
New cost-share program stands to help farmers, waterways
Virginia farmers are pleased with Gov. Bob McDonnell’s announcement of a new initiative to help them implement conservation practices.

Virginia farmers are pleased with Gov. Bob McDonnell’s announcement of a new initiative to help them implement conservation practices.

The new year is a time for planning ahead—for both farmers and consumers. For Virginia households that are interested in joining a community-supported agriculture business in 2013, now is the time to register and pay for a share of locally grown foods that will be available later in the year.

The United Way of Greater Augusta, in partnership with Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Community Action Partnership of Staunton, Augusta and Waynesboro, is offering Master Financial Education Volunteer Training in January 2013.

For me, the arrival of a new year means just one thing: the legislative session is just around the corner! To some degree, trying to predict what will happen in session is a fool’s errand: there’s always an issue that throws everyone for a loop or a seemingly minor bill that looms large by session’s end. But while I can’t profess to tell you exactly what session has in store, it’s at least possible to offer a brief sketch of what to watch for and what to expect.

The aftermath of the November elections has Virginia with eight Republicans and three Democrats in the House of Representatives in the next Congress. This despite the fact that Virginia voters were divided much more evenly than those numbers would suggest – with GOP candidates getting just 60,000 more votes than their Democratic counterparts on the aggregate.

Country music artist Daryle Singletary will perform in concert at the Salem Civic Center as part of the Department of Veterans Affairs Salem VA Medical Center 2013 National Salute to Veterans on Tuesday, February 12, 2013, at 7:00 p.m.

Flaming ray guns and fire-breathing dragons are part of the magic of the Virginia Hot Glass Festival, set for Saturday, April 27, and Sunday, April 28, at Sunspots Studios in Downtown Staunton.

Newtown, Conn., joined a list topped by Blacksburg, Va., of the scenes of the most tragic mass murders in our history. This list contributes to the United States having 80 percent of all firearm deaths among the 23 populous, high-income countries in the world.

It starts with state-of-the-art sound for ring entrances. Then there are the multiple big screens that will be used to highlight the superstars who will bring New Year’s Chaos to life. A steel-cage match here, a possible world-title change there, and you can get a sense of what Marvin Ward, the general manager of Top Rope Pro Wrestling, is trying to do.

Republicans in the General Assembly are once again taking aim at state laws requiring local governments to post public notices in local newspapers.
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