Share
While recently shoveling aged horse manure around berry vines on my small organic farm to fertilize them, which gives me great pleasure, I thought about what I have learned about the community of the land by farming over the last two decades. I noticed how spreading brown gold–to which I add the green manure of…
Share
Today, the Senate overwhelmingly approved Sen. Jim Webb’s amendment to eliminate the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit and repeal the import tariff on foreign ethanol. The measure, which he co-sponsored with Senators Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), passed with bipartisan support in a 73-27 vote and will save taxpayers $6 billion annually. “Eliminating…
Share
The Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge announces awards of nearly $50,000 in scholarships to 38 area students. Each scholarship has its own specific purpose, selection and eligibility criteria. The selection process is managed in a variety of ways, depending on the wishes of the donor. “We are so thrilled and thankful to be…
Share
Gov. Bob McDonnell signed eight pieces of new legislation today at a ceremony at the VCU School of Business to promote the clean and renewable energy industry in Virginia and to spur development of new pilot projects and technologies that will promote reliable and affordable energy for Virginia’s families, businesses and industry. The legislation will…
Share
Gov. Bob McDonnell signed into law today seven pieces of legislation passed during the 2011 General Assembly session that offer additional protections to students in Virginia’s public and private schools. The new legislation focuses on reducing risks for Virginia students by making it illegal for sex offenders to operate or ride on school buses, increases…
Share
The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors approved a new bachelor of science in meteorology during its quarterly meeting on June 6. The new degree program, which will reside in the College of Natural Resources and Environment’s geography department, will prepare students for careers in meteorology and weather forecasting with a significant focus on geospatial information…
Share
Players don’t remember Xs and Os years after they hang up the spikes and close their lockers for the last time. “The playbook isn’t the foundation of a program,” said Dan Baranik, announced last week as the new head football coach at Fishburne Military School. “Ten years from now, the players who came through here…
Share
Friendly City Food Co-op, slated to open this month in Harrisonburg, has become the newest member of the National Cooperative Grocers Association, a business services cooperative serving 120 consumer-owned food co-ops nationwide. NCGA helps unify food co-ops in order to optimize operational and marketing resources, strengthen purchasing power, and ultimately offer more value to natural…
Share
President Barack Obama declared a “Sputnik moment” for our country to recognize the dangers involved in our unquenchable need for oil and the civil unrest that marks the countries that supply us with petroleum. He established as a goal that 80 percent of U.S. energy come from clean generation sources by 2035. Just as engineers…
Share
Fort Defiance High School defeated 14 teams from throughout the Commonwealth to win Virginia’s Envirothon, a natural resources competition for high school students. Having earlier won the regional title, Fort Defiance, coached by Brent Hull and Eric Stogdale, advanced to the 2011 state competition held May 22-23 at Camp Hanover in Mechanicsville, Virginia. As the…
