Earth Talk: Global food scarcity

Roddy Scheer

Food scarcity is a bigger problem than ever as human population numbers continue to swell, putting additional stress on already fragile food production and distribution systems. And it’s not just happening in far away places: A recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that the number of U.S. homes “lacking food security” rose from 4.7 million to 6.7 million in just the last five years.

Mark Anthony: Commonsense, comprehensive immigration reform will boost economy

AFP

Since last November, there has been a lot of talk about how passing immigration reform this year will be “smart politics” given the role Latino voters played in the recent election. As a small business owner, I’ll leave the political forecasting to the pundits, but I can say this: failing to pass immigration reform, whatever the politics, would be downright knuckle-headed economics.

Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation finds new home

AFP

After 13 years of protecting and interpreting Civil War battlefields in the eight-county Shenandoah Valley National Historic District, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation has a new home. The Battlefields Foundation has purchased the historic Lee-Jackson Building at the intersection of Congress Street and Old Cross Road in New Market, the original portion of which was constructed around 1808 for John Strayer’s home and mercantile business.

The voice in their head: Chiarolanzio builds a wrestling winner at Fishburne

AFP

Novak Porter was a freshman at Fishburne Military School in search of a winter sport. He tried basketball, but decided quickly that wasn’t for him. Then he ran into the man known around campus as Coach C. “I said, Coach C, tell me about wrestling. He said, Porter, I’ll tell you right now. It’s a sport that will kick your butt,” said Porter, now a senior and four-year member of the FMS wrestling program. It’s with that sales pitch, repeated over and over, that Coach C, aka Rich Chiarolanzio, has turned the Fishburne program into one of the top wrestling programs in the state of Virginia.