Charter school debate

Ken Plum

   Column by Ken Plum www.kenplum.com Among the topics that are likely to be fiercely debated this legislative session are revisions to Virginia’s charter-school law. The Center for Education Reform, advocates for expanding charter schools, recently gave Virginia a failing grade on its charter school law (www.charterschoolresearch.com). An idea of what the Center feels is…

Focus | From the Queen City to Oxford

Chris Graham

Staunton native named Rhodes Scholar Story by Chris Graham [email protected] Many, one would assume, do it for the prestige. Tyler Spencer applied for a Rhodes Scholarship as a matter of practicality. “I have wanted to get a masters to strengthen my nonprofit work, but I have been frustrated by how much most good programs cost,”…

For New Year 2010, resolve to be a smarter consumer

Contributors

   Column by Todd Haymore Submit guest columns: [email protected] As you’re kicking off your New Year’s resolutions, here’s something to put at the top of your list: remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. In my two-and-a-half years as Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services,…

Midlife couple declares: ‘Why knot?’

Jim Bishop

   Column by Jim Bishop Submit guest columns: [email protected] Rose Stoltzfus Shenk, 41, of Harrisonburg, is a widow with four boys between 5 and 11 years old. Bruce Buckwalter, 40, of Harrisonburg, is single and never been married. Credit an Internet computer program for bringing the two together. Rose spent her early years in East…

The camera

Contributors

   Column by Nan Russell www.nanrussell.com It wasn’t any camera. It was the revolutionary Kodak Instamatic, housed in a shiny black case, with a built in flashcube, using a 126 cartridge. All my high school friends had one, or so it seemed to me. I told my parents it was the only gift I wanted…

Focus | Democratic divide

Chris Graham

Battle brewing between progressives, centrists over direction of party Story by Chris Graham [email protected] The 2001 election that ushered in the Democratic Decade in Virginia gave power in Democratic Party circles to the centrists in the mold of Mark Warner and Tim Kaine who led the mini-revolution that fall. The model that they laid out…

What the new cervical-cancer screening guidelines mean for women

Contributors

  Column by Susan Wysocki and Susan Scanlan Columns, letters: [email protected] It’s not surprising that women are confused about the recently changed recommendations for cancer screening and prevention. New guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) – the leading medical group that provides health care for women – say women should wait…

Transcript: President Obama on job creation

Contributors

  Speech at The Brookings Institution www.whitehouse.gov Almost exactly one year ago, on a frigid winter’s day, I met with my new economic team at the headquarters of my presidential transition offices in Chicago. And over the course of four hours, my advisors presented an analysis of where the economy at that time stood, accompanied…

VMI adds water polo to women’s sports

Contributors

  Staff Report VMI sports: www.vmikeydets.com Virginia Military Institute athletics director Donny White announced Monday that the Institute’s intercollegiate athletic program will add water polo to sports sponsored for women’s athletics. Plans will proceed to hire a coach by July 1, 2010 with competition to begin during the 2011-12 academic year. The addition of Water…

Waterpipe smoking dangers noted in VCU study

Contributors

   Staff Report VCU news: www.vcu.edu Smoking tobacco through a waterpipe exposes the user to the same toxicants – carbon monoxide and nicotine – as puffing on a cigarette, which could lead to nicotine addiction and heart disease, according to a study led by a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher published in the December issue of…