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Item by Chris Graham [email protected] Jim Webb’s Post-9/11 G.I. Bill passed the House of Representatives on Thursday, moving the nation a giant step closer to doing the same thing for recent military veterans that we did for the heroes of World War II. “(Thursday’s) House vote places veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars one…
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The Politics Beat column by Chris Graham [email protected] One thing we can all agree on – we need to do something about our roads. Right? Right? “With the housing economy the way it is today, I don’t know that adding a new cost is the wisest thing to do,” said Del. Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News, echoing…
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Column by Bob Goodlatte In a letter written by Benjamin Franklin to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, Franklin said: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Taxes may be a certainty for every American, but high taxes shouldn’t be. As you know, lower taxes put more money in the hands of…
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Story by Chris Graham [email protected] It was hard enough getting Kitty Lough to go into an independent-living facility, harder still to get her to accept the change in her lifestyle. She never would have guessed back then that she’d miss it as much as she does now. “She’s finally gotten over the stage of saying,…
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Yeah, I know, invoking “Field of Dreams” in a piece examining the economic aspects of a proposed $20 million baseball stadium is beyond cheesy. But I do it to try to make you consider something that you might not otherwise. Namely, that the whole idea rests on the notion that a Downtown Waynesboro baseball stadium…
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Story By Erin Gutzwiller The issues of illegal immigration and racism have long been topics of spirited discussion. And the issues have not disappeared in the last few years, and in fact have only been growing into more of a flash point. Bridgewater College welcomed three speakers who talked to the students and faculty members…
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Column by Sam Rasoul Last September, I bought a hybrid car, which I had long wanted. The decision to buy at that time was a practical one: campaigning in the Sixth District required driving from Roanoke to Woodstock with a side trip to Lynchburg. I had to decrease gasoline costs. At the same time, I…
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Story by Chris Graham [email protected] The New Jersey Turnpike in the Shenandoah Valley. That’s what critics of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Interstate 81 widening plan envision happening if the engineers get their wishes. “For us, our mission is to protect farms, forests, open spaces and cultural heritage – and this is impacting all of…
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General Assembly Report by Rob Bell One of the General Assembly’s biggest jobs in 2008 is to craft the two-year budget that will begin on July 1. This year, the economic slowdown – especially in the housing industry – has meant that revenue is $1.4 billion below projections. Although the overall budget is increasing slightly,…
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Op-Ed by Larry Yates We should all welcome the recent decision by the U.S. Sentencing Commission to allow crack-cocaine sentences to be reduced retroactively. But we should also pause to recognize what it means. This decision is a clear statement about a social phenomenon that most Americans want to deny – institutional racism.
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