Steven Sisson: More study needed on Waynesboro bed and breakfast issue

Chris Graham

As a Waynesboro resident who is a former certified planning commissioner and former chairman of the Rockingham County Planning Commission, I am personally opposed to the proposed Conditional Use Bed and Breakfast in RS-7 district in the city’s new comprehensive plan for a number of reasons. The intent and purpose of the RS-7 District is…

It’s official: BRCC is a great place to work

Contributors

Blue Ridge Community College is one of the best colleges in the nation to work for, according to a new survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education. The results, released earlier this week in The Chronicle’s third annual report on The Academic Workplace, are based on a survey of more than 42,000 employees at 277…

Busy building at EMU

Jim Bishop

A quiet campus at Eastern Mennonite University? Not at all, especially this summer, with outside groups and auxiliary programs stretching the facilities non-stop from early May through mid-August and several major capital improvement projects happening simultaneously. The biggest project: what is being called “Phase II” of the University Commons, a $2.4 million funded project that…

Senators raise issue with proposed Roanoke VA office renovations

Chris Graham

U.S. Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner on Thursday sent a letter requesting Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and General Services Administrator Martha Johnson re-evaluate plans to renovate the Roanoke Veterans Affairs Regional Office. The renovations, as currently planned, would likely exacerbate the VARO’s high backlog rate without solving some of its major infrastructure needs,…

Dr. Jeffrey Patterson: Lessons from the Gulf for nuclear reactors

Column by Dr. Jeffrey Patterson Submit guest columns: [email protected] One crucial lesson from the BP oil spill is that measures to speed licensing, cut corners on safety and undermine regulation can lead to tragic consequences. Yet Congress appears on the verge of repeating mistakes that led to the environmental catastrophe in the Gulf. Federal lawmakers…

Drilling in the Valley

Contributors

Millions of gallons of water are used to literally fracture the earth to get at the natural gas below. And below is the operative word – hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, as it’s commonly called, aims at natural-gas reserves anywhere from 5,000 to 20,000 feet beneath the earth’s surface. The good news is that natural gas…

Aaron Dorfman: Healthy democracy needs philanthropy

Column by Aaron Dorfman Submit guest columns: [email protected]   When those who speak for regular folks – you, me and everyday working people – are outspent in Washington, even the most welcome legislation tends to serve the rich and powerful. As the country anticipates President Obama signing financial reform legislation, the scorecard is so starkly…

Frank Knapp Jr.: Restoring balance between Wall Street and Main Street

Column by Frank Knapp Jr. Submit guest columns: [email protected]   The South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce and small business organizations and owners across this country want Wall Street Reform. But you wouldn’t know that from the attention the media gives to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which…