Fund targets business sectors for growth

Chris Graham

The Staunton Creative Community Fund, a provider of loans and assistance to empower small businesses, is launching a new outreach campaign targeting emerging businesses with the potential to spawn new industries in the Shenandoah Valley and beyond. With Virginia’s unemployment rate in November remaining at nearly 7 percent for the third consecutive month with traditional…

Robert Hurt: Moving forward together

Robert Hurt

This was a somber week in Congress as the House passed a resolution to honor the victims of the tragedy in Tucson. I was deeply saddened and disturbed by the senseless attacks on Representative Giffords, members of her staff, and all of the victims in Tucson, Arizona. Our prayers are for speedy and full recoveries…

Ken Plum: Opportunity for leadership

Ken Plum

As Spock in the 1991 film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country quoted “an ancient Vulcan proverb, only Nixon could go to China,” only Gov. Bob McDonnell can save Virginia’s transportation funding program from bankruptcy. Nixon had a strong anti-communist reputation. He was able to go to China and open diplomatic relations without fear of…

Holly Sklar: Tax deal like a bait-and-switch mortgage

Contributors

Republicans played President Obama in the tax deal like mortgage hustlers played homeowners. Focus on the teaser rates, borrow more than you need and trust us to work with you to refinance later when rates jump. The teasers are the needed extension of unemployment benefits – always extended before with high unemployment – and continued…

Brian Miller: Hostage-takers and the Obama-GOP tax package

Contributors

As millions of unemployed Americans struggle to make ends meet amidst an economy still in shambles, a note is quietly slid under the door: “Give us $800 billion in tax breaks or your unemployment benefits are history!” In a classic made-for-television cop drama, this is the part where the heroic police captain would emphatically declare,…

A move on moment from House Dems

Contributors

“Just say no! Just say no!” Seriously? That’s the best House Democrats can do these days – is mirror House Republicans? Any semblance of sanity on the Dem side is now officially history, which means, for all intents and purposes, there isn’t any semblance of sanity in D.C. anymore. Not that there was much even…

Webb: Tax deal will reinvigorate U.S. economy

Chris Graham

U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., is on board with the bipartisan effort being led by President Obama to reach consensus on a two-year extenion of Bush-era tax cuts and an extension of benefits to the long-term unemployed. “The framework agreement for tax cuts and extended unemployment insurance shows great promise in reinvigorating our economy and…

Tom Perriello: Middle-class tax cuts

Contributors

Last week, Congress completed several pieces of overdue legislation to provide economic relief for the middle class and the unemployed, approve adequate reimbursements for doctors under Medicare, and to censure a senior legislator following an ethics investigation. In the weeks remaining in the 111th Congress, we have an opportunity and obligation to complete meaningful work…

Linda Meric: Memo to Congress-extend programs that help us

Contributors

Dear Member of Congress: You’ve got a lot to consider in this month. You’re scheduled to debate international treaties and internet censorship. There’s talk of military affairs and revamping federal agencies. But this should be at the top of your agenda:  extending benefits for unemployed workers and making sure struggling parents can continue to make…

AAA forecasts increase in Thanksgiving weekend travel

Contributors

AAA today projected the number of Americans traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday will increase 11.4 percent from 2009, with approximately 42.2 million travelers taking a trip at least 50 miles away from home. Last year, 37.9 million Americans traveled during the Thanksgiving holiday. The 2010 Thanksgiving holiday travel period is defined as Wednesday, Nov. 24…