BC announces presidential search committee

AFP

Nathan H. Miller, chair of the Bridgewater College board of trustees, announced today the formation of a committee that will conduct the search for the next president of Bridgewater College. President George Cornelius announced March 6 that he will let his contract with the college expire at the end of the current academic year. Executive…

Blue Ridge Legal Services director to participate in White House forum on legal aid

AFP

Blue Ridge Legal Services Executive Director John Whitfield is one of six legal services program directors selected to participate in a White House forum examining the state of civil legal assistance for low-income Americans. The forum, co-hosted by the Legal Services Corporation, will take place on Tuesday, April 17.

A day in D.C. with Mark Warner

Chris Graham

First in a four-part series It was a seasonal early-spring Tuesday on Capitol Hill. Cherry blossoms were already in bloom after a warmer-than-normal late winter. There was a certain energy in the air with thousands of people gathering in locations surrounding the Capitol related to the then-ongoing arguments before the Supreme Court on the constitutionality…

Robert Hurt: The president’s health-care law

Robert Hurt

My many stops and meetings throughout the Fifth District have painted a clear picture of the concerns Fifth District Virginians have regarding the most pressing issues facing our country today. At the top of that list is the President’s health care law. These policies put forth in Washington have very real effects on Central and…

Laura McDowell White: Health-care reform saved my small auto shop

Letters

According to national news reports, Mary Brown, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging the health reform law and owner of a small auto shop in Florida, has had to close her business and file for bankruptcy due to thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills. My husband and I own a small auto shop…

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…

Suffolk U.: Obama leads Romney by double digits

Chris Graham

President Barack Obama (47 percent) leads Republican Mitt Romney (37 percent) in a national general election match-up, with 7 percent saying they would vote for a third-party candidate and 7 percent undecided, according to a Suffolk University survey of likely general election voters of all parties. Obama led all GOP candidates: Romney by 10 points,…

Eminent domain constitutional amendment passes in Senate, House

AFP

A proposed constitutional amendment that would help protect private property rights cleared its next-to-last hurdle when it was passed by the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates. Now it awaits approval by Virginia voters in November. The Senate version of the bill, SJ 3, passed 23-17, and HJ 3, the House version, was approved 80-18…

Consumer groups comment on GA’s health exchange gamble

AFP

On Wednesday the Senate special subcommittee on health insurance failed to recommend any health exchange bills despite previously acknowledging the irresponsibility of waiting and denying months of work from the governor’s hand-selected health reform panel. Subcommittee Chair Sen. Jeffrey McWaters moved to wait until after the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on the constitutionality of…

Nancy Carpenter: Time to change the rules

AFP

Not enough has been said about how influential the Citizens United Supreme Court decision will be.  What’s happened is that the Supreme Court sided with the wealthy-elite (I mean the Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Mitt Romney types) and against the interests of the American people (I mean the teachers, firefighters, customer service types). Again, the…