DREAM to reality

Chris Graham

Isabel wanted to create an impression on her visit to Washington, so she had members of the group there to lobby Sen. Mark Warner for support for the DREAM Act to wear their graduation caps. “We weren’t sure if we would actually be able to meet with him one-on-one,” she said. But the senator was…

Moving Waynesboro Forward: Two years later

Chris Graham

Written by Chris Graham [email protected]   “Chris Graham is the choice.” I don’t remember the exact wording. I do remember reading the headline that said this or something pretty close out loud and thinking, This is it! “What?” My wife, Crystal, was incredulous. She could sense it, too. Skimming through the endorsement editorial in the…

Christopher G. Miller: Choosing clean water in Virginia

Chris Graham

Column by Christopher G. Miller Submit guest columns: [email protected]   Over the past 50 years, the cities, towns, and suburban neighborhoods of Virginia have grown dramatically, adding millions of new people, new shopping malls, and the roads and parking lots that go with them. The storm sewers and other facilities we have were not built…

Fool me once … Will the Loophole Lender Lobbyists get their way again?

Chris Graham

   Column by Jay Speer Submit guest columns: [email protected] It is astonishing that the payday lenders could get caught thumbing their noses at our state legislators last year and now try to claim they have some sort of “right” to do their loophole loans. The 2008 General Assembly enacted several changes to the Virginia payday…

Valley gets $5M for green job training

Chris Graham

   Story by Chris Graham [email protected] Blue Ridge Community College and James Madison University are among a group of Shenandoah Valley partners that will take part in a new program to train workers for jobs in the emerging green sector. U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb on Friday announced a $5 million investment from…

Funds to expand broadband access

Chris Graham

   Column by Mark Warner www.warner.senate.gov Earlier this week, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, Congressman Tom Perriello and I announced that Virginia will receive over $21.5 million to expand broadband and high-speed Internet access throughout Central and Southside Virginia. The funding – awarded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program from…

State of the Union: A Virginia perspective

Chris Graham

  Edited by Chris Graham [email protected] Everything you wanted to know about the State of the Union, but were afraid to ask. We have the full texts and videos of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s Republican response. We also have reactions from Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner, congressmen…