Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance receives accreditation

AFP

Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance has been designated as an accredited National Main Street Program for meeting the commercial district revitalization performance standards set by the National Trust Main Street Center®. Each year, the National Trust and its partners announce the list of accredited Main Street® programs that have built strong revitalization organizations and demonstrate their ability…

Taste of Downtown highlights Harrisonburg culinary scene

AFP

Taste of Downtown is back this August 14-20! Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance and the Downtown Dining Alliance bring this biannual restaurant week to the community to highlight local restaurants and flavors. Each day of this week-long culinary celebration will feature lunch and/or dinner specials from 15 locally-owned downtown restaurants. Specials range from discounted menu favorites to…

Harrisonburg celebrates 2 millionth bus rider

AFP

On May 4, 2011, the City of Harrisonburg celebrated a milestone in public transportation. For the first time, public transportation ridership in the city reached 2 million passengers. The system, which has 27 buses, has provided transportation services to residents of Harrisonburg since 1976. Susan Ritchie, of Harrisonburg, was identified as the two millionth passenger…

Harrisonburg Bar Association honored for pro bono referral program

AFP

The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Bar Association was honored by the Board of Directors of the national Legal Services Corporation at a reception in Richmond Va. on April 14, in conjunction with the LSC Board of Directors’ quarterly meeting. The bar was recognized for its long-standing pro bono referral program, operated in collaboration with Blue Ridge Legal Services,…

Harrisonburg passes tax exemption as incentive for solar power

AFP

Harrisonburg City Council Tuesday night passed an ordinance offering a 100 percent exemption from local taxes for solar power installations, helping the city to join 13 other localities in Virginia that offer a 100 percent exemption for developers and homeowners to install solar power in their communities. The ordinance, passed by a 4-1 vote, exempts…

Immigration forum in Harrisonburg

Chris Graham

Virginia Organizing is hosting an immigration forum on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Community Mennonite Church, 70 S. High St., Harrisonburg. The forum will focus on preserving immigrants’ rights with a heavy amount of attention on immigrants’ issues in the 2011 Virginia General Assembly. The forum will feature Walter Tejada, currently on the Arlington…

Harrisonburg Chamber honors community business leaders

AFP

The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual membership meeting and awards ceremony Thursday at the JMU Festival Conference & Student Center. During the ceremony, the Chamber honored two restaurateurs, and a local farm family that is dedicated to sustainable farming practices.   2010 Entrepreneur of the Year Aaron Ludwig, owner of Jack Brown’s Beer…

Our Community Place in Harrisonburg releases Christmas CD

AFP

Our Community Place in Harrisonburg has released its second fund-raising Christmas CD, just in time for the holidays. Officially debuted at the OCP Christmas concert, with record artists performing live, this latest fund-raising album, “Our Christmas Present: Volume II,” features some of the finest musical talent in the area—as well as nationally-known acts. Artists returning…