Obama offshore drilling ban draws bipartisan criticism

Chris Graham

A bipartisan group of Virginia leaders will work to get the Obama administration to reverse its move to block drilling off the coast of Virginia until at least 2017. “As a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, we learned a number of lessons, most importantly that we need to proceed with caution and focus…

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…

Singing the Y’s praises

AFP

For Sherri Mayo, the Waynesboro Y is a caring environment for her 5-year-old son, Cooper, who is enrolled in the pre-K class at the Y. “There is never a day when I take him to his class that I am concerned about his care. I know he is in a learning environment that is structured,…

Kicking the can: City needs to take lead on stormwater improvements

Chris Graham

Waynesboro, as we know, is good at studying problems for years and not doing anything to bring the solutions to fruition. The city technically isn’t doing nothing to resolve its issues with stormwater management, though what is being done is not too far removed from sticking a finger in the floodwall and hoping that holds…

DEQ approves first renewable-energy reg

Chris Graham

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has approved the state’s first permit regulation for renewable energy projects, following legislation from the 2009 General Assembly that transferred permitting authority for such projects from the State Corporation Commission to DEQ. The permit regulation, known as a “permit by rule,” seeks to balance two statutory goals: to streamline…

EMU dedicates new solar facility

Jim Bishop

Eastern Mennonite University dedicated and celebrated the largest solar photovoltaic project built so far in the state of Virginia in a public ceremony held Monday afternoonon EMU’s campus. During the celebration in EMU’s Campus Center, about 150 members of the campus community, public officials and local neighbors saw the university’s president Loren Swartzendruber unveil the…

Warner pushes Valley tourist-sector development

Chris Graham

It can be like trying to herd cats to get localities to cooperate in the Shenandoah Valley on a strategy to promote the tourist sector. For one, what is the Shenandoah Valley? “How do you define the Shenandoah Valley?” U.S. Sen. Mark Warner asked the roughly 30 attendees at a Shenandoah Valley Regional Tourism Roundtable…