Share
The story of Matthew Fontaine Maury’s fascinating career will be told as part of the continuing Stuart Speaker Series sponsored by the Augusta County Historical Society on Thursday, February 21 at 7 p.m. at the R.R. Smith Center for History and Art. Colonel Keith Gibson, director of the VMI museum system, has put together a fascinating program that explores Maury’s life and career.
Share
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, met on Monday with more than two dozen defense contractors in Northern Virginia to discuss the possible impact of sequester cuts on the defense industry and on Northern Virginia’s economy, as well as ongoing uncertainty over the current year’s appropriations.
Share
Home automation may indeed be the next big trend in what consumers can do today to stand up for the environment. By setting up a wired (or even wireless) system, homeowners can optimize lighting level efficiency, cut heating and cooling energy costs and deactivate energy-consuming devices and appliances even when no one is home.
Share
In a Tom DeLay, Texas-style move, Republicans in the Virginia State Senate redrew the legislative district lines without public notice or involvement. This action in the 20-20 divided body came on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday when Democratic Senator Henry Marsh, who is one of Virginia’s most prominent civil rights leaders, was away attending President Obama’s inauguration.
Share
Even for those of us without allergies, poor indoor air quality is an often overlooked health issue. Recent research has shown that the air inside some buildings can be more polluted than the outdoor air in the most industrialized of cities. And since many of us spend some 90 percent of our time indoors, cleaning the air where we live and work might be one of the most important things we can do for our health.
Share
In their annual rankings released this week, the U.S. Green Building Council announced that Virginia has improved to the top state for LEED-certified buildings. Virginia ranked behind Colorado and Illinois last year, but improved to the top spot for 2012, with 170 projects certified, and 29,709,574 square feet of LEED space certified.
Share
U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have reintroduced their legislation to make substantial improvements in the states’ administration of their elections and to make voting faster and more accessible to all voters.
Share
The ACLU of Virginia on Monday sent a letter to Gov. Bob McDonnell urging him to issue an executive order restoring the voting rights of Virginians with felony convictions. The civil liberties group has recently praised the Governor for showing support for legislation that would automatically restore civil rights for nonviolent offenders, and becoming an advocate for rights restoration reform.
Share
Since the Virginia Food System Council issued a challenge last spring for Virginians to spend $10 a week on locally grown foods, nearly 700 households and 30 businesses have pledged almost half a million dollars per year.
Share
One of my mentors in my earliest years in the General Assembly was Delegate Dorothy McDiarmid who served off and on from 1960 to 1989. First elected on a platform of keeping the public schools open during racial desegregation, the Gentlelady from Fairfax Mrs. McDiarmid went on to successfully add kindergarten to the public school system of the state and to chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Her supporters gave her the campaign slogan, “The Lady Has Clout.” Delegate McDiarmid taught me to look carefully at political proposals, many of which lacked substance and were simply “smoke and mirrors.”
Our content is free to read, but we do have bills to pay. Pitch in and help us keep the community informed.