
State Senate Democrats talk state budget
On Thursday, Democratic state senators heard from the expert staff of the Senate Finance Committee on the fiscal issues facing Virginia.

On Thursday, Democratic state senators heard from the expert staff of the Senate Finance Committee on the fiscal issues facing Virginia.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and university presidents Ed Ayers, Ángel Cabrera, John Broderick and Teresa Sullivan today marked the official launch of the Governor’s Holiday Hoops Classic Food Drive to benefit Virginia food banks.

As part of his government reform initiatives to make Virginia state agencies run more efficiently and effectively, Gov. Bob McDonnell has signed Executive Order Number 52 (2012) establishing the State Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline for use by citizens. The State Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline was previously available only to state employees who wished to report fraud and abuse.

Alassane Kah had a tough choice to make – with offers from the likes of Richmond, Rhode Island and Delaware, among others, to mull over. But he was sold on Western Kentucky on his visit. “It’s a great place for basketball. People there just showed me much love. I bonded well with the team when I visited. The chemistry, the offense – they play my style, they run up and down the floor. It was a great choice for me,” said Kah, a 6’9″ forward from Senegal by way of Columbus, Ohio, who signed with the Hilltoppers on Wednesday.

Gov. Bob McDonnell announced this week that the 2011 total economic impact of the film and television industry in Virginia was $394.4 million, a 14.5 percent increase over 2010. In addition, 3,817 jobs were attributed to the film industry in 2011, up from 2,651 jobs in 2010.

Virginia baseball coach Brian O’Connor has announced the Cavaliers’ 2013 schedule. The 54-game slate includes home ACC series against Florida State, Miami, NC State, Maryland and Duke as well as a three-game non-conference series at East Carolina.

Smart Beginnings Shenandoah Valley, a local school-readiness initiative that works to improve the quality of early childhood care and learning in the cities of Harrisonburg, Staunton and Waynesboro, as well as in Augusta, Page, Rockingham and Shenandoah counties, has received a grant of $75,000 from the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF), a public-private partnership headquartered in Richmond, Va.

CNN is projecting that Democrat Barack Obama will win Virginia and its 13 electoral votes.

James Madison redshirt junior quarterback Justin Thorpe (Richmond, Va./Varina) was named the Colonial Athletic Association’s Offensive Player of the Week, announced by the league today. It is his first weekly honor of 2012 and third of his career (including a pair of Rookie of the Week honors in 2009) as well as the fifth for JMU this year.

There’s many differing opinions as to which team is best in the Football Championship Subdivision. In two weeks, it will start to sort itself out on the field with the beginning of a 20-team national playoff.
Our content is free to read, but we do have bills to pay. Pitch in and help us keep the community informed.