No more big bangs?

Chris Graham

We may have seen the last community Fourth of July celebration in Staunton. At least that’s what I’m hearing. “Our committee is going to meet at the end of the month to make decisions about whether this festival goes on next year or not,” America’s Birthday Celebration organizer Terri Corey told me before Saturday’s big…

VDOT getting word out on rest-area closings

Chris Graham

The Virginia Department of Transportation has begun notifying motorists today of impending changes at the rest areas slated for closure later this month. “These are hard decisions for us to make,” said VDOT Commissioner David S. Ekern. “It is difficult to cut back on these popular motorists’ services, but we must prioritize our limited funding…

Tom Perriello | Fifth District Report

Contributors

Our region of Virginia that once gave birth to the Declaration of Independence now stands poised to lead a new revolution that grants our nation energy independence. Whether one is for or against the new energy bill, most Americans are sick of going to the gas station to pour our hard-earned dollars to petro-dictators overseas…

Tumbleweeds

Chris Graham

Ask me what Waynesboro’s biggest problem is, and I’ll tell you this – people here love telling you how nobody here seems to have a clue of what we need to do to move Waynesboro forward, but when push comes to shove on that, folks don’t seem to want to do anything about it other…

Charles Goldstein | A Fourth of July for everyone

Contributors

This Fourth of July, America celebrates its 233rd birthday. Concurrent with the celebration, over 6,000 immigrants were naturalized as citizens in commemoration programs throughout the United States (including New Jersey’s Liberty Island and Betsy Ross House in Pennsylvania). Unfortunately, millions of American residents who are “yearning to breathe free,” who work hard, pay taxes, and…

Jennifer Rogers | Protecting the public from harmful chemicals

Contributors

I recently read an article about Bisphenol-A (BPA) that eerily reminded me of the movie, “Thank You for Smoking.” In the movie, the “merchants of death” or MOD Squad, as they call themselves, are lobbyists for the alcohol, gun, and tobacco industries and meet for lunch while plotting to keep vital information about the harmful…