Fort Defiance team does well in Envirothon

AFP

More than 270 high school students from 45 U.S. states and nine Canadian provinces assembled July 24-29 in Sackville, Canada, to participate in North America’s largest high school environmental education competition, the 2011 Canon Envirothon. Having placed first during May’s Virginia State Envirothon competition in Mechanicsville, Fort Defiance High School moved on to the national competition,…

Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance receives accreditation

AFP

Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance has been designated as an accredited National Main Street Program for meeting the commercial district revitalization performance standards set by the National Trust Main Street Center®. Each year, the National Trust and its partners announce the list of accredited Main Street® programs that have built strong revitalization organizations and demonstrate their ability…

New BC residence hall features cutting-edge sustainability

AFP

The dedication of Stone Village – Bridgewater College’s new environmentally sustainable student residences – will be held Tuesday, Aug. 9, at 11 a.m. Featured speakers include representatives of the college and the United States government. The event is free, open to the public and will be held rain or shine. Refreshments and a tour of…

Webb joins group of senators urging end to ethanol tariffs, subsidies

AFP

A bipartisan group of 12 senators, led by Sens. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), today sent a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kent.) urging them to make full elimination of costly ethanol subsidies and tariffs a priority. In June, a measure offered by Sen. Dianne Feinstein…

Staunton hosts sustainable Main Street training

Chris Graham

On July 20-21, Staunton hosted a statewide training presented by the Virginia Main Street program at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel and Conference Center. The VMS program, managed by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development since 1985, works to revitalize Virginia’s historic downtowns by providing training and technical support. Participating communities improve and beautify…

Kathleen Rogers: Don’t turn out lights on bulb innovation

AFP

In a close vote, the House recently passed a provision that undercuts one of the most successful environmental programs of the decade – one that requires all bulbs – including the incandescent – to achieve higher efficiency levels. The amendment, which was tacked on to the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 2012, delays…

BRCC earns workplace honors

AFP

Results of The Chronicle of Higher Education’s 2011 survey of “Great Colleges to Work For” were released today and Blue Ridge Community College was once again recognized as a “Great College to Work For” in 10 of the 12 two-year college categories. The primary factor in deciding whether an institution received Great College to Work…

Webb calls for provisions to include Virginia in offshore energy bill

Chris Graham

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., today called for the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to incorporate his Virginia Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Energy Production Act in pending offshore energy legislation this week. “Outer Continental Shelf production has strong support among Virginians and their political leadership,” Webb wrote the Committee’s Chairman and Ranking Member. “I look forward…

Kathy Crandall Robinson: Time for a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty

Letters

July 16 marks the 66th anniversary of the first nuclear weapons test explosion. The United States’ test, code-named “Trinity,” was exploded in the desert of New Mexico and ignited the nuclear age. The bombing of Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9 were followed by some 2,050 nuclear tests worldwide, with over half…