Gov. McDonnell announces matching tourism grants

Contributors

Gov. Bob McDonnell announced today that more than $750,000 in matching grant funds will be awarded to 42 local tourism initiatives as part of Virginia Tourism Corporation’s (VTC) Marketing Leverage Grant program. The grants are designed to help local and regional tourism entities attract more visitors by leveraging local marketing dollars.

Local hunger relief programs need your vote

The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank and two of its members (or partner agencies) are competing for a total of $85,000 in grant funding through Walmart’s nationwide Fighting Hunger Together campaign. The two Food Bank members competing for the grant include Hope Distributed, a food pantry in Harrisonburg, and Campus Kitchens, a food distribution program in Lexington. All of the grant funding will support their child hunger-relief programs.

McDonnell seeks federal assistance related to Sandy

Contributors

Gov. Bob McDonnell today asked for federal disaster assistance to help 28 Virginia communities recover from the affects of Hurricane Sandy, an extremely large storm that brought high winds, heavy rains, coastal erosion and tidal flooding to the eastern portion of the Commonwealth and dropped significant snowfall in the west and southwest. Sandy caused three tragic deaths in Virginia.

Millions of peaches, peaches for me

The peaches are ripe, the harvest looks very good and the festivals are gearing up. It’s time to check www.virginiagrown.com for a pick-your-own farm or farmers’ market selling fresh, juicy Virginia peaches. Many grocery stores and big box stores also offer Virginia Grown peaches. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) says the…