Read my lips? Candidates debate taxes

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham [email protected]   Carl Tate looks at it as reinforcement. “It reinforces my promise to the citizens of Staunton not to vote to raise their taxes,” said Tate, a candidate for Staunton City Council, who made news in his upstart campaign with his April 8 announcement that he had signed the Taxpayer…

The better budget approach: Zero-based, or results-based?

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham [email protected]   Mike Harris has tried to seize the momentum in the marquee race in the upcoming May 4 local elections with a proposal that revolutionized government budgeting 40 years ago. It’s called the zero-based budget, and the idea is that budget writers start their work on fiscal plans with the…

Ken Plum: A time of intolerance

Ken Plum

Column by Del. Ken Plum www.kenplum.com   Last week I took the extraordinary step of making a motion on the floor of the House of Delegates that a bill be discharged from a committee. The rules provide for such a motion, but it is seldom made and almost never approved. Had my motion been approved,…

David Reynolds: Paradise lost

David Reynolds

Column by David Reynolds Submit guest columns: [email protected]   Does anyone out there in paradise care about anybody besides themselves? If not, then we have lost a community. We have lost paradise. Over 700 area residents attended the SRO public hearing held last week at the Rockbridge County High School to hear comments on the…

Letters to the Editor

AFP

– K. Rashid Nuri: Making the case for urban agriculture – Hunter Mabry: Tell McDonnell to commute Paul Powell’s death sentence – Haresh Daswani: Of walks and meditation    K. Rashid Nuri: Making the case for urban agriculture In his State of the Union address, President Obama enumerated ongoing problems requiring his attention: health care,…

Building a new industrial sector in Waynesboro

Chris Graham

Special Report by Chris Graham [email protected]   Waynesboro was once the envy of Western Virginia for its manufacturing economy. As recently as 1990, almost half of the city’s workforce was employed in manufacturing, whose rate of pay has traditionally been at least 40 percent and some years approaching 50 percent higher than the median income…

Lawmaker Dispatches

Chris Graham

Featuring: Randy Forbes, Tom Perriello, Robert Hurt, Kaye Kory Randy Forbes: National Dialogue www.forbes.house.gov Ask a teacher, and they will most likely tell you that one of the quickest ways to kill classroom discussion is for one strong-willed student to monopolize the conversation. A long-winded or uncomfortably impassioned monologue inevitably polarizes viewpoints. Conversation shuts down,…

Transcript | Mike London discusses ’10 recruiting class

Chris Graham

   Staff Report UVa. sports: www.virginiasports.com COACH LONDON: When I got here, there were 13 that were already committed, and it was to the great accomplishments of Anthony Poindexter and Bob Price to keep these commitments alive and made sure those young men stayed committed to the University. We lost one, but I was able…

Senate Democrats work through issues

AFP

   Column by Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple www.vasenatedems.com Greetings from Richmond! As the Senate Democratic Caucus begins another lively session of the Virginia General Assembly, we are reminded that every year presents its own challenges and opportunities, and this year should offer plenty of both. As we consider the many bills before us, know that…