Greg Marrow | Transportation fix

Chris Graham

Recently there has been much discussion, which is gathering momentum, to privatize the 41 rest areas along the 325 miles of I-81 in an effort to save the Virginia Department of Transportation about $12 million. While this may sound appealing in the short term, it will do little, if anything, to solve the much larger…

UVA makes it official: Tony Bennett hired as men’s basketball coach

Chris Graham

It’s official – Tony Bennett is the new men’s basketball coach at the University of Virginia. “Tony Bennett comes to the University of Virginia with a plan to build our program,” said UVa. athletics director Craig Littlepage, whose own future at the University seems to hang in the balance with the much-discussed hire, at $1.7…

No children left behind?

Chris Graham

The good news – area graduation rates are right at or just above the state average. The bad news – we’re still only graduating around four in five ninth-graders in four years, and close to one in 12 are dropping out altogether. That is the revelation from Tuesday’s release of the Virginia School Report Card…

Report: Bennett named new hoops coach at UVa.

Chris Graham

Tony Bennett. Not the singer. The basketball coach. At the University of Virginia. The two-week search for a replacement for Dave Leitao is over. A report in the Times-Dispatch Monday afternoon has Virginia hiring Bennett away from Washington State, where the 39-year-old rang up a 68-30 record in three seasons and was named the 2007…

‘Choose Life’ plates get Kaine’s approval

Chris Graham

Interesting political move, Gov. Kaine. “Virginia has a longstanding program that allows individuals to customize their state-issued license plates for a fee. Subject to certain Department of Motor Vehicle regulations to prohibit obscenity or other impropriety, Virginians have the ability to purchase vanity plates that specify a combination of letters and numbers of their choosing….

Kaine proposes increased aid for displaced workers

Chris Graham

Gov. Tim Kaine is proposing amendments to legislation on unemployment passed this year by the Virginia General Assembly that would expand unemployment elgibility to workers in training and workers seeking part-time work and would expand eligibility across the board for an additional 13 weeks. “As we work to get our economy back on track, it’s…

Grant takes ‘Bama job, leaving VCU, UVa. in the lurch

Chris Graham

One possible player in the University of Virginia men’s basketball coach search is out of the game. Former Virginia Commonwealth University coach Anthony Grant is the new head coach at Alabama. Grant will reportedly be paid in the $2 million-a-year range. VCU had reportedly made an offer in the million-dollar range to try to keep…