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Public employees and unions have been getting a bad rap lately. As tax revenues have declined along with the value of public pension funds, government workers have been getting stuck with part of the blame for our current financial crisis. Local and state budgets have to be reduced to be in balance with revenue, but…
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February revenue collections by the Commonwealth increased by 16.7 percent over the prior year. This is the 11th month out of the last 12 in which state revenue collections exceeded the previous year’s amount. It is the fourth month in a row in which year-over-year revenue growth was greater than 9 percent. The revenue increase…
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While the recent February jobs report issued by the Department of Labor suggests some welcome signs of improvement, our national unemployment rate still remains unacceptably high and our economic recovery still has a long way to go. The House has taken several steps to remove the barriers to job growth by remaining committed to cutting…
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Four state tournaments in five years. And that’s just the Waynesboro High School boys’ basketball team. The girls have had their runs in recent years, too, including an appearance in the 2008 Group AA state-title game led by the sublime Devon Brown. I’ve had the fortune to be able to coach in the rec league…
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The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Daily News-Record, is hosting its Regional Job Fair on Thursday, March 17, noon to 6 p.m. at the Harrisonburg First Church of the Nazarene, 1871 Boyers Road in Harrisonburg. This event is brought to you by the Shenandoah Valley Energy Partnership and the Workforce Investment Board….
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This past week, the House debated HR 1, the Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act. This bill would fund the government through September 30th of this year at $100 billion less than the amount President Obama requested in his Fiscal Year 2011 budget. Given the current fiscal crisis that faces the Fifth District and the nation,…
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January revenue collections increased by 12.6 percent over the prior year – the 10th month in the last 11 in which state revenue collections exceeded the previous year’s amount, and the third month in a row in which year-over-year revenue growth was greater than 9 percent. “These economic indicators are showing a trend of progress…
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Next week, President Obama will release his budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2012. It is my hope that the proposal will reflect the clear message sent by the people on Election Day, that in order to create jobs and grow the economy we must get our fiscal house in order. Unfortunately, the Administration’s initial suggestions…
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A road to somewhere, a “funky” downtown, a primary industry. Good advice from John Rhodes, a consultant hired by the city to assist in developing a new economic-development strategy. The good news is that we’ve already got a helluva base on which to build. The Waynesboro economy has nearly doubled in size in the past…
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The midpoint in the 2011 session is fast approaching. Under the procedural rules adopted at the beginning of every session, the House of Delegates and the Senate must take final action on bills introduced in that body by crossover. The process would not work without self imposed time limits and rules, so by February 8…
