Has the local GOP passed its moderate wing by?

Chris Graham

The Politics Beat column by Chris Graham [email protected] One guy gets more votes, the other guy has friends in high places, and you can guess who wins. I could be talking about George Bush, Florida, the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000, but I’m not. I’m talking about the Augusta County Republican Committee, which elected Larry…

The loudest silence I’ve ever heard

Chris Graham

Fear and Loathing in Waynesboro column by Chris Graham [email protected] Silence. Absolute silence. That’s what we’ve gotten from Bruce Allen regarding the effective firing of city manager Doug Walker that he helped engineer. The official word, according to a News Leader reporter with whom I spoke Thursday, is that Allen is out of town, and…

It’s all in the detail: Banjo part of fundraising efforts for Wayne Theatre

Chris Graham

Item by Crystal Graham [email protected] It’s not your everyday banjo. With musical instruments being cranked out of big factories every day, Geoff Stelling’s handmade banjos are a true rarity. The Afton-based business produces just 200 or so banjos annually. Geoff’s son, Jimmy, who works with his dad in the business, is a banjo player who…

The high road

Chris Graham

Fear and Loathing in Waynesboro column by Chris Graham [email protected] How about the sudden about-face of our would-be mayor? “I don’t see any need to air out our discrepancies and our differences. Kind of give Mr. Walker respect,” Tim Williams said in a voicemail message to the News Leader that was reported in that paper’s…

The stitch in time that saved Staunton

Chris Graham

The Local Beat column by Chris Graham [email protected] Interesting lunch date for me today with a city official in Staunton, from whom I learned that the recent Staunton City Council elections were similar to the ones in Waynesboro that I was involved in, with one difference. The difference – the progressive candidates in Staunton found…

City manager resigns under political pressure

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham [email protected] The new ultraconservative majority on Waynesboro City Council hasn’t been seated yet, but it is already effectively in charge down at City Hall. Backroom maneuvering instigated by city-council members Frank Lucente and Tim Williams and Councilman-elect Bruce Allen has pushed city manager Doug Walker to step down from his post…