In the News

AFP

– Local News: Blood drive at Fishburne Military School, posted Wednesday, 3:45 p.m. – Local News: Blue Ridge Food Bank honored nationally, posted Wednesday, 3:45 p.m. – Local News: Augusta, Staunton awarded money for emergency assistance, posted Wednesday, 9:20 a.m. – Local News: Wintergreen kicks off Bear Smart program, posted Wednesday, 9:20 a.m. – Local…

In the News

Chris Graham

– Local News: Ramp at 247 on I-81 to close two nights next week, posted Tuesday, 2 p.m. – State News: Virginia on iTunes U, posted Tuesday, 2 p.m. – State News: ACLU critical of threat assessment for colleges, universities in fusion center report, posted Tuesday, 2 p.m. – State News: More than 2 million…

And don’t let it hit your you-know-what on the way out, either

Chris Graham

I learn something new every day. Today I learned something new about myself. It starts with the journalist in me that guides the editor in me to have an open-door policy on submissions for op-eds and columns and reported news pieces from viewpoints from across the political spectrum. Even as the Augusta Free Press has…

Time to declare victory and come home

Chris Graham

I agree with Kate Wofford that it’s time for the Virginia Department of Transportation “to abandon the costly and destructive plan for I-81” that would widen the interstate throughout Western Virginia. And then I think, We’re pretty much there now already whether VDOT is or not, right? “Our state transportation budget has evaporated and taxpayers…

Adam Schaeffer, Chaim Katz | Getting politics out of schools improves children’s learning

AFP

Everyone’s still catching their breath from last year’s election season. However, all the nastiness is sure to fire up again now that Barack Obama has been sworn in. In fact, some of the inaugural season’s heat was generated when Obama announced that evangelical pastor Rick Warren would deliver the invocation at the presidential inauguration. Warren…

Letter to the Editor | Morgan Chiti

AFP

Virginia is moving forward in so many aspects, but it refuses to move forward on one important issue: restoration of voting rights for former felons. It simply does not work to argue that this is a form of continuing punishment for individuals convicted of a felony. They have paid their debts to society, waited the…

Greg Marrow | Where we went wrong on transportation

Chris Graham

Recently, it was reported that Del. Steve Landes had voiced his concern about the closing of two rest areas in Mount Sidney and the potential closing of the Verona residency office. While I’m pleased that he shares the view that I expressed weeks ago, let us not forget that Del. Landes played a large role…

Multimedia | Be careful what your surrogate says on your behalf

Chris Graham

It wasn’t exactly Macaca. “You have two jobs,” former Republican Party presidential-nomination candidate Mike Huckabee told a gathering of GOP faithful in Tazewell County while campaigning for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell this week. “One, get all those people who are going to vote for Bob out to the polls and vote. If they’re not…

No rest for the pols

Chris Graham

Steve Landes has written to local Commonwealth Transportation Board member James Davis to get him to reconsider closing two Augusta County-area interstate rest stops. Chris Saxman is doing him one better, as he plans to ask members of the local congressional delegation to grant Virginia a waiver that would allow the Commonwealth to allow private…

Yep, even more bad news

AFP

Media General has cut 90 jobs from its flagship newspaper, the Times-Dispatch in Richmond, according to a story on the paper’s website Thursday. Twenty-eight of the positions were in the newsroom, according to an Associated Press report. The rest were scattered throughout the production, circulation, marketing, business, advertising, operations, facilities, prepress design and targeted solutions…