EMU falls on Senior Day

Thursday’s Senior Recognition was perfect on many levels, all except for the final outcome.  After getting rained out on Wednesday, Eastern Mennonite’s baseball men honored their five seniors under beautiful skies, but then visiting Washington and Lee stole the show by handing the Royals a 9-3 loss. Senior starter Andy Richter (Perkasie, PA/Christopher Dock) was…

Whitfield speaks at White House forum

Blue Ridge Legal Services Executive Director John Whitfield was a panelist Tuesday at a White House forum examining the state of civil legal assistance for low-income Americans.  The forum was co-hosted by the Legal Services Corporation. Whitfield said that the “double whammy” of severe cuts in both federal and IOLTA funding has forced the program…

Kent Willis: New voter ID law and voting felons are unconnected but not unrelated issues

Contrary to what has become a popular conclusion in blogs and editorials, the recent revelations about felons having illegally voted in Virginia is not evidence that the state needs the voter ID law passed this year by the General Assembly. The emerging law – which is still being tweaked by the governor and lawmakers –…

Brooks named state coach of the year

Chris Graham

James Madison women’s basketball coach Kenny Brooks has been named the Coach of the Year by the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association (VaSID). Brooks guided the Dukes to a school-record 29 wins, a 29-8 record and a runner-up finish in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.  He earned the VaSID Coach of the Year award for…

Tech Council nominates AFP for High-Tech Company Award

Chris Graham

Augusta Free Press LLC is a nominee for the High-Tech Company Award in the Shenandoah Valley Technology Council’s Tech Nite 12 Awards. The High Tech Company Award recognizes outstanding commercial growth and achievement by an established company that produces and markets predominantly high tech products or services. The other nominees in the category this year…

Senate Dems reject latest budget proposal

State Senate Democrats voted Tuesday against the state budget conference report because they said it did not properly address funding for projects in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. “The issue here is the lack of transportation funding in two different regions of the state,” said State Sen. Janet Howell (D-Fairfax). “Rail to Dulles will be…

Rutherford Institute asks Waynesboro accommodate churches on homeless-shelter issue

The Rutherford Institute is calling on the City of Waynesboro to accommodate local churches wishing to provide temporary shelters for the homeless during the winter months by allowing them to take refuge inside their existing church buildings. Institute attorneys are challenging the city’s current interpretation of its zoning ordinance which requires churches to apply for…

Kaine: Senate needs to make ‘hard decisions’

Chris Graham

Second in a series Tim Kaine had thought, like a lot of us did, that his political career was over. In January 2010, Kaine finished up his term as governor of Virginia, and looked out a landscape in Virginia politics that featured two Democrats, Jim Webb and Mark Warner, representing the Commonwealth in the United…