Does Augusta County need an economic-development department?

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham [email protected] Poll: Does Augusta County need an economic-development department? It amazes me that Augusta County government has been able to get along as long as it has without an economic-development department to build on what the county has at its economic disposal for the future. OK, so yeah, I…

The other side of discrimination

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham [email protected] Poll Question: Have you been victim of racial, gender or sexual-orientation discrimination in the workplace? Stanley Smith is known to his friends as Bubba, and he has a lot of friends – white, black, Latino. He’s like a lot of us in that respect. He’s also a little-league baseball…

Inside the Beverley Manor District race

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham Jim Bailey announced his retirement from Augusta County politics earlier this year, leaving the Beverley Manor District seat on the Augusta County Board of Supervisors an open seat. The contenders for the seat – Democrat Lee Godfrey and Republican Jeremy Shifflett – answered questions on the issues of the…

Breaking down the 24th Senate race

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham He had to fend off perhaps the fight of his political life in June with a party-primary challenge from Rockbridge County businessman Scott Sayre. With the change of seasons from summer to fall, 24th District Republican Sen. Emmett Hanger would seem to have if not the second-biggest fight of…

Where is the silent majority on the megasite?

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham Supporters of the proposed Augusta County megasite that is said to have the interest of Toyota as a possible location for a new automobile-manufacturing plant think that there are more of them than there are those who have been grabbing the bulk of the local-media attention for opposing the…

Kaine soaks in victory at polls

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham   The theme music from “Rocky” played in the background as Tim Kaine and Mark Warner made their way to the stage. It was appropriate – because Kaine, like the mythical boxer Rocky Balboa, and Warner, like his trainer, Mickey, had just pulled off the political upset of the year.