Festival announces statewide high-school film competition

AFP

The Virginia Film Festival announced today that it is expanding its acclaimed Community Outreach and Education programs to include a new high school filmmaking competition. The Virginia Film Festival is presented by the University of Virginia’s College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Action! The Virginia Film Festival’s High School Director Competition will welcome…

Bridgewater College exhibition focuses on ‘Faces of Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley’

AFP

The men and women whose lives were forever altered by the Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley are the focus of an exhibition to open at Bridgewater College on April 17. “Faces of the Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley” will be in the J.I. Baugher Special Collections Room of the Alexander Mack Memorial Library….

JMU students plan to ‘harvest’ Valley’s religious history

AFP

The Shenandoah Valley History Harvest, a specialized event patterned on the popular “Antiques Roadshow,” is coming to Harrisonburg. James Madison University history students are organizing the April 14 event to “harvest” – digitally scan or photograph – historical religious items with connections to Rockingham, Augusta, Page and Shenandoah counties. Professionals from Special Collections and the…

ACLU hires Gastañaga as new ED

AFP

The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia today announced that it has hired Claire Guthrie Gastañaga to succeed executive director Kent Willis, who last week announced he was leaving after 25 years with the organization. Gastañaga is scheduled to start at the beginning of June. “Claire brings to the ACLU a huge network of people…

Ken Plum: Balancing the state budget

Ken Plum

Adjourning a 60-day legislative session without approving a biennial budget may seem like Washington-style failure to some, but to those who work closely with the process taking more time to balance the budget reflects the realities and limitations of the tremendous task involved.  Contrasted to federal budget-making, there are no continuing resolutions or the ability…

RMH certified as Advanced Primary Stroke Center

AFP

The RMH stroke care program has received national certification from The Joint Commission, indicating that the program meets rigorous standards of care for those experiencing stroke. The Joint Commission granted RMH Advanced Primary Stroke Center certification following an extensive on-site evaluation March 14. The Joint Commission surveyors examined every facet of RMH’s stroke program to…

Scots-Irish roots talk

AFP

Just in time for St. Patrick’s day, area residents who claim Scots Irish or Irish heritage can learn about new resources for historical research into their roots. “Discovering your Irish and Scots Irish Roots” is a highly illustrated and authoritative talk by Dr. Brian Trainor and Fintan Mullan of the Ulster Historical Foundation, Belfast, Northern…

Collection provides link to voices of pre-SNP life

AFP

Professional scholars and local history enthusiasts alike can now delve into the extensive Shenandoah National Park Oral History Collection to learn more about life in the Blue Ridge Mountains before the park’s creation in the 1930s. Professionals in James Madison University Libraries and Educational Technologies, where the resource has been housed in Special Collections, have…

Senate Dems claim momentum at end of 2012 GA session

AFP

State Senate Democrats feel that they have political momentum on their side with a series of votes blocking barebones Republican-authored state budgets. “When Senate Democrats came down here several weeks ago we were focused on jobs and public education, repairing our tattered safety net, and solving our transportation crisis, but were instead faced with an…