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…

McAuliffe: ‘I want to keep all of my options open’

Chris Graham

Is Terry McAuliffe running for something? Well, not technically, but he is traveling with the former executive director of the Democratic Party of Virginia, Levar Stoney, who now works for him in a sort of nebulous role that doesn’t have Stoney as a political aide, per se, but … And McAuliffe didn’t begin his talk…

McDonnell: State ran $220M surplus in FY ’10

Chris Graham

Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Wednesday that the Commonwealth of Virginia has posted a preliminary revenue surplus at the conclusion of the 2010 fiscal year on June 30. The surplus, after miscellaneous interest payments are distributed, will be at least $220 million, according to new estimates. The primary source of the surplus comes from individual withholding…

Webb announces nuclear initiative

Chris Graham

Edited by Chris Graham [email protected]   U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., joined Virginia-based Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Energy Inc. and Bechtel Power Corporation on Wednesday to announce a formal alliance to design, license and deploy the world’s first commercially viable Generation III++ small modular nuclear power plant. Design work for the small modular reactors will…

Perriello: Yes to three-way debate

Chris Graham

Edited by Chris Graham [email protected]   The Tom Perriello congressional campaign said Wednesday that it has agreed to a televised debate to which all three candidates on the ballot – including Republican Robert Hurt and independent Jeffrey Clark – have been invited. The debate, produced by WDBJ7 in Roanoke, will allow Fifth District voters the…