Webb: Congress should end ethanol subsidies

Chris Graham

U.S. Jim Webb, D-Va., today called for an end to costly ethanol subsidies and tariffs. In a bipartisan letter, Sen. Webb and other senators urged Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kent., to eliminate the protections currently manipulating ethanol costs and restricting U.S. trade. The current subsidies and tariffs on domestic…

Virginia fights bank scams

Chris Graham

A new program involving state government and a group of Virginia banks and credit unions aims at protecting consumers and financial institutions from fake-check scams. Sixty-one banks and credit unions participating in this effort will hand out a brochure created by Consumer Federation of America about fake-check scams and similar frauds to every consumer who…

Cuccinelli opinion sparks debate on documents for drivers licenses

Chris Graham

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued an official opinion last week informing the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles that it is not required to accept federal work permit cards as proof of lawful presence in the United States for the purpose of issuing a driver’s license, permit, or special identification card. The Cuccinelli opinion was highlighted…

Dental Clinic to expand operations

Chris Graham

The Augusta Regional Free Clinic and the Augusta Regional Dental Clinic held a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday for the expanded Augusta Regional Dental Clinic. To increase the number of patients served and better meet their needs, the Augusta Regional Dental Clinic will double in both size and capacity. The new 5,000-square-foot facility will include state-of-the-art…

BBQ & Bluegrass: Sending SDHS drama students to Scotland

AFP

The Stuarts Draft High School Drama Team is headed for Scotland. The team has been selected as one of only 50 high schools across the entire United States and Canada to receive an invitation to perform at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, the world’s largest performing arts festival. Students will spend two days exploring London…

Jim Bishop: Indiana wants me? Lord, I can go back there

Jim Bishop

I’m starting to write this column while moving 70 miles an hour on the Ohio Turnpike. I hope it will be a moving experience for you as well, dear readers. This is something I’ve not done in years – heading to a professional conference. For any number of fairly valid reasons, I simply haven’t gotten…

Retired minister walks to raise issues with death penalty

AFP

Right foot, left foot. Right foot, left foot. One step at a time, Hunter Mabry of Waynesboro is raising awareness of the inequities in the application of the death penalty in the American criminal-justice system. “The attitude of most of us, and I’ve had it much of my life, too, is that criminals get what…