece Hannah asked me. Or maybe it was her twin sister, Rachel. It was one of them. Anyway, we weren’t anywhere near a river at the time the question was posed. Instead, we were at the beach –…

Affordable housing the focus of Staunton leaders

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham   Staunton residents are worried about the apparent lack of affordable housing in the Queen City. Don’t think that the candidates for the three open seats on Staunton City Council haven’t noticed that. “The citizens of Staunton know what is best, and I trust their judgment. If the citizens…

Hate is such a strong word

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham The term Bush-hater today doesn’t carry with it the stigma that it used to. One piece of evidence suggesting that is that more and more people on the left – and even in the amorphous center – are for whatever reason embracing the label. You would think from listening…

And then there were two: Democratic Senate race now twice as nice

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham   James Webb has some explaining to do to Democratic Party voters in Virginia this spring. But if he can wade through that minefield like he did through a long military career that included a tour of duty in Vietnam and a stint as Ronald Reagan’s secretary of the…

Was anybody watching the Olympics?

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham If you believe the hype, the Olympics are dead and buried as a valuable entertainment property. “The press has been a little hyperbolic about this. To read the headlines during the Olympics, it seemed like they were less covering the Games and more covering the ratings. ‘NBC: On a downhill slide.’…

A cartoon controversy – or something like it

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham It has been described as a cartoon controversy. But the issue involving the drawings depicting the Prophet Muhammad published in a Danish newspaper last fall is a lot more than that. “I liken this to a stovetop, and the pots are at a rolling boil right now in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Pakistan,…