David Toscano: Inside the surplus

Contributors

It is always better to have a surplus than have a deficit. Consequently, Governor McDonnell and many Virginians recently celebrated the fact that the Commonwealth will have a surplus at the end of the fiscal year. After all, who would not want a surplus? If we balance our family checkbook at the end of the…

Tickets on sale for Hairspray

Contributors

ShenanArts will be hosting the Virginia premiere of the recent Broadway hit musical Hairspray beginning Aug. 12. The local production, based on the film written and directed by John Waters, is being directed by one-time “American Idol” contestant Colon Berry, who also co-stars as Link Larkin, the resident hunk of “The Corny Collins Show.” The…

What does early Perriello money lead mean for November?

Chris Graham

You look at the money race in the Fifth District, and it’s no race at all, really. Democrat Tom Perriello has $1.7 million in cash on hand while his Republican opponent, Robert Hurt, has $212,000, according to reports filed by the respective campaigns with the Federal Election Commission. Those numbers are bound to change between…

David Reynolds: So long for awhile, that’s all the songs for a while

David Reynolds

Column by David Reynolds Submit guest columns: [email protected]   So long for a while. That’s all the songs for a while. So closed the old “Your Hit Parade” radio show every Saturday night. This might also be a good way to say that until its proprietor and the weather cools off, this marketplace of ideas…

Sanford D. Horn: Voting no-confidence in government

Contributors

Column by Sanford D. Horn Submit guest columns: [email protected]   Here’s a shocking revelation: government, regardless of the party in power, does not create jobs. Confidence in government, however, is a driving force in job creation by the private sector. Giving government unfettered freedom to run roughshod over our Creator-endowed rights – that hinders job…

Dukes extend contract for McFarland

Chris Graham

Edited by Chris Graham [email protected]   James Madison baseball head coach Spanky McFarland has received a contract extension through the 2014 season, it was announced Thursday by director of athletics Jeff Bourne. McFarland was named the CAA Co-Coach of the Year after leading the Diamond Dukes to a 30-23 overall mark in 2010. JMU went…

Drilling in the Valley

Contributors

Millions of gallons of water are used to literally fracture the earth to get at the natural gas below. And below is the operative word – hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, as it’s commonly called, aims at natural-gas reserves anywhere from 5,000 to 20,000 feet beneath the earth’s surface. The good news is that natural gas…

Cuccinelli joins group backing Arizona immigration law

Chris Graham

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has joined a coalition of nine states filing an amicus brief in federal court supporting Arizona’s new immigration reform law. “In creating immigration laws over the years, Congress created a joint federal-state cooperative immigration enforcement program,” Cuccinelli said in a statement released on Wednesday. “States merely report the immigration status of…