Christopher Mattera | Sensible, sustainable food policy for Virginia

AFP

Hard economic times have spurred an explosion in home gardens with more people realizing that food does not begin and end in the supermarket. This increase in food awareness, coupled with recent food recalls, has brought increased attention to issues of food safety and farm policy. Unfortunately, recent proposals fail to take into account the…

Lohr under fire on relationship between business, Rockingham school system

AFP

State Del. Matt Lohr on Monday defended the payments from the Rockingham County school system to the motivational-speaking company operated by Lohr and his wife, Andrea, for teacher in-service training conducted by the Lohrs. “It’s $3,000 over three years,” Lohr, a Republican, answered a question from a caller to a live candidates debate featuring Lohr…

Religion plays central role in Bell-Curren radio debate

Chris Graham

A question about 20th District Democrat Erik Curren’s religious beliefs was a highlight of the debate between Curren and Republican Dickie Bell on WSVA-550 Monday morning. The question came from a caller to the live 11 a.m. interview who said he wanted to know what Curren’s “religious persuasion” is. A similar issue was raised earlier…

Johnson mocks Deeds’ speech issues at McDonnell rally

Chris Graham

“We need someone who can really communicate. And Bob McDonnell can communicate,” said Johnson, a prominent former Democrat who jumped ship earlier this year to endorse Bob McDonnell for governor over Democrat Creigh Deeds, a Bath County state senator who is known for occasionally tripping over his words in speeches and private conversations. That’s important…

Tom Perriello | Fifth District Report

AFP

As Congress continues to work on health-care reform, I am focused on making sure the voices of Central and Southern Virginians are represented in the debate. I know Virginians are deeply concerned about getting health care costs under control, securing the insurance people already have, and taking care of our seniors. Getting my constituents’ feedback…

The Pulse | Shoot the messenger

Chris Graham

I got myself chewed out by the Creigh Deeds campaign last week as being “irresponsible” for reporting on a story circulating in Democratic circles about apparent conflicts between the Deeds camp and the Democratic National Committee over the direction of the Deeds effort. Looks like I’m not the only “irresponsible” journalist diving into the What…